{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_22782/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_22782","id":"gutenberg_22782","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22782","summary":null,"tags":["Buddhism -- Drama","Category: Plays/Films/Dramas","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Gautama Buddha"],"text":"Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Sankar Viswanathan,\nand the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttp://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                         Transcriber's Note:\n\n   The spelling and accents of Sanskrit names is not consistent in\n   the book. The Table of Contents is not part of the original book.\n\n\n\n                              THE BUDDHA\n\n                       A DRAMA IN FIVE ACTS AND\n\n                           FOUR INTERLUDES\n\n\n                                  BY\n\n                              PAUL CARUS\n\n\n\n                               CHICAGO\n\n                    THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO.\n\n                          LONDON: 149 Strand\n\n                                 1913\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\n                               CONTENTS\n\n\n          DIRECTIONS TO THE STAGE MANAGER.\n\n          CAST OF CHARACTERS.\n\n          GLOSSARY OF FOREIGN TERMS.\n\n          ACT I.\n\n          ACT II.\n\n          ACT III.\n\n          ACT IV.\n\n          ACT V.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nDIRECTIONS TO THE STAGE MANAGER.\n\n\nThe scenery can be made very attractive by both historical accuracy\nand a display of Oriental luxury, but the drama may easily be\nperformed with simple means at a small cost without losing its\ndramatic effect. Some of the changes, however, should be very rapid.\nThe interludes can be replaced by lantern slide pictures, or may be\nomitted.\n\nIf the interludes are retained there need not be any intermission in\nthe whole drama.\n\nThe music for the Buddha's Hymn of Victory, pages 5 and 39 (see _The\nOpen Court_, XIX, 49); the dirge on page 19, (_Open Court_, XIX, 567);\nYasodhara's Song, page 37 (_Open Court_, XVIII, 625); and the\nDoxology, page 63 and at the end (_Open Court_, XVIII, 627), may be\nfound in a collection entitled _Buddhist Hymns_ (Chicago, Open Court\nPublishing Co., 1911).\n\nCOPYRIGHT BY\n\nTHE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO.\n\n1913\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nCAST OF CHARACTERS.\n\n_All vowels to be pronounced as in Italian._\n\n\nSiddhattha Gotama, Prince of the Sakyas, later on the Buddha      _B_\n\nSuddhodana, King of the Sakyas, father of Siddhattha              _S_\n\nPajapati, Queen of the Sakyas, aunt and stepmother of\n  Siddhattha                                                      _P_\n\nPrincess Yasodhara, Siddhattha's wife                             _Y_\n\nRahula, Yasodhara's son                                           _R_\n\nDevadatta, brother of Yasodhara                                   _Dd_\n\nKala Udayin, a gardener's son                                     _K_\n\nGopa, Yasodhara's maid                                            _G_\n\nVisakha, a Brahman, Prime Minister of Suddhodana                  _V_\n\nDevala, a Sakya Captain                                           _D_\n\nBimbisara, King of Magadha                                        _Bb_\n\nAmbapali, King Bimbisara's favorite                               _Ap_\n\nNagadeva, Prime Minister of Magadha, leader of an embassy         _N_\n\nGeneral Siha, in the service of King Bimbisara                    _GS_\n\nJeta, Prince of Northern Kosala                                   _J_\n\nAnatha Pindika, a wealthy man of Savattha                         _A_\n\nMara, the Evil One                                                _M_\n\nChanna, Prince Siddhattha's groom                                 _Ch_\n\nMaster of Ceremonies at Magadha                                   _Mc_\n\nGeneral Siha's Captain                                            _C_\n\nA Brahman Priest                                                  _Pr_\n\nA Farmer                                                          _F_\n\nServant                                                           _St_\n\nMinisters, Officers, Soldiers, Trumpeters, Villagers, A Shepherd.\n  Singers: Mara's Daughters, Angels, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nGLOSSARY OF FOREIGN TERMS.\n\n\nBuddha, the Enlightened One, the Saviour.\n\nBodhi, enlightenment or wisdom.\n\nBodhisatta, a seeker of the bodhi, one who endeavors to become a\nBuddha.\n\nBodhi tree, the tree under which Buddha acquires enlightenment.\n\nMuni, thinker or sage.\n\nSakyamuni, the Sage of the Sakyas, the Buddha.\n\nTathagata, a title of Buddha, which probably means \"The Perfect\nOne,\" or \"he who has reached completion.\"\n\nNirvana (in Pali, \"Nibbana\") eternal bliss.\n\nKapilavatthu, capital of the Sakyas.\n\nKosala, an Indian state divided into Northern and Southern Kosala.\n\nSavatthi, capital of Northern Kosala.\n\nJetavana, the pleasure garden of Prince Jeta at Savatthi.\n\nMagadha, a large kingdom in the Ganges Valley.\n\nRajagaha, capital of Magadha.\n\nUruvela, a place near Benares.\n\nArada and U'draka, two philosophers.\n\nLicchavi, a princely house of Vesali.\n\nNirgrantha (lit. \"liberated from bonds\"), a name adopted by the\nadherents of the Jaina sect.\n\nIndra, in the time of Buddha worshiped by the people as the most\npowerful god.\n\nIssara, the Lord, a name of God Indra.\n\nYama, the god of death.\n\nKali, a Brahman goddess, called also Durga.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nACT I.\n\nFIRST SCENE.\n\n[A tropical garden in Kapilavatthu, in the background mountains, at a\ndistance the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas. On the right near the\nfront a marble bench surrounded with bushes. Further back the palace\nentrance of the Raja's residence. Above the entrance a balcony. On the\nleft a fortified gate with a guard house; all built luxuriously in\nantique Indian style.]\n\n\n    _Present_: SUDDHODANA, _the king_ (_S_); PAJAPATI, _the\n    queen_ (_P_), _and the minister of state_ VISAKHA (_V_).\n\n_S._ My son Siddhattha truly loves his wife,\nAnd since their wedlock has been blessed by this\nSweet, promising, this hale and healthy child,\nHis melancholy will give way to joy,\nAnd we reclaim his noble energies\nTo do good service for our race and state.\nNew int'rests and new duties give new courage\nAnd thus this babe will prove his father's saviour\nFor he will tie his soul to life again.\n\n_P._ I fear his grief lies deeper than you think.\n\n_S._ What sayest thou, my trusty counselor?\n\n_V._ This is the last hope which I have for him,\nI followed your advice and tried all means\nTo cure Siddhattha of his pensive mood.\nI taught him all that will appeal to man:\nThe sports of youth, the joy of poetry\nAnd art, the grandeur of our ancient lore,\nThe pleasures e'en of wanton sense; but naught\nWould satisfy the yearnings of his heart.\n\n_S._ Yet for religion he shows interest:\nHe ponders on the problems of the world.\n\n_V._ Indeed he ponders on life's meaning much,\nInvestigates the origin of things\nBut irreligious are his ways of thought.\nHe shows no reverence for Issara,\nAnd Indra is to him a fairy tale.\nHe grudgeth to the gods a sacrifice\nAnd sheddeth tears at immolated lambs.\nOh no! he's not religious. If he were,\nHis ills could easily be cured by faith,\nBy confidence in Issara, the Lord.\n\n_S._ What then is your opinion of the case?\n\n_V._ Siddhattha is a youth of rarest worth,\nAnd he surpasseth men in every virtue\nExcept in one.--He is too independent:\nHe recognizeth no authority,\nNeither of men nor gods. He suffereth\n[_More and more impressively_]\nFrom the incurable disease of thought.\n\n_S._ Cure thought with thought, teach him philosophy,\nShow him the purpose of our holy writ.\nInstruct him in the meaning of the Vedas,\nReveal to him their esoteric sense.\n\n_V._ My lord, I did, but he is critical,\nHe makes objections and will not believe.\nHe raises questions which I cannot answer,\nAnd his conclusions are most dangerous.\n\n_P._ It seems to me that you exaggerate;\nSiddhattha is not dangerous. He is\nAs gentle as my sister was, his mother,\nAnd almost overkind to every one.\n\n_V._ I know, my gracious lady, but e'en kindness\nMay harmful be, if it is out of place.\n\n_S._ I see no danger in his gentle nature.\n\n_V._ But he lacks strength, decision, warlike spirit.\n\n_S._ That cometh with maturer years.\n\n_V._                                 I doubt it:\nYour son, my Lord, not only hath no faith\nIn holy writ, neither does he believe\nIn caste-distinction, and he would upset\nThe sanctioned order of our institutions.\nHe would abolish sacrifice and holdeth\nThe Brahman ritual in deep contempt.\n\n_S._ Your words alarm me.\n\n_V._                      Rightly so; I fear\nThat he will stir the people to rebellion;\nBut since a child is born to him, his mind\nMay turn from dreams to practical affairs.\nThere are some men who care not for themselves,\nWho scorn high caste, position, wealth and honor,\nSo far as they themselves may be concerned,\nBut they are anxious for their children's fortune,\nAnd so Siddhattha soon may change his views.\n\n_S._ Let us be patient for a while yet longer.\nKeep everything unpleasant out of sight,\nInvite him merry company. Remove\nHis gloomy cousin Devadatta. He tries\nTo reach a state of bliss by fasts,\nHis very play is penance and contrition.\n\n_P._ Ananda is a better boon companion,\nHe is not so morose as Devadatta.\n\n_S._ Neither is he the right friend for my son.\nI grant he has a loving disposition,\nBut he is pensive too. Surround Siddhattha\nWith lads such as the gardner's jolly son,\nKala Udayin. Like a lark he warbles!\nWould there were more like him. He jokes and laughs\nAnd never makes a sullen face. But tell me\nHow is to-day Kala Udayin's father?\n\n_V._ His sickness turns from bad to worse. I fear\nHe cannot live.\n\n_S._ [_with concern_] Have him removed from here;\nSiddhattha likes him much and if he knew\nUdayin's sorry fate, it might undo\nAll good effects of joyful fatherhood.\n\n_V._ The best will be to move him in the night.\n\n_S._ Move him by night, and do it soon.--But hush,\nYasodhara is coming with her babe.\n\n    YASODHARA (_Y_) _and two attendant maids, one carries an\n    umbrella, shading the Princess; the other,_ GOPA (_G_),\n    _carries the infant_.\n\n_P._ [_meets her and kisses her._]\nWelcome, thou sweetest flower of our garden,\nThou ray of sunshine in Siddhattha's life.\n\n_S._ My dearest daughter! how is Rahula?\n\n_Y._ My royal father, Rahula is growing,\nAnd he increases daily in his weight;\nTo-day he smiled at me most cunningly.\nI'll lay him down, for he is fast asleep.\n\n    _All enter the palace. The stage remains empty a moment.\n    Soft, serious music (Buddha's \"Hymn of Victory\") is heard._\n\n\nSECOND SCENE.\n\n\n    SIDDHATTHA (_B_) _and_ KALA UDAYIN (_K_) _enter_.\n\n_K._ My sweet Prince, when you are king you must appoint me court\njester. Will you, my good Lord? We two are good contrasts: You full of\ndignity upon a royal throne, a golden crown upon your head, the\nscepter in your hand, and I dressed in motley with cap and bells.\nHeigh ho! That will be jolly. And after all we are so much alike!\n\n_B._ A royal crown shall never grace my head.\n\n_K._ And why should it not, sweet Prince?\n\n_B._ I have a higher aim, a greater mission.\nWhat is a kingdom? What are wealth and power?\nWhat crown and scepter? They are transient things,\nI yearn for the Immortal state, Nirvana.\n\n_K._ Then wilt thou be a Buddha? Oh, even then will I follow thee.\n\n    _He kneels down with clasped hands._\n\n    Wilt thou a holy Buddha be,\n    O keep me in thy company\n    Though I'm a jester. I'll be good.\n    Let me attain beatitude.\n\n_B._ Rise Kala, rise, I am a mortal man,\nI'm not omniscient, nor have I yet\nAttained the goal of goals, enlightenment.--\nTell me, why dost thou think we are alike?\n\n_K._ My Lord, you have no ambition to be a king; you think the world\nis full of vanity, and you consider that life and its glory will pass\naway. That is exactly what I think. I agree with you. Only, you are of\na serious disposition and take the matter to heart, while I think it\nis great fun. What is the use of thinking so much. We are all like\nbubbles: we float in the air, and then the bubble bursts and this life\nis over. I am now a poor boy. I fear no change. In a future\nincarnation I may be born as the son of a king, like you. And think\nof it, after a few million years, this whole world, this big bulky\nstupid institution, this home of so many villains, and a couple of\ngood ones like us two among them, the theater of rascalities, of\nvanities, of follies, will be scattered to the winds, as if it had\nnever existed. Be merry, my Prince, so long as the comedy lasts.\n\n    DEVADATTA (_Dd._) _appears in the background.\n    His cheeks are sunken and his face is gloomy.\n    His eye has a fanatic expression._\n\n_B._ Consider, it may prove a tragedy.\n\n_K._ Let it be what it may be. To me it will be what I think it is. It\nis a huge joke.\n\n_B._ But who will laugh at it, my friend?\n\n_K._                                     I will.\n\n_B._ Kala, the time will come when thou wilt weep.\n\n_K._ Well then? And if I weep I shall shed tears.\n\n    Tears are a sweet relief\n    In anguish pain and grief.\n    I'll make the best of all,\n    Whatever may befall.\n\n_B._ Thy prattle seemeth foolish, but it hideth\nA deep philosophy.\n\n_K._              Why then, good Lord,\nWhy wilt thou not its merry lesson learn?\n\n_B._ Good Kala listen, and thou'lt understand:\nThere is a difference between our aims:\nThou clingest to this world of transiency,\nBut I seek the Etern. Thou seest not\nThe misery of life, for thou art happy--\nHappy at least at present, though the next\nMoment may find thee writhing in lament.\nI seek a place of refuge whence I can\nExtend my hand to help those in distress.\nI will attain the state of Buddhahood\nTo bring deliverance to all mankind.\n\n_Dd._ Why do you waste your time, Siddhattha, with this frivolous lad?\nWhat profit can there be in gossip such as you two carry on?\n\n_K._ You always scold, you hollow-eyed sour face! You always moralize.\nEven your good brother-in-law is too worldly for you.\n\n_Dd._ I did not speak to you, I addressed myself to Siddhattha.\n\n_B._ Udayin has a heart, a human heart,\nAnd all my sympathy goes out to him.\n\n_Dd._ If you intend to lead a religious life and go into homelessness,\nyou had better devote yourself to fasts and contemplations.\n\n_K._ You do not talk to me, but I will talk to you, and I will tell\nyou that in all your religious exercises you think of yourself, while\nSiddhattha thinks of others. I wish you would go into homelessness.\nNobody would miss you here.\n\n    _Addressing himself to_ SIDDHATTHA.\n\nBut, good my Lord, you must not go into homelessness, because you will\ndo more harm than good.\n\n_B._ How can that be, my good Kala Udayin?\n\n_K._ There comes your noble wife, Yasodhara.\n\n    YASODHARA _comes, her maids with umbrellas keep at a\n    respectful distance_.\n\n_Y._ Come see our boy, he is a lovely child;\nHe just woke up. He maketh you forget,\nThe sad thoughts of your heart on world and life,\nFor he, the darling babe, is life himself.\n\n    KALA _flirts with_ GOPA, _one of_ YASODHARA'S _maids_.\n\n_B._ I'll follow thee at once.\n\n_Y._ [_Addressing Devadatta_]\nAnd brother, will you come along?\n\n_Dd._                               Not I.\nThis child is but the beginning of new misery. It continues the old\nerror in the eternal round on the wheel of life.\n\n    _She goes into the house._ DEVADATTA _withdraws into the\n    garden_.\n\n_B._            Now Kala speak.\n\n_K._ O Prince Siddhattha, do not go into homelessness, do not leave\nus. I cannot live without you. You are my comfort, my teacher, my\nguide. I do not follow your instructions, but I love to hear them. Oh\nI could not live without you. Do not go, sweet Prince. Think of your\nwife, your dear good lovely wife, it will break her heart. Think of\nyour child. Do not go, noble Prince. Let somebody else become the\nsaviour of the world. Somebody else can just as well become the\ndeliverer and the Buddha. I am sure there are many who would like to\nfill that place, and somebody can do it who has a less comfortable\nhome to leave, who has a less lovely wife, who is not heir to a\nkingdom, and who has not such a sweet promising little boy as you\nhave. I cannot live without you.\n\n_B._ Wouldst thou go with me?\n\n_K._ [_kneels_]                       Yes my Lord, I would.\nTake me along and I will cheer you up.\n\n_B._ Wouldst thou go begging food from house to house?\nWith bowl in hand, a homeless mendicant?\n\n_K._ No sir, that would not suit me.\n\n_B._ Wouldst thou by night sleep under forest trees?\n\n_K._ No sir, I would catch cold. That's not for me. [_Rises_] If you\nneeds must go, sir, you had better go alone. That life is not for me.\nI will go and hear the nightingale.\n\n    SIDDHATTHA _follows the Princess into the palace_.\n\n_K._    A Buddha's life\n        Is not for every one.\n        He has no wife\n        No pleasure and no fun.\n        He cannot laugh,\n        He cannot cry;\n        He cannot love\n        He cannot sigh.\n        He's always preaching, preaching.\n        He's always teaching, teaching.\n        He wonders at time's transiency\n        And ponders on man's misery,\n        And findeth his salvation\n        In dreary resignation.\n        That life I see\n        Is not for me:\n        'Twould be ill spent;\n        I would not find enlightenment.\n        I lift not the world's woe\n        And in my quest for truth would fail\n        [_Muses a moment._]\n        So I had better go\n        And listen to the nightingale.\n\n    _KALA UDAYIN exit._\n\n         [During the last scene twilight has gradually set in.]\n\n\nTHIRD SCENE.\n\n[The scene changes by open curtain. A veil comes down, and when its\ngoes up again we see the bed chamber of Siddhattha and Yasodhara dimly\nlit by tapers.]\n\n\n    _YASODHARA (Y) on the bed with babe in arms, two maids in\n    waiting. SIDDHATTHA (B) comes in. A halo of light (not too\n    strong) surrounds his head. The princess rises, lays the babe\n    down and advances toward her husband._\n\n_Y._ O good my Lord, my Prince, my Husband!\n\n    _A pause. She changes her voice as if ashamed of her show of\n    feeling. With a matter-of-fact intonation._\n\nRahula fell asleep again.\n\n_B._ Why art thou sad, my good Yasodhara?\nI see a tear that glitters in thine eye.\n\n_Y._ An unspeakable melancholy steals over my soul when\nI hear you speak of your religious longings.\n\n_B._ Wouldest thou not rejoice if I fulfilled\nMy mission; if I reached the highest goal?\n\n_Y._ Oh! Siddhattha! you do not love me.\n\n_B._ My heart embraces all the world--and thee.\n\n_Y._ If you loved me truly, there would not be much room for all the\nworld. You think of the world all day long, and have not a minute's\ntime for your wife.\n\n_B._ I have, my dear!\n\n_Y._ My noble Husband!\n\n_B._ Speak!\n\n_Y._ Scarcely do I dare to call you by that name. You are kind and\ngentle, but for a husband you are too lofty, too distant in your\ndignity. It may be wrong in me, it may be sinful, but I wish you were\nless lofty and more loving.\n\n_B._ My dearest \"Wife,\" I call thee so on purpose--\nMy dearest \"Wife,\" thou dost not understand:\nThe misery and ills of all the world\nWeigh heavy on my heart. I'll find no peace\nUntil at last a remedy be found.\n\n_Y._ Why dost thou trouble about others? Think of thy son, thy\nsweetest Rahula, and if thou lovest me a little only, think of me.\n\n_B._ I think of thee, my loving Wife, but when\nI think of thee I think of all--of all\nThe loving wives, the happy trembling mothers\nAll over in the world. Happy they are,\nBut trembling for their babes. Oh! bear in mind,\nWe all are in the net of sorrow caught.\nThis world is full of pain, disease and death;\nAnd even death brings no relief. Because\nThe wheel of life rolls on. The ills continue\nIn births that constantly repeat themselves.\n\n_Y._ Oh! do not speak of it my Lord, it makes me sad. Why do you think\nof misery, while here we are surrounded by wealth and comfort, and\neven the prospects of our future are most auspicious. Why borrow\ntrouble before it comes?\n\n_B._ My dear Yasodhara, change is the law\nOf being. Now we prosper, but the wheel\nGoes round and brings the high into the dust.\n\n_Y._ You suffer from bad dreams;\n\n_B._           Listen to me.\n\n    _They sit down._\n\nIn this luxurious palace and these gardens,\nSurrounding it, was I brought up with care.\nI saw naught but the fair, the beautiful,\nThe pleasant side of life.\n\n_Y._            I know, Siddhattha--\nI know it very well.\n\n_B._          You know, my father\nHas kept me ignorant of evil things.\nI might have thought that such is life throughout,\nBut I began to doubt and asked for leave\nTo see the world outside these palace walls.\nNot without difficulty did I gain\nPermission, and with Channa in a chariot\nI drove away--when suddenly before me\nI saw a sight I'd never seen before.\nThere was a man with wrinkled face, bleared eyes,\nAnd stooping gait, a sight most pitiable.\n\n    _YASODHARA is much moved._\n\nWhile I was horror-struck, Channa passed by\nIndifferent, for _he_ had seen such men.\nToo well he knew the common fate of all;\nBut I, the first time in my life, did learn\nThat, _if_ we but live long enough, we all\nShall be such miserable wretched dotards.\n\n_Y._ Too sudden came this saddening truth to you.\n\n_B._ Channa sped on his horses out of town,\nBut there again! what an ungainly sight!\nA man lay on the road-side, weak and helpless,\nWith trembling frame and feverish cramps.\nI shut mine eyes to so much racking pain,\nStill I could hear his groaning and his moaning.\n\"Oh, Channa,\" said I to the charioteer:\n\"Why does this happen? How deserves this man\nThe wretchedness of his great agonies?\"\n\"How do I know?\" said Channa, \"for we all\nAre subject to distemper and disease.\nSometimes the best are stricken--and must die!\"\n\"Must die?\" cried I, \"What does that word portend?\"\nFor, you must know, I never heard of death.\nMy father had forbidden, at his court\nTo speak to me of anything unpleasant.\n\"Yea, die!\" said Channa, \"Look around and see!\"\nAlong the road a funeral procession\nMoved slowly, solemnly and mournfully\nAnd on the bier a corpse, stark, stiff and cold.\n\n_Y._ Do not be troubled, death is still far off.\n\n_B._ Oh do not feel secure, for the three evils\nSurround us constantly and everywhere,\nAnd even now death hovers o'er our house.\nWhen I was born my mother went to heaven,\nWhich means, she died when she gave life to me.\n\n_Y._ My Lord don't think of evils that are past.\n\n_B._ The world's impermanence is still the same,\nAnd all material things are conformations\nSubject to pain, decay and dissolution.\nYet unconcerned in blessed carelessness\nMan hunteth after pleasure. Transiency\nHas set its mark on life, and there is none\nWho can escape its curse. There is no mortal\nWho's always happy. Misery surprises\nThe luckiest with unexpected terror.\nThen, in addition, unseen powers breed\nMost heinous maladies and fever heat.\nE'en if we were exceptions, thou must grant\nThat finally we too will meet our doom.\nThe ghastly specter Death, the stern king Yama,\nAwaiteth all of us. Such is our fate!\n\n_Y._ O put away these gloomy thoughts, and think\nOf life and love, and of thy lovely child.\n\n_B._ Could we be truly happy while the world\nIs filled with misery? Mine eyes are opened;\nI see how death his gruesome revel holds.\nHe owns the world and sways its destinies.\nOne creature ruthlessly preys on the other,\nAnd man, the cleverest, preys on them all.\nNor is he free, for man preys upon man!\nNowhere is peace, and everywhere is war;\nLife's mighty problem must be solved at last.--\nI have a mission to fulfil.\n\n_Y._                   And me\nWouldst sacrifice for a philosophy,\nFor the idea of an idle quest!\n\n_B._ 'Tis not for me to ask whether my quest\nBe vain: for me 'tis to obey the call.\n\n_Y._ [_with passionate outburst_] Siddhattha, O my Lord, my husband,\nwhat wilt thou do? Dost thou forget the promise made me on our wedding\nday?\n\n_B_. Yasodhara, a higher duty calls.\nThe time will come, and it is close at hand,\nWhen I shall wander into homelessness.\nI'll leave this palace and its splendid gardens\nI'll leave the pleasures of this world behind\nTo go in quest of Truth, of saving Truth.\n\n    _YASODHARA sinks on her knees before him and clasps his\n    knees._\n\n_Y._ And me, my Lord, thy quest will make a widow!\nOh, stay, and build thee here a happy home.\n\n_B._ My dear Yasodhara, it cannot be.\n\n    _The Prince stands lost in thought. Rahula is restless.\n    YASODHARA rises and turns toward the child._\n\n_Y_. He wakes again. I come, my babe, I come.\n\n[The veil comes down again, and when it rises it shows the garden\nbefore the palace as in the first scene, but it is night and all is\nwrapped in darkness.]\n\n\nFOURTH SCENE.\n\n\n_King SUDDHODANA (S) and his minister VISAKHA (V) come out of the\nentrance._ _Later on Captain DEVALA (D) and soldiers._\n\n_S._ Unfortunate, most unfortunate, that Udayin died. Siddhattha will\nmiss the gardener and will ask for him.\n\n_V._ The Prince loves flowers, and he knows them all by name; he loves\ntrees and shrubs, and praises them for yielding fruit and grain for\nfeeding us without the need of shedding blood.\n\n_S._ Have the body removed so long as it is dark.\n\n_V_. The moon is full to-day and must rise in a little while.\n\n_S._ Double the guards at the gate. I am afraid my son will flee. It\nwould be a disgrace on my house to have him become a mendicant. The\nkings of Kosala, of Magadha, and all the others look with envy on our\nsturdy people; they dislike our free institutions and our warlike\nspirit. They would scoff at us if a Sakya prince had become a monk.\nBut if Siddhattha does flee, I swear by Lord Indra that I shall disown\nhim; I will no longer recognize him as my son. I will disinherit him\nand make Rahula my heir apparent.\n\n    _VISAKHA looks at SUDDHODANA in amazement._\n\n_S_. I am serious and I will do it. I swore an oath, and Issara will\nhelp me to keep it. Now go to the captain of the guards and do as I\nbid you.\n\n    _Exit. The Minister alone._\n\n_V._ Oh! What a chance for me! Siddhattha will flee, if he be not\nprevented; he will be disinherited. Rahula is a babe, and it will take\ntwenty years before he grows up to manhood.--[_He muses._] I may\nproceed on different lines, and one of them must certainly lead to\nsuccess. I may marry the Princess and become the stepfather of the\nheir apparent, his guardian, the man who has him in his power--Hm! Hm!\nI need not plan too far ahead. And if that plan did not work, the King\nof Magadha would make me raja of the Sakyas, if I would recognize him\nas my liege.\n\n    _The full moon rises and the scene becomes gradually\n    brighter. VISAKHA knocks at the gate._\n\nWho is on guard?\n\n    _Officer comes out._\n\n_D._ I am, my Lord, 'tis Captain Devala.\n\n_V._ 'Tis well. King Suddhodana requests you to double your guard\nto-night, for he has reasons. Further he wants you to remove the\ncorpse of Udayin, the gardener who died to-day of an infectious\ndisease. Be on your guard, for where a dead body lies there are\nghosts--and [_in a half whisper_] when you see demons or gods, keep\nyourselves, you and your men, locked up in the guard house, and the\nspook will pass without harm.\n\n_D._ Your order shall be punctiliously obeyed.\n\n    _Pays his military salute and returns to the guard house._\n\n_V._ That settles the guard, and should Siddhattha flee he will find\nno obstacle.\n\n    _Two men come out of the guard house and enter the palace\n    with a bier. KALA UDAYIN comes back from the garden. VISAKHA\n    retires into the background._\n\n_K._ The nightingale is a sweet bird, but I like the lark better. The\nnightingale is more artistic, but his song is melancholy, he is so\nsentimental! The lark has a mere twitter like my own song, I like the\nlark better. How beautiful is this summer night; How glorious is the\nmoon; how fragrant are the roses in the garden! It is a most\nauspicious night, and all breathes happiness.\n\n    _VISAKHA from his hiding place watches KALA._\n\n_V._ He comes in time, his presence will prosper my plans.\n\n[Kala is lost in thought. Music, from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony,\nsomber and as if coming from a distance, is heard.]\n\n_K._ [_while the music plays_] What a strange presentiment is stealing\nover my soul. Perhaps I was too happy! What does Siddhattha say?\n\n    \"All conformations always are transient,[A]\n    Harrassed by sorrow, lacking a self.\"\n\n[Footnote A: The quoted lines run in the same rhythm as the melody and\nshould be pronounced accordingly. See _Buddhist Hymns_, p. 22.]\n\n    _The men come with the corpse on the bier. KALA stops them._\n\n_K._ What do you carry? Who is this? [_he shrieks_] My father! [_The\ncarriers set the corpse down and Kala sinks down by the bier._] Oh, my\nfather! my dearest father! How did you die? Why did you leave me? Oh,\nmy father! [_he sobs_].\n\n    _The moon sinks behind a cloud._\n\n    _SIDDHATTHA comes._\n\n_B._ What may the trouble be? I heard a shriek.\n\n    _KALA raises himself half way up. The scene is bright again._\n\n_K._ Oh, my Prince! See here! My father is dead! Now I know the truth\nas well as you. Now I feel the pain. The time has come for me to\nlament. I was so happy and I would not believe you.--Oh ye who are\nhappy, think in the hour of happiness that all is subject to\nsuffering, and the hour of suffering will come to you too. Nay more\nthan that, the hour of death will come; it has come to my father, it\nwill come to you and to me, and then my caroling will stop forever.\nOh, my poor father!\n\n_B._ How rarely is thy advent welcome, Death,\nE'en this poor gardener who a servant was\nHis livelong days, leaves in our hearts a gap.\nHis son lamenteth him, and I not less;\nHe was my loving friend; my educator,\nHe had me on his knees so many a time,\nTo tell me how the flowers will grow and blow,\nAnd how they prosper after rainy days.\nMay gentle lilies from thy ashes spring,\nDecked with the purity of thine own heart,\nAnd with their fragrance give the same delight\nThat in thy present life thou gavest us.\n\n    _The carriers lift up the body and carry it out._\n\nOh, fare thee well, thou good and worthy friend,\nOh, fare thee well, but thy departure is\nTo me a token that my time has come.\n\n    _Turning to KALA who all the while was lying prostrate\n    weeping._\n\nWeep not, companion of my childhood days,\nBut bear in mind the courage of thy mirth.\nRemember all the virtues of thy father\nAnd let them live again in thine own heart.\nThou must not yield to weakness and lamenting,\nTend to life's duties: Go and call me Channa,\nBid him to saddle Kanthaka, my steed,\nAnd let him ready be for a night's ride.\n\n    _KALA exit. SIDDHATTHA alone._\n\nThe hour has come! and now my last farewell\nTo thee my wife and Rahula my son.\n\n    _SIDDHATTHA makes a few steps and halts._\n\nThis is the greatest sacrifice I bring:\nI leave behind a crown without regret;\nI leave the luxury of wealth and power;\nI care for them as though they were but ashes\nBut I must also leave my wife and child:\nHere I must prove the courage of my heart.\n\n    _Enters the house._\n\n\nFIFTH SCENE.\n\n[The veil of clouds comes down, and when it rises we see Yasodhara's\nbedroom again.]\n\n\n    _SIDDHATTHA (B) enters. YASODHARA (Y) sleeps with the babe in\n    her arms._\n\n_B._ Here lie the rarest treasures of this life,\nMy noble wife, my dear boy Rahula.\n\n    _SIDDHATTHA approaches the bed._\n\nYour sleep is sweet in your sweet innocence,\nAnd I will not disturb your blissful rest.\nI will go out in search for saving Truth\nAnd shall not come again unless 't be found\nFarewell my wife and Rahula my son.\nMust I be gone? Is this, in sooth, my duty?\n\n    _He goes toward the door. There he stops._\n\nPerchance on their account I ought to stay.\nBut no! my father can take care of them.\nIt is my tender heart that makes me weak.\nThis is the greatest sacrifice I bring.\n\n\nSIXTH SCENE\n\n[Change of scene, as rapid as before. The garden before the palace]\n\n\n    _CHANNA (Ch.) enters with a horse._\n\n_Channa._ My Prince, here is your steed!\n\n    _MARA (M), a superhuman figure, gaudily dressed, hovering in\n    the air, suddenly appears and addresses SIDDHATTHA (B)._\n\n_M._ It is a shame to leave your wife and child.\n\n_B._ [_Addressing the vision in the air._]\nMara, thou here? thou wicked one, thou tempter!\n\n_K._ Oh do not leave us Prince. Think of the wrong you do.\nYou wrong your royal father, you wrong your wife, you wrong your child.\n\n_B._ What sayest thou? Thou sayest I do wrong?\nThe same rebuke is echoed in my heart;\nIt is so sweet, so loving, so alluring!\nAnd shall I listen to its tender voice?\nHow pleasant would it be to stay at home,\nAnd to enjoy my wife's love and my child's!\nIs that my duty? Say, is that my duty?\n\n_K._ Surely my Lord, your duties lie at home.\n\n    _SIDDHATTHA wavers as if in doubt. He stands pondering for a\n    moment._\n\n_B._ Who will instruct me where my duty lies?\n\n_M._ I will instruct thee, I will guide thee right.\n\n_K._ How can you doubt, my Prince? And can you not\nSearch for the truth here in this pleasant garden?\nThere're spots enough where you can think and ponder,\nAnd meditate among the fragrant flowers.\n\n_B._ Here I shall never reach my goal.\n\n_K._             Stay here.\nA kingdom is your sure inheritance,\nWhile Buddahood is but a doubtful prize.\n\n_B._ And shall the world wait for another Buddha?\nSo many millions clamor for the truth!\n\n    _With determination._\n\nI hear the call and naught shall hold me back.\nI see my duty and I will obey.\n\n_M._ Wilt thou not stay, my noble Prince Siddhattha?\nThe wheel of empire turns, and thee I shall\nMake king of kings to rule the whole broad earth.\nThink of the good which thou wilt do as king!\nAnd then as king of kings thy mighty power\nWill spread the good religion o'er the world.\n\n_B._ I know thee Mara, tempter, Evil One,\nPrince of this world, I know thy voice, thy meaning.\nThe gifts thou offerest are transient treasures,\nAnd thy dominion is mere vanity.\nI go to found a kingdom in the realm\nOf the immortal state which lasts for aye.\nThou hinderest and dost not help the truth.\n\n_K._ Thou speakest to the empty air, my Prince,\nFor I see no one whom thou thus addressest.\n\n    _CHANNA helps SIDDHATTHA to mount, and while the gate opens\n    leads the horse out of the gate, and KALA enters into the\n    palace. VISAKHA is coming to the front._\n\n_V._ He is gone. He has made room for me. The time will come when this\nkingdom will be mine.\n\n_Y._ [_from the balcony_] Siddhattha! Siddhattha! Where are you? He is\ngone! He has departed into homelessness! [_She faints._]\n\n    [CURTAIN]\n\n\n_FIRST INTERLUDE._\n\n_Living pictures accompanied by appropriate music, as an introduction\nto Act II._\n\n\n1. BEGGING FOOD.\n\nA scene of the Prince's life as a mendicant friar.\n\nA Hindu village, Siddhattha stands bowl in hand before a hut; a woman\ndishes some rice from a kettle into his bowl; villagers, including\nchildren, stand around gazing at him,--a few with clasped hands.\n\n2. THE KING GREETS THE MENDICANT.\n\nTradition tells that King Bimbisara, hearing of the noble monk, went\nout to see him and offered him to take part in the government. This\nbeing refused, the King requested him to visit Rajagaha, the royal\nresidence, as soon as Siddhattha had become a Buddha.\n\nSiddhattha is seated under a tree near a brook; the king stands before\nhim, surrounded by his retinue.\n\n3 PREACHING TO THE VILLAGERS.\n\nUnder the tree in the market place of a Hindu village The Buddha is\nseated in the attitude of a preacher. The villagers stand or squat\naround intently listening.\n\n4. SAVED FROM STARVATION\n\nIn company with other monks, Siddhattha sought for a while\nenlightenment by self-mortification.\n\nBeing exhausted by severe fasts, the mendicant faints, and Nanda, the\nshepherd's daughter, passing by, refreshes him with rice milk. His\nfive disciples at a distance fear that he has given up his quest for\ntruth.\n\n\n\n\nACT II.\n\nFIRST SCENE\n\n[Seven years have elapsed since the first act. A room in the royal\npalace at Magadha]\n\n\n    _Present: NAGADEVA (N), the prime minister, GENERAL SIHA\n    (GS), commander-in-chief of the Magadha forces. Later on the\n    MASTER OF CEREMONIES (MC), KING BIMBISARA (Bb.), a trumpeter\n    and a small body guard._\n\n_N._ It is a joy to serve this mighty king\nWhose power extendeth over many lands.\nIn peace he ruleth wisely, and his subjects\nObey him willingly for he is just.\nIn war he swoops upon his enemies\nAs doth a hawk upon a helpless chicken,\nQuick in attack, lucky in every fight.\nIndeed he earned his name deservedly,\nThe warlike Bimbisara.\n\n_GS._            At his side\nI fought with him in many a doubtful battle\nWith all the odds against us, but his daring,\nJoined to a rare instinctive foresight\nBy which he could anticipate all dangers,\nWould win the day and ne'er was he defeated!\nIn this our latest war he took great risks,\nMight have been taken by his foes, and would\nHave lost his liberty, his throne, his life;\nBut venturing much he won, and by exposing\nHis own high person in the brunt of battle\nHe stirred the courage of his followers\nTo do great deeds of valor.\n\n    _MASTER OF CEREMONIES enters with a trumpeter._\n\n_MC._           Noble lords,\nMis majesty, our royal lord, is coming\nTo meet you here in private council.\n\n    _Trumpeter blows a signal._\n\n_GS._ Hail the victorious, warlike Bimbisara!\n\n    _Both kneel as the king enters preceded and followed by a\n    small body guard._\n\n_Bb._ Be greeted noble lords.\n\n_N._ We wish you joy and the continuance of your good fortune.\n\n_Bb._ I have a matter to bespeak with you,\nFar-reaching weighty plans of great importance.\nI wish to be alone with you.\n\n    _Turning to the captain of his body guards._\n\nCaptain, have this room guarded by your soldiers.\nThe gong shall call you when I need your service.\n\n    _The soldiers march out of the room._\n\nBe seated, my good lords.\nYou helped me gain a wondrous victory\nWhich proves I have the favor of the gods.\nI probed your skill, your courage and your faith\nAnd found you both most able and most trusty.\nTherefore you are to me much more than vassals\nAnd servants of the state; you are my helpers,\nIndeed my friends and nearest to my heart.\nA king needs friends who share his secret thoughts,\nWho stand by him in all vicissitudes,\nWho bear with him responsibilities,\nAnd above all, who frankly speak the truth.\nI ask you, will you be such friends to me?\n\n_GS._ I will with all my heart.\n\n_N._            And I not less.\n\n_Bb._ I, my dear friends, I promise you in turn\nThat I shall not resent your words of truth\nIf spoken in good faith with best intentions.\nI may not always follow your advice,\nBut you are free to say whate'er you please,\nWhate'er you may deem best for me to know,\nWhate'er will benefit the empire and my people.\nNow listen what I have to say to you.\nI will reveal to you my inmost heart:\nThis is an age of greatest expectations;\nRiches accumulate in our cities,\nCommerce and trade are flourishing, and\nOur caravans exchange our native goods\nFor gold and precious produce from abroad.\nWhat India needs is unity of rule.\nThe valley of the holy Ganges should\nBe governed by one king, a king of kings.\nThere should no longer be a rivalry,\nA clash of interests between the states,\nAnd all the princes should obey the rule\nOf the one man who guides and guards the whole.\nThis therefore is my plan: you Nagadeva\nMust gain the favor of our neighbor kings,\nSo as to make them recognize our sway.\nIf voluntarily they will submit,\nThey shall be welcome as our worthy vassals.\nIf they resist (_turning to Siha_) my gallant general\nYou must reduce them to subjection.\nA treaty with the rajas in the east,\nIn southern and in northern Kosala,\nSpeedeth my plans, the Sakyas only\nDefy our sovereign will, and keep aloof.\nIf they yield not, their power must be broken!\nThere is a task for you and for my army.\n\n_N._ Permit, my noble king, that I advise you.\nI know the Sakya minister of state,\nAnd he is willing to betray his master.\nThe Sakya prince, the only son and heir,\nSiddhattha Gotama he's called by name,\nWent into homelessness and has turned monk,\nLeaving behind his wife and a small son.\nThe minister aspireth to the throne,\nAnd if we help him in his plans, he will\nAcknowledge you as sovereign over him.\nAnd that will save your army blood and trouble.\n\n_Bb._ What is his name.\n\n_N._          Visakha, noble King.\n\n_Bb._ I wish to see him. Let him visit you\nAnd as by accident I want to meet him.\n\n_GS._ Allow me, mighty King, a word of warning.\n\n_Bb._ Speak freely.\n\n_GS._\n\n    _With unconcealed indignation, almost entreatingly._\n\n                   Do not listen to a traitor.\nSend me with all the army of the kingdom,\nBid me lead captive all the Sakyas; do it\nIn open fight but not by treachery.\nMy King, avoid alliance with Visakha,\nHis very breath contaminates. He lowers\nOurselves to his low level.\n\n_Bb._            Thank you Siha.\nI will be slow. [_Pondering_] But it is too important!\n\n    _Argues with himself._\n\nMay I not listen to a traitor's words,\nNor hear him,--profit by his information?\n\n_GS._ Oh do it not!\n\n_Bb._         Siha, thou art a soldier.\nI honor thee, thou speakest like a soldier,\nBut think how much diplomacy will help,\nHow many lives and property it saves.\nWithout the brutal means of war it will\nBetter accomplish all our ends; it spares\nThe enemy as well. A prosperous country\nWill serve me better than a city sacked\nAnd villages destroyed by fire.\n\n_GS._ Pardon, my liege, I do not trust a traitor.\n\n_Bb._ I will be on my guard, but I shall see him,\n'T shall be by way of reconnoitering.\nYou in the meantime keep the army ready,\nFor one way or another I must conquer\nThe Sakya king and make him do my bidding.\n\n    _The King rises indicating that his two counselors are\n    dismissed. They rise also._\n\nThe world is growing wider every day\nAnd our souls broaden with the general progress.\nA new era dawns upon us. Let us all\nHelp to mature the fruitage of the times.\n\n\nSECOND SCENE\n\n[The garden before the palace of King SUDDHODANA as in Act I]\n\n\n    _Presents YASODHARA (Y) with her maid GOPA (G) and RAHULA\n    (R)._\n\n_Y._ Repeat that verse once more and then we will stop our lesson.\n\n_R._   With goodness meet an evil deed,\n       With loving kindness conquer wrath,\n       With generosity quench greed,\n       And lies by walking on truth's path.\n\n_Y._ Now you can run about in the garden or play with the Captain's\nson.\n\n_R._ Mother, I do not believe that goodness always works in this life.\n\n_Y._ Why do you think so?\n\n_R._ Because there are very bad boys, so bad that only a whipping will\ncure them.\n\n_Y._ Rahula!\n\n_R._ Truly, mother, truly. Even the gardener says so.\n\n_Y._ You must set the bad boys a good example.\n\n_R._ No use, mother; they remain bad. I have tried it.\n\n_Y._ You must have patience.\n\n_R._ No use, mother; and the gardener says, A viper remains a viper.\n\n_Y._ Even poisonous reptiles can be tamed.\n\n_R._ Yes, but the gardener first pulls their fangs. Would you like me\nto play with a viper?\n\n_Y._ No, my boy.\n\n    _Excitement at the gate. KALA enters and soldiers of the\n    guard surround him._\n\n_R._ What is going on?--O Mother! Kala Udayin is back!\n\n    _KALA UDAYIN (K) appears among the guards.\n    RAHULA runs to the gate._\n\n_R._ Kala! Welcome home! Shake hands!\n\n_K._ Be heartily greeted, my boy.\n\n_R._ Did you see father?\n\n_K._ I did, Rahula.\n\n_R._ Tell me all.\n\n_K._ I will tell mother.\n\n_R._ Come to mother. She has been expecting you for many days.\n\n    _KALA kneels to the Princess._\n\n_Y._ Gopa, take his bundle. [_The maid takes his bundle and carries it\ninto the house._] What news do you bring of Prince Siddhattha?\n\n_K._ I followed the Prince from place to place and saw him last near\nBenares in the forest of Uruvela.\n\n_Y._ How is his health, and will he come back?\n\n_K._ His health is probably good, but he does not think of coming\nback--not yet. O my dear lady! If you could see him! he is as thin as\na skeleton. I could count all his ribs.\n\n_R._ What is the trouble with father.\n\n_K._ He is fasting. He lives on a hempcorn a day; think of it, one\nlittle hempcorn a day!\n\n_Y._ Oh, he will die! My poor husband. I must follow him and attend to\nhis wants. He needs his wife's loving care. I will leave my home and\nfollow him.\n\n_K._ Could you help him, princess? He might not like it, and the monks\nabhor women. Moreover, I was told that he takes food again, every\nmorning a cup of rice milk. The day I left he looked better. Still, he\nwas pretty pale.\n\n_Y._ Tell me all you know of him.\n\n_K._ I went first to Rajagaha, and there I heard wondrous tales about\nthe noble monk Gotama. All the people knew about him, they called him\na \"sage\" or \"muni\" and the \"Bodhisatta.\"\n\n_R._ What does that mean, Kala?\n\n_K._ Bodhisatta is the man who seeks the bodhi--and the bodhi is\nenlightenment or Buddhahood.\n\n_Y._ What did the people of Rajagaha say?\n\n_K._ When Prince Siddhattha came to Rajagaha, he created a great\nexcitement in the city. Never had been seen a mendicant of such noble\nappearance, and crowds flocked to him. They thought he was a Buddha\nand greeted him as a Buddha; but he said to them \"I am not a Buddha;\nI am a Bodhisatta, I seek Buddhahood, and I am determined to find it.\"\n\n_Y._ Did you meet people who saw him?\n\n_K._ Indeed, I did. They say he looked like a god. The news spread all\nover the capital, and King Bimbisara himself went out with his\nministers to see the Bodhisatta. King Bimbisara came to the place\nwhere the stranger stayed--under a forest tree near a brook--and\ngreeted him most respectfully saying, \"Great monk, remain here with me\nin Rajagaha; I see that you are wise and worthy. Live with me at the\nroyal palace. Be my adviser and counselor. You are not made for a\nmendicant. Your hands are fit to hold the reins of empire. Stay here,\nI beg you, and you shall not lack honor and rank.\" \"Nay,\" replied\nSiddhattha, \"let me go my way in quest of enlightenment. I am bent on\nsolving the problem of existence, and I will become a Buddha.\" Said\nthe King, \"Hear then, great monk. Go in quest of enlightenment, and\nwhen you have found it come back to Rajagaha.\"\n\n_Y._ Is King Bimbisara so religious?\n\n_K._ King Bimbisara is ambitious. As is well known, he is a warrior\nand a conqueror; but that is not all. He wants to be the greatest\nmonarch of all ages and he would have all the great events happen\nunder his rule. This is what he said to the Bodhisatta: \"When I was a\nyouth I uttered five wishes, and they were these: I prayed, May I be\ncrowned King. This wish has been fulfilled. Then I wished, May the\nholy Buddha, the Blessed One, appear on earth while I am King, and may\nhe come to my kingdom. This was my second wish, and while I gaze upon\nyou I know that it will be fulfilled. Further I wished, May I see the\nblessed Buddha and pay my respects to him. This was my third wish. My\nfourth wish was, May the Blessed One preach the doctrine to me, and my\nfifth and greatest wish was this, May I understand the doctrine. I beg\nyou, therefore, great monk, when you have become a Buddha come back\nand preach the doctrine to me and accept me as your disciple.\"\n\n_Y._ And whither did Siddhattha go from Rajagaha?\n\n_K._ He visited the great philosophers Arada and Udraka, but he found\nno satisfaction in their theories. So he went on to Uruvela where the\nascetics live. I followed the Bodhisatta and learned that he stayed\nwith five disciples in the forest. I found shelter near by in the\ncottage of the chief shepherd, a good old man with a pretty daughter,\nNanda. There I watched Siddhattha and his disciples from a distance.\nHe was the youngest but the wisest of them, and they reverenced him as\nmaster. He outdid them all in fasting. One day Nanda, the shepherd's\ndaughter, saw him faint, and he might have died from exhaustion right\non the spot if Nanda had not given him rice milk to drink.\n\n_Y._ O good Kala, what shall I do? What shall I do? Here I sit at\nhome, a poor, helpless woman, unable to assist him or to take care of\nhim! O Kala, advise me, what can I do?\n\n    _KING SUDDHODANA (S) and VISAKHA (V) come out of the palace.\n    The Princess retires into the palace. GOPA hides behind the\n    bushes._\n\n_S._ I am glad to see you back. Have you seen my son?\n\n_K._ I have sire.\n\n_S._ Where did you find him?\n\n_K._ At Uruvela, the place of mortification where saints try to see\nvisions and reach a state of bliss.\n\n_V._ And has Siddhattha succeeded?\n\n_K._ It does not seem so; he is starving himself to death.\n\n_V._ Is he dying?\n\n_K._ Not exactly, but I do not see how he can live--on that diet.\n\n_S._ Oh, Visakha, how have I been deprived of my son through a whim!\n\n    _Both return into the palace. VISAKHA comes back._\n\n_V._ It seems that Siddhattha is ruining himself.\n\n_K._ At the rate he is going now, he won't stand it long. He may not\nlive another month. It is pitiable. You should have seen him. That\nbeautiful young man looks like a consumptive in his last stage. I did\nnot dare to tell what I thought. The Princess would not have borne\nthe sad news.\n\n_V._ Too bad. It looks pretty hopeless.\n\n_K._ I do not see how the Prince can survive.\n\n_V._ What is the idea of these fasts?\n\n_K._ These pious recluses believe that the self is imprisoned in the\nbody and that the senses are the prison gates. They want to liberate\nthe soul, and many of them behold visions, but Siddhattha seems to\ndoubt whether the saints of Uruvela proceed on the right track. Indeed\nhe denies the very existence of the self.\n\n_V._ I know he does. His views should be branded as purely human\nwisdom. As the senses are finger touch, eye touch, ear touch, nose and\ntongue touch, so the mind is to him mere thought touch. He claimed\nthat the mind originates through a co-operation of the senses.\n\n_K._ His disciples begin to break away from him.\n\n_V._ That is right. They ought to have done so long ago. I always said\nthat Siddhattha is an unbeliever. He spurns faith and relies too much\non his own observation and reasoning. He will never find\nenlightenment. He is too negative, too nihilistic, and his quest of\nBuddhahood will end in a lamentable failure.\n\n_K._ It would be a pity, sir. He is certainly in earnest to find the\ntruth--the real truth, not what the priests say nor the Vedas declare,\nbut the truth, provable truth.\n\n_V._ Yes that is his fault. When the king speaks with you tell him\nall, explain the hopelessness of his situation. The king ought to know\nthe facts.\n\n    _VISAKHA retires into the palace._\n\n_K._ [_Calls in a low voice_] Gopa, Gopa!\n\n    [_GOPA appears from behind the bush._]\n\n_K._ [_Aside_] I knew she would not be far.\n\n_G._ What do you want?\n\n_K._ I want to have a talk with you.\n\n_G._ Well?\n\n_K._ Let us set our marriage day.\n\n_G._ I do not care to marry you--just yet.\n\n_K._ I want a kiss, Gopa.\n\n_G._ You shan't have it!\n\n_K._ I will leave Kapilavatthu and go back to the Bodhisatta.\n\n_G._ He will tell you that a youth must not kiss a girl.\n\n_K._ That rule holds only for monks.\n\n_G._ Go and turn monk. Then it applies to you.\n\n_K._ The world would die out if everybody turned monk.\n\n_G._ First, you are not everybody, and secondly, would it not be a\nblessing if the whole world would try to be sanctified?\n\n_K._ Pshaw! Mankind consists of different castes and professions, of\nsoldiers and merchants, of peasants and artisans and teachers. Mankind\nis like a body with various limbs, a head and hands, feet and chest\nand neck. A man who were head only could not live, and if mankind\nconsisted of Buddhas only we would starve. We need a Buddha, but there\nmust also be householders. Now quick give me a kiss.\n\n    _She pouts._\n\n_K._ If you do not kiss me I shall go back to the forest of Uruvela.\nNanda, the shepherd's daughter, is a very pretty girl. She is as\npretty as you are. She is,--well, her cheeks are rosier than yours.\nShe is a little taller, and she is so graceful when she milks the\nkine. The shepherd needs a helper. I am sure he would like to have a\nson-in-law.\n\n    _RAHULA enters._\n\n_R._ Gopa! Mother wants you.\n\n_G._ [_Kisses K. quickly_] Here is a kiss, but you must forget Nanda.\n[_Runs away._]\n\n_K._ Stay a moment longer!\n\n_G._ I have no time. [_Exit._]\n\n_K._ I knew she would come around,--and she is much prettier than\nNanda. Nanda is a buxom country lass, a pleasant girl, but Gopa is as\nproper as a princess. [_He continues with unction._] Bodhisatta longs\nfor the blessed state of Nirvana, and when he has found it, he will be\ncalm and without passion. He will walk on earth as a god among men. No\nemotion will disturb the peace of his mind, and the happiness of the\ngreat Brahma will be as nothing in comparison to the infinite bliss of\nhis Buddhahood. [_With a lighter tone_]: I adore him, but I do not\nenvy him. I do not long for the happiness of a god. I am a man with\nhuman faults and human yearnings. I am satisfied with the happiness\nand the sufferings of a man. Since I am assured of Gopa's love, I care\nnot for Nirvana. I think that this world is good enough for me.\n\n_V._ [_Looks around like a spy._]\nHow peaceful lies this palace, yet I see\nThe war clouds lour upon its roofs.\nThe storm will break with sudden vehemence upon\nThese harmless unsuspecting people. Woe to them,\nTheir doom is certain. Desperate resistance\nSuccumbs before the overwhelming forces\nOf Bimbisara.--And what will become\nOf poor Yasodhara?--I like her well.\nI might still save her from her people's ruin.\nA princess, sweet and noble, and herself\nDescended from an ancient royal house. But\nI hate that little youngster Rahula.\nWhate'er betide, my deep-laid schemes will speed\nAnd I shall profit by my master's doom.\n\n    [Music: Chopin's Nocturno. Opus 37, No. 2.]\n\n    [CURTAIN]\n\n\nTHIRD SCENE.\n\n[Darkness covers the scene. Distant thunder and lightning. Gradually\nit grows light again and the scene of YASODHARA'S bedroom becomes\nvisible. All luxury has been removed; she sleeps on a mat on the\nfloor, RAHULA in bed.]\n\n\n_R._ Mother! Mother!\n\n_Y._ Sleep my boy, it is almost midnight.\n\n_R._ Take me up, Mother.\n\n    _YASODHARA picks RAHULA up._\n\n_R._ Why do you sleep on the floor, Mother?\n\n_Y._ Because father does so. Let me lay you down on your couch, you\nmust sleep.\n\n_R._ Tell me more of father.\n\n_Y._ I will to-morrow.\n\n_R._ Tell me now. Is father a king?\n\n_Y._ No, my son. But he is going to found a kingdom.\n\n_R._ Will he be king of it?\n\n_Y._ I do not know, my boy, but his kingdom will not be like other\nkingdoms. It will be the kingdom of truth--a spiritual kingdom, a\nkingdom of righteousness.\n\n_R._ Is father rich?\n\n_Y._ He scorns riches.\n\n_R._ Why does he?\n\n_Y._ He seeks other riches, the riches of religion, of the mind, of\nspirit.\n\n_R._ Did he find them?\n\n_Y._ I believe he did.\n\n_R._ He sends you news through Kala Udayin.\n\n_Y._ No, Rahula, I send Kala Udayin out to watch him and when Kala\ncomes back he tells me what he saw and heard. Kala does not speak to\nfather.\n\n_R._ Why does Kala not speak to father?\n\n_Y._ Grandfather forbade him. When we sent out Devadatta and Ananda,\nthey became attached to the life of a hermit. They joined father and\ndid not come back; but Kala will not turn monk.\n\n_R._ But this time he will speak to father.\n\n_Y._ How do you know?\n\n_R._ I heard grandfather bid him to.\n\n_Y._ What did he bid him?\n\n_R._ He bade Kala that he should tell father to visit us.\n\n    _She can scarcely conceal her joy._\n\n_Y._ You heard grandfather say so?\n\n_R._ I did, mother; grandfather said that he became old, and before he\ndied he wanted to see his son again.\n\n_Y._ Why! did he really say so?\n\n_R._ He did.\n\n_Y._ Oh you darling son, then you will see him, too.\n\n_R._ People say that he will be a Buddha.\n\n_Y._ Yes, my son, some say he will be a Buddha and others doubt it.\n\n_R._ Mother, what is a Buddha?\n\n_Y._ A Buddha is a man who has found the truth.\n\n_R._ How does a man find the truth?\n\n_Y._ By enlightenment. He must find out the cause of evil.\n\n_R._ Why must he find out the cause of evil?\n\n_Y._ He teaches the people how to avoid evil.\n\n_R._ Has father found the cause of evil?\n\n_Y._ Kala Udayin says he has.\n\n_R._ What is the cause of evil?\n\n_Y._ Father says that selfishness is the cause of evil and selfishness\ncomes from the belief in self.\n\n_R._ Self?\n\n_Y._ Yes, self! Man, as a rule, believes that he is a self.\n\n_R._ What? A self?\n\n_Y._ Yes, a being by himself, who lives only for himself, and the\nthought of self makes him selfish; and selfishness begets all evils.\n\n_R._ [_with a childlike serious conviction_] I believe it, mother.\n\n_Y_. Father says there is no self, that self is an illusion.\n\n_R._ What does that mean?\n\n_Y._ It means that we are not separate beings. I think a thought and\nspeak it out and you hear it. I believe in that thought and so do you.\nWhose is it then, yours or mine?\n\n_R._ It belongs to both.\n\n_Y._ But where does the thought come from? If it is true it belongs to\nthe truth, and it was true before I thought it.\n\n_R._ Yes, mother.\n\n_Y._ And if it was wrong, it is evil, and it was evil before we\nthought it.\n\n_R._ Yes, mother.\n\n_Y._ And so are all our thoughts, but almost everybody assumes that\nhis self thinks these thoughts and invents them; and that is an\nillusion.\n\n_R._ I see.\n\n_Y._ [_to herself_] His eyes close. He is tired. [TO RAHULA] Now go to\nsleep again, Rahula, and dream of your father. I will sing you one of\nfather's songs.\n\n    _YASODHARA lays RAHULA down in the high bed and sings:_\n\n    By ourselves is evil done,\n    By ourselves we pain endure.\n    By ourselves we cease from wrong,\n    By ourselves become we pure.\n    No one saves us but ourselves,\n    No one can and no one may.\n    We ourselves must walk the path,\n    Buddhas merely teach the way.\n\n    _The boy sleeps. Then YASODHARA herself lies down on the mat\n    on the floor. Above her appears the vision of her dream.\n    Under the Bodhi tree in a forest landscape SIDDHATTHA sits.\n    He is surrounded by a halo of light. MARA approaches to tempt\n    him._\n\n_M._ Thou art ahungered, worthy Sakyamuni,\nAhungered art thou from continued fasts,\nAnd thou wilt starve unless thou take and eat.\nI bring delicious food, take, eat and live.\n\n_B._ I shall not eat until my quest be done.\nMuch better 'tis to die in glorious battle\nThan flee and lead a coward's life, defeated.\nI shall not eat, O Mara, take thee hence.\n\n_M._ Wilt thou not listen to my good advice?\n\n_B._ The tempter always calls his councils good,\nBut pleasures which he promises are evil.\n\n_M._ I will not suffer thee to stay, Siddhattha,\nAnd shall disturb thy daring quest of truth.\nI'll split the Bodhi tree by lightning\nAnd frighten thee away with rumbling thunder.\n\n    _All is wrapped in darkness, except SIDDHATTHA and the Bohdi\n    tree. Thunder and lightning. After a while the noise abates.\n    It grows light again. MARA'S daughters appear._\n\n_M._ Go forth my daughters, tempt the holy man,\nAnd lure him from the seat of Buddahood.\n\n    _Three graceful women, MARA'S daughters, sing in a low\n    enticing voice._\n\n[Melody: The Mermaids' Song from Weber's Oberon.]\n\nSweetest on earth 'tis in pleasure to live,\nLove thou must ask for, and love thou must give.\nPain we can soothe and assuage every smart,\nYea, we will grant thee the wish of thy heart.\nPower bestow we, enjoyment and mirth,\nHealth and wealth also, and all that has worth.\nLo, of life's happiness naught shalt thou miss,\nSatisfied longings are greatest of bliss.\n\n    _While they sing they circle around the Bodhi tree and pose\n    in graceful attitudes._\n\n[Siddhattha does not mind Mara's daughters. They withdraw, and\ngrotesque monsters appear in threatening attitudes, exhibiting a\nsavage war dance, always approaching the tree and turning their\nweapons against the Sakyamuni, but as soon as they approach the halo\nthey droop, unable to hurt him. Lotus flowers rain down. Sakyamuni\nraises his right hand. A flash of lightning and a sudden clap of\nthunder. The spook vanishes in darkness while the Buddha under the\nBodhi tree alone remains visible in a halo of light. The forest\nlandscape reappears in full light as before.]\n\n_B._ The wheel of life turns round through birth and death,\nIts twelve-linked chain of causes takes its start\nIn ignorance and ends in suffering.\nThe truth is found, the fourfold noble truth;\nAll life is sorrow, sorrow's cause is lust,\nBut from our sorrow we can escape\nIf we abandon lust and thought of self.\nThe eightfold noble path of righteousness\nDelivers from all evil: it will bring\nSweet peace of mind and leadeth to Nirvana.\n\n    [With music accompaniment]\n\n    Through many births I sought in vain\n    The builder of this house of pain.\n    Now, builder, thee I plainly see!\n    This is the last abode for me.\n    Thy gable's yoke, thy rafters broke,\n    My heart has peace; all lust will cease.\n\n[The following words fit exactly the music of Haydn's Chorus with Soli\nNo. 13[B] in The Creation, and the spirit of the composition is very\nappropriate for this scene]\n\n[Footnote B: Peters' Edition, pp 44-55 \"Die Himmel erzahlen, etc.\" In\na few places where the fugas set in, the words \"The wicked Mara's\nhost\" should read \"The wicked one's,--the wicked Mara's host,\" etc.]\n\n    _Chorus of Angels._\n\n    Behold the great muni,\n    His heart unmoved by hatred,\n    The wicked Mara's host\n    'Gainst him did not prevail.\n\n    _Trio of BRAHMA VISHNU SHIVA._\n\n    Victorious Buddha\n    Thou art wise and pure,\n    The darkness is gone\n    And enlightenment gained.\n\n    _Chorus of Angels as above._\n\n    Proclaim the truth\n    To all the world.\n    Truth will bring salvation.\n    Glory to the truth!\n\n    _Chorus of Angels as above._\n\n[Lotus flowers rain down thicker and thicker, clouds cover the scene,\nbut the Buddha under the Bodhi tree remains still dimly but\nsufficiently visible.]\n\n    _YASODHARA wakes up. She rises and lights a candle from a\n    rush lamp. She kneels with clasped hands before the vision of\n    the BUDDHA._\n\n_Y._ Oh Siddhattha, my Lord and Husband, no longer my Husband, but the\nBuddha. In thee I take my refuge. In thee and thy word, I believe. Thy\ndoctrine shall guide me. Accept me as thy faithful disciple, a\ndisciple of the Buddha, my Lord, the Tathagata, the great thinker, the\nSaviour of mankind.\n\n    [CURTAIN.]\n\n\n_SECOND INTERLUDE_.\n\n_Living pictures accompanied by appropriate music to introduce the\nThird Act._\n\n\n1. THE FOUNDATION OF THE KINGDOM OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.\n\nBuddha preaches to his five disciples the way of salvation, which\nspeech, preserved in a special book, is frequently compared to\nChrist's Sermon on the Mount.\n\nBuddha stands with raised hand, while five monks stand or sit or squat\naround him in devout attitude.\n\n2. ENTERING THE CAPITAL.\n\nWhen Buddha came to Rajagaha, the people met him on the way and\naccompanied him into the city in triumphal procession which is\nanalogous to Christ's entry into Jerusalem.\n\nThe Buddha with bowl in one hand and staff in the other is followed by\nyellow-robed monks. The people strew flowers, carry palm branches and\nwave kerchiefs.\n\n3. THE COURTESAN.\n\nAmbapali, the Buddhist Mary Magdalen, came to Buddha, worshiping him\nand invited him to take his meal at her home. To the astonishment of\nseveral moralists, he accepted and honored the penitent sinner.\n\nA beautifully dressed woman with clasped hands kneels before Buddha, a\nmaid in attendance behind her. Some well dressed people of high caste\nwatch the scene with an expression of indignation.\n\n4. THE PHILANTHROPIST.\n\nThe wealthiest man of Savatthi invites the Buddha to his home and\noffers to build a resthouse for the Buddha and his brotherhood.\n\nAnatha Pindika kneels before the Buddha, holding in one hand the\npicture and plan of a building. Buddha indicates by his lowered hand\nacceptance of the gift. Buddha attended by two monks, Anatha Pindika\naccompanied by the architect.\n\n5. PRINCE JETA.\n\nIt is told that the most beautiful spot in Savatthi was the royal park\nof Prince Jeta, which Anatha Pindika wanted to buy for the brotherhood\nof Buddha. The owner was unwilling to sell and made the exorbitant\ndemand to have the whole ground covered with gold as its price. But\nAnatha Pindika had the gold carried to the garden and paid the price.\n\nThe scene is laid in the garden. Anatha Pindika with bags of gold\nstands in commanding attitude. His servants spread the coins while\nPrince Jeta throws up his hands in astonishment.\n\n(Anatha Pindika is not the real name of the founder of the Jetavana.\nThe name means, \"[He who gives to] the indigent, alms.\")\n\n\n\n\nACT III.\n\nFIRST SCENE\n\n[A Brahman temple with a statue of Durga; before the idol an altar. In\nthe background a landscape with farms and a sheep-fold.]\n\n\n    _Enter from the right GENERAL SIHA (GS.) with a CAPTAIN (C)\n    and some soldiers._\n\n_GS._ Pitch the tents on the slope of yonder hill where that farmhouse\nstands.\n\n_C._ It shall be done, my general.\n\n_GS._ What crowd is gathered there with flags and flowers?\n\n_C._ It is the farmer's family led by the village priest, and\nneighbors flock around to swell their number.\n\n_GS._ The priest handles a big knife that flashes in the sun. I see\nhis hands are stained with gore. They seem to celebrate a feast in\nhonor of a god.\n\n_C._ The villagers inform me that the occasion of it is sad. One of\nthe farmer's children died of late, and others being sick the father\ninvokes the goddess Kali to preserve the rest of his family. They are\narrayed for a procession and having offered a young sheep at the altar\nof the homestead they have started out. See how the crowd are wending\ntheir way hither to the temple.\n\n    _GENERAL SIHA looks around and contemplates the scenery, then\n    turns to the CAPTAIN._\n\n_GS._ Now pitch the tents before the sun goes down.\n\n    _In the meantime, the BUDDHA enters with two disciples. They\n    sit down under a tree. The Captain bows to them reverently\n    and leaves the stage._\n\n_GS._ Greetings to you, holy monks.\n\n_B._ Peace be with thee, and may thy sword ne'er reek with blood.\n\n_GS._ I draw the sword for my king, for my country and for the\nrestoration of order where enemies or rebels have disturbed it.\n\n_B._ Thou lookst courageous and thy very words\nPossess a ring of simple honesty.\n\n_GS._ I serve a mighty king who means to do the right. He prefers to\nestablish his rule by treaty and spares an enemy who sues for peace.\n\n_B._ Thou speakst of Bimbisara, King of Magadha?\n\n_GS._ Indeed I speak of the great Bimbisara, and he is born to sway\nthe world. My sympathy and my allegiance go with him. I am Siha, his\ngeneral.\n\n_B._ Thy name is known throughout the Indian lands.\n\n_GS._ When I chose my profession I prayed to the gods that they would\nnever let it be my lot to fight for any unjust cause.\n\n_B._ Let this thy prayer be a sacred vow\nWhich thou wilt keep inviolate. Our fate,\nOr say the gods, create conditions; but thou\nThyself must act. Thou art responsible,\nThou shapest thine own life, and not the gods.\n\n_GS._ Thy words please me! What is thy doctrine, venerable monk?\n\n_B._ I teach the middle way between extremes.\nNeither mortifications of the body\nNor self-indulgence should be practised.\nWe must make up our minds and walk\nOn the eightfold noble path of righteousness.\n\n_GS._ Who art thou, wondrous monk? Thy doctrine is so plain, and so\nconvincing that I grant thou speakest truth. The people ought to know\nthee and accept thy creed. Who art thou?\n\n_B._ Born of the Sakya race, they call me Sakyamuni.\n\n_GS._ Blessed be this day on which I meet the greatest man of our age.\nI heard of thee from the Nirgranthas, thine own enemies, the rival\nsect of thy new order, and they say that thou deniest the soul, thou\nteachest extinction, thou leadest man to non-existence, and that\nNirvana is with thee an empty naught--annihilation.--Is that true?\n\n_B._ I teach extinction, noble general,\nOf hatred, greed, and lust, but I insist\nOn doing what is right and just and good;\nOn doing resolutely what we do,\nOn searching for the truth, on setting up\nIts lamp and following its holy light.\nNirvana is attained when passions are\nExtinct and when the heart is blessed with peace.\n\n_GS._ Thou art more than a mortal, holy man. Auspicious\nis this day on which I've met thee. The people call\nthee Buddha, perhaps rightly so! A feeling of deep\nreverence comes over me and the truth dawns on\nme. Truly thou art the teacher of the world. If\nthy doctrine impressed the people a new era would\nbegin, an era in which mankind would be wiser and\nnobler, happier and better.\n\n[Barbaric music is heard behind the stage, the drum being prominent.]\n\n_Voices behind the stage:_ Maha Kali! Kali Ma!\n\n_GS._ Behold how wretched are these people in their ignorance.\n\n_B._ They must be taught and they will learn the truth.\n\n[The procession enters. A small band of musicians comes with primitive\ninstruments, among them drums. They are followed first by dancers,\nthen by a priest (_Pr._) flourishing in his bloody hand a large knife.\nBy his side walks a shepherd carrying a lamb. Behind them the farmer's\n(_F._) family and other people]\n\n_GS._ What horrible sounds! And the crowd behave like madmen.\n\n_Pr._ Maha Kali!\n\n_Crowd._ Kali Ma!\n\n_Pr._ Goddess of the black countenance! Great Black Mother!\n\n_Crowd._ Maha Kali! Kali Ma!\nMaha Kali! Kali Ma!\nMaha Kali! Kali Ma!\n\n[The priest steps to the altar; the crowd kneels in a large circle. At\nthe priest's signal the farmer approaches the altar and kneels. His\nbehavior betrays superstitious timidity and great awkwardness. The\nshepherd exhibits the lamb first to the priest and then to the dancers\nwho in fantastic dancing step advance and retreat while the music\nplays. Finally the lamb is placed on the altar.]\n\n_Pr._ Have Mercy on us! Slay the demon of disease.\nKeep away Yama the horrible one, the god of Death.\n\n_Crowd._ Kali Ma, have mercy on us!\n\n_Pr._ Thou art Parvati, the wife of Siva. Thou hast conquered the\n    giant Durga, the evil one, and now thyself art called the goddess\n    Durga.\nThou art Mahishamardini, the slayer of Mahisha.\nThou art Kalaratri, Nightly Darkness, abyss of all mysteries.\nThou art Jagaddhatri, mother of the world.\nThou art Jagadgauri, renowned throughout the  world.\nThou art Katyayina, refulgent with a thousand suns.\nThou art Singhavahini, seated on a lion thou wonest victory over\n    Raktavija, leader of the giants' army.\nGreat Mother of Life, accept our offering, the blood of this lamb.\n\n_Crowd._ Maha Kali, accept our offering!\nKali Ma, accept our offering!\nKali Durga, great Goddess, accept our offering!\n\n    _The priest turns toward the lamb and raises his knife.\n    BUDDHA steps to the altar and places his hand gently upon the\n    priest's arm._\n\n_B._ Hold!\n\n_Pr._     Meddler!\n\n_B._        Pause before thou sheddest blood.\n\n_Pr._ How dar'st thou rudely interfere, strange monk,\nWith our most sacred sacrifice? This lamb\nIs offered to the goddess. Thou disturbest\nOur holy ritual.\n\n    _He lifts his knife against BUDDHA, but SIHA draws his sword\n    and knocks the knife out of the priest's hand._\n\n_GS._       Keep peace, bold priest!\n\n_Pr._ The vengeance of the gods will be upon you.\n\n_B._ If there be gods they must be potent, noble,\nAnd great and holy; and if the gods are holy,\nThey do not need the offering of a victim,\nThey do not want the life of this poor trembling lamb.\n\n_Pr._ The gods are kind; they take the lamb in place of this poor\nstricken man. We must do penance for his sins, for the sins of his\nwife, for the sins of his children.\n\n_Farmer._ I crave forgiveness for the sins for which my dear good\nchild has had to die.\n\n_Pr._ His sins are great and nothing can wash them away but blood.\n\n_B._ Herein thou errest, priest. Blood does not cleanse.\nIt washes not away the stain of sin;\nThe slaughter of a victim heaps but guilt\nOn guilt, and does not right a wrong. Rise,\nRise, my good friend. Take comfort!\n\n    _The farmer rises._\n\n                     Be a man.\n\n    _The others rise gradually._\n\n_F._ What shall I do, good master?\n\n_B._ Right all the wrongs thou didst and sin no more.\n\n_Pr._ This lamb was given to the goddess. It is mine.\n\n_GS._ Are you the steward of the goddess' property?\n\n    _SIHA steps close to the priest who retires step by step and\n    finally hurries off the stage._\n\nCome, shepherd, take the frightened lambkin up\nAnd bear it to its mother in the fold.\n\n[The shepherd takes up the lamb and stands ready to carry it away. The\nmusicians slink away. The lambbearers and the people walk off in\nprocession, followed by the Buddha with his disciples. General Siha\nremains alone on the stage. A trumpet call at a short distance and\nanother one close by.]\n\n_GS._ What does that signal mean?\n\n    _An officer accompanied by a trumpeter enters. A third\n    trumpet call on the stage. The officer delivers a letter._\n\n_Officer._ A dispatch from his majesty Bimbisara to his faithful and\nmost noble general, Siha.\n\n_GS._   _Breaks the seal and reads to himself._\n\n\"The Sakyas are a stubborn little nation. Their institutions are free;\ntheir laws differ from those of the other surrounding states. These\npeople are a source of discontent and revolution, and are a sore in my\neye. Therefore, the Sakyas must be crushed, even if they sue for\npeace. Keep the army near the border and be ready for a sudden\nattack.\"\n\n    _With an expression of grief._\n\nWar is unavoidable and I am to be the means by which the Sakyas will\nbe wiped off the earth. It is my duty, for the King commands it. A\nsoldier should not argue, he obeys.\n\n    _Draws his sword and looks at it._\n\nThis sword is consecrated to the service of my king.\nNever have I drawn it except in honest fight.\n\n    _Lost in contemplation._\n\nIs Sakyamuni the Buddha?--Is he truly the Buddha?\nBuddhas are wise; Buddhas are omniscient; Buddhas foresee the\n    future.--\nIs Sakyamuni truly the Buddha?--I believe he is.\nAnd if he is the Buddha, is it right to wage a war against his\n    people?--What shall I do?\nOh, ye gods, teach me my duty!\nOh, ye gods, may it not be my lot to fight for an unrighteous cause!\nCursed be the sword that sheds innocent blood.\n\n\nSECOND SCENE.\n\n                  [Bimbisara's court at Rajagaha]\n\n\n    _Present: KING BIMBISARA (Bb.), VISAKHA (V), and NAGADEVA\n    (N)._\n\n_V._ The Sakyas will make a hard fight, great King, and the war will\ncost blood. These northern settlers are taller and stronger than other\nraces and possess the courage of the inhabitants of their former\nfrigid homes. It would be easier to take possession of their state if\nI married Princess Yasodhara and gradually assumed the government\nunder your protection. Your mighty friendship would support me on the\nthrone and you could rule through me.\n\n_Bb._ That sounds acceptable, but in the meantime, I prepare for war.\n\n_V._ Even in war I shall be of service to you. I can lead your army\nwhere it will not meet with resistance, and I know the names of those\nwho are dissatisfied. Many could be induced to join your forces; and I\ncan betray the very person of the raja into your hands.\n\n_Bb._   _Nodding kindly to VISAKHA, then turning to\nNAGADEVA._\n\nIs our kingdom in readiness?\n\n_N._ Great King, it is. General Siha stands in the field with a strong\nforce ready to strike. There are another fifty thousand within call to\nmake a sudden dash upon any of our neighbors should they dare come to\nthe aid of Sakya. Our treasury is well filled, and the people of\nMagadha are prosperous. We could stand even a protracted war far\nbetter than any other state in India.\n\n_Bb._ The time seems favorable; the risk is small, and the spoil will\nbe great. Convene my generals in the assembly hall.\n\n    _They bow low and pass out. AMBAPALI (Ap.) enters._\n\n_Ap._ Are they gone, my Lord, and what did you decide?\n\n_Bb._ I propose to go to war.\n\n_Ap._ You are rightly called \"the Warlike.\"\n\n_Bb._ I want to round off my kingdom and expand my power northward\nuntil it reaches the Himalayas.\n\n_Ap._ The gods will speed you and the blessings of the saints shall be\nupon your people.\n\n    _Servant enters._\n\n_St._ There is a holy man who wants to see your Highness. His name is\nDevadatta.\n\n_Bb._ Show him in.\n\n    _Servant exit._\n\n_Ap._ Is he not one of the disciples of the Buddha?\n\n_Bb._ I believe he is.\n\n    _AMBAPALI retires._\n\n    _DEVADATTA enters._\n\n_Dd._ Hail, great King! Protector of religion and victor of many\nbattles!\n\n_Bb._ What brings you to my presence? I always rejoice to see holy\nmen. Their coming is auspicious, and I am happy to be of service to\nthem.\n\n_Dd._ Great King, I implore your assistance for the brotherhood which\nI have founded. We need your royal support and the holiness of our\nlives will surround you as a halo with heavenly protection.\n\n_Bb._ Are you not a disciple of Gotama, who is called the Buddha?\n\n_Dd._ No longer, mighty King, I was his disciple so long as I believed\nin him; but he is not holy. I have abandoned him. He is not austere;\nhis disciples do not practise self-mortifications, and he speaks\nkindly and dines with sinners. My disciples do not dress in worldly\ngarments; they would not accept the invitation of women; they would\nnot touch animal food. He who calls himself the Buddha is unworthy of\nthat high title; he is a pretender who has not reached the highest\ngoal. My rules are much more strict than his, and my brotherhood alone\nis holy.\n\n_Bb._ Holiness is a mighty thing.\n\n_Dd._ Yea, and our vows will shield your government, your throne, your\narmy and your people against any misfortune.\n\n_Bb._ I shall send my treasurer to investigate and will do what is\nright.\n\n_Dd._ Maharaja, be assured of my deepest gratitude.\n\n    _Bows low, exit._\n\n_Ap._ [_re-enters, excited_] My royal friend, do not trust that man\n[_pointing toward the door where DEVADATTA went out_]. He is false. He\nmay be holy, but he is treacherous. He may be virtuous; he may shun\njoy and the blessings of life, he may practise all penances, he may\ntorture and mortify his body. But there is no true goodwill in him.\nHis holiness is egotistic, and his religion is hypocrisy. Support his\nbrotherhood with money or gifts as you see fit, but do not believe\nwhat he says about the Buddha.\n\n_Bb._ [_With an inquiring look_] Why?\n\n_Ap._ I know what he meant when he scoffed at him. When the Buddha\nstayed at Vesali, I invited that noblest of all monks to take his meal\nwith me. I am not holy; I am a worldly woman; I am not a saint; but I\nhave a warm heart, I feel for others and I want to do what is right.\nWhen I heard that the Buddha stayed in the mango grove, I thought to\nmyself, I will go and see him. If he is truly all-wise, he will judge\nmy heart and he will judge me in mercy. He will know my needs and will\nnot refuse me. I went to the mango grove and he looked upon me with\ncompassion; he accepted my invitation in the presence of witnesses,\nopenly, fearlessly, and in kindness. There were the proud Licchavi\nprinces, and close to him stood the envious Devadatta. How they\nscowled; how they condemned the great and kindly saint! How they\nwhispered, \"Shame on him!\" and I saw how they despised me--yet they\ndid not dare to speak out or to censure him publicly. Then, my\ngracious King, I knew that he was truly the Lord Buddha, the Allwise.\n\n_Bb._ My dear friend, I accept every word you say as true. I know the\ngoodness of your heart, I know your worth, your loving kindness, and\nif you were of royal birth you would be worthy to wear a crown. The\nBuddha did not demean himself when he honored you.\n\n_Ap._ Allow me one question. Did the Buddha ever beg you to support\nhis brotherhood?\n\n_Bb._ No, he did not; but I will give him all the assistance he may\nneed.\n\n_Ap._ Did he ever offer you the support of his vows, or did he ever\npraise the efficacy of his holiness?\n\n_Bb._ He never did.\n\n_Ap._ Neither does he stand in need of self-recommendation, for his\nvery presence is a blessing, because he spreads goodwill and\nkindliness, and the people who hear him are ashamed of doing anything\nunrighteous. Devadatta extends to you the promise, if you but support\nhis disciples, of an unconditional protection through his holiness.\nThe Buddha's protection is not so cheaply earned. I heard him say that\nevery one must protect himself by his own righteousness, and no\nprayer, no sacrifice, no religious devotion, nor even penance or fasts\ncould protect a man from the wrongs which he does.\n\n_Bb._ The Buddha's presence would be more auspicious than ten\nDevadattas.\n\n_Ap._ Oh, most assuredly! And what a contempt I have for the virtuous\nindignation of men who, overmoral themselves, judge haughtily of\nothers; yet, if you look into their souls you discover that they are\nheartless and self-seeking villains.\n\n_Bb._ Your judgment is well grounded.\n\n_Ap._ The Buddha alone possesses greatness, and the Buddha does not\nseek honor, but the people adore him.\n\n_Bb._ Rajagaha must become the center of India. I will send for the\nBuddha and invite him to visit me. His sojourn here will make the\nkingdom of Magadha more famous than conquests and victories.\n\n    _The servant enters._\n\n_St._ Mighty King, the prime minister Nagadeva.\n\n_Bb._ He is welcome. Fare thee well, sweet heart; affairs of state\ncall me.\n\n_N._ Mighty King, the generals are assembled. They hail thee as their\nwar lord, and are anxious for laurels, for glory, for booty!\n\n    [TRUMPETS, CURTAIN.]\n\n\n_THIRD INTERLUDE._\n\n_Living pictures accompanied by appropriate music._\n\n\n1. SENDING OUT THE DISCIPLES.\n\nThe Buddha called his disciples together, and having ordained them,\nbade them spread the Gospel, with these words translated from the\nBuddhist Canon:\n\n\"Go ye now, O disciples, and wander forth for the benefit of the many,\nfor the welfare of mankind, out of compassion for the world. Preach\nthe doctrine which is glorious in the beginning, glorious in the\nmiddle, and glorious in the end, in the spirit as well as in the\nletter. There are beings whose eyes are scarcely covered with dust,\nbut if the doctrine is not preached to them they cannot attain\nsalvation. Proclaim to them a life of holiness. They will understand\nthe doctrine and accept it.\"\n\nThe Pali expression _kalyamo dhamma_ is here translated \"glorious\ndoctrine.\" The dictionary defines the first word as \"excellent,\nbeautiful, glorious.\" This closely corresponds to the Christian term,\nwhich, as derived from the Greek, reads \"evangel\" and in its Saxon\nequivalent \"gospel\" or \"good tidings.\"\n\n2. THE RICH YOUTH.\n\nYasa, the son of a wealthy nobleman of Benares, came by night to the\nBlessed One and exclaimed: \"What misery!\" But the Buddha answered,\n\"There is no misery for him who has entered the Path.\"\n\nYasa, richly dressed, with an expression of distress, before the\nBuddha who comforts him. The scene is framed in darkness, the two\nfigures being lit up by a torch.\n\n3. A CHILD'S OFFERING.\n\nOld frescoes in the Ajanta Caves show a mother sending a gift through\nher child. It looks as if they were Buddhist illustrations of Christ's\ninjunction, \"Suffer little children to come unto me.\"\n\n\n\n\nACT IV.\n\nFIRST SCENE\n\n[A room in the Jetavana. The wheel of the law pictured on one side and\nthe wheel of becoming on the other. Otherwise swastikas and lotus\nflowers serve as ornaments. A large opening exhibits a view into a\ngarden with running water. On the right side there is a platform with\nlow seats, on the other there is a low table with a divan, on which\nAnatha Pindika is seated, looking over palmleaf manuscripts.]\n\n\n    _Present: ANATHA PINDIKA (A); Servant (St.); PRINCE JETA (J);\n    later on KALA UDAYIN (K) and the BUDDHA (B)._\n\n    _A servant enters._\n\n_St._ His Highness the Prince Jeta.\n\n_A._ Show him in.\n\n    _JETA enters. A. rises to meet him with bows._\n\nYou are most welcome, my Prince.\n\n_J._ I have come from my brother, the King, to express to you his\nthanks for having bought my pleasure grounds for the noble and great\npurpose of affording a worthy resthouse to the Buddha and his\nbrotherhood.\n\n_A._ Kindly tender my gratitude to your royal brother for his gracious\nmessage.\n\n_J._ I hear that King Bimbisara has sent an embassy to the Buddha to\ninduce him to come back to Rajagaha. Has the Buddha received these\nmen?\n\n_A._ Not yet. He will see them this morning.\n\n_J._ We ought to keep him here. He is a wonderful man, and I consider\nour city fortunate to have him reside with us. What astonishes me is\nhis way of conquering the hearts of all men, even of his opponents,\nand he is so sensible.\n\n_A._ What do you mean?\n\n_J._ I am not a religious man; I am too worldly, but him I would\nfollow.\n\n_A._ Why?\n\n_J._ He is perhaps the only religious reformer who does not go to\nextremes. He rejects on the one hand austerities, self-mortifications,\npenances, and severe fasts as useless, and on the other hand, he would\nnot allow his followers to indulge in pleasures; but he insists most\nsensibly on keeping between the two extremes and proclaims the middle\npath of leading a righteous life. There is nothing absurd about him.\nThink of Devadatta. He insists that the monks should dress in rags\npicked up in cemeteries. The Buddha appeals to common sense, and\ntherefore I say, he is a wonderful man.\n\n_A._ He is more than a man; he is enlightenment incarnate.\n\nA stream of blessings goes out from him.\n\n_J._ He has grown into an international power, and kings do well not\nto ignore his influence.\n\n_A._ I think so myself, and I am so glad that his influence is always\nfor good, never for evil, and his ways are so marvelously gentle.\n\n_J._ Indeed that is a blessing. If he were not so absolutely\nindifferent to his own affairs he might become positively dangerous.\nHis lay disciples count in thousands of thousands. The farmers in the\ncountry, the merchants in the towns, the lawyers, the artisans, and\neven the soldiers believe in him. Lately General Siha became a lay\nmember of the Buddha's brotherhood, and many other prominent officers\nfollowed his example.\n\n_A._ He would never have gained this influence if he were not truly\nthe Buddha.\n\n_J._ I want to tell you that a war is threatening, but please do not\nspeak of it, it is a deep secret. A spy in the secret service of my\nroyal brother has found out that King Bimbisara intends to fall upon\nthe Sakyas and deprive them of their independence. The Brahman\nVisakha, minister of state, has turned traitor and promises to deliver\nhis country into the hands of King Bimbisara on the condition that he\nbe made Raja in Suddhodana's place.\n\n_A._ The country of the Sakyas is but small, and their independence\nwill not last long; it is a mere question of time.\n\n_J._ But consider that the Buddha hails from Kapilavatthu. He is the\nson of Suddhodana, the Sakya raja.\n\n_A._ Indeed he is and may I be permitted to inform him of the danger\nthat threatens his father's house?\n\n_J._ I give you full liberty, for he will use discretion and not\nbetray his informant. I deem Bimbisara's plan dangerous to himself. A\nwar with the Sakyas may cost Bimbisara his throne, for the people of\nRajagaha believe in the Buddha, and I learn that even now the war\nrumors have made them restless.\n\n    _Servant (St.) enters._\n\n_St._ Here is a man with the name Kala Udayin, who has a message for\nthe Blessed One.\n\n_A._ Show him in.\n\n_J._ I leave you now and hope that you will keep the Buddha as long as\npossible in Savatthi.\n\n    _Exit._\n\n    _KALA UDAYIN enters and bows to ANATHA PINDIKA._\n\n_A._ You want to see the Blessed One? I will call him.\n\n    _ANATHA PINDIKA exit._\n\n_K._ [_Alone_] This is the place where Prince Siddhattha lives! Indeed\na most delightful spot and more pleasant than many a royal palace. And\nhow the people speak of him! They call him the Blessed One, the\nBuddha, the Tathagata, the Sakyamuni, the great Sage. The wealthiest\nman of Kosala has bought these extensive and most beautiful grounds\nand presented them to the brotherhood of his disciples, so that the\nBuddha would stay here from time to time, and that the people of the\ncity would have him for their guest.\n\n    _BUDDHA accompanied by ANATHA PINDIKA comes in. He is\n    followed by two disciples. The BUDDHA sits down on the seat\n    on the platform, having on either hand one of his disciples.\n    ANATHA PINDIKA stands below with clasped hands._\n\n    _KALA UDAYIN sinks to his knees with clasped hands._\n\n_B._ My friend, what brings you here?\n\n_K._ A message from your royal father: He bade me tell you that he is\ngrowing old, and before he dies, he wants to see his son once more.\nWould you deign to accept his invitation?\n\n_B._ Tell me, my friend, how is my father? Is old age truly telling on\nhim?\n\n_K._ Not yet so visibly, but he worries much.\n\n_B._ And how is Rahula? He is now seven years old and must be quite a\nboy.\n\n_K._ He is, my Lord; and how he talks of his father. He knows\neverything you are doing.\n\n_B._ Who tells him?\n\n_K._ His mother does.\n\n_B._ And tell me how the princess fares?\n\n_K._ She imposes upon herself the observances which the mendicant\nfriars keep. She will have no preference over him who once was her\nhusband. She sleeps on the floor, she does no longer use unguents or\nperfumes. She wears a simple yellow robe and observes the regulation\nof the brotherhood in taking food.\n\n    _The BUDDHA nods and with a distant look sits a few moments\n    in silence._\n\n_B._ And she is a good mother?\n\n_K._ There could be no better.\n\n_St._ [_announces_] An embassy of the most potent King of Magadha, the\ngreat Bimbisara.\n\n_B._ [_Addressing himself to the servant_] Let them come in, [_turning\nto K._] Kala Udayin, bring my father greetings, and say that I shall\ncome.\n\n    _KALA UDAYIN exit._\n\n    _A number of men, the embassy of King BIMBISARA, led by\n    NAGADEVA, most gorgeously dressed, file in. They let\n    themselves down on one knee, clasp their hands and rise\n    again._\n\n_N._ Most gracious Lord, all-wise and blessed Buddha,\nOur noble sov'reign bids me tender you\nHis most respectful greetings, and he hopes\nThat you return and visit Rajagaha,\nFor he is very anxious to be honored\nBy your auspicious presence in his kingdom.\n\n_B._ My Lords, express to your most mighty King\nThat the Tathagata can not accept\nThis friendly invitation, for he will\nStart for his home, the country of the Sakyas,\nTo see his aged father and his kin.\nIf war or other ills befall his people,\nHe wants to live, if need be, die with them.\n\n_N._ Lord Buddha, speak a word of truth to us,\nFor I'm aware thou art omniscient.\nOur royal master wants to hear from thee.\n\n_B._ All bodily existence passeth by\nFor it is compound and will be dissolved;\nBut there is Law; it is the Uncreate,\nIt is th' Etern, which is without beginning\nAnd without end. That must our refuge be.\nHe who relies on the Impermanent,\nAnd, being strong, attempts to crush the weak,\nWill soon break down. This is the law of deeds,\nFor as we sow, such will our harvest be.\nRely on Truth, the Uncreate, th' Etern,\nBe guided by the rule of Righteousness.\nThis is my message to the King, your Lord,\nAnd may he be advised to rule his country\nWith love of peace, with goodness, and with wisdom.\nMy blessing be on him and on his people.\n\n    _They kneel, clasp their hands, circumambulate the BUDDHA and\n    file out._\n\n    _JETA returns in excitement._\n\n_J._ The war is on! King Bimbisara's army\nIs building bridges to attack the Sakyas.\n\n    [CURTAIN. Trumpet signals, military music.]\n\n\n_FOURTH INTERLUDE._\n\n_Living Pictures Accompanied by Appropriate Music._\n\n\n1. KING BIMBISARA ON THE ROYAL ELEPHANT.\n\nThe king is seated under a canopy, together with his minister and\nfield marshal. On the head of the elephant, the driver; and retinue on\neither side.\n\n2. THE WANDERER.\n\nThe Buddha was in the habit of wandering through the country from\nplace to place.\n\nThe picture shows him with a staff in his right hand and a bowl in his\nleft in an Indian landscape.\n\n3. KING BIMBISARA IN CAMP.\n\nStanding before the royal tent he addresses his generals.\n\n\n\n\nACT V.\n\nFIRST SCENE.\n\n[Reception hall of the Raja Suddhodana; Indian pompous style; columns\nand beyond an outlook into a tropical palm-garden. Seats scattered\nthrough the room. On the left a compartment, open toward the audience,\nis separated from the main room by hanging carpets.]\n\n\n    _Near the right side SUDDHODANA is seated with PAJAPATI and\n    YASODHARA. RAHULA in the background (viz., in the garden) in\n    the care of a nurse._\n\n_S._ The time is troublesome, and it appears that war is imminent.\n\n_P._   Oh do not fret;\nVisakha is a cunning diplomat:\nI hope he'll be successful, and he will\nPersuade King Bimbisara to keep peace.\n\n_S._ I do hope too, but hope against conviction.\n\n    _VISAKHA and DEVALA enter._\n\nThere come the Brahman and the gallant Captain.\n\n_V._ [Kneeling on one foot to the King] Hail Maharaja!\n\n_D._ Hail, my gracious King.\n\n_S._ Welcome my worthy messengers!\n\n    _They kneel to PAJAPATI._\n\n_P._ Be welcome.\n\n_S._ Tell me at once, how did your mission speed?\n\n_V._ There is a subtle influence against you\nAt Bimbisara's court; there is a party\nBound to have war, and they will have it too,\nUnless we meet them by diplomacy.\nLeave it to me, and I'll preserve the peace.\n\n_S._ Had not my son turned mendicant, how useful\nCould he at present be! I need a general,\nA trusty man of youthful strength and courage\nTo take the helm and lead the ship of state\nThrough storm and danger, for our foes are strong.\n\n_V._ Great Raja, I am privy to your grief,\nI know the hope you'd set upon Siddhattha.\nWhat brilliant gifts the boy inherited,\nFrom you, his royal father, and how he,\nForgetful of his filial duty, left you,\nAnd his fair wife and child, to turn a beggar.\n\n_S._ All this is true, remind me not of it,\n'Tis a disgrace to our most royal house,\nAnd all the Rajas in the Indian land,\nWill point to us and mock the Sakya tribe.\n\n    _RAHULA comes in with childlike joy and brings his mother a\n    rose._\n\n_R._ Here, mother, is a rose. I picked it from the bush where the\nnightingale sings. I thought, if father had been here, he would have\nbrought the rose to you. He loves the flowers and so do you.\n\n_Y._ My darling!\n\n_S._ [_with a touch of anger_] Yasodhara, I wish you would not speak\nto him too much of his father.\n\n_R._ Why should mother not mention father? I love him and I should\nknow all about him. I want to join the Buddha's brotherhood.\n\n_S._ Do you love him more than your grandfather?\n\n_R._ I love my grandfather too, I love mother, and you, dear\ngrandmother [_turning to PAJAPATI_]. You are always so kind to me. I\nlove you all. But father I love in a different manner. I love him as\nBuddha. I clasp my hands to him as to a god; and so do you mother, do\nyou not?\n\n_Y._ [_Puts her hand on Rahula's mouth_] Hush! I thank you for the\nrose, my child; now run away and bring another rose to grandfather,\nand one for your grandmother Pajapati.\n\n_R._ Yes mother, and one I keep for father when he comes.\n\n    _Runs off._\n\n_V._ Your grandson needs a father, Maha Raja!\n\nAnd let me tender you my humble service.\nI see Yasodhara, the noble princess,\nPine patiently away and spend in mourning\nHer life's best years of youth and happiness.\nShe has been cruelly deserted, has\nBeen widowed by Siddhattha for a whim.\nGive her to me in marriage, and I'll prove\nA better father than that runaway,\nA better father to your little grandson,\nA better husband to his widowed wife.\n\n_S._ You are at liberty to ask my daughter.\n\n_V._ Fair Princess, cease to mourn, and grant my suit.\nThou shalt see better days than heretofore.\n\n_Y._ I pledged my troth to Gotama Siddhattha,\nAnd I shall never break my faith to him.\n\n_V._ Siddhattha is no more, he has turned monk\nAnd you are free, you are Siddhattha's widow.\n\n_S._ My daughter, do not think that I oppose\nVisakha's suit, for on the contrary\nI do support it, and I wish you would\nAccept him as a husband, for I need\nAlliance with a brave and trusty man.\n\n_V._ Princess Yasodhara, here is my hand,\nDo not refuse me.\n\n_Y._ Brahman, spare your words.\n\n_V._ The time will come when you will sore regret.\nO King, compel her to obey; make use\nOf your good right as master of this house,\nFor I alone can save the Sakya state.\n\n_P._ O worthy Brahman, do not threaten us.\n\n_V._ Decide, O Maharaja; thou art Lord!\nThy bidding must be done. Shall women rule,\nOr art thou master still in thine own home?\n\n_S._ I am master here; but not a tyrant;\nAmong our people master means a leader.\nThe Sakya yeomen justly pride themselves\nOn their free institutions. I'm the first\nAmong them, not an autocrat nor despot;\nI serve them as adviser, guide and father;\nShall I who never would infringe upon\nThe right of any poorest peasant woman,\nCompel a princess of the royal house\nTo marry 'gainst her will? No sir, not I.\nI wished the Princess to accept your suit,\nBut I shall never say, She must be yours.\n\n_V._ King of the Sakyas, you forget yourself,\nI am a Brahman and of noble birth.\nI served you faithfully for many years,\nBut now I quit your service, for I know\nThat Bimbisara, King of Magadha,\nThe mightiest of Indian rulers,\nWill welcome me as friend and counselor.\n\n    _He bows to the KING and PAJAPATI, and leaves. For a moment\n    they are all silent._\n\n_S._ I fear me that means war.\n\n_D._ Indeed it does.\n\nIf you remember, King, Visakha said\nThere was a subtle influence against you\nAt Bimbisara's court. It dawns on me\nThat he, Visakha, is the cause of it.\nI saw him whisper with a courtier, then\nHe spoke in secret with a general,\nAnd with the King too he was closeted.\nThe hypocrite has thrown away his mask,\nAnd since he spoke out boldly, I know now\nThat he has been intriguing all the time.\n\n_S._ He thinks I hate my son, but I do not.\nI'm only angry, I am disappointed,\nBecause he did not heed my dearest wish.\nI love him still and I invited him\nTo visit his old home and me, his father.\nI sent Udayin with a kindly greeting.\nOh, I'd forgive him all, and e'en his flight,\nHad only he not turned a mendicant.\nIt hurts my pride to see a Sakya prince,\nAnd mine own son, go round from house to house\nWith bowl in hand to beg his daily food.\n\n    _RAHULA comes in excited._\n\n_R._ Grandfather, here is your rose, and grandma, here is yours. And\noh! did you hear the news?\n\n_Y._ What is it, boy? Why are you so excited?\n\n_P._ Who told you any news?\n\n_R._ The guards at the gate. They say that my father has come. All the\npeople rush out of their houses and greet him with clasped hands.\nThey strew flowers on the road and hail him as the Buddha!\n\n_Y._ [_rises_] Why, is it possible?\n\n    _Wants to retire._\n\n_S._ Stay here. Kala Udayin comes.\n\n    _KALA enter and kneels._\n\n_K._ I bow in humble reverence before the King. And my respectful\nsalutations to all the members of the royal house [_turning to GOPA_]\nand to you.\n\n_S._ Bring you good news, Udayin?\n\n_K._ Your noble son, my King, is coming.\n\n_S._ Where did you find him?\n\n_K._ At the Jetavana at Savatthi.\n\n_S._ What kind of a place is that?\n\n_K._ It is the most wonderful pleasure park I ever saw. O King, your\ngarden here is a paltry affair in comparison with the Jetavana.\n\n_S._ There he lives in luxury?\n\n_K._ Oh no Sir. Not at all. He could live in luxury, if he wanted to,\nbut he leads a simple life, as simple as the humblest servant in your\nhome, and when he wanders through the country after the rainy season\nhe lives like any mendicant friar. He overtook me on my way, and when\nhe came hither to Kapilavatthu, his home, he did as usual. Last night\nhe slept in the forest, and this morning he went from house to house\nwith bowl in hand, begging his food, and he spoke a blessing wherever\npeople greeted him kindly, or gave him to eat.\n\n_S._ Oh my son, my son! Why didst thou not go straight to the palace\nwhere thy father has food enough for thee and all thy disciples!\n\n_K._ He always follows the rule of the mendicants.\n\n_S._ Oh my son! Why dost thou shame thy father in his own home?\n\n_K._ The Blessed One deems it no shame to beg. He is as modest as a\npauper and shows no pride, but wherever he comes, he is greeted like a\nking, nay like a king of kings, and the wealthiest and most powerful\nrulers come to do him reverence.\n\n_S._ And he is here, this wonderful man? And he is my son Siddhattha?\n\n_K._ Yes, he is here, and it is your son, but no longer Siddhattha,\nthe Sakya prince, but Sakya muni, the sage of the Sakyas, the Buddha,\nthe Blessed One. When I spoke to him and gave him your message, he\ninquired for you and the Queen Pajapati [_YASODHARA rises_] and for\nyou, most honored Princess and for Rahula. Yes, he inquired for you\nand how Rahula had grown.\n\n_Y._ Did he speak kindly of us?\n\n_K._ He always speaks kindly, and he is always calm.\n\n    [Music a song, Buddhist Doxology, at a distance]\n\n_K._ O listen to the music. Here he comes, the glorious Buddha. He\nmust be at the gate.\n\n_Y._ [_rises again and withdraws._] I must be gone.\n\n_P._ O stay, Yasodhara.\n\n_Y._ No, I will hide me from his very sight; and if I am to him of any\nvalue, he will ask for me.\n\n_S._ Stay, Yasodhara.\n\n_Y._ He fled from me because I was a hindrance\nIn his great quest, and he may shun me still.\n\n_S._ Stay none the less.\n\n_P._ Nay, let her withdraw; she is in tears and would break down.\n\n    _YASODHARA and PAJAPATI withdraw to the partition behind the\n    curtains._\n\n_S._ You say, that my son is greeted even by kings with clasped hands?\n\n_K._ Yea, even kings kneel to him.\n\n_S._ I shall do nothing of the kind. He is my son, my disobedient son,\nand I am still his father.\n\n    _PAJAPATI returns._\n\n    _The procession of the BUDDHA comes. Two monks precede and\n    stand at either side of the BUDDHA. Accompanying monks and\n    other public come into the garden, crowding up to the\n    columns. They all kneel with clasped hands, except\n    SUDDHODANA._\n\n_B._ My blessing to this house, to you, O King,\nAnd also to the Queen Pajapati,\nMy dear good aunt and loving foster mother.\n\n_S._ At last thou comest back, my wayward son,\nBut why didst shame me? Why didst thou go begging\nHere in my capital? Thou art descended\nFrom ancestors who are a royal race.\n\n_B._ My ancestors are Buddhas of past ages,\nTheir thinking has descended unto me,\nTheir habits and their rules of life I follow,\nAnd not the regulations of a court.\n\n    _The people rise to their feet again; KALA joins GOPA._\n\n_S._ Tell me, what are the rules of former Buddhas?\n\n_B._ They greet you with a stanza in return\nFor any food or hospitality.\n\n_S._ I shall be glad to hear what you will say.\n\n_B._ Awake from sleep, dispel the dream;\n          Before the truth's bright ray\n          Things truly are not what they seem\n          But truth points out the way.\n          Truth, truth alone will bring you bliss,\n          In the next life and e'en in this.\n\n    _RAHULA brings a rose to BUDDHA._\n\n_R._ Here, father, is a rose I saved for you\nOn the big bush where nests the nightingale.\n\n_B._ And this is Rahula! How you have grown!\nWhere is your mother?\n\n_S._          Yasodhara was here,\nBut would not stay. On hearing that you came\nShe left the room and said that if at all\nYou cared for her, you would not fail to ask.\n\n_B._ But I want to see her, lead me to the place.\n\n    _BUDDHA hands his bowl to the King, PAJAPATI rises and leads\n    the way. At a distance a flourish of trumpets._\n\n_D._ What military signals do I hear?\n\n_S._ Go, Captain Devala, see what it means.\n\n    _DEVALA exit. SUDDHODANA hands the bowl to one of the\n    disciples._\n\n_B._ Ye two disciples shall attend the meeting.\nAbove all passion has the Buddha risen,\nBut he will comfort her who loves him dearly.\nThe Princess' heart is filled with deepest grief,\nAnd in no wise shall any one rebuke her\nIn whatsoever way she greeteth him.\n\n    _PAJAPATI opens the curtain leading to the apartment where\n    YASODHARA sits. BUDDHA, PAJAPATI and SUDDHODANA enter.\n    YASODHARA sinks down before him and holds his feet, weeping.\n    The flourish of trumpets is repeated._\n\n_S._ [_Grows restless, turns to PAJAPATI_] These warlike trumpets\n                have a foreign sound\nAnd may forbode the enemy's attack.\n\n    _He leaves the apartment where YASODHARA is and re-enters the\n    hall, going toward the entrance in the background between the\n    columns._\n\n_B._ Yasodhara, I bring thee happy tidings,\nDeliverance is found, let go thy grief.\n\n    _YASODHARA looking up to BUDDHA with deep emotion._\n\n_Y._ Oh Lord, how did I long for your return,\nBut in your eyes I have become as naught.\n\n_B._ My faithful helpmate and my former wife,\nThou hast been dear to me, dear art thou still,\nBut truth is dearer, and to truth I cling,\nWhile on my quest of truth in former lives,\nAnd also now in this existence, thou\nWith voluntary sacrifice hast aided me,\nImagine not that thou a hindrance art\nTo me or to my work and holy mission.\nNext to my sainted mother thou art blessed\nAmong the women of this world. Rejoice\nAnd let grief pass from thy suffering soul.\n\n_Y._ [_In a kneeling posture_] Grant me a boon, my Lord, a precious\nboon.\n\n_R._ Yea, father, grant the boon that mother wants.\n\n_B._ Speak, Princess, and I listen to thy word.\nI know thy heart, Yasodhara; I know\nThat naught but worthy thoughts dwell in thy mind.\n\n_Y._ Grant me to help thee in thy noble mission.\nI want to join the band of thy disciples.\n\n    _She pauses and the BUDDHA hesitates to answer._\n\n         I shall be happy if I do thy work.\n\n_B._ Dost thou not know this boon is but a burden?\n\n_Y._ The heavier it be, my Lord, the more I welcome it.\n\n_R._         Oh grant the boon!\n\n_B._                            Not yet\nYasodhara, have women been admitted;\nBut I foresee the time will come.\n\n_Y._                           My Lord\nThe time is here if thou but grant the boon.\n\n    _The BUDDHA places his right hand in blessing upon\n    YASODHARA'S head._\n\n_B._ So let it be, and so thy boon be granted;\nI may not hinder thee if thou insistest.\n\n    _As PAJAPATI helps YASODHARA to rise, a third flourish of\n    trumpets is heard, this time near by and loud. DEVALA returns\n    in great excitement and addresses SUDDHODANA._\n\n_D._ My noble liege, an embassy is coming\nFrom Bimbisara, King of Magadha.\nThey are the kingdom's highest ministers,\nAnd sullen do they look and their retainers.\n\n_S._ 'Tis most unfortunate, but let them in.\n\n_D._ There's more to be announced.\n\n_S._                              You look excited.\n\n_D._ It is but the beginning of the end:\nOur scouts are captured, one of them escaped.\n\n    _He hesitates._\n\n_S._ Well, Devala?\n\n_D._              He carries evil news.\n\n_S._ [_With great anxiety_] By Issara! Speak, man! Don't hesitate.\n\n    _DEVALA covers his eyes with his hands and sobs._\n\n_S._ Tell me the worst. Tell me the worst at once.\n\n_D._ O that I had no tongue to tell the tidings.\n\n_S._ I will be brave, speak freely! Be a man!\n\n    _In the meantime the BUDDHA together with the others has\n    entered the main hall._\n\n_D._ Our cause is lost. We are surrounded,\nThree bridges have been built and General Siha\nStands ready with an overwhelming army\nTo crush us.\n\n_S._      Once I had a son! But he\nAlas! turned mendicant and fails me now!\nIn him no drop of warrior blood is left,\nNo spark of honor gloweth in his heart\nAnd our ancestral pride goes down in shame.\n\n_B._ Transient, my noble father, are all things.\nAll kingdoms finally must pass away,\nBut if thou tak'st thy refuge in the truth,\nThou wilt be free from all vicissitudes.\nThe kingdom of the truth alone endures.\n\n_S._ [_With indignation._] Siddhattha, spare thy monkish rant,\nFar better than thy cowardly submission,\nFar nobler and befitting it would be,\nTo draw the sword and die a hero's death.\n\n    _The embassy in solemn procession files in as before at the\n    Jetavana. The BUDDHA withdraws and is not noticed by the\n    embassy. Prime Minister NAGADEVA (N) addresses King\n    SUDDHODANA._\n\n_N._ Oh Maharaja, listen to our message!\n\nThe ruler of the mighty Magadha,\nKing Bimbisara, sends you kindly greetings.\nHe wants you to entreat the Blessed One,\nThe holy Buddha, who now stays with you,\nWho, as he learneth, is your noble son,\nTo come to Rajagaha on a visit.\nThere have been rumors of intended war,\nAnd armies are maneuvering nearby,\nBut be assured, our noble King means peace.\nHe would not draw the sword against your state,\nNor wage a war against the Buddha's father.\n\n    _SUDDHODANA'S eye searches for the BUDDHA who has been\n    standing behind a column and now steps forward._\n\n_S._ Oh noble son, oh blessed, highest Buddha,\nThou art indeed a King of Kings on earth!\n\n    _He kneels down. All members of the embassy do the same._\n\nNo crown thou wear'st, no scepter's in thy hand,\nThou needest neither lance, nor sword nor shield,\nAnd yet thou rulest, with mere word and thought,\nThou sway'st the destinies of all the world,\nI did not know thy power and thy great worth;\nBut now I bow me down in humble faith,\nAnd I take refuge in the truth thou preachest.\nHenceforth I will devote myself to spread\nThe kingdom of good will and righteousness.\n\n    [Music Buddhist Doxology]\n\n    [CURTAIN]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *","title":"The Buddha: A Drama in Five Acts and Four Interludes","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":19059}