"
Buddha taught the way of emancipation of the soul held in bondage by means
of the illusions of _maya_, even as the elephant is held in captivity by so
weak a thing as a galucchi creeper, which could be broken by a single
effort.
That many who keep the commandments are yet a long way from cosmic
consciousness must be apparent to all. Therefore we are justified in
assuming that the mere keeping of the commandments will not bring about
_mukti_. Many a man follows the letter of the law, and escapes prison, but
if he does this through fear of punishment, and not because of a desire to
maintain peace that his neighbors may be benefited, then he is not keeping
the spirit of the law at all, and his reward is a negative one.
According to the most reliable authorities, Buddha died in his eightieth
year, having spent about fifty years in preaching, in healing the sick, in
conversing with exalted beings in the heavenly worlds, and in leaving at
will his physical body and visiting other worlds.
Buddha prophesied his coming dissolution, and expressed to his disciples, a
hope that they would realize that he still lived, even when his physical
body should have become ashes.
Pages:
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188