A SLIGHTLY DAMAGED EASTERN SAGE.
[To TEE EDITOR OP TEE "SPECTATOR."]
Sia,—While fully admitting the spiritual selfishness dis- played
by many of the'Eastern ascetics, the following extract shows that the ideal of renunciation for the sake of others is
by no means absent from their literature :—
" Believe thou not that sitting in dark forests in proud seclu- sion and apart from men ; believe thou not that life on roots and plants, that thirst assuaged with snow from the great Range— believe thou not, 0 Devotee, that this will lead thee to the goal of final liberation. . . . . . The blessed ones have scorned to do so. The Lion of the Law, the Lion of Mercy, perceiving the true cause of human woe, immediately forsook the sweet but selfish rest of quiet wilds. From Aranyaka he became the teacher of mankind. After Jueai (the Buddha) had entered the Nirvana, he preached on mount and plain, and held discourses in,the cities, to Devas, men, and Gods."
And, again,- " To reach Nirvana thou must reach Self-knowledge, and Self- knowledge is of loving deeds the child."—" The Book of Golden Precepts."
Hoping that the above may interest some of your readers, I
remain, Sir, &c., H. PERCY LEONARD.
Literary and Philosophic Club, Bristol.
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