Note 8 — Chapter II

It is very difficult to understand the extraordinary state in which Buddha placed himself on this occasion. It must have been a remarkable occurrence, since it caused a violent commotion which shook our planet. The only interpretation that can be put on the terms used to describe this particular action of Buddha is this: He renounced existence, that is to say, not only the actual existence that he enjoyed, but also all other forms of existence. He severed connection with this and other worlds; he broke the ties that had hitherto retained him linked to a form of existence. He had come now to the end of all transmigrations. By the power of his will, he placed himself in the state of complete isolation from all that exists, even from self, that is to say, into Neibban, a state which death was soon to realise and render visible to the eyes of his disciples. It is not death that causes a being to reach the state or condition of Neibban, but it is the abstraction from all conceivable forms of existence that constitutes its very essence. The expression made use of by our author to designate the particular condition in which Gaudama brought himself, and which caused a terrific shake of the earth, is this: He parted with the life of change, of mutability, that is to say, he had nothing more to do with existences, which, in the opinion of Buddhists, are produced by the principle of mutability. Buddha called himself Zina, or conqueror, after he had obtained the perfect mastery over his passions. We may give him the same title on the occasion when he has obtained the mastery over existence itself. This last achievement is the greatest of all: the first one was only preparatory to securing the second one. The writer is well aware that such a language is at variance with the notions that the reader is familiar with. To understand its true and correct meaning one must be initiated into the doctrines of Buddhism.

The preaching of the law of the wheel, which is mentioned as one cause that produces the phenomena of earthquake, took place, as above related, in the Migadawon forest, or the Deer’s grove, near Benares, in the very beginning of Buddha’s public life, after he had left the Bodi tree. The preaching of the law of the wheel is nothing else than the manifestation of the four sublime and transcendent truths, which, as mentioned in foregoing pages, constitute the essence of Buddha’s doctrines.