I.      REJOICE !

 

   Rejoice at the glad tidings!   The Buddha,  our Lord, has found the

root of all evil; he has shown us the way of salvation.              1

The Buddha dispels the illusions of our mind and redeems  us  from

the terror of death.                                                 2

The Buddha, our Lord, brings comfort to the weary and sorrow-laden;

he  restores  peace to those who are broken down under the  burden  of

life.  He gives courage to the weak when they would fain give up self-

reliance and hope.                                                   3

Ye  that suffer from the tribulations of life,  ye  that  have  to

struggle and endure, ye that yearn for a life of truth, rejoice at the

glad tidings!                                                        4

There is balm for the wounded,  and there is bread for the  hungry.

There is water for the thirsty,  and there is hope for the despairing.

There  is  light for those in darkness,  and  there  is  inexhaustible

blessing for the upright.                                            5

Heal your wounds,  ye wounded and eat your fill,  ye hungry.  Rest,

ye weary,  and ye who are thirsty quench your thirst.   Look up to the

light,  ye that sit in darkness;  be full of good cheer,  ye that  are

forlorn.                                                             6

Trust  in  truth,  ye that love the  truth,  for  the  kingdom  of

righteousness  is  founded  upon earth.   The  darkness  of  error  is

dispelled by the light of truth.  We can see our way and take firm and

certain steps.                                                       7

   The Buddha, our Lord, has revealed the truth.                     8

The truth cures our diseases and redeems us  from  perdition;  the

truth strengthens us in life and in death; the truth alone can conquer

the evils of error.                                                  9

   Rejoice at the glad tidings!                                     10

 
II.     SAMSARA AND NIRVANA

 

Look about and contemplate life!                                  1

Everything is transient and nothing endures.   There is birth  and

death, growth and decay; there is combination and separation.        2

The glory of the world is like a flower: it stands in full bloom in

the morning and fades in the heat of the day.                        3

Wherever you look,  there is a rushing and struggling, and an eager

pursuit of pleasure.  There is a panic flight from pain and death, and

hot are the flames of burning desires.  The world is vanity fair, full

of changes and transformations.  All is Samsara.                     4

Is there nothing permanent in the world?  Is there in the universal

turmoil no resting-place where our troubled heart can find peace?   Is

there nothing everlasting?                                           5

Oh,  that  we could have cessation of anxiety,  that  our  burning

desires  would be extinguished!   When shall the mind become  tranquil

and composed?                                                        6

The Buddha,  our Lord, was grieved at the ills of life.  He saw the

vanity of worldly happiness and sought salvation in the one thing that

will not fade or perish, but will abide for ever and ever.           7

Ye  who  long  for  life,  know  that  immortality  is  hidden  in

transiency.  Ye  who wish for happiness without the sting  of  regret,

lead  a  life of righteousness.   Ye who  yearn  for  riches,  receive

treasures that are eternal.   Truth is wealth,  and a life of truth is

happiness.                                                           8

All  compounds will be dissolved again,  but  the  verities  which

determine all combination and separations as laws of nature endure for

ever and aye.   Bodies fall to dust,  but the truths of the mind  will

not be destroyed.                                                    9

Truth knows neither birth nor death;  it has no beginning  and  no

end.  Welcome the truth.  The truth is the immortal part of mind.   10

Establish the truth in your mind, for the truth is the image of the

eternal;  it portrays the immutable;  it reveals the everlasting;  the

truth gives unto mortals the boon of immortality.                   11

The Buddha has proclaimed the truth;  let the truth of the  Buddha

dwell  in  your hearts.   Extinguish in yourselves every  desire  that

antagonizes the Buddha, and in the perfection of your spiritual growth

you will become like unto him.                                      12

That of your heart that cannot or will not develop into Buddha must

perish;  for it is mere illusion and unreal;  it is the source of your

error; it is the cause of your misery.                              13

You  attain  to  immortality by filling  your  minds  with  truth.

Therefore, become like unto vessles fit to receive the Master’s words.

Cleanse yourselves of evil and sanctify your lives.  There is no other

way of reaching truth.                                              14

Learn to distinguish between Self and Truth.   Self is the cause of

selfishness and the source of evil;  truth cleaves to no self;  it  is

universal and leads to justice and righteousness.                   15

Self,  that  which seems to those who love their selves  as  their

being,  is not the eternal,  the everlasting,  the imperishable.  Seek

not self, but seek the truth.                                       16

If  we liberate our souls from our petty selves,  wish no  ill  to

others,  and become clear as a crystal diamond reflecting the light of

truth,  what  a radiant picture will appear in us mirroring things  as

they  are,  without  the admixture of  burning  desires,  without  the

distortion  of erroneous illusion,  without the agitation of  clinging

and unrest.                                                         17

Yet ye love self and will not abandon self-love.   So be  it,  but then,  verily,  ye should learn to distinguish between the false  self and  the true self.   The ego with all its egotism is the false  self.

It  is an unreal illusion and a perishable combination.   He only  who

identifies his self with the truth will atain Nirvana;  and he who has

entered Nirvana has attained Buddhahood;  he has acquired the  highest

good; he has become eternal and immortal.                           18

All compound things shall be dissolved again,  worlds will break to

pieces and our individualities will be scattered; but the words of the

Buddha will remain for ever.                                        19

The extinction of self is salvation;  the annihilation of self  is the condition of enlightenment;  the blotting out of self is  Nirvana.

Happy  is  he  who has ceased to live for pleasure and  rests  in  the

truth.   Verily his composure and tranquillity of mind are the highest

bliss.                                                              20

Let  us  take  our refuge in the Buddha,  for  he  has  found  the everlasting in the transient.  Let us take refuge in that which is the immutable in the changes of existence.   Let us take our refuge in the truth  that  is established through the enlightenment of  the  Buddha.

Let  us take our refuge in the community of those who seek  the  truth

and endeavour to live in the truth.                                 21
III.     TRUTH THE SAVIOUR

 

The things of the world and its inhabitants are subject to  change.

They are combinations of elements that existed before,  and all living

creatures are what their past actions made them;  for the law of cause

and effect is uniform and without exceptions.                        1

But in the changing things there is a constancy of law,  and  when

the law is seen there is truth.   The truth lies hidden in Samsara  as

the permanent in its changes.                                        2

Truth desires to appear;  truth longs to become  conscious;  truth

strives to know itself.                                              3

There is truth in the stone, for the stone is here; and no power in

the world,  no god,  no man, no demon, can destroy its existence.  But

the stone has no consciousness.                                      4

There  is truth in the plant and its life can  expand;  the  plant

grows and blossoms and bears fruit.   Its beauty is marvellous, but it

has no consciousness.                                                5

There  is truth in the amimal;  it moves about and  perceives  its

surroundings;  it  distinguishes  and  learns  to  choose.   There  is

consciousness,  but it is not yet the consciousness of Truth.  It is a

consciousness of self only.                                          6

The consciousness of self dims the eyes of the mind and hides  the

truth.  It is the origin of error, it is the source of illusion, it is

the germ of evil.                                                    7

Self  begets selfishness.   There is no evil but what  flows  from

self.  There is no wrong but what is done by the assertion of self.  8

Self is the beginning of all hatred,  of iniquity and  slander,  of

impudence  and  indecency,  of theft and robbery,  of  oppression  and

bloodshed.   Self is Mara,  the tempter,  the evildoer, the creator of

mischief.                                                            9

Self entices with pleasures.   Self promises a  fairy’s  paradise.

Self is the veil of Maya,  the enchanter.   But the pleasures of  self

are unreal,  its paradisian labyrinth is the road to misery,  and  its

fading  beauty  kindles  the  flames of  desires  that  never  can  be

satisfied.                                                          10

   Who shall deliver us from the power of self?   Who shall  save  us

from misery?  Who shall restore us to a life of blessedness?        11

There is misery in the world of Samsara;  there is much misery  and

pain.   But greater than all the misery is the bliss of truth.   Truth

gives peace to the yearning mind;  it conquers error;  it quenches the

flames of desires; it leads to Nirvana.                             12

Blessed is he who has found the peace of Nirvana.  He is at rest in

the struggles and tribulations of life; he is above all changes; he is

above birth and death; he remains unaffected by the evils of life.  13

Blessed is he who has found enlightenment.   He conquers,  although

he may be wounded;  he is glorious and happy,  although he may suffer;

he is strong, although he may break down under the burden of his work;

he  is immortal,  although he may die.   The essence of his  being  is

purity and goodness.                                                14

Blessed is he who has attained the sacred state of Buddhahood,  for

he  is fit to work out the salvation of his fellowbeings.   The  truth

has   taken  its  abode  in  him.    Perfect  wisdom   illumines   his

understanding,  and  righteousness  ensouls  the purpose  of  all  his

actions.                                                            15

    The  truth  is  a  living  power  for  good,   indestructible  and

invincible!   Work  the truth out in your mind,  and spread it  amoung

mankind,  for  truth alone is the saviour from evil and  misery.   The

Buddha  has found the truth and the truth has been proclaimed  by  the

Buddha!  Blessed be the Buddha!                                     16