A SYMPHONY. BY MAJOR-GENERAL DAWSONNE M. STRONG, C.B. ( Late Indian Army ), AUTHOR OF "SELECTIONS FROM THE BOSTĀN OF SÂDI, TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH VERSE." "Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon."— Bible. London : WATTS & CO., 17, JOHNSON'S COURT, FLEET St. 1899. LOVINGLY DEDICATED TO MY WIFE IN MEMORY OF OUR SOJOURN IN THE EAST....

"Si notre foi diffère quant à la forme et aux dogmes, nos âmes restent toujours d'accord sur un principe éternel et divin."— George Sands. An immense difficulty has to be encountered by those who have been deeply impressed by the value and beauty of Christianity when they are called upon to consider the claims of other faiths. Anyone who has had within his experience and under his observation such an exceptional case as that of a sincere Christian who, from childhood to old age, has set before h

Erratum. For Professor Oldenberg's Buddhism read everywhere Professor Oldenberg's Buddha: His Life, His Doctrine, His Order . CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM ....

JESUS AND GOTAMA. "For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?"— Bible. In any attempt to appreciate the relationship of Christianity to Buddhism it is important to bear in mind, not only the differences which have characterized the process of their evolution, but also to recognize that the two religions are, in their origin, distinct as to time and locale ; that they developed on different soils, and have borne fruit of very different kinds; and that the

GOD AND THE KOSMOS. "Differences veil a fundamental unity."— Bruno. Both Christianity and Buddhism can be set to the same music, the music of the unconditioned. The definition of the Christian God as invisible and eternal, and as that which has not parts, body, or passions, is incontestably an attempt to convert our thoughts to a belief in, and appreciation of, the unconditioned. The entire teaching of Jesus moves in this direction; and this will be recognized at once if we permit ourselves to i

SOUL, SELF, INDIVIDUALITY, AND KARMA. "Verily every man is altogether vanity; for man walketh in a vain show, he disquieteth himself in vain."— Bible. The feat of mental gymnastics performed by Gotama regarded as a phenomenal being, which led to the abrogation of "soul" as an ego-entity from its dominion in the minds of men, combined with the amazing fact that nearly a third of the population of this planet has, for many centuries, enthusiastically acquiesced in this dethronement of animism, mus

HEAVEN AND NIRVANA. Innumerable figures of speech have been brought into requisition to convey to the imagination the import of the terms "Heaven" and "Nirvana." None of these, taken either separately or collectively, can be held to include all that is indicated by the above expressions. To speak of reaching Heaven, or Nirvana, is somewhat misleading; no measurement of space is applicable to them; no phenomenal expression in itself will pass muster. A later and more material aspect of heaven, kn

SOME CONCLUDING REMARKS. It is only when we come to take a bird's-eye view of these two great religions, which have exercised so enormous and so abiding an influence over the human race, and when clearness of vision is unobscured by numberless petty details and dogmas, that we can perceive the factors common to both which have given them their present stability and strength. No religion, no system of morals, no philosophy, can be secure unless they rest upon the groundwork of universal truth and

( Rhymed version of stanzas translated by Professor Rhys Davids. ) I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII....

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. [A] Vide Glasgow Herald , January, 1898. [B] Those who have not yet read that pathetically beautiful book, The Soul of a People , by H. Fielding, are referred to chapters x. and xi., wherein are set forth the true characteristics, functions, and aspirations of the Buddhist monkhood in Burma. [C] Author's translation of Bostān of Sâdi . [D] An indiscriminate denunciation of the Pharisees is, I think, unjustifiable. They must be