1902
THE THREE CHARACTERISTICS
‘‘ LISTEN to the Jataka !” said the Buddha.
And all they gave ear. ‘‘ Long ago, when
King Brahmadatta reigned in Benares,!
it came to pass that there lived under
his admirable government a weaver named
Suraj Ju? and his wife Chandi. And in
the fulness of her time did she give
birth to a man child, and they called him
Perdu’ R Abu.4 Now the child grew, and
the tears of the mother fell, and the wrath of
the father waxed: for by no means would
the boy strive in his trade of weaving. The
loom went merrily, but to the rhythm of a
mantra; and the silk slipped through his
fingers, but as if one told his beads. Where-
fore the work was marred, and the hearts of
the parents were woe because of him. But
it is written that misfortune knoweth not
the hour to cease, and that the seed of
sorrow is as the seed of the Banyan Tree.
It groweth and is of stature as a mountain,
and, ay me! it shooteth down fresh roots
into the aching earth. For the boy grew
and became a man; and his eyes kindled
with the lust of life and love; and the de-
sire stirred him to see the round world and
its many marvels. Wherefore he went forth,
taking his father’s store of gold, laid up for
him against that bitter day, and he took fair
maidens, and was their servant. And he
builded a fine house and dwelt therein.
And he took no thought. But he said:
Here is a change indeed !
1 The common formula for beginning a
‘‘ Jataka,” or story of a previous incarnation of
Buddha. Brahmadatta reigned 120,000 years.
2 The Sun.
3 The Moon,
4 Perdurabo.,Crowley’s motto.
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225
‘* Now it came to pass that after many years
he looked upon his lover, the bride of his
heart, the rose of his garden, the jewel of
his rosary; and behold, the olive loveliness
of smooth skin was darkened, and the flesh
lay loose, and the firm breasts drooped, and
the eyes had lost alike the gleam of joy and
the sparkle of laughter and the soft glow
of love. And he was mindful of his word,
and said in sorrow, ‘ Here is then a change
indeed!’ And he turned his thought to
himself, and saw that in his heart was also a
change: so that he cried, ‘Who then am
I?’ And he saw that all this was sorrow.
And he turned his thought without and
saw that all things were alike in this; that
nought might escape the threefold misery.
‘The soul,’ he said, ‘the soul, the I, is
as all these; it is impermanent as the
ephemeral flower of beauty in the water that
is born and shines and dies ere sun be risen
and set again.’ ,
‘* And he humiliated his heart and sang the
following verse :
Brahma, and Vishnu, and great Shiva! Truly
I see the Trinity in all things dwell,
Some rightly tinged of Heaven, others duly
Pitched down the steep and precipice of
Hell.
Nay, not your glory ye from fable borrow !
These three I see in spirit and in sense,
These three, O miserable seer! Sorrow,
Absence of ego, and impermanence !
And at the rhythm he swooned, for his old
mantra surged up in the long-sealed vessels
of sub-conscious memory, and he fell into
the calm ocean of a great Meditation.
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