Collected Works (Vol. II)

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. VOL. II. 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. Pp