his present state or
realization of consciousness, is shrouded in oblivion. From this it is
not unnatural to assume that since we have come OUT OF THE VOID, having
apparently no memory or realization of what preceded this coming, we will
return to the same state, when we shall have completed the round of
evolution.

This postulate, is, however, merely the result of our limited power of
comprehension, and may or may not be true. The answer is as yet
inexplicable to the finite mind, considered from the standpoint of relative
proof.

If it were a fact, that all Oriental sages experiencing the phenomenon of
liberation, _mukti_, had reported what would seem to be annihilation of
identity of consciousness, we still maintain that this fact would not be
proof sufficient upon which to postulate this conclusion, for the very
obvious reason that the present era promises what Occidental theology,
science, and philosophy unite in designating as a "new dispensation,"
wherein the "old shall pass away," and a "new order" shall be established.

"Look how the fine and valuable gold-dust shifts through the screen,
leaving only the useless stones and debris in the catches; even so that
which is infinitely fine substance becomes lost when sifted through the
screen of the limited mind of man," said a wise Japanese high priest.

However, it is our contention that Buddhism, far indeed from postulating
the assumption that individual consciousness is swallowed up in The
Absolute, as is frequently understood by Occidental translators of
Buddhistic writings, announces a calm and unquestioning conviction in the
power of man to attain to immortality, and consequent godhood, through
contemplation of faith in his own identity with the _Supreme One_.

When we consider that there are in the religion of Buddhism, as many as
sixty different expositions of the teachings of the Lord Buddha, and that
these vary, even as the Christian sects vary in their interpretations and
presentments of the instructions of the Master, Jesus of Nazareth, we begin
to have some idea of the difficulties of correct interpretation of the
obscure and mystical language in which _mukti_ is ever described.

One of the most quoted of the translations of the Life of Buddha, reaches
the English readers through devious ways, namely, from the Sanskrit into
Chinese, and from the Chinese into English, and again edited by an English
scientist who is also an Oriental scholar.

We mus