eemed to me a mystery such as I could not understand.
But when I went to the people, I found that it was simple enough to
them; for I found that they remembered their former lives often, that
children, young children, could tell who they were before they died, and
remember details of that former existence. As they grew older the
remembrance grew fainter and fainter, and at length almost died away.
But in many children it was quite fresh, and was believed in beyond
possibility of a doubt by all the people. So I saw that the teachings of
their sacred books and the thoughts of the people were not at one in
this matter.

Again, I read that there was no God. Nats there were, spirits of great
power like angels, and there was the Buddha (the just man made perfect),
who had worked out for all men the way to reach surcease from evil; but
of God I saw nothing. And because the Buddha had reached heaven
(Nirvana), it would be useless to pray to him. For, having entered into
his perfect rest, he could not be disturbed by the sharp cry of those
suffering below; and if he heard, still he could not help; for each man
must through pain and sorrow work out for himself his own salvation. So
all prayer is futile.

Then I remembered I had seen the young mother going to the pagoda on the
hilltop with a little offering of a few roses or an orchid spray, and
pouring out her soul in passionate supplication to Someone--Someone
unknown to her sacred books--that her firstborn might recover of his
fever, and be to her once more the measureless delight of her life; and
it would seem to me that she must believe in a God and in prayer after
all.

So though I found much in these books that was believed by the people,
and much that was to them the guiding influence of their lives, yet I
was unable to trust to them altogether, and I was in doubt where to seek
for the real beliefs of these people. If I went to their monks, their
holy men, the followers of the great teacher, Gaudama, they referred me
to their books as containing all that a Buddhist believed; and when I
pointed out the discrepancies, they only shook their heads, and said
that the people were an ignorant people and confused their beliefs in
that way.

And when I asked what was a Buddhist, I was told that, to be a Buddhist,
a man must be accepted into the religion with certain rites, certain
ceremonies, he must become for a time a member of the community of the
monks of the Buddha, and t