ange the laws of righteousness by praising them, or by crying
against them, any more than you can change the revolution of the earth.
Sin begets sorrow, sorrow is the only purifier from sin; these are
eternal sequences; they cannot be altered; it would not be good that
they should be altered. The Buddhist believes that the sequences are
founded on righteousness, are the path to righteousness, and he does not
believe he could alter them for the better, even if he had the power by
prayer to do so. He believes in the everlasting _righteousness_, that
all things work for _good_ in the end; he has no need for prayer or
praise; he thinks that the world is governed with far greater wisdom
than any of his--perfect wisdom, that is too great, too wonderful, for
his petty praise.

God lives far behind His laws; think not He has made them so badly as
to require continual rectification at the prayer of man. Think not that
God is not bound by His own laws. The Buddhist will never believe that
God can break His own laws; that He is like an earthly king who imagines
one code of morality for his subjects and another for himself. Not so;
the great laws are founded in righteousness, so the Buddhist believes,
in everlasting righteousness; they are perfect, far beyond our
comprehension; they are the eternal, unchangeable, marvellous will of
God, and it is our duty not to be for ever fretfully trying to change
them, but to be trying to understand them. That is the Buddhist belief
in the meaning of religion, and in the laws of righteousness; that is,
he believes the duty of him who would follow religion to try to
understand these laws, to bring them home to the heart, so to order life
as to bring it into harmony with righteousness.

Now see the difference. We believe that the world is governed not by
eternal laws, but by a changeable and continually changing God, and that
it is our duty to try and persuade Him to make it better.

We believe, really, that we know a great deal better than God what is
good, not only for us, but for others; we do not believe His will is
always righteous--not at all: God has wrath to be deprecated; He has
mercy to be aroused; He has partiality to be turned towards us, and
hence our prayers.

But to the Buddhist the whole world is ruled by righteousness, the same
for all, the same for ever, and the only sin is ignorance of these laws.

The Buddha is he who has found for us the light to see these laws, and
to o