FIRST INTERLUDE.

Channa(Ch.) enters with a horse.

Channa.My Prince, here is your steed!

Mara(M), a superhuman figure, gaudily dressed, hovering in the air, suddenly appears and addressesSiddhattha(B).

M.It is a shame to leave your wife and child.B.[Addressing the vision in the air.]Mara, thou here? thou wicked one, thou tempter!K.Oh do not leave us Prince. Think of the wrong you do.You wrong your royal father, you wrong your wife, you wrong your child.B.What sayest thou? Thou sayest I do wrong?The same rebuke is echoed in my heart;It is so sweet, so loving, so alluring!And shall I listen to its tender voice?How pleasant would it be to stay at home,And to enjoy my wife's love and my child's!Is that my duty? Say, is that my duty?K.Surely my Lord, your duties lie at home.

Siddhatthawavers as if in doubt. He stands pondering for a moment.

B.Who will instruct me where my duty lies?M.I will instruct thee, I will guide thee right.K.How can you doubt, my Prince? And can you notSearch for the truth here in this pleasant garden?There're spots enough where you can think and ponder,And meditate among the fragrant flowers.B.Here I shall never reach my goal.K.Stay here.A kingdom is your sure inheritance,While Buddahood is but a doubtful prize.B.And shall the world wait for another Buddha?So many millions clamor for the truth!

With determination.

I hear the call and naught shall hold me back.I see my duty and I will obey.M.Wilt thou not stay, my noble Prince Siddhattha?The wheel of empire turns, and thee I shallMake king of kings to rule the whole broad earth.Think of the good which thou wilt do as king!And then as king of kings thy mighty powerWill spread the good religion o'er the world.B.I know thee Mara, tempter, Evil One,Prince of this world, I know thy voice, thy meaning.The gifts thou offerest are transient treasures,And thy dominion is mere vanity.I go to found a kingdom in the realmOf the immortal state which lasts for aye.Thou hinderest and dost not help the truth.K.Thou speakest to the empty air, my Prince,For I see no one whom thou thus addressest.

ChannahelpsSiddhatthato mount, and while the gate opens leads the horse out of the gate, andKalaenters into the palace.Visakhais coming to the front.

V.He is gone. He has made room for me. The time will come when this kingdom will be mine.

Y.[from the balcony] Siddhattha! Siddhattha! Where are you? He is gone! He has departed into homelessness! [She faints.]

[Curtain]

Living pictures accompanied by appropriate music, as an introduction to Act II.

1.Begging Food.

A scene of the Prince's life as a mendicant friar.

A Hindu village, Siddhattha stands bowl in hand before a hut; a woman dishes some rice from a kettle into his bowl; villagers, including children, stand around gazing at him,—a few with clasped hands.

2.The King Greets the Mendicant.

Tradition tells that King Bimbisara, hearing of the noble monk, went out to see him and offered him to take part in the government. This being refused, the King requested him to visit Rajagaha, the royal residence, as soon as Siddhattha had become a Buddha.

Siddhattha is seated under a tree near a brook; the king stands before him, surrounded by his retinue.

3Preaching to the Villagers.

Under the tree in the market place of a Hindu village The Buddha is seated in the attitude of a preacher. The villagers stand or squat around intently listening.

4.Saved from Starvation

In company with other monks, Siddhattha sought for a while enlightenment by self-mortification.

Being exhausted by severe fasts, the mendicant faints, and Nanda, the shepherd's daughter, passing by, refreshes him with rice milk. His five disciples at a distance fear that he has given up his quest for truth.

[Seven years have elapsed since the first act. A room in the royal palace at Magadha]

Present:Nagadeva(N), the prime minister,General Siha(GS), commander-in-chief of the Magadha forces. Later on theMaster of Ceremonies(MC),King Bimbisara(Bb.), a trumpeter and a small body guard.

N.It is a joy to serve this mighty kingWhose power extendeth over many lands.In peace he ruleth wisely, and his subjectsObey him willingly for he is just.In war he swoops upon his enemiesAs doth a hawk upon a helpless chicken,Quick in attack, lucky in every fight.Indeed he earned his name deservedly,The warlike Bimbisara.GS.At his sideI fought with him in many a doubtful battleWith all the odds against us, but his daring,Joined to a rare instinctive foresightBy which he could anticipate all dangers,Would win the day and ne'er was he defeated!In this our latest war he took great risks,Might have been taken by his foes, and wouldHave lost his liberty, his throne, his life;But venturing much he won, and by exposingHis own high person in the brunt of battleHe stirred the courage of his followersTo do great deeds of valor.

Master of Ceremoniesenters with a trumpeter.

MC.Noble lords,Mis majesty, our royal lord, is comingTo meet you here in private council.

Trumpeter blows a signal.

GS.Hail the victorious, warlike Bimbisara!

Both kneel as the king enters preceded and followed by a small body guard.

Bb.Be greeted noble lords.

N.We wish you joy and the continuance of your good fortune.

Bb.I have a matter to bespeak with you,Far-reaching weighty plans of great importance.I wish to be alone with you.

Turning to the captain of his body guards.

Captain, have this room guarded by your soldiers.The gong shall call you when I need your service.

The soldiers march out of the room.

Be seated, my good lords.You helped me gain a wondrous victoryWhich proves I have the favor of the gods.I probed your skill, your courage and your faithAnd found you both most able and most trusty.Therefore you are to me much more than vassalsAnd servants of the state; you are my helpers,Indeed my friends and nearest to my heart.A king needs friends who share his secret thoughts,Who stand by him in all vicissitudes,Who bear with him responsibilities,And above all, who frankly speak the truth.I ask you, will you be such friends to me?GS.I will with all my heart.N.And I not less.Bb.I, my dear friends, I promise you in turnThat I shall not resent your words of truthIf spoken in good faith with best intentions.I may not always follow your advice,But you are free to say whate'er you please,Whate'er you may deem best for me to know,Whate'er will benefit the empire and my people.Now listen what I have to say to you.I will reveal to you my inmost heart:This is an age of greatest expectations;Riches accumulate in our cities,Commerce and trade are flourishing, andOur caravans exchange our native goodsFor gold and precious produce from abroad.What India needs is unity of rule.The valley of the holy Ganges shouldBe governed by one king, a king of kings.There should no longer be a rivalry,A clash of interests between the states,And all the princes should obey the ruleOf the one man who guides and guards the whole.This therefore is my plan: you NagadevaMust gain the favor of our neighbor kings,So as to make them recognize our sway.If voluntarily they will submit,They shall be welcome as our worthy vassals.If they resist (turning to Siha) my gallant generalYou must reduce them to subjection.A treaty with the rajas in the east,In southern and in northern Kosala,Speedeth my plans, the Sakyas onlyDefy our sovereign will, and keep aloof.If they yield not, their power must be broken!There is a task for you and for my army.N.Permit, my noble king, that I advise you.I know the Sakya minister of state,And he is willing to betray his master.The Sakya prince, the only son and heir,Siddhattha Gotama he's called by name,Went into homelessness and has turned monk,Leaving behind his wife and a small son.The minister aspireth to the throne,And if we help him in his plans, he willAcknowledge you as sovereign over him.And that will save your army blood and trouble.Bb.What is his name.N.Visakha, noble King.Bb.I wish to see him. Let him visit youAnd as by accident I want to meet him.GS.Allow me, mighty King, a word of warning.Bb.Speak freely.GS.

With unconcealed indignation, almost entreatingly.

Do not listen to a traitor.Send me with all the army of the kingdom,Bid me lead captive all the Sakyas; do itIn open fight but not by treachery.My King, avoid alliance with Visakha,His very breath contaminates. He lowersOurselves to his low level.Bb.Thank you Siha.I will be slow. [Pondering] But it is too important!

Argues with himself.

May I not listen to a traitor's words,Nor hear him,—profit by his information?GS.Oh do it not!Bb.Siha, thou art a soldier.I honor thee, thou speakest like a soldier,But think how much diplomacy will help,How many lives and property it saves.Without the brutal means of war it willBetter accomplish all our ends; it sparesThe enemy as well. A prosperous countryWill serve me better than a city sackedAnd villages destroyed by fire.GS.Pardon, my liege, I do not trust a traitor.Bb.I will be on my guard, but I shall see him,'T shall be by way of reconnoitering.You in the meantime keep the army ready,For one way or another I must conquerThe Sakya king and make him do my bidding.

The King rises indicating that his two counselors are dismissed. They rise also.

The world is growing wider every dayAnd our souls broaden with the general progress.A new era dawns upon us. Let us allHelp to mature the fruitage of the times.

[The garden before the palace of KingSuddhodanaas in Act I]

PresentsYasodhara(Y) with her maidGopa(G) andRahula(R).

Y.Repeat that verse once more and then we will stop our lesson.

With goodness meet an evil deed,With loving kindness conquer wrath,With generosity quench greed,And lies by walking on truth's path.

Y.Now you can run about in the garden or play with the Captain's son.

R.Mother, I do not believe that goodness always works in this life.

Y.Why do you think so?

R.Because there are very bad boys, so bad that only a whipping will cure them.

Y.Rahula!

R.Truly, mother, truly. Even the gardener says so.

Y.You must set the bad boys a good example.

R.No use, mother; they remain bad. I have tried it.

Y.You must have patience.

R.No use, mother; and the gardener says, A viper remains a viper.

Y.Even poisonous reptiles can be tamed.

R.Yes, but the gardener first pulls their fangs. Would you like me to play with a viper?

Y.No, my boy.

Excitement at the gate.Kalaenters and soldiers of the guard surround him.

R.What is going on?—O Mother! Kala Udayin is back!

Kala Udayin(K) appears among the guards.Rahularuns to the gate.

R.Kala! Welcome home! Shake hands!

K.Be heartily greeted, my boy.

R.Did you see father?

K.I did, Rahula.

R.Tell me all.

K.I will tell mother.

R.Come to mother. She has been expecting you for many days.

Kalakneels to the Princess.

Y.Gopa, take his bundle. [The maid takes his bundle and carries it into the house.] What news do you bring of Prince Siddhattha?

K.I followed the Prince from place to place and saw him last near Benares in the forest of Uruvela.

Y.How is his health, and will he come back?

K.His health is probably good, but he does not think of coming back—not yet. O my dear lady! If youcould see him! he is as thin as a skeleton. I could count all his ribs.

R.What is the trouble with father.

K.He is fasting. He lives on a hempcorn a day; think of it, one little hempcorn a day!

Y.Oh, he will die! My poor husband. I must follow him and attend to his wants. He needs his wife's loving care. I will leave my home and follow him.

K.Could you help him, princess? He might not like it, and the monks abhor women. Moreover, I was told that he takes food again, every morning a cup of rice milk. The day I left he looked better. Still, he was pretty pale.

Y.Tell me all you know of him.

K.I went first to Rajagaha, and there I heard wondrous tales about the noble monk Gotama. All the people knew about him, they called him a "sage" or "muni" and the "Bodhisatta."

R.What does that mean, Kala?

K.Bodhisatta is the man who seeks the bodhi—and the bodhi is enlightenment or Buddhahood.

Y.What did the people of Rajagaha say?

K.When Prince Siddhattha came to Rajagaha, he created a great excitement in the city. Never had been seen a mendicant of such noble appearance, and crowds flocked to him. They thought he was a Buddha and greeted him as a Buddha; but he saidto them "I am not a Buddha; I am a Bodhisatta, I seek Buddhahood, and I am determined to find it."

Y.Did you meet people who saw him?

K.Indeed, I did. They say he looked like a god. The news spread all over the capital, and King Bimbisara himself went out with his ministers to see the Bodhisatta. King Bimbisara came to the place where the stranger stayed—under a forest tree near a brook—and greeted him most respectfully saying, "Great monk, remain here with me in Rajagaha; I see that you are wise and worthy. Live with me at the royal palace. Be my adviser and counselor. You are not made for a mendicant. Your hands are fit to hold the reins of empire. Stay here, I beg you, and you shall not lack honor and rank." "Nay," replied Siddhattha, "let me go my way in quest of enlightenment. I am bent on solving the problem of existence, and I will become a Buddha." Said the King, "Hear then, great monk. Go in quest of enlightenment, and when you have found it come back to Rajagaha."

Y.Is King Bimbisara so religious?

K.King Bimbisara is ambitious. As is well known, he is a warrior and a conqueror; but that is not all. He wants to be the greatest monarch of all ages and he would have all the great events happen under his rule. This is what he said to the Bodhisatta: "When I was a youth I uttered five wishes, and they were these: I prayed, May I be crowned King. This wish has been fulfilled. Then I wished, May theholy Buddha, the Blessed One, appear on earth while I am King, and may he come to my kingdom. This was my second wish, and while I gaze upon you I know that it will be fulfilled. Further I wished, May I see the blessed Buddha and pay my respects to him. This was my third wish. My fourth wish was, May the Blessed One preach the doctrine to me, and my fifth and greatest wish was this, May I understand the doctrine. I beg you, therefore, great monk, when you have become a Buddha come back and preach the doctrine to me and accept me as your disciple."

Y.And whither did Siddhattha go from Rajagaha?

K.He visited the great philosophers Arada and Udraka, but he found no satisfaction in their theories. So he went on to Uruvela where the ascetics live. I followed the Bodhisatta and learned that he stayed with five disciples in the forest. I found shelter near by in the cottage of the chief shepherd, a good old man with a pretty daughter, Nanda. There I watched Siddhattha and his disciples from a distance. He was the youngest but the wisest of them, and they reverenced him as master. He outdid them all in fasting. One day Nanda, the shepherd's daughter, saw him faint, and he might have died from exhaustion right on the spot if Nanda had not given him rice milk to drink.

Y.O good Kala, what shall I do? What shall I do? Here I sit at home, a poor, helpless woman, unableto assist him or to take care of him! O Kala, advise me, what can I do?

King Suddhodana(S) andVisakha(V) come out of the palace. The Princess retires into the palace.Gopahides behind the bushes.

S.I am glad to see you back. Have you seen my son?

K.I have sire.

S.Where did you find him?

K.At Uruvela, the place of mortification where saints try to see visions and reach a state of bliss.

V.And has Siddhattha succeeded?

K.It does not seem so; he is starving himself to death.

V.Is he dying?

K.Not exactly, but I do not see how he can live—on that diet.

S.Oh, Visakha, how have I been deprived of my son through a whim!

Both return into the palace.Visakhacomes back.

V.It seems that Siddhattha is ruining himself.

K.At the rate he is going now, he won't stand it long. He may not live another month. It is pitiable. You should have seen him. That beautiful young man looks like a consumptive in his last stage. I did not dare to tell what I thought. The Princess wouldnot have borne the sad news.

V.Too bad. It looks pretty hopeless.

K.I do not see how the Prince can survive.

V.What is the idea of these fasts?

K.These pious recluses believe that the self is imprisoned in the body and that the senses are the prison gates. They want to liberate the soul, and many of them behold visions, but Siddhattha seems to doubt whether the saints of Uruvela proceed on the right track. Indeed he denies the very existence of the self.

V.I know he does. His views should be branded as purely human wisdom. As the senses are finger touch, eye touch, ear touch, nose and tongue touch, so the mind is to him mere thought touch. He claimed that the mind originates through a co-operation of the senses.

K.His disciples begin to break away from him.

V.That is right. They ought to have done so long ago. I always said that Siddhattha is an unbeliever. He spurns faith and relies too much on his own observation and reasoning. He will never find enlightenment. He is too negative, too nihilistic, and his quest of Buddhahood will end in a lamentable failure.

K.It would be a pity, sir. He is certainly in earnest to find the truth—the real truth, not what the priests say nor the Vedas declare, but the truth, provabletruth.

V.Yes that is his fault. When the king speaks with you tell him all, explain the hopelessness of his situation. The king ought to know the facts.

Visakharetires into the palace.

K.[Calls in a low voice] Gopa, Gopa!

[Gopaappears from behind the bush.]

K.[Aside] I knew she would not be far.

G.What do you want?

K.I want to have a talk with you.

G.Well?

K.Let us set our marriage day.

G.I do not care to marry you—just yet.

K.I want a kiss, Gopa.

G.You shan't have it!

K.I will leave Kapilavatthu and go back to the Bodhisatta.

G.He will tell you that a youth must not kiss a girl.

K.That rule holds only for monks.

G.Go and turn monk. Then it applies to you.

K.The world would die out if everybody turned monk.

G.First, you are not everybody, and secondly, would it not be a blessing if the whole world would try tobe sanctified?

K.Pshaw! Mankind consists of different castes and professions, of soldiers and merchants, of peasants and artisans and teachers. Mankind is like a body with various limbs, a head and hands, feet and chest and neck. A man who were head only could not live, and if mankind consisted of Buddhas only we would starve. We need a Buddha, but there must also be householders. Now quick give me a kiss.

She pouts.

K.If you do not kiss me I shall go back to the forest of Uruvela. Nanda, the shepherd's daughter, is a very pretty girl. She is as pretty as you are. She is,—well, her cheeks are rosier than yours. She is a little taller, and she is so graceful when she milks the kine. The shepherd needs a helper. I am sure he would like to have a son-in-law.

Rahulaenters.

R.Gopa! Mother wants you.

G.[Kisses K. quickly] Here is a kiss, but you must forget Nanda. [Runs away.]

K.Stay a moment longer!

G.I have no time. [Exit.]

K.I knew she would come around,—and she is much prettier than Nanda. Nanda is a buxom country lass, a pleasant girl, but Gopa is as proper as aprincess. [He continues with unction.] Bodhisatta longs for the blessed state of Nirvana, and when he has found it, he will be calm and without passion. He will walk on earth as a god among men. No emotion will disturb the peace of his mind, and the happiness of the great Brahma will be as nothing in comparison to the infinite bliss of his Buddhahood. [With a lighter tone]: I adore him, but I do not envy him. I do not long for the happiness of a god. I am a man with human faults and human yearnings. I am satisfied with the happiness and the sufferings of a man. Since I am assured of Gopa's love, I care not for Nirvana. I think that this world is good enough for me.

V.[Looks around like a spy.]How peaceful lies this palace, yet I seeThe war clouds lour upon its roofs.The storm will break with sudden vehemence uponThese harmless unsuspecting people. Woe to them,Their doom is certain. Desperate resistanceSuccumbs before the overwhelming forcesOf Bimbisara.—And what will becomeOf poor Yasodhara?—I like her well.I might still save her from her people's ruin.A princess, sweet and noble, and herselfDescended from an ancient royal house. ButI hate that little youngster Rahula.Whate'er betide, my deep-laid schemes will speedAnd I shall profit by my master's doom.

[Music: Chopin's Nocturno. Opus 37, No. 2.]

[Curtain]

[Darkness covers the scene. Distant thunder and lightning. Gradually it grows light again and the scene ofYasodhara'sbedroom becomes visible. All luxury has been removed; she sleeps on a mat on the floor,Rahulain bed.]

R.Mother! Mother!

Y.Sleep my boy, it is almost midnight.

R.Take me up, Mother.

YasodharapicksRahulaup.

R.Why do you sleep on the floor, Mother?

Y.Because father does so. Let me lay you down on your couch, you must sleep.

R.Tell me more of father.

Y.I will to-morrow.

R.Tell me now. Is father a king?

Y.No, my son. But he is going to found a kingdom.

R.Will he be king of it?

Y.I do not know, my boy, but his kingdom will not be like other kingdoms. It will be the kingdom of truth—a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom of righteousness.

R.Is father rich?

Y.He scorns riches.

R.Why does he?

Y.He seeks other riches, the riches of religion, of the mind, of spirit.

R.Did he find them?

Y.I believe he did.

R.He sends you news through Kala Udayin.

Y.No, Rahula, I send Kala Udayin out to watch him and when Kala comes back he tells me what he saw and heard. Kala does not speak to father.

R.Why does Kala not speak to father?

Y.Grandfather forbade him. When we sent out Devadatta and Ananda, they became attached to the life of a hermit. They joined father and did not come back; but Kala will not turn monk.

R.But this time he will speak to father.

Y.How do you know?

R.I heard grandfather bid him to.

Y.What did he bid him?

R.He bade Kala that he should tell father to visit us.

She can scarcely conceal her joy.

Y.You heard grandfather say so?

R.I did, mother; grandfather said that he became old, and before he died he wanted to see his son again.

Y.Why! did he really say so?

R.He did.

Y.Oh you darling son, then you will see him, too.

R.People say that he will be a Buddha.

Y.Yes, my son, some say he will be a Buddha and others doubt it.

R.Mother, what is a Buddha?

Y.A Buddha is a man who has found the truth.

R.How does a man find the truth?

Y.By enlightenment. He must find out the cause of evil.

R.Why must he find out the cause of evil?

Y.He teaches the people how to avoid evil.

R.Has father found the cause of evil?

Y.Kala Udayin says he has.

R.What is the cause of evil?

Y.Father says that selfishness is the cause of evil and selfishness comes from the belief in self.

R.Self?

Y.Yes, self! Man, as a rule, believes that he is a self.

R.What? A self?

Y.Yes, a being by himself, who lives only for himself, and the thought of self makes him selfish; and selfishness begets all evils.

R.[with a childlike serious conviction] I believe it, mother.

Y. Father says there is no self, that self is an illusion.

R.What does that mean?

Y.It means that we are not separate beings. I thinka thought and speak it out and you hear it. I believe in that thought and so do you. Whose is it then, yours or mine?

R.It belongs to both.

Y.But where does the thought come from? If it is true it belongs to the truth, and it was true before I thought it.

R.Yes, mother.

Y.And if it was wrong, it is evil, and it was evil before we thought it.

R.Yes, mother.

Y.And so are all our thoughts, but almost everybody assumes that his self thinks these thoughts and invents them; and that is an illusion.

R.I see.

Y.[to herself] His eyes close. He is tired. [to Rahula] Now go to sleep again, Rahula, and dream of your father. I will sing you one of father's songs.

YasodharalaysRahuladown in the high bed and sings:

By ourselves is evil done,By ourselves we pain endure.By ourselves we cease from wrong,By ourselves become we pure.No one saves us but ourselves,No one can and no one may.We ourselves must walk the path,Buddhas merely teach the way.

The boy sleeps. ThenYasodharaherself lies down on the mat on the floor. Above her appears the vision of her dream. Under the Bodhi tree in a forest landscapeSiddhatthasits. He is surrounded by a halo of light.Maraapproaches to tempt him.

M.Thou art ahungered, worthy Sakyamuni,Ahungered art thou from continued fasts,And thou wilt starve unless thou take and eat.I bring delicious food, take, eat and live.B.I shall not eat until my quest be done.Much better 'tis to die in glorious battleThan flee and lead a coward's life, defeated.I shall not eat, O Mara, take thee hence.M.Wilt thou not listen to my good advice?B.The tempter always calls his councils good,But pleasures which he promises are evil.M.I will not suffer thee to stay, Siddhattha,And shall disturb thy daring quest of truth.I'll split the Bodhi tree by lightningAnd frighten thee away with rumbling thunder.

All is wrapped in darkness, exceptSiddhatthaand the Bohdi tree. Thunder and lightning. After a while the noise abates. It grows light again.Mara'sdaughters appear.

M.Go forth my daughters, tempt the holy man,And lure him from the seat of Buddahood.

Three graceful women,Mara'sdaughters, sing in a low enticing voice.

[Melody: The Mermaids' Song from Weber's Oberon.]

Sweetest on earth 'tis in pleasure to live,Love thou must ask for, and love thou must give.Pain we can soothe and assuage every smart,Yea, we will grant thee the wish of thy heart.Power bestow we, enjoyment and mirth,Health and wealth also, and all that has worth.Lo, of life's happiness naught shalt thou miss,Satisfied longings are greatest of bliss.

While they sing they circle around the Bodhi tree and pose in graceful attitudes.

[Siddhattha does not mind Mara's daughters. They withdraw, and grotesque monsters appear in threatening attitudes, exhibiting a savage war dance, always approaching the tree and turning their weapons against the Sakyamuni, but as soon as they approach the halo they droop, unable to hurt him. Lotus flowers rain down. Sakyamuni raises his right hand. A flash of lightning and a sudden clap of thunder. The spook vanishes in darkness while the Buddha under the Bodhi tree alone remains visible in a halo of light. The forest landscape reappears in full light as before.]

B.The wheel of life turns round through birth and death,Its twelve-linked chain of causes takes its startIn ignorance and ends in suffering.The truth is found, the fourfold noble truth;All life is sorrow, sorrow's cause is lust,But from our sorrow we can escapeIf we abandon lust and thought of self.The eightfold noble path of righteousnessDelivers from all evil: it will bringSweet peace of mind and leadeth to Nirvana.

[With music accompaniment]

Through many births I sought in vainThe builder of this house of pain.Now, builder, thee I plainly see!This is the last abode for me.Thy gable's yoke, thy rafters broke,My heart has peace; all lust will cease.

[The following words fit exactly the music of Haydn's Chorus with Soli No. 13[B]in The Creation, and the spirit of the composition is very appropriate for this scene]

[B]Peters' Edition, pp 44-55 "Die Himmel erzahlen, etc." In a few places where the fugas set in, the words "The wicked Mara's host" should read "The wicked one's,—the wicked Mara's host," etc.

Chorus of Angels.

Behold the great muni,His heart unmoved by hatred,The wicked Mara's host'Gainst him did not prevail.

Trio ofBrahma Vishnu Shiva.

Victorious BuddhaThou art wise and pure,The darkness is goneAnd enlightenment gained.

Chorus of Angels as above.

Proclaim the truthTo all the world.Truth will bring salvation.Glory to the truth!

Chorus of Angels as above.

[Lotus flowers rain down thicker and thicker, clouds cover the scene, but the Buddha under the Bodhi tree remains still dimly but sufficiently visible.]

Yasodharawakes up. She rises and lights a candle from a rush lamp. She kneels with clasped hands before the vision of theBuddha.

Y.Oh Siddhattha, my Lord and Husband, no longer my Husband, but the Buddha. In thee I take my refuge. In thee and thy word, I believe. Thy doctrine shall guide me. Accept me as thy faithful disciple, a disciple of the Buddha, my Lord, the Tathagata, the great thinker, the Saviour of mankind.

[Curtain.]

Living pictures accompanied by appropriate music to introduce the Third Act.

1.The Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness.

Buddha preaches to his five disciples the way of salvation, which speech, preserved in a special book, is frequently compared to Christ's Sermon on the Mount.

Buddha stands with raised hand, while five monks stand or sit or squat around him in devout attitude.

2.Entering the Capital.

When Buddha came to Rajagaha, the people met him on the way and accompanied him into the city in triumphal procession which is analogous to Christ's entry into Jerusalem.

The Buddha with bowl in one hand and staff in the other is followed by yellow-robed monks. The people strew flowers, carry palm branches and wave kerchiefs.

3.The Courtesan.

Ambapali, the Buddhist Mary Magdalen, came to Buddha, worshiping him and invited him to take his meal at her home. To the astonishment of several moralists, he accepted and honored the penitent sinner.

A beautifully dressed woman with clasped hands kneels before Buddha, a maid in attendance behind her. Some well dressed people of high caste watch the scene with an expression of indignation.

4.The Philanthropist.

The wealthiest man of Savatthi invites the Buddha to his home and offers to build a resthouse for the Buddha and his brotherhood.

Anatha Pindika kneels before the Buddha, holding in one hand the picture and plan of a building. Buddha indicates byhis lowered hand acceptance of the gift. Buddha attended by two monks, Anatha Pindika accompanied by the architect.

5.Prince Jeta.

It is told that the most beautiful spot in Savatthi was the royal park of Prince Jeta, which Anatha Pindika wanted to buy for the brotherhood of Buddha. The owner was unwilling to sell and made the exorbitant demand to have the whole ground covered with gold as its price. But Anatha Pindika had the gold carried to the garden and paid the price.

The scene is laid in the garden. Anatha Pindika with bags of gold stands in commanding attitude. His servants spread the coins while Prince Jeta throws up his hands in astonishment.

(Anatha Pindika is not the real name of the founder of the Jetavana. The name means, "[He who gives to] the indigent, alms.")

[A Brahman temple with a statue of Durga; before the idol an altar. In the background a landscape with farms and a sheep-fold.]

Back to Index Next