Page:Henry Mulford Tichenor - The Buddhist Philosophy of Life.djvu/5



The essence of Buddhism is non-attachment; the world is an illusion; life here is but a phase of an infinite journey; and man, therefore, should not set his heart upon material things. It is the doctrine of the old Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, who taught that all existence is but a becoming.

"All things which exist in time must perish," says the Buddhist. "The forests, the mountains, all things that exist.

"The sun and moon, Sakra himself, with all the multitude of his attendants, will perish without exception; there is not one that will endure.

"It is different combinations that cause substance; for in Nature there is no uniform and constant principle.

"All component things must grow old. Even unto a grain of sesamum seed there is no such thing as a compound which is permanent. All are transient; all have the inherent quality of dissolution.

The law of karma applies to all. Karma is action, work, the results of deeds. "My action" we read in the Anguttara Nikaya, Pancaka Nipata, "is my possession; my action is my inheritance; my action is the womb which