Page:Henry Mulford Tichenor - The Buddhist Philosophy of Life.djvu/9

 Rh "Why has the sight of my son caused thee grief?" asked the king.

But Asita, the hermit, wept for Joy, and not grief, and he said to the king:

"The king, like the moon when full, should feel great joy; for he has begotten a wondrous son. I do not worship Brahma, but I worship this child; and the gods in the temples will descend from their places of honor to adore him. Banish all fear. The child now born will bring deliverance to all the world.

"Knowing that I myself am old, I could not hold back my tears, for now my end is approaching and I shall not see the glory of this babe. For this thy son will rule the world. The sceptre of empire will be his; he will rule the lands of earth; he will become a Buddha; he is born for the sake of all that lives.

"His pure teaching will be like the shore that receives the shipwrecked. His thoughts will be as cool waters; and all who are parched with evil desires may freely drink thereof.

"On the raging fire of covetousness he will cause the clouds of love to rise, that the rain of righteous law may extinguish it; the gates of despair will he open; he will give deliverance to the captives of folly and ignorance. He comes to rescue from the bondage the poor, the desponding, the helpless."

When the king and queen heard the words of Asita, they rejoiced in their hearts, and called the child Siddhattha, that is, "He who has accomplished his purpose."