Page:Karl Gjellerup - The Pilgrim Kamanita - 1911.djvu/264

 "He had that in mind when he said—

After the short space of but a few thousand years came Kamanita's anxious and breathless question—

"Who ever uttered that frightful, that world-crushing sentence?"

"Who other than he, the Master, the Knower of Men, the Perfect One, the Buddha."

Then Kamanita became thoughtful. For a considerable length of time he pondered upon these words, and recalled many things. Then he spoke—

"Once already, Vasitthi, in Sukhavati, in the Paradise of the West, thou didst repeat a saying of the Buddha which was fulfilled before our eyes. And I remember that thou didst then faithfully report to me a whole speech of the Master's in which that saying occurred. This world-crushing utterance was not, however, contained in it. So thou hast then, Vasitthi, heard yet other speeches by the Master?"

"Many, my friend, for I saw him daily for more than half a year; yes, I even heard the last words he uttered."

Kamanita gazed upon her with wonder and reverence. Then he said—

"Then thou art, and just for that reason, as I believe, the wisest being in the whole Brahma-world. For all these star-gods round about us are aghast, shine with a wavering light, flicker, and blink; and even the hundred-thousandfold Brahma himself has become restless, and from his dulled radiance dart forth from time to time what seem to me flashes of anger. But thou dost give a steady light as of a lamp in a sheltered spot. And that also is a sign of dis-