Jatakamala or A Garland of Birth Stories

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This is a necklace of pearls, and the string is the One Life that runs as a golden thread through all; and the pearls are each one a life of the Exalted One, the Brother of man, and the Bodhisattva. As He passes along our path of involution and evolution, He is a symbol of man's life, progressing or falling back again, gathering divers experience until He needs no further births and what is this unknown Force thus symbolised? In the mineral it sleeps and stirs not, in the plant it dreams and feebly moves, and in the animal it wakes and gains the senses one by one, till in the man the spark becomes a flame, and at last the Man is more than man. "Beings arise," said the Buddha, "from previous happenings. Tanha, desire of existence, is the Cause. Rise and fall is the natural law. But this round of birth and death may end. Cut off desire of life and be born no more!"

We are not left without a Teacher. There are always Masters in the world, some steps in advance of the common herd of men; and it must be so in the lower grades of life as well.

Weak Day of the year 2455 of the Buddhist Era had dawned over the Island of Ceylon. The Sinhalese Buddhists were rejoicing. They were preparing early in the morning to go to the Temples with their flower offerings to be laid at the feet of the Statues of the Lord Buddha, in memory of Him, who taught the Dhamma. The temples were adorned with flags and graceful arches of young coconut leaves.

Women and men clad in white. Thus marking their vow of taking Attha-Sila and carrying on their heads flat baskets, filled with sweet smelling white and yellow flowers, walked in procession to the nearest temples. Here, small heaps of flowers. Laid before the statues. Indicated that other devout Buddhists had already preceded them in their devotion to their religion and to the memory of their Lord.

The greatest crowds of Buddhists had gathered in the old city of Anuradhapura. Where more than two thousand years ago, Buddhism had been introduced into Lanka by Mahinda", the son of the Indian Buddhist Emperor Asoka. Mahinda had preached the first sermon on Buddhism to the Sinhalese King Devanampiya-Tissa, who reigned at that time in Lanka. King Tissa had been so much impressed with what he heard that he dedicated his kingdom to Buddhism. Taking the shafts of the golden State plough in his own hands he drew a circle with it round Anuradhapura. Mahinda had given his blessing and from that time Buddhism had begun to spread rapidly over the Island.

At the present day, Buddhists gather again from all parts of the Island and place flowers before the temple ruins of the old city of Anuradhapura.

On this special Full moon-Day of Wesak, 2455 A. B., thousands of devoted Buddhists had come to Anuradhapura and from early morning they made pilgrimages to the Isuru- muniya Temple the Ruanweli-Dagaba and the Holy Bodhi-Tree, the oldest historical tree in the world, still standing and preaching as it were to the young generation, of the glories of ancient Buddhist Lanka.

All these white-clad people look so solemn and feel so happy and move around so quietly and so orderly. Surely they must still be full of devotion to their ancient faith!

Such are the sights seen on Wesak-Day all over Buddhist Ceylon.

"And how are we to celebrate Wesak-Day, children?" said the white mother to her dark- eyed maidens, who had gathered round to give her the greetings of the Day.

**Contents and Sample Pages**