The Life of Buddha and Its Lessons

by Henry Steel Olcott



Excerpt:

The thoughtful student, in scanning the religious history of the race, has one fact continually forced upon his notice, viz., that there is an invariable tendency to deify whomsoever shows himself superior to the weakness of our common humanity. Look where we will, we find the saint-like man exalted into a divine personage and worshipped for a god. Though perhaps misunderstood, reviled and even persecuted while living, the apotheosis is almost sure to come after death: and the victim of yesterday's mob, raised to the state of an Intercessor in Heaven, is besought with prayer and tears, and placatory penances, to mediate with God for the pardon of human sin. This is a mean and vile trait of human nature, the proof of ignorance, selfishness, brutal cowardice, and a superstitious materialism. It shows the base instinct to put down and destroy whatever or whoever makes men feel their own imperfections; with the alternative of ignoring and denying these very imperfections by turning into gods men who have merely spiritualised[2] their natures, so that it may be supposed that they were heavenly incarnations and not mortal like other men.


This ebook requires the free Mobipocket Reader installed on your desktop computer and on your mobile device.

You can get all those applications and more information at Mobipocket.

This EBook for your BlackBerry^® Wireless Handheld is provided to you by BlackBerryBooks.