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22. The Buddha of Mercy.
Milton says:
"Virtue may be assailed, but never hurt;
Surprised by unjust force, but not enthralled.
But evil on itself shall back recoil,
And mix no more with goodness. If this fail,
The pillared firmament is rottenness,
And earth's base built on stubble."
The world is built on the
foundation of morality, which is another name for Universal Spirit, and moral
order sustains it. We human beings, consciously or unconsciously, were, are,
and will be at work to bring the world into perfection. This idea is
allegorically expressed in the Buddhist sutra,1 which details the
advent of a merciful Buddha named Maitreya in the remote future. At that time,
it says, there will be no steep hills, no filthy places, no epidemic, no
famine, no earthquake, no storm, no war, no revolution, no bloodshed, no
cruelty, and no suffering; the roads will be paved smoothly, grass and trees
always blooming, birds ever singing, men contented and happy; all sentient
beings will worship the Buddha of Mercy, accept His doctrine, and attain to
Enlightenment. This prophecy will be fulfilled, according to the sutra,
5,670,000,000 years after the death of Shakya Muni. This evidently shows us
that the Mahayanist's aim of life is to bring out man's inborn light of
Buddha-nature to illumine the world, to realize the universal brotherhood of
all sentient beings, to attain to Enlightenment, and to enjoy peace and joy to
which Universal Spirit leads us.
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