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K. At the rate he is going now, he won't stand it long. He may not live another month. It is pitiable. You should have seen him. That beautiful young man looks like a consumptive in his last stage. I did not dare to tell what I thought. The Princess would[40] not have borne the sad news.
V. Too bad. It looks pretty hopeless.
K. I do not see how the Prince can survive.
V. What is the idea of these fasts?
K. These pious recluses believe that the self is imprisoned in the body and that the senses are the prison gates. They want to liberate the soul, and many of them behold visions, but Siddhattha seems to doubt whether the saints of Uruvela proceed on the right track. Indeed he denies the very existence of the self.
V. I know he does. His views should be branded as purely human wisdom. As the senses are finger touch, eye touch, ear touch, nose and tongue touch, so the mind is to him mere thought touch. He claimed that the mind originates through a co-operation of the senses.
K. His disciples begin to break away from him.
V. That is right. They ought to have done so long ago. I always said that Siddhattha is an unbeliever. He spurns faith and relies too much on his own observation and reasoning. He will never find enlightenment. He is too negative, too nihilistic, and his quest of Buddhahood will end in a lamentable failure.
K. It would be a pity, sir. He is certainly in earnest to find the truth—the real truth, not what the priests say nor the Vedas declare, but the truth, provable[41] truth.
V. Yes that is his fault. When the king speaks with you tell him all, explain the hopelessness of his situation. The king ought to know the facts.
Visakha retires into the palace.
K. [Calls in a low voice] Gopa, Gopa!
[Gopa appears from behind the bush.]
K. [Aside] I knew she would not be far.
G. What do you want?
K. I want to have a talk with you.
G. Well?
K. Let us set our marriage day.
G. I do not care to marry you—just yet.
K. I want a kiss, Gopa.
G. You shan't have it!
K. I will leave Kapilavatthu and go back to the Bodhisatta.
G. He will tell you that a youth must not kiss a girl.
K. That rule holds only for monks.
G. Go and turn monk. Then it applies to you.
K. The world would die out if everybody turned monk.
G. First, you are not everybody, and secondly, would it not be a blessing if the whole world would try to[42] be sanctified?
K. Pshaw! Mankind consists of different castes and professions, of soldiers and merchants, of peasants and artisans and teachers. Mankind is like a body with various limbs, a head and hands, feet and chest and neck. A man who were head only could not live, and if mankind consisted of Buddhas only we would starve. We need a Buddha, but there must also be householders. Now quick give me a kiss.
She pouts.
K. If you do not kiss me I shall go back to the forest of Uruvela. Nanda, the shepherd's daughter, is a very pretty girl. She is as pretty as you are. She is,—well, her cheeks are rosier than yours. She is a little taller, and she is so graceful when she milks the kine. The shepherd needs a helper. I am sure he would like to have a son-in-law.
Rahula enters.
R. Gopa! Mother wants you.
G. [Kisses K. quickly] Here is a kiss, but you must forget Nanda. [Runs away.]
K. Stay a moment longer!
G. I have no time. [Exit.]
K. I knew she would come around,—and she is much prettier than Nanda. Nanda is a buxom country lass, a pleasant girl, but Gopa is as proper as a[43] princess. [He continues with unction.] Bodhisatta longs for the blessed state of Nirvana, and when he has found it, he will be calm and without passion. He will walk on earth as a god among men. No emotion will disturb the peace of his mind, and the happiness of the great Brahma will be as nothing in comparison to the infinite bliss of his Buddhahood. [With a lighter tone]: I adore him, but I do not envy him. I do not long for the happiness of a god. I am a man with human faults and human yearnings. I am satisfied with the happiness and the sufferings of a man. Since I am assured of Gopa's love, I care not for Nirvana. I think that this world is good enough for me.
V. [Looks around like a spy.]
How peaceful lies this palace, yet I see
The war clouds lour upon its roofs.
The storm will break with sudden vehemence upon
These harmless unsuspecting people. Woe to them,
Their doom is certain. Desperate resistance
Succumbs before the overwhelming forces
Of Bimbisara.—And what will become
Of poor Yasodhara?—I like her well.
I might still save her from her people's ruin.
A princess, sweet and noble, and herself
Descended from an ancient royal house. But
I hate that little youngster Rahula.
Whate'er betide, my deep-laid schemes will speed
And I shall profit by my master's doom.
[Music: Chopin's Nocturno. Opus 37, No. 2.]
[Curtain]
[Darkness covers the scene. Distant thunder and lightning. Gradually it grows light again and the scene of Yasodhara's bedroom becomes visible. All luxury has been removed; she sleeps on a mat on the floor, Rahula in bed.]
R. Mother! Mother!
Y. Sleep my boy, it is almost midnight.
R. Take me up, Mother.
Yasodhara picks Rahula up.
R. Why do you sleep on the floor, Mother?
Y. Because father does so. Let me lay you down on your couch, you must sleep.
R. Tell me more of father.
Y. I will to-morrow.
R. Tell me now. Is father a king?
Y. No, my son. But he is going to found a kingdom.
R. Will he be king of it?
Y. I do not know, my boy, but his kingdom will not be like other kingdoms. It will be the kingdom of truth—a spiritual kingdom, a kingdom of righteousness.
R. Is father rich?
Y. He scorns riches.
R. Why does he?
Y. He seeks other riches, the riches of religion, of the mind, of spirit.[45]
R. Did he find them?
Y. I believe he did.
R. He sends you news through Kala Udayin.
Y. No, Rahula, I send Kala Udayin out to watch him and when Kala comes back he tells me what he saw and heard. Kala does not speak to father.
R. Why does Kala not speak to father?
Y. Grandfather forbade him. When we sent out Devadatta and Ananda, they became attached to the life of a hermit. They joined father and did not come back; but Kala will not turn monk.
R. But this time he will speak to father.
