oth hearing them, and asking
them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his
understanding and answers" (Luke ii. 41-47).

After Buddha had lived in solitude, and returned, he was received by
the benediction of a virgin, "Blessed is thy mother, blessed is thy
father, blessed is the wife to whom thou belongest." But he replied,
"Only they are blessed who are in Nirvana," _i.e._, who have entered
the eternal cosmic order. In St. Luke's Gospel (xi. 27), we read: "And
it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the
company lifted up her voice and said unto him, 'Blessed is the womb
that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.' But he said,
'Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep
it.'"

In the course of Buddha's life, the tempter comes to him and promises
him all the kingdoms of the earth. Buddha refuses everything in the
words: "I know well that I am destined to have a kingdom, but I do not
desire an earthly one. I shall become Buddha and make all the world
exult with joy." The tempter has to own that his reign is over. Jesus
answers the same temptation in the words: "Get thee hence, Satan, for
it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt
thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him" (Matthew iv. 10, 11). This
description of the parallelism might be extended to many other points
with the same result.

The life of Buddha ended sublimely. On a journey, he felt ill; he came
to the river Hiranja, near Kuschinagara. There he lay down on a carpet
which his favourite disciple, Ananda, spread for him. His body began
to be luminous from within. He died transfigured, his body irradiating
light, saying, "Nothing endures."

The death of Buddha corresponds with the transfiguration of Jesus.
"And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, he took
Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as
he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment
was white and glistering."

Buddha's earthly life ends at this point, but it is here that the most
important part of the life of Jesus begins,--His suffering, death, and
resurrection. Other accounts of Buddha's death need not here be
considered, even though they reveal profound aspects.

The agreement in these two redemptive lives leads to the same
conclusion. The narratives themselves indicate the nature of this
conclusion. When the priest-sages hear wh