m. It is not so strange at an earlier stage, for
the Vedic poet often 'sees' his hymn,[13] that is, he is inspired or
illumined. But no Brahman priest was ever 'enlightened' with sudden
wisdom, for his knowledge was his wisdom, and this consisted in
learning interminable trifles. But the wisdom of Buddha was this:

I. Birth is sorrow, age is sorrow, sickness is sorrow, death
is sorrow, clinging to earthly things is sorrow.

II. Birth and re-birth, the chain of reincarnations, result
from the thirst for life together with passion and desire.

III. The only escape from this thirst is the annihilation of
desire.

IV. The only way of escape from this thirst is by following
the Eightfold Path: Right belief, right resolve, right word,
right act, right life, right effort, right thinking, right
meditation.[14]

But Buddha is said to have seen more than these, the Four Great
Truths, and the Eightfold Path, for he was enlightened at the same
time (after several days of fasting) in regard to the whole chain of
causality which is elaborated in the later tradition.

The general result of this teaching may be formulated thus, that most
people are foolishly optimistic and that the great awakening is to
become a pessimist. One must believe not only that pain is inseparable
from existence, but that the pleasures of life are only a part of its
pain. When one has got so far along the path of knowledge he traverses
the next stage and gets rid of desire, which is the root of
life,--this is a Vedic utterance,--till by casting off desire,
ignorance, doubt, and heresy, as add some of the texts,[15] one has
removed far away all unkindness and vexation of soul, feeling
good-will to all.

Not only in this scheme but also in other less formal declarations of
Buddha does one find the key-note of that which makes his method of
salvation different alike to that of Jain or Brahman. Knowledge is
wisdom to the Brahman; asceticism is wisdom to the Jain; purity and
love is the first wisdom to the Buddhist. We do not mean that the
Brahman does not reach theoretically a plane that puts him on the same
level with Buddhism. We have pointed out above a passage in the work
of the old law-giver Gautama which might almost have been
uttered by Gautama Buddha: "He that has performed all the forty
sacraments and has not the eight good qualities enters not into union
with Brahm[=a] nor into the heaven of Brah