novice puts away hate,
passion, wrong-doing, sinfulness of every kind, then: 'He lets his
mind pervade the whole wide world, above, below, around and
everywhere, with a heart of love, far-reaching, grown great, and
beyond measure. And he lets his mind pervade the whole world with a
heart of pity, sympathy, and equanimity, far-reaching, grown great,
and beyond measure.' Buddha concludes (adopting for effect the
Brahm[=a] of his convert): 'That the monk who is free from anger, free
from malice, pure in mind, and master of himself should after death,
when the body is dissolved, become united to Brahm[=a] who is the
same--such a condition of things is quite possible' Here is no
metaphysics, only a new religion based on morality and intense
humanity, yet is the young man moved to say, speaking for himself and
the friend with him: 'Lord, excellent are the words of thy mouth. As
if one were to bring a lamp into the darkness, just so, Lord, has the
truth been made known to us in many a figure by the Blessed One. And
we come to Buddha as our refuge, to the doctrine and to the church.
May the Blessed One accept us as disciples, as true believers, from
this day forth, as long as life endures.'

The god Brahm[=a] of this dialoge is for the time being playfully
accepted by Buddha as the All-god. To the Buddhist himself Brahm[=a]
and all the Vedic gods are not exactly non-existent, but they are dim
figures that are more like demi-gods, fairies, or as some English
scholars call them, 'angels.' Whether Buddha himself really believed
in them, cannot be asserted or denied. This belief is attributed to
him, and his church is very superstitious. Probably Buddha did not
think it worth while to discuss the question. He neither knew nor
cared whether cloud-beings existed. It was enough to deny a Creator,
or to leave no place for him. Thaumaturgical powers are indeed
credited to the earliest belief, but there certainly is nothing in
harmony with Buddha's usual attitude in the extraordinary discourse
called _[=A]kankheyya_, wherein Buddha is represented as ascribing to
monks miraculous powers only hinted at in a vague 'shaking of the
earth' in more sober speech.[47] From the following let the 'Esoteric
Buddhists' of to-day take comfort, for it shows at least that they
share an ancient folly, although Buddha can scarcely be held
responsible for it: "If a monk should desire to become multiform, to
become visible or invisible, to go through a wa