way to procure it, he added, "I require mustard
seed from a house where no son, husband, parent, or slave has died."
"Very good," said the girl, and went to ask for it, carrying still the
dead child astride on her hip. The people said, "Here is mustard
seed;" but when she asked, "Has there died a son, a husband, a parent,
or a slave in this house?" they replied: "Lady, what is this that you
ask? The living are few, but the dead are many!" Then she went to
other homes, but one said, "I have lost my son;" another, "I have lost
my parents;" another, "I have lost my slave." At last, not being able
to find a single house where no one had died, she began to think,
"This is a heavy task that I am on." And as her mind cleared she
summoned up her resolution, left the dead child in a house, and
returned to Buddha. "Have you procured the mustard seed?" he asked. "I
have not," she replied. "The people of the village told me, 'The
living are few, but the dead are many.'" Then Buddha said, "You
thought you alone had lost a son; the law of death is that among all
living creatures there is no permanence." Little comfort in these
words!

Of course, we can see how these two conflicting views of life found
acceptance and expression in these two great leaders of mankind. For,
to Jesus, the keyword of life was divine grace or atonement, while to
Gautama it was _Karma_--that word which has for so many centuries been
to all India the truest expression of its philosophy and of its life.

Christ taught that the grace of God was at the service of every man
for his success in this life and for his redemption in the world to
come. He ever emphasized the inspiring message that God's work and
man's effort constitute the warp and woof of the life of every man. In
His whole scheme of salvation there is no place for discouragement;
for, walking through the path of life hand in hand with God, man can
overthrow every enemy to his progress and achieve the best and highest
in God's purposes for him.

But when the Buddha adopted the doctrine of _Karma_ as the foundation
of life, he and his system were doomed to despondency, gloom, and
discouragement. It is indeed a noble truth that every man must drink,
to its last dregs, the fruit of his own action--that the law of
_Karma_ works with relentless force in every life in the world. Only
let us understand that God may enter into each life to enable man to
face successfully that law, and it is all right. But