O Buddha, the gold vein of thy sermon of mercy ran through gloom-gorged,
rocky hearts, and illumined their darkness.
Thou loftiest soarer of renunciation's skies, beneath thy God-lifted
eyes, the kingdom of sense-comfort, the rivers of gross greed, the
vast and lust-scorched deserts of desire, the tall trees of temporal
ambition, the cactus plants of prickly world-worries—all melt
into invisible smallness.
Buddha, the arc-light of thy sympathy sought to melt the hardness
of cruel hearts. Once thou didst save a lamb by offering thyself
in its stead.
Thy solemn thoughts still silently roam through the ether of minds,
searching for ecstasy-tuned hearts. Seated beneath the banyan bodhi
tree, thou didst make a solemn tryst with the Spirit:
"Beneath the banyan bough,
On the sacred seat I take this vow:
Let derma, bones, and fleeting flesh dissolve;
Until the mysteries of life I solve,
And receive the all-coveted Priceless Lore,
From this place I shall stir, never, nevermore."
Thou symbol of sympathy, incarnation of mercy, give us thy determination,
that we may seek truth as doggedly as thou didst. Bless us, that
we may be awakened, like thee, to seek remedy for the sorrow-throbs
of others as we seek it for ourselves.
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