Edmunds, Albert J.

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BUDDHA'S LAST MEAL AND THE CHRISTIANEUCHARIST.THEIR PRESERVATION OF EARLIER RITES.BY ALBERT J. EDMUNDS.WHILE we would draw no parallel between Buddha's LastMeal and the Christian Eucharist such as we should drawbetween the Angelic Heralds of Luke and those of the Sutta-Nipato, yet these meals have something in common. It is this:they both preserve primeval sacred ideas about eating and drink-ing. Henry Clay Trumbull's monograph The Blood Covenant hasset forth the ancient practice underlying the Christian sacrament,viz., the exchange of blood to cement friendship,—the blood, by alater refinement of the race, being represented by wine. The textof Mark, which is the oldest, has for the memorial words:"And as they were eating, he took bread, and when he had blessed, he brakeit, and gave to them, and said, Take ye : this is my body. And he took a cup, andwhen he had given thanks, he gave to them : and they all drank of it. And hesaid unto them, This is my blood of the covenant, 1 which is shed for many. VerilyI say unto you, I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when Idrink it new in the kingdom of God." (Mark xiv. 22-25.)But Paul was not content with this simple form, and a visionfrom the risen Christ informed him that the memorial words com-manded a perpetuity for the rite :" I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, how that theLord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread ; and when he hadgiven thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my body which is for you : this do inremembrance of me. In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cupis the new covenant in my blood : this do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance ofme. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord'sdeath till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup ofthe Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord." (1Cor. xi. 23-27.)IThe words in italics are from Exodus xxiv. 8.BUDDHA S LAST MEAL AND THE CHRISTIAN EUCHARIST. 24.IThis new formula, with its mysterious threat, affiliated theSacred Meal to those of Eleusis and of Mithra, much to the scan-dal of Justin Martyr, who saw in the latter a diabolic travesty.Thus did Christianity perpetuate a primeval rite, inherited by sev-eral of the book-religions from the prehistoric past. But Gospelauthority was wanting until Paul's new words were inserted intothe text of Luke :"And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the apostles with him. Andhe said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you beforeI suffer : for I say unto you, I will not eat it, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom ofGod. And he received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, Take this,and divide it among yourselves : for I say unto you, I will not drink from hence-forth of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he tookbread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave to them, saying, Thisis my body [zvhich is given for you : this do in remembrance of me. And thecup in like manner after supper, saying, This cup is the ?iezv covenant in myblood, even that zvhich is poured out for you]. But behold, the hand of himthat betrayeth me is with me on the table. For the Son of man indeed goeth, as ithath been determined : but woe unto that man through whom he is betrayed ! Andthey began to question among themselves, which of them it was that should do thisthing." (Luke xxii. 14-23,)The Revised Version of 1881 (which I always use) notes inthe margin that the words italicised and in brackets are not in cer-tain manuscripts. The best critics consider them an additionmade from Paul. Luke was reckoned by the early Christians asPaul's Gospel. Tertullian gives us their literary standard whenhe says that the works of disciples are counted those of their mas-ters.Just as the Christian Eucharist preserves the covenant bloodof Exodus, derived from a remoter past, so does the Buddhist finalmeal preserve an equally ancient practice. In the Book of theGreat Decease we read :" Now the Lord addressed Cundo the smith and said : 'Whatever dried boar'sflesh remains to thee, Cundo, that bury in a hole. I see no one, Cundo, uponearth nor in the heavens of Maro or Brahma, no one among philosophers andBrahmins, princes and peoples, by whom, when he has eaten it, that food can beassimilated, save by the Tathagato.'" 'Even so, Master!' said Cundo the smith in assent unto the Lord. Andwhatever dried boar's flesh remained over, that he buried in a hole." (Book of theGreat Decease, Chap. IV.)Now James G. Frazer, in his remarkable book The GoldenBough, tells us this:" No one may touch the food which the King of Loango leaves upon his plate:it is buried in a hole in the ground." {Golden Bough, second edition. London,1900, Vol. I., p. 318.)242 THE OPEN COURT.This is done to prevent the scraps being used by a sorcerer,but it is also part and parcel of the whole system of royal andpriestly taboos, such as seen in the former seclusion of the Mikado.As is well known to students of historical religion, the offices ofpriest and king were once identical, as in the case of Melchizedek.The primitive royal hierarch was a deity on earth, and the spiritualancestor of" That divinity which doth hedge a king."The supreme example of the divine or priestly king is the God-Man; and the race-consciousness of both the great historic Mas-ters led them to identify themselves with this mythic Divine-Human. Greater than any parallels in their conduct from analleged connection between their stories is the older and morevenerable one which has its roots in the hero-legends of primevalman.

Buddha\u27s Last Meal and The Christian Eucharist. Their Preservation of Earlier Rites.

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Buddha\u27s Last Meal and The Christian Eucharist. Their Preservation of Earlier Rites.

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