Honolulu Star-Bulletin from Honolulu, Hawaii • 17

1 1 Third Section Feature K7 rKVV rr I it li i i Z7 Society A HONOLULU STAR-BULLETIN, SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 1923 HAT ARE THE BELIEF. ESS TRE. SURES OF UDDHISM? FO. EIGN P. INCAS 7 BE BURIED OF UDDHIST ISLA IN PALMYRAS HI 1 11 WW iy 4 Mil 1 1 7 VWV OF PRICE.

A RIEST THE FAITH TELLS 0 By HOWARD O. CASE An exposition of the pritieiiric of r.uddhism. ancient re-! Bv MARTIN CONNOR IJuvied on one of the islands of the Palmyra proup, visited, a year ago by a party of Honolulu men, there may be untold They Get Their Pictures in the Papers I ligiou of the Orient, which in Hawaii, meeting place of the Kast and West, has come into direct contact, perhaps conflict, with the Christianity of the Occident, has been made here by M. T. Kirby, an Englishman, formerly a Koman Catholic, and now an archbishop of Buddha.

Huddhism, in fact, appears in a fair way to become a "fad," if nothing more, with many Occidentals of Hawaii. In a land where for many years missionaries have been striving with sacrificing devotion to win peoples of the East to Christianity, a Western convert to the dominant religion of Asia is now preaching the faith of Buddha to ieoples of the West. It is interesting to note that scores of Occidentals are now regularly attending the lectures of Archbishop Kirby at the Hougwanji temple. The archbishop, indeed, has made the statement that there are more Buddhists, in spirit, among the Occidentals of Hawaii than there are Christians. wealth gold, silver and preeious stones, treasure stolen from the temples of the Ineas of South America.

That it has lain there for 107 years, hidden from human eyes, and almost forgotten in the fog of time, is the story that is still current around the Tacific, where the "mystery of Palmyra" is often discussed in lonely trading-stations, in waterfront hotels, and in the tiny cabins of island schooners moving from atoll to atoll in the Pouth Seas. The story of Palmyra has been told; in vague outline and in fragments "many a time and oft." Soaie of it has made its way into print, here and elsewhere. Whenever the Palmyra island group comes into public notice as it has done half a dozen times in the past few years some parts of this story have been published. But The Star-Bulletin is able now to give, in detail, the history of the supposed "buried treasure" on the little group which is almost exactly 1000 miles south of Honolulu. And now, after the lapse of more than a eenturv.

the storv of how this treasue of the Incas found its way from South America, across the blue expanse of the Pacific, to rest beneath a coral bed, has come to light in Honolulu. With the unrolling of the scroll of time, the chronicle of the looting of the temples of the Incas by pirates, their voyage on the Pacific and battle with another group of pirates, and the shipwreck that followed, has been revealed in all its colorful detail. Combined in one tale, it is material fit for the hand of a master fictionist. Archbishop Kirby for some time past has had under consideration I considers the earnestness of the establishment here of a clhist university where persons of all races could be traineu for the Bud dhist priesthood. He declares that the need for such an institution Is obvious, but that the culmination of large a project takes time, and that, for the present, applicants for unit, mi me present, uppucants lor the priesthood will have to cro to I sE- Japan until local workers are in a Power and comfort for the destitute, position to make the university an uncomfortable and homeless so-acttiality.

Mourn in the forest No doubt as What Is Buddh ism ob- servant, and had longed to know black flag at her masthead, appeared. It was a pirate ship, hungry for loot. Straight down the path of the Esperanza the strange craft came. Suddenly there was a flash of fire and a Phot swept across the prow of the Esperanza. Then a battle royal began.

The Esperanza put up a valiant fight, but owing to her crippled condition and to the fact that she was outnumbered in guns, was forced to surrender at sundown on the fifth day out of Callao. The Esperanza hove to and permitted the crew tf the pirate craft to board the ship. The captain of the second pirate ship, however, quickly realized that the Esperanza would not remain tmm 11 41- -t -vx f.jj' rft'Xr-f Below at the left is Julia Jjroken the jinx of the famous 1 mm -VV" -i intimately concern the four appear above Barbara La Mar, motion picture reproduced at this time because Bccry (inset). Miss La Mar, ternal verities which render pos-. Fible all that'is true, good and beau-' tiful.

These eternal verities are the! norms of existence, and they produce those uniformities in nature! which are formulated by scientists! as natural laws; they are not themselves determined by causes, but are the factors that determine everything. "Nirvana, which is the goal to which the Buddhist aspires, can be described as a state of mind in wnicn tne limitations or. tnaivitlu- i eh. i-i 1 What is Buddhism? In what, ways does It differ from Christianity? What goals are sought by the teachings of Buddha? Is; Jiuddhism un-American? It it un Christian or anti-Christian? Archbishop Kirby answered these questions, and many others, In a recent lecture in which he went thoroughly Into the whole subject cf Buddhism. The highlights In his lecture may be summed up as follows: The Buddha's message was that of deliverance deliverance by love and knowledge.

It is essentially practical, and each follower must cultivate courtesy, chivalry, tenderness and patience. In its message it is one with that of the Christ Ideal, and could work with it hand in hand for the salvation of man. Buddhism is not anti-Christian, neither is it idolatry heathenism. We also see that Buddhism is, based on the Laws of the Uni- science. "Revelation" was known in the days of the Buddha, but Buddha would have none of it.

i Buddhism, being thus founded, "has nothing to fear from investigation. "To the con-s ry, it rather invites investiga- sn. renewing the scientiric law "it of cause and effect, the Buddhist does not need the taboo "Thou shalt not." There is nothing in Buddhism that is unChristian or un-American. Its teachings would help to make better Christians and better Americans. Lastly, as no intelligent person would take the Catholicism of Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Italy or Russia to be a criterion for the beauty and perfectness of the Christ Ideal, thus no intelligent person can take much of the so-called Buddhism around us in.

Japan, China or Tibet as the Buddhism of the Buddha. Archbishop Kirby, In summing up his activities in Hawaii, which have taken him to all of the principal island of the says that it is not his purpose to obtain "converts" to Buddhism. The aim of his mission in the islands is summed up as follows: 1. Purely to remove errors that exist regarding the teaching of Buddhism. 2.

To help people to a higher and broader conception and experience of religion. 3. To teach the truth of universal love, oneness of all life, and the Brotherhood of Man-fundamental teachings of Buddhism. 4. To help people to find peace, truth and joy.

5. To teach the truth of the Ncble Eight-Fold Path that will lead people when followed to Nirvana; that is. to emancipation and enlightenment. Hays Archbishop Kirby "As I accept truth wherever found, to my mission is not connned to only one aspect of truth. The Bud- v.

Arthur, stage star, who has Hope Diamond, according to Arthurs millionaire husband. from the Hope diamond. I inan-A sence, seems to have been doomed, The shoes, in the manufacture of pvhich hard leather practically has disappeared, w-ere another innova- tion of the opening of the 1923 spring season. The vamp is of soft chamois, or very thin leather, and the shoes can be put on like gloves, The sole consists of a thin, flexible leather, which appears to bend and stretch IiKe a moccasin. The heel is made of wood, covered with enameled cloth or hard leather.

This is the only part of the shoe in which hard leather is used, and is the only Pf of the new footwear. ray and other colors tends to make the shoes resemble the glove, in addition to giving them flexibility. It was noted that many of the women wearing the glove shoes remained on the lawn or in the stand, as the pebbles surrounding the betting ring and the paddock "seemed to hurt feet. It was a dark, chilly day and the new styles in frocks, if there were any. were hidden under the furs of the women.

Four- models, however." disnlaved ES -y. community in matters of re- ngion. Also, monism and poly- tneism nourished side by side. uautama was born, therefore at if tIme when religious, questions loomed large in the public mind. and probably this accounts for his departure from his home In his vv wuo ma twenty-ninth year, leaving position.

how to hate, sickness and old age that sur rounded him on all sides. Could there be a way of escape? And to wnat end was this suffering borne? 'The Middle Way' Finding that his extremely ascetic practises were futile, convinced of the futility of treating the body in such a manner, he solved his problem by discovering the "Middle Way," and as such the Buddhist philosophy is called that of the "Middle Way." Under the Bodhi tree he won the conquest over self. His clarity of vision was enhanced, and his time was spent upon the all-absorbing theme: How to save mankind. During his last night under the Bodhi tree he saw the Importance of relations in the constitution of the world and its inhabitants; that change is the characteristic of all things; that everything is a sequence of cause and effect With the dawn, a greats enncen tlon of the truth griDDed t.h Buddha. He saw that change is inherent in nature and is the esssence in Itself; that conduct and life are not absolutely determined by that fact; but are regulated by man's own nature; that law governs the universe; that the reality of the universe is found in energy.

He gained, by a supreme insight, knowledge of the nature of reality. He clearly saw that unless an alleged truth is consistent with all other knowledge, it cannot be the truth. By deep, earnest cogitation hefound that the universe is a self- determined system a system which manifests itself in the changes which people witness individually or collectively. By his power, his sense of space was extended in- rmiteiy beyond that enjoyed by other men, and it was no wonder that his contemporaries could not follow him, for the simple reason that they were bounded by their own limited experience, as are many peopie today. Commences Mission He could see what they could not see the realization of truth in all its majesty; whereas, they could see It from one viewpoint only.

tie saw mat progression is not merely an attribute of mankind, but that, the principle is extended to all organisms, vegetable as well as animal. Even In so-called in organic matter changes are forever going on toward the attainment of some distant goal. All of these views are accepted today, even the extreme view that metals are alive. How wonderful, then," Arch bishop Kirby continued, "that In sight which enabled a man who lived 2500 years ago, who was not a scientist, who had no instruments or training in such things, to ad umbrate these views in such a mar velous manner. "The Buddah then commenced his mission.

lie said that the world was full of sorrow because it was lull of error, and men go astray I because they think that delusion is better than truth. He enunciated the Four Noble Truths nri fh There is here self Truth Buddhism is essentially prac tical. It insists on self-culture and self-deliverance, bom of self-bn yuiluie an outwara process en boundless, friendly mind unob- structed, without hatred, without enmity. Surely a lesson badly needed in the world at present: A Religion or Xotf "Buddhism is not a religion in an accepted sense, but a philosophy. In the sense of uplifting to higher levels of thought and action, and of accepting truth as an ideal to be strived for, and the exercise of a lively faith, it is assuredly a religion.

It may, therefore, be styled the religion of deliverance from evil by enlightenment; and enlightenment means recognition of truth which must be found by investigation. "Buddhism docs not teach the existence of God in the same sense as the Christian and Mohammedan re -SB 111- I'ecen mainland dispatches young ladies ichose photographs At the upper left is Miss yactrcss. whose photograph is of iier engagement to Wallace Hi 11 To grasp the spirit of the story of the Palmyra treasure one must be come something of a historian, and look back through the mist of years 1 to 1816, a year after Napoleon had met defeat at Watrloo. Before launching into the tale of pirates' gold it might be well to explain just how the story happened to come to light in Honolulu, a thousand miles from the scene of the burled treasure. Credit for re vealing the details is due in a large measure to Capt.

William R. Foster, harbormaster of Honolulu. Collects Many Things For years it has been the custom of Captain Fraser to collet data, newspaper clippings, old letters, stamps and pictures relating to the early history of Hawaii, Palmyra, Australia and the strange South Seas. In the course of time he has succeeded in collecting some unique stories, and much of th matter possesses real historic value. In this material of Captain Foster Is the story of the Palmyra treasure.

It is contained in a package of yellow letters, and much of the writing, due to the fact that the letters for the last 20 years have been kept in an iron chest, is still distinct and legible. How these letters chanced to become the possession of Captain Foster is one of the strange tricks of fate 'which seem to follow in the wake of those men who go down to the sea In ships. Within itself it would be an Interesting, story, yet Captain Foster, true to the trust of two decades, refused to reveal the identity of the person who gave him the letters. The letters, however, were presented to the harbormaster by a sailor 20 years ago after Captain Foster had succeded in obtaining a berth for the man on a sailing ship bound for the South Seas. Several months later the ship was wrecked in the Solomons, and as far as record goes, all hands were lost.

The sailor never returned to Honolulu to claim the letters, and for two decades they have lain in the iron chest, owned by the harbormaster. Breaks Silence of Years Yesterday Captain Foster broke the silence of years, and permitted a representative of this newspaper to view the letters and to assemble notes for a with the understanding that the strange tale of the Palmyra treasure would be presented to the readers of The Star-Bulletin. This agreement was readily entered Into, and The Star-Bulletin today prints the story. The history of the Palmyra treasure, a tale of greed and bloodshed, begins on January 1, 1816, in the harbor of Callao. On that day the Spanish ship Esperanza lay at anchor, ready to take to the open sea at any mo ment.

To all intents the Esperanza was an ordinary merchant ship, yet a glance at her motley and villain ous-looking crew, and at the cargo, which was hidden in the holds, would have told a far different tale. Suffice to say, however, she was a pirate craft, and her vrew, in company with a number of natives, had just returned from looting the ancient temples of the Incas in northern Peru. Looting Was Successful The looting of the temples had been successful. After the natives ihL amount the demanded for their services in plundering the temples, gold bullion valued at a million and a half pesos and silver bullion of approximately the same value, were pu on board the ship. The total value of this treasure would have been more than $1,000,000 in American money of today.

Plans were then made to set sail for the Spanish West Indies, where the loot was to be disposed of and each man was to be given his share Accordingly, the anchor was lifted and the Esperanza cleared the harbor and made her wayout to the open sea. Little did those on board the phip realize that" of all the crew, only one would live to tell the tale of that fateful cruise, and it is due to the chronicle of this member of the crow James I lines that the full story of the Palmyra treasure has been revealed in Honolulu. Four days out of Callao a storm descended on the Esperanza. The ship was tossed about like a cork. land the repeated blows of the heavy i Then to make 'matters worso.

th -ehi IiL- lilef Ia la rlo latest reports. Bad luck is supposed to haunt its owner. In afloat long, lie decided to transfer the treasure to his ship. This was done; The Esperanza was sunk, and the second ship set her course for Macao. Alas for the plans of men! On the forty-third day after the fight with the Esperanza, the ship met 6torm and during the night her course was lost.

The vessel struck on a coral reef. The sudden stoppage of the ship caused her main mast to break; thus rendering the hip helpless. 'At daybreak the ship was found to be in the center of a reef of some three miles in diameter, with hillocks of land about one mile to the eastward. On clearing away the wreckage it was found possible to haul the ship off, but the crew-found it impossible to continue the cruise, due to several leaks which she had sprung. After four days of incessant toil the ship was warped close to the beach of a small island and then dismantled.

Danger Unites Pirates Common danger united the pirates. The treasure was removed from the wreck and fairly divided. It was then buried on a reef which forms a part of the Palmyra group. In hope of reaching the mainland the pirates built a small vessel, and on the nineteenth day after the landing on the reef, launched their craft. Owing to the fact that fish and fresh fruit were abundant on the island the provisions from the wreck were practically untouched.

When the ship was wrecked on the island the total number of persons was only 90. the losses during the engagement with the Esperanza having been very heavy. Of this number 80 men embarked, each taking a small quantity of gold. These 80 men sailed on the one hundred and twentieth day from the date of the wreck, leaving 10 men behind on the island to be taken off when a suitable ship was found after they had reached the mainland. The 80 men were never seen again.

A year later, the 10 men. who had become weary of their life on the island, although they had built themselves comfortable quarters from the wreck of the ship, decided to make an attempt to reach the mainland. They drew plans for a small vessel, which they were three months building. After the vessel 4 had been completed lota were drawn, for it had been decided that only six men were to make the trip. Thirteen days after the six men had left the island blown away.

Four men were washed overboard. The stock of provisions were almost exhausted, when the remaining two men were picked up by an American whaler. A few days after their rescue one of the men died. The other man, James Hines, lingered until the whaler arrived at San Francisco, then known as the Mission City. Thirty days after he had been admitted to a hospital at Mission City he died.

Told His Strange Tale A. short time before he died he confided to his attendant the particulars of the loss of the Esperanza and the pirate craft. He gave the latitude and longtitude of the island and described the spot where the silver and gold were buried. And it is at this point, that tin? story of the Palmyra treasure, as contained in the sailor's letters, now owned by Captain Foster, ends. Whether or not the four men were ever saved from a lonely life and death on a Palmyra island and if the treasure was ever recovered has never been made known to m-in.

The secret of the treasure and the ultimate fate of the men remrin (Continued on Page 3.) unist mono is impiica in me iwnous ISoble Eight-Fold Path. quotation: umu is uie mina tnaijseif, and there is truth; uvives anwiiei- iiuuu wioiic. is, truth is not, he said. Archbishop Kirby is an tnghsh-, is attainahip niv ichose real name is ReatJia Watson, starred with Douglas Fair- cial reverses followed, wiping out their fortune. Miss Arthur tanks in ''The 'Three Musketeers," while Beery hax added to returned to the stage undaunted and' determined, her husband former laurels by his appearance as King Richard in "Robin set to work anew in an effort to regain his fortune.

Sow both Hood." Beery was formerly the husband of Gloria tiwanson, arc on the road to success. also a star in the films. The photograph at the right below is that of Miss Gladys At the right above is the former Miss Grace Draper of Hicks, icinicr of the American Legion beauty contest in Louis-Uopcdale, debutante daughter of one of the most promi- ville, icho has lee east as "Miss Columbia'' in the prologue nent families in Massachusetts, who caused sensation when which will introduce the Legion's film, "The Man Without a she eloped I with her first cousin, Harry Chariot of Ht. Louis. man by birth and.

before embracing apartness, is recognized as an iUu-Buddhism. was a Roman Catholic. sion. Righteousness can be prac-Ue studied for the priesthood in tical onjy when we have free(1 the Japan, became a priest, and, in rec-I miml from passions and egotism ognition of his efforts to place the perfect peace can dwell only when Dharma before the peoples of the an vanitv has dis.innp.ir Wef't, was elevated to the rank of archbishop last year. The head- quarters of the Zen sect in which bo was ordained as a priest in quest.

Buddhism does not teach are in Kamakura, Japan. 'Future Life' at the expense of to-The Buddhist Era It says, in effect, if you would Although several dates are men-fcfstrT Honed as the commencement of the nce cultivate "them in Buddhist era (Archbishop Kirby' TccomSanytnl this in rprp.nt lecture), the one 1901 Benjamin P. Cheney, Miss presented her with a gem cut New Fashions in "PT'lQ A "RsiPinO dllb lb Xvddllw Meet Is Opened! PARIS. The "Tut-Ankh-Amen hat" and the "glove shoe" made their appearance at the Auteuil race course for the first big feature event of the year. The running of siaKe8-irom ine viewpoint oi iasn- Mon has always been regarded as tne firat move in the dressmakers' offensive in launching their new num "i viewpoint oi xasn- launvinug styles.

The "Tut-Ankh-Amen haf 'is a bonnet-shaped headgear of medium size, between the large picture hat and the skull-fitting toque. In it the Egyptian colors, blue and rose, or blue and gold, predominate. The hat has a brim varying from an inch and a half to two inches wide, turned down to an angle of 45 degrees. Straw, cloth and felt are th materials a thin garland of multicolored flowers inv. luuufs thclaree hat, by reason of its ab-I I'Mfcj I i-j I Joined, to wit, universal love, pure 'nd unaffected by taint of selfish! ality disappear and the eternity ofjthe President ae la Republique ligions teach, but it affirms that the source- of enlightenment is omnipresent and eternal.

It merely takes up an agnostic position, neither affirming nor denying a God-head. But nowhere is a first cause denied in the Buddhist canon. The Buddha simply said: 'I perceive no beginning in Samsara. And he took the universe as we know it by our own experiences as the starting point, on the ground that further 'search or speculation into first causes was of no use. and-led to madness.

"Buddhism has no dogmas in the sense that Christianity has dogmas. The follower is strictly enjoined to cease following if he proves that the teachings are false. Nor is Buddhism founded on revelation. Strictly speaking, a conflict between Buddhism and science is impossible, as the Buddhist can accept propositions as true only after they have been proved true by careful scientific investigation. Eternal Verities "Although Buddhism denies the existence of a soul behind the ego a thing in itself yet it proclaims the existence of something eternal.

The eternal is not a thing, a concrete actuality, a material existence, but the omnipresence of those ex Buddha are contained In three Pit- akas, or. baskets, in each ot men are mar.v nuuuieua commentaries and sermons Thn canon was fixed by three suc cessive general councils, and was reduded to writing at least two cen-turil before the Christian era. At thgine of the birth of Buddha, Indian was enjoying a state of civilization about equal to that of Greece of that period. Freedom of action, speech and religion was the order of the day, although the prevailing religion was Brahminism, which had rot attained the pretentions claimed later on. The appearance at this period of sur-h entire freedom of thought and repression argues a considerable degree of culture, courtesy and among people; and 'tins i3 all the more siriKius m.u, mat is B.

C. about the time of the prophet Jeremiah. The sacred kings trutn is contemplated. Individual' mplated. Individual purpose ceases, and one's self and soul 1 -with the truths of existence of a one existence are laenuiiea -witn tne trutns or which it consists, and these remain forever.

"Nirvana is the surrender of self to truth. It is deliverance from evil, and is the highest bliss obtainable. Nirvana is characterized by a prf ect calm and utter absence of passion; a heart from which the fire of lust has gone out. hatred and delusion destroyed, and sins have ceased to be." Wall paintings which have been hidden under whitewash for 600 years aro. now being restored at raston church, Norfolk, England.

i .,,.1.1 oi rauifr dull clrect, mirkinsr a' type. i-iun-juui-V-'J t'l lit I Jl IKllllUf! a.