Thus relying on our inner experience, which is the only direct way of knowing Buddha, we conceive Him as a Being with profound wisdom and boundless mercy, who loves all beings as His children, whom He is fostering, bringing up, guiding, and teaching.  “These three worlds are His, and all beings living in them are His children."[FN#157] “The Blessed One is the mother of all sentient beings, and gives them all the milk of mercy."[FN#158] Some people named Him Absolute, as He is all light, all hope, all mercy, and all wisdom; some, Heaven, as He is high and enlightened; some, God, as He is sacred and mysterious; some, Truth, as He is true to Himself; some, Buddha, as He is free from illusion; some, Creator, as He is the creative force immanent in the universe; some, Path, as He is the Way we must follow; some, Unknowable, as He is beyond relative knowledge; some, Self, as He is the Self of individual selves.  All these names are applied to one Being, whom we designate by the name of Universal Life or Spirit.

[FN#157] Saddharma-pundarika-sutra.

[FN#158] Mahaparinirvana-sutra.

18.  Our Conception of Buddha is not Final.

Has, then, the divine nature of Universal Spirit been completely and exhaustively revealed in our Enlightened Consciousness?  To this question we should answer negatively, for, so far as our limited experience is concerned, Universal Spirit reveals itself as a Being with profound wisdom and boundless mercy; this, nevertheless, does not imply that the conception is the only possible and complete one.  We should always bear in mind that the world is alive, and changing, and moving.  It goes on to disclose a new phase, or to add a new truth.  The subtlest logic of old is a mere quibble of nowadays.  The miracles of yesterday are the commonplaces of to-day.  Now theories are formed, new discoveries are made, only to give their places to newer theories are discoveries.  New ideals realized or new desires satisfied are sure to awaken newer and stronger desires.  Not an instant life remains immutable, but it rushes on, amplifying and enriching itself from the dawn of time to the end of eternity.

Therefore Universal Life may in the future possibly unfold its new spiritual content, yet unknown to us because it has refined, lifted up, and developed living beings from the amœba to man, increasing the intelligence and range of individuals, until highly civilized man emerge into the plane of consciousness-consciousness of divine light in him.  Thus to believe in Buddha is to be content and thankful for the grace of His, and to hope for the infinite unfoldment of His glories in man.

19.  How to Worship Buddha.