Siddhattha (B) and Kala Udayin (K) enter. K. My sweet Prince, when you are king you must appoint me court jester. Will you, my good Lord? We two are good contrasts: You full of dignity upon a royal throne, a golden crown upon your head, the scepter in your hand, and I dressed in motley with cap and bells. Heigh ho! That will be jolly. And after all we are so much alike! B. A royal crown shall never grace my head. K. And why should it not, sweet Prince? B. I have a higher aim, a greater mission. K. Then wilt thou be a Buddha? Oh, even then will I follow thee. He kneels down with clasped hands. Wilt thou a holy Buddha be, O keep me in thy company Though I'm a jester. I'll be good. Let me attain beatitude. B. Rise Kala, rise, I am a mortal man, K. My Lord, you have no ambition to be a king; you think the world is full of vanity, and you consider that life and its glory will pass away. That is exactly what I think. I agree with you. Only, you are of a serious disposition and take the matter to heart, while I think it is great fun. What is the use of thinking so much. We are all like bubbles: we float in the air, and then the bubble bursts and this life is over. I am now a poor boy. I fear no change. In a future incarnation I may be born as the son of a Devadatta (Dd.) appears in the background. His cheeks are sunken and his face is gloomy. His eye has a fanatic expression. B. Consider, it may prove a tragedy. Tears are a sweet relief In anguish pain and grief. I'll make the best of all, Whatever may befall. B. Thy prattle seemeth foolish, but it hideth Dd. Why do you waste your time, Siddhattha, with this frivolous lad? What profit can there be in gossip such as you two carry on? K. You always scold, you hollow-eyed sour face! You always moralize. Even your good brother-in-law is too worldly for you. Dd. I did not speak to you, I addressed myself to Siddhattha. B. Udayin has a heart, a human heart, Dd. If you intend to lead a religious life and go into homelessness, you had better devote yourself to fasts and contemplations. K. You do not talk to me, but I will talk to you, and I will tell you that in all your religious exercises you think of yourself, while Siddhattha thinks of others. I wish you would go into homelessness. Nobody would miss you here. Addressing himself to Siddhattha. But, good my Lord, you must not go into homelessness, because you will do more harm than good. B. How can that be, my good Kala Udayin? K. There comes your noble wife, Yasodhara. Yasodhara comes, her maids with umbrellas keep at a respectful distance. Y. Come see our boy, he is a lovely child; Kala flirts with Gopa, one of Yasodhara's maids. B. I'll follow thee at once. She goes into the house. Devadatta withdraws into the garden. B.Now Kala speak. K. O Prince Siddhattha, do not go into homelessness, B. Wouldst thou go with me? K. No sir, I would catch cold. That's not for me. [Rises] If you needs must go, sir, you had better go alone. That life is not for me. I will go and hear the nightingale. Siddhattha follows the Princess into the palace. K. A Buddha's life Is not for every one. He has no wife No pleasure and no fun. He cannot laugh, He cannot cry; He cannot love He cannot sigh. He's always preaching, preaching. He's always teaching, teaching. He wonders at time's transiency And ponders on man's misery, And findeth his salvation In dreary resignation. That life I see Is not for me: 'Twould be ill spent; I would not find enlightenment. I lift not the world's woe And in my quest for truth would fail [Muses a moment.] So I had better go And listen to the nightingale. Kala Udayin exit. [During the last scene twilight has gradually set in.] |