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The Affirmation." Self is an error and illusion, a dream. Open your eyes and awake. See things as they are and you will be comforted." This shows that he recognised the value of the affirmation or realisation of the truth.

"Surrender the grasping disposition of your selfishness, and you will attain to that sinless calm state of mind which conveys perfect peace, goodness, and wisdom."

"Let a man remain steadfast in this state of mind while he is awake, whether he is standing, walking, sitting, or lying down." "This state of heart is best in the world. It is Nirvana.”

The Results of this Method of Deliverance.-Again he said: "I have obtained deliverance by the extinction of self. My body is chastened, my mind is free from desire, and the deepest truth has taken abode in my heart. I have obtained Nirvana, and this is the reason that my countenance is 154 serene and my eyes are bright" [see page 247, line 36. Buddha continues with the statement of what should be the goal of our endeavour, as follows: "I now desire to found the kingdom of truth upon earth, to give light to those who are enshrouded in darkness, and to open the gate of immortality to men.

Joy and Happiness "is the state of mind of one who has recognised that there is no self; that the cause of all his troubles, cares, and vanities is a mirage, a shadow, a dream. . . . Happy is he who has found the truth. .. There is no saviour in the world except the truth. . . . Trust in the truth. . . No one can alter it. . . . Have faith in the truth and live it. Truth is sublime; truth is everlasting. There is no immortality except in truth. For truth alone abideth for ever." Again he said: "Come to me and I will teach you the truth, and the truth will dispel your sorrows."

From the above it is clear that Buddha realised the non-reality 3 of the human and the reality of the spiritual ego, and the practical method of working.

Nirvana. These extracts also clear up the divergent views with regard to Nirvana, which has been usually taught to be a state of bliss, in which man has lost his individuality, and to which he attains 35 when he has got rid of his material self, the " atman."

Buddha showed that Nirvana was not the final end, for he said: "There are two occasions on which the appearance of a Tathagata [the Perfect One, the highest attribute of Buddha becomes clear and exceeding bright. In the night, in which a Tathagata attains to the supreme and perfect insight [this is equivalent to what took place on the day of Pentecost, and in the night in which he passes finally away in that utter passing away which leaves nothing whatever of his earthly existence to remain. This is the final dematerialisation of the human mind, that took place when Jesus, as it is called, 55 ascended into heaven. In the Bhagavadgita (111-112) Buddha says: "I am the Perfect one, the Buddha. I have attained to peace. I have attained Nirvana. I go now to the town of Benares to found the Kingdom of Righteousness There will I beat life's drum in this world of darkness." He also says: "Never will I seek or receive private or individual salvation, never enter into final peace alone; but for ever and everywhere will I live and strive for the universal redemption of every creature throughout the world. Until all are delivered never will I leave the sphere of sin. sorrow and struggle."

To show how misunderstood the teachings of Buddha are, in one place, in "The Gospel of Buddha," he is spoken of as dying and

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entering Nirvana at the moment of death. Personally, I think that he knew far too much to die.

If Buddha meant that Nirvana was the state which the material man attained when he was sufficiently purified and had lost all sense of material individuality, by gaining the knowledge that there was nothing but God,* then his teachings on this point would agree with the view put forward in "Life Understood." The material so-called self is not real, and at best only, as shown, a series of cinematographic pictures.

10 Note F on pages 34 and 46.

Man's Idea of God.

I was once told that in treatment I would find the realisation of God as Principle most effective. Trying this, so as to see whether the statement was correct, the next day an instantaneous result 15 was obtained by merely losing all thought of the material trouble and simply trying to realise God as Principle as clearly as possible. Proving in this way that God was Principle, the love for God that I had seemed instantly to vanish. As I went on, however, obtaining a better understanding of God, my love for God gradually returned, 20 until, in about three months, I had a far greater love for God than I had ever had before.

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Mr. Edward Kimball has said: "I remember that soon after reading 'Science and Health,' I found myself mourning because 'I had lost my God,' and since then I have had occasion to comfort other mourners who had come to the same strange conclusion. Alas, dear friend, what kind of a God was it that could be so easily lost? Please do not think me harsh if I say that if you have a god that can be lost, the quicker you lose it the better. The god I then had was indeed a travesty, a thing of human conception. It was simply an impossible god. Nevertheless, while I had it, it frightened me and filled me with dread and dismay. I greatly rejoice now, that it was lost, and that Christian Science dethrones all other gods that can be lost. Instead of depriving anyone of God, Christian Science reveals the true God, and abundantly satisfies him whose joy it is to know God aright."

The Higher the Thought the Better the Result.- When I first started my examination, I came to the conclusion that the highest thought I could think would give the highest result, and the highest thing that I could think of was the absolute love of God. Many instantaneous results were obtained during the first six months simply by trying to realise this, and nothing else, as clearly as possible.

Later on I met a lady who told me that I was right in my à priori reasoning, but that I had not got the highest thought, and this she explained to me as what she called the unity of God. I now know that realising this was forming as clear a concept as I could of God and God's manifestation, the unity and infinity of God. When

* I have since found that this was what he taught.

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I asked how long I must treat in this way, she replied that it was not a question of time; that when I got my thought clear the person would be healed. On asking how I could tell when I got my thought clear, she replied that she could not explain it, but that I would know myself when I had got it clear.

That night I was trying to explain to Mrs. Rawson what had been told me about the unity of God, when a lady, who had had a medical training, knocked at the door, and said, “Oh, Mr. Rawson, do help me; I am in agony." I thereupon simply tried to realise as clearly as I could what had been explained to me. In a few 10 moments, it seemed-it could not possibly have been longer than two or three minutes-I got such a wonderful illumination that I turned to Mrs. Rawson, and said, "Now I know what the unity of God means." It is almost impossible to explain what had come to me, but some idea may be formed when I say that it was like a 15 marvellously beautiful, great, and wonderful light; secondly, I seemed to see the whole of the world laid out in front of me full of glory; and, thirdly, there was a feeling of intense happiness, a happiness that is absolutely inexpressible in words.

. The next morning the patient told me that she had gone into her 20 room not expecting to live more than a few minutes, and had lain down on her bed, with her arms crossed, so as not to shock whoever first saw her the next morning. Directly she had lain down she was instantly well, although, in the ordinary way, the trouble would have necessitated a difficult surgical operation. There has 25 been no recurrence of the trouble since of any kind.

A few days afterwards I had an interesting result. A lady, in considerable pain, and with a temperature of over 104 degrees, which is a serious temperature for an adult, asked for help. At that time I was in the habit of starting my treatments by beginning 30 on the average plane of thought and then gradually rising, thought by thought, until I had got my realisation of God as clear as I was in the habit of getting it at that time. I then would stop and begin treating for my next patient. My last-mentioned result had shown me to what I had to attain, and, although I did my best, never before or since have I had so wonderful a realisation of the Allness of God.

I went downstairs and started to pray in the way mentioned, gradually rising in thought, but, when I tried, at the end, to realise God, I could not get my realisation as clear as I was in the habit of getting it; so I started all over again, but again I failed. Again and again I tried, but with the same result, and it was not until the sixth time that I succeeded. I then ceased treating for her, and commenced to work for my next patient.

The next morning the lady said to me: "Oh! Mr. Rawson, last night I had such a wonderful experience. A few minutes after you left me the pain gradually began to lift, and in a few moments I was perfectly well. I was just thinking to myself, How glorious, why, I am well, when, suddenly, down it came again, like a thunder

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cloud, as bad as ever. In a few moments it began to lift again, and soon, for the second time, I felt perfectly well. This happened about half a dozen times, and at the end of the last time the pain did not return, and in about ten minutes I fell asleep. I 5 woke up in about an hour, when I felt quite well, but very weak. This morning I am perfectly strong and bright; in fact, I never felt better in my life."

From this result it will be seen that, as I got my realisation of God clearer, so I proportionately opened my human mind wider 10 and wider, that is, got self out of the way, enabling the action of God to be demonstrated and the healing to take place.

How to Gain a Working Knowledge of God. When I started my investigation I came to the conclusion that I ought, whenever I had а moment or two to spare, have something 15 definite to realise, and I made up my mind on these occasions to think of God as Love. Then, when my love towards my fellowman seemed to have advanced more than my knowledge of Truth, I changed this realisation to that of God as Truth. Later on, every day I used to think of God in all the main views as Life, Truth, 20 Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, cause, intelligence, substance, and Principle, the Principle of good, which includes its idea. know that cause ought not to have been included, as it is a synonym of God, not an aspect, or quality, as the other names are.

Later, I put each of these headings on a separate piece of paper, and then tried to find all the qualities and attributes of God that I could, putting each of them down under what I thought was the 25 proper heading. Each day I went through these, starting by thinking of heaven, and then trying to realise what each one of them meant. At one time I had on a blank bit of paper about forty qualities and attributes that I could not place under the proper heading, and not more than twenty under any one heading; 30 but, as my knowledge of God grew, so I was able gradually to place each of these qualities and attributes under its proper heading.

I did this every day for over three years. By that time I had over 220 qualities and attributes, and it took me about three35 quarters of an hour each day to go through them. Not only had I then been able to place the whole of the forty qualities and attributes under their proper headings, but whenever I found a new one I could at once place it in its proper place. Finding no new attribute or quality for three months, I took this as the sign that I had worked in this way long enough, and ceased.

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Note G on pages 61, 465, and 466.

Every Material Belief has its Spiritual Reality. As some have misunderstood the teachings of Mrs. Eddy upon the subject of every material thing we see having its spiritual reality, and the importance of getting as good a knowledge of the spiritual reality as possible, I quote the following from a pamphlet named "The Spiritual Body," written and published by a well

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known Christian Scientist, the Rev. G., A. Kratzer, of 4624, Sheridan Road, Chicago, the author of "Dominion Within," a book of which Mrs. Eddy wrote: "Your article, Dominion Within,' is superb." Mr. Kratzer, who is no longer a member of the Christian Science organisation, has kindly revised the extracts:

"THE SPIRITUAL BODY.

"It is sown a natural body: it is raised a spiritual body.'—I. Cor. 15, ver. 44.

"That is, in human belief there is sown a natural' or material sense of body; but when correct understanding comes, the human sense' is raised' to a recogni- 10 tion of a spiritual body.' This is the resurrection' of human sense from the death of false belief.

" In one of the latest classes held by Edward A. Kimball, C.S.D., he spoke substantially as follows, as reported by a member of the class:

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I used to declare in my teaching for a perfect spiritual liver. I did it because Mrs. Eddy told me to do it. But after finding that my students would go out and make this statement, omitting my amplification, and so leave an impression that I was teaching the spiritualisation of matter, I quit it, and changed my presentation. Matter cannot be spiritualised. It is the opposite of 20 Spirit, and I could not be so foolish as to attempt it. What I do say is, that there is so e idea, some perfect idea of Mind, that mortal mind has counterfeited in its presentation of liver; so one should declare daily for the perfect body, the body of right ideas, which is the spiritual body.'

"The following is one of Mrs. Eddy's declarations upon this 25 subject:

'When examined in the light of divine Science, mortals present more than is detected upon the surface, since inverted thoughts and erroneous beliefs must be counterfeits of Truth. Thought is borrowed from a higher source than matter, and by reversal, errors serve as waymarks to the oue Mind.' ("Science and 30 Health," p. 267, 1. 19.)

Are not the parts of the human body, therefore, though false, to be regarded as serving by reversal, 'as waymarks to the one Mind,' and to Mind's perfect likeness, the real or spiritual man?

"On pages 60 and 61 of "Miscellaneous Writings," Mrs. Eddy 35 answers the direct question: "If mortal mind and body are myths, what is the connection between them and real identity?” as follows:

Every creation or idea of Spirit has its counterfeit in some matter-belief. Every material belief hints the existence of spiritual reality; and if mortals are 40 instructed in spiritual things, it will be seen that material belief, in all its manifestations, reversed, will be found the type and representative of verities, priceless, eternal, and just at hand. The education of the future will be instruction in spiritual Science, against the material symbolic counterfeit sciences.'

"In this statement, Mrs. Eddy certainly teaches that the parts 45 of the human body, among other matter-beliefs,' are types and representatives of verities priceless, eternal, and just at hand.' She also teaches that physiology, for instance, is a 'symbolic' science, thus recognising that the parts of the body are 'symbols '