ABBREVIATIONS

Banyin Nanjio’

s Catalogue of the Chinese Translatwn of the

Buddhist Tripigaka. (Oxford, Clarendon Press,

Hastings. (Edifiburgh 2 T . T . Clark . )

The Sacred Books of the East,edited by

Clarendon Press . )

PREFACE

THE early chapters of this bo ok deal with theorigin and development of some characteristicfeatures of Mahayana Buddhism ,

especially in, *respect of the fo rms assumed by that branch 0

1

the Buddhist system in its Chinese environmentThe sixth and seventh chapters are concernedwith religious pilgrimages in China, and withtho se sacred mountains which are the homes of

Chinese monasticism and the radiating centresof Buddhist influen ce . Of these favoured seatsof religious activity, the six last chapters containdetailed accounts of two which are taken astypical— namely, the ho ly moun tain of Chin-hua,in the provin ce of Anhui , and the ho ly island of

Puto (Pootoo ) , off the co ast of Chehkiang.

An accomplished writer on Oriental Art— thelate E rnest Fenollosa— has observed that a verylarge part of the finest thought and standardsof living that have gone into Chinese life, and

the finest part of what has issued therefrom in

literature and art , have been strongly tinged withBuddhism .

”

The truth and justice of this remarkVll

PREFACE

will not be gainsaid by tho se Western studentswho have succeeded in finding their way intothe treasure - house of Chinese poetry, or havefallen under the po tent witchery of Chineselandscape painting. Tho se of China’s foreignfriends who long to see not only the po liticalregeneration of this great country, but also abrilliant revival of creative activity in art and

letters, can hardly fail to take a keen and sympathetic interest ih the fo rtunes of that wonderfulcreed

, or system of creeds , which for at leastfifteen centuries has exercised so powerful an

influence — artistic and philo sophic no less thanreligious and ethical— over the heart and mindof China.It is too so on yet to say whether the forces

set in motion by the Revo lution— or rather theforces of which the po litical revo lution was oneof the manifestations— will bring about the totalco llapse of Buddhism in China. Judging fromthe present activity of the Buddhists themselves ,it seems more likely that what we are about towitness is not a collapse , but at least a partialrevival of Buddhism. Tho se Western observerswho fancy that the Buddhist religion in China isinextricably asso ciated with old-fashioned and discredited po litical and so cial conventions in general ,and with the co rruption s of the Manchu dynastyin particular, have a very imperfect knowledgeof Chinese histo ry and of the past relationsof Buddhism with the Chinese body -po litic .

PREFACE

Buddhists had no cause to regret the overthrowof the Manchu s , to whom they were bound byno ties of sympathy , gratitude , or self-interest ;and if the rulers of the New China honourablyadhere to their declared po licy of completereligiou s freedom , there is no reason why theBuddhists should not lo ok forward to taking adistinguished part in the futu re progress of theircountry in respect of its so cial , artistic , and

spiritual interests .It may be that the present activity of the

Chinese Buddhists has been in spired to someextent from Japan , as for example in the matterof the recent creation of a central o rgan ization

( the Fo - chiao Tsung H ui) which has beenestablished for the purpo se of protecting thelegitimate interests of the Buddhist faith . But

the admirably - edited Buddhist magazines , theFo-hsz

‘

ieh Ts‘ung—pao and the Fo-chiao Yitch-paw ,

which have made their appearance during thepast year

,furn ish ample evidence that the move

ment (which is very largely a reform movement)is genu inely and fundamentally Chinese ;and thi sis confirmed by the fact that the creation of theTsung H ui itself (which might be described as aNational Buddhist Synod or Representative ChurchCouncil) has met with the hearty approbation of

Buddhists in all parts of the empire , and thatin many lo calities branch Councils ( compo sed , likethe parent Council , of both laymen and o rdainedmonks ) have been already successfully established .

PREFACE

Though it is too early to say whether thismovement will lead to any permanent results ,it is certainly not of mushroom growth ;nor can

it be said to be a mere by-product either of

revo lutionary excitement or of reactionary caprice.Evidence of this may be found in the fact thatduring the past decade an influential group of

Chinese Buddhists has been qu ietly at wo rkproducing a n ew complete edition of that pro

l

digious co llection of Buddhistic literature which isu sually but inaccurately referred to as the ChineseBuddhist Canon . This great wo rk , having o ccupieda large staff of edito rs and printers for severalyears past , has been qu ite recently ( 1 9 1 3 ) broughtto a happy conclusion .

P erhaps the mo st prominent among the learnedand able Buddhists who se names are honourablyasso ciated with this undertaking is a native of

the district of Ch‘ang-shu , in Kiangsu . Heentered the Buddhist monkho od at the age of

twenty -one , and was given the monastic nameof T sung-yang. He is a man of varied culture,has travelled widely in bo th China and Japan ,

and is a writer of vigo rou s pro se and gracefulverse . Like all true Buddhists

,he shows him

self to lerant , charitable , and courteou s towardstho se who se religiou s beliefs are different fromhis own . He belongs to the Monastery of

Ch‘ing - liang , on the Wu-mu-shan — a mountainnot far from Soo chow; but since 1 903 hisvarious duties have requ ired him to reside in

PREFACE

Shanghai , where he and his co lleagues havebeen the guests of well-kn own Shanghai residents— Mr and Mrs S. A . Hardo on .

If it is mainly through the inspiring influence ofa small group of enthu siastic monks and laymenthat the republication of the Canon has beensuccessfully carried out , the thanks of all Buddhists ,and of all students of Buddhism , are also due

to T sung-yang’s munificent ho sts and patrons ,who not only provided accommodation for himself and his co lleagues , amid the flowers and

trees that are dear to the hearts of all Buddhists ,but also ensured the success of this very costlyundertaking by their generous donations and

financial guarantees . The completed work, whichis frequently referred to in the fo llowing pagesunder the name of the Hardoon edition of

the Buddhist scriptures , deserves to find its wayinto the hands of all seriou s students of ChineseBuddhist literature.The autho r is glad to reco rd his grateful

appreciation of the unvarying courtesy and

ho spitality extended to him by the abbots andmonks in who se roman tic mountain homes hehas spent the happiest days of his fifteen years’

sojourn in China. Whatever may be the ultimatefate of Buddhism , he earnestly hopes that neitherhis kindly ho sts nor their successo rs will ever bedriven away from the qu iet hermitages whichthey so justly love ;and that it may continueto be China’s glory and privilege to provide ,

PREFACE

amid the forests and crags and waterfalls of herclo istral mountains , homes or resting placesfor all pilgrims to the shrines of truth and

beauty.

R. F. J .

WE IHAIWEI ,1 5th April 1 91 3.

CONTENTS

I . THE“THREE RELIGIONS OF CHINA

II . BUDDHISM UNDER ASOKA AND KAN I SHKA

I I I . EARLY BUDDHISM AND ITS PHILOSOPHY

Iv . THE IDEALS OF HiNAYANA AND MAHAYANA

BUD‘

DHI ST SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA

VI . PILGRIMAGE S AND THE SACRED HILLS OF

BUDDHISM“ THE PILGRIM’S GUIDE

VIII . TI-TSANG PUSA

THE PRINCE-HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA AND HIS

SUCCE SSORS

MONKS AND MONASTERIES OF CHIU-HUA

x1 . PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN -YIN PUSA

THE MoNASTI c HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN

XI I I . THE NORTHERN MONASTERY

BUDDHA’S PEAK

56

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Kuan-yin (from pain ting by a Chinese monk)Archway at the Pi—yiin Temple, Western HillsArchway at theWo—Fo Temple, West ern HillsPart of the Archway at the Pi-yiju TempleStupa at the Pi-yun TempleArchway m Grounds of Old Summer Palace, Western

HillsPagoda, Western HillsHsi-yiiMonaste ry, ChihliTombs ofMonks , HsilyiiMonasteryPagoda at Hsi-yliMonastery , ChihliPavilion at Hsiao Hsi t‘ien Little Heaven

ChihliIn the Shang-fang Hills , Chih l iTemples on the Shang-fang Hills , ChihliBodhidharmaThe White-deer Grotto , Ln shan ,

KiangsiImages of Mencius and Tseng-Tz u at the Wh ite-deerGrotto , Kiangsi

Amitabha BuddhaThe Ship of SalvationForm for recording utte rances of the name ofAmitabhaTheWestern HeavenRock-carvings at Lung-men , HonanColossal figure at Lung-men , Honan

Colossal rock-cut figures at Lung-men , HonanRock-cut colossal figure of a Bodhisat at Lung-men ,

Honan

Ln-shan , KiangsiMountain and Stream ,

Southern AnhuiJizO (Ti-tsang Pusa)At the Southern Base ofChiu-huaAMountain Stream , Chiu-huaJiz o (Ti-tsang Pusa)The Hearts ofMen

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Charm used at Chin-hua when offering prayers foroffspring Facing P

Ch iu-hua shan (from the north west)Central cluster of Monastic Buildings , Chiu him (fromthe Eastern Ridge)

Eastern Ridge and T‘ien-t‘ai, Chiu huaThe PaisuiMonastery , Chiu huaProtective Charms from T‘ien t‘ai, Chiu hua shanHuichou city and BridgeOn the Ch‘ien -t‘ang River , ChehkiangSketch map of Puto-shanThe Fa-t‘ang, Southern MonasteryT‘ien-Hou , the Tao ist Queen ofHeaven ,

Puto -shahPavilion in front of Southern MonasteryCourtyardin front ofGreat Hall ofKuan-

yin ,Southern

MonasteryChun t‘iA Hermit of Puto at thedoor of his HermitageKuan-

yin Pusa ( drawn In blood by a Hermit of Puto -shah )Kuan-yin as Compassionate FatherInscribed Rock n ear summit of Puto-shanThe Chusan Islands , from Puto —shanThe Prince’s Pagoda, PutoThe Hall of Imperial Tablets , Southern MonasteryThe Kuan-

yin-tung and other Temples , Puto shan

A Pilgrims’

Pathway,Puto

The Lotus-Pond of the Southern MonasteryThe Yu-t‘ang Road , showing rock-carved figuresThe Lotus-Pond of the Northern MonasteryWithin the grounds of the No rthern MonasteryAn alabaster image of Buddha, Puto-shamThe Grave of the abbot Hsin-chénA P‘

u t‘ung-t ‘a (for the reception of the ashes ofdeceased monks)

AMonastery Garden,Puto -shan

Courtyard in the Northern Monastery, Puto-Shan

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

2 THE “ THREE RELIGIONS OF CHINA [OH.

mo re than seven hundred years Old, is Of a lesssymbo lical or mystical character. It shows us

the figures of the representatives Of the threesystems standing side by side . Sakyamun i Buddhao ccupies the place Of honour in the centre . Hishead is surrounded by an aureo le , from which issuesan upward-po inting stream Of fire , and beneath hisfeet sacred lo tu s-flowers are bursting into bloom.

On the left Of the central figure stands Lao -chi’m ,

the legendary founder Of Tao ism , and on theright stands China’s mo st ho ly sage -Confuciu s.

The wo rds which are o rdinarily used to sum

up the theo ry Of the triunity Of the three e thico

religiou s systems Of China are Sam chiao z

'

t‘i— the

jThree Cults incorporated in one o rgan ism or

embodying one do ctrine . 1 The idea has foundfanciful expression in the comparison Of theculture and civiliz ation Of China with a bronzesacrificial bowl , Of which the three religions arethe three legs , all equally indispen sable to thetripod ’s stability.

Such teachings as these are abhorrent to thestrictly o rthodox Confucian , who ho lds that theso cial and moral teachings Of Confuciu s are all thathuman ity requires for its proper guidance ;butthey meet with ungrudging acceptance from vastnumbers Of Buddhists and Tao ists

, who ,while

giving precedence to their Own cults,are always

to lerant enough to recogn ise that Confucian ism ,

if somewhat weak on the religiou s side,is strong

1

fl u iihn'

fifi — ifi fi gt -‘ fl g ié — Ffl

I .] THE SAGE EU HSI

and rich on the ethical side . They find an echo ,

indeed , in the hearts Of the great majo rity Of theChinese people , who Show by their beliefs and

practices that they can be Buddhists , Tao ists , and

Confucian s all at the same time .A vivid and picturesque statement Of this truth

is contained in a quain t little sto ry which is to ldof a certain sixth-century scho lar named Fu Hsi .This learned m an was in the habit Of go ing aboutdressed in a whimsical garb which included aTao ist cap , a Buddhist scarf, and Confu cian shoes .His strange attire aroused the curio sity Of theChinese empero r Of tho se days , who asked himif he were a Buddhist . Fu Hsi replied by po inting to his Tao ist cap . Then you are a Tao ist ?

”

said the empero r. Fu Hsi again made no verbalanswer, but po inted to his Confucian shoes .Then you are a Confucian ? said the empero r .

But the sage merely po inted to his Buddhist scarf.It is a far cry from the sixth century to the

twentieth . The China of to -day has cro ssed , forweal or wo e , the thresho ld o f a new era. Whathas been true Of the Chinese in past ages willnot necessarily continue to be true in futureWill the three cults continue to fo rm one body,or will they fall apart ? If they fall apart , willeach maintain a separate existence Of its own , or

are they one and all destined to suffer eclipse anddeath ? Who will be the Fu Hsi Of the centuriesto come ? What are the symbo ls that will replacethe cap and the sho es and the scarf that Fu Hsi

4 THE “THREE RELIGIONS OF CHINA [cm

was proud to wear ? And who— let us ask withbated breath— is to take the place Of Fu Hsi ’simperial master

These are gravely impo rtant questions for

China , and their interest for Western nations isfar from being merely academic . The fo rces thatmould the character and shape the aspirations ofone Of the greatest sections Of mankind cannotbe a matter Of indifference to the rest Of thehuman race , who se future histo ry will be profoundly affected , for better or fo r wo rse , by thenature Of the ideals and ambition s that inspirethe constru ctive energies Of the makers of

the new China .

If the ultimate fate Of the three religionswere dependent on the degree Of respect now

paid to them by some Of the mo re zealous spiritsamong China ’s fo reign educated refo rmers , weshould be obliged to prophesy a glo omy endingfor all three. Tao ism is treated as a medley Of

contemptible superstition s , and multitudes Of itstemples , with their unquestionably ugly clayimages and tinsel o rnaments , are falling intounlamented decay. Buddhism meets with scantcourtesy, and is threatened with the confiscationof its endowments and the clo sing Of some , atleast , of tho se beautiful monasteries which duringthe happiest centuries of China ’s histo ry werethe peaceful refuge Of countless poets and artistsand contemplative philo sophers . The mo ralsovereignty of the “

uncrowned king — Confucius

THE ALTAR OF HEAVEN

- totters on the edge Of an abyss which hasalready engulfed a throne mo re ancient , if no t

mo re illu striou s , than even his-“ the imperial throneOf China . There are rumours that the statesubsidies hitherto granted at regular intervals forthe upkeep Of the great sage’s temple and tombat Ch‘ii-fou will perhaps be withdrawn , and thatin the state scho o ls and co lleges reverence is no

longer to be paid to the canon ised representativeOf Chinese civilization and moral culture . Thereare sign s that no t even the ho liest sanctuary inChina is to remain invio late : for the whisperhas gone fo rth that the silent and spaciou s grovethat surrounds the Altar of Heaven— that marbleindex Of a religious system which even in thedays Of Confuciu s was hallowed by the traditionsof an immemo rial antiqu ity— is to be adapted tocommercial u ses and turned into an experimentalfarm .

Among the guiding spirits in the destructiveand con structive wo rk undertaken since theoverthrow Of the Manchu dynasty are m en Of

fine ability , unquestioned patrio tism , and earnestzeal for their country’s welfare ; but m any Of

them have been so bewitched by the glamourOf Western methods , and so impressed by thematerial successes of Western civilization , thatthey have lo st all touch with the Spirit Of thetraditional culture Of their own race . The iconoclastic tendencies Of tod ay have no t been guidedby the will of the people— for the will Of the

6 THE “THREE RELIGIONS OF CHINA [CH.

people has not yet found a mean s Of makingitself known and felt . They have no t Sprunginto activity in Obedience to the vo ice Of Chinafor the vo ice Of China has no t yet been heard .

1

Yet perhaps , after all , the pro spects Of thethree religion s are no t quite so dismal as aglance at the present state Of affairs might leadus to suppo se . That the icono clastic activity of

tod ay will be succeeded sooner or later by areaction in which all the traditional conservatismOf the Chinese race will take a strenuou s part ,is one Of the few prophecies with regard to

China’s future which may be uttered with reasonable confidence . The reaction will itself besucceeded , no doubt , by further o scillation s , m oreor less vio lent , befo re China can hope to attainthat condition Of stability and peace withoutwhich there can be no permanent recon structionOf her shattered po lity ; but we need not besurprised if the China that emerges victoriousfrom the political chao s Of to -day is found to

have qu ietly gathered up and loyally preservedmany Of the tradition s Of imperial China whichthe triumphant Revo lution was suppo sed to havetorn in fragments and trampled under foo t .It is improbable , on the who le , that the

reo rgan ised Chinese State will Show ho stility to

the religiou s idea as such ; it will no t , we mayassume , waste its strength in a fo o lish and

necessarily futile attempt to suppress the religious1 Written in January 1 91 3.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

side Of man ’s nature. The religiou s problem thatwill face the country’s rulers will probably narrowitself down to this I S the Government to encouragethe people to make their religious emo tions and

interests flow in certain specified direction s , eitherby the provision Of religious edu cation in theState scho ols or by the Official suppo rt Of a Statecult ; or is religion to be regarded as a privatecon cern Of the individual , with which the Statehas no thing whatever to do so long as the religiou sbeliefs or practices Of any given individual dono t lead him into conflict with the ordinarylaw Of the land ? It seems probable , judgingfrom present indication s , that it is the secondalternative which will be accepted by the rulersOf the new China . Already we find that thedeclared po licy Of the republican pioneers is togrant to leration to all religion s , native and fo reign ,

but to Show special favour to none : and thispo licy is no t un likely to become a permanentfeature Of the Chinese con stitution .

But though China will probably accept theprinciple Of complete separation between theState and all o rgan ised or in stitutional religion ,

and will ( it may be suggested ) be perfectly rightin so do ing , it is not therefore to be assumedthat the Chinese Government ( or Governments)will cease to exercise a paternal supervision overthe people’s morals . If that were so , the chasmbetween the Old China and the new would indeedbe a bridgeless one . There has always been an

8 THE “ THREE RELIGIONS OF CHINA

intimate connection between ethics and statesmanship in this cho sen land Of mo ral philo sophers ,in spite Of the fact in evitable in China aselsewhere that practice has no t always con

fo rmed to precept . A Chinese Governmentwhich disclaimed full respon sibility for themo ral welfare and guidance of the people , or

which confined its activities in this direction to

the o ccasional amendment Of its penal code,wou ld be regarded as having defin itely cut itselfadrift from the mo st sacred tradition s Of pastages

, and wou ld have to face the ho stility Of

all the con servative section s Of Chinese so ciety.

The separation between religion and po liticwill not necessarily , in China , affect the traditionalintimacy between po litics and m o rals . In spiteOf the references to supernatural powers and

agencies , and to religiou s ceremon ies , in theold-fashioned Chinese pro clamation s and rescripts ,it is undoubtedly the fact that in China thedistinction between creed and morals— Dr perhapswe shou ld say their separability — has for agesbeen tacitly recogn ized . The view that soundmorality is impo ssible except in alliance with adefin ite religiou s creed , belief in which is therefo rean essential condition Of good citizen ship , is aview which has never been accepted by Chinesethinkers or rulers . It is a curiou s and in stru ctivefact that while in the West— under the influenceOf a privileged and into lerant Church— ethics andinstitutional religion are regarded , or were till

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 0 THE “ THREE RELIGIONS OF CHINA [OH.

This is no place for an enquiry into the ju sticeor adequacy of such views , but that they arein entire harmony with the letter and Spirit ofCo nfucian teachings is a fact which , if it werefully realized , might go far towards bringingabout a permanent reconciliation between the

mo ral and edu cational and to a great extenteven the po litical aims of the “ progressive and

the con servative parties in China. It has longbeen recogn ized that Confucian ism Is an ethico

political;; rafher than a“

far-

gnu? c lt .

L~ — ' Sn ch

defin itely religIOfis a ments as the system con

tains , including tho se resu lting from the elevationOf Confucius to quasi-divine rank , might be gotrid Of, or might be igno red by the State , withoutgro ss vio len ce being done to any deep - rootedpopular prejudices ; for the ritual solenmities

that to ok place at regular in tervals in theConfucian temples were always the affair of theempero r and his officials , and their suppression

growing restless because she is realizing the insufficiency of a

civilization which concentrates its whole attention on material interestsand is contemptuous of the needs of the Spirit . As for China,she

,too , will discover , sooner or later

,that Western civilization,

in spite of its outward splendour and its alluring promises , is buttoo prone to pamper the body and starve the soul ;though whetherChina will find it impossible to satisfy her spiritual needs exceptby throwing away her own spiritual heritage and adopting that ofanother race, is a different question .

1 It Is true, no doubt , that Confucian statesmen have been guiltyfrom time to time of persecuting Buddhism and o ther cults whichwere , or were believed to be, irreconcilable with Confucian teachings ;but such persecutions have been undertaken on political and socialgrounds , not with the aim of crushing or penalizing religious Opinionsas such .

ARCHWAY AT THE Pi-YUN TEMPLE , WESTERN H ILLS.

ARCHWAY AT THE WO~PO TEMPLE ,WESTERN HILLS .

ANCESTOR WORSHIP

would not interfere with any cherished religiouscu stoms or practices Of the people. Thu s theChinese Go vernment which retain s Confu cian ismas a basis for mo ral train ing need have no fearthat it will be convicted of having betrayed thecau se of po litical progress or of giving Statesuppo rt to any o rgan ized system Of religiouswo rship or belief; and such a Government willassuredly gain the glad suppo rt of all who wishto see the evo lution of China pro ceeding , so faras is reasonable and practicable , along the linesof its own immemo rial past .If it were our task to undertake a full treat

ment of religious condition s and pro spects in

China , a special chapter would have to be devo tedto the con sideration of the weighty problemsarising out of the SO-called wo rship of ancesto rs ,which is in m any respects the mo st deeply-ro o tedreligious cu lt in China . This cult is independentOf Confucian ism , though it may be said to have

grown and pro spered under the pro tection of

the Confu cian system , and to have received acertain amount of qualified approval from thegreat sage himself. Ancesto r -wo rship wouldno t necessarily lo se its ho ld on the people ifConfuciu s were dethroned ; and though it willdoubtless undergo various m odification s and

adaptation s , and will be seriously menaced bythe gradual disintegration of the present organ ization of so ciety , in which the family rather thanthe individual is regarded as the social un it, it

1 2 THE “ THREE RELIGIONS OF CHINA [CH.

nevertheless seems likely to last, in one fo rm or

another, quite as long as any o ther religiou s cult atpresent compet ing for the popular favour . Thereare superstition s connected with ancesto r-worshipwhich the spread of education and of scientificknowledge will infallibly sweep away, but theessential ideas at the ro o t of the cult are soundand healthy

,and their fo rcible removal would

con stitute the severest mo ral catastrophe whichcould befall the Chinese people.

But if Confucian ism and the cult of ancestors— shorn of their superstitiou s accretions maystill be destined to play an active and beneficent

part in the moral guidance of China , whatexpectation is there that anything but ignobledecay awaits their rivals ? With regard to

Tao ism , let us admit at once that as an organ izedreligion with temples and a priesthood it isalready moribund . Tao ist wizardries shrink fromcontact with the gleaming lances of the kn ightsOf modern science , and already excite the ridiculeof tho se who once came to marvel and to revere.The opening o f every new scho o l nowadays maybe said to synchron ize with , if no t to be thedirect cause of, the clo sing Of a Tao ist temple.The priests of the cu lt are n o t only ceasing to

enjoy the respect of o thers , they are lo singconfidence in themselves and in the potencies oftheir gods and demons . An en lightened Chinamay be Confucian , it may po ssibly be Buddhist

,

it may worship its ancesto rs , it may be agno stic

TAOISM

or rationalistic , but it will certainly no t be Tao ist.The venerable system of philo sophic mysticism;from which modern Tao ism claims descent isstill , indeed , of interest and value to thinkers ?of the present day, and it may be admitted that !

the fantastic musings Of Tao ist sages and mountainroaming hermits were no t who lly unprodu ctive Ostrange disco veries in certain unfrequented by-ipaths of psycho logy and natural science. Yetthe disappearance Of Tao ism as a distinct cultwill not be a thing to be regretted by the friends ofChina. If its teachings contain a good deal thatis true , they also contain much that is crudeand false . The false may well be cast aside and

fo rgo tten , the true will in due time be claimedand classified by scien ce and philo sophy . As

for the ethics Of popu lar Tao ism , as distinct fromthe lofty teachings ascribed to Lao -tzu, theycontain very little that is o riginal , very little of

value that may no t be found in Confucian ismor in Buddhism.

There is only one way in which Tao ism can

hope to survive the sho cks and changes of thecoming years , and it will be by treading the narrowpath of humility and self-sacrifice . Tao ism mustthrow away its gaudy trappings and relinqu ish itsclaim to be a way of salvation . It mu st becontent to play the humbler parts of a handmaidto art and poetry and a guardian of fo lklo re andromantic legend . The fear has been expressed oflate that the triumph of Western civilization in

1 4 THE “ THREE RELIGIONS OF CHINA [on

China will invo lve the irremediable decay of thecountry’s literature and art : indeed many havefound reason to doubt whether China has not

already ceased to be a producer Of beautiful thingsand a fo ster mo ther of artists and po ets . So

pessimistic a view as this is hardly justifiable ;but the future leaders Of China’s artistic development will be do ing an inju stice to themselves andan injury to the ae sthetic and spiritual instinctsof their race if they turn contemptuously awayfrom a wonder-working fountain whence the poetsand artists of their country have drawn copiousdraughts of in spiration for a period of nearly twothousand years . In the imaginative literature andart Of China Tao ism has had an influence whichis not unwo rthy of comparison with the influencewielded in Western art by the Greek myt ho logy,or by the ideals of medieval chivalry, or by thelegends asso ciated with the beginn ings of Christianity. The Greek gods stepped down from theirthrones on Olympu s long ago , but in perfo rmingthis act of humiliation they were fitting themselves to become the o ccupants of new thrones inan ideal wo rld of po etry and romance . I n a Similarideal wo rld the divin ities and wild-eyed mountainwizards of Tao ism may find themselves no t quitefo rlo rn , and though their clay images may betrampled into mud and their temples levelledwith the gro und , they may still find themselvesin a po sition to take an honourable share in thecreatio n or evo cation of the dreams and vision s of

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 6 THE “THREE RELIGIONS ” OF CHINA [CH.

task of fu sing the variou s elements into one

homogeneous system . The Chinese Tripitakasometimes been called the Bible of the Buddhibut it shou ld rather be described as a miscellaneouslibrary, in which the Buddhist , the mo ralphilo sopher , the psycho logist , the metaphysician,

the student Of comparative hiero logy, the histo rian,

the co llecto r Of fo lklo re , and the lo ver of poetryand romance , may all find ample sto res of the kindof literature in which they take delight. Thereare many highly cultivated members Of po litesociety in China who would deny with somevehemence that they were Buddhists , and who yettake a deep and intelligent interest in variousaspects Of Buddhistic philo sophy ; and there aremany people of fine literary discernment who neverenter a Buddhist temple except from curio sity orto inspect its artistic treasures , and who will nevertheless admit that they take a keen in tellectualpleasure in much of the fine wo rk bequeathed toChinese literature by some Of the saints Of theBuddhist Chu rch .

These consideration s are enough to convinceus that even if Buddhism co llapses as a religioussystem system Of religion s would describe itbetter) , it may still continue to wield an immensethough perhaps impalpable influence over Chinesethought . Indeed it may actually regain some of

the influence which it has been gradually lo singover cultivated minds when it Shakes itself freefrom the wo rthless superstition s with which the

L] BUDDHISM AS A RELIGION 1 7

need of satisfying the crude religious instincts ofan ignorant populace has forced it into mo re or

less grudging alliance . Moreover , the fact mustnot be overlo oked that Buddhism has taken a partno less distingu ished than that of Tao ism in con

structing the channels through which have flowed ,for many past centuries , some of the main currentsof the Chinese artistic and po etic imagination .

Neither the picto rial art nor the po etry of theChinese can be properly understood or adequatelyappreciated without a sympathetic knowledge of

Buddhism and Buddhistic lore ; and there is noproof that Buddhism as a fountain of artistic and

po etic in spiration is exhausted .

But it would be rash to assume that even as areligion , in the o rdinary sense ofthe wo rd, Buddhismhas run its course . Confucianism and Tao ism , as wehave seen reason to believe, must abate somethingof their loftiest claims (or the claims that o thershave made on their behalf) if they wish to maintaina strong ho ld on Chinese hearts and minds but itis no t quite certain that Buddhism must fo llowtheir example . Access to Western fountain s ofwisdom has not resulted in the disappearance of

the Buddhist faith from Ceylon or Siam or Burma ,and even in so progressive a country as Japan wefind that several schoo ls of Buddhism are at presentshowing signs of renewed vitality and vigour.It wou ld be rash to attempt to prophesy, in thesedays of convulsion and transition , what the future

13

18 THE “ THREE RELIGIONS OF CHINA [CPL

may have in sto re for Buddhism in China ;butthat the subject is one of interest and impo rtancefew students of religion or of wo rld-po litics willfeel dispo sed to deny. A Christian theo logian of

our own day has recently observed that Buddhismis the on ly religion in the wo rld that can beregarded as “ a seriou s rival to Christian ity.

” 1 Ifthis be so , then for that reason if for no o ther itis incumbent upon the peoples of the West to formsome correct no tion s about the histo ry and presentcondition of Buddhism in that country which , inspite of the attractions of rival faiths , contains agreater number of Buddhists than any othercountry in the wo rld .

An attempt will be made in these pages tointroduce the Western reader to some of tho seaspects of Chinese Buddhism with which he isleast likely to be familiar , and to conduct himon imaginary pilgrimage to some of tho se greatmonasteries which long have been , and still are,the strongho lds of Buddhist influence among theChinese people . It may be that he will returnwithout having fo rmed any exalted conception of

the fitness of Buddhism to take a dignified part inthe future development of Chinese civilization .

Yet his pilgrimage will no t have been who llyin vain if it enables him to enter into partialcommun ion with that mysteriou s entity whichhas baffled and bewildered so manyWestern mindsand has so often been declared inscrutable— the

1 Rev. J . A. Selbie in the Expository s es, April 1 91 2 .

I . ] MONASTIC BUDDHISM

Soul of China . For it is a fact that few of us can

hope to gain true in sight into the spiritual co re ofChinese cu lture until we have followed in thefootsteps of the great poets and painters of T ‘ang ,Sung, and Ming , and have wandered as they didamong the beautiful mountain-homes of monasticBuddhism . There we must cast aside— so far asit is humanly po ssible forWestern m en and womento do so — all o ccidental preconception s and prejudices , and try to hear with Chinese ears and to

see with Chinese eyes . On ly then will streamand wo od , crag and waterfall , cast o ver us thesame spells that they cast over China’s hill-roamingpainters and min strel-pilgrims. P erhaps when weare watching a browsing deer that refuses to takefright at our approach , perhaps when , on somelonely mountain slope , we are listen ing to thedeep

,soft no te of a monastery-bell , we may see a

little way into the secret of the intense love of thepo ets and painters of China for ro ck thronedpagoda and fo rest-guarded hermitage , and learnhow it was that they acqu ired their wonderfu lknowledge of the ways of tho se wild an imals thatflee in dread from the dwellers in the plains ,but come without fear to share food or shelterwith the Buddhist monks who se homes are in

the qu iet hills .

CHAPTER II

BUDDH ISM UNDER Aso k A AND KAN ISHKA

BUDDH I SM had already passed through its maindo ctrinal developments befo re it succeeded in

establishing itself as one of the three religions ofthe Chinese people . Befo re we can hope , therefore,to understand the histo ry and present po sition of

the Buddhist religion in China we mu st knowsomething of its varying fo rtunes in the land whichgave it birth . ( Buddhist China is un intelligiblewithout some acquaintance with Buddhist India)Sakyamun i Buddha is now believed to have

died in or about the year 483 B .C. Under thepatronage and personal suppo rt of the emperorAsoka (who se reign probably extended from 264

to 23 1 the religion founded by Sakyamunicon so lidated its po sition in the Gangetic valley,where it had o riginated , and extended its influenceto o ther countries both in India and beyond itsbo rders . Buddhism ,

in fact , became a missionaryreligion , and its missionaries proved themselves asintrepid as they were zealou s . It is to be gatheredfrom one of the Asokan edicts that the emperorformed ambitious plans for the peaceable conversion

20

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

UNDER AsoKA AND KANISHKA [on

not is a difficult question to answer. All we cansay is that they may po ssibly have done so . A

Chinese tradition says that Buddhism appearedin China about the year 2 1 7 B .C. Moreover, theBuddhistic literature and monastic chron icles of

China contain numerou s references to Asokahimself, who is declared to have been the foundero f a vast number of pagodas , some of which weree rected on Chinese so il . 1 The stories of Asokaand his Chinese pagodas are no doubt fabulous,but it is po ssible that the legends which associatehis name with the early propagation of Buddhismin China may contain a measure of truth . Asokadied about the year 231 B .C . The self- styledFirst Empero r ”

of China (Ch‘in Shih-huang) , the

\bu ilder of the Great Wall , reigned from 22 1 to

£ 2 1 0, and it was about the year 2 1 3 that this(imonarch’s po licy, which might perhaps be describedas Po litical Futurism , cu lminated in the burningof the books. ” It is no t inconceivable that thesebooks— which are believed to have embraced allexisting literature except wo rks relating to

medicine , agriculture , and divination includedsome Buddhist tracts . For though there is reasonto believe that the canon had no t been reduced towriting at that early date , it is by no mean s certainthat portion s of the scriptures did not already existin literary fo rm indeed , if there were no literature

1 Even the Shan States are supposed to have had a share of theAsokan pagodas . See Sir George Scott’s article on Buddhism in theShan States in Oct . 1 91 1 , p . 921 .

u ] BUDDHIST MISSIONS

of any kind , it is difficu lt to explain the success ofthe missionary propaganda in India and Ceylon .

There is a passage in a Chinese historical wo rkwhich distinctly states that Buddhist bo oks hadbeen widely circulated for a long time , but disappeared when the Ch ‘in dyn asty established itselfon the throne. On the o ther hand , some of theAs'oka legends bear a su spiciou s similarity to tho serelating to the Indo -Scythian king Kanishka, andit is po ssible that there has been some confusion of

names and events . Whether this be so or not ,

there is go od reason to believe that Kanishka or one

of the o ther monarchs of his race had diplomaticand o ther relation s with China ;and if (as highautho rities maintain ) Kanishka reigned in the firstcentu ry B .C. , it is po ssible that he or an earlysuccessor may have had something to do withthe facts underlying a well known sto ry of aChinese embassy to the Yijeh chih in the year2 B .C .

Very soon afterAsoka’s death his empire beganto break up. Buddhism continued to pro sper , butin adapting itself to the needs of the tribes andnation s of Central Asia it was obliged to submit tovarious far-reaching compromises . The pressurewhich it had to encounter was no t from externalforces o nly . Some of the old schoo ls o f Buddhistthought which had been treated as heterodo x and

kept in subordination In pre-Asokan days foundfresh sources of strengt h and support amongmultitudes of the new converts . Outside India

UNDER AS'

OKA AND KANISHKA [ca

e orthodoxy gf the P ali canon (fixed in the thirdA

ntury B .C. ) was expo sed to the contempt or

ct of heterodox schools, which showed adispo sition to gather materials for a new canon of

their own ;while within the limits of India itselfthere was a gradual obliteration of the old lines ofdemarcation between Buddhism and the o thersystems of Indian religion . I n Ceylon , indeed,Buddhism has maintained itself as the religion of

the country ever since its establishment there inthe Asokan age , and Burma (which embracedBuddhism in comparatively recent times) is stilldevo tedly attached to the religion of its cho ice ;but in India Buddhism allowed itself to be gradually abso rbed by mo re strenuou s rivals , and it isonly in Brahman ical Hindu ism that a few tracesof its influence may still be found .

1 The pro

cess of abso rption may be said to have lastedtill the twelfth century. of our era ; indeed , ifwe regard Nepal as part of India , we may saythat the pro cess is no t yet qu ite complete .

1 Buddhism wasted away after rival sects had appropriated everything from it that they could make any use of. E . Hardy, quoted byMrs Rhys Davids

,Buddhism ,

p . 28.

2 Buddhism in India did not owe its extinction to Brahman icalpersecutions. The belief that such was the case has been given up

owing to lack of evidence . I t undoubtedly suffered severely, however,in the last stages of its career from the iconoclastic fury of theMohammedans . The decay of Buddhism was also largely due to theinfluence of the Yogacharya, or Tantric Buddhists , who from about thesixth century of our era began to admit Saivite deities into what nowmay be called the Buddhist pantheon . This helped to obliterate thecharacteristic features of Buddhism

,which thus gradually ceased to

maintain Itself as a separate religion .

THE MAHAYANA

But it is no t the obscure history of the declineofBuddhism in India that claims our attention here .Our concern is rather with that wonderful systemknown as the Mahayana— a system which in some

\respects is so different from the Buddhism of theP ali canon that many students have been temptedto question its right to claim more than a nominalasso ciation with the teachings of Sakyamun i , andhave tried to trace its characteristic do ctrines tosou rces that were neither Buddhistic nor Indian .

The term Mahayana Great Vehicle — was

adopted by the fo llowers of the new doctrinest o distingu ish their own system from primitiveBuddhism , to which they gave the name of theHinayana , or Small Vehicle . The Hinayana wasso called because , acco rding to its opponents , itwas capable of conveying to the o ther sho re ”

of

Nirvana on ly tho se rare individuals who by theirlown strenuou s exertion s had earned for them/selves the prize of salvation ; whereas the GreatVehicle ofl

'

ered salvation to all beings in allthe wo rlds . The two names are conven ientdesignation s of the rival systems , though it shouldbe no ted that the term Hinayana was no t acceptedby the canon ical Buddhists as a correct descriptionof their own school, for which a mo re co rrectterm would be Theravada— the Schoo l of theElders or Presbyters . 1

1 The Theravadins were also known as the Haimavantas, or ( to

use the Chinese term) Hsueh—shan-pu the Schoo l of the SnowyMountains .

UNDER ASOKA AND KANISHKA [cm

A great impetus , if an indirect one , is believedto have been given to the spread of the Mahayanistdo ctrines by the conversion to Buddhism of thepowerfu l Indian ruler already mentioned theKu shan king Kanishka. Very little is known atpresent of the details of this monarch’s reigneven the extent of his dominion is uncertain .

It has been suppo sed that he ruled over aloo sely-confederated empire which in cluded not

on ly No rth Western India, but also portions of

Afghanistan , P arthia , Gandhara, Kashmir , and

parts of what is known to day as ChineseTurkestan . A passage in Hsuan Tsang

’

s bookof travels implies that his influence extendedeven to the western confines of China. 1 It hasrecently been question ed , however , whetherKanishka

’

s direct rule extended beyond India,Gandhara, and Kashmir ;reason s have been givenfor the belief that it was not Kanishka himself,but a lin e of allied kings of the same Kushanrace , who reigned in the no rtherly region s . 2

In any case the name of Kanishka is a greatone in the histo ry of Buddhism , for it was hewho is believed to have summoned the great.Buddhist Coun cil of Kashmir. The names of

various patriarchs and do cto rs have been handeddown in connection with the tradition s relatingto the king’s religious activities

,the mo st famous

being P arsva , Vasumitra, and As'

vaghosha.

Unfortunately for the cau se o f histo rical accuracy,1 See Watters, Yuan Chwang, i . 1 24.

See J. Kennedy in J .R. .-l .S

,July 1 91 2

,pp

. 665fi

ASVAGHOSHA

it is hardly po ssible to make any very po sitivestatements about the part taken by these venerablefigures in Buddhist developments , for there wereseveral Vasumitras and several Asvaghoshas. All

we can say is that , acco rding to o ne Buddhisttradition , a monk named Vasumitra becamepresident of the Council of Kashmir ;1 that ,acco rding to ano ther tradition , a monk namedAsvagho sha was sent to the court of a king ,who may have been Kanishka, in acco rdance withthe peace condition s impo sed by that monarch aftera successfu l war with a neighbouring Indian ruler

2

that an Asvaghosha probably took a prominent part

(perhaps as vice-president ) in Kanishka’

s Council !

that this may have been the Asvagho sha who

figures in the lists of Indian patriarchs which havebeen preserved by the Buddhists of China ; and

ythat a writer named Asvagho sha ( of uncertaindate) was the autho r of certain religiou s treatises

(In which some of the Mahayan ist do ctrines

lmay have found literary expression for the first

ltime?’

1 Paramartha’s Life of Vasubandhu (Har. xxiv. vol. ix . pp. 1 1 51 18) gives Katyayani-putra as the name of the president.

2 This is recorded in the Life ofAévaghoska, by Kumarajiva, Har.

xxiv . vol. ix . p . 1 1 2 . The same authority gives us the foo lish storyabout the six starving horses which (with ample supplies of food infront of them) refused to eat in order that they might give theirundivided atten tion to Asvaghosha

’s sermons . (Hence the name

Aévaghosha, Chinese Ma-m 'ing, which means Horses neighing . )3 A Japanese scholar (M. Anesaki) has described the Mahayanist

Aévaghosha as“ the Buddhist Origen , and ascribes to him the first

systematization of the Buddhist Trinitarian ( trikaya) theory. The

reference is to Asvaghosha’s Awakening of Faith, which English readers

should consult in Suzuki’s translation . This is the Ch‘i-hsin—lunreferred to below.

UNDER As'

okA AND KANISHKA [on

All this is very vague , and the vagueness isincreased by the unfo rtunate fact that thechrono logical po sition of Kanishka himself isstill a matter of controversy. In View of theimpo rtance of the religiou s movements whichto ok place in his time , it is mu ch to be hopedthat the fresh literary and archaeo logical materialrecently discovered in Khotan and the neighbouring regions of Turkestan will produce evidencewhereby the matter will be put beyond thereach of further dispute . The beginn ing of

Kanishka’

s reign has been assigned by somescho lars to the first century B .C. , and by othersto the first , the second , and even the thirdcenturies of the Christian era . Between the

earliest and the latest dates which have beensuggested there is a difference of no less thanthree hundred and fifty

-six years— a fact whichis sufficient to indicate the chaotic state of

Indian chrono logy. At present the best authorities ho ld that the reign began either in 78of our era or in the first half of the firstcentury Acco rding to one high authority,the so-called Vikrama era , which is dated from58B .C. , commenced with the year of Kanishka’

s

accession ; acco rding to another , that era hada religious origin , and was dated from the con

vo cation of the great Buddhist Council . 11 Mr V. A. Smith formerly held ( see his Early History of India,

2a ed . 1 908, pp . 239 f . ) that Kanishka began to reign in the firsthalf of the second century of our era

,probably in the year 1 20 or 1 25 ;

but more recently, in his History of Fine Art in India and Ceylon

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

UNDER As'

OKA AND KANISHKA [cm

Mahakasyapa and Ananda , who died in 905 and

867 .If these dates were co rrect , we should have

to assume that Ananda , though he was Buddha’s

own cou sin and intimate disciple, survived theMaster by no less than eighty-two years Cominglower down the list we find that Asvaghosha

( twelfth patriarch) died about the year 330.

As'

vagho sha in his turn was succeeded byKapimala, and Kapimala by the celebratedNagarjuna ( fou rteenth patriarch ) who died in 21 2

Obviously all these dates are unreliable ;indeed we canno t feel sure that we are touchingground till we come to the illustrious name of

a , with whom the Indian patriarchateend. The arrival in China of Bodhi

dharma— or Tamo , as the Chinese call himabout the year 520 of our era is a well-attested

. fact ; and there is no reason“

to—

doubt that the

(death of Tamo , who was the twenty eighth Indianiand first Chinese patriarch , is co rrectly placedby the Chinese monkish chroniclers about theyear 528.

The correction of all the dates in the list ofpatriarchs wou ld be a hopeless task. The initialerror in the date assigned to Buddha’s death isof itself suflicient to vitiate all the subsequentchrono logy. It is not impo ssible , however , thatthough tradition has gone astray in the matterof dates , it has correctly preserved the names ofthe patriarchs and the o rder of their succession .

Acco rding to the Chinese chrono logy the lives

STUPA AT THE P I-YUN TEMPLE .

1 L] BUDDHIST CHRONOLOGY

of the twenty-eight patriarchs (949 to 528of our era) covered a period of years . Eachpatriarch , therefo re, mu st have survived his predecesso r by an average period of about fifty-twoyears . It is hardly necessary to po int out how

improbable it is that so long a period as this canhave elapsed between each of the successive deathsof twenty-eight patriarchs . But a different so lutionof the question at once suggests itself when weassume that Buddha’s death to ok place not in 949 ,as the Chinese say, but in 483. That this was thetrue date of the death of Buddha is the conclusionat which Western scho lars have recently arrived ,and we are justified in assuming it to be approximately correct .

Jl The lives of the twenty-eightpatriarchs , then , extended over a period no t

of but only of years . Now, if wecalculate the average length of each patriarchateon this new basis , we find that it is no mo re thanthirty-six years. This is not impo ssibly long,especially when we assume (as we are entitled to

do ) that each patriarch made a po int of selectinga youthful successo r in o rder to preserve an analogybetween the physical su ccession of father and son

and the spiritual succession of teacher and disciple.If we now test our new scheme of dates by assigning to Asvagho sha the chronogical place whichhe ought to occupy on the assumption that each

1 See Dr J . F. Fleet’s article in 1 91 2, p . 240. Arguingin favour of the year 483, he says There is , of course , no means ofattain ing absolute certainty. But I think that this result cannotbe bettered . ”

UNDER Aso kA AND KANISHKA [cm

patriarchate lasted thirty-six years on an average,

we arrive at once at the interesting discoverythat Asvaghosha

’

s death may be placed in theyear 51 B .C. We canno t , of course , place muchreliance on the accuracy of a date arrived at inthis arbitrary manner ;but it is in exact conformitywith the requirements of the tradition concerningAsvaghosha

’

s relation s with Kanishka and thepart taken by him in the work of the Council ofKashmir, and it is in equally precise agreementwith the new theory that the Council was heldin 58

The solution of the chrono logical problem willno doubt enable students of Buddhism to speakwith more confidence than is po ssible at presentconcerning the early histo ry of the Great Vehicle.But the once-prevalent theory that the rise and

expansion of the Mahayana schoo l was directly dueto the personal suppo rt of Kanishka, and to thelabours of the Council of Kashmir in compiling atnew Sanskrit canon which was to supersed

canon , must be abandoned . There is no evidencethat the Council tampered in any way with theexisting canon or even that it was Mahayanistin sympathy. On the contrary, there are strongreasons for believing that it was a Hinayanist lcouncil , and that one of its principal objects wasnot to promote but to check the expansion of theMahayanist heresies . If Hsiian Tsang

’

s account isto be trusted , it is clear that earnest Buddhists ofthe o ld school (or rather the Sarvastivadin branch of

COUNCIL OF KASHMIR

the o ld schoo l ) were alarmed by the do ctrinalconfusion that existed throughout the Buddhistwo rld , and that they therefore induced the kingwho has been called the Clovis of Buddhism— to

summon a Council in dm mterests of

their own type of orthodoxy. Various places weresuggested for the meeting of the Council , and

Kashmir seems to have been selected partly for thesign ificant reason that “ it was surrounded with hillsas a city is surrounded by its walls , and couldonly be entered by a single pass ;and that in thissecluded region the Council ( or rather the com

mittee of monks who carried out the literary andedito rial duties impo sed upon them by the Council)would no t be liable to be disturbed by heretics andschismatics . 1 The Council seems to have o ccupieditself main ly with religiou s discussion s and debateswhich were subsequently reduced to writing in

the fo rm of San skrit commentaries . 2 The edito rialwo rk is said to have been entru sted to Asvagho sha,

who was specially invited to Kashmir for the purpo se ; and the principal reSult after twelve years!of literary labour was the great philo sophical ;compilation known as the Mahavibhasha.

3 Hsuan .

1 Paramartha, Life of Vasubandhu , Har. xxiv. vol. ix . p . 1 1 6. The

reference is to the king’s proclamation issued after the Council hadcompleted its labours . See also Watters , 0p . cit. i . 271 .

2 See J . Takakusu, 1 905, p . 41 5.

3 See Paramartha, lac. cit. ;Watters,op . ed .

, i . 271 , ii . 1 04. The

commentaries are included in the Chinese Tripitaka ( so-called) underthe section ofHsiao Shé

‘

ng Lun— the Abhidharma of the Hinayana. See

J . Takakusu in 1 905,pp . 52

,1 60-1 62, and 41 4

—41 5 ;also hisC

UNDER ASOKA AND KANISHKA [ca

Tsang tells us that the approved treatises wereengraved on sheets of copper , which were enclosedin stone caskets and buried under a stI

‘

Ipa somewhere near the modern Srinagar . When this wasdon e an edict was carved on stone whereby it wasfo rbidden to remove the sacred literature fromKashmir. One of our autho rities makes the verysignificant observation that these measures weretaken with a view to the protection of o rthodoxreligion from the corrupting and destructive influences of ho stile schoo ls and the Great Velzz

'

cle .

1

It is clear , then , that it is erroneou s to speakof the Council of Kashmir as having given officialautho rity and a sacred canon to the Mahayanaform of Buddhism .

2 Indeed it is no t strictly

article in the Journ al of the PaliText Society, 1 904-5, on “ The Abhidharma Literature of the Sarvastivadins.

” He observes that “all

argumen ts about the Council and its works will be valueless until theMahavibhasha— an encyc10padia of Buddhist philosophy— is translated into one of the European languages . For the Chinese version,see Har. xxii. vols . i.-viii . (R N . The Chinese attribute theMahavibhasha to the I -ch‘ieh-pu ,

which is one of their names for theSarvastivadin school (also known as Hetuvada) of the Hinayana.

Another Chinese name for the school was Sa-p‘o-to.

315 K j ? i if]: g Ill: IE iii Paramartha,

ndhu,Har. xxiv . vol. ix . p . 1 1 6 (b) . I am inclined to

and the general recognitionimpelled some Mahayanistoumeil had been attended bye strange story ofVasumitra,

reads likea Mahayan ist writer’s invention and it is a sign ificant fact that while,according to one tradition (probably the most reliable) the Council wasattended by arahants only ( that is, Hinayan ist anothertradition asserts that it was also attended by an equal number of

badhisats ( that is , Mahayan ist saints2 The words quoted are those of Mr J. Kennedy in

191 2, p . 674.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

CHAPTER I II

EARLY BUDDHI SM AND ITS PHILOSOPHY

I T is a matter of common knowledge that some ofthe doctrines of the Mahayana (not to mentionits ritual practices) bear a remarkable resemblanceto some of the teachings of Christianity . This isone of the reason s why the question of the dateofKanishka is of considerable interest and importance to Western enqu irers . It seems reasonable ,at first sight , to suppo se that if certain importantfeatures of Buddhism , which are also characteristicof Christian ity, did no t develop until the time ofKanishka or later, and if the reign of that kingbelonged to as late a period as the first or secondcentury of our era , then the Mahayana must haveborrowed from Christian ity. One critic has beenventuresome enough to assert that Asvaghoshaand the apo stle St Thomas actually becamepersonally acquainted with one another at thecourt of St Thomas’s suppo sed Indian patron,Gondophares, or Gondophernes , and that suchlChristian elements as are to be found in the

36

CH. I II . ) THE “ NEW BUDDHISM

(Mahayana were therefo re the result of the inter

. course between the Christian apo stle and theBuddhist patriarch ?

The problem of the nature of the relationshipbetween Christian ity and Buddhism is no t to beexplained by any such airy suggestion as this ;and, indeed , the evidence adduced in favour of

this particular theo ry is worthless . On the who lethere is something to be said for the view thatthe resemblances between Christian ity and the“ New Buddhism (as the Mahayana has beencalled ) are no t due to bo rrowing either on one

side or the o ther , but to the fact that bo th hadaccess to the same sources of do ctrinal in spirationsources which in themselves were no t specifically

Christian or Buddhist . It is now a mattercommon knowledge that Christian ity and

Mithraism were in many respects amazingly alike ;yet the best autho rities assure us that at the ro o tof tho se two religion s “ lay a common E asternorigin [P ersian and Babylon ian] rather than any

1 See the late T . W. Kingsmill’s article , which con tains several rashand questionable statements

,in The Anglican (a missionary periodical

published in the Far East) , June 1 909, pp. 22 Mr Kingsmill,Dr Richard , and Professor Arthur Lloyd all seem to assume thatthe Asvaghosha who wrote certain Mahayanist works such as theSraddhotpada-sastra ( the Chinese Ch‘i-hsi

'

n-Zun,RN . 1 250) must have

been no other than the As’vaghosha who attended Kanishka’s Coun ciland helped to edit the commentaries . As we have already seen (p .

there were several As’vaghoshas ( or several persons who wrote underthat name) , and it is at present impossible to distinguish between themall or to assign them to their proper dates . See Mr Anesaki

’

s articlein ii . 1 59, and T . Suzuki’s Awakening of Faith (Chicago

pp . 6-1 7.

38 EARLY BUDDHISM— ITS PHILOSOPHY [011

bo rrowing.

” 1 If this be so , we need no t con

sider ourselves under any obligation to look forevidence of borrowing when we come acrossstrange similarities between Christian ity and theMahayana, who se common features are probablyless striking than tho se which were shared bythe religions of Christ and Mithras .

That the Mahayana do ctrines were not of

Christian origin is frankly admitted to -day evenby some who might have felt tempted to giveChristian ity the benefit of the doubt. A wellknown Anglican missionary in Japan , writing on

Buddhist and Christian o rigins , remarks that “ wecanno t always trace an actual contact ; it isperhaps enough to recogn ize the fact that thesethoughts were in the air. ” 2 Acco rding to anotherwriter, a missionary in China , “ it is getting clearerevery day that these common do ctrines of new

Buddhism and Christian ity were not borrowedfrom one ano ther , but that both came from a

common source. ” 3 This writer believes that the1 Dr Grant Shower-man , Mithraism (Encycl. Brit , 1 l th ed.)

Mgr. Louis Duchesn e, in his Early History of the Christian Church

(Eng. trans . 1 91 0, i . admits that “ the religion of Mithrascontained elements in theology, morality, ritual , and in itsdoctrine of the end of all things— bearing a strange resemblance toChristian ity.

2 Lloyd’s Creed of Half Japan , p . 340. Prof. Percy Gard ner holdssimilar views of the alleged borrowing by Christian ity from the paganmysteries . “ Ideas are propag ated from schoo l to school and teacherto teacher less often by the direct borrowing which comes of admirationthan by the parallel working of similar forces in various minds. Whenideas are in the air, as the saying is , men catch them by a sort ofinfection , and often without any notion whence they come.

3 Dr Timothy Richard, The Awakening ofFaith, p . xiii .

I II .] SOURCES OF DOGMA

\common source was Babylonian , and that “ fromthis centre tho se great life-giving inspiring truthswere carried like seeds into both the E ast and

West , where they were somewhat modified under{ different conditions. ” 1

We may, then , admit the pos sibility that someof the characteristic do ctrines shared by Christian ityand the Mahayana— such as the eflicacy of beliefin divine or superhuman saviours incarnating themselves in man ’s form for the wo rld’s salvationwere partly drawn from sources to which thebu ilders of both religion s had equally ready access .We may accept the view that each of these creedsinco rporated certain ideas which had long fascinatedthe religious imagination of a considerable po rtionof south western Asia . Yet while we recogn izethe palpable truth that Buddhism in the course ofits expan sion in fo reign lands absorbed some alienbeliefs which were impo rtant factors in deter min ingthe course of its subsequent development , we areby no means obliged to assume that there was adisso lution of continuity between the old Buddhismand the new. In spite of the differences and con

trasts that undoubtedly exist between the primitive Buddhism of the P ali canon and the mature

I t would be a mistake to give undue emphasis to the Babyloniantheory , yet the history of Mithraism ,

Manichaeism ,Mandaeism,

and

‘ certain early Gnostic cults such as that of the Ophites , shows us howfar-reaching the Babylonian Assyrian influence undoubtedly was.

“ Babylon ia, says Mr J . Kennedy 1 91 2 , p . withits m ixed populations , had been for centuries the exchange-mart of thepopular religions, and this process was in full swing at the commencement of the Christian era.

”

40 EARLY BUDDHISM— ITS PHILOSOPHY [CH.

(or, as some would say, degenerate) Buddhismwhich we find in the later Mahayan ist schoo ls , weare not obliged to accept the conclusion that thetwo Buddhisms are separated from one ano ther byan unbridged and fathomless chasm . We shouldbe warned again st any such conclusion by our

kn owledge of the fact, vouched for by the Chinesepilgrims, that for many centuries after the new

teachings had risen into prominence ( shortly afteror shortly before the beginn ing of the Christianera) the adherents of the two systems studied theirscriptures side by side within the great religiousun iversity of Nalanda , and lived harmon iously together in many monasteries . E ven in the matterof language there was no real cleavage. The

rather prevalent idea that P ali was exclusively thesacred language of the Hinayana and that Sanskritwas exclusively the sacred language of theMahayana is far from being strictly accurate ,though it is true that by the adoption of Sanskritas vehicle

"

theM ahayanist d octors‘ fl p-v n —=v“ w

e. “

iwere bettern ve away from the stricto rthodoxy of the P ali

‘

c

‘

afian” “ than if they had

been obliged to adhere to the P ali language .It may no t be always po ssible to trace every

link in the evo lutionary chain , and in some casesit is qu ite conceivable that the evo lution wouldnever have taken place had not the Buddhistorganism reacted to stimuli from a non-Buddhistenvironment ;but it would be difficu lt to po int tomany characteristic do ctrines of the Mahayana of

I IL] THE MAHAYANA

which at least the germs canno t be traced in theearlier or later speculations of the Hinayan istschoo ls.

The student of Buddhism is obliged at an

early stage of his investigation s to recogn ize twoimpo rtant facts . One is that the Mahayana is no ta single homogeneous system with a defin iteformu lated creed . It is erroneous to ascribe itsfoundation to any single man or even to any singlegroup of religious teachers ;1 and the un ifo rmitywhich was lacking at the commencement wasnever achieved at any subsequent period . The

Mahayana includes a large number of schoo ls andsects , each of which , as we have already noticed ,compiled its own canon ;and some of these sectscame to differ from on e ano ther much mo re widelythan the early Mahayan ists differed from some of

the Hinayan ists of their own time. The o therimpo rtant fact , the sign ifican ce of which is lessgenerally recognized , is that the Hinayana itselfwas subdivided into various scho o ls which , thoughthey all pro fessed adherence to the canon , and allregarded it as their u ltimate authority , did no t

always agree in their interpretation s of its meaning .

2 These scho o ls were not the result of a

1 Dr Timothy Richard describes theAsvaghosha of the Ch‘i-hsin-Iunas

“ the founder " of the Mahayana ( The Awakening of Faith, p . xiv . ,

and The New Testament of Higher Buddhism ,pp . 37, 38, and With

regard to some of the theories and suggestions of Dr Richard and Mr

A. Lloyd, see the autho r’s article on Buddhist and Christian Originsin The Quest , October 1 91 2 .

2 See above, p . 35, footnote 2.

42 EARLY BUDDHISM— ITS PHILOSOPHY [OH.

disintegration of Bu er were they a

fproof of its vitality. ihe traditionalnumber of com? into

'

exist:

ence before Asoka’s t ime , and in name at leastthey existed for many centuries after his death.

As late as the year 559 of our era we hearof a monastery which contained representativesof all the eighteen Hinayan ist schoo ls— a veryremarkable testimony to Buddhist to lerance . 1

The schools of the Hinayana debated amongthemselves many question s of great philo sophicaland religious impo rtance which Buddha wassuppo sed to have an swered enigmatically or not atall , and they were founded as much on attemptsto penetrate the mystery of the Master’s crypticsilence as on varying interpretations of his spokenwo rd . It is in the discussion s of these schools ,o rthodox and uno rtho do x , not in Babylonianpoetry or prophecy or in the missionary activityof a St Thomas , that we mu st look for the ultimatesources of the principal streams that flow into theo cean of Mahayan ist belief. As for that o ceanitself, let us admit that if it is fringed with manya sheltered inlet and qu iet haven ,

it also containswreck-strewn ro cks and perilous shallows and

profound waters that no man can fathom. But

which of all the streams that issue from thefountain of the religiou s thought and emotionof mankind does no t flow at last into an o ceanthat is very much like this 7

1 See Journal of the Path:Tart Society, 1 904-5 , 67.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA

No attempt can here be made to fo llow theintricate windings of Mahayan ist speculation , but

a brief glance at certain aspects of Buddhistthought in a few of its successive stages willhelp us to understand the po int of view hereset fo rth .

The records of primitive Buddhism leaveun answered many interesting questions relatingto the beliefs of the histo rical Buddha, but theirtestimony leaves no ro om for doubt as to thegeneral trend of his teachings . He taught hisdisciples to discard what he conceived to be falseand harmful ideas concern ing the human personality or

“ soul ,”

and to pursue a definite methodof self-culture and self-discipline which wouldlead to the ann ihilation of so rrow , the extinctionof the three-fo ld fire of delusion , desire , and

malevolence , and the attainment of the passionless serenity of arahantship. Certain ultimateproblems with which philo sophy loves to grappleand which some o ther religiou s teachers professto have so lved through revelation were deliberately set aside by Buddha as having nothing todo with his

’

system and ou tside the scope of histeachings.It is not to be suppo sed , indeed , that Buddha

—who , let us remember, was a philo sopher in anation of philo sophers

fl ignored the existence of

such ultimate problems . On the contrary, it isclear that he had himself deeply pondered manyprofound question s which for frankly-stated reasons

44« EARLY BUDDHISM— ITS PHILOSOPHY [GEL

he refused to discuss with his disciples . 1 It is oneof the canonical texts that tells us the story of howf

Buddha once plucked a few leaves from a tree andasked his disciples whether these leaves which hehad plucked , or all the leaves o n all the trees ofthe neighbouring grove , were the mo re numerous.“ The leaves on all the trees of the grove , theysaid , are far mo re numerou s than tho se in thehand of the Ho ly One .

”

E ven in such measure,said Buddha , are the things which I have learned ,and have not commun icated to you , mo re numerousthan tho se of which I have spoken . And why,my disciples , have I not spoken to you of thesethings And he go es on to explain that it isbecause the subjects on which he maintains silencehave no relation to the truths which it is hismission to impart

l the truths concern ing so rrowand the cessation of so rrow— h and have no bearing on that pro cess of self-discipline whereby hewould have his disciples achieve the destructionof passion , illusion , and ignoble desire , and attainthe inward illumination and perfect peace whichculminate in Nirvana.

The canon ical bo oks contain many storiessimilar in sign ificance to that about the leaves ofthe trees . Among tho se which are accessible to

1 We can scarcely help forming the impression that it was not a

mere idle statement which the sacred texts preserve to us , that thePerfect One knew much more which he thought inadvisable to say,

than what he esteemed it profitable to his disciples to unfold ”

(Oldenberg , Buddha , Eng . trans 1882,p .

2 See the Samyutta Nzkaya , as quoted in L. de la V. Poussin ,Bouddhisme

,p . 68.

III . ) THE “ SILENCE OF BUDDHA

English readers may be ment ioned the passagesdealing with the questions of Potthapada to

each of which Buddha makes reply : “ that is amatter on which I have expressed no opin ionthe question s of Vacchagotta, who se problems aregreeted by Buddha with perfect silence ;2 and thequestion s of Malufikyaputta, who in sists eagerlyand almo st rudely that Buddha shou ld either so lvethe problems propounded or frankly confess hisignorance— yet the M aster does neither. 3

Buddha’s silence about matters on which heknew that speech wou ld on ly lead to misunder

standings may be compared with the somewhatsimilar attitude of another Asiatic sage who livedin Buddha’s own time , though neither was knownto the other. Confuciu s was bo rn about twelveyears after Buddha , -and survive d him about fouryears. ‘ We are to ld that a disciple once pressed

3 him for an an swer to the question as to whetherthe dead retain con sciou sness . Like Buddha, butnot for Buddha’s reason s , Confucius declined to

give a direct reply. He merely observed that if

,he said yes

,

” this might lead to unnecessaryextravagance in sacrifices and funerals , and thusthe living would be n eglected for the sake of

the dead ;and that if he said no , filial piety

might decay, and the bodies of the dead mightI

1 See Rhys Davids , Dialogues of the Buddha, pt . i . pp . 254-5 .

See Oldenberg, op . cit , pp . 272-3.

3 See Oldenberg , op . cit. pp . 1 1 7-1 22 ;Warren , Buddhism in

Translations, 1 906, pp . 274-6.

Buddha, c. 563 to c 483 Confucius , 551 -479

46 EARLY BUDDHISM— ITS PHILOSOPHY [on

be treated with disrespect . Hence he left theproblem un so lved .

1 P erhaps a more remarkablepassage is that in which his disciple t

’

i-kungspoke of the difference between the readyfrankness with which Confucius expounded hisso cial and ethical principles and the reticencewhich he observed in discoursing about metaphysical subjects and the law of God.

2 Accordingto the Chinese commentato rs , this passage meansthat Confuciu s spoke freely to all his disciples onsuch subjects as he thought were suited to theircapacit ies , but on ly allowed a cho sen few to sharehis thoughts on problems of a deeper kind .

3

We might define the attitude of Buddhatowards the u ltimate problems on which he keptsilence by the use of a simple parable . The wayof Buddha is a road along which all who wish toaccept him as their gu ide may travel safely to

the supreme blessedness of saintho od— the inefi'

able

1 Confucius would have agreed with our own philosopher Caird, whowarned us that the belief in immortality may easily become anunhealthy occupation with a future salvation , which prevents us fromseeking for salvation here ” (The Evolution of Religion, 1893, ii .

2 T‘ien-Tao . The passage occurs in Dun Yn ,bk . v. ch . xii.

3 Both Buddha and Confucius would have approved of the words ofPlotinus éxpfiv uév prk épwrc

'

iv, an d avmévai Kaiaah-dv mum-ii. diam-

p é‘

ydl

mm rd) xal ofmcream e rMyew.

” Readers ofChinese literature will rememberthat the founder of Tao ism (whose great and lonely figure is but dimlyvisible through the mists of the Tao-té—ching) was even less willing thanwere Confucius and Buddha to discuss matters which were beyond thereach of verbal analysis . ( “ The Tao which can be expressed in wordsis not the eternal Tao ; the name which can be uttered is not itseternal name ”

) Cf. Sextus Pythagoricus Wise is the man whoeven in silence honours God, knowing why he is silent ” and St

Augustine sidixinon est quod dicere volui.”

OfThee,

” says Hookerin his fine prayer, our fittest eloquence is silence.

1 1 1 ] A PARABLE

state of the arahant . But there are pleasantmeadows and sedu ctive gardens within sight of

the ro ad , and amid the trees and flowers thereare winding pathways that lead into many atrackless fo rest and deadly morass . Beyond thesethere rises a many-pinnacled range of glo riou smountains , who se snowy peaks seem to touchthe heaven s , and who se shin ing cliffs are aperpetual challenge to the stout hearted wayfarer. I long , he says , to explo re tho se fo restsand to scale tho se mountain heights . ” Yes ,says his guide , there are wonderful secretshidden in tho se dark fo rests , and there is asplendour in tho se distant hills . But if youstep aside to wander among tho se trees and

flowers , and to so lve the mystery of forest andmountain , you will lo se sight of the road whichI have made for you . Who will lead you

safely through tho se fens and marshes and overtho se pitiless crags ? Where will you , in you rstumblings, come acro ss ano ther path that willbring you safely to your journey

’s end ?

A fair reply would be that bo ld and enqu iringspirits have always risked the danger of failureand disaster in the past and will continue to do

so in the future . So long as there are heightsthat remain unsealed,

the dauntless spirit of man

will try to scale them . The fact that Buddhadiscouraged his disciples from attempting to find

a way to the shin ing pinnacles that looked downupon them from afar off did not have the

48 EARLY BUDDHISM— ITS PHILOSOPHY [CH.

A result of keeping Buddhist philo sophy in theplains . High up among the snows of thought

,

adventurous Western mountaineers have foundthe footsteps of Buddhist explo rers who reachedtho se heights long befo re them : and perhapsthere are some glittering peaks that haveyielded their secrets to none but Buddhistclimbers .If Buddha discouraged his fo llowers from

ascending the perilou s heights of metaphysicalspeculation , there was one question of pressing1 nterest which could not be igno red , though itwas a subj ect on which bo th speech and silencewere liable to mislead . This was the questionof the existence or non -existence of a permanententity in human personality.

It must be admitted at once that the o rdinarysoul-theo ries current in Buddha’s own time wereby him uncompromisingly rej ected . There areseveral passages in the sacred bo oks which , ifthey co rrectly embody the belief of Buddhahimself, seem to indicate no t o n ly that herejected all soul-theo ries that had been held or

suggested in the past , but also that his teachings were incompatible with any soul-theo ry thathuman ingenu ity might excogit

‘

at'e;in the future.Such is the well known “t hafio t passage atthe beginn ing of the M ilinda Dialogues

,

1 whichseems to leave us no way of escape from the

1 See xxxv . 43-5 . For Chinese versions,see Har. xxiv. vol.

viii . pp . 45,54.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

50 EARLY BUDDHISM— ITS PHILOSOPHY [CH.

I have come , ’ he said , to ask you abouta matter which perplexes me . All the othermonks I have visited are full of wo rds , but theytell me no thing to the purpo se. You , I am sure,are an exceptional monk , and will readily solvemy difiiculty.

’ What is it your majesty wishesto know ?

’ asked the monk . I want you to tellme , ’ said the king , ‘ whether the sou l is or is notdistinct from the body.

’

That is a question whichadmits of no reply, ’ said the monk. This is notfair, ’ said the king ; ‘ why will you not give me aplain an swer to a plain question ?

’ Well ’ saidthe monk , ‘ it is my turn to be the questioner. I ,too , am in doubt about something. All the otherkings whom I have questioned are very talkativepeople , but your majesty is an exceptional monarch,and I believe you will readily give me a straightanswer . ’ ‘Ask your question ,

’ said the king.

‘ 1

want your maj esty to tell me what the mangoesin your palace-garden taste like. Are they bitteror are they sweet ? ’ I haven ’t any mango -treesin my garden ,

’ said the king. The monk lookedat the monarch with a severe countenance. This

But ,’ said the king , ‘ how can I tell you about

the taste of my mango es if I have no mango -treesin my garden ?

’ Well , it is just the same in thematter of the soul , ’ said the monk. There is no suchthing : so what was the use of asking me whetherit was distinct or not distinct from the body ? ”

Tho se of us who feel rather crushed by theclimax to this quaint little dialogue may console

HSl-YU MONASTERY CHIHL I .

TOMBS OF MONKS ,HSl-YU MONASTERY

SOUL THEORIESourselves with the reflection that the monkonly vo icing the opin ion of a scho o l— though thatischo o l was for a long time regarded as the citadelof o rthodoxy. Buddha himself is never repre

sented as having dispo sed of the sou l quin so tho rough-go ing a fashion as did the monkwith his analogy of the non -existing mangoesl.A foreme st e exponent of Buddhism has to ld us

that this religion stands alone among thereligion s of India in igno ring the soul . ” 1 Wouldit no t be mo re accurate to say that Buddhismigno red the sou l as a quasi-material entity whichhad its dwelling in the physical body and flewy from it at death ? That Buddha den ied

he existen ce of this kind of sou l— and therefo reejected all the sou l—theo ries which found popularupport in the India of his day — is unden iablytrue ; but there is mu ch to be said for the Viewthat he had a lo ft ier sou l-theory— or rather selftheo ry— of his own .

A sto ry which gives us a hint of Buddha’strue mean ing is that which tells us how the

Vaccha asked what becam

the Tathagata after death— that is ,state of the sage who has passed aw

dinary human life after having attainedoes Nirvana ( a blessed state attainable in this

[A 1 Rhys Davids

,Dialogues of the Buddha, pt. i . p. 242. He adds that

the vigour and o riginality of this n ew departure are evident from thecomplete isolation in which Buddhism stands, in this respect, from all\other religious systems then existing in the wo rld .

”

Cf. also ibid. ,

pp. 188-9.

52 EARLY BUDDHISM— ITS PHILOSOPHY [OH.

life ) result , after death , in total extinction , or

do es it lead to a different state of being ? To

this question Buddha replies by telling Vacchethat he is trying to probe a very deep mysterywhich only the wise can comprehend . You

will hardly understand it , he says , you havingdifferent views , endurance , inclination s , efforts,and teaching .

”

But he attempts a veiled explanation and after declaring that everything materialwill be left behind at death , says that theTathagata when thu s liberated from the categoryof materiality , is deep , immeasurable , difficult tofathom , like the vast o cean .

” 1

A very similar story is to ld about the kingof Kosala and the learned nun Khema The

king asks the nun whether the Tathagata— the

liberated sage who has attained Nirvana and

has passed away from earth— does or does not

still exist . The nun replies that it is not

co rrect to say of the Tathagata that he stillexists ; nor is it co rrect to say that he doesnot exist ; nor is it correct to say that he both

1 See the Aggi-Vacchagotta-sutta , quoted by Dr. F. Otto Schraderin the Journalof the PaliTextSociety ( 1 904 pp . 1 65-6, and byWarren,op . cit , pp . 1 23-8. Dr Schrader has ably argued against the theorythat, according to Buddha’s own teaching, Nirvana was followed byannihilation . He observes that “ we are not entitled to say thatBuddha denied the soul , but only that for him duration in time wasduration of a flux and not immutability in any sense , not the stabilityof a substance . ” The doctrm e of anatta ( no soul) embraces the fivekh andas or constituent parts of nature

, not mo re . It was theBuddha and no one else who made the doctrine of anatta a moralprinciple, and that not by denying the Absolute One , but presupposingit as the true self, the only reality.

I,

H PERSONALITY

(exists and do es no t exist. After some furtherdiscussion the nun obs erves that the great o ceanis deep , immeasurable , unfathomable . The beingof the Tathagata can no longer “ be gauged bythe measu re of the co rpo real world ; he is deep ,immeasurable , unfathomable as the great o cean .

”

That this reply of the nun Khema wasrecogn ized as tho roughly o rthodox is shown by thecare taken to represent Buddha as having given herwo rds the stamp of his appro val ; for the sto rygo es o n to say that the king repeated his questionin an interview with Buddha himself, and thatthe Master’s reply was wo rd for wo rd identicalwith the reply previou sly given by the nun .

’

mu st beware of suppo sing that theseons of the deceased Tathagata with the

able o cean indicate no thing mo rea kind of vague pantheism , and imply the

utter extinction of the human personality . The

crux of the who le problem is this very wo rd“ personality . If we knew what personality was ,we shou ld po ssess a key that wou ld unlo ck someof the deepest mysteries befo re which human itystands baffled . It is in vain to probe the secretof Buddha’s deepest thoughts on this subject ;yetperhaps the mean ing of such passages as tho seabove quo ted will become clearer to us whenwe compare them with the utterances of someof tho se Western thinkers who ( often unknown

1 See Oldenberg , op . cit ,pp . 278-80. I t is interesting to note that

Western mystics also speak ofin vastissimum divinitatispelagas navigare.

54 EARLY BUDDHISM— ITS PHILOSOPHY [CH.

to themselves ) are Buddha’s philo sophical kinsmen.

Couldst thou annihilate thyself for a moment,”

said EckhErti) “ thou wou ldst po ssess all thatGod is in himself. ” 1 Acco rding to the mystic’spsycho logy, as an eloquent writer of our own

time tells us, it is an erro r to regard consciousness of self as the measu re of personality.

“ The

depths of personality are unfathomable , asHeraclitus already knew ; the light of consciousness only plays on the surface of the water. ” 2 Itis of interest to find here a parallel drawn betweenthe real (as distinct from the phenomenal)personality and the deep o cean— precisely thesame parallel as that employed by Buddha.“ So far is it from being true , continues theEnglish thinker , “ that the self of our immediateconsciou sness is our true personality, that we canonly attain personality , as spiritual and rationalbeings , by passing beyond the limits which mark usoff as separate individuals. Separate individuality,

(we may say, is the bar which prevents us fromrealizing our true privileges as persons.

1 Eckhart'

s position , like that ofthe writer of the TheologiaGemzanicaand such mystics as B lake ( “ ann ihilate the Selfhood in isperhaps nearer to that of the -Ilpanishads t han it is to the position of

Buddha. I tj sxeryp

nece ssary to avoid reading into Buddhism meaningswhich areWand s? a nd not Buddhist ; yet Dr Coomaraswamy is

undoubtedly justified iiihis remark that through all Indian schools ofthought there runs like a” den thread the fundamental idealism of

( the Upanishads— the Vedanta.

” He is right to make no exceptionIof Buddhism , for the golden thread is not missing from the woven“fabric of Buddhist thought .

2 Dr W. R. Inge’s Christian Mysticism ( zud p. 30. Of. also

Underhill , Mysticism ,pp . 507-8, ct passim .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

CHAPTER IV

THE IDEAL S or HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA

LTHE reflections contained in the forego ing chapterl;may help the reader to understand the sign ificanceof the statement that the numerous scho o ls of theHinayana were founded partly on the results ofthe discu ssions of question s to which Buddha wassuppo sed t o have given en igmatic replies , and

partly, also , on different interpretation s of hismysteriou s silence . It was further po inted out

that in the discussions and disputes of the Hinayanascho o ls , orthodox and uno rthodox , we may trace the

[

o rigin of mo st of the characteristic beliefs of theMahayana. 1 Let us now glance briefly at thegrowth of three of tho se beliefs— the belief in thedivin ity of Buddha , the belief in tfi

‘

e ffiraay'

of

and the beliefin saviour-bodhisats.

The beginnings of the gradual pro cess of thedeification of the great Indian teacher may betraced in the earliest reco rds of primitive Buddhism— for the trustf'ul reveren ce shown towards theirmuch-lo ved Master by all his disciples was not farremoved from religious ado ration . We may citethe enthusiastic words of the disciple Sariputta.

See above,pp. 40-42.

56

CH. IV. ] BUDDHA AND MIRACLES

Now the venerable Sariputta came to the placewhere the Exalted One was , and having salutedhim , took his seat respectfully at his side , and

said Lo rd ! such faith have I in the Exalted One ,that methinks there never has been , nor will therebe , nor is there now any o ther , whether wandereror brahmin , who is greater and wiser than theExalted One— that is to say, as regards the higherwisdom .

’ 1

The Master meets his disciple’s enthusiasm in aspirit of gentle irony. You have burst fo rth intoa song of ecstasy , Sariputta, he says , but how do

you know that there never has been and never willbe any greater or wiser teacher than I am ?

”

And

then in the So cratic manner he cro ss-examinesSariputta on the mean ing of his wo rds , and

compels him to admit that he do es not reallyknow “ the hearts of the Able Awakened Onesthat have been , and are to come , and now are . ”

He only knows “ the lineage of the faith .

”

In ano ther canon ical dialogue we hear of a“ young househo lder ”

who went to Buddha and

begged him to empower one of his disciples toperfo rm a miracle , that thereby all the peoplem ight recogn ize him as their lo rd .

“ This is apro sperous place ,

” he said , crowded with peopledevoted to the E xalted One . It were well if theE xalted One were to give command to somebro ther to perform ,

by power surpassing that of

ordinary men ,a mystic wonder. If Buddha would

do this , he added , it would increase the devo tionRhys Davids , Dialogues of the Buddha, pt. ii . p . 87.

58IDEALS OF HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA [CH.

with which the people regarded him .

1 But theMaster refu ses to perfo rm common miracles or toempower o thers to perfo rm them the greatest andmo st wonderful thing that can be shown even bya Buddha is the way that leads to arahantship,

the self-discipline that ends in the extirpation of

the roots of all so rrow.

2

This dialogue contain s one o f the mo st deservedly famou s of Buddhist sto ries— that whichnarrates how a certain monk by the exercise of

miraculou s powers ascended to the variou s heavensruled over by the gods of the Hindu pantheon ,

in the hope of obtain ing from tho se m ighty

1, Bialogues of the Buddha, pt . i . p . 276 .

2 As usual , the Buddha is represented as not taking the trouble todoubt or dispute the fact of the existence of [miraculous] powers . He

simply says that he loathes the practice of them ;and that a greaterand better wonder than any or all of them I S education in the system of

self—train ing which culminates in Arahantship. There is no evidence ofa sim 1 lar1y reasonable v1aw of this question of wonders having been put

jforward by any Indian teacher before the Buddha.

” —Rhys Davids,0p . cit , pt. i . p . 272 . In this connection it is of great interest to noteM new attitude which some Christian theologian s are beginningto take up with regard to the “ miraculous ” aspects of Christianity.Miracles , says the Rev . J . M. Thompson ,

are a useful means ofrousing and reviving popular religion of a lower type . But to any highreligious experience they are most often a hindrance and a distraction .

So we may sum up the case by saying that the critical conclusion,miracles do not happen

,

’ finds a. welcome waitin g for it in thereligious experience miracles do not matter . ’ And faith is set freeto reconstitute its world with greater sincerity both towards historyand towards religion .

”— Through Facts to Faith, 1 91 2 , p . 7 theRev . A C. Headlam

’

s observation that Jesus of Nazareth disappo intedsome people because He would not work any con spicuous miraculoussign . There was no thaumaturgic display such as the Messiah,according to them , might be expected to make . He would not letthem make Him king— the reason , of course, being that He had a far

higher and more Spiritual aim than anything that they understood ”

”

ii—Miracles : Papers and Sermons, p . 49 (Longmans, Green Co . 1 91 1 )

PAGODA AT HSl-YU MONASTERY , CH IHL I .

IV-l BRAHMA 59

beings an an swer to a profound metaphysicalproblem . One after ano ther, all confessed theirinability to so lve it , each group of deities referringthe monk to the group that was mo re po tentand mo re glo riou s than we . They will know it . ”

After passing through all the heaven s from thelowest to the highest , he comes at last t o the godsof the retinue of Brahma ; even they , however,like all the lesser gods , confessed their ignorance .“ But there is Brahma , the great Brahma , theysaid , “ the Supreme One , the M ighty One , theAll-seeing One , the Ru ler , the Lo rd of all ,the Contro ller, the Creato r , the Chief of all ,appo inting to each his place , the An cient of days ,the Father of all that are and are to be ! He ismo re po tent and mo re glo riou s than we . He willknow it . “ Then the monk appro aches the greatBrahma

, and once mo re states his problem ; butthe great Brahma , anxiou s to escape the humiliation of confessing that there are mysteries beyondthe reach of even so m ighty and glo rious a godas himself

,tries to evade the question . When the

monk in sists upon a direct an swer , Brahma at lasttakes him aside and makes an admission which hewas ashamed to make in the presence of theassembled deities . Even he , the great Brahma ,the Contro ller, the Ancient of days , the Fatherof all that are and are to be , is unable to so lvethe problem. He bids the monk go to Buddha ,and chides him for having vainly sought an an swer

1 Dialogues of the Buddha, pt. i . p. 281 .

60 IDEALS OF HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA [OH.

from the mere gods . Go you now, return to theE xalted One , ask him the question , and accept thean swer acco rding as he shall make reply.

”

Buddhists , let us remember, did no t denythe existence of the Hindu gods , but they regardedthem as limited in knowledge and power, as liableto rebirth in a lower sphere , as unemancipatedfrom change and illu sion , and as debarred (so longas they 1 emained gods ) from the attainment of

supreme wisdom and felicity . To all such beingsBuddha , and indeed eve1 y arahant , was imm easur

ably superi01 , for arahantship is a state which fartranscends in glo ry the highest of the heavens , andto which the greatest of the gods canno t aspire.But to withho ld the title of god from a beingthat is wiser and greater than all the gods is toplace an arbitrary limitation on the idea of god

head therefo re the elevation of Buddha to a loftiersphere than that assigned to Brahma

,the mightiest

of the known gods , had an inevitable result whichmight easily have been fo reseen . The problemof the Mahayan ists was to deify Buddha withoutdepriving Buddhaho od of what may be termedits b superdivi‘ nity ; and the obviou s so lution was

We may say, then , that the deification of

though it is a characteristic feature of

the Mahayana , was already implicit in the

gpggiatics of the primitive Buddhists . Similarly,the notion of the ej ifcacy of faith— a no tion which

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

62 IDEALS or HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA [CH.

This little fragment throws an interesting lighton certain popular Buddhist beliefs of the time. Itindicates that when the bo ok was written theo rdinary lay Buddhist lo oked fo rward to a re -birthin one of the age-long but no t eternal heavensrather than to the mo re exalted state of Nirvana.There is , indeed , reason to believe that even inAsoka’s time this was in full acco rdance with theunwritten Buddhism of the lay masses as distinctifrom the canon ical Buddhism of the clo isteredp hilo sophers} Neither heaven or

“ purgatorywvas a Mahayan ist invention or innovation? The

passage just quo ted shows us, however, thatthe king was no t prepared to swallow certaintenets of popular Buddhism without a grimaceindeed he , the unconverted layman ,

shows himselfactually mo re o rthodox— mo re in sympathy withthe philo sophical Buddhism of the canon— thanhis monkish precepto r. Like Buddha himself

,he

disbelieves , for example , in the efficacy of deathbed repentance. According to strict Buddhistteaching, there is no way of escape from thelaw that as a man sows , so shall he reap.

Man is master of his fate, but the past cannotbe annulled , any more than it can be lived overagain . The effects of the past live in thepresent . and the future will be moulded by the

1 Cf. Asoka's Rock Edict, vi . , and also the Rupnath Edict .2 As eternal pun ishm ent is not taught by Buddhism in any of

its fo rms, it is inaccurate to speak of Buddhist “ hells. The

Ch inese term ti-yu i s more appropriately rendered by the wordpurgatory. ”

IV. ] BUDDHIST ETHICS 63

thoughts and acts of to -day.

1 No unearnedsupernatural grace , no priestly abso lution , no

magical rites or sacramental ceremonies , can

Accelerate the attainment of a state of blessednessnor can their absence retard it .

2 But from thepassage quo ted it is clear that there was alreadya falling away from the uncompromising sternn essof primitive Buddhist ethics , and that the doctrineof salvation by faith alone had already becomepopular. That the M ilinda Dialogues were com

po sed at a time of do ctrinal confusion is plainlyindicated by the incomplete and evasive mannerin which the monk Nagasena attempts to deal withthe ethical problem raised by the king— a problem ,

be it no ted , which in one fo rm or ano ther hasperplexed the minds of many to whom Buddhismis a sealed book . What the king found it difficultto believe was that a man who has lived a life ofconsistent sinfulness could win salvation merely byfixing his thoughts on Buddha during the lastmoments of his ill-spent life . If Buddha himselfhad been asked to deal with this po int , he wouldhave so lved the difficulty by simply denying the

1 We are spinning our fates . Every smallest stroke of vice andvirtue leaves its n ever so l1 ttle sear . Nothing we ever do is instrict literalness wiped out . Thus spoke William James , echo ing theteachings ofBuddha .

2 It is hardly necessary to say that strict Buddhism would regard as

gravely erron eous and 1mmoral all such doctrines as that whichcondemn s the unbaptiz ed infan t to an eternal “ limbo ”

and to exclusion from part icipation 1 1 ] the beatific vision . For the teaching of

Catholic missionaries in China on this point, see Father Wolferstan ,

Catholic Church in China, 1 909, pp. 405-6.

64 IDEALS OF HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA [CH.

truth of the alleged fact. Such a man , he wouldhave said , is not saved— that is to say, the inexo rablelaw of retribution will no t cease to work at themere bidding of a tardy repentance . If the sinnerhas in very truth undergone a fundamental changeof character , if his repentance is no t due merelyto fear or to a tempo rary qu iescence of evil impulses owing to physical weakness or pain , thenin his next life he will assuredly find himself ina less miserable and ignoble state than if no suchfundamental change of character had taken place ;but no death-bed repentance , however sincere, cansave him from the necessity of expiating the wrongdo ing or wrong-thinking of the past. I n somesuch way as this , we may assume , Buddha wouldhave dealt with the problem of King Milinda.The monk Nagasena , however, evades the realpoint at issue . In stead of expounding the

"

do ctrine of km merely draws aA

N

inconsequential analogy between good deeds anda boat— ignoring the fact that it is the allegediefficacy of faith , not the efficacy o f go od deeds ,ithat is in question .

“ W ow if we turn to the Chinese version of theMilinda Dialogues— a version which was not madetill the fourth o r perhaps the fifth centu ry of our

era— we find a much bo lder and mo re explicitstatement of the do ctrine of the efficacy of faiththan we have found in the P ali o riginal . The firstpart of the Chinese version of the above-quoteddialogue agrees with the P ali— that is to say, the

NAGASENA 65

king expresses his disbelief in the do ctrine that thelife-long sinner who turn s religious on his deathbed will for that reason be tran spo rted to heaven ,

and Na-hsien (Nagasena) in his reply makes useof the illu stration of the stones and the ship .

“ The ship is strong , he goes on to say ,and will bear the weight of many large stones .So with a man and his sins . He may have a

'

wicked nature , but if only he will once direct his

thoughts earnestly towards Buddha ,

1 he will no t

enter purgato ry, but will be re bo rn in heaven .

But the m an who has done evil and is ignorant ofthe word (f B uddha 2 is like the small stone thatsank , he when he dies must descend to

purgato ry.

” 3

When it is remembered that this passage istaken from a wo rk which belongs to theHinayan ist section of Buddhist literature , it willbe realized that the do ctrine of faith , thoughcertain ly incon sistent with the teachings of thehisto rical Buddha, is no t one which can beregarded as the exclusive property of theMahayana.

4

We are forced to a similar conclusion even ln

flit if} if;2

7 1 if"{it if3 For the two incomplete Chinese versions ofMilinda, see Har. xxiv.

vol. viii . pp . 43 (RN . The dialogue quoted will be foundon p . 50. I t is of course impossible to say from what text of Milindathe Chinese translator worked . I t certainly differed from the Pali textllovr kuow n ( see xxxvi . Introduction) .

/9 Salvation by faith is the distinguishing feature of what we may

cal l the Amidist theo logy (see below, pp .

66 IDEALS OF HINAYANA AND'

MAHAYANA [_CH.

respect of the mo st characteristic of allMahayanist teachings the important doctrirelating to the saving or redeeming power ofb odhisats. But it is inf -t he peculiar emgiven to the theo ry of the bodhisats that werecogn ize the mo st pronounced contrast betweenthe doctrinal systems of the smaller and the

greater Vehicles ;and some in sight mto d thevrival

conceptions of arahantshipi nd bodhisatship isessential to a clear understanding of the relativepo sitions of the two great branches of Buddhistthought.Sakyamun i taught that the ideal at which each

man should aim is arahantship. An a1 ahant IS one

who has travelled along the E ightfo ld Path that/leads to peace, insight , and wisdom , and has

emancipated himself from the “ bonds ” of doubt,delusion , sensuality , hatred , egotistic hopes and

desires , pride , self-righteou sness , igno rance . Théarahant sums up in himself all the qualities

,

characteristics of the ineffable state of -sa’mb

-the perfection of tranqu il joy ,

harmony, enlightenment . Having once attainedthis mountain-summit , this clear poo l beyond thejungle , this “ island am id the raging waters , thishome oftranquillity , ” this blissful state ofNirvthe arahant will never again be subject toand sorrows of phenomen al existence.reached the “

o ther sho re ”

( to use a commonBuddhist expression ) , and 1 s saved for all eternity.This state of salvation , acco rding to Sa

BODHISATSHIP

each man must reach through his own effo rts .Buddha himself was merel y the Master ofW isdom ,

under who se gu idance m en were to tread the P ath .

Betake yourselves , he said , to no externalrefuge. Ho ld fast to the truth as a lamp . Ho ldfast as a refuge to the truth Look not for refugeto any one besides yourselves .Mahayana Buddhism , on the other hand , dis

credits or dethrones the ideal of arahantship, and

sets up , as much mo re wo rthy of reverence , theideal of bodhisatship.

2 The bodhisat is one who

contain s within himself the essence , or rather the

1 Maha-parinibbana-suttanta, xi . 38. In some importantrespects the Buddhawould have found himself in much closer sympathywith Pelagius and Cae lestius than with the orthodox Augustine,as is clear from his teaching that man is to rely on himself for hisown spiritual development, and that he has in his own nature inherentcapacity for moral progress . Moreover like Pelagius , a. t housandyears aft er him— the Buddhawas not in favour of an extreme asceticism .

Pelagius was unconsciously repeating the wise counsel given long beforeby the Buddhawhen he said

, som e non frangendum sed regendum est.”

2 The word bodhisat (bodhisattva— essence of perfect enlightenment)is represented in Chinese ‘by four bum sfi fi fi fldei in

modern Pekingese are read p ‘u-t

‘i—sa-t‘o . This clumsy term is almost

always written by Chinese autho rs in the abbreviated fo rm p‘u-sa. In

spoken English the letters p and t befo re a vowel are usually pronouncedwith a slight aspirate the sound of the two Chinese characters p

‘wsa,

may therefo re be appropriately rendered in English by the wo rd pusa.

Hence in these pages this wo rd will be used to represent the Chin esetranscriptiqw f the Sanskrit word bodhisattm . Similarly

,in the case o f

the sacred hillW hich fo rms the subj ect of chapte rs xi . -xiii . thename Po tala or

_PW hich is represented in Chinese by characters

bearingme Pekingese sounds p‘u—t

‘o—lo-chia (ka) , and usually appears in

the abbreviated fo rm p‘u-t

‘o, is rendered in this book by the word Puto .

The first syllable of this word should be pronounced (approximately)as an Englishman would pronounce poo, as in the case of the firstsyllable of the word pusa. Apart from the two words Pusa and Puto ,nearly all Chinese terms and names employed in this vo lume are

transcribed in strict accordance with the system known as Wade’s .

68IDEALS OF HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA [CH.

potentiality, of perfect knowledge. He is one whohas registered a so lemn vow (pranidhana) that hewill become a Buddha for the sake of the wo rld’ssalvation ;but his approach to Buddhahood maybe described as asymptotic , for he abstain s fromparticipation in eternal blessedness so long asthere remains in the un iverse a single being whois still enmeshed in pain or misery. The arahant ,

complains saves no one but him

self. He is like one who has been confined witho thers in a dungeon , and who , having

‘

found asecret way of escape , hastens to set himself atliberty, while callou sly leaving his fellow-prisonersin darkness and captivity. The bodhisat , on thecontrary , is the embodiment of supreme unselfish

ness . Freedom and Nirvana are within his reach,but he, will no t avail himself o f the fru its of hisvirtue and wisdom dntil all beings that exist in allthe wo rlds have passed before him through thegateway that leads to liberty and utter bliss. The

d hisat may be said to po ssess in a supremedegree bo th the Xpna'

T O’

Tm‘ and the dy aGwa-Jm of theNew Testament— selfless benevo len ce as well as

agtive go odness . He has so lemnly dedicated himself to the service of all beings who stand in needof succour ;and his infin ite charity and compassionare such that he will suffer the mo st atro ciousto rments for ae on s of time — that is

,through count

less successive re -births— if thereby he may savesouls from pain . I wish , he says , to be foodfort he hungry, drink for the thirst y. He would

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

70 IDEALS OF HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA [on

his castigation with patience and in silence , whensuddenly a servant appeared and reported thesudden and unexpected death of the goo se.“ Beat me no mo re ! ” said the monk.

“ Isaw the go o se swallow the jewel . Why did

you no t tell me that at once ? asked theaston ished master “ I was afraid that the goosewould be killed , replied the monk. Now it isdead I am free to speak .

It is hardly necessary to say that such storiesas these are no t suppo sed to be taken too literally.

They are fables, to ld for purpo ses of edification .

The go od Catho lic is not expected to regulatehis daily life in acco rdance with the ascetic practices of an Antony or a Su so ; nor is the good

‘Buddhist expected to conduct himself as thoughthe interests of mankind were subo rdinate totho se of dumb animals .

The Mahayan ist ideal of the bodhisat —who

devo tes himself, with utter disregard of his own

interests , to the service of o thers— certainly seems ,at first sight , to be a loftier ideal than that of theHin ayan ist arahant , who apparently has no higher

1 I am unable to assign a date to the first appearance of thisChinese story , which occurs in ( 1. commen tary 01 1 the Fo-i—chiao-chz‘ng.

I t is noteworthy that another verswn of the story is to be found inArabic literature of the eighth century of our era. There we read of

two Mohammedan “ sceptics ” who were unjustly accused of havingstolen certain gems . It was known to the supposed culprits that thegems had been swallowed by an ostrich

, and had they informed theiraccusers of th is fac t they would have escaped a flogging that nearlycost them their lives ;but rather than make a statement which wouldendanger the life of the ostrich they preferred to suffer innocently inits place ii .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

72 IDEALS OF HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA [CH.

that cannot be recon ciled with any fo rm of

selfishness.

Even as a mo ther watcheth over her onlychild

,says the Sutta-N z

'

pdtd“so let our hearts

and minds be filled with boundless love for allcreatures , great and sm all ; let us practise benevolence towards the who le wo rld , and let us setourselves utterly free from all ill-will and enmity.

E lsewhere we read thatall the means that can be used as bases fordo ing right are not wo rth one sixteenth part ofthe emancipation of the heart through love.That takes all tho se up into itself, outshiningthem in radiance and in glo ry.

” 1

Of all the passages in which Buddha isrepresented as having taught the duty of charity,that attha. ( l it. object must here be taken in a moral sense

, as

duty ’ rather than as advan tage.’

He therefore translates “ let noone forget his own duty for the sake of ano ther

’s,however great let a

man , aft er he has discerned his own duty, be always attentive to hisduty. ” I t may be observed that all the various Chinese versions of theDhammapada seem to have been made from texts which are not nowin

existence . The passage now under discussion is not exactly paralleledin any of the Chinese versions ; but non e of the Chinese passageswhich may be said to correspond to it can be made to bear themean ing ascribed to it in The Buddha

’

s Path of Virtue. (For theChinese books which correspond to the Dhammapada, see Har. xxiv.vols . v . and vi . (RN . 1 321 , 1 353, 1

canonical doctrine , the Buddhist seeks his own good ,bound to seek the good of others . ( Ubhmnam attham cam

parassa ca, quoted by Mrs Rhys Davids,B uddhism

,p .

1 The I ti-vuttaka, 1 9. The translation is by Mrs Rhys Davidsxop. cit. p . 229. Of. also her remark on p . 243 : “ The Buddhawhodevotes his life to helping mankind was termed

, not Saviour,but

Omn iscient (sabbafifiu) Buddha. To understand all, says a Frenchepigram, is to forgive all. The Buddhist goes further to understandall, is not only to forgive, but to give— to give one s self throughinsight into other’s need .

”

Cf. also v. 234 .

m ] ALTRUISM AND EGOISM

perhaps the mo st interesting to Western readersis that in which he chides his disciples forneglecting to tend the sick. He clo ses hisremarks with words which a French Catho licscho lar describes as vraimen t remarguables :

1 Ifthere be one of you who wou ld wish to cherishme , let him go and cherish his sick comrade. ” 2

In finding fault with the Hinayan ist ideal ,the Mahayanist failed to realize that a selfish beingcould not become an arahant . Arahantship, aswe have seen , con sisted in a spiritual exaltationwhich tran scended the limitation s of tempo ral

[individuality In what in telligible sen se can a

1

'

system which aims at the elimination of thephenomenal ego be described as ego istic ? It is

w

t-

riie , indeed , that the candidate for arahantship

strove for the full realization of what we mustcall his tran scendental self; but self-realization inthe highest sen se is far removed from selfishness ,and, indeed , it necessarily invo lves self-sacrifice .

The arahant could not have reached full spiritualdevelopmen t if he had failed to act in acco rdancewith the principle that each man fo rms part of aspiritual who le ofwhich all his fellow-m en are alsoparts , and that to serve them is to enrich , while toneglect them is to impoverish , his own higher self.Whether it is po ssible to bring about a

reconciliation between altru ism and ego ism is a

1 L. de la V. Poussin , Bouddh'isme, 1 909, p . 7.

2 Of . Matthew xxv. 40 andAl Ghazzali (The Alchemy ofHappinessWisdom of the East series) , p. 1 04.

74: IDEALS OF HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA [CH.

question which is still debated by WestéiT ‘i

philo sophers . Herbert Spencer called it “the

crux of all ethical speculation . We are assuredby some that the altruistic and ego istic tendenciesof hum an nature are divergent developmentsfrom the common psycho logical ro o t of primitiveethical sentimen t , that bo th are unavo idable

,

and that they are u ltimately irreconcilable. No

higher category can be discovered , we are told,whereby “ their rival claims may be finallyadju sted.

” 1 On the o ther hand, there are thinkerswho argue eloquently in favour of the oppositeand far more cheering View that

there is no self-expenditure without self-enrichment , no self-enrichment without self-expenditure.The ideals of self-cu lture and self-sacrifice , so farfrom being hopelessly contradicto ry, are in separable ,and unrealizable except as two aspects of the samepro cess . ” 2

This , we may assume . is the view-of twentieth

century Christian ity— at any rate , it is that of

one of the mo st brilliant writers and thinkers inthe Church of England to -day. Very similar wasthe belief of some of the old Roman philo sophers.The Sto ics , we are reminded by a recent authority,conceived an ideal of self—realization or self-culturewhich

was no t and could no t po ssibly be purely selfish orself-regarding , just becau se the self which the Sto ic

1 A. E . Taylor, Problem of Conduct, 1 901 , p . 183.

3 Dr W. R. Inge , Personal I dealism andMysticism ,1 907, p . 1 05.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

76 IDEALS or HiNAYANA AND MAHAYANA [OH.

without the faintest thought of reward, to theservice of all creatu res , to sacrifice on behalf of

o thers all personal ambition s , hopes , and desires,and to extend boundless sym pathy and measureless love to all suffering beings.The new ideal was a sublime one , but it was

no t without its practical disadvantages ; and itnecessarily produced m omentous changes in themo ral and religiou s outlo ok of the zealousf'Buddhist . The activities of the would-behowever arduou s they might be , were nevbelieved to be within the scope of everyproperly disciplined will ; arahant ship, that is

to say, was ro o ted in no rmal human nature , and

therefo re had an abiding ethical significance forlo rdinary human ity. The bodhisat

, on the contrary,tended to draw ever farther and farther awayfrom the wo rld of mankind .

“ A being capableiof purely altru istic action s alone , as Nietzschesaid , “ is more fabulou s than the Phoen ix. Itis true that in the early days of the Mahayanathe title of bodhisat was bestowed upon manysaints of the Church who were known to havelived on earth as human beings , exceptionalon ly in respect of learn ing and sanctity ; and

even at the present time the vows of a bodhisatare taken every year by sco res of newly-o rdainedrrionks , who thereafter (at least in China) are

y addressed by their disciples and

W ei(“ great But the

fancy o f the Mahayanist p riced-makers

THE CELESTIAL BODHISATS

very so on created a broad line of demarcationbetween tho se humble person s who were merelystumbling along the stony paths of the preliminarystages o f bodhisatship, and tho se serene and

majestic beings , the bodhisattvas mahasattvafi

incalculable in number , who , having employedthemselves for immeasurable ages in the mercifulwo rk of bringing suffering souls to salvation ,

were now invisible to mankind ( except on therare o ccasion s when they incarnated themselvesin human fo rm ) , and were in direct personalcommun ion with the supreme Buddhas . Thesegreat bodhisats, exalted far above o rdinaryhumanity , gradually came to be regarded aspartakers of the supercelestial nature of theBuddhas themselves ; indeed , in the view o f

some of the mystical scho o ls of the laterMahayan ists

,all the Buddhas and all the bodhi

sattvas find ultimate un ification in the DharmakayaorAbso lute One .

2

1 The Chinese pusa maha sa .

2 The Dharmakaya IS l iterally Body of the Law,

”as distinct f1 om

Sambhogakaya the supramundane Body of Bliss , in which theBuddhas appea1 to the eyes of the saints , and Nirmanakaya— the

fl usory Body , in wh ich the Buddhas appear to the eyes of meA full discussion of the doctrine of the Trikaya 01 Three-fold Bod;\

be attempted here . The reader is refer1 ed to

Poussin ’s contributions to Hastings’

and to his article in 1 906, pp . 943,fl

'

;and also to Suzuki’s,Outlines ofMahayana Buddhism . In connection with the Nirmanakaya,it may be noted that do cetic tendencies made their appearance inBuddhist speculation at an early date, especially in the teachingsof the heterodox or semi Maln yanist Mahasanghika school ( seeAnesaki’s article on Docet 1 sm ( Buddhist) in E . .RE iv. 835 fi

'

and L. de la Valle’ e Poussin , Bouddhisme , p.

78IDEALS or HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA [cm

Thu s the human characteristics of the greatbodhisats gradually disappeared in a blaze of

celestial glory. From the twilight of merehuman ity they emerged into the radiance of

divinity. From being heroes among men theybecame the divine compan ion s , and practicallythe equals , of the deified Buddhas.‘ Already inthe first century of our era , and perhaps earlier

,

the bodhisats had come to be regarded as divinebeings to be wo rshipped , rather than as supermento be respected and imitated. Later dogmaticdevelopments were asso ciated with the idea of

salvation by faith . Acco rding to the tenets of

certain Mahayan ist schoo ls which to-day enjoygreater pro sperity and influen ce than any othersin China and Japan ,

2 the Buddhist who wishesto qualify for salvation need do no more thancultivate in himself an attitude of unquestioningfaith in a divine saviour— a celestial bodhisatwho will receive his sou l and conduct it to ablissful home in P aradise. The accumulatedmerits of the bodhisats are suppo sed to be so

superabundant that each bodhisat is able to

transfer immeasurable quantities of surplus meritto the account of sinful m en , who se salvation isthus due not to any wo rks or merit of theirown , but so lely to the merit transferred to them

1 In Nepalese Buddhism there is a tendency for the bodhisats to beelevated to a position even more exalted than that of the divineBuddhas— “ bearing the same relation to the Buddhas as Sakyamunibore to the arahants ”

(L. de la V. Poussin, E .R.E . ,

i.

2 See above, pp . 56, 601 11 , 65 ;and below, pp.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

THE TWO VEHICLES 79

”by the bodhisat who has endowed them withhis saving grace . This theo ry of diverted merit

,

which nullifies the old law of retribution and

directly contradicts Buddha’s own teaching thateach man mu st wo rk out his own salvation ,

isone of the few Mahayan ist do ctrines which areno t traceable to any source in primitive Buddhis

‘

In such fo rms of Buddhism as these , of whichmo re remain s to be said in su cceeding chapters ,there is an obviou s tendency for morality to besubordinated to faith ; and Buddhism , if itbecomes mo re of a religion as the term iscommonly understood is apt to become lesseffective as a practical gu ide of life .Yet it would be unju st to ignore the great

beauty o f many of the religious imagin ings of

the Mahayan ists and the splendour of many of

their conception s . Mo re catho lic in its sympathiesand interests than the o lder system , mo re accom

m odating to the weaknesses of human nature ,less rationalistic in its ethic , the Mahayan a

1 The doctrine is practically identical with the Roman Catholicteaching con cern ing the theory of indulgences . The “ virtue of

indulgences ,” says a Catho lic writer, outflows from the infin ite

merits of Christ, the Virgin , and the Saints , “ whose merits ,being superfluous in their own offering of the satisfaction due to divin ejustice

,have remained in the spiritual and common treasury of the

Church ”

(Philip Bo ld’s Catholic Doctrine and Discipline (London , 1896)p . This theory of the “ Treasure of the Church (which consistsprimarily of the “ merit and satisfaction of Christ, but includes also“ the supeifiuoas merit and satisfaction of the B lessed Virgin and theSaints ”) represents a comparatively late development of Catholicdoctrine . I t was not confirmed by the P0pe (Clement VI . ) till 1 350,though it appeared mo re than a century earlierin the Samma Theologiaeof the I rrefragable Docto r,

”

Alexander Halensis, an Englishman .

80 IDEALS OF HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA [CH.

undoubtedly owed much of its success to the factthat it could make a strong appeal to the religiousemotions . In charging the arahant with beingover-mindful of his own development and salvationand with ignoring the mo ral and spiritual conditionof his fellow-m en , the Mahayan ists were hardlyfair. But it mu st be admitted that the ethicalcontent of the ideal of arahantship was peculiarlyliable, from its nature , to suffer from undue compression or distortion in times of moral stagnationor decay. Like all o ther systems of self-cultureand self-discipline, the way of arahantship, thoughwell worthy of being trodden by the mostmagnan imous of saints , was nevertheless one

which could be u surped by ignoble adventurersand made to subserve the unho ly purpo ses of amean-spirited selfishness . P erhaps both Hinayanaand Mahayana were perilou sly liable to beexplo ited by extremists— the one system , underunfavourable condition s , might seem to sanctionthe exaltation of an ideal o f glo rified selfishness ;the other set up an ideal of altruism which couldnever be realized under earthly conditions. On

the who le , it can hardly be den ied that theMahayan ists would have deserved greater honourthan they have received at the hands of themoralists of later ages , if instead of unjustlydenouncing arahantship as essentially selfish , theyhad reso lutely set themselves to so lve one of

the mo st impo rtant and perplexing of all moralproblems by showing us how the two ideals of

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

CHAPTER V

BUDDHIST SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA

To follow the varied fo rtunes of the numerousMahayan ist sects that have flourished on Chineseso il is a task which we may well leave to thereligious histo rian . We , as mere pilgrims in the

Buddhist China of to-day , must content ourselveswith little more than some general knowledge ofthe Buddhism that enters into the lives of the

religious laity at the present time and the Buddhismthat is professed in the great mountain -monasteries.

The lines of sectarian demarcation are now

almo st obliterated— or perhaps it wou ld be truer tosay that the great Dhyana (Chinese Ch‘

an) schoolhas so extended its boundaries that in BuddhistChina (or at least in Chinese monastic Buddhism )there is comparatively little territo ry left for it toconquer. It should be observed , however, thatin some respects the victo ry of the Ch‘an schoolhas been more apparent than real . It was notthe Ch‘an alone , but rather the Ch‘an in alliancewith the Amidist scho o ls , 1 that V icto riouslyencroached upon the territo ries of its rivals .The Ch‘an do ctrines are suppo sed to be trace

1 See pp . 92fi.

82

on. v.] BODHIDHARMA

able to Buddha himself, and to have been handeddown through twenty-eight patriarchs , of whom( as we saw in an earlier chapter ‘) Asvagho sha

was the twelfth , Nagarjuna the fourteenth , and

Bodhidharma the twenty-eighth . The last-named(P

‘a-t‘i-ta-mo in Chinese , u sually sho rtened to

Tame ) arrived in China in the year 520, and seemsto have died about n ine years later. His Chinesehome was the famou s monastery ofShao -lin , situatedat the base of the Shao -shih mountain , near Loyang ,in the pro vince ofHonan . This monastery, whichwas founded in the last quarter of the fifth centuryof our era , is still the beau tiful habitation of agroup of Buddhist monks , but its once splendidbuildings are now to a great extent ruinou s . One

of its greatest treasures is the stone in front of

which Tamo is said to have sat in silent meditation . It is this Indian sage , this searcher of heartsand sco rner of books , who is regarded as thefounder , in China , of the Ch‘an or Contemplativeschoo l of Buddhism .

“ You will not find Buddhain images or bo oks , was the teaching of thevenerable Tamo . Lo ok into your own heartthat is where you will find Buddha.

”

The Chinese wo rd for heart ,” it shou ld be

noted, has a very complex sign ificance , and weoften come acro ss religiou s or philo sophical passagesin which the wo rd might more appropriately,though even then inadequately, be rendered bymind .

” 2 The Chinese term is hsin , and this may1 See above, pp . 29-32.

1 Cf. E . Underhill , Mysticism , p . 85.

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [OH.

be regarded as the key—wo rd of the Ch‘an Buddhismwhich has for many centuries dominated Chinesereligious thought . I n reading the lives of thegreat Ch‘an patriarchs and abbo ts we frequentlymeet with the curious expression shoa hsin yin

to transmit , or to receive , the seals of the heart.This expression is u sed to denote What we mightdescribe as the apo sto lical succession . Just as a

civil magistrate when vacating his po st hands overthe tangible andmaterial seals of office to the officialwho is to su cceed him , so the Ch‘an abbot whenabout to die tran smits to his su ccessor in religionthe intangible and spiritual seals of the heart.Tamo ’s system has been described as “ theBuddhist counterpart of the Spiritual

-“

Exeiicigesof St Ignatius Loyo la ;

1 but there are otherChristian saints and mystics with whom he may becompared even m0 1 e fittingly. Tamo would haveheartily approved of that reply whicliSt Francisof Assisi is said to have given to a monk whoasked if he might be allowed to po ssess a psalter

Man can learn no thing but what he alreadyknows. If to -day thou gette st a psalter, to

morrow thou wilt want a breviary , and thou wiltend by sitting in thy chair like any prelate andsaying, Hand me my breviary.

’

N0_less readily would Tamo have welcomed a

kindred spirit in St P aul , who rejected tablets ofstone ”

in favour of “ the fleshy tablets of theheart or in St Augustine , who , in words which

1 L10 (1 . PV/teaf ammo/1 the a e

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

V. ] MYSTICISM IN EAST AND WEST

contain the essence of Tamo ’s own teaching , badem en lo ok for truth in the depths o f their own beingI n te ipsum Tedi: in in teriors homine habitat veritas .

The same thought recurs in Richard of St Victo r’sutterance : “ If thou wishest to search out thedeep things of God , search out the depths of thineown spirit. ” 1 Similarly spoke Hugo : The wayto ascend to God is to descend into oneself.Allowing for differences in termino logy, thisteaching harmon izes with the spirit that an imatesthe contemplative schoo l of Buddhism , as wellas it harmon izes with the spirit of mysticalChristian ity.

2 “ Sink into thyself and thou wiltfind Him , says E ckhart. Find whom ? Christ.Sink into thyself and thou wilt find Him ,

” saysBodhidharma. Find whom ? Buddha .

P erhaps the heart ” theo ry of‘

Tamo and

his scho o l is no t qu ite so satisfacto ry as theyimagined . It may be that a better knowledgeof truth has been gained by lo oking outward atnature than by lo oking inward at one’s own

heart or it may be that the mo st successfultruthseeker combines bo th m ethods methodswhich we Eu ropean s may perhaps conven ientlylabel as P laton ic and Aristo telian . However thismay be

,it must be admitted ihat in China the

results of Tamo s teachings have been bo th goodand bad . On the one hand they are partiallyrespon sible for the decay of learn ing In the Chinese

1 Of. Dr W. Sanday’

s much-criticized theory that Jesus’

s“sub

liminal self” was the seat of his divin ity or the medium through whichhe achieved onen ess with the divine .

2 ( 7 E . Unde rh ill . Mysticism . DI) . 5G. 97 . 1 03, 222-3.

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [ca

monasteries . Tamo ’s advice was taken too literally.Bookswere neglected, and monkish energy con~

centrated itself on ecstatic meditation . In manycases religious zeal died away for want of sub

stantial nourishment , and there is reason to suspectthat some of the monks who believed themselvesto haveattainedthe exalted state ofmystical unionwere apt to confuse that state with the less hon

—

0711’

able condition of physical somnolencefi'

( fif th ?

o ther l1and,_

the influence of Tamo and his successors undoubtedly tended to save

'

C hineseBuddhism from the evils of priestcraft and

clericalism and from a slavish worship of imagesand relics , dogmas , and sacred books . The greatsfitras of the Mahayana are , indeed , held in deepreverence by all Chinese Buddhists , and imagesare to be found in all Buddhist temples— in cludingthe go rgeous chapels attached to the great Ch‘anmonasteries ; but these things are not regardedas ultimate objects of religious reverence exceptby tho se to whom spiritual religion is an unattain

able experience. There are monks in China to -daywho wo uld not be sorry to see the temples clearedof every image that they contain ; and there aremany o thers who would plead for the retentionof the images only for the sake of tho se simpleminded and unenlightened souls who cling to

the material symbo l because the truth that itsymbolises is beyond their grasp .

The patriarch Tamo was succeeded by Hui-k‘o

1 E. Underhill , op . cit. p . 385.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [CH.

comparatively recent times that a tendencytowards reunion was brought about by thegradual decay of learn ing and of religious fervourin the monasteries .

The first and greatest of the Five Sects of theCh‘an schoo l was and is the Lin -chiJ suzzg j The

writers of this schoo l trace their descent fromHui-néng through Huai-jang , who was one of thefirst of that large company of distingu ished monkswho made their home on the Nan Yo or SouthernSacred Mountain , in the province of Human .

Huai-jang is sometimes described as the SeventhP atriarch , and came to be regarded by his disciplesas an incarnation of the great bodhisat Kuan-

yin .

He died in 744 , andwas succeeded by the patriarchMa, commonly known as Tao -I (d . 788) by Huaihai (d .81 4) by Hsi-yiin (d . about850) and finallyby I -hsiian ( d. It was from the name of

I -hsuan’

s home (Lin -chi ) that the sect derived thename by which it is known to Buddhist histo rians.

The remaining four sects were the Hui-yang,the Fa—yen , the Yun-m én , and the Ts ‘ao -tungall of which may be said to have come intoexistence (as separate sects) in the tenth centuryof the Christian era .

2 Of their patriarchs , full

1 Like the other four sects , it belongs to the Southern branch .

The Northern soon became extinct.2 The ordinary Chinese terms for “ Buddhist monk are ho-shang

and séng-j én . Nowadays the first of these is the term generally used

by laymen and in ordinary conversation the second is chiefly confinedto books . At one time

,however

,when the principal Ch‘an sects

were the Lin-chi and the Ts‘ao-tung , ho-shang was applied to Lin-chimonks and séng or séng

-j c‘

n to Ts‘ao-tung monks .

v .] FAMOUS RELIGIOUS LEADERS

information is given us in the various compilation swhich o ccupy in Buddhis t China a place similarto that of the Acta Sanctorum in Christendom .

Emphasis is of course laid by the monkishchroniclers on the miracles and prodigies asso ciatedwith their hero es , and personal pecu liarities arelovingly depicted . Of Hui-chi (Hui-yang sect )we are to ld that from boyho od his heart hadbeen set on a religious life . When his parentsinsisted upon his marriage

,he knelt befo re them

and implo red them to allow him to enter themonkho od . He go t his own way after he haddeliberately broken two of his own fingers intoken of his sin cerity. Of Tao -I ’s personalappearance strange things are told . His secu larname was Ma he walked like an ox,

he had eyes like a tiger’s , he had a tongue thatreached beyond the tip of his no se , and aBuddhistic wheel ( the “ wheel of the law ”

) wasimprinted by nature on the so les of his feet .One of the mo st famous of the ancesto rs ” of theTs‘ao -tung sect was Hsi-ch‘ien of the Ro ck , wholived as a recluse on the Nan Yo . He receivedtitles of honour not only from the Empero r TéTsung of the T‘ang dynasty, in who se reign hedied but again from the third emperor of

the late Manchu dynasty, who in 1 734 conferredupon him the po sthumou s honorific title of

Chih-hai Ocean of

It should be remembered that the Wu Tsang ,

or Five Sects , are all subdivision s of the Ch‘an or

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA

Meditation scho o l . The Ch‘an schoo l , as we haveseen ,

is almo st co terminous with the monasticBuddhism of the China of to -day ; but otherscho o ls have flourished in the past , and some of

them have no t who lly ceased to exist even in thistwentieth century. One of the mo st famous ofthese schoo ls— one which has had a great historyin Japan as well as in China— is the T‘ien -t‘ai(Japanese Tendai) scho o l , which founds itsdogmatic system on the well-known Saddharma

pundarika-sutra. 1 One of its chief Fathers was the

venerable Hui-wen , of the Northern Ch ‘i dynasty,but by far the mo st famou s was Chih-i, who madehis home amid the beautiful scenery of the T‘ient‘ai mountain s in no rth-eastern Chehkiang .

Ano ther scho o l was the Hua-yen Hsien-shouchiao . Its favourite sutra was the H ua-

ycn-cking

2

— a long work suppo sed to have been miraculouslydiscovered by the patriarch Nagarjuna. The

schoo l o riginated with a very distinguished“ imperial teacher named Tu-shun ,

early in theT ‘ang dynasty , who was succeeded in turn byYi

'

m -hua and Hsien-shou . The last-named is regarded as the second founder ofthe schoo l . His successor, Ch‘eng-kuan , was a vo luminous writer whoreceived marks o f distinction from seven emperors.He spent mo st of his life on the mountain of

Wu-t‘ai , and died in 838at the age of one hundred.

Yet ano ther scho o l of impo rtance was the Nan1 ForEnglish translation , see S.B .E . vol. xxi .2 Avatamsaka-sutra, B .N . 87, 88;Har. i . vo ls . i. -iv. vn .

-ix.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

92 SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA

doubtful whether the charge was a just one .

It is true , however , that the La schoo l laidstress on

“ right conduct,” as distinct from the

Ch‘an scho o l , which emphasized “ right thinkingor

“ meditation and the Ch‘an monks wereperhaps not far wrong in arguing that “ rightconduct may result only from a slavish obedienceto a written code , and may have no ro o t in themind ;whereas right thinking — the attainmentof a co rrect mental attitude almo st necessarilyresults in right action .

There is one schoo l which deserves specialattention , not only becau se it o ccupies a po sitionof great prominence in the religiou s systems of

bo th China and Japan , but also becau se it inculcatesthe fo rm of Buddhism which appeals mo st stronglyto the Buddhist layman . This is the Ching-t ‘u(“ Pure Land ”

) or Amidist scho o l , 2 which teachessalvation through faith in the god BuddhaAmitabha , and ho lds out the promise of a futurelife of unalloyed happiness in the Pure Land or

Western Paradise , where Amitabha reigns in

unending glo ry.

Strictly speaking , this scho o l is quite separatefrom— not to say antagon istic to — the o ther greatscho o ls of Buddhist thought. A Chinese writerjustly observes that believers in the Pure Land

2 The conven ient terms Amidism and Amidwt are taken from theJapanese form (Amida) of the name Amitabha.

THE WH ITE-DEER GROTTO, LU—SI-IAN , K IANGSI .

IMAGES OF MENCIUS AND TSENG-TZ LV

J AT THE WH ITE-DEER

a n n'

r'rn rz m mc s l

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA

caverned mountain s. This is N amo Omito-Fo

simply 077221 031 70"These wo rds are no thing mo re than an invoca

« m —M

tionof the name of Amitabha , the mo st reveredof the so -called Dhyanior Meditation Buddhas 1

The fo llowing table will show the relation s betweenthese Buddhas and their bodhisats and their socalled earthly reflexes . The Buddhas , it will beseen , are represented as pro ceeding or emanatingfrom a supreme being named Adibuddha ; but “

the only Buddha with whom we shall have muchconcern in the pages that fo llow is Amitabha. Ifit were our task to study the Buddhism of Nepalor T ibet (Lamaism ) or the do ctrinal history of

the Tantric or Mantra sects , 2 we should be obligedto devote some attention to the complicatedBuddhologies associated no t only with themysteriou s Adibuddha but also with the fourBuddhas besides Amitabha whom Adibuddha issuppo sed to have brought fo rth by meditation .

”

ADIBUDDHA

East South. N01 th

uddhas Akshobhya Ratnasambhava Am itabha Amoghasiddha

odhr’

satwas Samantabhadra Vajrapani Ratnap'

ani Visvapani

Krakuchandra Kanakamuni Kasyapa Gotama

(Kakusandha) (Konagamana) (Kassapa) Sakyamuni

1 L. de la V. Poussin doubts whether the terms Dhyanibuddha and

Dhyanibodhisattva are actually used in the Sanskrit texts,and whether

Amitabha and the rest should not rather be described as“ the five

Buddhas or“ the five J inas ( see E. i

.

3 Chinese Chén—yen (Japanese Shin-yon) .

AMITABHA

The Amidist branch of the Mahayan istBuddho logy has elevated Amitabha to a po sitionwhich , in a great part of the Buddhist wo rld , isone of unchallenged supremacy . Theo retically

,

however , the histo rical Sakyamun i is mysticallyasso ciated with the Buddha Amitabha throughbeing his earthly embodiment , or rather reflex ;1

and wo rshippers of Amitabha will no t readilyadmit that Amidism inculcates any do ctrine thatis no t at least implicit in the teachings of theIndian sage . They declare , indeed , that theAmida do ctrines were actually delivered to thewo rld by Sakyamun i Buddha himself in theevening of his life , and that they containthe qu intessence of Buddhist truth . This viewis still that of the Shin shu and Jodo sects of

Japan , and it is shared by the Amidists of China ,though Buddhist scho lars in the E ast , as in theWest , are well aware of the fact that the sutrasin which Amidism is en shrined— especially thelarger and smaller Sukhavati and the Amitayurdhyana sutras — were no t the product of earlyBuddhism .

2

1 With regard to Buddhist docetism ,see above , p . 77, footnote.

2 These sutras— which are often collectively described by ChineseBuddhists as the Ching-t‘u San Ohing, The Three Sutras of the PureLand

,

”

are known in Chinese as the Wu-Ziang-shou-chz

‘

ng, the Omitoching, and the Kuan Wu-liang

-shou-ching. English translations of thefirst and second from the Sanskrit and of the third from the Chinesemay be found in vol. xlix . The extant Chinese translationsof the three sutras belong to the third and fifth centuries of our era.

(see B .N . 27, 1 98, The first Ch inese translation of the WuIiang

-shou-ching seems to have been made in the second Christiancentury , but is lost ( see B .N . 23 The popular Chinese versionis that of Seng K

‘ai

,whose labours are to be assigned to the middle of

the third century .

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [CH.

Of Amitabha we are to ld that countless agesago he was a rich and powerful monarch . Filledwith religious zeal and with profound love and

compassion for his fellow-m en , he gave up histhrone, and became an ascetic under the name ofFa-tsang or Fa-hsing— a wo rd which correspondsto the San skrit Dharmakara, and sign ifies theNature of True Religion or the D ivine Essence.He attained to bo dhisatship under the guidanceof the Buddha of that distant age— Shih-tzi’i-tsaiwang or (in San skrit) L okesvararaja— and in thepresence of that Buddha (who is as mythical asFa-tsang himself) he made a series of greatprayer-vows or pranidhanas ,

1 whereby be underto ok to become a Buddha for the sake of thesalvation of all beings , and to establish a heavenlykingdom of perfect blessedness in which all livingcreatures might enjoy an age-long existence in astate of supreme happiness , sinlessness , and wisdom.

The vows of Fa-tsang are set out at full length inthe Wu -liang

—skou-ching .

2 These vows , which inthe San skrit o riginal are forty~six in number andin the Chinese version fo rty-eight

,contain minute

description s of the glo ries and wonders of theP aradise to which Fa-tsang undertook to welcomeall creatures . The o rdinary Chinese names forthis region of ineffable blessedness and lovelinessare Ching —t‘u Pure Land , H si-t‘z

'

en— Western

1 Chinese yuan-tu ( see above, p.

For an English translation of the Sanskrit,see vol. xlix. pt.

ii . pp. 1 2-22.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [OH.

that is largely respon sible for the populardevelopments of Amidism , and especially for

the do ctrine that mere faith in Amitabha and

repetitions of his name are sufficient to ensure arebirth in the Western Heaven .

‘When I become Buddha, says Fa-tsang,the future Amitabha , “ let all living beings ofthe ten region s of the un iverse maintain a con

fident and joyful faith in m e ;let them concentratetheir longings on a rebirth in my Paradise ;andlet them call upon my name , though it be onlyten times or less : then , provided only that theyhave not been gu ilty of the five heinous sins ,and have not slandered or vilified the true religion ,

the desire of such beings to be born in myP aradise will surely be fu lfilled . If this be not

so , may I never receive the perfect enlightenment of Buddhahood.

” l

This vow, if we may believe the assurancesof the Omito-ching , was mo re than fulfilled ; forthere we are to ld that it is not through personalmerit that the P aradise of Amitabha may be

f e a s a+ fi a a a u e aa e a n n e +e a xa a xuma aa fi aa amaThe Wu-ni, or “ five heinous sins

,

” were originally these- murderof a mother, of a father, of an arahant ;shedding the blood of a

Buddha and causing schisms in the Buddhist Church. TheMahayan ists invented a somewhat different classification , in which,however, the forego ing are included. The position of the final clausein the Chinese text suggests that it was a late addition . Accordingto the m Wu-liang-showching, even he who has committed the fivegreat sin s will at last be saved and reborn in the Pure Land

,

“ thoughhe deserve to suffer torments through a myriad ages .” His lotus-flower,however ( see p . will not open till after an enormous lapse of time— twelve greater kalpas .

AM ITABHA BUDDHA.

(For explanation of ( 27 6 185 see pf . 1 09

[Faemg p 98

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 00 SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [CH.

Of Amitabha’s attendant bodhisats, by farthe mo st conspicuou s are Avalokitesvara (ChineseKuan-

yin ) and Mahastham a ( Chinese Ta-shihchih ). 1 These are popu larly represented as standing on either side of Amitabha, Avalokiteévara

being on the left and Mahasthama on the right.These bodhisats are hardly inferio r in glo ry and

majesty to Amitabha himself. Both are describedwith much q uriance of language in the Kuan

W'

u liang- shoa - ching ,

2and both act as the

protectors and guides of m en in their perilousjourney over the o cean o f life and death . In

China Ta-shih-chih (Mahasthama) , the bodhisatof Great P ower , takes a mo re prominent placein the sacred literature than he has secured in thereligious affection s of the people , for he has beenovershadowed by the ever - increasing popularityofhis brother-bodhisat . Kuan-yin (Avalokitesvara)probably receives a larger amount of Willingreverence in China to -day than any o ther objectof Buddhist wo rship — no t only on account of

his asso ciation with the d ivine Amitabha , whoseson , in a mystical sen se , he is represented to be,but also on account of his own tran scendent

Sanctae Mariae, which relates how the Virgin offers up a prayer inChrist’s presence that he will extend his help to all who call uponher name. Writing of this work, Prof. Yrjo Hirn observes that itwas introduced from some Eastern country into the Roman Churchduring the fifth century of our era ( The Sacred Shrine, 1 91 2,p.

1 Kuan-yin and Ta-shih-chih are the Japanese Kwannon and

Seishi .2 See S. B.E . vol. xlix . pp . 1 76, 181 -189.

KUAN-YIN

virtues , fo r he is regarded as the Lo rd of Loveand Compassion , who is never weary of succouring tho se who are in danger or in pain .

‘

There are various interpretations of the meaning of the wo rd Avalokitesvara

, but the nameis u sually taken to signify “ the Lo rd who lo oksdown upon , o r hears the cries of, the wo rld .

” 2

This mean ing is suppo sed to be expressed in theChinese Kuan-yin or K

'

uan-shih-yin . But in

one impo rtant respect Kuan -yin differs from

Avalokites’vara : for in popu lar Chinese and

Japanese Buddhism Kuan-yin is no t a male but

a female bodhisat . She is the being who isknown to Europeans in China and Japan asthe “ Goddess of Mercy. The change of sexhas never been satisfactorily explained . ThatChristian ity had anything to do with the matteris improbable ;but it is hardly an exaggerationto say that in the eyes of multitudes of devoutBuddhists Kuan -

yin o ccupies a place that is no t

unwo rthy of comparison with that of the V irginin Catho lic Christendom . Kuan yin is thepatron - bodhisat of P uto - shan— a fact which initself is sufficient to account for the fame and

popularity of that sacred island?The language of the sutras is often highly

mystical and not easily understood by the laity.

1 It is of interest to note that, like the God of the mystical wri ter ofthe Johann ine Gospel , Amitabha both “ draws m en to himself and“ sends ” his son Avalokitesvara to bring men to him.

2 For a full discussion of the name , see L. de la Vallée Poussin’s exhaustive article in ii . 256fi .

See chap . xi .

1 02 SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA

For their benefit there exist large numbers of

popular tracts and devotional handbooks whichteach good Chinese Buddhists how they maybest fo llow the path that leads to Amitabha and

the Pure Land . Books of this or a similar kind

(Tao ist as well as Buddhist) are often printedand distributed at the expense of piou s monksand laym en , and are u sually as simple in doctrineas they are artless in style . Their mo ral toneand teachings are generally irrepro achable . Manyof them contain excellen t discourses on suchsubjects as filial piety , bro therly love , charity ,the evils of self-indulgence ; and if we admitas we mu st that they often contain a gooddeal that is crude and unspiritual , we must bearin mind that they are intended for the edification ,

no t of the learned , but of the simple mindedmasses , who — in China as elsewhere — like toflavour their religion with the strong spices of

superstition To regard these popular tracts asautho ritative statements of the creed of an

enlightened Buddhist or Amidist would be asunfair as to suppo se that the beliefs professedby a Span ish peasant or a mestizo of E cuador,or the theo logical views entertained by the rankand file of the Salvation Army , are characteristicof Christian ity at its highest spiritual level .

The tracts issued by the P ure -Land sectsnever fail to emphasize the advantages of repeating , with a faithful heart, the ho ly name of

Am itabha. Tho se who fo llow other m ethods of

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 04 SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA

scriptures have preserved the striking words inwhich Sakyamun i compared himself with thelotus : “ Ju st as a lotu s , bo rn in water, bredin water , overcomes water and i s no t defiled bywater

,even so I , bo rn in the wo rld and bred

in the wo rld , have now overcome the world .

I n Buddhist temples the images of the Buddhasand bodhisats are u sually represented as sittingenthroned , or standing , on the open calyxes oflo tuses ; and the Mahayana sutras which serveas the foundation of Amidism make a symbolicuse of the same beautiful flower in connexionwith the passing of the souls of the blessed intothe Pu re Land of Amitabha. The theo ry (asset fo rth in the sutras and popularized in numberless manuals of Amidist piety) is that when abeliever in Amitabha is about to die , a multitudeof divine beings will attend to so othe his lastmoments and protect his soul from the clutchesof evil spirits ; and as soon as he is dead hewill be carried off instantaneously to heaven ,

where he will be reborn with a spiritual bodywithin the calyx of one of the lo tu ses of thesacred lake .

One of the Japanese leaders (Honen ) of thePure Land scho o l taught that when a truebeliever in Amitabha is at the po int of deathhis friends should put into his hand some partico loured threads , the o ther ends of which wereto be fastened to one of the hands of an imageor picture of Amitabha placed at the foot of

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 06 SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [CH.

P aradise through faith alone. The virtues whichreceive the strongest emphasis in this con

nexion are of three kinds so cial , ceremon ial ,and religio us ;and the place of honour is givento filial piety.

1 He who is assigned to thehighest class will enter into the joys of theWestern Heaven immediately after death , forhis lo tu s-flower will Open out as soon as he hasbeen reborn in the sacred lake , and he willtherefo re see Buddha’s fo rm and body withevery sign of perfection complete , and also theperfect fo rms and sign s of all the bodhisats.”

He who belongs to one of the inferio r classeswill be carried no less speedily to the lake of

lo tu ses , but his own lo tus will no t unfoldimmediately , and until it unfo lds he will beexcluded from the radiant light that streamsfrom the glorious Amitabha . I n the case of

tho se who have been assigned to one of thelowest classes , the lo tu s will not open for im

measurable ages . The n inth class includes tho sewho have committed the “ five heinou s sins ” 2

and o ther enormities , and who , if they had not

saved themselves on their deathbeds by con

centrating their last thoughts on the name of

the Buddha Amitabha , would have had to

expiate their evil deeds through ages of torment.Their lo tuses will not open till after the lapseof “ twelve greater kalpas — a period of time

1 See the Wu-Iiang-shou-ching, vol. xlix . ( ii . ) p. 1 67.2 See p . 98.

V-l THE BEATIFIC VISION 1 07

so vast as to be almo st beyond the reach of

thought. The state of tho se who lie imprisonedwithin the clo sed calyxes of their lotuses maybe regarded as a kind of painless purgato ry.

They are in heaven and yet not of it, for theyhave no share in its delights , and are deprivedo f the joy of contemplating the glo ry of thelo rd Amitabha .

The belief of the Amidist that the sinner’spun ishment will be a temporary exclusion from thepresence of Buddha is strangely similar to thatof Catho lic Christendom— that the real pain of hellcon sists in the carentia visionisDei— exclusion fromthe sight ofGod. Acco rding to Catholic do ctrine ,the greatest of all heaven ly joys is the beatificvision— optatissima heatitudo in Deivisione consistit

and “ all theo logians agree , ” writes a Catho licpriest, that whatever o ther to rments there maybe, the lo ss of God is immeasurably, transcendentlywo rse than any o ther.

” 1 But there is one eno rmou sdifferen ce between the Christian theory and theBuddhist— the de fide do ctrine of the Catho licChurch is that the pun ishments of hell are eternalthe Buddhist ho lds that there is no etern ity inthings evil , and that the who le universe willultimately enter into Buddhahood. Perhaps it isno t to o rash to say that many devout Christianthinkers of the present time would subscribe to the

1 Rev . John Gerard, S.J . ,in TheHibbert Journal, Oct . 1 906, p . 1 25.

This is the punishment inflicted upon infants who die unbaptized (seeabove, p .

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [OH.

Buddhistic do ctrine on this subject much morereadily than to the do ctrine of eternal damnationwhich has been officially taught by the ChristianChurches . 1 Indeed the Buddhistic view is no t an

unknown one in the Christian specu lation of an

earlier day : did no t Dun s Sco tus declare that evilhas no substance , and is destined to disappear , andthat all will ultimately be God ? An Anglicantheo logian of to -day even finds traces of this beliefin one of the P auline Epistles , 2 and his own viewson the subject are hardly distingu ishable fromthe un iversally-recognized tenets of MahayanaBuddhism.

3

The religiou s imagination has added various embellishm ents to the lotus symbo lism of Mahayanisto rthodoxy. It is said , for in stance , that whenany one becomes a disciple ofAmitabha Buddha byinvoking his name , a lotus-plant representing thatperson makes its appearance in the sacred lake.If during his earthly career he is devout , virtuous ,and zealous in his religious and so cial duties , hislo tus will thrive ; if he is irreligiou s , viciou s , or

1 G. Lowes Dickinson ,in his Religion and Immortality, 1 91 1 p. 47,

says I am aware , of course , that many modern people calling themselves Christians do not accept the doctrine of Hell ;but it has beenan essential doctrine of Christian theo logy at least from the timeofAugustine .

Romans chap viii .“

See Dr. W. R. Inge’s Christian Mysticism , ed. 1 91 2, pp. 68-9,

328-9.

“ In this hope , ” says Dean Inge , mean ing the hope of eternalsalvation , “ we may include all creation .

” See especially the fine

passag e beginn ing, “ The human spirit beats against the bars of

space and time,”

and ending, “an earnest of a final victory over the

grave .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [OH.

which they will represent may amount to millions.He mu st carefully preserve all his circled sheetsuntil his last illness deprives him of the hope of

making any further addition s to their number.When he is at the po in t of death he shou ld causethem to be ceremon ially committed to the flamesthey will then become his spiritual passport tothe Western Heaven , and he will receive fullcredit for each invo cation uttered and recordedduring his life on earth.

This childish faith in the efficacy of a mechanicalrepetition of a sacred name has many parallelsin o ther countries and in other religions . The

Bengali Vaishnavas , for example , believe that themere utterance of the name of Krishna is a re

ligious act of great merit , even though such utteran ce is unaccompan ied by any feeling of religiousdevotion . A European observer has defended thewo rshippers of Krishna again st ho stile critics ofthis practice by remarking that the mechanicalrepetition of the ho ly name is based on soundprinciples , inasmuch as the practice was o riginallyprompted by a devotional intention ,

which intention is virtually continued so long as the actis in perfo rmance . ” 1

In the case of Amidism it is qu ite true that1 See Growse’s Mathura, p. 1 97, cited in Hastings ,

ii . 493. Growse (himself a Roman Catholic) quotes a Catholicmanual in which it is explained that “ it is not necessary that theintention should be actual throughout ; only a virtual intentionis required— that is to say, an intention which has been actual and

is supposed to continue, although , through inadvertence or distraction ,we may have lost sight of it. ”

NOMEN EST NUMEN

a genu ine and steadfast faith in Amitabha isenjo ined upon all who call upon his name . The

enlightened Amidist ho lds that the invo cationof Amitabha is effi caciou s becau se the man who

with a pure and faithful heart calls upon that ho lyname will thereby awaken the Buddha that iswithin the depths of his own being. The sen seof ego ism and of individuality will fade away ,and he will become consciou s of essential onenesswith the Dharmakaya— the Buddha that is atthe heart of the un iverse. It mu st be admitted ,however , that the mo re igno rant Amidists believe- and are allowed, if not encouraged , by theirspiritual teachers to believe that the mereutterance of the name of Amitabha has a quasimagical efficacy proper to itself, and that suchefficacy is not necessarily dependent on the existence of a robu st faith in the person by whom thename is uttered . In o ther wo rds , the spoken or

written name of Amitabha ( as is the case withmany other names and phrases ) is regarded as apeculiarly po tent charm . N omen est numen hasbeen considered a sound maxim in mo st of thegreat religiou s systems of E ast and West } Itsvalidity was unquestioned by the ancient Egyptians,who se magical use of the ho ly name of Osiris isknown to us through the B ook (f the Dead; it wasaccepted by the followers of the Gno stic Basilides ,and the fo rmula retain s a remnant of vitality insome of the darker co rners of Christendom to -day.

1 Cf:Minucius Felix Nec nomen Deo quaere s Deus nomen est. ”

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [OH.

We need no t be surprised , therefore , to find wordspells still o ccupying a somewhat important placein the machinery of Buddhist priestcraft in China.I n Tao ism , be it mentioned in passing , spells andcharms o ccupy a far mo re con spicuous po sitionthan they do in Buddhism ; and even in certainpopular adaptation s of Confucian ism they are notunknown .

Fortunately for the ethical welfare of itsvotaries , Buddhism seldom fo rgets , in spite of itso ccasional lean ings towards magic , its mo re austerefunction s as a teacher of sound mo rals . De

vo tional manuals of even the simplest and mostpopular description do not suffer from any lack of

wise saws and mo ral apothegms , some taken fromthe recogn ized scriptures , o thers from the poems ,sermon s , and essays ofmonkish philo sophers . Sometimes exho rtation s to good condu ct are aecompanied by quaint diagrams such as the fo llowing

This is a picto rial illustration of the fate thatoverwhelms the heart or character of a man

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

V-l TIME AND SPACE 1 1 3

who gives way to evil impu lses . Reading thediagram from right to left , we see that the heartof the child is pure and gu ileless . As he growso lder the heart becomes gradually darker , and atlast it is who lly black . These are the retrogradestages in the life of the man who was born witha go od endowment of character , or karma , but

failed to maintain its pristine purity or to developits higher po tentialities . There are co rrespondingdiagrams in which the heart ” shows a progressiveimpro vement from blackness to whiteness . Thesestand for cases in which the inherited karma wasthoroughly bad ; and indicate how the po ssessorof such a karma , after a long struggle against thesinful tendencies o f his nature , may finally emergevicto riou s o ver evil and ready for an immediaterebirth in the Pure Land ofAmitabha.An English writer on Buddhism refers to the

fondness o f the Buddhists for asso ciating sacredpersons and events with incalcu lable periods of

time and immeasurable region s of space . Theylove , he says , “ to deal with immen se numbers , ina mean ingless fashio n .

”

But the criticism is amistaken one , for the frequent and rather tiresomereferen ces to immen se numbers are very far frommean ingless . They are intended to convey to theunphilo sophic mind some conceptions of truthswhich are independent of the limitation s of spaceand time. Aristo tle , in a famous passage , saidthat po etry was a mo re philo sophical and a higher

H

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [OH.

thing than histo ry}becau se po etry tends to expressthe un iversal , whereas histo ry deals with theparticular . Somewhat similar in kind — so theMahayanist docto rs would say — are the relationsbetween the Hinayana and the Mahayana fo rmsof Buddhism The latter is higher and morephilo sophical than the fo rmer becau se , under thefo rms of religiou s or mystical imagery, it expressesthe universal , whereas the Hinayana cannot setitself free from the domination of the historicalfact . The Mahayan ist would no t , perhaps , admitin so many wo rds that his fo rm of Buddhism isunhisto rical , but he wou ld affirm , nevertheless, thatit is independent of histo ry becau se it transcendsit .

2The Chin -h'

uang-ming sfi tra says it would be

easier to count every drop ofwater in the o cean ,

or every grain of matter that compo ses a vastmountain , than to reckon the duration of the lifeof Buddha . That is to say , Buddha ’s life doesno t belong to the time-series : Buddha is the “ Iam who is above time .There are some interesting passages bearing on

this subj ect in a Japanese Buddhist Catechism1¢thoao¢o§repov Kaiairovdaib-repoll (Poetics, ix .

2 This feature of theMahayana is of interest to Western students inview of the effo rts of a large and growmg body of Christian scholarsto secure a similar independence of historical fact for their own

religion . This tendency does not show itself in Catholic Modernism ”

only : it is also very prominent in recent developments of Anglicanscholarship. (Offi for example , the works of the Rev. J . M. Thompson,more especially Through Facts to Faith, Dr Shirley Case

,in his

recent book on The Historicity of Jesus , emphasizes the need to breakthe entangling alliance ’ between religion and history in order to givethe spirit liberty .

”

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 1 6 SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [CH.

the great wo rks asso ciated with his name . The

impo rtant thing is that Buddha’s body, as the

scriptures say , fills the ends of the un iverse.It is revealed to all living beings everywhere andalways in a manner su ited to meet the needs ofthe life to which it appears .It is hardly necessary to emphasize another

standpo int from which the Buddhist practice of

asso ciating religiou s truths with vast periods of

time and immeasurable space may be defended.

Geo logy and astronomy were no t long ago re

garded in E urope as terrible Mu ses - to quoteTennyson ’s expressio n— because they made havocof current religiou s no tion s and taught truthswhich (befo re the development of new apo logeticmethods ) were seen to be incon sistent with thetheo ry of scriptural in spiration . The Buddhist, onthe o ther hand , finds no thing to sho ck or disturbhis religiou s faith in modern discoveries concerningthe immen sities of stellar space , the antiquity of

man , or the age of the globe . No t only does heaccept with perfect equan imity all that science hasto teach him on these and o ther subjects , but hesees in these new discoveries many striking con

firmations of the teachings of his own sacred books.E ven the do ctrine of evo lution , which is wo rkingso remarkable a tran sfo rmation in the treatment ofmany branches of scientific knowledge, is in perfectharmony with Buddhist thought . ‘

1 The late Dr Moule (a missionary bishop in China) observes thatin Buddhism creation is unknown or frank ly den ied . As a substitute

THE WHITE WAY

The White Way of Amitabha , to whichreference was made on a forego ing page , is asubject which has kindled the religiou s imaginationof many Buddhist po ets and artists in the FarEast . The o rigin of the allego ry is traced byJapanese writers to the Chinese monk Shan -tao ,

of the T ‘ang dynasty , who did mu ch to make theAmidist do ctrines popu lar among his countrymen .

He taught that between the wo rld of m en and theParadise of Amitabha there flow two turbulentrivers— on e of water , the o ther of fire . The two

rivers are separated by the P ai—tao , orWhite Way— an extremely n arrow path or bridge which mustbe cro ssed by the souls of the dead . The dangersare so great and the bridge so narrow that withoutdivine help no wayfaring sou l could hope to

escape destru ction . But at the western extremityof the bridge , which tou ches the shin ing coastsof heaven ,

stand the radiant figures of Amitabhaand his two great bodhisats , by who se graciousguidance and cheering coun sel the faithful pilgrimis enabled to defy the perils of the White Way

and to reach in safety the blissful sho res wherehis divine Saviours stand waiting to receivehim.

l

we find emanation ,permutation , evolution under the persistent

influence of the chain of causation .

” It is as a reproachful critic thatthe bishop makes this observation but is there no t, after all, somethingto be said for the Buddhist position even as thus crudely stated ?

1 The con ception of a road or bridge which must be crossed bythe souls of the dead is to be met with in many parts of theworld and in association with many faiths ( see Hastings,ii. 852

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [OH.

At first sight the do ctrine of a quasi-materialP aradise seems who lly irreconcilable with thattheo ry of Nirvana which is u sually asso ciated witho rthodox Buddhism . If, indeed , we accept thebelief of many Western critics of Buddhism thatthe goal of Buddhist ambition is non -existence ,and that Nirvana is practically equ ivalent to , or

terminates in ,ann ihilation , then it is on ly by means

of a somewhat vio lent exegesis that the two

do ctrines can be harmon ized . But this belief isno t accurate . Acco rding to canon ical Buddhism ,

Nirvana is a state of blissfu l tranqu illity attainablein this life (no t necessarily term inable in this life ),and is condit ioned by a passing away of all ego isticlu sts and cravings . Buddhism taught that it wasonly through the persistence of these lusts and

cravings that the reincarnation s of human karmacould take place , and it necessarily fo llowed that“ rebirths were at an end for the man who hadattained Nirvana . On his death his false and

impermanent ego would be disintegrated or disso lved , for the reason that this ego is com

pounded of shifting unrealities which only theigno rant and unen lightened mistake for permanentsubstance . In a sense , then , it is true to say thatthe Buddhist who has attained Nirvana cannotlo ok fo rward to a continuation of his consciousindividuality after death . But this does no t meanthat Nirvana is ano ther name for blank No thingness , or that the extinction of the phenomenal ego

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SCHOOLS AND SECTS IN CHINA [CH.

in which Dun s Scotus says of God that he is

predicateless Being, above all catego ries , and

therefo re not improperly called No thing 1and

the Buddhist would see no startling novelty inthat assertion of the same Christian philo sopherthat the things which are not , are far better thantho se which are . ” 1 In Christian theo logy suchviews as these are traceable to Neoplaton ism and

we find them affecting the thought of all whocame within the range of Ne0platonic influence ,no t excepting St Augu stine. I n Buddhism ,

however, they are asso ciated with very earlydevelopments in its own dogmatic system , and

need be traced to no source extraneous to Indianphilo sophy.

s

It is hardly necessary to say that definitionsby negatives were not likely to make a verystrong or lasting appeal to the religious emotions .A Nirvana which admittedly transcended the

po ssibilities of po sitive description might con

ceivably bring a certain amount of co ld satisfaction to a philo sophic mind , but it could not

be expected to arouse devotional exaltation or

religiou s enthusiasm in the hearts of the lay1 A. S. Pringle-Pattison. The word used by Duns Scotus is

nihilum.

9 A flippant waywardness may perhaps lead some of us to call tomind that fantastic Chinese emperor who never died because he never

lived.

3 In the mystical concept ofGod,as well as in the Buddhist concept

of Nirvana, it is precisely the inexhaustible positivity which burststhrough every conceptual form and turns every determination intoan impossibility (Hoffding, quoted by James Ward , Realm ofEnds ,1 91 1 , p.

{ A l laTas si st sat:

THE WESTERN HEAVEN .

(From Chinese Woodcut. )

[See p.

[Facing p. 1 20.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

CHAPTER VI

PI LGRIMAGES AND THE SACRED HILLS OF

BUDDH I SM

I T was lately remarked by a writer on Chinathat the charm of this country, for the jadedvisito r from the West , largely con sists in theimpression which it gives him that he has beencarried magically backwards into the EuropeanMiddle Ages . If this be China ’s principal titleto the homage of mankind , she seems to be re

conciling herself with a light heart to its speedyfo rfeiture . Already Old China is retreatingto various remo te fastnesses far off the beatentracks of commerce and travel ;while that sectionof young China which is at present in somewhatbewildered and precariou s po ssession of thecountry’s strategic centres seems to be fullydetermined of one thing on ly— that whatever otherfaults may disfigure its future pro ceedings ,medievalism shall no t be one of them .

It may be doubted , after all , whether therewas mo re than a superficial resemblance betweenthe China of pre-refo rm days and the Europe of

the Middle Ages . The civilizations of E ast andWest had developed on different lines , and social

1 22

on . v 1 . 1 CHINESE CIVILIZ ATION

condition s were in many important respects profoundly dissimilar. On the who le, there is strongreason to believe that until the inauguration of

the m o dern scientific and indu strial era in Eu rope ,the civilization , culture , and wealth of Chinawere on a higher and grander scale than anythingthat the West could show ; but the differencewas in kind as well as in degree . Such is theimpression we gain from a perusal of the chron iclesofMarco P 010 and other early travellers , and evenfrom the works of some of the pioneer Catho licmissionaries , mo st of whom express adm iration aswell as wonder at the outstanding features of

Chinese civilization , with the necessary exceptionof the deplorable erro rs of the people in thematter of religious belief.The traveller who finds much to charm him

in what he regards as the medievalism of Chinais perhaps only giving unconscious testimony to

feelings common to m any a harassed victim of

the weariness , the fever , and the fret which are ,unfo rtunately, part of the price payable for them aterial advantages of twentieth-century civilization . The heir of all the ages ” sometimesgets a little weary under the load of his birthright

, and if a kind destiny gu ides his pilgrimsteps to the Far E ast , he is perhaps sometimestempted to ask whether it is true , after all , thatfifty years of Europe are in all respects to bepreferred to a cycle of Cathay.

But such question s as these will so on be

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM [CH.

asked no more. The Cathay which the Englishpoet had in his mind is already rivalling theWest in its headlong haste and desire for change.The time is not far off when China’s fo reignguest will po int to this or that quaint featureof the national life and exclaim with en thu siasmWhat a picturesque relic is this of the grave

and courteou s China of the go od old days !Will his Chinese ho st receive this remark withanything but chilling disapproval ? The objectof your misdirected admiration , he may observe,“ is indeed a hideous su rvival from that grotesqueand barbarou s age which was happily broughtto a clo se by our glo riou s Revo lution .

It would be difficu lt to specify which of thecharacteristics of Old China is likely to beso tenacious of life as to be still in a po sition ,

a century hence , to excite either sympatheticinterest or disdainful cen sure . It is a matterof common observation , however , that religiousObservances and superstitions , all the wo rld over,po ssess a wonderful vitality which enables them ,

under the pro tection of variou s disgu ises , to

carry on a mo re or less maimed existence forages after they have been fo rmally discarded .

This being so , it is fairly safe to prophesy thatthe old customs and in stitution s of the Chinesewhich will survive the longest will be tho sewhich po ssess some religious sign ificance . Amongsuch customs is one which is of interest asfo rming a link no t only with the China of a

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM [CH.

Apis at Memphis , and Ammon at Thebes . Greece ,we know,

had her pilgrimages to the temples ofApo llo at Delphi and Z eu s at Dodona ; and,

indeed , the famous periodical gatherings at theOlympic , Pyt hian , Nemean and Isthmian gamesare believed to have been , in o rigin , gatherings ofreligious pilgrims . There was an annual Semiticpilgrimage to the temple ofAshto reth at Hierapo lis.Rome , to o , had its pilgrimages in P agan timesas well as in Christian . E ven in the so -calledNew Wo rld the invaders from Europe foundthat pilgrimages to ok place to the shrine of

Quetzalco atl in Mexico and to that of theSun at Cuzco in P eru . The pilgrimage to

Mecca , as every one knows , is a religious dutyincumbent upon all true Mohammedan s ; butMecca (which , indeed , was a ho ly place beforethe rise of Mohammedanism ) is no t un ique inIslam , for pilgrims also go in their thou sandsto wo rship at Meshhed ’

Aliin Nejef and at thetomb of the P rophet at Medina . The Bahaisthas already commenced to make pilgrimages to’

Akka and Tabriz , though his religion onlysprang into existence in the n ineteenth century.

I n India , the classic land of pilgrimages, nearly

every racial and so cial group has sacred placesof its own . The list of Hindu pilgrimages alone ,in that nursery of religions , is far from exhaustedwhen we have taken no te of the P anch-ko si and

the five ghats of Benares,the temple of V ishnu

at Badarinath , and the much maligned shrine

CHINESE PILGRIMAGES

of Jagannatha (Juggernaut) in Orissa . 1 E venenlightened and modern ized Japan still annuallysends fo rth unto ld numbers of pilgrims to theshrines of I se, to the reputed grave of Jimm u

Tenno , to the deified peaks of Fuj i and Ontake,and to that ho ly hill o f Koya , near Nara , whichenshrines the relics of the revered Buddhistsaint Kobe .

China , then , is no t alone in being a landin which pilgrimages have flourished in the pastand continue to enjoy a great if graduallydimin ishing popularity to -day. But pilgrimagesin China po ssess certain features of their own

which make them well wo rthy of special study,and certain ly n o student of Chinese life can

hope to arrive at a sympathetic understandingof existing religious conditions in China unlesshe is prepared to become— if only imaginativelya member of one of tho se merit making (andmerry -making) bands of pilgrims who annuallytraverse the plain s of China on their way to

the Sacred Hills and the wonder-wo rking shrinesof pusas and “ immo rtals . ”

When the Refo rmers in sixteenth centuryEurope condemned the cu lt of saints as superstitious or ido latrous , pilgrimages naturally fellinto disrepute among the peoples that acceptedP ro testant principles , and it is now on ly theCatho lic countries in which we may still witness

1 I t has been proved that there is no truth in the hideous stories ofthe mangling of pilgrims under the Car of Juggernaut .

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM [OH.

scenes comparable with the religiou s pilgrimagesof E astern lands . It is a curiou s fact that thoughthe Puritan P ro testants discouraged pilgrimageson prin ciple , it was none the less a brave littleband of Puritan s that made the mo st momentousof all pilgrimages reco rded in histo ry. But itwas no t to visit an old shrine that the P ilgrimFathers cro ssed the wide Atlantic : it was tofound a new one .

In the far-off “ ages of faith the pilgrims ofEurope were of many classes . Con spicuousamong them was the sandalled palmer , whommo st of us now regard on ly through the filmyhaz e of romance . We think of him , perhaps , asa travel-wo rn wanderer who appeared from timeto time befo re the raised drawbridge of somemoated castle , bringing tidings to its lonely ladyof her lo rd’s hero ic deeds and piteou s deathupon the crimson plains of Palestine . The

cru saders themselves , indeed , were pilgrims aswell as so ldiers . P erhaps this type of pilgrimwas inclined to be mo re truculent and masterfulthan the patient disciple of Christ should be ;butsuch characteristics were hardly to be wonderedat in m en who se lot was cast in a bellico sewo rld , and in whom religious devo tion wastempered by martial ambition . We of Britishrace have had palm-bearing wanderers amongour ancesto rs , and swo rd-bearing cru saders too ,

as many coats-armo rial in our village-chu rchesand mano r-houses still remain to testify. But if

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM [CH.

pilgrim has n o qualms abou t any po ssible conflictbetween the pleasant and the good . P rovidedonly that he po ssesses enough wo rldliness to makehim heartily respon sive to beautiful sights and

sounds and the joys that accompany a relaxationfrom the routine of daily to il or bu siness , and

enough spirituality to make him appreciative ofthe religiou s sign ificance of his pilgrimage , he willfind himself in the fo rtunate po sition of beingable to gratify soul , mind , and body all at the sametime Travel has been aptly described as “ aperfect epitome of life , becau se it presents to us

an infin ite flu idity of circumstan ces and demandsfrom us an equal flexibility of character. 1 Ifapplicable to travel in general , these words arepre-eminently true of the religiou s pilgrimage.

No doubt there were many abu ses connectedwith pilgrimages , abuses which in Christendomsometimes assumed so seriou s a character thatprinces and bishops were o ccasionally obliged, inthe interests of public and private morality, torecommend the intending pilgrim to stay at homeand to expend the sum thou hast gathered forthe journey on the suppo rt of the po o r . ” Evensaints (unconsciou s , perhaps , of the reverence withwhich their own mo rtal remain s might be regardedby the pilgrims of a later age) have been known toexpress disapproval of pilgrimages . One of thesewas St Grego ry of Nyssa , who in the fourthcentury wro te a letter de euntibus Hierosolyma,

in

1 See The Spectator ( 1 3th July

vr.] RELIGIOUS FANATICISM

which he expressed himself on the subject with nouncertain vo ice. In bo th East and West

,more

over, there have been cases in which pilgrimagesof a painfu l and excessively arduou s kind wereundertaken in con sequence of a vow, or by way ofpenance , or in acco rdan ce with the gloomy tenetsof a semi-savage code of religious ethics . Thusin both Europe and Asia we hear of self-inflictedagon ies cau sed by spiked shirts , iron chains andgirdles , terrible laceration s of the body , deliberateself-torture of almo st every imaginable kind. In

many well-authenticated cases in the E ast weread of pilgrimages that ended in the wilful selfdestruction of hapless and ignorant pilgrimdevotees. There are she-shén-yai, or Su icide Cliffs ,at the summits of some of the ho ly m ountains ofChina ;and the name given to these precipicesis sign ificant , not of a grotesque fancy in nomenclature , but of a grim tragical reality. Yet thereis nothing in the theory of pilgrimages to countenance a loo se mo rality or a mo rbid fanaticism.

Manifestation s of religiou s frenz y are no t peculiarto pilgrims . Far o ftener , indeed, they accompanythe psycho logical eccentricities of the solitarymystic and the cave-dwelling hermit— just as it isthese, too , who have been mo st fiercely assailedby the devils of human passion .

From many po ints of view the P rotestantreformers of Christendom did right in suppressingpilgrimages in no rth-western Europe . Yet itmust be admitted that the change invo lved lo sses

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM [OH.

as well as gains . Mo reover, in this as in manyother matters , the zeal of the reformers led theminto the delusion that human nature was soft clay

,

and that they alone were the po tters who had thepower and the right to mou ld it into new shapes.P ilgrimages might be suppressed, but the pilgriminstinct , if we may call it so , survives to this day,though it has become secular rather than religiousin its aims , and tends to identify itself in manycases with the globe-tro tting in stinct. It isperhaps the Po sitivists , in their reverent visits tothe places associated with the lives of the saintsof human ity (as distin ct from the saints of theCatho lic Church) , who are the best representativesof the pilgrims of medieval Europe. Mo st of us,indeed , are pilgrims still , though instead of seekingthe tomb of a saint we now direct ourpilgrim-stepstowards shrines of another kind— the mo st popularof all , it is to be feared , being the shrin e that isconsecrated to that nomen daemonis— Mammon .

In Chaucer’s age the mo st popular months forpilgrim ages were April and May the periodof the year that has been always greeted withexuberant delight by the poets of England.Then longen fo lk to go on on pilgrimages — not

necessarily , indeed , becau se the lamp of piety thenburned more brightly in their souls than at o thertimes , though doubtless this was often the casetoo , but rather because , as our poet so well divined,Nature then pricked their hearts ” with a longingfor the open air and all the sweetness of an English

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

VL] PILGRIM-SEASONS

spring ;because April with its fragrant showers,

and the west wind with its warm breath,had driven

away the last sign s of the to rpo r and gloom of an

English winter ;because tender fowles makenmelodye to welcome the birth of summer , and

had a glad song for the welcoming of man , too ,

if only man wou ld come out under the blue skyto hear it .

I n the Far E ast, as in fourteenth centuryEngland , there are “ pilgrim-season s . In Japanthe blo ssoming of the plum and cherry in springand the tinting of the maple-leaf in autumn aresignals that send young and old out to the hillsand wo odlands , and it is at these season s thatthe roads to the popular shrines of Shinto and

Buddhism are wo rn smo oth by pilgrim-feet . In

China , where the diversities of climate are greater ,and the competing shrin es far mo re numerou s andwidely—scattered , the seasons for pilgrimages varywith lo cal climatic condition s . It is fitting thatthe sacred peaks of the lofty mountain s of no rthand west shou ld be the pilgrim’s go al during thescorching summer , and that the shrines and templesin the tropical and sub-tropical southern provincesshould receive their meed of homage during thewinter.No attempt can be made in these pages to

enumerate and describe all the great pilgrim—centreso f China, for we should have to deal with thesacred places not of one religion only, but of

three . The places of pilgrimage recogniz ed by the

SACBED HILLS or BUDDHISM [CH.

devotees of the heterogeneou s system of Tao ismare so numerous that a mere catalogue of themwould fill several pages . Conspicuou s amongthem are the Wu Yo , or Five Sacred Hills , thesanctity ofwhich is indeed of pre-Tao ist date buthas come to be asso ciated with Tao ist developments . Of Confucian ists , as such , it can hardlybe said that they are in the habit of travelling inthe gu ise of religiou s pilgrims , becau se the cult ofthe canon ized Confuciu s , as distinct from Con

fucianism as a rule of life and code ofmo ral law,

is no t a cult which requ ires o r expects the religiousco -operation of the masses of the people. The

Confucian wo rship is ( or was) a part of the Stateritual , and was conducted by the empero r and hisdelegates in their official or priestly capacity. 1

Yet there are certain ho ly places in China which ,as a matter of fact , are visited by thou sands of

pro fessing Confucian ists every year , and whichwill doubtless continue to be visited by Chineseand foreigners of every creed long after theConfucian system has ceased to o ccupy in Chinaa po sition of semi-religiou s pre-eminence . The

mo st impo rtant of these places are to be foundwithin a radius of a few miles , in a south-westernco rner of the province of Shantung. They consisto f the grave of the famou s Duke of Chou ,

who sesaintliness was such as to haunt Confuciusacco rding to a well-known anecdo te— even in hisdreams ; the temple and tomb of Mencius , and

1 See above, pp . 1 0-1 1 .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 36 SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM

Chinese embassy was sent to the Yueh-chih, or

Indo-Scythians . 1 The king of the Yueh-chih,who se Buddhism must have been of a hetero

geneous type , is said to have o rdered his son,

the prince-royal , to in struct the Chinese envoysin the Buddhist scriptures , in o rder that on theirreturn to China these envoys might act asmissionaries of the “ true religion . But ChineseBuddhists do not attach much impo rtance to thesestories . According to the popu lar account , thebeginn ings of the continuou s histo ry of Buddhismin China are asso ciated with the reign of theEmperor Ming Ti, who , having been visited in avision or dream by a “ Man of go ld , sent envoysto Central Asia in the sixty-sixth year of our

era to look for him . This resulted in the arrivalof two Buddhist missionaries— Kasyapa-Matangaand Gobharana (in Chinese , Mo-t ‘éng and Chu

Fa-lan ) — who were accommodated at the capitalin a building which subsequently became famousas the Monastery of the White Horse.Although these monk s or missionaries made

a modest beginn ing of the prodigious task of

translating the Buddhist scriptures into theChinese language , it is no t to be suppo sed thatthe progress of the religion was un interruptedfrom that time forward . It was not till about thefourth century of our era that Buddhism began toemerge from obscurity and to o ccupy a conspicuousplace in the religious life of the Chinese people.

1 See p. 23.

VL] STRUGGLES OF EARLY BUDDHISM 187

Confucian ism has always been more or lessho stile to , or severely critical of, the who leBuddhist system ;more especially has it been thedeclared enemy of the Buddhistic in stitution of

monasticism , which with a good deal of reason itregards as inconsistent with a sound so cial ethic .Mo st of the persecutions undergone by Buddhism ,

therefo re , have been in itiated by Confucian statecraft. 1 But there is reason to believe that the firstenemies against whom Buddhism had to strive inChina were not Confucian s , but the priests of

Tao ism , who , as the generally recogniz ed guardiansof o ccu lt secrets , and as adepts in demono logyand so rcery, were jealou s of the appearance of

a foreign doctrine which would or might prove adangerous rival.The contests between Buddhism and Tao ism

are commemo rated in sto ries which often remindus of the legends relating to the early strugglesin Europe between pagan ism and Christianity.

The two E astern religion s seem to have competedfor the royal favour in China just as St Patrick

( to take one example) is said to have competedwith the Druids in Ireland for the favour of KingLoigaire , each of the contesting parties strivingto vanquish its rival by giving evidence of asuperior skill in the working of miracles . A wellknown Buddhist legend tells us how certain priestsof the Five Sacred Hills 1 submitted a memo rialto the throne shortly after the arrival of Mo-t‘eng

1 But see above, p . 1 0.

1 See p. 1 34.

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM

and Chu Fa-lan in the first century of our era.In this memorial the Tao ist priests reco rded theirso lemn protest again st the friendly attitudeassumed by the empero r towards the religion of

the “ Western barbarian s and reproached himfor his neglect of the native wisdom of China.

We are willing, they said, that our teachings andtho se of the Buddhists should be put to theproof. Take the books of the Buddhists and

our own ho ly writings and set them afire . Iftheirs are con sumed , let the barbarian s be banished;if ours are burned, we are prepared to suffer death.

This suggestion seems to have appealed to

the empero r’s sen se of ju stice. E labo rate preparations were made for a public competition in

wiz ardry between the rival priesthoods , and for

testing the truth or falsity of their respectiveteachings by submitting their sacred bo oks to theo rdeal of fire . The Tao ist priests , we are told,were ordinarilyin po ssession of various supernormalor spiritualistic faculties which gave them controlover the fo rces of nature and enabled them to

ride through the air on dragons made of straw.

They arrived on the scene of the competition fullof confidence in themselves and full of contemptfor their Buddhist rivals ;but when the time camefor a public demonstration of their skill they werehorrified to find that all their magical powershad mysteriously deserted them. Complete failureattended all their effo rts to produce what modernspiritists would term phenomena and no

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM [CH.

nebula. From one of the first pages of Chinesehisto ry, dealing with events ascribed to the thirdmillenn ium B .C. ,

we learn how the Empero r Shunmade a so lemn pilgrimage to the sacred hills ofthe four quarters}of his empire ;and it is clearlyimplied that in do ing this he was carrying out

state-ceremon ies which were part of the religiousinheritance of his race .

The Tao ists were the first to associate themselves and their tradition s with the Wu Y0, or

Five Sacred Hills , but the Buddhists were not

dispo sed to allow their rivals to monopolizemountain s in general . Buddhism had itselfo riginated in a land where m ountain -wo rship wasdeeply-rooted , and it has always tended directlyor indirectly to fo ster in its adherents a stronglove of wild nature. It was no t through mereimitation of Tao ism that the Buddhists began to

establish themselves on mountain heights, butrather in obedience to a strong instinct to placethe sanctuaries of Buddha high up amid theso litudes of crag and fo rest and lonely ravine,far out of reach of sights and sounds hurtfulto the seren ity of souls that had abjured thevanities of the world and the flesh. Some of

the hermitages which they bu ilt amid theromantic scenery of the mo st beautiful mountainsin China grew into great and famou s monasteries,and in the days when Buddhism in China wasstill in what may be called its constructive and

COLOSSAL FIGURE AT LUNG-MEN , HONAN .

COLOSSAL ROCK-CUT FIGURES AT LUNG-MEN , HONAN

(The small figures are life—siz e

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM

English readers . 1 The po sition of Wu-t‘ai issomewhat exceptional , for this mountain has toa great extent become a seat of Mongo l Lamaism .

It is mainly to the shrines of the remaining two ,Chiu —hua and Puto , that the reader

’s attentionwill be directed in the fo llowing chapters .At first sight it seems difficult to understand

why the four mountain s ju st named weresingled out for exceptional distinct ion , especiallywhen we remember that there were o ther groupsof mountain monasteries which were no lesscelebrated as centres of Buddhist light and

learn ing. The abbots of the monasteries of theFour Famou s Hills have no contro l , cu stomaryor statuto ry, over the abbots of o ther Buddhistestablishments , nor do es their po sition carry withit any dign ity to which other abbots may not

aspire. On ly a restricted number of monasteriesin China po ssess the right of granting ordination ,

but the monasteries of the Four Hills are not

exclu sively favoured in this respect . Someestablishments , again , are distingu ished as havingbeen the centre of some impo rtant movementin Buddhist histo ry , or as having sheltered amonk or group of monks who founded a new

sect or schoo l ; but these are to be found on

many mountain s o ther than the privileged Four.Thus we are obliged to conclude that the

rank or precedence acco rded by common consent1 See A. Little , Mount 07m and Beyond, the present writer , From

Peking to Mandalay , and Miss E Kendall , A Wayfarer in China.

VI . ] HILLS SACRED TO BUDDHISM

to the Famou s Hills belongs to the mountain sthem selves , irrespective of the fame of thenumerou s religiou s hou ses perched on theirslopes . Though the Buddhists did no t requ ireto go to the Tao ists to be taught a love of

mountain s , it seems likely enough that it wasin imitation of the Tao ist or pre-Tao ist classifica

tion of Fou r ( afterwards Five) Sacred Mountain sthat the Buddhists reso lved t o create a kind of

nobility or aristo cratic pre-eminence for certainfavourite mountain s of their own . The historyof the Wu Yo go es back for thou sands of yearsindeed four of the five peaks were regarded withreligiou s veneration at a period anterio r to theearliest days of which we have written record .

The four fam ou s hills of Buddhism can layclaim to n o su ch antiqu ity. Two of the

number— Wu -t‘ai and Omei— are asso ciated byhisto ry and legend with the beginn ings of

Buddhism in China ; but the o ther two — Chiuhua and Puto — did no t come into prominenceuntil Buddhist pro sperity in China had alreadyreached and passed its climax . Of the sacred isleof Puto we hear little until we reach the clo singyears of the T ‘ang dynasty , and its Buddhistasso ciation s canno t be proved to be much mo rethan a thou sand years old. Chiu-hua has had alonger monastic history than Puto , but it wasnot included in the catego ry of Famous ”

Buddhist mountain s until a date that was sub

sequent even to that of the inclu sion of P uto .

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM [OH.

But the two questions are still unansweredas to why the Buddhistic writers of the Sungdynasty shou ld have finally decided upon fouras the proper number of “ Famous Hills , and

why the four selected for elevation to thispeerage of mountains should have been Wu-t‘ai ,Omei , P uto , and Chin-hua. W ith regard to

the first question , it seems clear that the numberwas cho sen in o rder to establish what mightbe called four corner stones of the Buddhistfaith in China and to bring them in to mysticalasso ciation with the four co smogon ical elem ents which , acco rding to the ancient Hinduphilo sophy adopted by Buddhism , are concernedin the alternating pro cesses of con struction and

disso lution through which the who le phenomenalun iverse is continually passing. These four so

called elements were wind or air , water , fire ,and earth .

1 It is unnecessary here to go intothe interesting question of the o rigin of thesystem of co smogony of which this great element or mahoibhiita theo ry fo rms a part. Itsantiqu ity is indicated by the fact that it wasadopted , with or without modification ,

by someof the earliest Greek speculato rs in physics.

1 Ti. According to another Chinese classification of

the “ elemen ts , they were five in number,and consisted of metal ,

water, fire, vegetable matter, and earth (Chin , Shui, Huo, Mu, T‘u) .

These are the Wu hsing, or“ five elements

,mentioned in the

Historical Classic (Shu Ching) . They occupied a prominent placein the semi-mystical system of the Tao ists of the Han dynasty

,and

were the subject of much theo rizing on the part of the orthodoxChinese philosophy of the Sung period.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDH ISM [OH.

west, which geographically belong to Tibetand Turkestan ; but Chiu -hua is of no excep

tional height , and P uto barely reaches even themodest elevation of a thou sand feet . The matterwas simply determined by a desire to place aphysical pillar of Buddhism at each of the fourpo ints of the compass . It is certain that theWu Yo were cho sen as sacred mountains on

account of their po sition s in the no rth , south,east, west , and central region s of the China of

classical or pre-classical antiqu ity . Similarly, itwas con sidered fitting that the four mountainpillars of Buddhism should occupy po sitionswhich would ju stify their assuming the dutiesof warden s and pro tecto rs of religous interestsin each of the four quarters of the empire.Wu -t‘ai , therefo re , was selected as the no rthernmountain , Omei as the western , Puto as theeastern , and Chiu -hua as the southern . It istrue that Chiu-hua is in the centre rather thanin the south of the China that we know to -day.

It is to be remembered, however , that nearly allthe territory on the right bank of the Yangtselay to the south of the so -called o rthodoxstates of the China of the Chou dyna sty ; and

the pedantic spirit of literary and historicalcon servatism would prevent the Sung scholarsfrom admitting that the southern expansion of

China in the interven ing centuries cou ld rendero bso lete the geographical and political demarcations of the classical epo ch .

THE E IGHT MOUNTAINS

Ano ther reason , and a very impo rtant one , forthe promo tion of our four mountain s to theexclu sive rank of Famou s was that all fourhad already become celebrated in Buddhistic lo rethrough their legendary asso ciation with four of

tho se great Bodhisats ( or Pusas, to u se theordin ary Chinese term 1

) who play so impo rtant apart in the mytho logical and symbo lic system of

theMahayana . The four in question are Wen -shu ,

P ‘u-hsien , Ti-tsang , and Kuan —

yin ; and thesedivine beings are the spiritual patron s of Wu -t‘ai

,

Omei , Chiu -hua, and Puto respectively.

We have now seen that certain of thenumerous hills sacred to Buddhism in Chinahave been selected for promotion to a po sitionof special honou r. But there is another categoryof Buddhist mountain s which is worthy of

notice , if only becau se it includes the names of

certain monastic centres which are also visited bymultitudes of pilgrims , and which , on accountof their histo rical and religious impo rtance ,would necessarily o ccupy a con spicuous place inany comprehen sive account of Buddhism in

China. The mountain s that come within thiscategory are eight in number and are known asthe P a—hsiao-ming shan — “ E ight Small Famou sHills — to distin guish them from the pre-eminentFour. They are T ‘ient‘ai , in Chehkiang ;Yi

'

m t ‘ai

and Tamao , in Kiangsu ;Chitsu , in Yfinnan ;Wu

chih , in Kuangtung (Hainan island ) ;Ch‘iyiin , in

1 See above. p . 43.

SACRED HILLS OF BUDDHISM [OH. VI.

Anhu i ;Wutang , in Hupei ; and Wu-i (BoheaHills ), in Fuhkien . Some of these (Tamao and

Wutang , for example) are celebrated in the annalsof Tao ism no less than in tho se of Buddhism.

The mo st famou s from the Buddhist po int of

view are T ‘ient‘ai , Wutang , and Wu -i but all areannually visited by numerou s bands ofwo rshippers.Among o ther ho ly mountain s and monasteries

which o ccupy a prominent place in the Buddhistichistory of China may be mentioned Chiao -shanChin -shan and Pao - hua, in Kiangsu ; Lofou , in

Kuangtang ; Lu-shan , in Kiangsi ;Yi

'

I -wang and

T ‘ien-mu , in Chehkiang ;Ku-shan in Fuhkien ;

Chung—nan , in Shensi ; the Nan-Yo , in Hunan ;M iao -feng , Shang-fang , and o ther mountains , inWestern Chihli ;and the monasteries of Shaolin,

o n the Shao -shih mountain in Honan , Chao -ch‘ingand o thers on the Western Lake near Hangchow,

and Ling-yen , to the no rth-west of T ‘ai-shan , in

Shantung.

When it is realized that the shan-chih, or

mo untain-chron icles of China, would alone con

stitute a library of thousands o f vo lumes , it willbe understo od that the subject is no t one that canreceive exhaustive treatment in the narrow limitsof a single bo ok . In devoting special attention,in later chapters , to two of the Four Famous Hills,we shall be only tou ching the fringe of a subjectWhich is well wo rthy of far clo ser attention thanit has hitherto received from students of thereligious and artist ic sides of Chinese culture.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

THE PILGRIM’

S GUIDE [OH.

which they always carry with them on sucho ccasions— entitle them to food and lodging atthe variou s monasteries that lie along their route.Monks , to o , are better able than laymen to

benefit by the accumulated experience of thepast , for many travelled monks have furnishedtheir own monasteries with detailed in formationas to the best mean s of journeying from one

shrine to ano ther.I n the M iddle Ages in E urope there existed

a class of literature specially designed to provideChristian pilgrims with info rmation of both asacred and a secu lar character concern ing theroutes they were to fo llow and the shrines atwhich they were to bend the knee and openthe purse . If there were no Murrays or

Baedekers in tho se days , there were numerousI tineraria which seem to have been equallywell adapted to the needs of their time. One

such bo ok , based on a Fren ch bishop ’s journeyto the Ho ly Land , was written by Adamnan ,

abbo t of Iona , as early as the seventh century ;and this was fo llowed by innumerable treatisesand pamphlets dealing more or less exhau stivelywith the favourite locisanctorum martyrum.

The Buddhists of China , like the Christiansof Europe , have their P ilgrims’ Handbooks.One of these is a little modern wo rk namedCh‘ao Ssil Ta-ming Shan L u-

yin The P ilgrim’sGuide to the Four Famou s Hills — which isprinted and issued by the monks of the monastery

BUDDHISM IN PRACTICE

of Yung-ch‘iian , on Ku-shan .

1 This little com

pilation (which deals with many sanctuariesbesides tho se of the Fou r Hills ) is primarilyintended for the use of monkish travellers , butChinese lay-pilgrims— and at least one Englishpilgrim as well have found it useful and

interesting.

The greater po rtion of the bo ok consists ofa description of routes , and with that we neednot concern ourselves here ; but the preliminarypart , which contain s maxims and in struction srelating to matters of religion and mo rals and

monastic etiquette , will perhaps be found to

throw a welcome glimmer of light on the Chinesetheory of pilgrimages and on the present stateof popular Buddhism .

The short preface urges the pilgrim , in generalterms , to cultivate reverent and decorou s habitsof thought and condu ct while engaged in theserious business of visiting the ho ly mountainshrines of Buddha . From his mind all feelingsof vexation ,

hatred , and ill will must beeradicated . Gentleness and compassion and

humility of spirit must be his guiding principles .When he arrives at a shrine of Buddha lethim bow his head and in due reverence wo rshipthe Three Ho ly Ones— the Buddha , the Law of

Buddha , and the Company of the Saints? Let

1 See p . 1 48. This mountain overlooks the city ofFoochow.

2 In early Buddhism the Three Ho ly or Blessed Ones are theBuddha, the Law preached by the Buddha, and the Order, or

company , of those who have entered upon the “ eight-fo ld path

THE PILGRIM’S GUIDE [ca

him extirpate all thoughts of worldly ambitionand personal gain ; let him who lly cease fromcovetou sness and selfish an ger.

The preface is fo llowed by a page containing four precepts : Ho ld written characters inrespect ; Regard all living things with love andpity ; Keep your mind free from evil thoughts ;Let your mind be directed un swervingly towardsBuddha . By observing these precepts you willenjoy go od health , spiritual and physical ; youwill enjoy a pro sperou s and respected old age;you will no t be contaminated by the foulness ofthe world ; and heaven will be your finalreward.

The first of the four precepts is Confucianrather than Buddhistic . The prevalence of thischaracteristically Chinese notion as to the sanctity ofwritten characters is well known . It is consideredwrong to misuse any paper that bears writtenor printed ideographs . These are the sym bo lswhich conserve the great thoughts and teachingsof the wise , and they are therefore to be heldsacred . The second injunction is thoroughlyBuddhistic . Love and kindness must be shown

that leads to Nirvana. These are the “ Three Refuges of theo rdained monk— Buddha, Dhamma ( Sanskrit Dharma) , and Sangha.

In the Mahayana system the Three BlessedOnes are the same witha difference — namely : ( 1 ) The who le company ofBuddhas (2) theSons of the Buddhas— the bodhisattvas and all men of good

-willwho aim at the salvation of the wo rld and the final attainment of

Buddhahood (3) the Dharmakaya, or Body of the Law, which con

tains the essence of all the wisdom of all the Buddhas (seeabove, p.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

BUDDHIST TEACHINGS

to all beings that have life— no t m en only, butall kinds of an imals . This is not , as is sometimessuppo sed , becau se the bodies of the lower an imalsmay contain tran smigrated human souls The

do ctrine that all living things shou ld be regardedwith abso lu tely pure and un selfish feelings of loveand compassion is deeply ro o ted in Buddhistethics . The chief claim that the great bodhisatsare suppo sed to have upon the ado ration and

gratitude of m en is based on the boundless charityand pity extended by them towards all thingsthat live . 1

The third precept requ ires no elucidationThe heaven referred to in the fourth is literally“ the western region ”

( lzsz'

fang ) of the un iverse ,in which the Mahayana Buddhists have placedthe P aradise of Amitabha Buddha . In popularChinese Buddhism it is chiefly through the go odo ffices of the graciou s and compassionate Kuan

yin ( Tz‘z‘

Z—p ei-Kuan -slzz

’

lz-yz’

n P usa) that this heavenmay be reached .

2

Next fo llows a little po em of four lines , whichmay be pro saically rendered thu s : “ Better is itto live the lowly life of a monk than to returnagain and again to mundane van ities and illusion s .The true disciple of Buddha has delivered himselffrom all sensuou s fetters ;he who has entered themonkhood no longer allows his mind to beo ccupied with the countless vain cares of worldlylife .

1 See above, pp . 77-81 .

2 See pp. 1 01 , 1 03.

THE PILGRIM’

S GUIDE [OH.

These lines perhaps requ ire some expansion or

explanation . It is better to pursue the contem

plative life , says the Buddhist , than to condemn

yourself to future human lives of wo e ( throughmetempsycho sis ) by neglecting the que st of truthand giving yourself up to worldly pleasures andambitions . The ro o t of all evil lies in delusionand ignorance . Until we extingu ish the desiresthat accompany or result from igno rance , we shallcontinue to be bound to the wheel of phenomenalexistence . The perfect Enlightenment to whichthe Buddhist aspires implies the complete removalof all delusion concerning the apparent differentiation of objective existences and the ann ihilationof the appearances that veil reality. The monkwill no t allow his intellectual and mo ral energiesto be dissipated in futile strivings and longings.He knows that the things of this wo rld areimpermanent and unreal , and that the prizes so

earnest ly sought after by the igno rant and deludedmasses ofmankind are nothing , after all, but mistsand shadows .

In the next pages of the bo ok emphasis islaid on the dign ity of the religiou s life , and

monks are warned that tho se who cannot liveup to the high ideals which they profess shouldwithdraw from the monkhood . The en lightenment towards which Buddha po inted the way isnot attainable with equal facility by all. Thereare some who devo te their energies throughoutlife to its attainment and are not successful ;

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

THE PILGRIM’S GUIDE [CH.

quite informal) sit bo lt upright on a co rnerof his chair in an attitude of respectfulattention .

1

The Guide goes on to info rm the pilgrimthat when the c/zz

'

lz—lc‘o enters the room he muststand up and make a ceremon iou s bow. The

chih-k‘o is a member of the monastic fratern ity

who se Special duty it is to receive guests and

offer them the ho spitality of the establishment.After the usual greetings the ClIi/L-IC‘O and hisguest will sit down , and the dialogue thatensues will be somewhat as fo llows . 2

Chi/z-k‘o .

— May I ask where you have comefrom ?

Visz’

tor.— I have come from A

Chih-k‘o .— May I ask where is your honourable

monastery ?Visz

'

tor.—My humble place of residence is the

monastery of B

Chih-Ic‘o .— Have you received the robe and

bowl ? [The outward sign s of monkhood arethe robe and begging-bowl . ]

— I am fully o rdained.

Clzih-k‘o .

— What sect do you belong toVisitor.

— I belong to the sect.Chi/z-k‘

o .— May I enquire what my reverend

bro ther’s name is ?

Mares mutantur. The Chinese are rapidly growing less punctiliousin these small matters .

2 The guest would be made to take a higher seat than thatmodestlyoccupied by him at first while the chih-k‘o himself would take one of

the humblest seats . This manoeuvre , and also the serving of the usualcups of tea, would be taken for granted by Chinese readers .

HOST AND GUEST

Visitor.— My humble name is [Buddhists

receive a fa-m z

’

ng , or name in religion , whenthey c/z‘u -c/zz

'

a— that is , when they leave thewo rld and enter a monastery. Thencefo rwardtheir family and personal names are igno red ]

Chi/z—k‘o .

— May I enqu ire what is the name ofyour reverend father-in -religion ?

Visitor.— The name of my father-in -religion

Chih-k‘o .

— May l venture to ask what yourhonourable bu siness is in this place , or whitheryou intend to pro ceed ?

Visitor. ( If he prop oses to remain where he

is. ) — My intention is no t to go elsewhere . Ihave purpo sely come here with the desire of

devo ting myself to the study of the lofty rulesand principles of this monastery . ( If he in tendsto g o elsewhere . )— I propo se to go on to

May I ask you to endo rse my certificate for me ?

[Monks on pilgrimage receive certificates from ,

or have their own papers sealed by , the differentmonasteries which they visit, as proo f that theyhave carried ou t their task.

1

]Ckilz-k‘

o . Certainly. Have you been herebefo re

Visitor.— This is my first visit.

Chih-k‘o .

— P lease bring your paper s .

The two then rise, and the visitor fo llows hisho st to an upper reception -ro om , which is also achapel and contains sacred images . Here the

1 A similar practice is in vogue in India, where the priests in chargeof places of pilgrimage issue sealed certificates to the Sadhus or wandering Hindu ascetics .

THE PILGRIM’

S GUIDE [OH.

visito r is presented to two or three of the headsof the variou s monastic departments , though hedoes not address them until he has knelt inprayer befo re Buddha . When his papers havebeen sealed or endo rsed and the time has comefor him to depart , he takes ceremo niou s leave of

his ho sts ,‘

taking care to adapt himself to circum stances as they arise . P erhaps he may bepresented to the abbo t . In this case hisdemeanour should be scrupulously modest and

reverential .The next section of our P ilgrim’s Gu ide

con sists of Ten impo rtant subjects for reflectionwhile visiting the ho ly mountain s . These tensubjects are discussed in a series of min iaturesermons , each of which clo ses with the phrasetz

‘iinien weiyao— “ it behoves you to ponder on

these things . The general sense of the sermonsis as fo llows

Firstly, the pilgrim is to ld that a journey tothe sacred hills will no t on ly fo ster habits of

reverent study and research , but will also enablehim to acquire a u seful knowledge of the wo rld .

You , the pilgrim , will meet with varied experiences ,some pleasant and others disagreeable or vexatious .Should you meet with unexpected hardships , donot be discouraged. Regard your troubles asdreams and illu sions , as shadows or echo es , asthings of no substance . It should be your en

deavour to find some experienced person to actas your guide and teacher. If it is no t your

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

“ THE PILGRIM’S GUIDE (on.

a dispo sition that is qu ite contrary to the spiritof religion . Be careful never to acqu ire such badhabits as these

,which will certainly ruin your

reputation . But when you meet any one of nobleand exalted character you should honour him withall the marks of respect that you wou ld showto your religious instructo r ; and when you comeacro ss people who are crippled and in miseryyou should do all in your power to relievethem .

Thirdly, you should begin by acqu iring fullinfo rmation con cern ing your route, and when youhave done this you may go on your way with atrusting heart . You should make up your minddefin itely about the places to be visited , and mapout your journey in acco rdance with the po sition of

the different mountains . If you neglect to makepreliminary arrangements of this kind , and simplyfo llow o thers in an aimless way, you will findyourself continually wasting time by retracingyour own footsteps , and thus you will becomebewildered and embarrassed . No t only will youfail to carry out your o riginal intentions regardingyour pilgrimage , but you will also show yourselfto be a person of irreso lute character. If whileon the road you hear of some monastery whichis inhabited by m en of distinguished Virtue and

wisdom , you shou ld make careful enquiries as toWhether the repo rt is true or false. If you find

it to be true , go thither . If you perceive whilelodging in a monastery that the rules of themonkhood are observed with great strictness andfidelity, be particularly careful in your own

observance of such rules, always remembering

VIL] FOLLOW GOOD, ESCHEW EVIL 1 61

that you are on a religiou s pilgrimage and shouldtherefo re be specially zealou s in your obedienceto religious law. If, on the o ther hand , youfind that the monastic regulation s are but laxlyobserved , you should carefully abstain from anyexpression s of reproach or criticism .

Fourthly , when on pilgrimage it is no t fittingto count the time Spent in travelling : look on theroad as your home for the time being. Cherishinga frank joyou sness in your heart , pursue day byday your wanderer’s path . Keep your thoughtsdirected towards the way of truth and fling asideall ideas of fame or personal profit . In making upyou r mind when to halt and when to pro ceed ,when to take long stages and when to take sho rtones , you shou ld be gu ided by circumstances.If you are in the company of a truly Wise and

noble compan ion ,regu late you r own stages in

acco rdance with his , so that you may be alwaysnear him . Cultivate humility and patience , and

make firm reso lution s to carry o ut you r pilgrimagein spite of difficulties . Do no t be too particularin what you eat and drink , and do not reject thefare that is placed befo re you on the plea thatit is tasteless . If hardships beset you ,

do not run

away from them : reflect that they have cometo you on ly becau se the sin s committed by youin a former life must be expiated by you in thisone . Make it your bu siness at all co sts to fo llowthe good and eschew evil.Fifthly ,

it should be remembered that the properobject of the pilgrim’s quest is truth ;he mu st notexpect to find his path an easy one . In this wo rld

1 62 THE PILGRIM’

S GUIDE

of ours we cannot hope that heaven will makeBuddhas of us for the asking. It is not till theplum-tree has endured the icy rigours of winterthat its blo ssoming time will come. It is not tillthe pilgrim has won his way with zeal and couragethrough all the pain s and wo es of human lifethat he can hope to attain the object of his quest.P onder earnestly the teachings of the wise. Whenyou have the good fo rtune to meet a sage , treathim with the same respect that a child is taughtto pay to his scho o lmasters or his elders. Neglectno oppo rtun ity of cu ltivating wisdom and virtue.Sometimes you will meet wise m en who se languageis different from yours , or who speak a strangedialect, so that it is difficu lt for you to derivefull benefit from their discourse. In that case youshould take notes of what they say , so that youmay ponder their wo rds at leisure .Sixthly , it

i

should be remembered that thereare two classes of pilgrims— laym en and monks.Lay-pilgrims , if they are provided with money,can find lodgings for themselves without difficulty ; but Buddhist and Tao ist monks arescantily furnished with the wherewithal to meetthe expenses of travel , and they, therefore, mustclaim their privilege of free board and lodgingat the monasteries along their route. But whena monk asks for ho spitality at the door of astrange monastery he should do so as a lowlysuppliant and in a spirit of humility. If hisrequest is granted , he should be grateful . If,however, his diploma fails to command theexpected ho spitality, let him in stantly quell anyrising anger or ill-will against tho se who turn

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

FORBEARANCE AND PATIENCE

him from their do o r. If he has been overtakenby darkness or caught in the rain , or if he iswearied with a long day’s tramp

,let him make

a courteous appeal to their pity and charity.If

they reso lutely refu se to receive him,then

still withou t any show of impatience— he shouldask to be directed elsewhere . He mu st refrainfrom uttering a wo rd of reproach , for no t onlywould that stir up feelings of resentment intho se whom he addressed , but it would also beinjurious to his own character , and hinder himfrom maintain ing that seren ity of mind whichis necessary to the attainment of true wisdom .

Seven tlzly , in the course of you r pilgrimageyou will come to places which are the reso rt of

people from every quarter. Sometimes you willfind that old cu stoms have undergone greatchanges , and that there is no longer any one

to give ho spitable reception to far travelledmonks . In these circumstances you shouldconduct yourself in acco rdance with lo calcondition s , and beware of showing resentmen tagainst the people of the district on the groundof their non observance of religiou s usages .Sometimes you will pass through decayed V illages ,or among people who are themselves so sunk inpoverty that they can spare no thing for strangersor you will meet with people who are parsimon iou sor avariciou s , and who will supply you with no

mean s of suppo rt whatever. I n such cases youmu st refrain from referring to such people asungenerous or uncharitable . If there is reallyno thing else for you to do , you may go on yourway as a mendicant , carrying your begging-bowl

THE PILGRIM’

S GUIDE [CH.

in your hand. There is a saying that it takesthe offerings of a thou sand families to fill asingle begging bowl , yet a so litary mendicantwill not starve even on a journey of threethousand miles . To beg one’s food is to act inacco rdance with the rules laid down by theblessed Buddha himself; no o ne , therefo re, needfeel shame in relying upon charity. The wordpi

—ck‘iu when applied to a Buddhist monk has anouter and an inner sign ificance 1 the mendicantbegs for food that he may nourish his body ;hebegs for instruction in the law of Buddha thathe may nourish his character. Let the goodexample of others be an incentive to yourself.When you are receiving alms , ask your own

conscience how you yourself would treat apilgrim-stranger at your gates : perhaps you willhave cause for shame . When you accept thecharity of others , fail no t to register a vow thatwhen o ccasion arises you will treat others asconsiderately as others are now treating you .

Eighthly, the pilgrim mu st carefully observethe thirty-seventh secondary commandment of

the Fan -wang-c/iing , which strictly admonishes

the Buddhist monk not to make journeys intodangerous places or to incur unnecessary risks.”

1 The Chinese pi-ch‘iu represents the Sanskrit bhikshu, or Palibhikkhu , and literally means “ beggar,

”

but is teclmically applied to areligious mendicant. For the more o rdinary Chinese terms forBuddhist monk, see above, p . 88.

2 The Chinese Fan-wang-ching (Brahmajala-sutra) , which is No .

1 087 in B .N. , is not to be confused with the Brahmajala Suttanta

mentioned in SE E , xx . 376, and xxxvi . pp . xxiii . -xxv. , and translatedby Rhys Davids in his Dialogues of the Buddha. The Chinese versionhas been translated into French , and annotated

,by Dr J . J. M. De

Groot, in his Le Code da Mahayana en Chine. The “ thirty-seventhsecondary commandment will be found on pp . 69-71 of De Groot'swork.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 66 THE PILGRIM’S GUIDE [OH.

— Gate of the Hill . 1 The temples and monasterieswhich offer hospitality to the pilgrim must all,therefore, be regarded by him with equal reverenceand their inmates treated with equal respect. Hemust not make invidious comparisons betweenthem. Mo reover, he mu st be careful to adapthimself to the differen t cu stoms in vogue in thedifferent monasteries which he visits . If he arrivesat the hour of mo rning or evening service, or atthe time of the burn ing of incen se , or when themonks are go ing out to labour in the fields or

when they are about to go into the refectory,let him strictly confo rm to the rules of thefratern ity. He should also show himself willingto jo in the brethren in the perfo rmance of theirprescribed duties , and mu st on no accountexcuse himself from do ing so on the false pleathat he is wearied with travel and must needsseek rest.

Tenthly, and lastly, on his way to the holymountains the pilgrim mu st keep a careful watchover his moral conduct. He mu st rigorously keepthe commandments , and mu st not abandon himself to self-indulgence of any kind.

” He should1 In spite of the popularity of pilgrimages in China, it is freely

admitted by both Buddhis ts and Tao ists that a man can worship thedivin e powers quite as well by staying at home as by go ing on a longjourney . Many a little Tao ist temple

,unknown to fame, bears above its

gateway an inscription to th is effect : “ Why do you wander far fromhome a nd seek a distant shrine ? Here

,close to your own doors, is

T‘ai-shan ! In this and many similar sayings (Buddhist as well

as Tao ist) a reference is understood to the theory mentioned in the

text that every temple or monas tery is, or is equivalent to , a. SacredHill .

Both lay andmonastic Buddhists are bound by commandments ,but those imposed on the monks are much stricter and more numerousthan those enjoined on laymen .

VILJ AVOID COVETOUSNESS

not allow his mind to be o ccupied except by pu reand honourable thoughts , and he must not beled astray by carnal enticements. Amid all thebeautiful scenes that meet his gaze let it be hisfirst object to be master o f himself. Let him alsoavo id all reckless covetou sness , whether his desiresbe set on books and scro lls or on go ld and jadeand precious stones . Such objects as these are allliable to corrupt the character of tho se who longfor them overmuch . Wo rldly-minded men mayvalu e such things : to the pilgrim they shou ld beof no account. To co vet the material po ssession sof o thers will assuredly bring discredit on thepilgrim who yields to temptation , and his deedsmay even be injurious to o ther pilgrims who infuture happen to traverse the same road. Wherefo re let the pilgrim rigidly abstain from makingfree with the property of ano ther , irrespective of

whether the coveted obj ect be a thing of real valueor only a wo rthless trifle .

It will have been o bserved that some of thewarn ings and suggestion s contained in these littlesermons are evidently intended for the edificationof pilgrims of a humble and unlettered class .That this is so is clear not only from the matter ,but also from the manner of the discourses fortheirstyle is simple and unpretentiou s and quite devo idof the classicisms and artifices which appeal to theliterary in stincts of the average Chinese scho lar.The remarks on the subj ect of mendicancy , inthe seventh sermon ,

perhaps require a word of

comment. As a matter of fact , the orthodox

1 68 THE PILGRIM’

S GUIDE

Buddhist practice of mendicancy is not carriedout in China to any appreciable extent. It isonly when their lo t is cast among a lay populationof devout Buddhists that Buddhist monks can

hope to suppo rt themselves out of the vo luntarydaily offerings of the faithful ;and lay China isnot , and never has been , so enthu siasticallyBuddhist as the people of Burma , Ceylon , and

Siam . To witness a pro cession of yellow-robedmonks wending their way , begging bowls inhand , through a Burmese village or through thestreets of a city like Mandalay , is an experiencethat may fall to the lo t of any Western visitor tosouth-eastern Asia;but he will be disappo inted if heexpects to see anything of the same kind in China.The Chinese monastic commun ities are supportedby their endowments and by the offerings broughtto the monasteries at festival season s and on

special occasions of private urgency by pilgrimsand o ther visito rs and wo rshippers . Buddhistmonks in China often , indeed , go in to the townsand villages with subscription books for thepurpo se of co llecting money for such objects asthe rebuilding or resto ration of a temple or

monastic bu ilding ; but a monk who tried to

pro cure his daily food by carrying a begging-bowlfrom door to do o r wou ld probably suffer fromchron ic hunger, and might even meet with a gooddeal of abuse. He would be mo re likely to gethis bowl filled- and wou ld run less risk of insultby throwing off the monkish garb altogether and

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

CHAPTER V III

T I -TSANG PUSA

THE mountain of Chiu -hua, one of the principalobjects of pilgrimage in Buddhist China consistsof a range of pinnacled hills which lie at a distanceof a sco re of miles from the south bank of theYangtse in the province of Anhu i . Its patrondivin ity is the compassionate Ti-tsang , the pusaor bodhisat who se graciou s function it is to flingopen the gates and lighten the glo om of hell andrescue tortured souls from the pitiless grasp of

the lictors of Yenlo -wang (Yama-raj a) , the kingof devils .Mahayana literature contain s several sutras

which tell u s about Ti-tsang and his wo rks . 1 The

Sanskrit name of this bodhisat is Kshitigarbha,

meaning E arth Womb o r E arth Treasury, of

which the Chinese words Ti tsang are a translation . The name is explained thus. Accordingto one of the co smo logical theo ries of the Tantric

1 See B .N . 64, 65, 981 , 997, 1 003, 1 457, and several other sutras

(Hat . iii . vol. vii . , Chm ese ed1 tions of the Ti-tsang sutras arefrequently published at the monasteries of Pai-suiand Ch‘i-yuan , onChiu—hua, and also at the Yung-ch‘uan monastery of Ku-shan , nearFoochow.

CH. v1n . ] THE VOW OF TI-TSANG

Buddhists , 1 the E arth is yoj anas thicksay, six million miles . The deepest or lowest ofthe various earth layers is the Diamond earth(Chinese ckin-kang —ti) , which is abso lutely unyielding and unbreakable. E ven so , it is said , is theinflexibility of the virtue and courage which fillthe heart of Ti-tsang ; for he has uttered a vow

before the throne of the eternal God ( the glo rifiedBuddha) that he will devo te himself to the salvation of suffering mankin d , and that he will no t bedeterred for a single in stant from his self-impo sedtask un til , after the lapse of aeons , he has broughtall living beings safely to the haven of Buddhahood. Having uttered his vow, nothing can makeTi-tsang swerve from his purpo se. Just as theearth rests immovably on its adamantine foundation , so will mankind find its surest supportin the diamond-like firmness of the will of theunconquerable Ti-tsang.

2 The ho sts of evil spiritscanno t daunt him , and from sorrow and dangerand pain he will not shrink. He will take on

himself the burden of the woes of all who trusthim , and he will never regard his wo rk as fin ishedso long as a single soul languishes in sorrow or

in pain .

It is with reference to his po sition as nourisherand con so ler and ro ck of refuge that Ti-tsang issometim es known as the E arth-spirit ( ti the

1 As expounded, for instance , 1D the Chin-Icuang-ming-ching (see B .N

1 26,2 Yen-ming Ti

-tsang Ohing.

TI-TSANG PUSA [OH.

world suppo rting spirit (ch‘i/z - ti shén ) , and the

Diamond or Adamantine spirit (Ultin-leang chien

kit-sleen ) . He bears the name of E arth partlybecau se his sympathy and compassion are all

embracing , and partly becau se his will to affordhelp and the mean s of salvation to struggling soulsis unchangeable and indomitable . But there isalso an allusion to his special function as openerof the gates of hell : for the Chinese name forhell is ti-yit , which literally means earth—prison .

1

Ti-tsang is generally represented as carrying astaff or cro zier in one hand and a miraculous jewelin the o ther. When he touches the do ors of hellwith his staff they are burst asunder ;when hepasses the glo omy portals and ho lds forth hisradiant jewel the darkness of hell is dispelled byrays of celestial light . 2 Acco rding to anotheraccount of the articles carried by Ti-tsang , he is thebearer of the gleaming pearl which by the reflectionof its light cracks and bursts the iron walls of hell ,and of the go lden crozier with which he causesthe dark halls of death to shake and tremble .v

'

It is not to be suppo sed that the educatedBuddhist really believes that the hells in whicherring human souls are tormented are situated inthe bowels of the earth . Indeed, when we considerhow the Oriental mind understands the use of

symbo lism , and what stress is laid by Buddhist1 See p . 1 45.

ic f Z EI

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

VI II . ] THE TREASURE -HOUSE OF T I -TSANG 1 78

metaphysics on the impermanence and non -realityof all that pertain s to the phenomenal wo rld , wemay doubt whether Buddhists ever held suchcrudely materialistic views of the unseen worldas tho se which till recent years were current inEurope. 1 I n any case it is well to emphasize thepo int that the Buddhist “ hells are comparablenot with the eternal Hell of which Christian ityteaches , but rather with P urgato ry? E verlastingor eternal pun ishment is no t , and never was ,taught by Buddhism . Salvation is eventually tobe attained by all living beings , even by the verydevils themselves .

The second part of the name Ti-tsang mean sa storehou se or treasury . This , too , is symboli

cally descriptive of the pu sa, who se love and

compassion are an inexhaustible treasure whichis for ever pou red fo rth for the benefit of soulsin so rrow . The treasu re — house of Ti-tsang isOpen to the who le wo rld , and its riches aredistributed freely among all who seek them .

Not the mo st fo rlo rn and abject wretch in theprofoundest and mo st hideou s of the hells needbe without hope of sharing in the bounteou sgift s of Ti-tsang.

3

The Roman Catholic Church , as Dean Inge tells us,“ still

teaches not only that the purgato rial fire is material , but that it issituated in the middle of the earth (Personal Idealism andMysticism ,

p. The Dean is careful to add that educated Roman ists no longerbelieve this .

2 See p . 62 .

3 Of. the Catho lic theory of the Treasure of the Church, referred to

on p . 79 above .

TI -TSANG PUSA

This gracious pu sa appears as a speaker inseveral of the Mahayana sutras ; but it will bereadily understo od from what has been said inan earlier chapter that the Buddhists make no

attempt to identify the o riginal Ti tsang (asdistinct from his subsequent incarnationswith any historical personage . For the trueTi-tsang , as for the true Amitabha, Kuan-

yin ,

P ‘u -hsien , or Wen-shu , we may search historicalreco rds in vain . The great bodhisats areindependent of histo ry and unconditioned byspace and time . 1 Ju st as Buddhaho od can berealized only by him who has himself becomeBuddha, so Ti-tsang is truly knowable only bythe m an who has first sought and found his ownunfettered Self— an achievement which will befo llowed by the additional discovery that Titsang and all his fellow-

pusas are but as starflashes from the aureo le of Buddha , and thatBuddha and the unfettered Self are One .

But a creed that is to meet the religiousand emotional needs of the un learned multitudeas well as tho se of the philo sopher and themystic is obliged no t only to soar starwards, butalso to keep in touch with homely earth . Deity,if it would be recogn ized as such , mu st undergoa partial humanization ; the sublimest idealsmu st be interpreted in terms of human thoughtand knowledge — the divine , in sho rt , mustbecome incarnate .

1 See pp. 1 1 3-1 1 6 .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TI -TSANG PUSA [OH.

obviously intended to attune the reader’s imagination to the keynote of a celestial melody. Heis warned at once that the events to be relatedare on a far grander and vaster scale than ispo ssible or conceivable within the narrow boundsofmundane life . The un imaginable immensity ofthe number of spiritual beings who assemblefrom all the wo rlds of gods , angels , m en , and

demon s to do honour to Buddha is broughthome to us by Buddha’s open ing speech and

the an swer thereto . Buddha turn s to the greatpu sa Wen -shu and asks him whetherhe can count the number of these beings . Wenshu replies that even with the aid of supernatural power he would be unable to do so ,

though he were to devo te to this so le task athou sand aeons . We should be wrong if we wereto regard this merely as an example of Orientalgrandiloquence It is an attempt to make us

realize the utter futility of all effo rts to measurethe infinite, and an indication that we have beenlifted into a region in which mundane standardsand qualification s are inadequate and inapplic

able. This po int is emphasized by the fact thatthe confession of incapability is put into themouth of Wén-shu . If even he— the wisest of

all the pusas— is unable to answer Buddha’s

question , it would be obviou sly impo ssible forany one else to do so . Buddha himself, ofwhomit is said that there is nothing he does not know,

no thing he does not hear , no thing he does not

REDEMPTION OF MANKIND 1 77

see 1 -admits that the infin ite canno t be broughtwithin the scope of any intellectual pro cess .He go es on to explain that these countlessmyriads of spirits are the beings who throughimmeasurable ages of past and future time havebeen or will be brought to salvation by thepower of Ti-tsang ;and, in response to a requestfrom Wen-shu , Buddha tells the sto ry of Ti

tsang’

s Vow and its in calcu lable results .Ages ago , in a remote kalpa or $ 01 1 , the

future pusa was bo rn as a member of a certainnoble family , and became a devo ted disciple of

the Buddha ? Filled with religiou s enthusiasmand with intense pity for his suffering fellowmen , he swo re a so lemn oath , which was dulyregistered by the Buddha , that he wouldconsecrate his who le life — and all his futurelives for incalculable ages to the wo rk of

the redemption of sinful and miserable m an

kind . Never would he desist from his tasksuch was his vow— until , having brought allm en safely acro ss the river of life and death ,he had landed them on the sho res of Nirvana,and seen them pass into eternal beatitude.

[Eons passed away, and the successive re

1 This is quoted in a Chinese commentary on the Ti-tsang sfitra.

2 That is to say, the Buddha of that kalpa— since succeeded bymany o ther Buddhas , of whom Gotama was the last. The nextBuddha is to be Maitreya, who is still a bodhisat, dwelling in theTushita heaven , awaiting the day when he shall be born again on

earth and become Buddha.

TI-TSANG PUSA

incarnation s of the pusa were all marked byincessant acts of untiring altru ism and unswerv

ing devo tion to the welfare of man . At last,in a later kalpa ( still immeasurably remote fromthe present age) , he was rebo rn as a Brahmangirl . This maiden was V irtuous , religious , and

of exceptionally go od repute among both godsand m en ; her mo ther , on the contrary, was animpiou s heretic and a scoffer, to whom holythings were of no account. After an evil lifethe elder woman died unrepentant , as a resultof which she was condemned to the to rments ofthe Avichi hell . 1 The girl , who se knowledge of

the laws of yin-kuo ( cau se and effect) assured

her that her mother mu st have been reborn in

hell, devoted herself mo re heartily than ever togood works and religion , in the hope that shemight thereby ease her mother’s pain . One dayshe was kneeling in a sanctuary praying to

Buddha and weeping bitter tears becau se sheknew not what sufferings her mother wasundergo ing or how she could relieve them .

Suddenly she heard a vo ice. Dry your tears ,po or weeping saint , it said ; I will reveal to

you the place whither your mother has beentaken .

”

The un seen Buddha —for it was hethen bade the girl return home and ponder hisname silently and faithfully, after which thesecret of her mother’s abode would assuredly

1 The Chinese name of this , the last of the “ eight hot hells, ” isWu—chien , which sign ifies a place of un interrupted torment.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TI -TSANG PUSA

so dreadfu l as the second one ; and the secondis no t nearly as bad as the third .

”

The girlexplains that her object in coming to the confinesof hell is that she may find her mo ther. “ Mymother died a sho rt time ago ,

” she says , “and

I am in doubt as to where her sou l has gone .In answer to the devil-king’s question s she thengives him full details as to her m other’s nameand earthly residence ; whereupon he clasps hishands respectfully and assures her that all iswell , and that she may go home in comfort.“ Your mo ther , he says , “ is already in heaven .

Sinner as she was , she has been saved by thevirtue and filial piety of her saintly daughter.You have rescued your mo ther from the worstof the hells , and now she is at peace in P aradise.With these cheering words the devil departed ,and the Brahman girl fell into a trance , fromwhich she awoke amid the familiar surroundingsof her own home. Full of gratitude to Buddha ,she hurried off to the sanctuary in which shehad received his promise , and there she renewedthe oath made in a fo rmer age— that she wouldbecome a saviou r of mankind , and consecrateall her activities to the rescue of suffering sinnersfrom the pain s and so rrows incident to both lifeand death . Mordpspecially would she strive toassuage the miseries of tho se who were beingtormented in the underwo rld , nor would she con

sider her vow fulfilled until every sou l in hell hadbecome a partaker in the ineffable bliss of heaven .

THE MOTHER OF BUDDHA

The next part of the sutra describes howthroughout un imaginable ages and in countlesswo rlds Ti-tsang in his successive reincarnation shas been steadily carrying out his benevo lentpurpo se . I n the presence of all the divine beingswho have assembled in the Tao li paradise he nowreceives the blessing of Buddha , to whom he hasmade a repo rt of the wo rk already perfo rmed .

The first speaker in the next scene is theLady Maya , the “ Ho ly Mo ther ( Sheng Mu ) ,

who begs Ti-tsang to expound the nature of thepun ishments meted out to the wicked . Maya isthe traditional name of the earthly parent of

Gotama Buddha , and acco rding to a Mahayan isttheory she is “ the eternal Mo ther of all theBuddhas . ” 1 I n acco rdance with her req uest ,Ti-tsang pro ceeds to enumerate and describe thedifferent kinds of sin s which can on ly be expiatedin the Avichi hell. Into these detailed descriptions ,which are similar to tho se in numerou s sutrasand sermon-books , we need no t en ter. It isinteresting to no te that the list of sins is headed

fo llow are sacrilege , contempt for ho ly things , andirreverence towards the books of the Buddhistscriptu res .After a short dialogue between Buddha and

Ti-tsang on the subj ect of the wo rking of the

l

HIS53 A ik fl :F 61” 2 fl Here again we havea hint of the mystical truth that all the Buddhas are one .

T I -TSANG PUSA [ca

inexo rable law of karma (moral character in actionand its results) , Buddha gives a further account ,in an swer to a question put by a pu sa named Tingtzi

’

i-tsai (the Self-Existent of some of the actsof self-sacrifice perfo rmed by Ti-tsang in certainof his fo rmer incarnations . Once , for example ,he was bo rn as king of a country which was no tedfor the wickedness of its inhabitants , and throughlove and pity for his misguided subjects he sworethat he wou ld refu se to accept the rewards dueto his own virtue so long as a single man in his

kingdom remained en tangled in the meshes of viceor worldly delusion . In another age he was bo rnas a girl , and was known by the name of Brighteyes . 1 This damsel’s characteristic virtue was filialpiety, and the sto ry to ld of her is sim ilar inessentials to that of the Brahman girl .For the benefit of the Four Heavenly Kings 2

Buddha now explain s the doctrine of retribution ,

and enumerates the pun ishments that fo llow thedifferent classes of misdeeds . The importantBuddhist commandment “ Thou shalt not takelife is given special prominence in this chapter.To deprive any being of life , says our Chinesecommentato r on this passage , is one of the gravestof sins , from two po ints of view. In the first place,all m en and an imals in stinctively cling to life,and are therefore bound to respect life in others .In the second place— and this is a far graver consideration — all living beings , even the lowest

1 Kuang-mu.

2ta t‘ien-wang.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

vm .] P‘U-HSIEN PUSA

in sects , are sharers in the Buddha -nature ; to

commit needless and wanton slaughter , therefore ,is to incu r the gu ilt of killing a Buddha . The

commentato r gives several little anecdotes to

illustrate the text . For example , he tells us

that once upon a time there was a wealthy noblewho had an only son . The son married a wife.Seven days after the wedding he climbed a tree topluck blo ssoms to m ake a garland for his bride ,but he fell from a branch and was killed . The

noble , overcome with grief, visited Buddha and

besought him to explain what he had done todeserve so severe a calamity as the lo ss of his onlyson . Long ago ,

” said Buddha , there was a boywho went out with a bow and arrows to shootbirds. Three m en were with him and gave himencouragement. That boy was no o ther than yourown son in a fo rmer incarnation ;and you yourselfand your wife and your son ’s bride were the threewho encou raged him in his cruel spo rt. ”

The next speaker is P ‘u -hsien pu sa , 1 at who se

request Ti-tsang gives an account of the varioushells which he has visited for the purpo se of savingsouls . When this is con cluded Buddha arisesand exhorts all pusas and spiritual beings to

protect and keep ho ly this sutra concern ing theVow of Ti-tsang, so that through the sanctityand spiritual efficacy of its words all m en mayreach the heaven of Nirvana. As he speaks , all

the myriad worlds comprising the who le universe1 The patron divinity ofOmei-shan. See p. 1 47.

TI-TSANG PUSA [CH.

are illuminated by a radiant light which emanatesfrom his transfigured person . He go es on to

describe the resu lts of a true and devout faithin Ti-tsang. Devo tion to this pusa will infalliblybring peace and happiness to tho se in pain , sickness , or so rrow , and will be a sure pro tectionto all who are in danger or are disturbed by evilspirits . 1

After a religious dialogue between Ti-tsang andan

“ elder named Ta P ien ( “ Great Argument”

)concerning death and judgment and rebirth , wecome to the mo st dramatic event described inthe sutra— the arrival of Yenlo —wang (Yama) ,the king of hell , with a vast crowd of great devilkings ” and “ small devil - kings . Yenlo kneelsbefo re Buddha and explain s that he and hisdiabo lical company have been enabled to paythis visit to the Tao li heaven through the spiritualmight of Buddha himself and that of the pu saTi-tsang, and that they have come to implorethe Wo rld-honoured One to remove their doubtsand perplexities concern ing the nature of Ti-tsang

’

s

great wo rk of redemption and rescue , especiallywith reference to tho se backsliding souls to whom

Reverence to Ti-tsang may be shown in many ways . One of themconsists , we are told, in making copies of this sutra. The copying or

reprinting of any portion of the Buddhist scriptures is always re

garded by Chinese Buddhists as an act of great religious m erit. Thisis why we constantly find at the end of monastery -editions of thesacred books a list of the names of all who subscribed towards the costof printing. Such names usually include those of monks

,nun s , and

lay-believers . It sometimes happens , as we shall see , that a monk or

hermit uses his own blood in making cOpies of the scriptures or indrawing portraits of his favourite pusa.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TI-TSANG PUSA

single flower before Buddha’s throne , or the devoutrecital of one verse of a hymn of praise— whenwe come to the hou se of such a one as this , wedemons will ho ld such man or woman in highesthonour. Let but the ho ly Buddhas , past , present,and to come , vouchsafe to grant the permissionwe crave , and it will then be our privilege to actas guardian -spirits of the homes of all righteousm en andgwom en and to prevent disaster , sickness ,and misfo rtune from approaching their doo rs . ”

To this remarkable speech Buddha makesa graciou s reply , commending Evil P o ison ”

and

his fellow demon s for their laudable desire torange themselves on the side of virtue.

You and your compan ions , and Yenlohimself, ” says Buddha, “ are empowered to guardand watch over good m en and go od women ;and 1 wiH command the lo rd Indra , the mightyguardian of devas , to become your divine patron .

With regard to this reference to the godIndra , it may be observed that the Brahmandeities , when allowed to figure in Buddhistmytho logy, are always kept in their properplace of subordination . A god like Indrahas earned his divine po sition by go od karma ,but the accumulated merit which sent him to

heaven will in time be exhau sted , and he willrevert to a condition perhaps inferior to thatof m en . The gods are treated with com

paratively slight respect by Buddhism ,because

they , like m en , are still subject to the law

THE LORD OF FATE

of change . They are inferio r no t only to aBuddha , but to any one who has advanced so

far along the ro ad to Buddhahood that heis hencefo rth in no danger of retrogression .

According to the Buddhist theo ry , mo reover ,the state of Buddhaho od is never reacheddirect from any of the “ heaven s ” of theBrahman system . The “

god”

who aims atBuddhaho od must be bo rn again as man in

o rder that he may arrive at bodhisatship,which

is the final stage sho rt of Buddhahood .

1

The next speaker is a demon who bearsthe impo sing name of Chu -ming Lo rd ofFate“ My lo t , he says , addressing Buddha , “ is tocontro l the destiny of all m en in respect of

bo th their lives and their deaths . His own

earnest desire , he explains , is that happinessshall be the lo t of all mankind : men ’s failureto attain happiness is not due to him , or to

any other power or influence outside themselves , but is attributable entirely to theirown lack o f righteou sness and their own erro rs .The greater part of his speech is concernedwith the religious and ceremon ial Observanceswhich , he says , are rightly asso ciated with thetwo extremes of human life . He tells us thatthe spirits and demons ho stile to man are apt toshow special activity at the time of birth and in

the hour of death . They assail the woman in

childbirth , because it is their malignant desire1 Of. p. 68.

TI-TSANG PUSA

to injure or destroy her offspring ; they assailthe dying, becau se they desire to gain po ssession of the discarnate soul and make it theirplaything in hell. It is therefo re of greatimpo rtance that m en should be pro vided withproper safeguards when they enter and whenthey make their exits from the stage of life.A woman in childbirth , we are to ld , must on

no account be fed on a flesh diet o r given any

fo od which has invo lved the slaughter of aliving an imal This injunction is not merelya reiteration of the Buddhist commandmentagain st killing , but is based on sympatheticmagic . If the woman spares the lives of

o ther beings , so will her own offspring liveand pro sper ; if she causes the destruction of

other lives , so will the fru it of her own wombpine and die . Again , when a man draws nearto death , and sickness or old age clouds hisjudgment and numbs his facu lties

,the evil

spirits who are waiting for his soul will appearbefo re his dying eyes in deceitful and seductiveshapes , diverting his mind from thoughts of

the Buddhas . Let him defeat the devils byreading the scriptures and calling upon thenames of the ho ly ones . Un less his life hasbeen so bad that no thing can save him fromthe pain s of hell , the baffled devils will assuredlyleave him unharmed . Chu-ming himself undertakes to further the good cause which Ti-tsanghas at heart by do ing his best to rescue sinners

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TI-TSANG PUSA

expression . Images of the Buddhas may beof go ld or silver or copper or iron , and theymay be expo sed to public reverence in a shrinemade of clay or stone or bamboo or timberso says the text. But let us remember , saysthe commentator , that the truth which theseoutward shows are intended to shadow forthhas no lo cal habitation , nor can it be said to

belong to north , south , east , or west— that isto say , it has no spatial relations . The imageserves its purpo se if it helps to bring thehuman spirit into commun ion with the divine ,but it is rightly to be regarded as a meansand not as an end.

This view of images is undoubtedly that of

educated Buddhists in China — though the nu

educated and superstitiou s multitude, to whoseminds nothing is conceivable as having realexistence unless it is cognizable by the bodilysenses , and who do no t understand the usesof symbo lism , are of course prone to becomemere worshippers of stone and clay , in Cantonor Peking as in Mo scow or Rome.

The sutra next introduces us to one of thegreatest of the pusas, Kuan -

yin— the glorious

being who , as we have seen ,

1 is one of thethree divin ities who preside o ver the so-calledWestern Paradise , and who ,

like Ti-tsang , isa gu ide and saviour of mankind. In this sfitra

Kuan-yin is only brought in to give Buddha an

1 See p. 1 03.

FAITH IN T I-TSANG

oppo rtun ity of showering further praises on

Ti-tsang , who is here described as the supporterand comfo rter of the poo r, the hungry, the sick ,the Oppressed , the dying, and the dreamer of

evil dreams . The believer in Ti-tsang mayascend dangerou s mountain s , traverse tracklessforests , cro ss deep rivers and seas , travel on

robber haunted roads he need on ly repeatwith faith the name of Ti—tsang , and he willbe surrounded and pro tected by the gho stlyguardian s of the so il , 1 who all reverence that

pusa’

s name . Travelling or resting , waking or

sleeping, the believer will always be attendedby an invisible bodyguard ; even wild beastsand po isonou s reptiles will be powerless to do

him harm . Not if he spoke for a hundredthousand kalpas, says Sakyamun i , could heexhaust the manifo ld blessings that resu ltfrom a good man ’s faith in Ti-tsang. Finally,Sakyamun i stretches fo rth his arm and tou chesthe pusa

’

s head .

“ Oh Ti-tsang , Ti-tsang , he says , “ yourspiritual might is beyond the reach of thought.So too are your loving pity , your knowledge, andyour wisdom . If all the Buddhas were to spendinnumerable ages in declaring the glo ry of yourworks , they would no t be able to say all that isyour due .

He then encourages Ti-tsang to continue hisbenevo lent task of saving tho se who are still in

1 T‘u-tikueishén.

TI -TSANG PUSA

the burn ing hou se of sin and delusion and

watching over them so that they may fall intomisery no mo re. Finally he declares thatowing to Ti tsang

’

s transcendent virtue asredeemer

,salvation will be extended not merely

to tho se who have lived good lives , but also to

tho se who have sown only a minute numberof good seeds , tho se who se personal merit isas small as a hair , o r a speck of du st, or agrain of sand , or a drop of water. In thevery j aws of hell Ti-tsang will come to theirhelp and set them free .

Ti-tsang now kneels befo re the throne of

Buddha and, clasping his hands , so lemnly repeatshis promise to devote himself to the salvation of

mankind. A speech in praise of Ti-tsang by afellow-pusa named Hsii-k‘ung-tsang is followedby a final address by Sakyamuni , who enumeratestwenty-eight different kinds of blessings whichwill be conferred upon tho se who choo se Ti-tsangfor their patron and saviour. The last of thetwenty-eight is the attainment of Buddhahood.

The clo sing scene shows Sakyamun i and

Ti-tsang receiving the homage of the who le vastassembly of pusas and o ther spiritual beings bywhom the Taoli heaven is thronged . Celestialhands bring offerings of heavenly raiment and

j ewels , and showers of sweet-scented blo ssoms fall atthe feet of the Lord Buddha and the great pu sa.

To one of the modern editions of this satra 11 The reference is to the edition published at Ku-shan in 1886.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TI-TSANG PUSA

contents will justify us in dispensing withan examination of many similar sfitras dealingwith tho se great pusas— Wen -shu , P

‘u-hsien , and

Kuan-yin who ,with Ti-tsang , are religiously

asso ciated with our Four Famou s Mountains . 1

Next to no thing about the cult of Ti-tsang(who se very name will be strange to manyWestern readers ) is to be found in Europeanbo oks on Chinese Buddhism ; and the little thatexists is by no mean s free from erro r. It hasbeen suppo sed , for in stance , that he is “ the rulerof hell , and a student of Buddhism has evenhazarded the suggestion that he is rightly to beidentified with Yama— the Chinese Yenlo . Thatthese conjectures are erroneou s the reader of

the forego ing pages is now aware. It is not

difficult to see how the mistake has arisen . Itwas vaguely understood that prayers are addressedto Ti-tsang on behalf of tho se who are suppo sedto be suffering the pain s of hell , and it was knownthat the ruler, o r one of the rulers , of hell is abeing named Yenlo : therefo re ( so it was assumed)Ti-tsang and Yenlo are one and the same . We

now know , however , that Ti-tsang is a blessedpu sa, a glo rious saviour-deity , who visits hell onlyon errands of love and mercy ; whereas Yenlo ,

king and judge among devils , is himself one of

the damned. It is true that a popular title of

Ti-tsang is Yu-ming—chiao-chn— Lo rd and Teacher,

or Pope, of the Underworld— and that ano ther1 See p. 1 47.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 96 TI -TSANG PUSA

and his fo llowers would agree to be reborn in

hell . Thereupon eighteen generals suddenly madetheir appearance at the head of a million warriors ,all of whom fought on his side with terrificrage and ferocity. The battle was soon won ,

and the king marched V ictoriou sly through theterrito ry of his defeated neighbour. But the

oath was not fo rgo tten , for the king in his nextincarnation was bo rn as principal king of hell.The eighteen generals became the eighteen minorkings , and their million warrio rs were also rebornin hell as demon-lictors .Yenlo as king of hell po ssesses a grand palace

,

and multitudes of servile devils are always athis beck and call ; but his life is no t unmixedlyhappy. Three times every twenty four hourshis majesty is seized by a band of devils and

laid flat on a sco rching frying-pan . His mouthis then forced open with an iron hook , and astream of mo lten copper is pou red down histhroat. After this he is set at liberty and

allowed to amuse himself with the female devilsof his court until the time comes for thepun ishment to be repeated.

Yenlo is somet imes described as a shuang —wang ,

or double-king. This is really a Chinese translation of the Sanskrit Yama , which means “ twin .

”

According to one interpretation , the word shuangdouble has referen ce to the king’s alternatingexperiences in hell , the to rture of the bo ilingcopper being always succeeded by the exhilarating

EVIL NOT ETERNAL 1 97

compan ionship of the demon-ladies . But , acco rding to ano ther view , the wo rd implies that Yenlopo ssesses two personalities— male and female .In Indian legend , as we have seen ,

the two

are known as Yama and Yami, who as bro ther

and sister ho ld jo int rule over the den izens of hell .This literal interpretation of the term shnang hasnot commended itself to Chinese Buddhists , bywhom the existence of Yami is u sually igno red .

Acco rding to the Buddhists , Yenlo has beenone of hell ’s chief kings for countless past ages ,and a king of hell he must remain for a longtime to come . But neither he nor any otherinhabitant of that dismal region is regarded aseternally damned . It is impo rtant that we shouldremember that the do ctrine of everlasting or

eternal pun ishment is no t inculcated by Buddhism ,

and would , indeed , be utterly repugnant to theBuddhist theo ry of spiritual evo lution . Everyliving being will sooner or later attain the blissof Buddhahood , and from this rule the souls inhell are no t excepted . This being so , we needno t be surprised to find that in Buddhism thereis no recogn ition of the existence of a spiritof unmitigated evil . There is no Satan : theinnumerable hells of darkness and pain arethronged by the spirits of m en and womenlangu ishing in utter misery, but among theseto rtured ho sts there is no t a single soul thatwill not at last purge itself from all sin and

foulness and win its way to the light.

TI-TSANG PUSA

To the believing Buddhist , then , the taskundertaken by the compassionate Ti-tsang is nota vain or hopeless one . In bursting the gates ofhell by the touch of his staff, and in dispellinghell ’s darkness with the radiance of his wondrousjewel , he is but hasten ing an inevitable con

summation the triumph of good and theann ihilation of all evil. Thus it is , as we haveseen in our sutra , that the very king of helland his devils jo in the saints of heaven in offeringpraise and honour to Ti-tsang.

1 So far are Yenloand his fellow-devils from regarding Ti-tsang astheir enemy that they themselves vo lunteer tohasten the final defeat of evil by shielding allvirtuou s men and women from moral or physicalinjury ? This implies not only that the veryfiends are engaged in wo rking their upward waytowards the light, but also that only the wickedare in any danger of falling even temporarilyinto the hands of demons . Like the Lady inM ilton ’s Camus, the truly virtuou s and pureminded man or woman will pass unharmedthrough the serried ranks of evil spirits . Thatthe religious imagination of the West should

1 Every one is familiar with the saying about Satan’s sick - bedrepentance when the devil was ill the devil a monk would be

,

” etc.I t is curious to note that a very similar observation has been made ofVen lo , who in the midst of his torments in hell is said to have swornan oath that when he is released from pun ishment and born again as a

man he will enter the monkhood. But the Buddhist fancy, unlike that

of the Christian satirist, assumes that the devil will not go back on hiswo rd.

2 See pp . 185-6, 187-9.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TI-TSANG PUSA [OH.

comforter , and loving friend of dead children?P erhaps religious reverie has seldom evo lved amo re pleasing fancy than this — that the sternvanqu isher of hell , the bearer of the wo rld’sburden s , the steadfast hero who se duty it is tostrive with ho sts of demon s and to face theghastliest terro rs of the underwo rld , is at thesame time the gentlest and mo st lovable of

spiritual beings , the tender playmate of littlechildren?A Chinese monk describes Ti-tsang thus : He

is the guide and coun sello r of m en during theages that must elapse between the passing awayof the last Buddha (Sakyamun i) and the comingof the next (Maitreya). He is the ship of mercythat conveys mankind acro ss the perilous seas ofpain and sorrow ; the to rch that illumines thedark ways of our earthly life ; the path thatleads direct to heaven ;the gate that open s uponthe Way of the Buddha . Ano ther commentatorobserves that ordinary well-mean ing m en think

1 A charming account of the Jiz 6 cult may be found in LafcadioHearn ’s Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan , i . 34 fl: (London : He

describes a certain sculptured image of Jiz o as a dream in white stoneof the playfellow of dead children , like a beautiful young boy, withgracious eyelids half-closed, and face made heaven ly by such a smile ason ly Buddhist art could have imagined— the smile of infinite lovingness and supremest gentleness .

”

For the portraits of Jiz <3 in thisbook I am indebted to a Japanese Buddhist scholar , Mr Tachibana.

2 I should like to draw my reader’s attention to a striking passagein Mr A. C. Benson ’s semi-allegorical picture of the world beyond thegrave in his Child of the Dawn, pp . 205-6. The Lord of the Tower ofPain , the most tried and trusted of all the servants ofGod, ” who hadto endure all the pain of countless worlds , ” proved to be “ the mostbeautiful and gracious sight of all that I saw in my pilgrimage .

”

VI I I .] T I-TSANG’

S LOVE FOR MANKIND 201

first of securing their own salvation , and thencon sider the advisability of saving others ; butTi-tsang puts the welfare of every creature in theun iverse befo re his own . Another writes thu s

The great teacher Ti-tsang countless agesago uttered a mo st so lemn vow that he wouldtake upon himself the sin s and burdens of allcreatures in all the six states of existence , 1and that he would teach and exhort men to

ho ld fast to the true religion so as to promo tethe development of all virtue . P atiently heendures angu ish and to il , for he is greatly com

passionate and greatly pitiful .” 1

Ti-tsang’

s chief claims to religious reverenceare his love for mankind , his willingness to bearthe burden s of all sufferers , and his victoriousdescents into hell for the purpo se of releasingtormen ted souls. In View of the fact that thesefunctions or qualities have parallels in the mythsand do ctrines of several religiou s systems outsideChina , the Western reader will naturally askwhether there is here any evidence of indebtednessto Christian ity? The general problem of a po ssible

2Quoted in Ti-tsang Fenyuan-chuig K

‘o-chu.

3 Christ' s descent into hell was not an article of the Christian faithat the time of the composition of the earliest form of the so-calledApostles’ Creed. The descendit ad mferos does not appear in the Creedtill after the m iddle of the fourth century, though the doctrine itselfseems to have been traditional in the Church at a much earlier period .It is quite possible that the tradition was of independen t growth andowed nothing to any non-Christian source. The theorIes as to themotive of the descen t into hell have been numerous . In the “ Faith

TI-TSANG PUSA

contact between the two great religious systemsof East and West has already been considered ,and we found reason for su specting that neitherChristianity nor Buddhism directly borrowed fromthe other, but that to a certain limited extent bothavailed themselves of common sto res of religiousmaterial common no t only to Christian and

Buddhist creed makers , but also to the buildersof o ther religiou s systems? It is very po ssible,mo reover , that some of the numerous legendsabout the descent of saviours and hero es into thenether world sprang up qu ite independently of oneanother. Such legends are to be found in thereligious and literary tradition s of peoples as widelyseparated as the Greeks , the Finns , the WestAfricans , the American Indians , the South SeaIslanders and the Japanese. Coming nearer tothe regions from which bo th Christianity and theMahayana seem to have drawn some of theirdo ctrinal material, we find that the Mandmans

made their Hibil Z iwa the hero of a descensus ad

of St Jerome (discovered in 1 903) we have the words crucified,buried , descended into hell , trod down the sting of death, rose again thethird day.

"The more usual theory ( taken from the First Epistle of

Peter and a few other texts) is that Christ’s descent was for the

purpose of preaching to the “ spirits in prison — words which mayhave formed the basis of what has been called “

one of the mostbeautiful of legends , that of the deliverance ofAdam’s spirit from thenether world by the Christ . ” — Dr T . K . Cheyne in Encycl. Brit.( 1 1 th i. 1 70. He po ints out that the earliest form of thelegend is a Christian interpolation in a Jewish text

, and adds thatwe may compare a partly parallel passage where the agent isMichael.

1 See above, pp. 37-39.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TI -TSANG PUSA

process was the religion we now know asHinduism ;but befo re that pro cess was completeit would have puzzled many a Chinese Buddhistand many a native of India to o — to say whereBuddhism ended and Hinduism began ;and thereis no doubt that a great deal of Hinduism enteredChina under the au spices o f a Buddhism whichhad already lo st much of its own self-con sciousness.While studying the beliefs relating to the

various divine or semi divine personages whoo ccupy prominent po sition s in the Mahayanamytho logy, we canno t fail to be struck by thefrequent repetitions of the same ideas in slightlydifferent fo rms . We shall often find that all ornearly all the qualities and functions ascribedto this or that pu sa are identical with thoseascribed to others , and the Western mind willbe very apt to grow impatient at the apparentlyneedless multiplication of divine personalities allpo ssessing the same or very similar characteristics.Practically all that has been said of Ti-tsang , forexample , might be tran sferred without materialalteration to Kuan yin ; even in his errands of

mercy to tortured sou ls in hell Ti-tsang can layclaim to no originality, for Kuan-

yin is creditedwith explo its of precisely the same kind? The

vows taken by the saviour—bodhisats are all verymuch the same , and mo st of the Mahayana sutrasdescribing the deeds and virtues of the pusas

1 Vajrapani(see the Bodhicharyavatara ofSanti-Deva) is also supposedto visit hell on errands ofmercy .

vm .] MAHAYANA MYSTICISM

might easily be applied , with the alteration of

very little besides names , to the celebration of

each of the great pusas in turn . We should bewrong , however , if we were to conclude thatthese facts prove a lack of o riginality in thereligious imagination of the Buddhist writers .No serious attempt is made by them to disguisethe resemblances between one pusa and ano theron the contrary, such resemblances often seem to

be given almo st unnecessary emphasis, as thoughthe writers wished to compel the least thoughtfu lreader or worshipper to comprehend something ofthe un ity that underlies all external man ifestation sof religiou s energy . It is the belief of theMahayana mystics that all the Buddhas and

bodhisats are ultimately an undifferentiated One ,which con stitutes the only Reality . He whoho lds this belief may worship Ti-tsang at thesacred hill of Chiu -hua or elsewhere , but in do ingso he will know that through Ti-tsang he is payingreverence to Kuan -

yin andWén -shu and P ‘u -hsien

and all the myriad Buddhas and pusas in allthe myriad wo rlds that comprise the un iverse.Similarly, at Wut‘ai he will praise the ho ly nameof Wen-shu ,

at Omei that of P ‘u-hsien , at Putothat of Kuan -

yin ;but he will know that the realobject of his wo rship has been in all cases the same.

These conception s are beyond the reach of

the majo rity of the throng ofwo rshippers who yearby year ascend the steep pilgrim path of thebeautiful mountain of Chiu hua. The object of

TI-TSANG PUSA [OH. VIII .

their quest is Ti-tsang and Ti-tsang only, for tothem he is no phantom , no mere abstraction , but

a powerful deity who can and will be a guide andprotecto r to suffering human ity, especially in thedark ways of death. Yet some of the pilgrimsknow that it is not in images of clay or bronz ethat they can hope to find the real Ti-tsang, andthey, while perfo rming all the outward rites thatare expected of them , will look for Ti-tsang not

in garn ished temple or in curtained shrine, butrather in the secret places of their own hearts.E ach human being is himself the bearer of thestaff that will break open the gates of hell , and

the po ssesso r of the j ewel that will illumine thedarkness through which his own soul is groping.

So long as he is sunk in sen su ou s delusion , or in

sin , or in selfishness , or is led astray by the falseglare of worldly wealth and honours , he will beencompassed by all the dangers that beset a blindman who is wandering gu ideless in a strange land ;but deep in his inmo st nature ( ti) there is stored( tsang ) a treasure which , if he will only clear awaythe dust and rubbish under which it lies concealed,will assuredly prove to be everlastingly preciousand inco rruptible. Similarly, the only hell thatman need fear is the hell that he creates forhimself out of his own evil thoughts and deeds .Purity of thought is Ti-tsang

’

s jewel,strength of

character is his staff, and these are the weaponsagain st which the gates of hell shall no t prevail.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

CHAPTER IX

THE PRINCE-HERM I T OF CHIU-HUA AND

HI S SUCCE SSORS

AT the commencement of the fo rego ing chapterit was mentioned that Ti—tsang was the patrondivin ity of Chiu-hua-shan , but nothing has yetbeen said to indicate any connection betweenthe pusa and the mountain . The story whichasso ciates the two is so on to ld .

About the middle of the eighth century of

our era a certain fo reigner named Chin Ch‘iaochio ,

‘ a native of a country named Hsin -lo

(acco rding to the modern P ekingese sounds) ,came to China by sea and landed on the coastof Kiangsu . He was a man of wealth and

con sequence in his own country, for he wasa prince of the royal house and a near relative of the king ; but riches and high po sitionhad no attraction for Ch‘iao -chio , who se temperamen t was deeply religiou s , and who longedfor nothing better than to become a life longdisciple of Buddha . It was in the gu ise of a

1 Ch‘z’

ao-chio, which may be translated “ Lofty En lightenment,was his fa-ming, or name in religion ;Chin was what we should callhis surname.

208THE PRINCE-HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA [CH. IX.

humble Buddhist monk that in or about theyear 741 he set out from his native land , hisonly object being to wander among the holymountain s of central China until he shouldhave the good fo rtune to find among themsome home of peace in which to spend thetranqu il life of a contemplative recluse . His

cho ice was so on made . No so oner had heespied the cloud -piercing heights of Chiu - hua

than he felt impelled to explo re its deepest andloneliest recesses , and thither he made a path forhimself through the brambles and brushwoodand tangled creepers . I n this secluded regionthe princely hermit dwelt contentedly, iso latedfrom human compan ionship , and dependent forsubsistence on the wild herbs of the hillside.But though separated from mankind , he wasnot neglected by beings of another o rder ;spiritual beings were his compan ion s and pro

tectors , and we are to ld that o nce when he wasbitten by a venomou s an imal his wound wastended by a fairylike creature who caused amiraculous stream of healing waters to issuefrom a ro ck.

By degrees the fame of the reclu se spreadfar and wide among the people of the neighbouring plains . In the year 756 a man named Chuko Chieh and a party of friends from the districtcity Visited him in his mountain retreat , and

found him sitting meditatively in the stone butwhich he had built for himself. Lookingfiinto

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

921 0 THE PRINCE-HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA [CH.

strange thing happened , however, when thebody was lifted up : for the bones gave forth asound like the rattling of go lden chains. Re

m embering a passage in their sacred bookswhich tells how the relics of a pusa may beknown by the fact that when touched or liftedthey give forth the sound of rattling chains, themonks realized for the first time that theirmaster was indeed divine ;1 and when theyreflected on the boundless love and tendernessof his nature they felt assu red that he couldhave been no o ther than an incarnation of theloving and pitiful pu sa Ti-tsang . This beliefwas confirmed by the miracle which took placeafter the body of the saint had been laid in itsnew tomb ; for out of the ground came fortha tongue of fire which curled itself upwards and

remained for a long time suspended over thegrave like a flaming aureo le .Miracles apart , there is no reason to doubt

that Chin Ch‘iao -chio was a real person , that hewas a native of a country called Hsin-lo , and

that he spent many years of his life as a hermiton Chiu-hua-shan . But where was the kingdomof Hsin-lo ? It has always been assumed by thefew European travellers and missionaries who

1 There seems to have been a somewhat similar superstition withregard to the bodies of Christian saints . We are to ld

, for example , thatafter the sacred bones of Pascal Baylon had been enshrined , a noiseand a clatter could be heard from within the relic shrine every timethe Host was raised above the altar, as if the bones had knockedagainst the walls of the chest (Yrjo Hirn

’s The Sacred Sim/no,

1 91 2 , p.

1x. ] KINGDOM OF HSIN-LO

have mentioned the saint of Hsin-lo that hewas a prince of Siam . This assumption iserroneou s , though the mistake on the part of

Europeans may be readily excused when wefind that it has also been made by nativescho lars . An examination of the histo ricalreco rds of Chiu -hua and a scrutiny of variousstone tablets preserved in the mountainmonasteries reveal the fact that the prince’shome is sometimes described as Hsin -10 (ii)? at )and sometimes as Hsien -lo (ii fi ) . Hsien -lo isthe o rdinary Chinese name for Siam ; Hsin-lo isthe almo st fo rgo tten name of a certain kingdomof south-eastern Iforea , which became extinct inthe tenth century of the Christian era . A

perusal of the in scriptions and reco rds makes itclear that the recluse of Chiu -hua was not anative of Siam but a native of the Koreankingdom of Hsin 10 or ( to adopt the nativepronunciation of the Chinese characters) Sil-la.

The confusion obviously aro se from the carelessness or ignorance of some Chinese monks of theMing and Ch‘ing dynasties who , having neverheard of the long extinct kingdom in southeastern Ko rea , assumed that the word Hsin-lo

was merely an erroneous or old-fashioned variantofHsien -lo .

1

That no prince from Siam could have travelledto China in the eighth century is sufficiently

1 The matter is sensibly discussed, and a correct conclusion cometo , in the Chiu-hua-shcm -ch'ih, x . 2fl

”

.

2 1 2 THE PRINCE-HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA [CH.

obviou s from the fact that it was no t till a muchlater period that the southern section of the Tairace succeeded in establishing a kingdom on whatwe now kn ow as the Gu lf of Siam . The greatsouthward movement of the race was mainly theresult of certain impo rtant political events inChina , which did no t take place till the thirteenthcentury, and it is hardly correct to speak of akingdom of Siam until about a hundred yearslater. A Taiprince of the eighth century wouldprobably have entered China through Yunnan ,

which was at that time under the contro l of varioussections of the Tairace. A clue to our princelywanderer’s real place of origin is to be found inhis own surname , which is given in all the recordsas Chin or Kin Now if we turn to thescanty annals of the old Ko rean kingdom of Sil-la,we find that this was indeed the name (pronouncedKeum in Korean ) of the line of kings whoo ccupied the throne at the very time when ChinCh‘iao -chio is said to have com e to Chiu -hua-shan .

Further , it may be observed that the monasticreco rds of other parts of Central China containample evidence that there was frequent intercoursebetween the Buddhists of Ko rea and tho se of

China ; and the reclu se of Chiu-hua was by no

means the first or the last native of Sil-la totake up his residence in a Chinese monastery.

The beginn ings of the kingdom of Sil-laare ascribed to the first century B .C . It was one

o f the three ancient Ko rean states , the others

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

2 1 4 THE PRINCE -HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA [CH.

regarded it as a spur of the Huang mountain ,

which lies to the south , and which , with its thirtysix haunted peaks and its ho t springs , has alwayshad a great reputation as the home of Tao ist“ immo rtals. The shadowy Emperor Huang-ti

( 2698 is said to have travelled thither inthe company of a wizard named Fou-ch‘iu , hispurpo se being the same as that which moved himto visit Omei-shan and o ther mountains — the

mastery of the secret o f longevity. This was apursu it in which , if the Chinese dates of thoseremo te ages are to be tru sted , he met with verycreditable success , for he reigned for a hundredyears

,and then (according to some autho rities)

went to heaven without dying.

Among other distingu ished Tao ists who visitedChiu—hua is Tou Po -

yii, who lived about 1 00 B .C.

He becam e magistrate of the neighbouring districtcity, and set himself to govern the people inacco rdan ce with the precepts of Lao -t zii. On

one o ccasion he went a-fishing and caught a whitedragon , which he promptly released . The dragon ’sgratitude was such that Ton became endowedwith magic powers , arid at the end of his longlife the white dragon came and carried him off

to Paradise. His two daughters also attainedimmo rtality by tran sfo rming themselves into apair of wild ducks and flying after their father.

Still mo re famous was K0 Hung , who livedin the fourth century of our era . He was inthe habit ofwandering from mountain to mountain

WIZ ARDS AND BUDDHIST MONKS 21 5

in o rder to pry into nature’s secrets and to co llectthe ingredients of the elixir of life ;but he foundtime to write , under the name of Pao P ‘

o -tzii,

a curiou s and fascinating book about Tao istmarvels , and he also compo sed biographies of thehsien -j én , or mountain rishi .Yet another Tao ist expert who Visited Chiu

hua in his rambles was Chang Kuo -lao , of theseventh and eighth centuries . He was himselfa noted hsz

’

en -j én , and he is classed among theselect company of the P a H sien , or E ight Rishi ,who are very familiar figures in Chinese art and

legend .

1

The first Buddhist monk who lived at Chiuhua is said to have been one P eiTu , a pilgrimfrom , and native of, India. He reached themountain in the year 401 of our era and erecteda small hermitage . Our authorities differ as tothe name and situation of this bu ilding. Somesay the founder styled it the ‘Chiu-hua-ssii, and

that it subsequently gave its name to themountain . Others say he cho se the name becauseit was already that of the mountain . It is alsosaid that in the year 780 the Throne offi ciallyrecogn ized the existence of this monastery and

changed its name to Huai-ch‘éng

-ssi’

i. On theo ther hand , the weight of authority supports the

1 There is a hill in the Weihaiwei territory (at present underBritish rule) which , according to the local fo lklore, was cut in half byChang Kuo-lao . One half was carried off to Manchuria for somemysterious reason , the other half remains in situ , and is still known as

pan-pi

-shan,the cut -ih -half hill .

2 1 6 THE PRINCE-HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA [CH.

View that the Hua-ch ‘eng-ssiiwas no o ther thanthe monastery which was bu ilt for Chin Ti-tsangby Sheng Yil and his friends ;and it is certainlythe case that the saint’s name has always beenasso ciated with this monastery , which to this day

( after many demo lition s and resto rations ) remainsthe principal religiou s hou se on the mountainand the centre of the cult of Ti-tsang. It is byno mean s impo ssible, however , that Shéng Yii

’

s

monastery was bu ilt on the site of an olderhermitage which , three and a half centuriesearlier , had been the home of the m onk P eiTu .

Thu s both sto ries may contain truth , and weshall perhaps be no t far wrong if we concludethat though the Buddhistic histo ry of Chiu -hua

go es back to the year 401,the mountain owes

its sanctity mainly to the fact that an incarnatepu sa cho se it as his dwelling—place about themiddle of the eighth century .

As to the name of the mountain , the bestautho rities agree that the o ld name was Chiu -tzi

'

i

shan , which may po ssibly be taken to mean theMountain of the Nine Philo sophers , and perhaps contained a reference to the row of peakswhich crown the summit of the range and giveit a fantastic appearance when viewed against thesky-line from the plain below. The alteration of

the name to Chiu -hua — “ Nine Flowers — isascribed to the great T ‘ang dynasty po et Li Po( eighth century) who seems to have paid his firstVisit to the mountain not long befo re the arrival

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

2 18 THE PRINCE-HERMIT or CHIU-HUA (on.

that given him by a bro ther-bard— the BanishedAngel . ” 1 Another of the titles genially bestowedupon

_him by his admirers was the “ InspiredDrunkard for Li P o , like many a poet beforeand since his time , loved to see the “ beadedbubbles winking at the brim When he wasa little boy , it is said , he had a dream that fromthe tip of his brush-pen there burst fo rth sweetscented flowers.

2 No one who is qualified to judgeof Li P o ’

s poetry will deny that the dream cametrue and that the flowers are immortal.Chin Ti-tsang himself is said to have wielded

the pen of both poet and essayist with verycreditable results . 3 A little poem by the recluseis preserved in the annals of Chiu-hua. It consistsof an eight-line stanza , and is addressed to a boywho had long been his faithful servant and

companion , on the eve of the boy’s return to thebusy world of the plain s . In English prose thegracefulness of the o riginal is lo st , but its generalsen se may be expressed thu s

Lonely and still is the life of the recluse , andyour heart longs for home. Bid farewell, my boy,to this cloudland hermitage, and then leave the

1 This is Professor H. A. Giles’s translation of the Chinese words

tse hsz‘

en .

9 The same story is told of the fifth-century poet ChiangYen.

3 This fact is in itself sufiicient to dispose of the theory that he wasa Siamese. It is highly improbable that a Siamese who came to Chinaas an adult could have learned the difficult literary language of thatcountry so thoroughly as to be able to compose essays and verses thatwere worthy of commendation by native scholars ;whereas a Koreanof high birth would have been taught classical Chinese in his childhood , and would probably speak the language with perfect fluency.

1x. ] PILGRIM-ROUTES

heights of Chiu-hua for ever . Your delight hasbeen in the games and toys of childhood , and youhave loved to bu ild go lden castles in the yellowsands . But now, when you fill the water-jar inthe stream you no longer try to catch the moon ’sreflection , and when you wash the bowl in thepond you care no mo re to play with theflo ating bubbles. 1 Go now, and dry tho se fastflowing tears. The old monk will have themists and clouds for companions when you

are gone. ”

There are several pilgrim-routes to Chiu—hua,but the nearest po rt on the Yangtse from whichit can be reached is Ta-t‘ung, in the prefecture ofCh ‘ih-chou . A small stream , broad and shallow ,

comes down to Ta-t‘ung from the mountain and isnavigable for small craft for several miles . Afterleaving our bo at at a po int near the hamlet ofCh‘ien chia lung we find ourselves on a paththat winds through undu lating country, wellcultivated and populou s . The monastery of L0

shan ( “ Happiness and V irtue”

) is the first Buddhistbuilding on our route. Oppo site the main gateway and on the left side of the pilgrim’s path willbe seen an image of Ti-tsang. Beyond the villageof Kuo ming kai there are several Buddhisttemples

, and also a no table ancestral templebelonging to the Chang family.

'

1 The mean ing is that the boy is growing out of childhood and isno longer content with childish amusements . He is thinking of hisfar-off home and the moonlight on the waters and the bubbles in thepond have ceased to interest him .

220 THE PRINCE -HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA [CH.

The traveller who leaves Ta t‘ung in themorn ing may find it conven ient to stop for then ight at the Village of Miao —ch ‘ien-chén , near thebase of the mountain , about eleven miles fromCh‘ien -chia-lung , but a better lodging might befound in one of the monasteries on the mountainitself. Miao -ch‘ien -chén is a market village witha go od three - arch stone bridge . It practicallyforms one Village with the place called Shan-ken(“ Mountain -baseThe pilgrim-season lasts from September to

November , which is a pleasant time for travellingin the Yangtse valley. Tho se who visit themountain as students of Buddhism , or with theView of fo rming a co rrect idea of how the popularfo rms of Buddhistic belief find expression , shouldcertainly choo se the pilgrim season for theirjourney, though they m ay sometimes find theinn s and temples inconven iently crowded. The

country itself is attractive at all season s,for

southern Anhu i is rich in trees,plants , and flowers.

Azaleas and rhododendrons are among the chiefglo ries of the spring , and the beautifu l tints of

the candle-tree and maple are the pride of theautumn . Chiu hua itself was once den selyfo rested , and its valleys , as well as its southernslopes , are still well wo oded. Among the treesto be found on mountain or plain , or on both , arethe evergreen oak , the chestnut, the campho r , andconiferae of many varieties . The graceful bamboo ,which has been so constant a source of inspiration

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

THE TEA OF CHIU-HUA

to artists and poets in China , is very common ;rice is grown in terraced fields ;and the tea plantflourishes in many a valley. The monks themselves cultivate a special kind of tea which , according to tradition , was brought from Hsin 10 byChin Ti-tsang. They pu t it up in rectangular tincan isters bearing the name of the mountain , and

large quantities of it are dispo sed of annually tothe pilgrims , who take it home as a highly-prizedtrophy of their visit to the ho ly mountain . Itshould be mentioned that the cu ltivation of tea(which used to be regarded as a magic herb and

as one of the necessary ingredients of the Tao ist’selixir of life) is a favourite employment of theBuddhist monks in many parts of central Chinabesides Chiu-hua.

The first temple beyond the village of Shan-ken

is called the o riginal First Gate of Heaven .

1 In

the small village of L ao T ‘ien is a large ancestraltemple of the Wu clan . Farther on we passthe Wu -hsiang-ssii Hsia-yiian , or Branch of theWu hsiang Monastery. It is usual for largemonasteries to have branch establishments at thebase of the mountain or in the neighbouring plains ,with a View partly to the supervision of bu sinessmatters connected with the monastic revenues andpartly to the entertainment and gu idance of

pilgrims bound for the mountain . Hsia-yuan , or

Lower Temple, is the term applied to suchsubordinate houses .

222 THE PRINCE-HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA [CH.

The well-made pilgrim’s path , which winds allthe way up the mountain-side , passes by so manymonasteries and hermitages that a list of theirstrange-sounding names would be wearisome totheWestern reader. Let u s confine our attention ,

then , to tho se which present some feature of

special interest. It mu st be regretfully admittedthat there are no really ancient buildings on

Chiu-hua, as all the monasteries were destroyedby the T ‘

ai-p‘ing rebels during their devastatingmarch through central China in the terrible years1850 to 1864. Nearly all the monastic bu ildingsnow to be seen on this mountain have been builtsin ce 1865 , and though the old names of themonasteries were preserved , and the ruins madeuse of as far as po ssible in the pro cess of restoration , there is no doubt that the architecturaland artistic glories of the mountain have beensadly dimmed. Some of the old stone tablets,with their inscription s , remain intact , but theseoffer but slender compen sation for the manybu ildings and articles of value and beauty whichwere totally destroyed by the ruflianly armies ofHung Hsin-ch‘iian . The name which that furiousicono clast selected for the new era which he hopedto inaugurate was T ‘

ai—p‘a’

ng T ‘z’

en Kuo The

Heavenly Kingdom of P erfect P eace. But , alas !the only peace which he su cceeded in establishingamong his so rely stricken countrymen was thepeace of a desert.A temple which is well situated clo se by a

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

224 THE PRINCE -HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA [CH.

(shan -sizén ) with an interesting modern inscriptionby one Chou Pin ,

a Confucian scho lar , who wasliberal-minded enough to take a deep interest inthe Buddhistic lo re of Chiu -hua, and was cc -editorof the latest edition of the annals of the mountain.

I n days of old, he tells us in this inscription ,

“ the gods of the land and grain hadnames , while tho se of the hills and streams hadno names . Thus Kou -lung tilled the so il and

Chu and Ch‘i sowed the crops . 1 But theyperformed their wo rk through the medium of

men ’s labour , hence it was from m en that theyderived their names . But streams flowed and

hills reared their crests befo re the first appearance of m en in the wo rld : therefo re , thoughthere were always spiritual beings in the hillsand streams , these were nameless Spirits.

1 Kan-lung, according to legend, was the son of a mythical ruler,Kung

-Kung, and came to be associated in sacrifice and worship withthe “

god of the so il ,”

Hou T‘u,with whom he is commonly, but not

correctly , identified. Chu is supposed to have been the son of theEmperor Lieh -Shan or Shén-nung (2838 and under the Hsia(2205-1 766 B o. ) and earlier dynasties was associated in sacrifice andworship with the “

god of the crops , ” or Ku-shén . C’h‘t’

was the sonof the EmperorKao-hsm ( 2436 andhas been similiarly associatedwith the “

god of the crops ” sin ce the rise of the Shang dynasty,( 1 766-1 1 22 As the Shang dynasty superseded the Hsia, so did

Ch‘itake the place of Chu . The emperors of the Chou dynas ty, whichsucceeded the Shang , traced their descent to Ch ‘i, who consequentlymaintained his religious position under the Chou rulers . He isgenerally known as Hou Chi, Ruler of Crops , though this nameshould apparently belong by right only to the deity with whom Ch‘iissacrificially associated. In ordinary language , as in the minds of thepeople generally, Kou—lung , Chu , and Ch‘iare actually identified withthe gods of so il and grain . The passage in the text is an example ofthis identification . The matter is ably discussed by M. Chavannes inthe essay on the God of the So il appended to his Le T‘

aiChan (ParisSee especially pp . 501 -506, 520-525 .

CONFUCIAN HOSTILITY

He then go es on to discuss the rivalry and ho stilitythat have characterized the relations betweenBuddhists and Confucian s , and tells a story of

an eccentric monk who disgusted the Confucianscho lars of the district by hanging up a pair of

scro lls in his temple bearing an inscription to theeffect that the tu telary deity of the lo cality wasno o ther than the famou s T ‘ang dynasty statesman , essayist , and po et , Han Yii. 1 As Han Yil

had been a determined opponent of Buddhismand a strenuous suppo rter of Confucian ism ,

themonk’s action was regarded as highly improper.Complaints were made to the autho rities , withthe resu lt that the scro lls were destroyed and

the monk flogged .

It do es no t seem to have been known to theautho r of our inscription that the unfo rtunatemonk who declared that the anti-Buddhistic Han

Yiihad become identified with the t‘u -tz’

or lo caltutelary god was on ly giving expression to awidely current popular belief. E very village

,

every graveyard , every temple , is suppo sed to

have its own particular t‘u -tz’

, or patron divin ity,

who , strictly speaking , is nameless ;2 but thereis a tendency to regard each t‘u —tz

’ as a lo calman ifestation of a single divine personage in

whom all t‘u-tz’ are un ified , and it is a curious

1 This name is one of the most famous in the literary annals ofChina. Han Yu lived 768-824, and was canon ized as HanWén-kung.

2 For an account of village t‘u-te

’

in Shantung, see Lion and Dragon

in Northern China, pp. 371 -377.

226 THE PRINCE-HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA [CH.

fact that in many parts of China this divinepersonage has come to be identified, in someunexplained way , with Han Yii. It was certainlyrash, however, on the part of a Buddhist monkto m ake an open boast of the fact that thefamou s Han Yii, who hated Buddhism in hislifetime , had been obliged to become the tutelaryguardian of the site of a Buddhist monasteryafter his death ; and we need not be surprisedthat the Confu cian s made an example of him.

The remainder of the inscription is devotedto a reasoned and temperate defence of Con

fucianism , as a gu ide of life , again st the claimsof Buddhism , which , if they were made good,says our scribe , might destroy the bases of

society. He argues that Confucian ism , with itsinsistence on the sanctity of the human relationships (ruler and subject , husband and wife , parentand child) , makes for so cial stability. Not onlyso , but Buddhists themselves are dependent on

Confucian ethic even while they try to supplantConfucian ism. By abandon ing the wo rld and

its ambition s , and by exto lling the merits of acelibate life, the Buddhists exercise an influencewhich, if no t checked , would obviously bedisruptive in its effects on so ciety ;if Confuciandiscipline were no t maintained in the State , theresult would be a mo ral and social anarchy inwhich Buddhism itself would be overwhelmed.

The ho stility shown by Buddhism to Con

fucianism reco ils on Buddhism itself,which is

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

228 THE PRINCE -HERMIT OF CHIU-HUA [CH.

no t live by ethical systems alone . The ChineseBuddhist , moreover, do es no t admit that hisreligion is incompatible with Confucian ism , thoughit tries to provide a so lution for some of tho semysteries which Confucian ism confessedly leavesunso lved. He takes pride in being a Confucianas well as a Buddhist , and all the ConfucianVirtues are inculcated in his bo oks . The institu

tion of a celebate monkho od seems in consistentwith the duties which a m an owes to his family

,

especially in connection with the rearing of of

spring to carry on the ancestral cult , but thein con sistency is mo re apparent than real . N0

one is allowed to accept o rdination unless hehas obtained his parents ’ con sent , and very fewm en will seek admittance to a monastery unlessthe continuation of the ancestral rites of hisfamily has been already provided for. It isextremely rare in China for an on ly son to

enter the monkhood— unless , indeed , he is alreadythe father of a healthy family.

It shou ld be added , however , that a con

siderable propo rtion of the o rdained Buddhistsof the China of to -day entered the monasteriesas children , and canno t , therefo re , be said to

have adopted a religiou s life from personal cho ice.The motives whereby parents are sometimesimpelled to devote their boys to the service of

Buddha are variou s . Sometimes they do it infulfilment of a religious vow,

sometimes on

account of extreme poverty. It seems probable

PROSPECTS OF BUDDHISM

that the dawn of a progressive era in Chinaand the spread of popular education will so oneror later have the effect of extingu ishing thesupply of children for the monasteries , and itwill be interesting to observe whether ChineseBuddhism po ssesses a sufficient reserve of vitalityto enable it to meet the difficulty. There isreason to believe that the outlook for Buddhismis no t hopeless , provided the developments insecu lar education are met by a revival of learning in the monasteries , and provided Buddhismmakes a serious and continuous effo rt to identifyitself with the mo ral and intellectual , as well asthe spiritual and artistic , interests of a progressiveChina .

CHAPTER X

MONKS AND MONASTERIES OF CHIU-HUA

RESUM ING our ascent from the Half-way-toheaven pavilion , and passing by several monasticbu ildings of no special interest , we come to theCh‘i-yiian Monastery, which is named after thefamous park and vihara which were given to

Buddha by prince Jeta and the disciple Sudatta.

I n the reign of Chia-ch‘ing ( 1 796 - 1820) themonastery pro spered greatly under the rule of amonk named Lung-shan . This abbot died atthe age of eighty-four , and in V iew of his spotless life and high reputation for sanctity his

disciples embalmed and gilded his dead body,and set it up in a shrine in the monasterytemple , so that in death he might continue to

preside over the religiou s services which he hadso long conducted in life. There the wiz enedfeatures of the dead monk are still to be seenby all comers, and are regarded with awe bycountless pilgrims every year. The monastery,we are told, was utterly destroyed by the T ‘

ai

p‘ing rebels , but the gilded mummy escapedinjury, and was set up again in its old shrine as

230

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

MONKS AND MONASTERIES

veneration for a con siderable time after theirdeath , and each body is finally enclo sed in agilded tomb , or chorten , which is thencefo rwardregarded with the same reverence that waspreviou sly accorded to the embalmed bodyitself. ‘

The Ch‘i-yuan Monastery derives part of itspro sperity and reputation from the fact thatit is a publishing hou se for Buddhist bo oks andtracts . Here the Ti-tsang

-pen

-yilan

-clzing— the

Sutra of the Vow of Ti-tsang— is never allowedto go o ut of print, for there is always a demandfor it among the pilgrims.A little higher up we come to the place

where Chin Ti-tsang was cured of his wound.

2

The stream of water which his fairy-nurse causedto issue from a rock is still flowing, and is knownas the L zmg

-m'

l or Spring of the Waternymph. Clo se by the stream there once sto oda building which was fo rmerly one of the chiefattraction s of the mountain , though no thingnow remains of it but the fragment of an in

scribed stone. Here it was that the po et Li Podwelt when he paid his memo rable visits to

Chiu-hua. After 762 , the year of the poet’sdeath , the cottage was neglected and graduallybecame a total ruin . In course of time grass

1 See iv. 51 1 . The reader who is interested in this curioussubject may also be referred to a valuable paper by DrW. PercevalYetts entitled Notes on the Disposal of Buddhist Dead in China in

July 1 91 1 (see especially pp. 7093 See above

,p. 208.

x ] MOUNTAIN CLUBS AND COLLEGES 233

grew over the site , and it came to be used asthe bu rial -ground of a family named Chang ;but in 1 237 the district-magistrate , a man of

cu ltu re named T s‘ai Yuan - lung , caused theground to be excavated . Having discovered thefoundation s of the po et ’s co ttage , T s‘ai pro ceededto erect on the same ground a kind of scho lars ’

club , or meeting - place for students and po etsand o ther person s of artistic tastes . It wasdedicated to the memo ry of the great po et , andnamed T ‘

ai-po Shu —t‘ang , or Scho o l of Li P o .

E stablishments of this kind are , or were , to befound on many of China ’s famou s mountain s ;some attained great celebrity and attractedlarge numbers of students , for these littlemountain un iversities were o ften the reso rt of

some of the mo st distinguished philo sophers ,artists, and m en of letters of their time . 1 The

club , or co llege , founded by T s‘ai flourishedfor several centuries . The bu ildings underwentperiodical restoration s , of which the mo stelabo rate to ok place between the years 1 476

and 1 479 . The T ‘ai-p‘ing rebels did not treat

Li P o ’

s co llege with any greater respect thanthey showed to the Buddhist temples , and

nothing remained of it when they had workedtheir will but a heap of ruins .We now arrive at a mountain -village chiefly

consisting of shops and booths , which exist

q The most famous was the College of the White-deer Grotto ,Ln-shan.

MoNKs AND MONASTERIES

so lely for the convenience of pilgrims . The

goods so ld include children ’s toys , sweatmeats,

Buddhist books and images , and such miscel

laneous articles as visitors like to carry awaywith them as souven irs of their pilgrimage.Fo rtune-tellers are numerou s , and their methodsare as various as tho se practised in the West.The palmists show a degree of skill which isonly surpassed by their remarkable self con

fidence . The telling of fortunes takes place ,as a rule, in the open air and within viewand hearing of a large body of interestedspectato rs and audito rs .

Of several monastic bu ildings and templessituated in the immediate vicinity of the villagethe mo st important is the Hua-ch‘éng

-ssii. Thismonastery, as we have seen , is the o ldestfoundation on the mountain , and has a continuous histo ry from the eighth century of our

era. 1 Whether Shéng Yil and his compan ionswere its original founders , or whether it datesfrom the days of P ei Tu ,

between three and

four centuries earlier , canno t now be determined.

But there is no doubt that its special sanctityis due to its asso ciation with the name of theprince from Hsin-lo , the incarnate Ti tsang.

The bu ildings have undergone many resto rationsin the centuries that have elapsed since histime. In the monastic chronicle special mentionis made of the work done by the monk Eu

1 See p. 21 5.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

X-l IMPERIAL PATRONAGE 235

ch‘ing in 1 435 ; and ano ther distinguished monkwas Liang-yuan , who in the reign of Wan -Ii

( 1 573-1 6 1 9 ) went to Court and was receivedwith favour by the empero r , who not onlypresented title scro lls for some of the templebu ildings , but also bestowed purple robes on

Liang yilan himself. This empero r was azealou s patron of Buddhism , and it was in hisreign and under his patronage that a new editionof the who le o f the Buddhist scriptures waspublished. Sets of this edition were presentedto all the great monastic centres of the empire ,including the “ Fou r Famous Hills . A specialpavilion was erected behind the main buildingsof the Hua-ch‘eng Monastery for the receptionof the set which had been presented to Chiuhua. In the eighteenth century the monasterywas twice honoured by imperial no tice. K‘anghsi in 1 705 presented to it an autograph scro llbearing the wo rds Chiu-hua sfié

’

ng citing—

“ theho ly region of Chiu -hua

”

;and in 1 766 a similarscro ll was presented by the Empero r Ch‘ienlung. In 1857 the monastic bu ildings weredestroyed by the rebels , but the L ibrary 1 of

Wan li remain ed intact. There cannot beany doubt that it was preserved by a miracle ,

”

remarks a recent writer named Liu Han-fang,who goes on to observe with evident satisfactionthat subsequently the rebels who had takenpart in the temple burn ing were defeated with

1 Tsamg-ching-lou.

MONKS AND MONASTERIES

immense slaughter and thrown into the YangtseRiver. Thus was divin e justice vindicatedbefore men ’s eyes . The resto ration of theHua ch’eng Monastery was no t put in handtill 1889 .

Oppo site the monastery is a fish pond , saidto have been o riginally con structed by ShengYii. The majority of large Buddhist monasteriespo ssess a pond of this kind , which is intendedto affo rd a practical illu stratio n of the Buddhistcommandment , Thou shalt no t take the life ofany living creature It is regarded as an actof merit to supply the fish with scraps of food.

There are several monastic bu ildings in closeproximity to Hua - ch‘éng , but the only one to

which special reference need be made is atemple which , though it is only an adjunct of

Hua-ch‘éng , is the crown ing glo ry and the mo stsacred shrine of Chiu-hua the J u-skén Pao

tien . This Ho ly P alace of the Mortal Body ”

is a temple and tomb combined , for here restthe remain s of the incarnate pusa Ti tsang ,befo re who se gilded image incense is burned bythousands of pilgrims every year.

The prayers and vows uttered by the pilgrimswhen they reach this shrine , and the ceremoniesperformed by them or by the monks on theirbehalf, are of variou s kinds , but they chieflyrelate to death and the next wo rld. He whowishes to pray for the soul of a lo st parentor other relative obtains from the monks (in

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

MONKS AND MONASTERIES [OH.

is simply a god of the dead , who , if suitablypetitioned, will procure the release of so uls fromhell , and will set them on the path that leads toAmitabha’s heaven . The main obj ect of greatnumbers of pilgrims to Chiu hua is , therefore,to offer prayers to Ti-tsang that he will man ifesthis love and pity towards their beloved dead .

It will be observed that the circumstances areprecisely of the kind that give priestcraft itsoppo rtun ity ; and though the term “ monk ” isin general a far mo re appropriate descriptionof an o rdained Buddhist in Chin a than the term“ priest, ” we need no t be surprised to find thatthe Buddhist clergy have not omitted to establishthemselves as intermediaries between the laymasses and the divine beings who se sympathy is tobe invoked on behalf of the living or the dead.

Buddhist monks have never obtained ( except inregion s where Lamaism prevails) the exclu siveprivileges and dangerou s prerogatives of priesthoods elsewhere ; partly because Buddhism hasnever in China proper succeeded in establishingitself as the so le religion of the State , and partlybecau se it has kept itself free to a remarkabledegree from the tain t of po litical or wo rldlyambition . This religion has seldom , if ever, triedto co erce men ’s bodies or enslave men ’s minds ;and if it has often derived profit from theigno rance and credulity of the masses , we mayat least say for Buddhism that the forms of

superstition which its priests have countenanced

THE SHRINE OF TI -TSANG

or fo stered are abso lutely unessential to thereligion itself. It may be suggested that it ishardly fair for Christian ity , which in o ur own

time is undergo ing a somewhat drastic pro cessof readjustment and reinterpretation , to emphasizethe crudities of a Buddhism which has no t yet beensubmitted to a similar modern izing pro cess . The

superstition s which are asso ciated with Buddhistbeliefs in China to -day are no mo re essential toBuddhism than were and are the ecclesiasticallypatron iz ed superstition s of Europe to the teachingsascribed to the P rophet of Nazareth .

The guardian ship of the ho ly shrine of Ti

tsang is vested in the abbot of the Hua-ch’

éng

Monastery , and it is that dign itary who examinesthe credentials of pilgrim monks and stampstheir papers with the monastic seal in attestationof the fact that the object of their pilgrimagehas been attained . The shrine was burned and

pillaged by the T ‘ai-p‘ing rebels , and was one of

the first bu ildings o n the mountain to be resto red .

The wo rk was completed in 1867 .

Acco rding to the lo cal belief, the entombedbody of Ti-tsang is inco rruptible. The name of

J u -shén - lz’

en , which is given to the bu ilding ,implies (if we may judge from the use of theterm elsewhere) that the dead man

’s remain sare no t only in a state of preservation ,

but

are also expo sed to public View in the manneralready described in connection with the abbo tLung-shan . But if Chin Ti-tsang

’

s body was

MONKS AND MONASTERIES [CH.

preserved and en shrined like that o f Lung-shan ,

there is no evidence to prove it : for the storythat his body was found undecayed three yearsafter death is only one of a very large classof similar legends , based , no doubt , on eachbiographer’s piou s desire to offer a prooffrom inco rruptibility that his hero was numistakably a saint. 1

After the death of Ti-tsang a mysteriousflame was seen hovering over his tomb . Thatflame , if lo cal repo rt may be trusted , is stillo ccasionally visible after n ightfall , and is knownas the skén kuang , or spiritual glo ry ” It can

best be seen , say the monks , from the Tung Yen

(“ E astern Cliff —a long temple-crowned ridgetowards which we mu st now make our way.

A gradually ascending path leads u s pastfour or five temples befo re it brings us to theend of the ridge at a distance of rather less thanthree miles from the shrine of Ti-tsang. Herewe come to a monastery known as the Pai-sui-an .

P al-suimean s a hundred years o ld, and thename commemo rates a monk named Wu -hsia

who wandered to Chiu -hua fromthe Mountain of Wu-t‘ai in the reign of Wan -Ii

( 1 573 Selecting the edge of the precipiton s E astern Ridge for his dwelling-place , hemade himself a thatched hut , and gave himself

1 This does not mean that no such legend has any basis in fact.The bodies of hermits who lived rigidly ascetic lives

,and reduced

themselves to a state of extreme emaciation , may resist decay for along time, even without preservative treatment.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

X. ] AUSTERIT IES OF BUDDHIST MONKS 241

up to tranqu il meditation . He died peacefully atthe age of over one hundred , cro on ing hymn s tohimself as he was dying ; and his disciples gavethe name of P al-suito the monastery which theyerected on the site of the old man ’s hut . In 1879a monk named “ P reciou s Body ” 1 travelled to

P eking in o rder to obtain for his monastery sometoken of imperial recogn ition . At present it isone of the mo st flourishing establishments on

the mountain .

V isito rs to Chinese monasteries will sometimes hear of monks who have taken a vow of

silence , or have vo luntarily condemned themselvesto so litary co nfinement in a cave or cell , o r haveadopted some fo rm of self-to rture— such as sittingin a spiked cage . Such penances are oftentechn ically known as tso Imam , which literallymean s “ to sit ‘ gated ” ’

— the gating pro cessbeing of a severer type than is cu stomary atEnglish un iversities . The mo tives that impelChinese monks to these acts of au sterity are no

doubt as variou s as tho se which promptedChristian hermits to similar acts in the M iddleAges . 2 I n some cases the main object is toextract alms from the piou s laity or to obtaindonations towards the resto ration of a temple ;in o thers the mo tive fo rce seems to be no thingnobler than a desire for no toriety. But there isno reason to doubt that sometimes the purpo se

1 Pao-shén .

2 See Lecky,European Morals, chap . iv. for hideous details of

the practices of Christian hermits .

MONKS AND MONASTERIES

in View is that of the genu ine religiou s ascetic— the ann ihilation of carnal desires and theattainment of self purification and spiritualenlightenment .

On 22nd May 1 908a monk of the Pai-sui-ah ,

named Bright Mo on light , ” 1 entered upon threeyears vo luntary incarceration . A few months ofthis period had already elapsed when I paid myfirst visit to this monastery in the autumn of

that year . The do o r of his cell was sealed withthe monastic seal , and he received his fo odthrough a ho le in the wall . Judging from hisappearance (for it was po ssible to catch aglimpse of him through the ho le) he was welland happy ; but when I spoke to him he onlytouched his lips , for Bright Mo on light wasvowed to silen ce .

The Pai-sui-an may be regarded as almo ston the summit of Chiu -hua-shan proper , thoughthe peaks of T ‘ien-t‘ai stand a good deal higher . 2

The views from the neighbourho od of themonastery are very striking. On the westernside of the ridge may be seen the winding pathby which we ascended the mountain , and at ourfeet lies the large group of temples in theneighbourho od of Ti- tseng’s shrine . On theeastern side of the ridge we have a deep

,wo oded

ravine , and beyond it the steep slope which1 Lang

-yueh .

2 According to my own measurement ( by b .p. thermometer) , theheight of the Pai-sui-an is feet above sea-level ;but I cannotguarantee the accuracy of this . The height of T‘ien-t ‘aiis about

feet.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

MONKS AND MONASTERIES

The T ‘ien-t‘ai bu ildings are small and of

no great antiqu ity. The mo st impo rtant of

them was founded in 1 368, and after its de struction by the rebels was restored in 1890. The

resto ration of the smaller temples was carriedout chiefly by certain enthu siastic monks , of

whom one was named P ‘u -ch ‘ing ( “ Un iversal

Purity ) and another Sung ch‘ilan (“ P ines

and Fountain sThe famou s names asso ciated with Chiu

hua are no t only tho se o f monks and hermits.The poet Li P o , as we have seen , loved to

ramble over its romantic slopes , and even leadersof armies and bu sy po liticians have soughtcare free seclu sion in its spirit haunted glades.The mo st distinguished of these lovers of Chiuhua was Wang Shou-jén ( 1 472- 1 528)— a greatso ldier , statesman , and man of letters of theMing dynasty. He saw much active serviceagainst rebels and barbarian tribesmen , and

achieved high rank and distinction . On morethan one o ccasion , however , the machinations ofhis enemies put him under an official cloud ,and at such periods he would seek a congen ialresting-place on Chiu -hua. At that time themountain was a favourite reso rt of many notedscho lars , but Wang Shou jen seems to havefound pleasure chiefly in the society of themountain-hermits. One of these was an nu

kempt person who was known to his limitedcircle of friends by the name of Sho ck-h eaded

PROTECTIVE CHARMS FROM T ‘IEN T ‘AI

, CHIU HUA SHAN

[Facmg p. 244.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

MONKS AND MONASTERIES [OH.

successful was he in the cultivation of hispsychic powers that he developed the facu lty of

fo retelling the future ; and he startled people ,so we are to ld , by the remarkable accuracyof his prophecies. I t was common ly suppo sedthat he had reached Tao— the central truth of

Tao ist mysticism ;1 but Wang himself graduallyawakened to a sen se of the futility of a greatdeal of Tao ist magic , and concluded his studiesin that direction with the exclamation , Thisfrittering away of one ’s energies is no t the Taofor me. So he reverted to Confucian o rthodoxy,which warn s m en to venerate the spirits butto keep them at a respectfu l distance?

In 1 5 1 9 Wang Shou -jen was sent to copewith a rebelliou s prince named Ch‘én Hao ,

and succeeded in crushing the rising after acampaign of on ly thirty - five days . Wang’s

Buddhist literature on breath-regulation (prdnc'

o—ydma) , see, e.g.

,B .N .

543 Har. xii . vol. 1 . pp . 29-34. See also Oldenberg, Buddha,p . 306 ;Spence Hardy, Eastern Monachism ,

pp . 267fi: S.RE . xxxv .1 30-1 Poussin ,

Bouddhisme, p . 395 .

1 What Tao really is only the successful mystic can say— or

,

rather, he knows , but will not speak . The Tao that can be discussedand defined is not the real Tao — so we learn from the Tao-té-ching,referred to on p . 1 39.

2 Among the works of Wang Shou-jen is to be found an interesting anti-Buddhist essay written (about 1 51 5) in the form of a

Remonstrance ” addressed to the Empero r Chéng Té of the Mingdynasty , but apparently never actually presented (see n inth charm of

his collected works , pp 1 3 fl) . It challenges comparison , of course,with the more famous memorial addressed by Han Yu to the EmperorHsien Tsung of the T‘

ang dynasty in the year81 9. Its arguments areto a great extent similar to those of Chou Pin ( see above, pp 224 who

probably had the essays of bo th Han Yu and Wang Shou—jén in hismind when he penned his own little essay .

X.] WANG SHOU-JEN

brilliant successes in war and at Court madehim an object of jealousy, and som e of hisenemies repo rted to the throne that he wasplo tting to bring about a revo lution . Thisresulted in his tempo rary disgrace

, and he againretired to his favourite haunts on Chiu -hua,

where he lived care - free in a ru stic cottage .The empero r sent secret emissaries to spyupon him , and from their reports satisfiedhimself that the accu sation s were totally groundless . “ The m an is a philosopher l

” exclaimedthe empero r. It is no t of stuff like thisthat rebels are made . So Wang was rein statedin his ofiices, and his loyalty and splendidabilities brought him many new honours , in

cluding the rank of a noble. He is knownto fame no t only as a gallant so ldier and wisestatesman , but also as a scho lar , po et , and

essayist . He achieved , mo reover , the glory of

canon ization l— that is to say , his name was

enro lled among tho se of China’s honoured deadto who se memo ry shrines are erected and befo rewho se spirit tablets religiou s or commemo rative rites are officially perfo rmed . In 1 584 histablet was elevated to the Confucian temple,which mean s that he had come to be regardedas one of the ho ly m en or saints of theConfucian system . A shrine or chapel waserected in his honour near the Hua - ch‘engMo nastery on Chiu -hua, and the magistrate of the

1 Under the name of Wen-ch‘éng.

MONKS AND MONASTERIES [CH

district was made respon sible (in accordance withthe u sual practice) for seeing that the commemo rat ive ceremonies were duly carried out in springand autumn 1 Hero - wo rship of this kind isan aspect of Chinese religious life which has

been very little studied by Western writers onChina ; yet the subject is one of exceptionalinterest and importance , and deserves far moreattention than it has received.

It is not only for historical or academicreason s that the career and personality of WangShou-jén are wo rthy of our attention . He isone of the few Chinese writers of his age who seworks are read with avidity in both China and

Japan tod ay . He is studied and admired evenby tho se young Chinese republicans who , in

their eagerness to equ ip themselves and theircountry with all the learn ing and science of theWest, are only to o apt, as a rule, to turn theirbacks on the wisdom of their own sages. The

writings of Wang Shou—jen are approved of byyoung China , not becau se they are revo lutionaryin tone— for indeed they are far from that— but

because they reveal the character and embodythe ideals of a strong man of action ,

a singleminded patriot , a courageou s and skilful leaderin war , an incorruptible statesman . It is throughlack of such men as this that China has been

In view of the distance of the mountain from the district cityit was arranged that the ceremon ies should be per

formed at temporary shrines erected for the purpose twice yearlywithin the walls of the city.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

MONKS AND MONASTERIES

that he earned for himself the sobriquet of

P rofessor Kan ch‘iian because he loved thebeautiful scenery of Chiu -hua and carved on aro ck the two characters kan -ch‘ilan , which meansweet waters . He had many devo ted pupils,

and one of the students ’ reading-ro oms on themountain was founded in his memo ry and

endowed with a little estate of land . One of hisdisciples was Lii Chung-mu , who himself becamean admired teacher of ethics , and emphasizedsincerity , loyalty , and filial piety as the foundation of all sound mo rals . He to o was a loverof our mountain Of all the hills of the Chiangnan provinces , he said , “

none is mo re beautifulthan Chiu -hua.

Fei Kuan-ch‘ing belonged to a mu ch earlierdate than P rofesso r Sweet-waters , for he lived inthe first half of the n inth century of our era.He was no ted for his filial affection , and (in

acco rdance with several classic precedents) hebu ilt himself a hut beside his mo ther’s grave .When an official po st was offered him he saidwith a sigh : “ A Government appo intment isuseful when it enables one to suppo rt one’sparents in comfort. My parents , alas , are no

mo re ;of what use would a Go vernment appo intment be to me ? So he declined the o ffer , and

finally decided to make a so litary home fo r himself under the shadow of the peaks of Chiu-hua.

Wang Tsung-su (ninth century ) also belongedto the T ‘ang dynasty . He always showed a keen

POETS OF CH IU-HUA

distaste , we are to ld , for the pursuits that bringfame and wealth , and though circumstances compelled him to enter the official arena for a time ,his happiest days were spent on Chiu - hua asa roaming student . There one day he met astrange m an who handed him certain charmswhich enabled him to perfo rm variou s Tao istmiracles , su ch as levitating the body . P opularfancy credited him with a contro lling powerover the dragon s that regulate the rainfalla power which he seems to have exercisedbeneficently. His hermitage was afterwardsknown as the Wu -hsiang Monastery.

Next to Li P o , the greatest of the T ‘angpoets who celebrated Chiu-hua in their versewas perhaps Liu Yii-hsi ( 772 In an

introduction to his little song he observes thatonly the great distance of Chiu -hua from thecapital has prevented it from being properlyappreciated

,wherefo re he has written a po em

about it so that it may receive its due meedof praise at last .

Of the Sung dynasty names , one of the fo remo st is that of Chou Pi—ta , who was a greatscho lar and successful statesman as well as apo et and pro se-writer. He , like Wang Shou-jen ,

was ennobled and canon ized . An essay of hisis preserved in which he gives a go s siping accountof his visit to the mountain in 1 1 67 and describesa meeting with an ancient monk of the “ Twinpeak ”

Monastery (Shuang - feng - ssu) who was

MONKS AND MONASTERIES [CH.

eighty-six years of age , and had no t d escendedfrom his eyrie for twenty years .

Sun Mien (Sung period ) was one of thenumberless m en of official rank in China whohave found the “ call of the wild ”

and the joysof literary seclu sion more seductive than thesweets of office— even though in Sun

’s case theoffice in question was the prefecture of Su -chou

(Soo chow) , a gay and brilliant city which for

centuries shared with Hangchow the reputationof being a heaven upon earth . After his withdrawal to Chiu hua the Court tried its bestto induce him to return to official life , but

unsuccessfully.

Tales of enchantment and wizardry are to ldof Chiu-hua as of all o ther famou s hills in China.A typical sto ry is that of a peasant named NingCh‘eng , of the sixteenth century , who one dayon the slopes of Chiu -hua encountered a queerold man who handed him half a peach . Itshould be observed that in China the peach isregarded as a fairy fru it . Numerou s strangetales , including legends of the Rip Van W inkletype , turn on the eating of a magic peach

, and

even on the wonderful properties inherent in thepeach blo ssom . Ning Ch‘éng ate the half-peach ,and then the old m an led him to a cliff and

tapped it. The ro ck opened , and Ning fo llowedhis guide into a strange dwelling—place

,su ch as

mo rtal man never saw befo re . There he livedan enchanted life ; but after some time he

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

254! MONKS AND MONASTERIES [CH.

the mountains of the days of old.

” 1 Yet if wemust look to the chron icles of the Han dynastyor the legends of a yet earlier date for accountsof the do ings of the mightiest of the Tao istwizards

,we may sometimes find, in the com

paratively pro saic annals of the dynasty thathas just expired , sto ries of mystery and magicwhich would not disgrace even the go lden ageof wizardry and enchantment. Teng Yi'l , forexample

, of whom some remarkable feats arereco rded , lived as recently as the middle of thenineteenth century. We are to ld of him that hebegan life as a wo odcutter , and that one dayWhile pursuing his o ccupation o n Chiu -hua hemet a mysteriou s stranger who handed him atreatise on magical arts which enabled him to

create storms , to cau se rainfalls , to cure humanailm ents , and to extirpate the evils caused bywitchcraft. All these things he would do

without payment of any kind. In the sixthmonth of the year co rresponding to 1844 therewas

'

a great drought in Ch‘ih chou fu ( theprefecture in which Chiu -hua is situated) , whichresulted in the drying of the wells and thewithering of the crops. The prefect , knowing of

Téng Yii’

s skill in dealing with calamities of

this kind , invited him to exert his magic powerson behalf of the suffering people . He obeyedthe summons, and erected an altar , at which heoffered up prayers for rain . He had no sooner

Chin shan pu chiku shan kao.

x.] THE RAIN MAKER OF CHIU-HUA 255

stretched fo rth his hand and uttered the thunderspell than there was a sound of rumbling in

the heaven s . This was qu ickly fo llowed by thegathering of clouds and the downfall of rain .

Then he turned towards the east and blewsoftly , whereupon dark masses of cloud beganto move in that direction . The prefect askedhis reason for sending rain -clouds to the east ,and Teng Y'

u explained that there was a droughtin the east also , and that he was sending somerain thither in o rder to so lace the anxiou s heartsof the people of the thirsting district of Ch‘ingyang . Subsequently word was brought fromCh ‘ing-yang that dark clouds had approachedfrom the west , and resulted in a much-neededfall of rain ju st at the time when Teng Yi'lwas uttering his incantation s. After the happyconclu sion of the rain making ceremony theprefect wished to send Teng Yi‘i home in luxury,and o ffered him a carriage-and-four ; but whenthe carriage arrived it was found that he hadalready flo ated away by himself. This benevo lentwizard passed a peaceful existence on Chiu -hua,

and no one knows what became of him at last .P erhaps of all the wise men of Chiu -hua

few can have had a mo re interesting personalitythan the nameless hermit of the E astern Cliff,Who became an expert in the man ipulation of

clouds . Besides acqu iring the art of discrimin

ating between the variou s kinds and tints of

clouds , he was also in the habit of co llecting

MONKS AND MONASTERIES

Specimen s . He used to be seen runn ing up

and down the misty slopes of Chiu-hua chasingclouds as if they were butterflies . His practicewas to catch them in a cro ckery j ar , which heheld upside-down over the cloud he was pursuing.

When his jar was full he would take a pieceof dry parchment and fasten it down o ver theneck of the jar ; and if friends came to see him ,

he would take a needle and prick a ho le in theparchment , whereupon the captive cloud wouldcome curling out , so that in a brief space of

time it wou ld fill the room . Apparently hewou ld even go so far as to feed his guests on

clouds , though whether the dainty fare satisfiedtheir hunger or not is an unan swered question.

The great poet Su Tung -p

‘o ( 1 036-1 1 01 ) in a

sportive hour compo sed some lines on thesubject of the cloud gatherer. Of late , sangthe gen ial poet , there is one who has learnedthe art of cloud-catching ; and he is go ing to

give me a bag of clouds as a parting present.The southern Slope of Chiu-hua— that is , the

side remo te from the Yangtse— is often neglectedby pilgrims from the no rth ; but the beauty of

its wo ods and waters makes this side of themountain no less attractive than the no rthern ,

and it should not be left unvisited. The templesare small and of no special interest , but they areall situated amidst charming scenery. Startingfrom the Pai-suiMonastery, and retracing thepath that leads from Ti tsang

’

s shrin e for a

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

MONKS AND MONASTERIES [CH. x.

the stream that flows into Hangchow Bay ; and

the four days ’ journey from the Pai-suiMonasteryto Hui-chou will take the traveller through one

of the mo st beautiful tracts of country to befound anywhere in the neighbourhood of thelower Yangtse. The villages are poo r , for thecountry has not yet recovered from the ru incaused by the T ‘

ai-p‘ing rebels . Almo st theonly indication of the fo rmer pro sperity of theprovince consists in the admirable stone bridgeswhich cro ss the numerou s water courses . The

finest of these is the sixteen arch bridge atHui chou . The total distan ce from Chiu - hua

to Hui-chou is about eighty-three miles . Hui

chou is a prefectural city , and before the T ‘ai-p‘ing

rebellion it was one of the wealthiest in thispart of China ;but it is now of small dimensions ,and its wall is dilapidated. A neighbouring city,Hsin -Ding, is the seat of the manufacture of

the best Chinese inks , and Hui-chou is theprincipal mart for their sale.

The water journey from Hui chou to

Hangchow can be accomplished comfo rtably innative bo ats . The rivers first the Hsin an

and subsequently the Ch‘ien-t‘ang— wind througha wooded fairyland throughout the who le lengthof a journey which on an average occupies aboutseven days . The time varies according to thestate of the water , but few travellers are likely togrudge the days spent in restful contemplation of

the entrancing river scenery ofWestern Chehkiang.

HUI -CHOU C ITY AND BRIDGE .

CH ‘IEN -T 'ANG RIVER, CHEHK IANG

[Facmg f . 2 58.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

260 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

south-western sides the water is shallow , and thereceding tide uncovers a bo rder of dark mud ;but

on the eastern side , which is by far the moreattractive , the ro cky headlands Slope into deepwater , and the bays which lie between their proteeting arms are fringed with firm yellow sand . A

little pier has been built at the southern extremityof the island , and this is the landing-place of thecrowds of visito rs who in the pilgrim-season s of

spring and summer come in their thousands tokneel in ado ration before the shrines of the holypusa Kuan -

yin .

The po sition of Puto near the estuaries of twogreat rivers— the Yangtse and the Ch‘ien-t‘ang— isrespon sible for the dun co lour of the seas that lapthe coasts of the sacred isle . I n other respectsP uto fully deserves all the praises that have beenlavished upon it by enthu siastic Chinese Buddhists.It is an island of singular charm and beauty— an

island which , if we may transfer to Puto the wordsof an English poet , is in very truth “ a small

,

sweet wo rld of wave-encompassed wonder.Puto is so easily accessible , and has been so

often visited by European s , that there is no lackof literature relating to the island in English and

o ther European languages . ‘ Some of the earlier

1 By far the best account of Puto in any European language is arecently published German wo rk by Ernst Boerschmann

, Die Baukunst

und Religio’

se Kultur derr Chm esen Band i . P ‘u-t

‘o-shan (Berlin ,

Unfortunately , it appears that Mr Boerschmann had no Oppo rtun ity ofconsulting the principal Chinese authority for the history of the island-the P ‘

u-t‘o-shan-chih The only Chinese authority which he quotes

XL] GUTZ LAFF AT PUTO-SHAN 261

missionary writers made appreciative references tothe natural beauty of the island , but their observation s concerning its religious asso ciations were aptto be much marred by that almo st fanatical into lerance of alien faiths which in past years hasbeen— and still is, to a limited and dimin ishingextent— so ugly a featu re of Christian missionaryenterprise.

One such visito r was Charles Gutz lafr’;wholanded at Puto in February 1833. He describes “ atemple built on a proj ecting rock, beneath which thefoaming sea dashed, ” and which gave us the ideaof the gen ius of its inhabitants , in thus selectingthe mo st attractive spo t to celebrate the orgies ofidolatry. He observes that to every person whovisits this island it appears at first like a fairyland ,so romantic is everything which meets the eye ”

;

but the images of Kuan-yin and other deformed

idols give him much distress, and P uto , for all itsbeauty, turns out to be nothing better than an

“ infamous seat of abomination .

is the great encyclopaedia, the T u-shu-chi-ch‘éng , which gives extracts

from the Chih, but takes them from a n ow superseded edition . His bookis nevertheless of high value owing to its careful and thorough study ofthe epigraphic and architectural features of Puto.

1 See Gutz lafi’

s Journal of Three Voyages, 1834, pp . 438fil, and

China Opened ( i . The descriptions contained in Hall and

Bernard, The N emesis in China,1847 cd.

,p. 306, reveal a similar

readiness to praise the beauty of the island, coupled with a detestationof the gross idolatry practised there . The authors apparently concurred in the rather churlish remarks of a well-known missionary(W. H. Medhurst) , whose words they quote .

“ All its inhabitants ,says Medhurst,

“are employed in no other work than the recitation

of unmean ing prayers and the direction of useless contemplationstowards stocks and stones so that human science andhuman happiness

262 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [OH.

The old-fashioned denunciation s of heathen ismmay strike us in these days as merely whimsical,and perhaps as a trifle ludicrous , but we shouldnot fo rget that the into lerant zeal of the Christianpioneers was , unfo rtunately, not confined to thewriting of books and papers for the edification of

their Western suppo rters . but also displayed itselfin countless acts and words of gro ss discourtesy (tosay the least) towards a people with whom courtesyand to lerance of o thers’ fo ibles are among the firstof virtues . Tho se acts and wo rds were to a greatextent respon sible , not only for many of the antifo reign outbreaks that u sed to be so frequent , butalso for the pitifu l misunderstandings which haveso long prevented East andWest from getting toknow and appreciate one another’s good qualities.Long befo re the days of Gut z laff, Puto was

probably seen , though it was no t actually visited ,by a French Jesu it priest named Le Comte.Writing of his voyage from Amoy to Ningpo ,

he thu s describes the charming scenery of theChusan archipelago

I never saw anything so frightfu l as that infinitenumber of ro cks and desert islands through whichwe were obliged to pass . We also steered

would not be in the least dimin ished if the Whole of Puto , with itsgaudy temples and lazy priests , were blotted out from the face of

creation . (Cf. also ll’

illiam s,Middle Kingdom ,

i . 1 24-6,for similar

ill-tempered remarks . ) Robert Fo rtune, a well-known botan ist of

the middle of the nin ete enth century, has also left a description of

Puto ; of this, however, there is very littl e reason to complain,for

Fortune’s temperament was tolerant and sympathetic, and his books

may still be read With pleasure and profit.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

2641 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [OH.

Scarce were we off our knees , but , whether bya miracle or the o rdinary course of nature, thereblew a favourable gale of wind , which carried us

through some islands into our desired port .

It might have surprised , and po ssibly disgusted , the Catho lic father if he had been to ldthat St Francis Xavier had a miracle-working rival in the channels of Chusan . Indeedit is no t unlikely that at the very time whenthe Western missionaries were addressing theirsupplications to St Francis the heathen membersof their crew were simultaneou sly addressingtheirs to Kuan-yin . And who is to decideWhether it was the Christian saint or theBuddhist pusa who really stilled tho se ragingwaters ? However this may be , we shall shortlyfind that Puto and the neighbouring seas werethe scenes of Kuan-yin ’s miraculous activities sixhundred years or more befo re the “ Apo stle of

the Indies was bo rn .

1

Of the island’s pre-Buddhistic histo ry next tonothing is known . A passage in the Tributeof Yil in the Sim Citing refers to the “ wildislanders 2

and their tribute of grass-wovengarments , and some Chinese commentato rs havesuggested that this passage (which deals withevents of the third millenn ium B .C . ) may referto the Chusan islanders . Coming down to timesof which we have mo re reliable historical record ,

1 St Francisco de Xavier was born about 1 506 and died in 1 652.

3 Tao I .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

266 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

form of exqu isitely drawn peach flowers . Hisskill was thus at least as remarkable as that ofWang Hsia, a painter who used to make a blotof ink and from the blo t drew beautiful pictureswith either his fingers or his to es . Sto ries of

this kind , which are simply a fanciful way of

describing the inexplicable and in imitable powersand achievements of gen iu s , are o ften met within the annals of Oriental art . l But the fact thatAn-ch‘i Sheng’s artistic in stincts were asso ciatedso lely with the peach was of itself a significantproof that he was a wizard : for the peach-tree ,as all Chinese know , is one of the favourite products of fairyland , and its magical properties areof unrivalled renown .

2

The earliest Chinese name of Puto seems tohave been Mei-ts‘én 3

( the Hill ofMei — a namewhich is still applied to a small hill in thesouthern part of the island. MeiFu , or Mei

Tzu-chén , was a prominent statesman and Con

fucian scho lar of the first century B .C . Aboutthe year 6 of our era he mysteriously van ished,and it became one of the unso lved problems of

biography whether he had become an immo rtalksz

'

en-jén or rishi, or whether he had merely retired

1 We are told , for example , that Kobe Daishi , the Japanesefounder of the Shingon sect of Buddhism (774 used to takea brush and Spatter ink on the wall , seemingly at random whereuponthe blots would transform themselves into beautifully traced characters .Kobe was the most famous calhgraphist of his day, and calligraphy, asis well known , is regarded in China and Japan as a fine art .

2 See above, p . 252 .

3 T‘u-shu-pt

'

en ch . 64 p . 7.

XL] BUDDHIST HISTORY OF PUTO

into vo luntary exile . Acco rding to the tradition sof Chehkiang , his hiding-place was no other thanPuto : and his name is attached not only to ahill , but also to a modern Buddhist temple ( theMeiFu Ch ‘an -

yiian ) in front of which is a poo lof water still known as MeiFu

’

s Well .It was no t till the n inth century that Puto

began to acqu ire special sanctity in the eyes of

Buddhists . 1 Its patron pu sa has always beenKuan-

yin (known to the Japanese as Kwannon ) ,who , as we saw in a previous chapter , isthe representative in Chinese Buddhism of thecelestial bodhisat Avalokitesvara , one of the divinebeings who rule over Sukhavati, the paradiseof Amitabha . 2

In the popu lar religious lo re of China, Kuan

yin is now always represented as a female divin ity.

European s in China know her as the Goddessof Mercy, ” but she may be described moreco rrectly as the Pu sa of Love and P ity .

” Herfull title in Chinese is Ta-tzil ta-

pei ckiu -k‘u

Ifuan -shz’

h-yz’

n tzi‘

Z-tsaz'

wang p‘u -sa, which m ay

be tran slated , the All-compassionate Uncreated

( or Self-existent) Saviou r , the Royal Bodhisatwho hears the cries of the wo rld .

Williams, in his Middle Kingdom ,

i . 1 26, says that templeswere erected on the island as early as 550; but he gives no

authority for this statement, which was probably due to a confusion on

his part between the earlier and later Liang dynasties . A Chinesewriter (P ‘

u -t‘o -simm - chih xvii . 2) tries to carry the Buddhist

tradition s of Puto back to a still earlier date (280-289 of the WesternChin dynasty) ;but this statement also is entirely unsupported byeviden ce .

2 See pp . 1 00-1 01 .

268 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

Various suggestion s blive been made as tohow the Chinese came to regard Kuan-

yin asa female pusa. She is in some respects theBuddhist counterpart of the deity known to

popular Tao ism as T ‘z'

en -Izou skéng-ma The

Ho ly Mother Queen of who se originis also clouded in mystery. Bo th are worshippedas beneficent and compassionate goddesses whosave men from misery and peril , especially fromthe dangers of the o cean ;and bo th are regardedas the patrons and pro tecto rs of mo thers and asthe bringers of children . That these divin ities eyeone ano ther with no unfriendly feelings may begathered from the fact that shrines to the Tao istQueen of Heaven are to be found on the shores

of Kuan-yin ’s own sacred so il of Puto .

1

If an enqu irer into Buddhist origins wished toclaim Kuan-

yin as an impo rtation from Europe , hewould no doubt emphasize the fact that in thetemples of Puto the pu sa is frequently describedas the Kuo-kaiKuan -

yin the Kuan-yin who

came acro ss the sea This epithet, however,

1 The Shrines to T‘ien~hou are in the pavilion at the entrance to theNorthern Monastery and in the fron t hall of the Fu-ch‘dan-shénTemple. The latter is near the landing-place, and close by it standsa temple ( the Kuang-fu) dedicated to ano ther Taoist deity —Kuan-ti,the so-called “

god of war, who is regarded by Chinese Buddhists,rather unwarrantably , as a spiritual Hu—fa, or Protector of the Faith .

Popular Taoism , it may be added, po ssesses other female deities whosefunctions can scarcely be distinguished from those ofT‘ien-hou ;and,indeed they may be regarded as local man ifestations of that goddess .Such is the deity known as Pi-hsia-yz

‘

ean-chdn, or Niang-niang, the

centre ofwhose worship is T ‘

ai-shan,the sacred mountain of Shantung.

1‘Sometimes the term used is P ‘iao-haz’

sea-borne

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

XL] BUDDHISM AND CATHOLICISM

probably contain s a reference to the pusa’

s function s as captain of the kang j o , the broad raft , orBark of Salvation , on which the souls of thesaved are bo rne acro ss the sea of life and deathto Amitabha ’s paradise . I t is , of course , by no

mean s impo ssible that the conception of a seacro ssing Kuan-yin has some remote connectionwith similar myths which we find embedded inother religiou s systems . 1 It is well known thatin the devotional literature of the Church ofRomethe Mater Dei is often referred to as a kind of

sea-goddess . The song S tella Maris,2 ascribed to

the eighth century , “ has been breathed up in

numerable times , as a recent writer observes ,by sailo rs who in storms sought help from themild goddess who was the Star of the Sea,

’

and

who for tho se in peril opened a window ’

in thedark and threaten ing skies . ” 3 There are similarpo ssibilities in respect of Kuan -yin ’s function s asthe bestower of children , in which capacity shemay be compared with the Babylon ian Ishtar

(Mylitta) . 4 The Sung-teaKuan -

yin , like the Sungtz zZ M ang

-nz'

ang of Tao ism , is often represented ascarrying a male infant in her arms . The beliefthat she is able to grant prayers for children isfounded on a passage in the L otus of the Good

L awf’ But it does no t require much daring to1 J . M. Robertson , Christianity and Mythology, 1 91 0, pp. 21 3

21 5 , 331 .

2 Ace MariaStella,DeiMater Alma, etc .

3 Hirn , Sacred Shrine, pp . 465-6, 470

Hastings , ii . 1 1 6, 290.

5 S.B .E . xxi . 409. Russian peasants believe the same of the Virgin .

270 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

suggest that there was a child-carrying goddesswo rshipped in China long befo re the Sung-tailKuan-yin was ever heard of.

1

Chinese Buddhists acknowledge that the originalseat of Kuan-yin’s wo rship was at a great distancefrom China. Acco rding to one of the interpretations of the name of Avalokitesvara, it means theLord ( Is

'

vara) who loo/cs down from a height. The

height is the sacred mountain of P o talaka, aplace which is always asso ciated with the worshipof this bodhisat. Where the o riginal P otalaka wasis a disputed question . It is u sually assumed tohave been a rocky hill to the east of the MalayaMountain , in Southern India, near the harbour ofCape Komorin .

2 If this identification is correct ,it seems highly probable that the deity worshippedthere was of non -Buddhistic o rigin ;and, indeed,there is evidence to asso ciate her (or him ) withthe worship paid to Hindu deities such as Siva.’

However this may be , the cult of Avalokitesvaraspread not only to Chin a , but also to T ibet. A

1 On the subject of the very wide extension of the cult of themother-and-child, see J . M. Robertson , op . cit.

,pp . 1 66-1 72.

3 See Weddell,Lhasa and its Mysteries, 1 905, pp. 364 and

388; Hastings,' ii . 259 ; Watters

,Yuan Chwang, zii.

228-232. A description of the hill may be found in the Hua-yensutra (B.N . ch . 68( see Har. i . vol. iv . p. The Shawts‘ai

who is mentioned there, and figures prominently in the sfitra, is

commemorate d by a cave named after him in the eastern pen insulaof Puto-shan . Of course neither the o riginal author of the sfitra nor

the translator into Chinese makes any specific reference to the ChinesePotalaka

,ofwhich neither had any knowledge.

3 See Poussin in pp 258fl? Poussin believes that “ theChinese transformation of Avalokita into a woman had probably beenalready effected in India.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

272 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

to answer, especially when we observe that thereare two Buddhistic cults , more or less distinct,with which Avalokitesvara is associated . In theAmidist cult Avalokitesvara is one of a triad of

divin ities who rule the Western P aradise and actas the saviours ofmankind . This cult may be saidto have its scriptural foundation in the PureLand sfitras , which were translated into Chinesebetween the second and fifth centuries. 1 But

there is also the Avalokitesvara of the Hua-yen

and Fa-hua scriptures , who may be wo rshipped forhis own sake , irrespective of his asso ciation with theBuddha Amitabha . One of the scriptural bases ofthis cult is a concluding chapter of the L otus ofthe Good L aw, a sutra which was first translatedinto Chinese about the end of the third century.

2

In Puto Kuan -

yin takes precedence of everyo ther divin ity , and this pusa

’

s image o ccupies theplace of honour in the principal hall of nearlyevery temple . 3 This do es no t imply , however , that

1 See above, p. 95.

2 This is the Saddharmapundarika, of which several translations(apparently from at least two different Sanskrit texts) were made intoChinese between the years 265 and 601 . The earliest was madebetween 265 and 31 6. This is the C'héng Fa-hua-ching, translated byDharmaraksha (B .N . 1 38

,Har. xi . vol. ii . pp . 1 In this transla

tion the name of Kuan -shih-yin is given as Kuang-shih-yin ( see Index) .

The most popular translation is that of Kumarajiva, made between 384and 41 7 (B .N . 1 34, Har. xi . vol. i. pp. 6 B .N . 1 36 and 1 37 are

only fragments . A third complete translation of the sutra is B .N . 1 39

(Hat . xi . vol. 1 1 . pp. 57 The sfitra has been translated intoEnglish ( from the Sanskrit) by Kern , vol. xxi . For the sectionon Kuan-

yin ,see pp. 406fi .

1 It is for this reason that the principal pavilion or chapel ofthe monasteries of Puto is described as Yu

’

an-t‘ung Poo

-lie n, not as

XL] THE GREAT BODHISATS

the Amidist theo logy is igno red o r repudiated .

On the contrary , Kuan -yin ’s po sition as one of

the rulers of Amitabha’s paradise, and as spiritual

Son , or Wo rd , of the glo rious Amitabha himself,is at least theo retically recognized .

1

It is no t difficult to find an explanation of

the undoubted fact that Kuan -

yin has attained inChina and Japan a popularity far exceeding thatof any of the o ther great bodhisats. So long asKuan -

yin was still the male Avalokites' vara

,his

po sition seems to have been no mo re con spicuou sthan that of many o ther pasas , su ch as Wen-shu ,

P ‘u -hsien , Ti-tsang , and Ta-shih-chih , and at one

time he was probably regarded as distinctly inferio rto Mi-lei (Maitreya) , who se un ique po sition as thebodhisat who is destined to be the next Buddha( hence sometimes referred to by Eu ropean s as the“ Buddhist Messiah ”

) is vouched for in the P alicanon 2 That the change of sex shou ld haveinten sified Kuan -yin ’s popularity will no t be aTa-hsiung Pao

-tien . Ta-hs'iung, usually translated Great Hero , is anepithet of Sakyamun i Buddha, whereas Yuan-t‘ung ( “ One of com

prehensive understanding”

) is an epithet of Kuan-yin .

1 When Kuan -yin ’s image is associated with that of Amitabha, itis Am itabha who , even at Puto , o ccupies the central position , Kuanyin supporting him on one side and Ta-shih-chih on the other ( seeabove, p. Many of the images of Kuan-

yin are represented witha min iature image of Amitabha Buddha in the front of the crown or

head-dress . The yin of Kuan-yin sign ifies Sound or Vo ice . For some

interesting observation s on Kuan —yin as Vo ice or Word of the divine

Buddha Amitabha, see Beal , Catena, pp . 387-8.2We should note , however, that the pilgrim-monk Fa-hsien , who

flourished about 4 1 0, was a worshipper of Kuan -yin , and regarded her

( or him) as the pusa to whom prayers should be offered for deliverancefrom shipwreck .

274 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

matter of surprise to tho se who have fo llowed thecourse of dogmatic developments in o ther faiths.VVriting of the cult of the Virgin in Christendom ,

an English critic of our own day remarks thatMary “ is frankly an idealization of womanhood ;she is wo rshipped sim ply becau se that is the sortof being which people feel it good to wo rship ,although she is admittedly a creature of theimagination .

” 1 Kuan -

yin , to o , is wo rshipped inChina and Japan as an idealization of womanhood,and she has gained popularity because the idealis one which touches people’s emo tion s and lessensthe gap between the merely human and the un

approachably divine .2

It has been said by certain European writersthat Kuan -

yin was not recogn ized as a femaleuntil the early part of the twelfth century.

3 It

1 Henry Sturt,I deal of a Free Church, 1 909, p . 243. Cf. F. M.

Cornford, From Religton to Phelosoyohy, 1 91 2, p . 1 1 3. The reallyliving objects of Christian cult are the figures of actual men and

women— the Virgin , her Son ,the saints

,and martyrs ” ( see also Miss

Eckenstein ,Women underMonasticism ,

ch .

2With regard to the question of possible Western influences , itmay be noted that Nestorian ism has been suspected ( though withdoubtful justification) in the fo rm of the liturgical services of Kuan

yin . For a description and translation of the liturgy , the readermay be referred to Beal , Catena, pp . 396 fit, and to his Buddhism

in Ghana, 1884, pp . 1 33 fl: Beal did not quite realize that thequalities and functions ascribed to Kuan-yin ( especially as Saviouror Redeemer) are regarded by Buddhism as common to all thegreat pusas ;the position of Kuan-yin is therefore no t un ique , as besupposed it to be. Kuan-yin l ike Amitabha and Ti-tsang and othersinnumerable , commenced their careers as bodhisats by uttering greatvows ” to save mankind. Kuan-

yin is sometimes said to have utteredtwelve such vows . Amitabha, as we saw on p . 96, registered over forty.

3 See Edk ins , Chinese Buddhism ,1893 ed. ,

p . 382,and Prof. H. A.

Giles,Glossary ofReference, s.v . Kwan-yin .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

276 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

recognized in literature , as in picto rial art , longbefo re the twelfth century.

The womanhood of Kuan -

yin does not contradict, and is no t inconsistent with , the Mahayanistscriptures . All the bodhisats may , in the courseof their age-long careers as saviours of the wo rld,appear on earth in female fo rm . We have alreadyhad o ccasion to no tice that Ti-tsang did so in morethan one of his “ incarnation s . ” 1 There is also apassage in the L otus of the Good L aw whichexpressly says that Kuan -

yin will appear in femalefo rm when that fo rm is appropriate to circumstances . 2 An educated Buddhist , and especially agenu ine mystic of the Ch‘an schoo l , brushes allthese no tions aside as of no real impo rtance . The

true Kuan-yin , he says , is by nature bo th sexlessiand fo rm less , but is capable o f assuming, or of

appearing to assume , all fo rms . 3

1 See pp . 1 78, 182 .

1 It may be noted that there evidently is a Sanskrit text whichcontains a. shorter list of Kuan-yin ’s “ transfo rmations than thatcontained in the text, or texts , from which B .N . 1 34 and 1 39 weretranslated. Kern ’s tran slation xxi. 41 0-41 1 ) is from a textwhich does not mention Kuan-yin ’s female transformations . I find

by examination that the earliest extant Chinese translation of thesutra (B .N. 1 38) omits them also . Kern ’s Sanskrit o riginal seems tohave been the text which was also fo llowed by the first translator intoChinese (Dharmaraksha) . The techn ical term to express the “ transformations ofKuan-

yin is sui-chz-ying-hs’ien .

3 Fonollosa correctly says that “a great bodhisattva is in its own

nature indeterminate as to sex, having risen above the distinction , orrather embodying in itself the un ited Spiritual graces of both sexes.I t is a matter of accident wh ich one it may assume upon incarnation .

I t just happens that T‘ang thought, or preferred to think , of Kwannon

(Kuan-yin ) as a great demiurge or creator , wh ile Sung preferred to

lay stress upon the element ofmotherhood ( 0p . cit. 1 .

PAVIL ION FRONT OF SOUTHERN MONASTERY .

(See p.

COURTYARD IN FRONT OF GREAT HALL KUAN-YIN ,

SOUTHERN MONASTERY .

( See p. 329

[Fae /”g p 2 76.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

278 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH

nevertheless the human mo ther of a human son

fo r Go tama , be it remem bered, was not born aBuddha ; he became on e during his life on earth.

In many of the Mahayana sutras Maya o ccupiesan exalted place among the celestial beings whoassemble to do honour to the deified Buddha ,and there mu st have been a po ssibility at one

time that a glorified Maya— the Mayadevi— wouldeventually be elevated to a heaven ly throne nearthat of the glo rified Sakyamun i , her divine Son .

‘

We have seen that , according to a Mahayan isttheo ry , Maya is “ the eternal Mother of all theBuddhas , ” though this theo ry lo ses some of itssignificance when we find that she is no t the

only divine being to whom this exalted title hasbeen acco rded .

2

There is one rather mysteriou s deity in whomwe may po ssibly discern a deified fo rm of

Gotama’

s mother . This is Chun—t‘i (Chundi-devi) ,who is also sometimes described in Chinese asHo ly Mo ther ( slzéng —ma ) and as the Mo ther ofBuddha (F0 mu ) . This being plays a far mo reimpo rtant part in Tantric Buddhism ( that is ,the Buddhism of wo rd -mysticism and magic )than in the o rdinary Buddhism of monasticChina . Her image , however, is often seenin Chinese Buddhist temples . She is usually

1 Among the sutras in which Maya receives prominen ce , of. B .N.

1 53 and 382,in addition to the Ti-tsang sutra dealt with above (386

p . According to some Buddhists , Maya has been reborn in one

of the heavens as a male deity, and rules there as king .

2 See p . 181 . The title has also been given to the pusaWén-shu,the person ified Wisdom of Buddhahood.

XL] MARICHI

represented with eighteen arms , and sometimeswith a third eye in the middle of the fo rehead .

1

By some autho rities Chun -t‘i is identified withthe Marichi of Brahman ic mytho logy , and alsowith the Chinese T ‘ien-hou Queen ofHeaventhe Tao ist deity already mentioned . Marichi,however , appears in Chinese Tantric literatureunder her own name , of which the Chinese fo rmis M o -li-chih. It has been daringly suggested thatthe name Marichiwas derived from the name ofthe ho ly V irgin Mary .

” 2 This canno t be co rrect ,becau se Marichi is mentioned as a divine beingin pre-Christian Brahm an ical literatu re .3 Marichiwas one of the ten great sages , lo rds of createdbeings . Sometimes among Chinese BuddhistsChun-t‘i is identified with Kuan-

yin , but the identification do es no t appear to be autho rized by the bo oks . 4

1 The illustration is from a tablet rubbing . Such artisticmon strosities as these are of Indian

,not Chinese , o rigin .

“ The

artists , ” as a leading authority on Indian art rightly observes , undertake to reproduce literally in stone or bronze the descriptions of thedeities as given in the books , with little regard to aesthetic con

siderations , and no form is regarded as too monstrous for plasticrepresentation . The result too often is merely grotesque and absurd ,when looked at by anybody who is not steeped in the notions of Hindusymbo lism ,

but occasionally is horrible . Such forms , of course ,have their mean ing for the Hindu or Mahayan ist Buddhist instructedin the mysteries of his faith , and may be used by him as aids todevotion , but from the arti stic po int of view they are indefensible ” (Vincent A. Smith , op . cit. p .

2 Georgi , quoted by Eitel , Handbook, p . 98;and see Beal , Catena,41 2 .P3 Of. the Bhagafvadgitd and the Laws of Manu

,viii . 1 9, 88,

387 and xxv . 1 4, 1 9, 1 1 2 . See also Vincent A. Smith , op . cit. , pp.

4 For the Chinese sutras on Chun-t‘i , see B .N. 344 , 345, 346. Thesesutras all appear to have been translated into Chinese during theseventh and eighth centuries .

280 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

On the who le , we may say that the Buddhistsin their religious meditations have generallytreated the figure of the human mo ther of thehistorical founder of their faith in a manner thatdoes credit to their imaginative delicacy and

good taste ; and in China and Japan they havefound so lace for this self-impo sed restraint in therapturous contemplation of the infin ite graces oftheir ever - loving and compassionate Lady, thepusa Kuan-yin .

The recogn iz ed sutras contain innumerablereferences to the earthly and heaven ly activ ities ofthe great pu sa , but there is what we may call aromantic story of Kuan —

yin as well as a scripturalone ;and it is the romantic sto ry which is nearestto the hearts of the Buddhist laity. This narrative , which is much too long for in sertion in

these pages , is simply a religiou s fairy-tale , and

narrates the noble and virtuous deeds of thepu sa an d the terrible persecutions to which shewas subjected during the life which she spenton earth (in the days of the Buddha Kasyapa) asthe youngest of three princesses , daughters of acertain great king.

l

Acco rding to the writers who contribute prefaces to modern edition s of the sto ry, it wasoriginally compo sed in the year 1 1 02 of our era,

1 The germ of the story may possibly be found in the tale of

the heretical king and his two Buddh ist sons, which fo rm s the subjectof a section of the Lotus sutra ( see B .N . 1 38, Har. xi . vol. 1 1 . pp.54—6 ;B .N . 1 34

,Har. x i . vol. i . pp . 51 -2 ;B .N. 1 39

,Har. xi . vol. ii.

pp. 1 04-5 ;S.B.E . xxi. 41 9fi ) .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

STORY OF KUAN-YIN

in the reign of the empero r HuiTsung, of theSung dynasty, by a monk named P ‘

u—ming. Itis perhaps the knowledge of the date of thissto ry which gave rise to the belief that Kuan -

yin

was no t recognized as a female pu sa till thetwelfth century. It is , indeed , by no mean sun likely that the great popularity of the sto ryhastened the general acceptance of the theo ry thatKuan —

yin was a female , but it is certainly inco rrectto regard the story as the so le origin of the theo ry .

The monk P ‘u -ming, we are to ld , once spent

three months in so litary m editation , and was thenvisited by a strange apparition in the gu iseof an ancient hermit. After commending his

religiou s zeal , the hermit bade him employ histime by writing down a full account of thewonderful life and acts of the blessed Kuan-

yin ,

so that all who read or heard it might be broughtto a full knowledge of the saintly career of thatdivine pu sa and thereby become partakers of theheaven ly bliss promised to all who should takeher for their gu ide and saviour. P ‘

u-mingreverently and obediently accepted the task impo sed upon him by his gho stly visito r , and

thereafter spent many indu strious days in writingdown the story of Kuan-yin ’s life on earth .

When he had reached the last page and hadlaid down his pen he was rewarded by a glo rio u svision of the radiant pusa herself. P ‘

u-mingand his fellow-monks — fo

‘

r she was visible alsoto them pro strated them selves in ado ration ,

282 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [OH.

while like a floating cloud she passed befo retheir eyes . Her figu re was clad in rainbowtinted vesture , and in her hands she bo re herwell -known emblems— the drooping willow and

the vase of heavenly dew.

P ‘u -ming’s romantic sto ry of Kuan -yin ’s life as

an earthly princess is written in direct and simplelanguage which renders it su itable for publicrecitation . There are some preliminary directions ,indeed , which indicate that the wo rk was intendedto be read aloud in the Buddhist temples to layaudiences on the o ccasion of the pusa

’

s birthday ,which is celebrated on the n ineteenth day of thesecond (Chinese ) month . The reader or reciter(who would naturally be one of the monasticfratern ity) shou ld prepare himself for his sacredtask by ceremon ial fasting and purification , and bydonn ing clean robes . He open s his discourse byreminding his audience that this day is the blessedann iversary of the birth of the loving and com

passionate pu sa Kuan -

yin . He draws near to thealtar, he says , in o rder that he may u tter , in thehearing of all the assembled faithfu l , the preciou swo rds in which the life of the pu sa is reco rded.

The congregation is enjo ined to sit down and to

maintain decorou s silence to avo id idle chattering ,and to put away frivo lity to be o rderly, qu iet , andreverential . All must fo llow carefully the meaning of what they hear , and having hearkeneddiligently to the truths that are promulgated

,they

must strive to give effect to them in their own

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

284 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [OH.

the texture of his spirit . Let it no t surprise us,then , to find that the Buddhist sto ries o f themiraculous efficacy of faith in Kuan -

yin— stories

which are based on the reco rds of actual experience-are paralleled in Christian hagio logy. Maximinus

o rders St Catherine of Alexandria to be brokenon the wheel , but the wheel itself is shattered inpieces ;Blandina is sent to the amphitheatre , butthe wild beasts refuse to touch her ;Herman of

Co logne is condemned to death as a felon , yetfaith in St E lizabeth resto res him to life ; thejudge P aschasius puts St Lucy in a furnace thatblazes with oil and pitch , but the saint standsunhurt amid the flames . Of the unden iable truthswhich are bu t thinly disgu ised in such sto ries asthese , psycho logical analysis may have one explanation to offer , religiou s experience ano ther. Perhapsneither is who lly right and neither who lly wrong.

A few wo rds may be necessary to elucidate thereference to the willow-branch and the vase of

heaven ly dew , which were mentioned as Kuan -yin ’sfavourite emblems . The vase is known in Chineseas the citing

-p ing , which mean s “ pure vessel,

”

and the term is understood to be the equ ivalentof a Sanskrit wo rd which mean s “ the vase of

immo rtality.

” 1 The ching p‘ing was known in

China in pre Buddhist days . It was then ashallow dish , which was intended to catch the dew,

and with this object it was u sually placed in the

Cf. Beal , Buddhist Records ( 1 906 ii . 1 37, 1 72 ;and Watters,

‘

Yuan C'hivang, ii . 50.

XL] THE EMBLEMS OF KUAN-YIN

outstretched hand of an image or statue. Sometimes , apparently , it was simply a cup

-like ho llowscooped out of a ro ck on the summit of amountain . The dew co llected by this means wasbelieved to confer immortality on tho se who usedit to mo isten their lips and eyelids . 1 In the handsof Kuan -

yin the vessel is u sually represented as anarrow-necked phial (kalaéa) , from which the pusasprinkles heavenly dew on her wo rshippers , and

so endows them with the promise of endless blissin the Western P aradise , or from which she poursupon them the celestial in cen se which accompan iesthe consecration (abhisheka) of every bodhisat. 2

With regard to the o ther sacred emblem carriedby Kuan-yin , we may no tice in the first place thatthe pusa

’

s Indian pro totype, Avalokitesvara , isrepresented as ho lding, no t a willow-branch , but alotu s-flower— hence the epithet padmap o

'

ini lotusThe lotu s , as we know , is to Buddhists

a sacred plant , and perhaps we need look for no

o ther reason for its presence in the hand of a ho lybodhisat s But it seems difficult to understandwhy in China Kuan -

yin has come to be asso ciated

1 Of. the European fo lk-lore concern ing the washing of the fac ewith dew on May morning.

2 According to another theory , healing waters issue from the pusa’sfinger-tips . This is a more pleasing conception than the Hindu notionof the sacred GangaRiver, which flows from the toe ofVishnu. It may

be mentioned that the phial is o ften seen in the hands of other pusasbesides Kuan-yin , and it is sometimes carried by the Buddha Amitabha.

3 See pp . 1 03-9. Poussin observes Hastings , E .R. E. ii . 260)that “

already at Saiichi the‘ lotus ’ is represented in the hand

o f a great many personages as an offering intended for Buddha.

Those who carry lotuses are not all Avalokitas, for Maitreya

286 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN—YIN PUSA ( on.

with the willow in stead of the lo tu s . P erhaps wemay find an explanation in the fact that the willowhas been put by the Chinese to various magicalu ses, and is regarded with special favour as a raincharm .

1 Water which has been merely touched bya willow-branch is suppo sed to be endowed withmiraculou s healing properties . 2 In Buddhisticliterature religiou s truth is often po etically referredto as a reviving rain that descends upon theparched earth . The phrase fa yil the rain of

the Law ( of Buddha) — is constantly u sed byreligious writers , and it has been cho sen , as weshall see , as the name of one of the greatmonasteries of P uto . Thus to the wo rshipper ofKuan-yin it is a very natural and appropriate thingthat the divine pusa , who brings succour to thedistressed and sheds upon them the dew of

immortal bliss ( or the wine of the sweet dewshould carry in her hand a magic willow , withwhich she charms down from heaven the Rainof the Good Law .

” 4

To fo llow the symbo lism and iconography of

is among them . Possibly Avalokitesvara as padmapdni may be

connected with the post-Vedic Indian goddess Laksmior Sri, the wifeof Vishnu . This goddess was associated with the sea, from which she,like Aphrodite , is said to have arisen ;and as goddess of beauty sheis also associated with the lotus ( see H. Jacobi

,in Hastings , op . cit ,

n . 808;Of. also Kern , xxi . 253, footnote1 Lion andDragon in N orthern China, pp . 187 and 346 .

2 Such water is known as willow-water (yang-chih-shui) .3 Kan-lu-chin .

4 I t IS perhaps not impossible that Kuan-yin ’s spray was o riginallynot that of a willow (Chinese yang) but that of an Indian tooth-st icktree (Chin ese ch‘ih-ma) , which seems to have been a k ind of acacia.

On this subj ect sec'

l'

akakusu’

s I—Tszng’

s Records,p . 35 ;Watte rs ,

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

288 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

Kuan yin ’s wo rship the figures of what appearto be thirty-two different deities ; but they areall man ifestations of the one pusa exercising indifferent capacities her various function s of helperand saviour. 1 Sometimes , to o , we find her imageasso ciated with eight different kinds of danger orsuffering the (pa nan ) from which she is engagedin extricating mankind 2

and sometimes , as weknow ,

she appears as co-ruler with Amitabha andMahasthamaprapta (Ta

-shih-chih ) , over Sukhavati,the Western P aradise , although it is co rrect toregard her , when acting in this capacity, no t as thefemale Kuan-

yin , but as the male Avalokitesvaraof the scriptures of the P u re Land .

An epithet of Kuan-yin which is frequentlymet with by the student of Chinese Buddhistliterature is P ai-iTa-shih The Great Teacherrobed in An English writer has venturedto emphasize this epithet as one o f several indication s o f a connection between the Buddhists andthe E ssenes , who appear to have been known as awhite-clo thed sect . 3 The theo ry that the E ssenes

1 These are the thirty-two hsiang or transformations (sui-chi

ying-hsien) of Kuan-

yin referred to on p 276, and they include herappearances as a female. The thirty-two hsiang are all mentioned inthe sutras ( see B .N . 1 34 and Some of the hsiang ( in cluding thefemale ones , as already stated) are wanting in B .N . 1 38and in the textused by Kern .

2 Strictly speaking , these are eight states or situations in which it is

impossible to hear the Law of Buddha (and therefore difficult to attainsalvation ) . [1 lg 5? fl X‘ B?“ Flaif 18A fff

3 Beal , Buddhist Literature in China, 1882, xv . xvi . 1 59-1 66 . A. E .

Suffrin suggests that is an ethn ic term , equivalent to E ssauites,or Idumaeans , or at least a clan of Idumaea. He is strongly of opin ionthat the sect was non-Jewish , though on the Jewish borderland .

THE DEA SYRIA 289

were a sect of Buddhists has no t commended itselfto later scho lars , though many have admitted thatthe religion and philo sophy of the E ssenes mayhave been partly derived from Oriental (perhapsP ersian ) sources . As for the white robes , theywere worn n o t only by E ssenes , but also by theTherapeutae in Egypt ( assuming that they existedoutside the mind of the autho r of the De Vita

Con templativa) , and by in itiates in the OrphicMysteries . 1

But if it be unjustifiable to trace any connectionbetween Kuan -

yin and the E ssenes , it is perhapspermissible to su spect Syrian influences of ano therkind . The cult of the Dea Syria was carried , aswe know, to the extreme west of Europe ; butthe traders of Hierapo lis had relations with theEas t as well as the West

,and there is no difficulty

in suppo sing that some knowledge of this goddessreached China through P ersian or o ther channels .We may readily understand that the cult itself,with its o rgiastic revelries and barbarities , couldnever have had the slightest chance of winn ingsuppo rt in a land which had already submittedto the moral sway o f Confucian ism . Yet it willperhaps be conceded that in some respects Kuan

yin may no t unfairly be regarded as a refinedand mo ralized Atargatis.

2 We know that this1 See the clo sing lines of the Cretans of Euripides .2 It would not be the only instance of the adaptation to China of

deities that o riginally belonged to the West. The famousHsz-wang-mathe Western Queen who occupies a prominent place in

290 PUTO-SHAN AND KHAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

Syrian goddess was believed to have the controlof sacred life—giving waters, ” 1 a fact whichrecalls Kuan yin with her vial of vivifyingrain or dew. But mo re sign ificant is the factthat both divinities are asso ciated with fish.

The same , indeed , may be said of deities whohave little else in common with one another— such as Orpheu s and V ishnu ; and it is alsotrue that Buddhism itself makes a symbolic use

of fish quite irrespectively of the cult of Kuan

yin .

2 It must be admitted, mo reover, that no

Special significance necessarily attaches to the factthat tanks of sacred fish are a characteristicfeature of all properly-equ ipped Buddhist monasteries, as they were of the temples of Atargatis,for it is usually suppo sed (whether rightly or

wrongly) that the fish in the monastery pondswere never regarded as sacred , ” but are merelysuppo sed to serve as a permanent reminder of thestrict Buddhist commandment to refrain from the

the fairy-lore of China, has recently been identified (by Prof. H. A.

Giles) with the goddess Hera. Is it not possible, too , that a. con

nection exists,between the Mahayan ist Amitabha— who is not only the

Wu-liang-kuang ( the deity of Infin ite Light or but also theWu-liang

-shou ( the deity of “ Infin ite Age orTime — and the e a’

n

akarana, or

“ Endless Time of Mithraism ?1 See Dr T. K. Cheyne

, in Encycl. Biblica coll . 1 530-1 .

Reference need only be made to the ma-yu , or “ wooden fish,

which occupies a prominent place in every Buddhist temple. Thereare three supposed characteristics of fishes which appear to have ledto their being regarded in many parts of the world as sacred . One istheir quietness : they are the “ silent ones, even as the gods— to

mo rtal ears— are silent. Another is their wakefulness : they are

believed to need no sleep . The third is their fancied perpetualvirgin ity .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

292 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

Chinese Buddhism , we need not be surprised tofind that the waters surrounding the island of

Puto are theoretically regarded as an invio lablesanctuary for fishes , and that disaster is suppo sed tobe in store for all impiou s fishermen who defy thecommands of the Ao-yuKuan -

yin by letting downtheir nets in tho se ho ly waters. That the rulereceives no official suppo rt , and is to .

-day practically a dead letter, do es no t affect the significanceof the religious tabo o .

There is a quaint Chinese legend whichassociates a sudden advan ce in the popularity of

the cult of Kuan —

yin with a miraculous incidentwhich o ccurred in the second quarter of the

n inth century. According to this legend , theemperor Wen Tsung , of the T‘ang dynasty,who reigned from 827 to 840, was inordinatelyfond of oysters , and the fisher-fo lk were obligedby imperial decree to furn ish the palace withenormous and regular supplie s of this delicacy ,for which, however, no paymen t was made fromthe imperial exchequer. One day the emperor’seye was gladdened by the sight of an oyster-shellof exceptionally large siz e , and his Majestyanticipated an unu sual treat. The shell , however,was so hard that all effo rts to break it provedunavailing ; and the empero r was about to put

it aside when suddenly it opened of its own

accord , and disclo sed to the aston ished gaze of

the court a min iature image of the pu sa Kuan-yin .

The awe-stricken empero r gave orders that the

XL] EXTENSION OF CULT OF KUAN-YIN 293

treasure was to be carefully preserved in a go ldinla id sandal-wo od box, and he then sen t for ano ted Buddhist monk named Wei Cheng , whoknew everything that was wo rth knowing on

the subj ect of m iracles , in o rder to obtain an

authoritative explanation of the prodigy .

This matter , explained the man ofwisdom ,

“ isno t devo id of sign ificance . Kuan -

yin is the pu sawho extends love and compassion to all livingbeings ; and the pu sa has cho sen this mean s of

inclin ing your m ajesty’s m ind towards benevo lenceand clemency and filling your heart with pityfor your oppressed people .

The empero r, con cludes the chron icler , to ok thehint in good part , and no t on ly abo lished the fo rcedtribute of oysters , but issued an edict to the effectthat an image of Kuan -

yin was to be admitted intoevery Buddhist temple throughou t the Empire}Whether we believe this sto ry or no t , it

po ints to the fact that a great exten sion of thecult of Kuan -

yin to ok place a very few years

1 It seems a pity to throw any doubt on the credibility of thisstory as it stands

,but in the interests of truth the reader’s attention

must be drawn to a prosaic statement which occurs in Dr WellsWilliams

’

s description of the shell-fish and insects of China.

“ In

Chehkiang the natives take a large kind of clam (Alasmodonta) and

gently attach leaden images of Buddha under the fish,after which

it is thrown back into the water . Nacre is deposited over the lead,and after a few months the shells are retaken ,

cleaned,and then

sent abroad to sell as proofs of the power and presence of Buddha"

(Middle Kingdom ,i . 350 In view of these facts it must regretfully

be admitted that where the interests of religion were at stake theChinese monks of the n inth century seem to have shown themselves nomore scrupulous than their European contemporaries .

294 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

befo re the time when Puto -shan began to berecogn ized as that pusa

’

s principal seat of wo rshipin China . The oyster-loving empero r died in 840;the Buddhist history of Puto open s in 847 . In

that year, acco rding to the annals of the island,a certain Buddhist ascetic from India came toPuto and wo rshipped Kuan -

yin at the Ch‘ao-yinCave. This seems to show that Puto must havebeen known , even at that early date , as a favouritehaunt of Kuan -

yin , though there is no directevidence that such was the case . Acco rding to

the sto ry , the Indian pilgrim attested the sincerityof his devo tion by burn ing all his ten fingers ,and when he had bo rne this ho rrible to rturewithout flinching , he passed into a state of

ecstatic rapture , in which he not only saw thefo rm of the glo rious Kuan -

yin , but also heardher vo ice.If the pu sa were true to her functions as a

Teacher of the Go od Law,we must assume

that her obj ect in appearing befo re her Indianwo rshipper was no t to signify her approbationof his conduct , but rather to express her extremedispleasure . Su ch deeds of religiou s fanaticism( records of which are painfully frequent in theannals of o ther religion s besides Buddhism) aretotally irreconcilable with the spirit of theBuddhist faith , and are contrary to the expressteachings of its founder . Go tama himself

,like

the German fo urteenth century mystic HenrySuso , began his religious career by subj ecting

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

296 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA

wo rshipper who burned his ten fingers at Kuanyin ’s Cave is described as a native of India , forit was largely the example of the fle sh-to rturingsadhu s of India that led m any of the Buddhistmonks of China to inflict cruel pun ishment on

the body for its proneness to rebel again st thesovereignty of the spirit . Besides being Oppo sedto true Buddhism , such pro ceedings are also directlyantagon istic to the cardinal Chinese virtue ofH siao

(“ filial which bids m en m aintain their bodiesin a state of physical health and fitness in o rderthat they may fu lfil all their duties and obligationsbo th to their parents and to their descendants .Yet in condemning the harsh self-discipline of

the ascetics of India and China we should bewareof assuming , as the “ plain m an is apt to assume,that the m ortifications of the flesh which areligious enthu siast inflicts -upon himself underthe influence of ecstasy or intense emo tion arenecessarily the cause of acute physical agony.

There is abundance of evidence to show that invery many cases there is no suffering whatever

,

all the pain being disso lved in the flames of arapturou s joy . Thu s we may conso le ourselveswith the reflection that our finger-burning asceticmay have been as free from physical pain aswas Catherine of Siena o r Bernadette of Lourdes ,in very similar circumstan ces . 1

Nowadays , whether as a result of a slacken ing1 The mystic trance appears to be frequently accompan ied by a

state of anaesthesia ( see E . Underhill,blysticism ,

pp. 429 and

KUAN YIN PUSA.

Drawn m blood by a Herm zt of P uto-shan .

(Much reducedin[Fat me p . 296

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

298 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

o rdination . This is the pro cess known as janhsz

'

ang , or Chiu-hsiang , which consists in thecauterization of the scalp with burn ing moxapastilles made from the artemz

'

sz

'

a. chinensz'

s.

‘

Strictly speaking , subm ission to this painful o rdealis no t an ascetic act— that is to say, it is no t donewith the object of chastening the body in theinterests o f the spirit ;it is a symbolic act , wherebythe candidate for ordination signifies his willingness to walk in the way of the bodhisats, even to

the extent o f sacrificing his body , if need be , forthe good of his suffering fellow-creatures .It was mentioned that the place where the

Indian pilgrim perfo rmed his act of devotion and

gazed upo n the divine fo rm of Kuan -

yin was theCh‘ao —

yin Cave . Since that time the pusa is saidto have man ifested herself to the eyes of herwo rshippers on many different o ccasions , but of

the three caves in which these divine man ifestations have taken place , the Ch‘ao -

yin is that whichhas been mo st frequently hallowed by the pusa

’

s

presence , and is therefo re regarded as the mo stsacred.

2 It is Visited by all pilgrims, and all go

in the strong hope that when they gaze into thecavern ’s dark recesses they will be favoured witha View of the pusa “ clo thed in white samite

,

1 For full description of the ordination ceremon ies,see De Groot,

Le Code da Mahdydna en Chine (Amsterdam The jun-hsiang isdescribed on pp . 21 7fi

2 The other two are the Fan -

yin and Shan -ts‘ai caves,which are

in the eastern peninsula, beyond the Flying Sands .”

The words ofthe annalist with regard to the three holy places are as follow :

XI .) THE SACRED CAVE

mystic , wonderfu l. ” 1 P erhaps tho se who are strongin faith do not often go away disappo inted .

As a cave the Ch ‘ao -

yin-tung is disappo inting ,

for it is merely a perpendicular rent in the ro cksby the sea-sho re , and wou ld attract no particularattention but for its sacred asso ciation s. At timesthe tidal waters rush into it with resounding roarand dashing spray , and the waves , says a monkishchron icler , lash the cliff walls like the to ssed maneof a wild an imal . If the critical Western enqu irerinsists upon exto rting a pro saic explanation of thegho stly appearances of Kuan -

yin , he may perhapsfind one in the fact that at certain times , whenatmo spheric and tidal condition s are favourable , ashaft of sun light streams into the cave througha gap in the roof called the t‘z

'

en or

heaven ’s window,

”

and strikes athwart the flyingfo am . The cave then seems to be filled with atremulou s haze , in which the unbeliever seesnothing but sunlit spray , but which to thedevout wo rshipper is a luminou s veil throughwhich the “ Pu sa of Love and P ity becomesvisible to the eyes of her faithful supplian ts .Clo se by the cave stand two little temples

,

the L olzan-tz'

en , or“ Hall of Arahants,

”

and theCh‘

ao-yin-tung

-tien , or Hall of the Cave of theT ide-waves . A little stone image , one or two

empty shrines and incen se jars , an iron railing,

1 The author may as well confess at once that in spite of manyvisits to the cave he heard or saw nothing but the wild water lappingon the crag.

300 PUTO-SHAN AND K UAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

and a rock bearing the inscription H sien-skén -clz‘u ,

indicate the spot from which the V isitor is invitedto gaze into the so —called cave. This spot isknown as the C/z‘iu -hsien -t

‘ai— the terrace whereon

the pilgrim kn eels and prays . Here may also beseen a sacred well or poo l known as Kuang

-mz’

ng

Lustrous and Bright and also as H ui-ch‘z‘

lan

or Spring ofWisdom . M iracles of healing aresaid to have been wrought by the waters of thiswell.‘ In the Spring of the year 1 266 , for example ,a high official named Fan was affl icted with blindness , and sent his son to offer up prayers on hisbehalf at the Cave of Kuan -

yin . The son carriedout his father’s behest , and from the well hebrought home a bo ttle of ho ly water with whichhe washed the blind man ’s eyes . As a resultFan recovered his eyesight , and he then o rderedhis son to make a second journey to Puto to

return thanks. I n fron t of the ho ly cave theyoung man knelt down to pray , and no soonerhad he fin ished his prayers than the pusa madeher appearance below heaven ’s window. Herform , we are to ld , was dimly outlined within acloud of shimmering vapour , and a scarf of j adegreen gauze streamed from her shoulders .

1 I t is curious to find healing wells associated with a sacred cave in

the extreme west of the Euro-Asiatic continent as well as in theextreme east. I refer to the wells which exist in the vicinity of theholy cave of St Medan , in Luce Bay, Scotland . It has been “ theimmemorial custom of the peasantry— a custom not wholly obsolete today

— to bathe in these wells at sunrise on the first Sunday in May, for

the purpose of curing themselves of various diseases ” (D. MacRitchie ,in iii .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

302 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA

therefore much relieved when a stately lady , carrying a basket of fo od , suddenly appeared on thesea-sho re . The boat was mo o red some distanceofl“ the shore , but the strange lady made a littlecau seway by throwing stepping-stones into thewater

, and by this mean s she reached the boatwithout worse misadventure than slightly wettingthe edge of her robe . She fed the girl withdeliciou s food , and then , without having spokena word , returned to the sho re . After some timethe elder woman , having fin ished her devo tions,returned to the boat and expressed a fear thatthe girl must be hungry.

“ No t at all , was thereply ; I was fed by a strange lady. So sayingshe po inted to a remnant of the food which stilllay on the deck. Her compan ion on hearing thedetails of the sto ry made up her mind that thegirl’s silent ho stess mu st have been a divine being,and she returned to the principal temple to givethanks . Lo oking up reverently at the statelyimage of Kuan-yin seated on the lo tu s throne ,she no ticed that the hem of the pusa

’

s robe wasglisten ing with water .It may be po inted o ut , perhaps , by some keen

eyed critic that the conclu sion of this little storyaffo rds conclusive proo f that the Buddhists of

China , whatever they may be in theo ry, are inpractice mere ido laters . He may assert thatin spite of the mo ral elevation and philo sophicalprofundity ofmany Buddhist do ctrines , the religionas actually practised by the people of China has

IDOLATRY AND SYMBOLISM

come to be little more than a systematized imagewo rship . This , however , is scarcely true . Letus beware of suppo sing , when we watch thepeople burn ing incen se befo re the great gildedimages of the Buddhas and bodhisats, that allChinese Buddhists are mere wo rshippers of sto cksand stones . In the E ast , as in the West , thereare many people who are , or believe themselvesto be , incapable of dispen sing with all sen suousaids to the religious imagination , and who find in

outward sign s and emblems a means of preservingundimmed within their hearts and minds thelight of a lofty spiritual ideal . It is only themo st ignorant of Buddhists , as it is only the mo stigno rant of Christian s , who regard the imagesbefo re which they kneel in prayer or ado rationas the real and ultimate obj ects of their piousdevotion . To the enlightened Buddhist , as tothe enlightened Catho lic , the image or sacredpicture is merely a symbo l of divin ity. Christianand Buddhist are both well aware that among theuntaught and un imaginative masses the symbo lis

, unfo rtunately , apt to u surp the place of

the thing symbo lized ; and yet there are countless earnest adherents of the one faith and of

the o ther who would feel spiritually impoverishedif the symbo l were withdrawn .

1

With regard to this question of “ ido ls , atouching story is to ld by a Japanese Buddhistpriest

, Tada Kanai , who has published a little1 See above, pp. 189-90.

304: PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

vo lume of sermons which would no t discredit anyWestern pu lpit . 1

During a period of po litical unrest in Japan anumber of young men of kn ightly rank— samuraiwere imprisoned on a charge of participation

in a revo lutionary disturbance . All the prisoners ,with one exception , were filled with fierce angerand resentment again st their j ailo rs , and evenwent so far as to assault the official who broughtthem their daily food . The exception was a merechild

,a boy of twelve or thirteen years of age ,

who se patience under suffering and qu iet dign ityof bearing won him the sympathy and go odwillof his jailors and fellow prisoners alike . The

autho rities no ticed that their boy prisoner possessed two little lay figures , which at first weresuppo sed to be only do lls , and they wonderedat a high spirited boy caring for such childishthings ; but careful observation revealed the factthat he treated them no t as toys , but as objects ofrespect and reverence . E very mo rn ing he wouldset them up before him and greet them as ifthey were living beings . Good mo rn ing , father ,go od mo rn ing, mother ! ” he would say ;and whendinner-time time came he would always place thetray in front of them and go through a fo rm of

reverent salutation befo re he began to ply hischopsticks . He treated the do lls , in fact , as adutiful and respectful son (in Old Japan or in

1 The book is named Shodé Kéwa fg {5 fi $8and has beentranslated into English by the late Rev. Arthur Lloyd under the titleThe Praises ofAmida. (Tokyo

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

306 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [CH.

manacled throughout the who le term of our im

prisonment , a term which lasts from birth to

death . We , too , have do lls that we play with ,ido ls that we wo rship . Let u s no t be ashamedof our ido latries , provided only that these ido lsof o urs stand as symbo ls of something true and

beautiful outside our prison walls. The boy

prisoner of Japan u sed his ido ls as a means ofcommun ion with his loved ones who were faraway : and they gave his spirit wings . Some of

us have ido ls of a baser kind , ido ls that hypnotizeour faculties and teach us to hug our chains, so

that the mu sic of the spheres grows faint , and

the range of our spiritual vision is restricted tothe boundaries of our dungeon . The spirit willbeat again st her mo rtal bars in vain if our ido lsare such as these.

There is a curiou sly prevalent impressionamong European s that the “ ido latries practisedin Buddhist China are qu ite incompatible withanything like prayer in the Christian sen se , and

that the who le of the liturgical wo rship of theBuddhist temples is a mean ingless mummery,chiefly con sisting in the recitation of transliteratedSanskrit texts and fo rmulae which are to tallydevo id of mean ing even to the officiating priests.Su ch notion s as these are a survival from thebad old days when it was considered a pro of ofChristian zeal to heap contempt and abuse on

the faiths of all non -Christian peoples ; but theyare notions which no person who can read Chinese

XI ] USE OF PRAYER IN BUDDHISM

is likely to entertain for a moment after he hasglanced at some of the pages of the prayer-bookswhich are in daily use in the great monasteries .Such compilations as the favourite Ch‘

an -mén-j z'

lz

sung‘ include prayers for use by bo th monks and

laymen in connection with all such circumstancesof daily life as can be brought into relationshipwith religiou s observance . 2 There are , of course ,prayers for use on saints’ days— that is , on thedays specially consecrated to the wo rship of thegreat pusas. There are burial services for monksand laymen , services for the o rdination of monks ,services in commemoration of pious founders andbenefacto rs and spiritual ancestors . There areprayers for use before and after child-birth , prayersfor fair weather , for rain , for deliverance fromplague and famine , for the divine guidance of

rulers and magistrates. There are prayers to beu sed befo re taking food , prayers for tho se indanger or difficulty , prayers for tho se at sea ,prayers expressing repentance for sin , prayers forthe sick and dying. Such books also containmany superstitiou s survivals , such as sacred wo rdsand charms which are suppo sed to have a con

tro lling power over the fo rces of nature , and thereare prayers for purely material benefits , such aswealth and worldly pro sperity , and rituals whichcorrespond more or less clo sely with Christianmasses for the dead.

1 Prayers of the Ch‘an (Jhana) School for daily recitation .

2 Another popular compilation is the Ch‘an-Iin-shu-yu or Prayers

of the Jhana Grove

308 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA

To the non-Buddhist , perhaps a more interestingfeature of these religiou s miscellanies is the largesection which is devoted to selected sermonettesor homilies by distingu ished leaders of religiousthought. These as a ru le con sist ofmo ral exho rtation s which , though based on Buddhist ethics , areso free from credal or dogmatic assumption s thatthey might almo st be regarded as the utterancesof free-thinking moralists— and , indeed , rightly so ,

for Buddhism is perhaps the only great religioussystem which , if it does no t actually welcome andencou rage the free thinker , sees no reason to makeprovision for his excommun ication . E xpu lsionfrom the monkhood is , indeed, no t unknown ;butthe pun ishment is inflicted , not for free thoughtor

“ infidelity , but merely for offences againstmorals or discipline. The fate of tho se who , ifno longer subjected to physical to rture , are stilldriven unwillingly from the fo ld of the ChristianChurch would be unthinkable in Buddhism.

1 The

Buddhist monk at o rdination binds himself to no

Articles and to no formulated Creed, and he is

perfectly at liberty to use his own judgment ininterpreting the sacred books and traditionaldo ctrines of his scho o l , though so long as hecho o ses to remain in the monkhood he must,of course , conform with all the disciplinary

1 Modern istmovements in Buddhism give rise to no acute “ crisesin the Buddhist Church partly because no one is in a position to makeinfallible pronouncements as to what constitutes orthodoxy. We can

hardly describe the Three Refuges as a Creed in the Western sense .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

31 0 PUTO-SHAN AND KUAN-YIN PUSA [OH.

of salvation 1 but although I am a monk and

have abandoned the world , I am bitterly consciousthat my heart is no t yet penetrated with the truth .

2

I am sorely lacking in true knowledge , and havemany vain thoughts and wrong opin ion s . I amdeficient in the moral fo rce n ecessary for spiritualadvancement. I study the scriptures with diligence ,and yet I am incapable of fully understanding and

assimilating their ho ly wisdom . I fear that fewblessings are in sto re for me , that my life is destinedto be cut sho rt , 3 and that I have devo ted myselfall in vain to the religiou s life . 4 I have wasted mydays , and dare hope fo r no thing but a spendthrift’sdeath.

5 Beho ld , in my longing to purify this heartof mine , I am shedding tears of angu ish . In

reverence and humiliation I kneel befo re Thee :day and n ight my thoughts dwell on Thy ho lycountenance . I ho ld fast to Thy ho ly name , andpro strate myself befo re Thy sacred image .

“ InclineThy heavenly ear, 0 Pusa, to hearken unto me ;of Thy divine love save me from misery ;grant

1

fi fi2 If the suppliant is a layman

,in place of the sentence beginn ing

but although I am a monk,

” he may use the fo llowing words : “ I

am still immersed in the ocean of worldly life,and my mind is confused

and distracted.

”

3 The Buddhist prays for a long life so that he may have time forthe fullest spiritual development of which his nature is capable. The

common Western view that the consistent Buddhist longs , or shouldlong , for a speedy death or annihilation is quite a mistaken one .

4 Instead of this sentence the layman says : “ I fear that I am

making an unprofitable use o f my privileges as a man ”

( literally, “ I

have obtained a man ’s body in vain5 That is , I shall have squandered all my powers and talents , and

shall have accumulated no store of good karma with which to face thelife that is to come .

e

ffi lfi fl ifi fi a z fi fi fi g fi fi fi fi

KUAN-YIN ,

"THE COMPASSIONATE FATHER.

[fiac‘mg p 31 0 .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

CHAPTER X I I

THE MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN

As Kuan-yin ’s holy island contain s nearly a hundredm onasteries and temples , exclu sive of a still largernumber of so litary hermitages , it is obviou s thata full description and histo rical account of Putoshan could no t be compressed into the space of

a few short chapters . In these pages we mustcontent ourselves with little mo re than a generalsurvey of the two principal monasteries . These arethe P ‘

u commonly known as the Ch‘z’

en -sszl , or

Southern Monastery, ” and the Fa-yz’

l, commonlyknown as the H on or No rthern Monastery.

As this book , however, may find its way into the

hands of European visito rs to the island , it maynot be out of place to give some brief descriptionof its topography.

For purpo ses o f study and explo ration theisland may be regarded as divided into fiveimaginary section s . The first section will includeall the south-western part, beginn ing with thelanding-place. In this section there are aboutseventeen temples , including the interesting Kuanyin

-tung (with a cave , as its name denotes ,31 2

on. xii. ] THE DIAMOND ROCK

dedicated to the pu sa) , and the still more interesting Ling sink cli‘an - lz

'

n ( the MeditationGrove of the Spiritual Ro ck This is the famou sP ‘

cm-t‘o ( the “ Huge Ro ck as it styles itselfin deeply carved characters . Next to the Ch‘aoyin Cave , described in the last chapter, this isthe ho liest spo t on the island. Just as the who leof P uto is the Chinese duplicate of the sacredP otalaka mentioned in the Hua-yen sutra as thehome of Kuan -

yin} so the P ‘an -t ‘o Ro ck is the

counterpart of the Ckz’

n -kang—

pao-shz

'

lz ( the Ho lyD iamond Ro ck on which, acco rding to thatsutra , Kuan-yin sat enthroned when she ( or he)was visited by the angelic Shan -ts‘ai.3 The boulderis covered with variou s in scription s , among . whichwe find “ the Western Heaven ,

“ 1 take myrefuge in Amitabha Buddha,

” “ the place wherethe Great Teacher preached the Law,

” “ the E ternalBuddha ,

” “ the world’s mo st famous ro ck ,” “ the

ho ly rock which guards the State. ” 4 On the flattop of the bou lder , which is reached by means of awooden ladder, contemplative monks may oftenbe seen sitting in reverie. This , in fact , is afavourite spo t for the practice of clz‘an-na (jhana)— deep religious meditation . There is anotherro ck clo se by known as the Pulpit of Kuan—

yin ,

” 5

1 See p . 270.

”

Q MI R TJ’%fli

“

E 36;fi fi l‘dfi l‘fiflk k iifiifi lfi . it fi eaé ifia;

fi T fi — E WFB. l fi fi

31 4 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

but in spite of its superio r po sition (for it com

mands a fine View of the west) it canno t competewith the Diamond Ro ck ”

in fame or sanctity.

Ano ther temple in this section , the M eiFa

CIz‘an-

ynan ,

1 is wo rth a visit on account of thecuriou s black-bearded and emaciated figures whichare understood to represent Sakyamun i , Wen

shu , and P‘u—hsien . The P ‘

u -cili-an also deservesa visit for the sake of its magn ificent camphortree , and the Yln -hsz

'

u temple on account of itssecluded situation . At one time the printingblo cks of the island Chron icle and o ther literaryvaluables were sto red in the Yin -hsiu for safety.Its sequestered po sition saved it mo re than oncefrom the attentions of piratical Visito rs .

The second of the five section s , with abouttwenty-five temples , contains no t only the Ch‘aoyin Cave , the T ‘

ai-tzu P agoda, the Fa-hua gro ttoes ,the Ch‘ao -yang Cave , but also , and above all , thegreat “ Southern Monastery — the P ‘

u - chi - ssi’i.

Near the P agoda is a new boys’ scho o l , suppo rtedby the monks of Puto out of their endowments .The third section , with abou t twenty-three temples ,includes the Hui-chi Monastery on the summit ofthe island Buddha’s Peak The fourth section ,

with n ine temples , includes the finest and mo stbeautiful religiou s hou se on the island — theNo rthern or Fa-yuMonastery. To this sectionalso belong the secluded little hermitage o ccupiedby the monk K‘ai-ming ; the remarkable bank

For a reference to MeiFu, see p . 266.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

31 6 MONASTIC H ISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

The fifth and last section of the island consistschiefly of lonely hills . It contains only two or

three little temples , ofwhich the mo st picturesqueis the H siao-shan —tnng Little Hill Cave on

a rocky promonto ry which at high tide becomesan island .

The total number of resident monks in Puto iswell over a thou sand , the majo rity of whom residein the Southern and No rthern monasteries.This number is greatly swelled for a few daysduring the second month of the old Chinesecalendar , for the n ineteenth day of that monthis regarded as the birthday of Kuan-yin ,

and theoccasion is celebrated by stately services , whichare attended no t only by the monks in permanentresidence , but also by crowds of pilgrims (monksand laymen ) from all parts of China, and bynumerous candidates for o rdination . It is atthis time that the annual o rdination ceremonyis performed , and the rites are conducted by theNo rthern and Southern monasteriesin alternateyears. In 1 9 1 3 the ceremony to ok place at theSouthern Monastery in 1 9 1 4 it will be the turn

of the No rthern .

”

The candidates who come

common one in China. T he relics of the Fan-yin Cave seem to havelost their fame in this respect, if, indeed, they are still in existence but

similar relics are still to be seen in the well-known monastery ofAyiiwang (Asoka) near Ningpo . Each visitor who wishes to behold thesacred obj ect kneels in a little courtyard in front of the shrine and takesthe relic-casket into his hands . He is then asked to look inside and toreport what he sees . The autho r regrets to say that what he sawwasneither red nor white , nor was it the figure of Buddha. He venturesto question the reliability of the test .

BUDDHIST ORDINATION

from various parts of central China vary innumber from one hundred to three . After o rdination each young monk sets out for the monasterywhich he has selected , or which has been selectedfor him , as his permanent abode.

The rites of o rdination are of an elabo ratenature , but it shou ld no t be forgo tten thatBuddhist monks are no t compelled or expectedto take perpetual vows . The Buddhist monk inChina— as in all Buddhist lands— is free to returnto the wo rld when he cho o ses . ‘ For this reasonthe annals of Buddhism contain no such pitifulstories as tho se which we sometimes meet within the annals of monastic Christendom— storiesfrom which we obtain fitful glimpses of thesufferings endured by tho se to whom the conventwalls had become the walls of a loathed dungeon .

The monasteries and nunneries of Buddhism havenever been prison s . The letter written by thesaintly but pitiless An selm of Canterbury to alady of noble birth who had fled back to thewo rld from her hated nunnery has no counterpartin the literature of Buddhism.

2

1 As Mrs Rhys Davids has observed (Psalms of the Sisters, 1 909,p .

“ in Buddhist hagiology there is no premium placed on thestate of virgin ity as such . The Founder himself was a husband andfather, and the mo st eminent sisters were , three -fourths of them ,

matrons , not virgins .2 “ A spouse of God, a virgin , thou wert chosen ;and set apart

to wear the dress and l ive the life devoted to God. What can I saythou art now, my daughter ? God knoweth . For it is impossiblefor thee by any means to be saved , unless thou shalt return to thyrejected habit and thy vow. Think , and let thine heart beshattered to pieces, sorrow vehemently over thy fall. Cast aside

318MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO—SHAN [CH

A Buddhist monk is of course obliged , so

long as he remains a monk , to act in strictconfo rmity with the vows taken at o rdination .

He must obey the “ commandments (which arepractically identical with the commandments con~tained in every sound mo ral code) , he must bestrictly chaste , and he must confine himself toa vegetarian diet . Flesh fo od is interdicted toBuddhist monks , ju st as it was interdicted by theReg ula B enedictz

'

of Christian monasticism . In

the great monasteries the abbo t’s wo rd is law,

and, indeed , in many cases he is legally investedwith the power of inflicting co rpo ral and otherpunishment . But if the ru le of a Buddhist abbotis a despo tism , it is nearly always a benevo lentone . We never hear of Buddhist ecclesiasticsexercising their disciplinary powers in a tyrann icalmanner . No Chinese empero r ever had o ccasionto issue edicts prohibiting Buddhist abbo ts frommutilating the bodies of disobedient monks . 1

It is hardly necessary to say that the greatreligious hou ses of China do no t all stand at aand tread under foot the secular dress thou hast assumed

, and resumethe habit of a spouse of Christ which thou didst throw off But ifthou scornest to do this, all will be against thee, and I and the ChurchofGod shall act as in such a case we know how to act . May AlmightyGod visit thine heart and pour into it His love

, dearest daughter .The most sign ificant and characteristic feature of the letter is themanner in which the ultimate argument— the ugly threat of pun ishment— is reserved for the last paragraph . The saint wishes his victimclearly to understand that if reproachful pity and loving persuasioncannot effect the desired result, he and “ the Church ofGod will actas in such a case they know how to act .

1 In Europe , in the time of Charlemagne , laws had to be passedmaking it illegal for abbots to put out their monks’ eyes .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

320 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

We saw in the last chapter that the Buddhistichistory of Puto begin s with the year 847 , whenKuan-

yin appeared in a vision in response to theprayers of a Buddhist pilgrim from India. The

next event of religiou s impo rtance took placeabout a decade later , when Puto was visited byano ther foreigner , of greater celebrity than the

nameless Indian ascetic . This foreigner was aJapanese monk named Egaku

1— a name which

bears the dign ified mean ing of Wisdom P eak.

He was in high favour at the Japanese court , andwas twice sent by the empress-dowager Tachibanaon religious mission s to China . This epoch wasone of great pro sperity for Buddhism in Japan ,

and Japanese Buddhists were con stantly movingto and fro between the great court-patronizedmonasteries of Nara and Kyoto and the chiefcentres of Buddhist learn ing and piety in China . 2

Japanese monks , indeed , showed as much en

thusiasm in making pilgrimages to the sacredmountain s of Buddhist China as Chinese monksof the same and earlier periods showed in travellingto the ho ly shrines of their faith in Kashmir andIndia.

I n the history of Japanese Buddhism Egaku’

s,

name is a distingu ished o ne , for to_ him is assigned

much of the credit of having introduced into his1 Egalcu would be Hui-o in modern Pekingese .3 The Japanese imperial court resided at Nara from about 709 to

784. In 794 Kyoto became the capital . It was during th e Kyoto ( orHeian) era that the great Fujiwara family established itself as thepower behind, or rather in front of, the imperial throne .

INSCRIBED ROCK ,NEAR SUMM IT OF PUTO—SHAN

THE CHUSAN ISLANDS , FROM PUTO-S l-IAN .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

322 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN

than the junk slid off the rock and resumed itsjourney without further misadventure .Acco rding to a more romantic version of the

story, Egaku’

s junk , with the image on board,was sailing among the islands when suddenlyits progress was arrested by a miraculous growthof water-lilies , which seemed to co ver the wholesurface of the sea. Egaku offered up a prayerto Kuan-yin , and vowed that if he and his compan ion s were brought safely out of their presentunhappy plight he would establish a shrine forthe wo rship of the pusa at the first place towhich she in her wisdom and mercy might choo seto conduct them . The immediate result of thisprayer was that in the midst of the water-liliesa clear way was opened for the junk , whichthereupon by some mysteriou s agency was gu idedto Puto . Mindfu l of his vow, Egaku here leftthe junk and landed with his image on the southeastern shores of the sacred island , clo se to thatro cky promonto ry which contains the famousCh‘ao -

yin Cave.The legend go es on to say that Egaku was

ho spitably received by a family of islanders of

the name of Chang, who when they discoveredthat Egaku was a ho ly man , and his image amiraculous one , willingly provided their guest withfood and lodging. In pursuance of his vow heforthwith converted the bu ilding provided for hisuse into a temple for the wo rship of Kuan -

yin .

In this temple he enshrined his sacred image

XII .] THE SEA or WATER-LILIES

which soon acquired a wide celebrity under thename of the P u—Ie‘én -ch‘n Kuan-

yin ( the Kuanyin who refu sed to go for, said herworshippers , the pusa had m ade it abundantlyclear that she had no wish to go to Japan or

anywhere else , but was determined to make herhome in the island of the Little White Flower. ”

Egaku is a historical character , and his pilgrimages to some of the ho ly places of BuddhistChina are well-authenticated facts . The miracleloving chron iclers have , of course , embellishedthe story of his narrow escape from shipwreck ,but though we must assume that the waterlilies which obstructed the progress of his junkwere no thing more m iraculous than the whitecrested waves of a sto rmy sea , there is no reasonto doubt that he landed , or was driven asho re ,at Puto and there returned thanks to the graciou spusa who had saved him from the perils of thedeep .

To this day the Chusan Sea or rather thatportion of it which lies between the principalisland and Puto — is known as the Lien -bua-yang

( the Sea ofWater-lilies The idea of the waterlilies is one which has captivated the Buddhistimagination , for the monastic chron icles of Putocontain several sto ries in which the same motifreappears . We are to ld , for example , thatabout the year 1 080 certain predatory “ Dwarfscame to China “ bearing tribute to the Sungempero r , and in the course of their return

324 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

journey from Hangchow ( then the capital) theylanded at Puto and carried away some of theprecious relics . 1 But no so oner did they attemptto resume their eastward course than they foundtheir ship enmeshed in the tendrils of countlesswater-lilies , which seemed as though they weremade of iron . The frightened Dwarfs hastilyrestored the sacred art icles to their shrines , and

the “ iron ” water—lilies immediately disappeared.

A similar sto ry is to ld of a Chinese officialnamed Wang Kuei , who was sent to Puto bythe Sung empero r “ to wo rship Buddha, but

showed himself “ lacking in reverence. On hishomeward journey his ship was held fast in an

impenetrable jungle of water - lilies . Kneelingon the deck with his face towards the holyisland , he humbly implo red the outraged pusa

’

s

forgiveness ; whereupon a white ox suddenlyemerged from the depths of the sea and pro

ceeded to get rid of the water-lilies by eatingthem up. The sea was soon cleared and thejunk released , whereupon the ox transformeditself into a white ro ck , which still remains aconspicuous feature of the Lien -hua Sea, silentlybut unan swerably refuting the arguments of

1 “ Dwarfs " is a name which the Chinese used to apply to theJapanese, just as they spoke of Europeans as

“ Foreign Devils .See Lion and Dragon in N orthern China, 1 91 0

,pp

. 46, 48,

70. The term tribute -bearers ” was commonly applied to themembers of any mission from a foreign state , not excepting theBritish mission under Lord Macartney in 1 792 . The writers ofthe Puto Chronicle are careful to abstain from describing Egekueither as a Dwarf or as a tribute-bearer.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

326 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [OH.

Amitabha , which , he will remind you , lies alsoin the west , and to which the compassionateKuan-yin ,

whom he has served so faithfully, willsome day conduct him . Who is to chide him,

indeed , if from time to time vision s of the busywo rld of men and of women mingle withhis visions of the spiritual kingdom of the saints ?

Egaku’

s arrival at P uto probably took placein or about the year 858. The Chinese Chron icleof the island assign s the event to the secondyear of Chéng Ming o f the Liang dynasty, whichco rresponds with 9 1 6 o f our era , but this seemsto he certainly a mistake . 1 It seems probable ,however, that in 91 6 the island was again“opened -to use the Chinese phrase— as the too

ch‘ang , or“ Sanctuary of Kuan -

yin , and that bythis time all vestiges of the earlier shrine of Egakuhad van ished . It is very un likely, indeed , thatEgaku made a long stay in the island. The

Chron icle says that the Chang family, whom be

1. In this matter I accept the arguments and suggestions ably put

forward by N. Peri and H. Maspero in the Bulletin de l’

Ecole

Franpaise d’E

’

wtreme-Orien t, tome ix .,No . 4, pp. 797 17. Their con

elusions are based on incontrovertible facts of Japanese history.

I t may be mentioned, however, that the writers were evidently unawareof the fact that there is a. later edition of the P ‘

u-t‘o-shan-chih ( the

Chinese Chron icle of Puto) than that to which they refer. Theiredition was of the eighteenth cen tury , whereas that in my possessionwas published about 1843. I t is a great improvement on the earlieredition s , but it repeats the mistake about the year ofEgaku

’s arrival at

Puto . There is, however, one passage which implies that he cameto the island in the T‘

ang dynasty . This was true if the year 858be accepted as the correct one whereas if he did not arrive till 91 6 theT‘

ang dynasty was already extinct. (For the passage referred to , seethe Chch

,ch . ix . p .

XI I .] THE TEMPLES OF PUTO

found living there , were prompted by religiou szeal to give up their own dwelling-hou se to Egakuso that it might be converted into a temple forKuan—yin ’s image ; but the info rmation that hasbeen handed down to us is so scanty that eventhe site of the temple— which is known to histo ryas the P u-k‘én -c/z‘fiz Kuan-yin Yitem (the Templeof the Kuan -

yin who refused to go away — is amatter of uncertainty. The generally acceptedView is that it was clo se to the Ch‘ao -

yin Cave ,where Egaku is suppo sed to have landed , and

that its site is now o ccupied by the temple and

small monastery known as the t i-chu-lin .

1 As

for the famou s image , we mu st regretfully recordthe fact that it belied its name by disappearingfrom P uto at a very early date . 2

The monastic hou ses of P uto have passedthrough strange vicissitudes . They have been so

repeatedly burned and plundered by pirates thatpractically all the present buildings are modern ,

and it is doubtful whether there is a singlestructure which can be assigned to an earlier datethan the fourteenth century. E ven of that period

1 See the Chih,ch . ix . p . 1 4. An alternative name of this temple is

T‘ing-ch‘ao-eu ( “ Listen to the - tide - waves Temple the reference

being to the roar of the tidal waters rushing in to the sacred cave .Like all the other temples of Puto , it has undergone several restorations . An autograph scro ll was presented to it by the EmperorK‘

ang—hsi in 1 699. Unfortunately , the present building is not a

beautiful one : it was obviously designed by an architect cursed withan exaggerate d sense of the importance ofmere usefulness.

2 According to one account, it was removed during one of thetemporary m igrations made by the monks to the mainland, and was setup in a temple in the Ningpo prefecture.

328MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

the only relic- though it is a valuable one— isthe very picturesque but somewhat battered towerknown as the P agoda of the P rince Imperial . ” 1

The reco rds tell us that this pagoda was erectedabout the year 1 334 by a monk named Fou Chungat the expense of his patron and disciple , a piousprince named Hsiian -jang.

2 The pagoda was builtof fine stone specially imported from the neighbourhood of the T ‘

ai-hu— the island sea that liesto the west of the city of So o chow — and thecarving was executed with minute care and skill.Among the figures of Buddhas and bodhisats

which adorn its four sides are the pusas of theFour Sacred Hills— Kuan -

yin , Ti-tsang , P ‘u-hsien ,

and Wén -shu .

The pagoda stands in the immediate vicinityof the monastic centre of the island— a cluster oftemples and monasteries , of which by far thegreatest is the “ Southern Monastery ”

( Ch‘e

'

en

Its co rrect name is P ‘u-clzi-ssa, o r Monastery of

Un iversal Salvation . The first building is a hall 3

which is ro ofed with tiles of imperial yellow and

contain s tablets bearing the engraved reproduction sof decrees issued by emperors of the Ming and

1 T‘ai-tz rz T‘

a. I do not know what Edkins’ authority was for

his statement that this pagoda was named after the prince whosubsequently became the Empero r Wan-Ii (Chinese Buddhism [1883

p . The pagoda belongs to the Yuan , not to the Ming ,dynasty ;and it seems very doub tful whether the prin ce in questionbelonged to the Chinese imperial family .

9 The career of Fou Chung, who was treated with great reverenceby several persons of high rank, is described in the Chih, ch. vii . pp . 4-5.

3 Yu-pei

-t‘ang .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

XII . ] MONASTERY OF UNIVERSAL SALVATION 329

Ch ‘ing dynasties . In front of this hall is a lo tuspond With a picturesque archway and severalgraceful kio sks and bridges .Behind the imperial pavilion we come to the

bell and drum towers and to the “ Hall of theFour Heavenly Kings who are the pro tecto rs orchampion s of the faith in the fou r quarters of

the un iverse . Behind this hall we reach a courtyard remarkable for its trees , its carved balu strades ,and its great incen se bu rners and candlesticks .It is flanked by pavilions contain ing images of

the eighteen lo -han (arahants) . The largebuilding in front is the chief sanctuary of thetemple — the chapel of Kuan-

yin .

1 A very largeimage of the pu sa o ccupies the central po sition ,

and thirty-two figures— sixteen on each side

represent the pusa’

s tran sfo rmation s . 2 The largecourtyard behind the great sanctuary contain sthe variou s monastic offices , guest-quarters , abbo t

’sapartments , and refecto ry. The centre is o ccupiedby the Fa-t‘ang or Hall of the Law , a two -sto riedbuilding. The lower sto ry contain s images of

Sakyamun i , P ‘u-hsien , and Wenshu . The upper

sto rey , which is the library , contains one of thealabaster Buddhas which are to be seen in severalof the temples of Puto . They are of Burmeseo rigin , and are said to have come from Mandalay.

3

That there are Chinese monks of the present day

Yuan-t‘ung-pao-tien . See above, pp. 272-3.

9 See pp . 276, 288.3 From Peking toEMandalay, p . 86.

330 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

who from religious mo tives gladly undertake thelong and expens ive journey to Burma is a factwhich is of special interest when we rememberthat the Buddhism of Burma and the Buddhismof China are u sually regarded by Western studentsas hopelessly irreconcilable in respect of bothdo ctrine and practice . But a more intimateacquaintance with the tradition s and ideals of

Oriental religiou s life will convince us that nearlyall fo rms of Buddhism are vitalized by one

indwelling spirit , of which the mo st characteristicman ifestation is a graciou s and winn ing to lerance.Buddhism is perhaps the on ly great religion thewo rld has known which no t only teaches that thefreedom of the human spirit is a desirable ideal ,but achieves a mo re than moderate success inmaking its practice in this respect confo rm withits theory.

The residential quarters of the P ‘u-chi Monas

tery it is unnecessary to describe . Like nearly allstructures of similar character in China, they areof comparatively plain exterio r and of smallarchitectural interest . It is always the templebu ildings and shrines , with their magn ificenttimbered roofs , and the exqu isite kio sks and

pavilions which shelter the scro lls and tablets of

empero rs and poets , that give free scope to theskill and taste of the Buddhist archite ct and

carver .The present name o f the P ‘

u-chi Monasterydoes not appear in the reco rds of the island till

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

332 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [OH.

the pien was ready to be suspended in a t‘z'

ng

(“ small pavilion or over the principal shrine ormain gateway of the favoured temple .

The previou s histo ry of the monastery knownsince 1 699 as the P ‘

u-chi is somewhat obscure,partly owing to variou s changes of name , and

partly to the fact that some of the monkishchroniclers have confu sed the records of thismonastery with tho se of the Tzii-chu-lin , which ,as we have seen ,

1 seems to have the best titleto be regarded as the true representative of theo riginal bu ilding converted by the shipwreckedEgaku into a shrine for the image that wouldno t go away .

There is evidence that numerous monks andhermits began to take up their residence in theisland during the tenth and eleventh centuries.I n 967 the first empero r of the Sung dyn astyextended his pro tection to the monks ; and in

1 080 a court - official named Wang Shun -fengpresented a repo rt to the throne concern ing certainmiraculous do ings of Kuan —

yin , and this impressedthe empero r so deeply that he became a patronof the island and autho rized the principal house(we canno t be sure which it was ) to adopt thename P ao -t‘o -Kuan -

yin-sm

‘

z2

( the Monastery of

the Ho ly Hill of Kuan-

yin

At this time the “ rule of the monks wasthat of the Lu or V inaya schoo l ; but in 1 1 31 a

See p. 327.

fi l‘fi fifi 'fi‘

t

A FAMOUS MONK

distingu ished monk named Chen -hsieh ( also knownas Ching-liao ) , a native ofthe province of Ssuch‘uan ,

came to Puto and introduced the Ch‘an do ctrines .The Chron icle says that on this account he isregarded as the founder of the Ch‘an schoo l of

Puto -shan ; but though the throne was asked toauthorize the substitution of the Ch‘an for the Lurule , 1 the Ch ‘an did n o t have everything its ownway after this time , for we learn that it had to bere -introduced at a much later date. Chén -hsieh ,however, was a learned and far travelled monk ,who se n ame is deservedly held in honour by ChineseBuddhists . He seems to have been one whomnowadays we should term a revivalist ,

”

and wasnever weary of rambling from place to place preaching and converting. Wu -t‘ai was one scene of hislabours , T ‘ien -t ‘ai was ano ther. When he cameto Puto ,

which he made his home for many years ,he found the neighbouring islands o ccupied bymo re than seven hundred families of fishermen .

We are to ld that as so on as they heard Chén -hsiehpreach the Law they one and all abandoned theirfishing

-boats . 2

This striking little sto ry can hardly fail torecall a somewhat similar one which o ccupies anhonourable place in Christian literature 3 but thesto ry about Chen-hsieh and his fishermen becom escharacteristically Buddhistic when it goes on to

l

fl ifi fl éflg fefi fi fifi2

75 11! { Ech . vii . p .

3 Matthew iv. 18, 22 . Of. Mark i . 1 6-20 and Luke v. 1 1 .

334 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

tell us that by drawing the fishermen awayfrom their boats Chen-hsieh saved the lives ofthou sands of fish. The anecdote is probablyintended to emphasize the righteousness of refraining from fishing in the waters of Puto .

‘ But

it do es not imply that the fisherman who llyabandoned their o ccupation . The mean ing seemsto be that while Chen-hsieh was preaching thefishermen left their boats and came to listen to

him . Whether they ever returned to their fishingor not is a doubtful question . The Buddhists ofPuto an swer it in the negative.

In 1 2 1 4 we find a reco rd of an imperial gift forrebu ilding and restoration ; and when the workwas completed the empero r (one of the last of

the expiring Sung dynasty ) presented a pien forthe prin cipal chapel of Kuan-yin , together withgo ld-embro idered ceremon ial robes , silver chalices,altar hangings , and o rnaments of pearl and jasper.In 1 248the island was released from taxation .

The rulers of the Yuan (Mongo l) dynasty ,which held the throne between 1 280 and 1 367 ,

were zealous supporters of Buddhism, and Puto

enjoyed a large share of imperial favour. Ch‘éngTsung (Timour Khan ) , grandson of the greatKublai , sent officials with presents to the islandfour times in four successive years ( 1 298-1 301 ) andhis example was fo llowed by three other emperorsof the same dynasty.

One of Puto ’s lay—visito rs during the clo singI See p . 292 . A similar story is told of Chih-ché, a famous monk

ofT‘ien—t‘ai.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

836 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [OH.

of the province moved the monastic establishment ,such as it was , to the Island of Chu san .

I n 1 572 a monastery was again founded by amonk from Wu-t‘ai . His name was Chen-sungTrue P ine Two years later certain monksbeheld a beautiful vision on the sea o f water-lilies.From the sea mists emerged a white-robed figureseated on a go lden lo tu s . This was regarded as asign that days of happiness for Puto were about toreturn . The omen was a true one , fo r the visionalmo st co incided with the accession of the weakbut pious empero r VVan-li, who proved himself ago od friend to the monks of Pu to . Bo th theempero r and the empress-dowager frequently sentemissaries to the island with gifts of money ,monks’ robes , altar embro ideries , sacred images ,medicines for sick monks , and autograph scro lls.In 1 586 the imperial munificence provided for therebuilding of new quarters for fifty

-three monks.In 1 598there was a disastrou s fire , which neces

sitated rebu ilding. In this wo rk the imperialfamily to ok con siderable interest , and when itwas fin ished , in 1 605 , a court official named ChangSuiwas sent to the island in charge of a pien bearing a new title for the resto red monastery. Thistitle was E u kuo yang Shou P ‘

u t‘o ck‘an

the Jhana Monastery of P uto en suring pro teotion to the State and long life to His

In this inscription we have an indication of thepo int of view from which emperors and state

1

3 73 ? fi fit lfi i

FENG-SHUI 337

officials in China have from time immemo rialdefended and ju stified the um-Confucian recognitionand suppo rt which they have intermittently extended towards Buddhist and Tao ist temples andmonastic commun ities . Temples and religiou shou ses , like pagodas , are , or were , regarded asbeneficial to the fi

‘

mg—sfiuiof their neighbourho od

— that is , they are centres of good geomantic influemees , and radiate tho se influences over the who ledistrict which happen s to be subject to theirspiritual sway. The temples which are situatedon some sacred hill ” are regarded as deserving ofgreater reverence than any o thers , becau se thespiritual radiation s emanating from any such bu ilding are intensified by the sanctity of the hill itself ;the benefits they confer extend throughout thewho le empire , so that even the throne itself is withinthe sphere of their ben ign influence. It is believedthat the main reason why the T ‘

ai-p‘ing rebelsdestroyed all the moun tain-monasteries they cameacro ss ( including , as we have seen , tho se of Chiuhua-shan ) and deliberately wrecked one of theempire’s greatest artistic glories— the exquisitePorcelain Pagoda at Nanking— was becau se theythought that these buildings exercised an influenceinimical to their cause .

Jl As for the partial1 For a vivid account of the ruin and desolation wrought in

Chehkiang and Anhui by the “ Society of God (as the T‘ai-p‘ing

rebels styled themselves) under their bloodthirsty and fanatical leaderHung Hsin-ch‘uan , who called h im self a Brother of Christ, see BaronRichthofen , Letters ( 1870 2ud cd.

,Shanghai, 1 903, pp . 75-6.

With referen ce to Chiu-hua-shan , see above, p . 222.

338MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

immunity from destruction or spo liation enjoyedby many of the great Buddhist monasteries duringthe various anti-Buddhistic outbreaks of Confucianofficialdom ,

there is no doubt that such immunityhas been partly due to a general belief in the truthof the theo ry that such in stitution s were productiveoffeng -sknifavourable to the welfare of the Stateas a who le. P erhaps , however, the monasterieswere even mo re deeply indebted to tho se numerousConfucian statesmen who spared the san ctuaries ofBuddha because they themselves looked forwardto spending their later years in scho larly retirementin some sequestered mountain hermitage ; and

also to the innumerable artists and poets who , ifnot always confessed wo rshippers of Buddha , haveat least been thorough Buddhists in their worshipof wild nature .

The reign of Wan-Iiis chiefly memorable inthe annals of Buddhism for the publication of aportion of the Buddhist scriptures and for thedistribution of complete sets of the whole ChineseTripitaka ( so called) to mo st of the greatmonasteries of the empire. 1 Under two previousemperors of the dynasty, Yung-lo ( 1 403-24) and

Cheng-t‘ung ( 1 436 a new edition of nearlythe who le vast co llection had already been printed,but apparently it was not widely distributed . The

number of han then printed ( each ban containingseveral pen , or separate vo lumes) amounted to

637 . In Wan-li ’s time 41 law still remainedSee above, p . 235.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

IMPERIAL EDICTS

unprinted .

1 The empero r , in obedience to thewishes of the empress-dowager , decided to makego od the deficiency, and as soon as the wo rk wasfin ished imperial edicts were issued in which thecircumstances of publication and distribution werefully set fo rth .

“ The imperial will , says one of the edicts , 2“ is as fo llows :We in all sincerity of heart havecau sed to be printed the Buddhist scriptures , andhave o rdered complete sets to be depo sited in thecapital and distributed among the monasteries ofthe Famous Mountain s of the empire , where theyare to be treated with due reverence and carefullypreserved .

The monks are enj o ined to guard the sacredbooks from all harm , to read them diligentlymorn ing and even ing , and to use them to suchgood purpo se that all the wo rld may be broughtinto fellowship with the religion of Love , Compassion , and Go odness . 3

From of old time , says ano ther of theedicts

,the empero rs and rulers of our land

have modelled their methods of government uponConfucian principles . But Confucian ism is no t

1 These 41 han comprised 41 0 chnan, or chapters .

3 Th ey are variously dated from 1 586 to 1 61 1 . Separate edicts( identical in nearly everything but the names of the monasteries concerned) were issued to the monks of each favoured mountain . Tho sereceived by Puto are recorded in the Club, ch . xiv. Each of the twogreat monaste ries of Puto received a complete set of the Tripitaka as

issued by Wan-Ii. In spite of losses due to fires and robberies,the

monastic authorities state that their sets are almo st complete.3

fi flfl ifi fl fi lfil fifi t fé i fi The edict in

which—

this o ccurs is dated 1 599 .

340 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [OH.

the only do ctrine : there is also Buddhism . Thesetwo do ctrines are like the wings of a bird : eachrequ ires the co -operation of the o ther.

This observation , to which an uncompromisingConfucian would demur , wou ld meet with theapproval of the majority of Chinese Buddhists.Wan-li’s religiou s to lerance , however , did no t savehis dynasty from disaster. In 1 6 1 9 he died , andin 1 643 the last empero r of the M ing linehanged himself on a tree in his palace garden .

That the suppo rt given to Buddhism by someof the M ing empero rs did no t alienate the sympathics o f all their Confucian subjects is touchinglyillu strated by the sto ry of Wu Chung - luan ,

ascho lar and statesman who ro se to the po sitionof vice-president of the Board ofRites . After thefall of the dynasty he retired to Puto , and there ,for a few years , he lived the life of a recluse.In a graceful little poem he describes the conso lation s of this tranqu il island , where the wo rld and

its sorrows can be ban ished from the memo ry,and where he can fo rget even his own “

o ld self. ”

How delightful it would be , he thought , to spendhis declin ing years amid these qu iet Buddhistgroves ! But his o ld loyal self refu sed to befo rgotten . He was no so ldier, so he could takeno active part in defending his country againstthe arm ies of the conqueringManchus ;but thoughhe co uld not fight a hero ’s battles

,he could die a

hero ’s death . He waited long enough to convince.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

342 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

to the monks of Puto by the Emperor Wan-Ii.

They accordingly hired a certain pirate namedYuan Chi'm to rob Puto of its books and carrythem off to Japan . Having effected the robbery,the pirate removed his boo ty to the Island of

Chusan , intending to sail thence to Japan . A

monk of Puto named Chao -chung went to Chusanat the head of a large company of his brethrenand implo red the pirate to restore the books.But Yiian treated him with contempt , and saidangrily , If you want your books , go down to

the sea-dragon ’s palace and ask him to get themback for you . Thereupon he set sail for Japan .

But a monstrous fish — was it the sea -dragonhimself —

go t in the way of the vessel and prevented it from reaching the open sea . For severaldays Yuan tried vainly to pro ceed , but the seamonster was too much for him . Repenting atlast of his sacrilegiou s act , he turned his vessel

’sprow towards Puto . The fish ceased to troublehim , and the return journey was made in lessthan half a day. All the monks hastened downto the shore to meet him

, and joyously resumedpo ssession of their ho ly books . 1

1 The Japanese monks might have pleaded intensity of religiouszeal in extenuation of their felon ious conspiracy . The same excusecannot be made for certain would-be robbers of another monasticlibrary — that of “ Golden I sland

,

”at Chinkiang. During one of the

Anglo -Chinese wars of the n ineteenth cen tury this library was

found , says DrWellsWilliams , “ by the English o fficers,but there

was no haste 1 1 1 examining its contents , as they intended to havecarried off the whole collection

,had not peace prevented ”

( TheMiddle Kingdom,

i .

XI I . ] THE COMING OF THE RED-HAIRS 343

The wo rst calamity that ever hefel the monksof Puto and their beautiful temples did no t o ccurtill the early years of the reign of K ‘ang -hsi ,the second empero r of the dynasty ;and the sto ryof the disaster is one which no European can

read without shame and so rrow .

The island Chron icle tells u s that in the thirdyear of the reign on New Year’s Day ,

the monks beheld a wonderful rainbow ,which

seemed to rise from a gleaming temple roo f, andto extend acro ss the sea to a neighbouring island ,Little Puto .

” 1 Sudden ly on the bridge of glowing light appeared the radiant fo rm of the whiterobed Kuan-

yin , her face turned away from Puto .

The vision faded , but the monks felt sure it cou ldhave on ly one mean ing— the Island of the LittleWhite Flower was about to suffer some terribledisaster. Their fo reboding came true in thefo llowing year .

In the records of P uto European s are mentionedmo re than once , but no attempt is made to distinguish between the different nationalities . The

names applied to them are H uang-mac Yellow

or H ung mao Red - hairs The visitwhich was attended with the calamitous resultsnow to be narrated is described by the chron iclerwith sufficient detail to enable us to say without hesitation that the Red hairs who were

1 This island , of which the Chinese name is Hsiao-Loka, is theisland which lies to the east of Puto . I t now possesses an importantlighthouse . It contains four small temples , named Miao-chan , Tzutsai , Yuan-t‘ung, and Kuan-chiao .

344 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [OH.

the pro tagon ists in this particular drama wereDutchmen .

Tho se familiar with the history of Europeanenterprise in the Far E ast will remember that in1 66 1 the Dutch were attacked and driven out of

their settlements in the Island of Fo rmo sa by thefamou s pirate-king Cheng Ch‘eng kung, betterknown as Koxinga. The P uto Chron icle gives usan interesting glimpse of the manner in whichsome of the homeless Dutchmen dispo rted themselves during the years that fo llowed their expulsion from the beautiful island which had beentheir residence for nearly fo rty years.

The Red-hairs ’

( it says) having been drivenout of their strongho lds ( literally nests and denstook to the sea as plunderers and robbers . In theyear 1 665 , on the thirteenth day of the fifth month,two of their ships sudden ly appeared off the coastof P uto . They came ashore , and the monk sno ticed that they had red-yellovvish hair and beards.They had sho rt muskets strapped to their backs ,and u sed ‘fire -stones ’

(hue -shin) to let them off:

Their aim was unerring. They also had verysharp cutlasses , and were armed with bows andarrows besides their o ther weapons . As so on asthey came ashore they made sign s to sign ify thatthey wanted fo od. They jabbered ha-ha

’

and

uttered the one wo rd cattle ! ’ No t daring to

disobey them , the monks po inted to the hillsidewhere the cattle were grazing, and to ld the sailorsthey cou ld help themselves . Thereupon they fired ,and killed several head. Next day they came

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

346 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

To be trampled and defiled, robbed and desecrated— such was the fate of our ho ly island .

” 1

This is not a very pleasant picture of themanner in which European s and Chinese , or

Christian s and Buddhists , became acquainted withone ano ther. Unfortunately there is no reasonto doubt the accuracy of the narrative . It o ccursonly in an obscure monastic Chron icle , and wascertainly no t written with the vain object of

stirring up popular indignation again st fo reigners.There was nothing to be gained by exaggeratingthe actual facts .

There are many pages in the histo ry ofWesternrelation s with China which we European s cannotread without sham e . We do well , however, toturn back to such pages from time to time , if onlyfor the purpo se of reminding ourselves that theChinese in the days of their haughty exclu sivenesswere not wholly unjustified in their belief thattheir Western visito rs were barbarian s or devils.What happened to the Dutchmen after their

hero ic encounter with defenceless monks at Putoseems to be a matter of uncertainty. One

account says that they went off to Japan to selltheir bo o ty, for which they received large sums ofmoney, and that on their homeward journey theirship caught fire and was lo st with every man on

bo ard.

’ This sto ry may be regarded as ben trovatoone of the ships , at any rate , seems to have reached

1 P ‘u-t

‘o-shan-chih

,iii . 1 -2

, vi. 6-7, xiii . 4.

2 I bid. , vi. 7.

X1 I .] DEPARTURE OF THE MONKS

its destination in safety , as we learn from a curioussto ry about a sto len bell , to which we shall haveo ccasion to refer in the next chapter.Harried as they were by pirates — Japanese ,

Chinese , and European , the monks clung bravely totheir devastated island until 1 67 1 , when the Government compelled them once mo re to migrate to them ain land . After this

,Puto was abandoned to

so litude and decay for a period of about seventeenyears . The Chron icle gives us but few glimpses ofthe island during that time , and they reveal a stateof utter deso lation . Two little sto ries indicatepathetic efforts on the part of the monks toconvince themselves or o thers that in spite of allappearances to the contrary the “ L i ttle WhiteFlower ” was still under some kind of divine protection . One of these sto ries tells us that duringthis period of decay some robbers landed on theisland and made a fire in side one of the desertedpavilion s with the object of melting down a metalimage of Kuan yin which they found there .Sudden ly the pavilion itself caught fire , and manyof the sacrilegiou s robbers , who for some obscurereason found themselves unable to escape , wereburned to death . The o ther sto ry tells us thata fleet of war-junks ancho red off the island and

landed a large number of plunderers , who madetheir way to a Ta-shih-tierz ( a Hall of the PusaAfter wo rking their wicked will there they camefo rth , and sudden ly found themselves confrontedby innumerable po isonous serpents , which opened

348MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [OH.

their mouths and hissed . The terrified plunderersturned and tried to run away , but they were atonce met by a pack of savage dogs . E scape wasimpo ssible— wild dogs were in front, po isonousserpents were behind. Many of the m en perishedmiserably

, and o thers were grievou sly injured.

P uto ,like Ireland , prides itself on the fact that

it po ssesses no po isonou s snakes : Kuan-

yin , likea Buddhist St Patrick , drove them all away . The

appearance of serpents on this o ccasion means ,therefo re , that they were miracu lou sly introducedfor the express purpo se of pun ishing tho se who hadbeen guilty of sacrilege . It is no t impo ssible thatin this sto ry there is preserved an old fragment ofOriental fo lk-lore . Serpents ( sometimes in thefo rm of dragon s) have been regarded , in both Chinaand Japan , as the specially-appo inted guardians ofall ho ly shrines. In the JVilwngi— the well-knownJapanese Chronicle m there is a legend which tellsus what happened to the empero r Yuriaku , who ,

in the year 463 of our era , propo sed to pay a visitto the temple of the god of Mount Mim oro . Heirreverently omitted to submit himself to the u sualpreliminary rites o f ceremon ial purification , and thecon sequence was that as he drew near the shrinehe was suddenly met by a serpent ofmo st fero ciousaspect. The empero r was glad to be allowed torun away and hide himself in his palace

, and

his propo sed Visit to the god was indefin itelypo stponed .

Puto resumed the no rmal course of its histo ry

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

RESTORATION or MONASTERI ES 349

in 1 688, when a military officer of high rank ,named Huang Ta-lai , submitted a memorial tothe throne , in which he repo rted the lamentablestate of deso lation to which the ho ly island hadbeen redu ced , and begged his Maj esty to assistthe fo rlo rn monks to re -establish the glory of theirold home . The result was entirely satisfacto ry,and K‘ang-hsi to ok so keen an interest in the wo rkof resto ration that in a few years’ time the templesand monasteries of Puto had recovered all theirold pro sperity, and the smoke of in cen se oncemo re curled upwards from the altars of Kuan-

yin .

The abbo t of the Sou thern Monastery , duringthe early years of the rebu ilding , was an able andzealous monk named Ch‘ao -

yin , and it was largelyowing to his energy that the temples ro se againfrom their ashes . 1 It was under his influence , weare to ld , that the island abandoned the Lii(Vinaya)in favour of the Ch‘an (Jhana) rule ;2 but thisstatement requires qualification , for the Ch‘anscho o l had been introduced into the monasteriesof P uto as early as the twelfth century

f" The

probability is that bo th the Lu and the Ch‘anschoo ls were represented in the island during theinterven ing centu ries , and that the supremacy laysometim es with the one and sometimes with theother. There appears to be no doubt , however ,that since the days of Abbot Ch‘ao -

yin the island

l

n re a nn a rs s n n a n n z‘

rs a a e s n3 See above, p. 333.

350 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [OH.

of Puto has been entirely under the sway of theLin -chi sect of the Ch‘an schoo l .Ch‘ao -yin ’s effo rts might have been of small

avail had he not enjoyed the powerful friendshipand support of Puto ’s principal lay benefactor— a

noted general named Lan Li ( 1 649- 1 7 1 9 )— whosereligiou s zeal was probably stimulated by the factthat in the year 1 690 the patron pu sa of the islandappeared to him in a vision at the Fan-yin Cave. 1

General Lan is regarded as one of the lay saintsof P uto , and a shrine was erected to him on theisland after his death . He is regarded as a flu-fadefender o f the faith and the monks of Puto ,remembering that he had been no ted during hislife for his enormous physical strength and hisreckless courage , elevated him to the po sition of

gho stly champion of the Puto monkho od .

The benefactions of the great Empero r K‘ang-hsicommenced with a gift ofmoney in 1 689 . I n 1 696

he presented each of the two great monasterieswith a portion of the Diamond S zZtra written byhis own hand ?

In subsequent years he gavegenerous donations in money and valuables , images ,altar hangings , robes , embro ideries , autographscro lls , beads which had been “ to ld by theimperial fingers , and further po rtions of thescriptures written with the imperial bru sh? Mo st of

1 Chih, vi . 8.

2

131 g 4} WilliiiI: BE3 It has been the practice ofmany emperors to prove their religious

zeal by copying out portions of the Buddhist scriptures. A sim ilarcustom seems to have been known outside China. Aurangzeb , one of

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

352 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [OH.

might be made lustrou s and glo rious with scarletand jade . The stone and timber have all beenprovided at State expen se : Our subj ects haveno t been called upon to furn ish either labouror material . All this We have done in the firstplace from motives of filial piety , 1 and in thesecond place that happiness and pro sperity mightbe granted by the divine P owers to all Our people.We ,since Our boyho od , have been earnest students

of Confucian lo re , with the constant aim of learning the proper duties of a go od ruler . We havehad no leisure to become minutely acquainted withthe sacred bo oks of Buddhism : therefo re We arenot qualified to discu ss the deeper mysteries of thatfaith. But We are satisfied that Virtue is theo ne wo rd which indicates what is essential in bo thsystems . We find, mo reover , that heaven delightsto give life and nourishment ; the graciou s and

compassionate P usa loves to bring all livingcreatures to salvation . The one creates , the o thersaves : but there is no antagon ism , no divergenceof aim . We , Heaven ’s suppliant , have obtainedthe bo on of a long reign . We have ruled theempire for over fo rty years? Now arms havebeen laid aside ; the empire is at peace. We

know , nevertheless , that Our people are no t yetfree from cares and so rrows . Their sufferingscome not on ly from the imperfections of theirown natures , but also from the caprices of fo rtuneand other circumstances for which they are in no

way to blame. How to promo te Our people’swelfare is a problem which brings Us many wistful

1 That is , as a votive offering on behalf of the empress-dowager .2 K‘

ang-hsi died in 1 722, in the sixty-first year of his reign .

x1 1 .] RELIGIOUS POLICY OF K‘ANG-HSI 353

thoughts and anxiou s dreams . Let us pray to

the compassionate Kuan-yin , that she may of hergrace send down upon Our people the spiritualrain and sweet dew of the Good Law ; that shemay grant Our people bounteous harvests , seasonable winds , and the blessings of peace , harmony ,and long life ; and, finally , that she may leadthem to the salvation which she offers to allbeings in the un iverse. l Such are the wishes o f

Our heart . Let what Our hand has written beengraved upon a lo fty tablet , that Our decree maybe tran smitted to po sterity.

”

Thu s did the largest hearted and largestminded of the Manchu emperors signify hisgracious goodwill towards Puto and his respectfor its patron saint. As the imperial pillar of

Confucian o rthodoxy he was often obliged to

po se in his public u tterances as the denouncerof all false or heretical do ctrines , and amongsuch do ctrines rigid Confucian ists do no t hesitateto class Buddhism . But this great ruler was notyrant and no bigo t , as even the Catho lic priestswho frequented his Court— themselves bigo ts of

an almost fanatical type— were obliged gratefullyto acknowledge . Though he became a convertneither to Buddhism nor to Christian ity , hetreated both Buddhist monks and Jesu it priestswith a princely to lerance and magnanimity which ,

1 There is nothing in the Chinese to show what view the empero rtook with regard to the question ofKuan-yin’s sex . It would be mo recorrect, probably, to assume that in this prayer the pusa is the maleAvalokitesvara.

354 MONASTIC HISTORY OF PUTO-SHAN [CH.

in addition to his other fine qualities of statesmanship , give him a strong claim to be regardedas the wisest and best ruler of his age , and asone of the finest imperial embodiments of the

ideals of Chinese civilization .

The next impo rtant bu ilding operations atPuto were undertaken during the reign of Yungchéng ( 1 723 a no t unwo rthy successorof the great K‘ang -hsi. Both the “ Southernand “ No rthern ” monasteries underwent partialreconstruction at this time , and the wo rk (whichwas completed in 1 733) was done under theempero r’s patronage and with his suppo rt .One of the lo cal offi cials , a Cantonese namedHuang Ying hsiung , was ordered to visit theisland from time to time and repo rt the progressof the wo rk . He wrote an excellent topographicalaccount of the island , and in it he makes an

interesting reference to the empero r’s benignantto leration of the “ three religion s . ” 1 He remarksthat his Majesty had provided for the repair no tonly of the Buddhist temples at Puto , but alsoof the great Confucian temple at Ch ‘ii-fou , in

Shantung , and the great Tao ist temple on theDragon -T iger Mountain s in Kiangsi?No severe calamities have befallen the island

or its monasteries since the reign s of K ‘ang-hsiL) a: E if]:at 5 aha

, xvi .2 Ch‘

u-fou is the little town in Shantung which possesses theprincipal Confucian temple in the empire . The sage himself lies buriedin the beautiful cemetery of the K‘

ung family in the immediate vicin ity( see above , p . The Dragon-Tiger Mountains ” (Lung-hu-shan) arein Kiangsi , and there , in the temple known as the Shang-ch ‘ing-kung,resides the hereditary Pope ”

of the Taoists .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

CHAP TER X III

THE“ NORTHERN MONASTERY AND

BuDDHA’

s PEAK

H ITHERTO our attention has been directed mainlyto the histo ry of the P ‘

u-cbi-ssz‘

Z— the MonasteryofUn iversal Salvation but though it is the o lderof the two great religiou s houses of the island ,it is equalled , or indeed su rpassed , in size , and itis far excelled in beauty , by the Fa-yz

'

z-ssiz, or

“ Monastery of the Rain of the Law.

” 1

On bo th sides of the winding path that leadsfrom the southern to the no rthern part of theisland are many temples , gro tto es , and smallmonasteries , each of which po ssesses its specialattraction s and its own sto ck of legends . Theselittle centres of Buddhist worship we mustregretfully pass by , though no pilgrim will omitto visit the Fa-haa-ling

—tung ( the Ho ly Grottoof the Flower of the Law celebrated for itsin scribed and caverned ro cks , its magic po o ls ,and its rich and varied fo liage. Beyond the .

ho ly grotto is a fairy well , and clo se by it

1 On account of their relative positions the P‘u-chi

, as we haveseen

,is known as the owe-M a

,or Southern Monastery

,

” the Fa-yuas the Howard or Northern Monas te ry.

”

356

on . xm . ] ROCK-INSCRIPTIONS

is a temple ( the Ch‘ao -yang) built over a cavewhich pilgrims are recommended by the monksto visit in the early mo rn ing. It contain s an

eastward-facing window,through which they are

invited to contemplate the rising sun . I n thisneighbourhood are to be seen numerous in scriptions which have been carved on the ro cks andbou lders of the sloping hillside . One of theseinscriptions consists of the five bo ldly -carvedcharacters Chang -hue yu sbéng

-j en China has

its sages This is a truth which is perhapsrather apt to be lo st sight of to-day. A patheticlittle reco rd is that left by a visitor as recentlyas 1 9 1 0 Tz

'

eb-n z'

en ch‘ung tao (

“ Revisited in

old age Of greater religious sign ificance arethe wo rds of the well-known Tibetan charm Om

mane padme born , written in Chinese characters ,and the o rthodox Chinese Buddhist’s Teng -

pian

Cro ss to the other sho re and Ta-ti c/zang

sileng ch‘eng F0 May all beings throughou t thewo rld becomeWe are now on the rising ground— the Cin

pao-lz

'

ng— which forms the southern boundary

of the longest and finest beach in Puto , the“ Sands of a Thousand P aces ,

” 1 described by aChinese poet as yellow as powdered go ld , softas mo ss . The mile of roadway which leads usfrom this po int to the Fa-yiiMonastery is knownas the Yt'i-t‘ang Ro ad , in commemoration of amonk of the Wan -Ii period ( 1 573-1 6 1 9) who

Oh‘ien-pu

-sha.

THE “ NORTHERN MONASTERY

bo re that name and was mainly responsible forits construction . Passing by clusters of smallmonasteries and temples , some quite recentlyfounded or restored , we reach the Fa-yu-ssii,

delightfully situated near the no rthern end of

the long beach and under the shadow of thetree - clad hill which culminates in Buddha’sP eak .

”

The immediate surroundings of this finemonastery are of great beauty, and the bu ildings themselves are , of their kind , unsurpassedin Buddhist China . The lotu s - pond, with itspicturesque bridge , is one which would not

disgrace the noblest of English parks ; and thecentral balls, with their curved eaves and

timbered roofs , the marble balustrades and graceful pavilions , and the fine old trees which casta religious shade over the spacious courtyards ,combine to make the monastery of the Rainof the Law one of the mo st maj estic and

attractive , as it is one of the mo st peacefuland sequestered , of Chinese monastic dwellings ?

To fo llow in detail the history of the Fa-yuMonastery is unnecessary, as the story would belittle mo re than a repetition of that already toldin connection with the sister-monastery. Thoughthe younger of the two , the Fa-yii since itsfoundation has shared all the fortunes , good and

bad , of the elder, and tokens of imperial favourhave been showered upon it with an equally

1 It was within this monastery that the author resided duringhis two visits to Puto .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

XML]“ NORTHERN MONASTERY FOUNDED 359

liberal hand . According to the chron icle , amonastic bu ilding was first erected on this sitein the year 1 580. The founder was a far-travelledmonk named Ta-chih ( “ Great who

set out on pilgrimage from the ho ly mountainof Omei , where he founded two temples , and

who , after Visiting Wu-t‘ai and many o ther sacredplaces in no rthern and central China, arrived atlast at Puto . Here he decided to spend hisremain ing years . The sto ry go es that he offeredup prayer at the Ch‘ao -yin and Fan -

yin cavesfor divine gu idance as to the selection of a sitefor the hermitage which he propo sed to found ,and that sho rtly afterwards , while he was walkingon the beach at the no rthern end of the Ch‘ien

pu Sands , a long bamboo po le was washed up

by the tide at his feet . Regarding this asKuan-yin ’s an swer to his prayers , he set to wo rkto put up a little bu ilding clo se to the spo twhere he had seen the bambo o po le ; and in

commemoration of the incident which led to thecho ice of this site he gave his foundation thename of the Hermitage of the Tide-waves .

Ta-chih died in 1 592 . Two years later thelittle hermitage , which had grown in size and

importance , was elevated to the rank of a sea

a monastery In 1 598it was destroyed by fire .In 1 605 it was rebu ilt on a Splendid scale bytwo monks named Ju -shou and Ju-kuang , underthe munificent patronage of the emperor

1 Haz-ch‘ao-an .

360 THE “ NORTHERN MONASTERY [CH.

Wan-Ii, who in the fo llowing year bestowedupon it the new name of Chen - bai- cb‘an - ssiz

(“ Ocean -guardian Jhama In 1 643

it was again partially destroyed by fire ; and in

1 665 it shared in the ru in brought upon all thereligiou s houses in the island by the Dutchmarauders .

In connection with that episode the annalsof the monastery tell an interesting story aboutthe lo ss of its great bell . This hell was castby the founder of the monastery , Ta-chih , inthe last quarter of the sixteenth centu ry. The

Red-hairs carried:it o ff as part of their loo t,and succeeded in safely conveying it to thegateway of their capital in the country of

E urope . ” There , however , it fell down , and,

owing to its great weight,was left lying where

it fell . Gradually sinking into the soft ground,it at last disappeared altogether , andwas fo rgo tten.

Bu t in 1 723 a sound like the ro lling of thunderwas sudden ly heard coming from the ground ;whereupon the amazed people of the neighbourho od dug up the ground and discovered the bell .

Somehow or o ther these events came to theknowledge of the monastic authorities . The

abbo t of the monastery at the time of the discovery of the bell was one Fa-tsé , who happenedto be a native ofFuhkien , and was acquainted withmany merchants who were engaged in fo reigntrade. Through these merchants negotiationswere opened with “ the country of Europe with

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

THE “ NORTHERN MONASTERY [ca

seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Po ssiblythe Chinese sto ry of the fall of the bell at thegates of the city, and its subsequent disappearanceuntil its presence underground was revealed bya sound like ro lling thunder , is based on thehistorical fact that in 1 699 Batavia was visited bya destructive earthquake. Thu s the real course ofevents may have been something like this : thebell was carried from Puto to Java in 1 665 ;itwas suspended in a tower on the wall of the cityof Batavia ;it remained there till 1 699 , when thewall was destroyed by an earthquake it lay buriedunder the ruins of the wall until 1 723 ;and in thatyear, after it had disappeared from View for almo sta quarter of a century, the removal of the debrisrestored it to the light of day. The inscriptionon the bell , we may suppo se , was read by Chineseresidents in Java , who learned thereby the name ofthe monastery to which it o riginally belonged.

Through them the sto ry may easily have come tothe ears of the Chinese merchants of Fuhkien ,

who at that time co ntro lled a large proportionof China ’s fo reign trade .

The joy of the monks at the return of theirfounder’s bell was tempered by their discovery of

the me lancho ly fact that it was no longer in a fitcondition to serve its proper purpo se. It had beencracked and injured to such an extent that befo rethe hearts of monks and pilgrims could again bethrilled by its mellow tones it had to be putthrough the pro cess of recasting. This work was

THE ABBOT PIEH-AN 363

no t carried out for nearly a hundred years . Ithung silently in its tower till 1825 , when a wealthypilgrim named Hsii, having interested himself inits histo ry, undertook to defray the co st of havingit recast. It is the bell of Ta-chih , originally castbefo re the year 1 592 , but re-cast in or shortlyafter the year 1825 by the pilgrim Hsu , thathangs to-day in the bell-tower of the “ No rthernMonastery.

”

The mo st revered of all the abbo ts of thismonastery is neither Ta-chih nor Fa-tsé , but aremarkable man named P ieh-an ? He was a nativeof Ssi

’

ich‘uan , but became abbot of the No rthern

Monastery of Puto in 1 687 , and remained thereuntil his death in the last year of the century.

The buildings had been in a ru inous and neglectedcondition ever since the disastrous visit of theRed-hairs in 1 665 , and to P ieh-an fell the task ofsuperintending their reconstruction . In the annalsof his monastery he o ccupies a place somewhatanalogous to that of Ch‘ao -

yin in the annals of

the sister monastery? Bo th were distinguishedo rnaments of the Ch‘an scho o l , both were largelyinstrumental in interesting the emperor and o therinfluential personages in the fortunes of Puto , andboth are looked upon as re -founders of their respective monasteries . It is P ieh-an , indeed , ratherthan Ta-chih , who is regarded by the fraternityof the No rthern Monastery as their spiritual

1 His alternative name was Hsing-t‘ung.

2 See above, p . 349.

THE “ NORTHERN MONASTERY [ca

ancesto r ( t‘ung tea ) ; for Ta-chih belonged tothe Lii schoo l , whereas P ieh-an was a prominentmember of the Lin -chi subdivision of the Ch‘anschoo l— the subdivision which to this day claims theallegiance of the monks o f P uto . One of P ieh-an’

s

mino r titles to the gratitude of po sterity rests onthe fact that he was responsible for the casting ofthe enormou s caldron which is the pride of themonastic kitchen but his fame is bu ilt uponfoundation s of a mo re durable , or at least a morespiritual , kind than a mere cooking-pot . He wasa vo luminous writer on religiou s subjects . Amonghis best known wo rks was a continuation of awell-known co llection of Lives of Buddhist Saints?He had many friends among the cultured laity,and one of them , a distingu ished Confucian scholarand statesman named Yang Yung-chien ( 1 6311 7 wrote his epitaph? His spiritual authorityshows no signs of eclipse in these degenerate days.One of the mo st important saints’ days ”

in

the calendar of the monks of the “NorthernMonastery is the day on which reverence is paidto the memo ry, and incen se burned before thespirit-tablet , ” of the patriarch P ieh-an .

‘

1 A full description of the casting of this vessel is to be found in theChih, xvi . 38f .

2 See Chih, xvi . 1 6fi1 , 41 172, 54ff.3 Ohih, xvi. 45. The epitaph is in teresting on account of its tolerant

and sympathetic remarks on Buddhism by one who avowed himself tobe a strict Confucian .

4 In the second year of Hsuan-t‘ung ( 1 91 0) the winter sacrificeto Pieh-an fell on the twenty third day of the eleventh monthChristmas Eve .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

366 THE NORTHERN MONASTEBY

been noted , 1 is dedicated to the Tao ist T‘ien-boa ,

the Queen of Heaven . This deity, as we know,

may be regarded in some respects as the Tao istcounterpart of Kuan -

yin . As a guardian-deityof all who go down to the sea in ships sheo ccupies an appropriate po sition as protectressof all pilgrims to the ho ly island . The storygo es that on the day on which the building wascompleted a fairy ship was seen on the easternho rizon . Emerging from the silvery sea mists ,it rapidly approached the island , with partico loured pennon s streaming from its masts and

yards and gleaming lights flashing from its prow.

It disappeared from the sight of mortal eyes whileit was still at some distance from the Ch ‘ien-puSands , but tho se who had seen the beautifulvision felt joyfully confident that it was no o therthan the ship Of the Queen of Heaven ,

”

who bythis mean s had sign ified her willingness to acceptthe homage of Puto and the guardianship Of itso cean—bo rne pilgrims .

Passing underneath the chapel— if we may so

call it— Of the Queen of Heaven , we reach alarge quadranglewith fine Old maidenhair-trees anda p‘

ai-lou , or carved archway , and reach the T imwang

-tien— the Hall of the Heavenly Kings .These are Hindu or Brahman ical deities , and

though they o ccupy a place in the mytho logy ofBuddhism , they have no essential connection withthe Buddhist religion . All Western visito rs to

1See above

,p . 268.

xnr.] THE LAUGHING BUDDHA 367

Chinese temples are familiar with these co lo ssalfigures . They o ccupy a special building of theirown , which is always the first of the great hallsof a properly-equipped Buddhist temple? In the

midst of this hall , facing the incom ing visitor , sitsthe bodhisat Maitreya ( the Mi-lei Pusa of theChinese) , who , acco rding to a vague Buddhistbelief, is now a resident in one of the heavenlykingdoms (Tushita) , and is destined to come toearth at some period in the mo re or less distantfuture and to be the Buddha of that age . He itis to whom Europeans have given the nam es ofthe “ Buddhist Messiah ”

and the “ LaughingBuddha . ”

Facing the Oppo site direction , and with hisback to Mi- lei , stands Wei - t ‘o (Veda) , who isregarded as a pusa entrusted with the specialduty of pro tecting all monastic buildings. To use

the Sanskrit term , he is a viharapala— a tutelary

deity of monasteries . The Chinese regard himalso as a fin-fa (

“ defender of the and

it is for this reason that his po rtrait Often appearson the last page of Buddhist books .

But the mo st con spicuous o ccupants of thehall are the four great heavenly kings

1 In the case of the Southern Monastery of Puto , as we have seen( p. the first hall is the pavilion of “ Imperial Tablets,

”

and in

the case of the Northern Monastery ” the first building is the pavilionof the “

Queen of Heaven .

” But these are extra and unessen tialadjuncts to the temple buildings , and could therefore be placedwhere fancy or conven ien ce dictated . The T‘ien-wang-tv

'

en ( the Hallof the Four Heavenly Kings

”

) is always in front of the essentialbuildings .

THE NORTHERN MONASTEBY

ta t‘ien-wang ), who sit in couples , the one couplefacing the o ther. These eno rmous and grotesquefigures represent the mytho logical kings who standat guard in the four quarters of the un iverse , or

on the four sides of the fabu lou s Mount Meru ,

preventing the invasion of noxiou s influences orevil demon s , and thu s preserving invio late thesanctity of the abodes of the Brahman ical gods.Strictly speaking , they themselves are no t gods— the y are rather “ dem on kings ” who havebeen “ converted .

”

E ach is asso ciated , after theusual fashion of religiou s symbo lism in the East,with certain co lours and elements . The

northern king , who takes theo retical precedenceOf the o thers , is the black king of water ; thesouthern is the blue king of lin -li— lapis-lazuli ;the eastern is the white king Of go ld ; thewestern is the red king of silver .A European visitor to a Buddhist temple is

apt to assume from the huge size and go rgeouso rnamentation of these figures , and the prominence of the po sition assigned to them in thetemple precincts , that the beings whom theyrepresent mu st o ccupy an impo rtant place in thereligiou s system to which they have gainedadmittance. But such is no t the case . Theirexistence , indeed , was recogn ized by Buddhists atan early period , and they are mentioned in severalpassages of the Hinayana scriptures 1 they are

1 English readers may be referred to Dr Rhys Davids , Dialogues ofthe Buddha, pt. ii . pp . 269, 282-3, 287-8, 373.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

THE NORTHERN MONASTERY

no tice of all who are interested in the comparativestudy of religion . There is the Mi- lei FO(“Maitreya Buddha who invariably faces theouter do orway , and invariably wears the happyexpression which attracts the attention of allE uropean Visito rs to Buddhist temples . Strictlyspeaking , he is at present neither Buddha nor

bodhisat— neither F0 nor P usa but he will be abodhisat when he appears on earth at some futuretime , and he will become Buddha during thatearthly life . He canno t be admitted to the ho lyof ho lies — the real sanctuary of the templebecau se he belongs to the future , no t to thepresent . His image is therefo re placed in theOuter hall , which is a mere po rch or antechapelin its relation to the con secrated bu ildings thatstand behind it. Why do es he face the outerdo o rway ? Because he is waiting to welcomethe coming of the next Buddha-age . Why doeshe “ laugh Becau se he is full of the gladtidings of the Buddha that is to come.Behind him , as we have seen ,

stands theviharapala

— Wei-t ‘o — who se face is turned in theoppo site direction , towards the inn er halls and

chapels of the temple . The reason of this po sitionis Obviou s. The future , the things that are tocome , are no concern of his. The so le duty of

Wei-t ‘o is to stand guard over the monks and

their monastery ; he therefo re faces the ta-tienthe principal sanctuary.

As for the four heavenly kings , the figures of

XII I .] ME I -LI AND THE GUARDIAN KINGS 37 1

these mighty beings should , in theo ry, stand atthe four po ints of the compass . This arrangementwou ld be inco nven ient , and they are therefo replaced in couples ;so that if the temple faces thesouth ( as temples in China theo retically should) ,two of the kings sit on the east side and two on

the west . 1 Thus the Buddhist wo rshipper, whois bound to pass through the front hall in o rderto reach the main Obj ect of his devo tion s , ischallenged , as it were , by the guardian -kings on

his left and right as he enters the precincts of

the temple.It is impo rtant to no te that the five principal

o ccupants of this hall— Mi-lei and the four kings— are all excluded from the temple’s innersanctuaries . They are no t the recipients of

prayers or thanksgivings , and are no t entitled toreligious ado ration . In front of each , indeed , isa stone incen se-j ar , and into each jar the piou spilgrim , as he passes , will probably in sert a stickof incen se ;but this will merely be an act of con

ventional piety or courtesy, not one which can

fittingly be described as an act of religiou s wo rship .

2

1 The Northern Monastery of Puto faces due south .

2 This matter has been dealt with at some length , because lack ofsym pathy , or defective knowledge, or a combination of both , frequentlyresults in misrepresenta tions which are apt to give rise , amongWesternpeoples , to very erroneous and unfair impressions of Buddhism . The

following is an extract from an article which appeared,as recently as

January 1 91 3, in the j ournal of the China In land Mission . We

proceede d to glance at th e various deities in the oute r court. The

most striking of these were the Laughing Buddha and the Four Kingsof Heaven . Two of these worthies sat

’ very quietly for theirphotographs in spite of having to sustain a somewhat trying pose at

THE NORTHERN MONASTERY [CH.

Behind the Hall of the Four Kings , in theNo rthern Monastery , ” is a series of terraces , each

Of which is reached by a flight of steps . On theleft and right of one such terrace stand the drumand bell towers . Above them we come to theYu-Fo Teen - the yellow -ro ofed hall of the so

called Jade Buddha? Beyond this is the mainsanctuary — the great hall of Knan -

yin . Thisparticular hall is generally known as the Chiulung

-tien Nine-dragon Hall ” ) in consequence ofthe fact that when it was undergo ing restorationin the reign of K ‘ang-hsi it was roofed with tileswhich came from a dismantled imperial palace atNanking. These tiles were a gift to the monasteryfrom the empero r himself. The hall contains avery large image of Kuan -

yin . In front of thisgreat image stands a smaller one of gilded wood,said to have been brought from Tibet . Thereare also two o ther images of the pusa , the eighteenarahants , and a Wei-t ‘o in a shrine faced with glass.Behind the great hall is the Ya-p ei-t‘ing ( the

Pavilion of Imperial and behind thisis the large Fa-t‘ang , which is u sed by the monksfor their daily services . It is only on so lemnfestivals that services are held in the great hallof Kuan -

yin . Among numerou s images in thethe same time ! From their pictures we can form some idea of

the worsh ipper’s first and last impressions of what Buddhism has to

offer . These four door guardians , flourishing thunder-bo lts and Spittingfireworks, offer [no forgiveness to the sinner, no hope to the pen itent,no strength to the weak, no comfo rt to the sorrowful , no guidance tothe perplexed, their whole attitude being one of vengeance and fury .

1 See above, p . 829 .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

XI I I . ] INTERIOR OF MONASTERY

Fa-t‘ang are tho se of Sakyamun i , Kuan-yin , P

‘u

hsien , and Wen-shu . In the courtyard , on eitherside of this hall

,are two chapels , one dedicated

to Chun -t‘i , 1 the other to Kuan -ti . Kuan-ti isproperly to be classed among the deities of

Tao ism , but he has been adm itted into Buddhisttemples for two main reason s . In the first place ,as a god of war ” he is regarded as a valuablechampion to en list on the side of true religion ;in the second place

,he was a tutelary deity of the

Manchu dynasty . Whether his image will tendto disappear from Buddhist temples now that thedynasty has co llapsed is a question to which asyet no an swer seems to have been given .

On either side of the variou s halls and chapelsju st described are the variou s monastic oflices ,

guest-quarters , refecto ry , kitchen s , monks’ apart

ments , meditation -halls ( clz‘an -t‘ang ) and recep

tion —ro oms . The innermo st blo ck of bu ildingscontain the abbo t’s quarters , ro oms for distinguished

guests and pilgrims , a chapel dedicatedto Bodhidharma (in recogn ition of his po sitionas patriarch of the Ch‘an scho o l ) , and themonastic library.

From the No rthern Monastery a well -madepathway leads to the summit of the island. The

Buddha’s P eak”

(Fe -ting ) is also known as the

Pusa’

s ( that is , Kuan -yin ’s ) P eak . A third nameis White Flower P eak (P ai-hua the reference being , of course , to the

“ little white flower1 See above, pp. 278-9.

THE “ NORTHERN MONASTERY ”

[CH.

for which the island is famou s . The height islittle mo re than n ine hundred feet , and the ascentis gradual . In the pilgrim-season many mountainchairs are seen on the winding pathway, but theseare almo st monopo lized by small-fo o ted womenand old fo lk , who se strength would be overtaxedeven by so simple a mountain walk as this.The climb , such as it is , wou ld be well wo rthundertaking if on ly for the sake of the magn ificent View of the Chu san archipelago which isto be had from the summit ; but there are alsocharmingly-Situated temples to be visited. Of

these the finest is the temple which at presentranks as third in size and impo rtance o f thereligiou s hou ses of Puto . This is the H ui-chi

Monastery , popularly known as the Buddha’s PeakMonastery , ” 1 which stands half concealed amid alittle fo rest of small oak-trees . It dates fromthe latter years of the Ming dynasty

,when it

was founded by a monk named Yiian -hui. A

good view Of its co loured ro of-tiles is to be hadfrom the wall of the little disu sed lighthousewhich crown s one of the summits . The settingof den se dark fo liage adds greatly to the lustreand beauty of these tiles , the co lours of whichare yellow , blue , white , and black. The interiorof the temple is scarcely less attractive thanthe exterio r. The Hall of the Four Kingsthat which is crowned with the co loured tiles- is wo rthy of attention on account of its

1Fo-tzng

-ssu.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

376 THE “ NORTHERN MONASTERY [CH.

dedicated to Kuan—yin , of whom there are three

images .A remarkable feature of this temple is that

it contains a Yn-huang-tz

'

en— a hall con secratedto the worship of the supreme god of Tao ism.

The reason for his admission to this Buddhisttemple is not far to seek. The Jade ImperialGod of the Tao ists is regarded throughoutChina as the principal presiding deity of everymoun tain-summit? In any o ther temple in Putohis image would be out of place ; in the templewhich stands on the hill-top— even though thathill - top is “ Buddha’s P eak he finds hisappropriate dwelling-place .The god is enthroned in the centre , and

on right and left are ranged his attendants anddisciples . At the back of the chapel , on eitherSide of the central Shrine , Sit two deities , eachof whom ho lds a circu lar plaque or disk . These

also , it may be added , for his shaggy abundan ce of hair. There isno reason to doubt that the traditional pictures of Bodhidharma— one

of which is reproduced in this book— are genu ine portraits. ChineseBuddhists seem to have made no attempt to give him the appearanceof a countryman of their own . As for the name Tamo , it is merelyan abbreviation of P ‘

u-t‘i-ta-mo (Bodhidharma) . Had the Chinesewished to write the name Thomas in Chin ese script

,they could eas ily

have used characters bearing the sound To-ma. I t should have beenunnecessary to bring up this subj ect in the se en lightened days, andthis note would not have been written had it n ot been for the factthat the Tamo-Thomas theo ry has quite lately sprung to life againin a recent volume of travels— Through Siren-lean

,by R. S. Clark

and A. de C. Sowerby (Fisher Unwin : It is only fair to theauthors of the book to add that their authority for the theory wasa m issionary named F. Madeley

,with whom they apparently believed

it to have originated .

1 See Lion andDragon in Northern China, pp. 32, 391 , 396, 398.

XII I .] SOLAR AND LUNAR DEITIES 377

two divine personages are Jih-lcuang and Yitch

lcuang— the gods ( or god and goddess ) of sun

and mo on . They , like the Jade Imperial God

himself, belong to the Tao ist pantheon , but theyare not unrecogn ized by Buddhism . There aremany cu riou s survivals of primitive sun wo rshipand mo on wo rship to be found in the differentBuddhist systems , especially in the Amidistcult? The wo rship of so lar and lunar deit ies ,it is hardly necessary to say , existed long befo rethe rise of Buddhism . It engrafted itself uponBuddhism just as it did upon Hindu ism , Tao ism ,

Shinto , and Manichae ism ? Acco rding to theancient Japanese mytho logy, the sun was ruledby a goddess (Ama-terasu ) — the great divin itywho is still wo rshipped at I se and from whomthe emperors of Japan claim descent . The

moon , on the o ther hand , was ru led by Am a

terasu’

s brother , the god Susa-no -o . The nameless religion (it was no t identical with Tao ism) ,which seems to have had a zealou s devo tee inthe Chinese empero r Ch‘in Shih-huang in the

1 See De Groot, Le Code da Mahdydna en Chine pp . 185 fli, 220fi'

;

and Beal,Catena, pp . 68-70. Chandrasuryapradipa (

“ Moon - sun

lamp Buddha is mentioned in various sutras . The name is renderedin Chinese by Jih Yueh-Te‘ng F0, or Wen-kuangF0.

2 With regard to Man ichaeism , the following remarks by Mr

G. R. S . Mead (The Quest, Jan . 1 91 3, p . 360) are of interest . “ It

is well known that in both the cosmo logy and soteriology of Maui,

the moon and the sun ,under the figure of luminous vessels or light

ships,play an important role. In the soteriology they are connected

with the purification , respectively by water and fire , and the trans

portation of the souls of the righteous deceased acro ss the oceanof the aether . (See also J January 1 91 3, p .

378 THE NORTHERN MONASTERY [CH.

third century B .C. , included sun wo rship ;1 and,

indeed , the State religion of China gave officialrecogn ition to the wo rship Of sun and mo on up

to the date of the fall of the Manchu dynastyin 1 91 2 , as the altars outside the eastern and

western walls of the Tartar City of Pekingstill remain to testify?Near the Hui chi Monastery will be found

some of the finest tombs on the island. The mo stcharmingly Situated is perhaps that which waserected as recently as 1887 to the abbo t ofHui-chi ,who se fa-ming , or religiou s name , was Hsin-Chen(“ Trusting in the Truth The tombs Of Putoare numerous and interesting , and if we were todo ju stice to them , and to the religiou s ideas whichthey symbo lize or represent , we should have todevo te a chapter to this subject alone. It may bementioned , however , that they are of two principalkinds . There are the separate graves of abbotsand o ther distinguished person s , and of these thegrave ofHsin-Chen is a go od example . There arealso the p

‘

u -t‘ung

—t‘a— large tombs which are u sedfor the un iversal mingling of the ashes ofmonkswho are no t granted the privilege of separateburial . The typical p ‘

u -t‘ung-t‘a con sists mainly

1 A shrine to the sun -

god has existed from time immemorial on

the north-eastern promontory of Shantung , nearWeihaiwei . According to tradition , the emperor Ch‘in Shih - huang worshipped therising sun at this Spot— the easternmost limit of his empire.

2 The quaint relics of moon worship which still exist among theChinese peasantry ( see Lion and Dragon in N orthern China

,pp . 182—4,

1 91 ) have no connection with Buddhism and no essential connectionwith Taoism.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

THE NORTHERN MONASTERY [CH.

could hardly fail to be enchanted with its sceneryand its flora. Many of its trees are of great beauty.

The grove of evergreen oak1 which covers part of

Buddha’s P eak con sists of comparatively smalltrees ;but the island contain s fine specimens ofcamphor , ginkgo ,

2 cypress , chestnut , and sophora ,besides many o ther trees well known in centralChina. P ines and similar trees seem to decaybefo re they attain any great age or size. The

Chinese say that they are injured by the saltsea winds , but it seems mo re probable that theyexhaust the so il . There are plum , peach , and

cherry trees which bu rst into gloriou s blo ssom in

the spring ;and the maple tints in autumn bringsome conso lation for the fading of the exquisite

gardeniaflorida— the fragrant “ little white flowerfor which the island has been celebrated for athou sand years. Flowering plants and shrubs areindeed abundant in Puto . Many have beenintroduced into the monastery garden s by themonks , who , like all Orien tals , and Buddhists inparticular , are lovers of flowers .

Vegetables and grain of many kinds are, of

course , cultivated to the fullest extent po ssible, forthe monastic fraternities are strictly vegetarian .

The so -called Chinese potato is said to have beenbrought from Japan . Beans and o ther leguminousplants are common , and there are a few rice-fields.

Fruit-trees are cared for rather for their blo ssom

1 Quercus scleroph/ylla.

2 Salisburia adian tifolia.

GRAVE OF ABBO'

I‘

HSIN -CHEN .

A P ‘U—T ‘UNG-T ‘A.

(For Me 7 eceptzon of file aslzes of deceased monks. )

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

THE “ NORTHERN MONASTERY [CH.

po isonou s properties were ban ished to the mainland.

A few cattle and water-buffalo are to be seen,

but these are kept only for agricultural purpo ses.The buffalo are used for the ploughing of therice-fields. Squ irrels , goats , and monkeys aresaid to have been often kept as pets in themonastery grounds. The Chron icle tells us abouta tame goat that belonged to the monks of

Fa-yil.

It can understand what people say to it. Ifyou call to it , it will fo llow you . Ifyou give it food,it will bend one leg and bow its head and take thefo od from your hand qu ite gently. If you tell itto kneel , it will go down on both fo re-legs . It isnot often concludes the chron icler triumphantly,“ that you have the chance of seeing a goat likethat !

In reading the literature asso ciated with thegreat Buddhist hills we canno t fail to no tice howfrequently the love and enthu siasm of monks andhermits and poets for their wild and romantichomes impel each to exto l his own cho sen placeof retreat as the pride and glory of all ho ly and

beautiful mountains . We need not be surprised ,therefo re , to learn from one of the poetic reclusesof Puto that his belo ved island is Chik na

s -shan chi/1. [man the Crown of China’s FourWho tells you , exclaims another

poet in a still mo re ecstatic strain , that there isxvii . p .

XI I I . ] POETS OF PUTO

no ro ad to heaven ? This is heaven ’s own gateway , and through it you may pass direct to thevery throne of God.

”

Almo st equally enthu siastic is much of theverse that has been written by po ets who seinterest in P uto can hardly be said to have beenbased on religiou s emo tion . To some of thesereference has already been made . Ano ther of

tho se who sang the praises of the island in

graceful verse was the famou s scho lar and statesman Wang An -shih ( 1 02 1 who visited itduring his tenure of office as magistrate of adistrict in Chehkiang . Ano ther was the distinquished artist and po et Chao Meng-fu ( 1 254

who held official po sition s under the Sungand Yuan dynasties . A third was Ch‘en Hsienchang ( 1 428 a Cantonese po et who se tablethas been elevated to the Confucian Temple , ” 2

though by religiou s temperament he seems to

have had clo ser kin ship with Buddhism thanwith Confucian ism .

The po et monk T‘ung-yuan , who was an

abbot of the Southern Monastery in the firsthalf of the eighteenth century , was a typical

1 This o ccurs in a poem by the monk T‘ung hsu . Western

readers,who usually take it for granted that no Buddhists recogn ize a

supreme personal God, will be surprised to learn that a Buddhist— and

an o rdained monk— can g ive expression to such words as these . But

there "is no real cause for surprise . The fact is that the river ofBuddhism ,

like all the great streams of religious thought, frequentlybreaks its own banks and flows far beyond the limits of the channelto which in theory it should confine itself.

2 See above, p . 247 .

THE NORTHERN MONASTERY

example of a class from which the Buddhist monkho od has drawn many of its best recru its . A littlesketch of his career, written by a friend who hadknown him from boyho od , is preserved in apreface to his poems . P o ets , says the biographer,often have to go into qu iet and lonely placesbefo re they can give fit expression to theirthoughts . They mu st lead lives of so litude , and

nest themselves in hills and wo ods , so that theymay ho ld themselves aloof from wo rldly distraetion s and allow their minds to become clear andunruffied. Outward condition s mu st be attunedto their inward feelings befo re they can turn thepromptings of poetic inspiratio n to good account.T‘

ung-yuan , continues the sympathetic biographer ,was one of tho se to whom such a life as this wastho roughly congen ial . As a boy he was clever ,but he cared little for the no isy company of hisfriends . He u sed to steal away from them so

that he might enjoy lonely qu ietness . When hewas still little more than child his thoughtsbegan to hanker after a religiou s life , for itsloneliness and tranqu illity attracted him . At theage of seventeen he went to Puto and became amember of one of the monasteries there . A fewyears later the temples were destroyed by piratesand all the monks were obliged to migrate tothe mainland.

1 A long time afterwards , whenthe temples were rebuilt , he returned to Puto ,where he spent the rest of his life in the

1 Th is refers to the events of 1 665-71 .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

THE NORTHERN MONASTERY [OH.

anything. He , we are to ld , was seized withreligious longings at the early age of seven . But

he was an only son , and Chinese custom madeit impo ssible fo r him to devote himself to themonkho od so long as no provision had been madefor carrying on the rites of ancestral “ wo rship .

”

So when he became a young man he went on

pilgrimage to Chiu - hua shan for the expresspurpo se of implo ring Ti-tsang to take pity on

his father and mo ther , who would be childlessif he became a monk.

“ Can ’t - do - anythingproved that even if he could do nothing else ,he at least knew how to move a divine beingto compassion , for sho rtly after his visit to Chiuhua the good news was bro ught to him that hehad an infant bro ther. He was then free to

fo llow where his spirit beckoned. In 1 6 1 6 hecame to P uto , where he earned the love and

respect of the monks , no t only for the austerityo f his mode of life , bu t also for the unselfish zealwith which he interested himself in the welfareof pilgrims and strangers . A bu ilding to whichhe gave the name of the “ Temple of the SeaM ists was founded by him for the special purpo seof accommodating and entertain ing the pilgrimmonks who came acro ss the waters to wo rshipat the shrine of Kuan -

yin .

Puto has had many strange visito rs , and someof them— ifwe may believe the testimony of tho sewho had the best opportun ity of judging— belongedto a plane of existence that was mo re exalted than

TWO STRANGE VISITORS

the plane of o rdinary human ity. A monk of theM ing dyn asty named Chen -I has a tale to tell usabout a mysteriou s couple— a man and a womanwho came to Puto in 1 605 . They took up theirabode side by side o n a little hill overlo oking thesacred cave of Kuan-

yin , in two thatched hutswhich they made with their own hands . The hutswere so small and so rudely put together that theyaffo rded no proper pro tection again st the weather,and it was impo ssible either to stand or to lie downin side them ;moreover , the ro ofs leaked and theground was damp . The wretched couple , whowere suppo sed to be beggars , drank no thing butco ld water and ate no thing but coarse herbs . For

several days at a time , indeed , they to ok no

nourishment at all , yet seemed none the wo rsefor their abstinence . If people to ok pity on themand offered them fo od or money, they did no t

refuse su ch gifts , but always gave them away againto any hungry pilgrim who happened to passby. The monk Chen-I to ok a kindly interest inthe couple , and went one n ight to pay them afriendly visit. They seemed qu ite indifferent tohis presence , and for a long time ignored his wellmeant remarks . He raised a lamp so that hemight have a better View of them , and this seemedto wake them up a little . But still the man on lysmiled when spoken to , and the woman on lyuttered interj ections . They refused to tell himtheir names , and the only fact in connectio n withtheir past histo ry which they were willing to

THE NORTHERN MONASTERY [CH.

communicate was that they had lived for a longtime on the sacred mountain of Chung-nan in

distant Shensi . 1 Chen-I then asked them abouttheir religious beliefs , and the response was acurious one : Oar eyes have seen the ocean our

ears have heard the wind soughing , the rain descend

ing , the seawaves dashing , and the wild birds calling .

”

Then the monk asked what their o ccupation was.Sometimes , ” they rep lied , we meditate on Kuan

yin . At o ther times we sit still and do nothing.

”

Chen-I seems to have gone away in a state ofgreat perplexity. He was unable to make up hismind as to whether the couple were very foo lishor very wise : it seemed clear to him that theymust be either one or the o ther. They remainedin their huts throughout the ensuing autumn and

winter. In the second month of the fo llowingyear pilgrims began to come to the island incrowds . One day, while great numbers of pilgrimswere standing at the entrance to the sacred cave

,

the nameless couple sudden ly appeared beforethem . P eace be with you all ,

” 2 they said ;andthereupon they vanished and were never seen

The answer given by these strange beings tothe question about their religious beliefs was notso irrelevant as an unwary reader may be temptedto suppo se . A sacred mountain or a sacred islandis, to the Buddhists of China , a great altar set up

1 See above, pp. 91 , 1 48.”

iifi’

é fi

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

x1 1 1 .] THE PRAISES OF BUDDHA

to the wo rship of the Buddhas and pusas, and thesky is its j ewelled canopy. From ano ther po int ofview it is a mighty temple

,who se dome is heaven .

The separate shrines and sanctuaries of Puto arebut chapels within one vast cathedral . It is noton ly the chanting monks who utter the praises ofBuddha in their great pavilion s ; it is not onlyfrom jars of bronze and stone that perfumed cloudsrise daily to the lo tu s-throne of the compassionatepusa . From the sea waves also come the soundsof a mighty anthem ;the rain that patters on thetemple ro o fs is the rain of the Go od Law that ispoured from the unfailing vial of Kuan -

yin ; thewinds murmur sutras in the sacred caves and inthe spirit-haunted woods ;the wild birds in theircalling are but jo in ing in the un iversal cho rus ofadoration ;and the “ little white flower sends upto Buddha, from million s of cen sers no t madeby the hand of m an , the sweet fragrance of

inexhau stible incen se.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

392

Awakening ofFaith, The, 27, 37

BABYLONIAN influences , 37-9, 269Badarinath , temple of Vishnu at

,

1 26

Bahaism ,1 26

Banished Angel , ” the , 218Barn ett, L. D ,

g69

Basilides, 1 1 1 , 1 1 9

Batavia, 361 -2Bateson , J. H. ,

295

Beads used by Buddhistsin prayer,350

Beal , Samuel , cited, 1 65, 273, 274 ,279, 283, 284 , 369,

377Beatific vision , exclusion from ,

63, 1 06-8

Bell of the Northern Monaste ry ,Puto-shan , 360-3

Benares , five ghats of, 1 26Benson , A. C. 200

Bergsori, 1 21Be1 nedette ofLourdes ,Bhagavad ita, 279BhikkhugPPali) , a religious mendicant, a Buddhist monk , 1 64

Bhikkiini (Pali) a Buddhist nun ,

1 64

Bhikshu (Sanskrit) a religiousmendicant, aBuddhist monk ,1 64, 379

Bhikshuni (Sanskrit) a Buddhistnun , 379

B ible of the Buddhists , 1 6B iblical inspiration , 1 1 6B irth , religious Observances in

connection with , 187-8B irthday ofKuan-yin , 31 6Blake , 54B landina, 284Blood , pictures or sutras drawn or

written in, 184, 297

Bodhicharyavatara, 204

Bodhidharma, 30, 83-6, 87 31 5,

373, 375-6Bodhisat, bodhisatship, 34, 56

,

66-81 , 94fi , 99fi1 , 1 25 , 1 45 , 1 47,187, 204-5, 209-1 0, 267, 285,365

Bodhisattva mahasattva, 77Body of Bliss , 77

of the Law, 77 1 52 and see

Dharmakaya

GENERAL INDEXBoerschmann’s P ‘

u-t‘o-sham, 260-1

Bold , Philipp , 79Boole of the Dead, 1 1 1Boutroux cited, 309

Brahma, story of the god, 58-60Brahmajala-sutra, 1 64Brahman girl , sto ry of the , 1 78

B rahman ical persecutions , alleged,24

Brahman ism , 24, 58-60, 1 75,186-7, 1 95-7, 203, 279, 366-9

B reath , regulation of the, 245-6

Bridges of the dead, 1 1 7B right Moonlight, ” 242

B uddha andConfucius, dates of, 45death of

,20

, 29, 30, 31teachings of the histo rical,

21,25

,43fi , 99

Buddha’s Peak, 259, 31 4, 358,

373—4 , 376, 380Peak Monastery

,

374-8Buddhahood , all beings destinedto attam , 1 77, 180, 187, 1 92, 1 97

Buddhism,lfil, 1 5-1 9, 20fi. and

see separate headingsand Christian ity

,

1 07-1 2, 1 1 4, 1 1 6, 1 1 7, ”1 1 9-21

1 25 ;and see Christian ityand Confucianism , 340

and see Confucianismand Tao ism , 1 37 9;and see

Taoismdecay of,

24, 203-4

introduction of, into China,20

, 21 fit ,prospects of, in China,

Vi. -viii . 4fi'

,228-9

Buddh ist Canon , 1 5, 22, 24, 32 ,33 5 , 41

Council of Kashmir, 26 fit,

32 , 33-4, 37

31 4,

in India, 23,

23-5,41 fi ,

56 fi , 61 , 82-1 1 2Buffalo on Puto shan , 382Burma, Buddhism in

,1 7,

329 30

Bu1 ning of the books ,”

22Byzantine monasticism , 297

CE LESTIUS, 67

GENERAL INDEXCaigl’s Evolution ofReligion cited ,

Calligraphy , 266Camphor-trees

, 31 4

Canon,see Buddhist Canon

Can terbury Tales, The, 1 29Can ton , 1 90

Case , Dr Shirley , 1 1 4Catechism , a Buddhist , 1 1 4-1 6Catherine , ofAlexandria, St , 284

of Siena,St, 296

Caves of Puto-shan,270, 298,

356, 357 , 359, 387, 389Ceylon ,

Buddhism in,1 7, 21 , 23,

Chandrasuryapradipa, 377Chario t ” passage , 48, 49

Charity in Buddhism , 71 -3, 1 02 ,1 51 , 1 53, 1 60

-6,1 77 ft , 189 fi ,

Charlemagne , 318Charms , 243Chaucer , 1 32-3Chavannes , 224Cheyne , Dr T . K .

,202

,290

Child-birth , 187-8Children

,Kuan-

yin as bestowerof, 269-70

the divine protector of

dead,1 99-200

Ti-tsang as bestower of,386

China Inland Mission ,371

China under the Empress Dowager,by Bland and Backhouse , 355

Chorten ,232

Chou,Duke of, 1 34dynasty , 1 46, 224, 271

Christ,superfluous merit of, 79,

1 73Christian ity

,8-9, 1 4 , 18, 99-1 00,

1 01,1 02

,1 03, 1 05 , 1 07 , 1 08,

1 1 0,1 1 1

,1 1 4 , 1 1 6 , 1 14221 ,

1 73, 1 97-99 , 201 -2 , 21 0, 239,

261 -4 , 269, 274, 277, 284 , 287 ,295

,303, 306, 307, 308, 309,

31 7-18, 333, 353, 365, 375-6,

385Chundi-devi, 278-9Chusan islands , 259-65 , 271 , 321 ,336, 341 , 342 , 374

Clemen t VI . (Pope) , 79Clement ofAlexandria, 1 1 9Clouds , a co llector of, 255-6Clovis of Buddhism , the , 33

393

Commandments , Buddhist, 1 66,182

,188

Comte, 75

Comte , Pére Le , 262-4Confucian hostility to Buddhism ,

2,1 0, 87, 225-9, 246, 337-8, 353

Confucian ism,1 -3, 4, 5, 9

-1 2 , 1 7,87 , 1 1 2 , 1 34—5 , 1 37, 1 52, 224-9,245 , 246, 247, 248, 266, 289,337, 338, 339 -40, 341 , 352 ,353, 364, 383

Confucius , 2 , 4-5, 9, 1 0, 45, 46,1 34, 1 35 , 341

temple and tomb of, 5,1 35

, 354

Coomaraswamy, Dr, 54Copying Buddhist scriptures as

act ofmerit, 184Cord ofAmitabha, 1 04-5Co rnford , F. M.

,274, 369

Covetousness , 1 67Creative Evolution cited , 1 21Cremation ,

231 , 379C'retans of Euripides , 289Cruach Phadraig , pilgrimages to ,1 25

Crusaders , 1 28-9Cuzco in Peru , 1 26

DALAI LAMA , 231 -2 , 271Damnation , 1 97-9 ;and see Evil

,

no etern ity ofDavids

,Mrs Rhys , quoted, 24, 72 ,

295, 31 7Prof. Rhys , quoted, 35 , 45 ,

49, 51 , 57, 58,59, 61 , 1 64,

368Dead, disposal of the , 230-2, 23940

Dea Syria, 289-91Death-bed repentance , 61 -4, 1 98Death , religious Observances inrespect of, 187-8, 236-8

Deification of Buddha, 56-60, 78-9Deity , nature of, 1 1 9-20Delphi , 1 26Delvolvé cited, 75Demono logy , Buddhist, 1 79-206Descent into hell, 201 -3Devils acting as protectors of thegood , 185-6, 187-9, 1 98

of Buddhism ,1 79-206

De Vita Contemplatvva, 289Dew-vase ofKuan-

yin , 282, 284-6

394

Dhamma, 1 52 and see Dharma.

Dhammapada, 71 -2Dharma, 1 51 -2Dharmakara, 96Dharmakaya, 77, 1 52Dharmaraksha, 272 , 276Dhyana, 29 , 30, 31 3, 349 , 364

Schoo l of Buddhism,29, 30,

82-90, 321Dhyanibodhisattvas, 94Dhyanibuddhas, 94Dialogues of the Buddha, 35, 51 ,57, 58, 59, 1 64 , 368

Diamond Rock , the , 31 3-1 4Sutra copied by Chinese

emperor, 350

Dickinson,G . Lowes , 1 08

Diverted merit, 78-9Divin ity of Buddha, 56-60Docetism in Buddh ism , 77, 95

Dodona, Zeus at , 1 26Dogma, decay of, 309Double klug ”

of Purgatory ,1 96-7

Dragon-tiger Mountains, 354

Dragon’s Pool

,223

Druids of Ireland, 1 37Duchesne , Mgr. Louis , cited, 38,287

Dun s Scotus , 1 08, 1 20Dutch pirates at Puto -shan , 343

7, 360—3

Dwarfs , 323-4, 335

EARTHQUAKE at Batavia, 361

-2

Earth-Spirits , 189-90, 1 91Eastern Clifi

'

, or Ridge of Chiuhua, 240-3, 255

Paradise,the

, 97Eckenstein

,Miss

,274

Eckhart,54

,85

Edkins , J . ,274, 328

Egaku , 320-3, 324, 326, 327 , 332

Ego , 48-55, 7 1 171 , 1 18j}:Ego ism , 68-81Egypt, 21 , 1 1 1 , 289Egyptian pilgrimages , 1 25-6Eightfo ld Path , the , 66Eight Small Famoustains

,1 47-8

Eitel'

s Handbook,271 , 279

Elements,the four ( or five) ,

1 44-5, 368, 369

Elizabeth,St

,284

Moun

GENERAL INDEXEmpress-Dowager of China, theGreat, ” 355

England , pilgrimages in , 1 28-30,1 32-3

Epirus , 2 1Essenes

,the , 288-9

Eternal pun ishmen t not aBuddhistdoctrine , 61 -3, 1 07—8, 1 716 , 189, 1 97-9

Eth ics , see Morals .Etiquette , Chinese monastic , 1 51 ,1 55-8

Euripides , 289EV1 l , n o etern ity of, 61

-3, 1 07-8,1 71 -3, 185-6 , 189 , 1 97-9Evil P01 son ”

( name of a devil) ,185-6

Evolution ,1 1 6-7 , 1 97fi

“

.

FAI TH OF ST JEROME cited , 201 -2Faith , salvation by , 56, 60-5, 78,92 fi , 98fi

'

,1 05 fi ,

1 78, 184,185 ffi ,

1 91 , 1 98fi ,283fi , 309

Fa1 1atic 1 sm ,religious , 1 31 , 294-8

Fauna of Puto -shan , 381 -2Faust quoted, 1 2 1Fenollosa, Ernest, v . ,

275, 276,291

Fllial Piety , 181 , 182, 1 93, 250,296, 304-6 , 352

Fin land,mythology of, 202

Fire,self-immolation by, 295, 341

First Emperor , ” 378First Gate ofHeaven

,221

First Gateway of Contemplation ,

”

223

Fishermen abandon333-4

Fishing discouraged in the waterssurrounding Puto , 292, 334

Fish-ponds,236

Fish symbolism in

290—2

Five Buddhas , the , 94 97Five heinous sins

,the

,98, 1 06

Sacred Hills,the , 1 34, 1 37-8,

1 39-40, 1 43, 268Sects of Dhyana school ,

87-90Fleet , Dr J . F.

,29

, 31 , 369

Flesh-food, prohibition of,188

Flora ofChiu—hua-shan,220-1 of

Puto-shan,271 , 374 , 380

Flowers, love of, ix . , 380

their nets ,

Buddhism,

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

396

Hinayana and Mahayana, 39 171 ,56 17 ”

1 1 4, 277-8

Hindu pilgrimages , 1 26-7, 1 57Hinduism ,

24, 58-60, 1 44 , 1 57,203 -4, 270, 279, 285, 366 -9,377

Hirn , Prof. Yrjo, cited, 1 00, 21 0,269, 287, 297, 365

His tory and religion , 58, 1 1 4 fi ,

1 74, 1 76 17, 277Hoifding, 1 20

Ho ly Grotto of the Flower of theLaw, 356

Mother, the, 181 , 268, 278Sepulchre, the , 1 29

Hooker cited, 46HoraiofHomer , 369Hugo of St Victor , 85Hui-chou , 258Hydropotes inermis, 381

IDOLATRY,261 -2 , 302 fl ;and see

Images , religious use ofIgnatius Loyola, St , 84Images , religious use of, 86, 93,189-90, 292-3, 302-6

Imperial patronage of Buddhistmonasteries, 223, 235, 24 1 , 293,320, 331 fii, 334fi

'

.

I nclusio, 297India

,Buddhism in , 1 5, 20 fit,

23, 1 41 , 1 95, 1 97, 203-4, 21 5,270, 287, 294, 31 5, 320pilgrimages in , 1 26-7 , 1 57

I ndo-Scythians, mission to kingof, 23, 1 36

Indra, 1 75 , 186Indulgences ,theo ry of, 79

Infant damnation , 63, 1 07Infinite , the, 1 77 ;and see Spaceand time

Inge, Dean 55, 74, 1 08,1 1 9, 1 73

Ink , manufacture ofChinese, 258Inspiration , Biblical , 1 1 6-1 7Inspired Drunkard , ” the , 218

Invocations of name ofAmitabha,99 171 , 1 09fi:

Iona, abbot of, 1 50Iran ian mytho logy , 1 95I reland , 1 25, 1 37, 348lrrefragable Doctor, the , 79

Ise, Japanese shrin es of, 1 27, 377

Roman Catholic

GENERAL INDEX

I shtar, 269I sis at Busiris , 1 25Islam , 24, 1 26, 295

Iévara, 270I tineraria, Pilgrims

’

Handbooksin Christendom , 1 50

JACOB I , H. 286Jade Imperial God”

ofTao ism,

376Jagannatha in Orissa, 1 27James of Compostella, St , 1 25

William , 63

Japan ,Buddhism in , 1 7 , 35, 78,

90, 92 , 95, 99, 1 00, 1 01 , 1 045 ,

1 1 4-1 6, 1 1 9, 1 27, 1 99-200, 266,274, 280, 303-5, 320-1 , 341cherry and maple in, 1 33folklore of, 348

Japan ese intercourse with Chehkiang and Puto-shan , 271 , 320fit , 326, 335 , 341 -2mythology, 202, 377pilgrimag es, 1 27, 1 33

Java, island of, 361 -2Jesus ofNazareth , 58, 85, 239Jeta, Prince, 230Jhana, 29, 30, 31 3, 321 , 349, 364;and see Dhyana.Jimmu Tenno, 1 27J inas, the five, 94, 97J ize, 1 99-200Jddo sect, 95Jchaumine Gospel , 1 01John ofDamas cus, 1 1 9Jonson , Ben , 21 7Juggernaut, 1 27Justin Martyr, 1 1 9

KAKUSANDHA, 94Kalaéa

,vial carried by bodhisats,

285Kalpa, 98, 1 06-7, 1 1 5Kanakamuni, 94Kanishka, 23, 26fi , 36

Kapimala, 30

Qial

r

éna

, 62-4 , 1 1 3, 1 18, 1 78, 182,

6

Kashmir, 21 26, 33, 34, 320Buddhist Council of, 26fl ,

29, 32-4, 37

Kassapa, 94 ;and see KasyapaKasyapa, 94, 1 55, 375

the Buddha, 280

GENERAL INDEXKasyapa Matanga, 1 36 ;and see

MatangaKatyayani

-putra, 27

Kendall , Miss E. 1 42Kenn edy, J .

,26, 29, 34, 39

Kern cited, 276, 286

Khandas , 52 and see SkandhasKhema the nun

, 52-3

Khotan,28

Kingsmill , T . W. 36-7d é Daishi , founder of Shingonsect ofBuddhism in Japan , 1 27 ,266

Kokka, The, cited , 1 05Ko—ko-ryo , a Korean kingdom ,

21 3

Konagamana, 94Koran , 351Korea, 21 1 -1 3Koxinga, 344Koya, Mount, in Japan , 1 27Krakuchandra, 94Krishna, 1 1 0, 203Kshitigarbha, l 7oj :Kublai Kh an , 334

Kumarajiva, 27 , 272Kushan kings , 26 ; and see

KanishkaKwannon ,

1 00,267

Kyoto, 320

Laksmi, 286Lamaism

,94, 238

Land and grain , gods of the, 224Lao—chiin , see Lao-tzi

'

i

Lao-tzu, 2, 1 3 and seeTaoismLaughing Buddha, the , 367,370

Laura of Western monasticism ,

297Lecky

’

sEuropeanMorals cited , 24]Le Coq, 287Levitation of the body, 251 , 255

£ ha

sa,

d231 , 271

267ia ties ,Libi'

l

a

griegj

l

ige Monastic librariesLife

,Buddhist view of sanctity of,

182-3, 236Lilley

,Canon , 9

Limbo , 63, 1 07Little , A. ,

1 42

Puto , 343White Flower, I sland of

the,271 , 323, 343, 347

397

Lives of the Buddhist Saints,364

Lloyd , Prof. Arthur, 37, 38, 41 ,34

, 304Loigaire , king of I reland , 1 37Lokesvararaja, 96, 99Lord ofFate , 187-9

Loretto , Holy House at , 1 25Lotus of the Good Law, 269, 272,276, 280, 283, 295 and see

Saddharmapundarikasymbolism in Buddhism , 1 ,

93, 1 03-7, 1 08-9, 1 39, 21 7,285-6, 287, 336

Lourdes , Our Lady of, 1 25Love

,Buddhism a religion of, 71

81 , 1 01 , 1 02, 1 52-3, 1 91 , 1 94fl ,

2671? 339

Lucifer , 1 99Lucy, St , 284

MACARTNEY, LORD, 324Macedon ia, 21Macgowan , D. J. 341

MacRitchie , D. 300

Madeley, F., 376

Magic, 1 1 1 -1 2, 188, 246, 252-6,265-6, 278

Mahabharata, 1 95, 203Mahabhfita, 1 44

Mahakasyapa, 29Mahasanghika school , 77Mahasattva, 77Mahasthama bodhisattva, 1 00

,

1 03, 288 and see ChineseIndex , Ta-shih-chih

Mahavibhasha, 33, 34

Mahayana, 25 fl , 32 fit, 36 fi ,

1 52, 276, and passim .

and Christian ity , 36-40;and see Christian ity

Maitreya bodhisattva, 94, 1 77,200, 273, 285, 367 370, 371

Malaya Mountain , 270Malevolence of devils not directedagainst virtuous persons , 185-6,187-9, 1 98-9

Malufikyaputta, 45Manchu dynasty , vi. vii . 340-1 ,355, 373, 378

Mandaism ,39 , 202

Mandalay, 1 68, 329Mangoes , story of the non

existent, 49-5 1

398

Manichaaism , 39, 377

Mafijusri, 1 76, 1 77Mantra Buddhism , 94

Mann,Laws of, 279

Marichi , a Brahman ical deityborrowed by Buddhism ,

279, 287Martin ofTours , St , 1 25Maspero , H. 326

Matanga, 1 36, 1 37 , 1 39Matsyendranath , 291

Max1minus 284Maximus the Confessor , 1 1 9Maya

,the mother of Buddha, 1 75

181,277-230

Mead, G . R. S. , 55, 377Mecca, 1 26Medhurst , W. H.

,261

Medina, tomb of Mohammed at,

1 26

Meditationbodhisats , 94

Mencius, 1 34-5Mendicancy,1 67-9

Meru, Mount, 368Meshhed ’

Aliin Nejef, 1 26Messiah of Buddhism ,

367 and see MaitreyaMetempsychosis , 1 53

,1 74, 1 78,

182 , 1 96Metteya bodhisat, 94 ; and see

MaitreyaMilinda, dialogues of king , 4849, 61 64, 65

Milton’s Camus, 1 98Mimoro , sacred mountain in

Japan , 348Ming dynasty , 1 9, 235 , 240, 253,338-9, 340, 342 , 357, 360

Minucius Felix , 1 1 1 , 1 1 9Miracles , 57—8, 89, 1 37 ,21 0, 252

—6, 263-4, 265-6,300171 , 322, 323, 324, 332

in Christian ity, 58, 1 37,21 0

Miraculous , Buddha’stowards the, 57Missionaries , Christian ,

in China,63, 1 23

,261 -4, 353, 371 -2,

375-7of Buddhism ,

20-24,1 35-6

Mithraism, 37-8

, 39, 203, 290

Modernism ,1 1 4

, 309

Buddhist , 308

Buddhas and

Buddhist, 1 63-4,

273,

38-9,92-3,

att itude

GENERAL INDEXMohammedan s , 24, 1 26, 295Monasteries , Buddhist, v. viii .ix .

,x.

,4,18, 1 9, 42 , 82, 86-7

93, 1 40fi ,1 49-68, 209, 21 5 fil,

238—9 , 31 2-89Monastic libraries , 235, 338-9,345 , 373

Monasticism ,Confucian condemna

tion of, 1 37, 225-8Mongo l dynasty, 271 , 334Monks , names for Buddhist, 88,1 64

Moon-worship , 376—8Moral education ,

congress on , 9Morals and religion , 6

-1 2, 79,

99, 1 02 , 1 09 1 2,1 30 2

,1 51

69 , 226-9, 250, 295-7, 308-9,318-1 9

of Chinese monasteries ,318-1 9

Moscow , 1 90Mother of Buddha, 277-80;andsee Maya.

oule , B ishop, 1 1 6-1 7Mountains , Sacred, 4

,1 9, 1 27,

1 31 , 1 33, 1 34-48

,1 49 fi ,

337,333 9, 332 17 , 388spirits of the , 224

Mountains , worship of, 1 11 China,1 39 fi ,

1 46-8, 1 49 17 , 223-4,337-8, 382fli, 388-9

Mu hal emperors , 351MuIler, Max

, 35, 7 1-2

Mummies , see

dead bodies .Mylitta , the goddess , 269Mysteries , pagan , 38Mysticism , 53

-5, 77, 83-6, 97 , 1 01 ,1 1 4, 1 1 9

-20,1 44, 1 74 fit, 181 ,

205-6, 245-6 , 276

Preservation of

NAGARJUNA , 30, 90

Nagasena, 49, 61 64, 65 , 83Nalanda, 40Name , invocations of holy, 99,1 02-3, 1 09

-1 2

Nameless spirits , 224Nara

, 320

Nativity of Buddha the, 277Neighing Ho rses , the , 27Neoplaton ism,

1 20

Nepal , 24, 73, 94, 291Nesto rian ism, 274“ New Buddhism ,

" the, 37, 39

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

GENERAL INDEX

Prayer in Buddhism and Christianity, 263

-4, 306-1 1

Prayer of the Jhdna School, 307

309-1 1

Prayers ofpilgrims , 236-8Preservation ofdead bodies , 230-2,239-40

Pringle-Pattison ,A. S . 1 20

Pseudo-Dionysius , 1 1 9Pulpit of Kuan-yin , the, 31 3—1 4,325

Pure-land sect, 92 171 , 96 1 21,

272, 288and see AmidismPurgatory, 61 , 62 , 63, 98, 1 06-8,1 73, 237

-8Pythagorean teachings , 305

QUEEN or HEAVEN , the , 268, 279,366, 367

Queer Fellow , ” the , of Chiuhua-shan , 245

Quetzalcoatl , 1 26Qur

’

an , 351

RAIN-MAK ING spells , 254-5, 286Rain of the Good Law, 365, 389 ,Rain of the Law,

” Monastery ofthe , 356

-73Ramayana, 203Ratnapani, 94

Ratnasambhava, 94

Ravana, 203Red-hairs , ” 343fi

'

. 363

Redemption ,1 77-206, 346

Reformation in Europe, 1 27 8,1 31 -2

Regu lot Benedicti, 318Reischauer, A. H.

,1 1 5

Relics,Buddh ist

,31 5-1 6, 324

Religion and history , 58, 1 1 4-1 1 6morals, 7-1 2 , 99 and

see Morals and religionscience

,1 1 6

Religious policy in China, 6flRetribution ,

182 , 185 , 187Revo lution in China, 6fi , 1 23

-4,

248-9Richard of St Victor , 85

Dr Timothy , 37, 38, 41B inzaisubdivision of the Z en sect(Japanese) , 321

Rishi (mountain Wiz ards) , 1 4, 2 1 5245, 266

—7Robertson , J . M. 269, 270

Roman pilgrimages , 1 25, 1 26Rome, Aposto lic tombs at , 1 25

Image-worship at , 1 90Roof-tiles of temples ofPuto-shan,328, 372 , 374

SABATIER , AUGUSTE , 309Sacred fish , 290-2

Saddharmapundarika, 90,

272 , 276, 280, 283, 295Sadhus ( Indian ascetics) [57, 296Sain ts

,cult of

,in Europe, 1 25-6,

1 27-9

aivite deities , 24akyamuni, 2 , 94, 95 , 99, 1 04,1 55, 31 5, 329, 375;and sec

Buddha,Buddhism , etc.

Salette,La, in Dauphine, 1 25

Salvation Army , 1 02Samantabhadra, 94

Sambhogakaya, 77 , 97Sanday , Dr, 49, 85Sands of a thousand paces , 357

Sangha, 1 52Sanskrit, use of, for Buddhistliterature

, 32, 33-5, 40

Santi-Deva, 69, 204Sariputta, 56

—7, 61

Sarvastivadins, 32-4

Satan unkn own to Buddhism ,1 97

8,1 99

Saved,

”n in e classes ofthe , 1 05-7

Saviours incarnated in humanform , 39, 76-9, 78, 96, 267 , 274

Scenery , insen sibility ofEuropeansto wild

,263

Sch iller,F. C . S . , 55

School , boys’

,at Puto-shan , 31 4

Schools and sects of Buddhism ,

23 - 5, 41 fii, 56 fit , 61 , 82

1 1 2

Schopenhauer, 75

Schrader,Dr F. Otto

,52

Science and religion , 1 1 6-7Scotland , pilgrima es in 1 29

Sacred we and cave in ,300

Scott,Sir George , 22

Sects and schoo ls , 4 1 -2, 56, 61 ,82-1 1 2

Seishi,1 00;and see Mahasthama

bodhisattvaSekhet at Bubastis

,1 25

Selbie, Rev. J . A. , quoted, 18

269,

GENERAL INDEXSelf, the, in hiloso h 43 4855 , 66-81 , £ 8172, 1

13745"

Self culture and self sacrifice,

reconciliation of, 81Self-immo lation by fire

, 295 , 341Self, reliance on , 67, 73 17

”

Self-sacrifice , 68-81 , 1 52-3Semitic pilgrimages , 1 26ergeant , P . W.

, 355Serpent-lore, 348Serpen ts at Puto-shan , 347-8Sex of Kuan-

yin , 1 01 , 1 03, 26770, 273-6 , 353

Sextus-Pythagoricus, 46Shakespeare, 2 1 7Shan states and peoples, 22, 265Shanghai , 259Shan tung, spirits of the soil in ,225

Shin-gon sect ( Japan) 94

Shin shu (Japanese Buddhist sect)95

,1 1 5

Shin to,1 33, 377

Ship,symbo lism of, 1 03, 200, 269

Shock-headed Ts‘ai , 244-5Shodo Kowa

, 304

Showerman,Dr Grant, 38

Shun,the emperor , 1 40

Siam ,Buddhism in , 1 7, 1 68, 21 1

1 2 , 218Silence of Buddha on ultimate

roblems, 43-8

Sill-

)

la,a Korean kingdom,

21 1

1 3

Siva, 270Skandhas , 49, 52Small Vehicle , the , 25 ;and see

HinayanaSmith , Mr V. A. ,

277, 279)287

Snakes , poisonous, unknown at

P u to ,Snowy moun tains , School of the,25

Society ofGod, 337So il , god of the, 224-6Sorrow, ann ihilation of, 43, 44 ,58

Soto subdivision of the Z en sect,321

Soul,Buddhist speculations as to

the, 43, 48-55of China, 18-1 9

Southern Monastery of Puto

shan, 31 2 fil, 31 6 175, 328-54,

356, 365, 367, 383

Southern Sacred Mountain (NanYo )88, 89

South Sea I slanders,myt ho logy

of, 202

Space and time, treatment of, inBuddhism , 1 1 3-1 6, 1 74, 1 76 172,369

Spells and charms, 1 1 2 ;and see

Name, invocation of ho lySpen cer, Herbert, 74 , 75Spiritual Glory, ” the, 240

Rock,” the

, of Putoshan

, 31 3Spiritual side of Chinese culture

,

7, 8, 9-1 0, 1 3, 1 4, 1 6-1 9Splendid vices

, 99

Sraddhotpada-sastra, 37Sri

,286

Srinagar , 34Star of the Sea, 269

Stein, SirAurel , 287Stephen , Sir Leslie, 75Sto icism , 74-5Sti

'

ipas or pagodas erected byAsoka, 22

Sturt, Henry, 274

Subliminal self, 85Sudatta, 230, 231

Sufi'

rin , A. E . 288Suicide Cliff, 1 31Sukhavatisutras, 95

the “ Happy Land or

Western Heaven , 96 171 , 1 21 ,267, 288

Sun-worship , 376-8Sung dynasty, 1 9, 1 43, 1 44 , 251Superstition , 4, 1 2 , 1 3, 1 6-1 7, 86,93, 1 02, 1 09

-1 2,1 24 fli, 237-9,

243Susa-no-o , Japanese moon-god,377

Suso , Henry, 70, 294-5Sutta Ni ata, 72uzuki , 27, 37, 77Sweet Dew, Monastery of, 223Swinburne quoted, 260Symbol ism , 86, 93, 1 03 171 , 1 1 4,1 21 , 1 72-3, 1 74, 1 76 fi ,

189-90279, 286, 287, 290-2 , 298, 303fli, 309, 365, 378, 389

Sympathetic magic , 188Syria

,21 , 289, 291

GENERAL INDEX

TABR I Z, 1 26

Tada Kanai , 303-5T‘at Chan

,Le

,by Ed. Chavannes ,

224

T ‘ai-p‘ing Rebellion ,

222 , 223,230

,233, 235-6, 239, 258, 337,

341

Takakusu, J 33, 34, 286Tamo , 30 and see BodhidharmaT ‘

ang dynasty, 1 9, 1 1 7, 250-1 , 271Tantric Buddhism

,24, 94, 1 70-1 ,

245,278, 287

Taoism,1 -3

,4,1 2-1 5, 1 7 , 46, 49,

1 02, 1 1 2, 1 34, 1 37-40, 1 43,

1 44-5, 1 48, 1 62 , 1 66, 1 69, 21 31 5, 221 , 245

,246, 251 , 268,

269, 337 , 354, 366, 373, 376,377 , 378

Tao ist, closing of temples, 1 2Tashilhunpo , 231Tathagata, 51 , 52 , 53Tavatim sa

,Pali for Trayastrimsa,

g/u.

Taylor,A. E . , 74

Tea, cultivation of

,by Buddhist

monks,22 1 , 381

T en Thousand Buddhas, Templeof, 243

TendaiSchoo l (Japanese) , 90Tennyson , 1 1 6Theologt

'

a Germam oa, 54

Therapeutae, 289Theravada, School of the Elders

orApostles,25;andseeHinayana

and HaimavantasThirty-nine Articles

, the , 99Thomas , St , 36-7, 42 , 375-6Thompson ,

Rev. J . M., 58, 1 1 4

Three Holy Ones,the

,1 51 2

“ Three Refuges ,” the

, 1 52, 308Religions of China, 1 fi ,

354

Through Shea-lean , 376Tibet, 94, 1 46, 231 -2, 270-1 , 287,297, 372

T ime , see Space and timeTimour Khan

, 334Tinted Clouds , Tem le of

,243

Tolerant principles of uddhism ,

40, 87 330

Toleration , religious , in China,

7fi., 87, 352—3, 354, 364

Tombs of monks, Puto-shan ,

378-9

Tower ofHeaven , ” 243-4Tracts

,Buddhist , 1 02fi ,

Tranquil Mind,Rock of the , 223

Transferred merit of bodhisats

78-9Transttus SanctaeMartae cited , 991 00

Translation of Buddhist scripturesinto Chinese , 1 36, 1 41

Transmigration ,1 53

Trayastrimsa, name of a heaven,

1 75Treasure of the Church , 79, 1 73

Ti-tsang, 1 70, 1 73Trtbute of Yd cited, 264Trikaya, 27, 77Trin itarian do ctrine of Buddh ism27, 77

Tripitaka, viii . ix . 1 6, 33-5, 3389, 341 -2 and see BuddhistCanon

Turkestan , Chinese, 26, 28, 1 46Tushita Heaven ,

1 77 , 367Tyrrell, George, c ued, 99, 1 21UNDERH ILL , E .

,54

,83, 85, 86,

296

Un iversal Purity , 244

Upan ishads,54

Upasakas, lay-Buddh ists , 379

VACCHAGOTTA , 45 , 51

Vairochana Buddha, 94Vaisali

,1 95

Vaishnavas of B engal , 1 1 0Vajrapani, 94, 204Vasubandhu , 27, 33, 34Vasumitra, 26, 27, 34Véda

, 367, 370Vedanta, 54Vedic mythology, 1 95

sacrifices, 369Vegetarian diet ofmonks , 380-1t medca of Buddha

,295

negativa, 1 1 9-20

Vihftrapala, 367, 370Vikrama era, 28, 29Vinaya

, 91-2

, 333, 364 ,Virgin birth of Buddha, 277

the, 79, 1 00, 269, 274,

279, 287Vishnu , 1 26 , 203, 285, 286, 290Visvapani, 94Vivasat , 1 95

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join