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 ALBERUNI : India. An Account of the Religion, Philo- 
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 ivi8iy7is 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 The number of Buddhists in the world has been much 
 exaggerated. Formerly it was stated to be four hundred 
 millions ; and this incredibly large estimate led to careful 
 consideration. Dr. Happer, resident for more than forty 
 years in Canton, thinks that in China the tonsured 
 Buddhist priests are twenty millions in number, and he 
 declines to allow that the rest of the Chinese can be 
 rightly called Buddhists. Dr. Gordon, of Japan, a good 
 authority who has carefully studied Japanese Buddhism, 
 considers that it would not be fair to represent only the 
 tonsured Buddhists as followers of the Buddhist religion 
 in Japan ; yet it is a fact that few of the laity in China 
 and Japan make and keep Buddhist vows. The same is 
 true of Tauism. The most of the population of China 
 claim to be Confucianists, and conform occasionally to 
 Buddhist and Tauist ceremonies. The rich Chinaman 
 calls himself a Confucianist, and therefore he must count 
 as such. But he subscribes to the rebuilding of Buddhist 
 temples and pagodas, because he thinks the act will bring 
 him prosperity. He worships Tauist idols more than 
 those in Buddhist temples ; but he adores the Buddhist 
 images also on certain occasions. He conforms to three 
 religions, but on the whole he is made by ancestral wor- 
 ship properly speaking a Confucianist. His religious faith 
 
 a 2 
 
viu PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION, 
 
 is a sad jumble of inconsistent dogmas. As to becoming 
 a tonsured priest, he never thinks of it, unless he grows 
 weary of the world and aspires to monastic life as a relief 
 from social cares and domestic sorrow. Let us include 
 lay Buddhists who keep their vows at home, and rate the 
 whole number of those Chinese who take Buddhist vows, 
 monastic or lay, at forty millions. The Tauists may be 
 roughly estimated at fifteen millions, and the Confucian- 
 ists at 320 millions. It is ancestral worship that gives 
 the Confucianists so large a preponderance. 
 
 The schoolmasters are all Confucianists. None of the 
 books used in education are Buddhist or Tauist. Of newly 
 published works, ten per cent, may be Buddhist and ten 
 per cent. Tauist. These include exhortations to virtue, 
 and treatises urging to charity. There is no demand for 
 Buddhist or Tauist books. Eighty per cent, of all books 
 newly published count as Confucianist, or as belonging to 
 general literature. Booksellers, as a rule, keep no Bud- 
 dhist or Tauist books. On the whole, it seems better to 
 allow the Chinese claim, and class 320 millions of them 
 as Confucianists. To go to school is to become a Con- 
 fucianist, and even those who have no book-learning wor- 
 ship their ancestors. 
 
 Yet Buddhism is powerful in China by its doctrines. 
 It has made the Chinese idolaters, and besides this it has 
 taught them the wind and wat&r superstition which has 
 proved to be an effective barrier against civilised improve- 
 ments and a most thorough hindrance to true enlighten- 
 ment. For these two reasons, after all that can be said, 
 still it is a Buddhist country, and the people are idolaters 
 and the victims of Hindoo superstition. The art too is 
 Buddhist. The favourite subjects of artists are Buddhist 
 or Tauist. Here the ascetic element prevails, and that 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION, ix 
 
 familiarity with nature which marks the true Buddhist. 
 The lion, a Persian animal, is the symbol of victory, and 
 is a common ornament in temples as symbolical of 
 Buddha's success in argument. The lotus also is sym- 
 bolical of Buddha's appearance as saviour. He rises 
 suddenly from the sea of misery, an object of beauty to 
 thousands who are rescued by his powerful teaching from 
 their hopeless delusions. The lovely flower, the padnUy 
 is an indispensable ornament to Buddha's throne. Bud- 
 dhism taught the Chinese and Japanese artists to paint 
 animal and vegetable forms and carve them in temples. 
 Through this medium ideas of Assyrian and Greek art 
 found their way to these Eastern races, and elevated them. 
 Buddhism, by introducing to China notions of Western art, 
 has conferred a positive benefit, and she has also inspired 
 multitudes with a sort of hope of deliverance from suffer- 
 ing. Since the first edition of this book was published, 
 several thousands belonging to Buddhist and Tauist sects 
 in North China, having already an undefined longing for 
 redemption stirring within them through Buddhist teach- 
 ing, have found that redemption in the doctrines of the 
 Bible and accepted the Christian faith. Buddhism alone 
 could only awaken aspirations after belief. Christianity 
 coming after it satisfies those aspirations. 
 
 The Karma and the twelve Nidanas or causes unveil 
 to view the chain of a twelve-fold necessity which controls 
 human life, an impersonal fate made up of causes and 
 inevitable effects. This idea of destiny is suggested by 
 events such as sudden death, sickness, and old age. In 
 Isa. Ixv. 12 (revised version) human destiny is said to be 
 in the hands of the goddess Meni, as the Babylonians 
 thought. But Meni means the " divider." The Greeks 
 believed in the three Moirai, the Fates or the Dividers. 
 
t PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 The idea of destiny in Babylon and Greece preceded the 
 fact of personifying. So was it in Buddhism. First the 
 twelve causes were taught under the control of Karma ; 
 afterwards, in Northern Buddhism, Yama, god of death, 
 divided out, as it was said, human destiny and fixed the 
 hour of death for every one. Since it is not a Vedic 
 doctrine, this belief in an impersonal destiny is Babylo- 
 nian, and is astrological, but the keen Indian intellect 
 separated the astrological element from it carefully and 
 made it purely metaphysical. There are five causes at 
 work — existence, grasping firmly, love, activity, ignorance. 
 There are seven consequences — bodily decay, birth, sensa- 
 tion, touch, the senses, colour, consciousness. Buddhist logic 
 not believing in the outer world is here seen busying itself 
 with the senses and the sensations which are the consti- 
 tuent elements of our phenomenal life. This is destiny 
 stated in the language of Hindoo metaphysics, and when 
 it proceeds to detail, all we can take hold of is our sen- 
 sations, our consciousness, our emotions, and our activity. 
 It would certainly be clearer if put in the language of 
 Cousin or of Sir William Hamilton. It is truly a mis- 
 fortune for the Buddhists that they have not had their 
 philosophical dogmas expounded as our Western philoso- 
 phers would expound them. In describing our environ- 
 ment Buddhism is pessimistic. Nothing could be worse 
 than our delusions and our condition. In promising a 
 cure, Buddhism adopts a most triumphant tone. Buddha 
 discovered the remedy, and God had nothing to do with 
 it. It is in every man's power to save himself. In this 
 system the assertion that an impersonal fate, morally 
 retributive, rules all men's destiny, and is the basis of the 
 metempsychosis, is Babylonian. The transmigration of 
 souls is foreign, and the moral basis of necessary law 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. xi 
 
 on which it rests is, in fact, both native and foreign. 
 Buddha found his countrymen believing in the new doc- 
 trine of transmigration, and he himself believed it and 
 shaped it into the twelve causes and effects. He did not 
 resist or deny the Mesopotamian fate. He gave it logical 
 form, and undertook to set men free from it by treating 
 it as a delusion. 
 
 Science and philosophy on arriving in India originated 
 science and philosophy in that country under new forms. 
 Buddhism forsook the Veda religion so far as to omit 
 all mention of the gods Varuna, Agni, and the Maruts. 
 Buddha did not cite the Vedas as authorities. He built 
 his system on the ideas he found current in Central 
 India. For himself, he claimed to have discovered the 
 highest truth. The cause of his atheism was the poly- 
 theism of the time. Its extreme anthropomorphism 
 provoked a reaction in his mind against the idea of deity. 
 The gods, thought he, are unequal to the task of saving 
 men from delusion. There is a wisdom that can do it, 
 and I have discovered it. To this confidence in his 
 own insight he was led in part by the national love 
 for argument, and for that variety of illustration in con- 
 ducting argument which the collision between foreign 
 and native thought had awakened. To this was to be 
 added the effect of lonely meditation. The youthful 
 thinker was thrown on his own resources in his chosen 
 retirement. Shutting off all avenues by which other 
 thoughts than his own could reach him, he waited for 
 light till it came. He had a compassionate heart, and 
 thus his natural disposition found its way into his system 
 and marked his whole life-work as a national teacher. 
 It is this enthusiastic sympathy for humanity which 
 drew to him so many millions of adherents. 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 That this is the real explanation of Buddhism as a 
 phenomenon in the history of mankind, can be shown in 
 many ways. Southern Buddhism is in its development 
 of thought very decidedly more Hindoo than Northern 
 Buddhism. The impact from Western philosophy pro- 
 duced a slighter effect in Southern India, communication 
 being entirely by sea. Northern Buddhism branched 
 out in a striking manner from the old root of Buddhist 
 ideas, and the cause should be sought in its close conflict 
 with Persian and Babylonian thought. The Persians, 
 when they came down from the north, charged with 
 Aryan conceptions and beliefs, to conquer their country, 
 were powerfully influenced by Babylonian civilisation. 
 The Zoroastrian religion was the result. They became 
 earnest believers in their new faith, and this access of 
 national zeal reacted on the Buddhists in North- Western 
 India. A characteristically new, original, and popular 
 modification of Buddhist thinking was soon produced. 
 
 Amitabha, the Buddha who leads to the paradise of the 
 west, is a new Ormuzd, god of light, believed in by the 
 Persians as the supreme deity, and promising his followers 
 eternal joy in the paradise where he dwells. Buddhism, 
 when it proclaimed general scepticism, opened the way 
 for free speculation. The Buddhists found the Persians 
 as earnest as themselves, and they incorporated the 
 Persian view of a supreme god and a future life of 
 happiness in their own system. Buddhism, by adopting 
 the principle of contemplation and inward light, became 
 mystical. The Paradise of the Western heaven was 
 evolved by Northern Buddhists in hours of contemplation. 
 The new teaching soon attained a widespread popularity. 
 Continued studies in ancient Chinese philosophy have 
 convinced me that the three relijnons of the Chinese 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. xiii 
 
 have all been greatly influenced by Persian ideas. First, 
 the ancient Chinese learned dualism from Persia, and 
 adopted it in the Book of Changes. They also adopted 
 the worsliip of the sun and stars with astrology. Then 
 they accepted the belief in a future life in early Tauism. 
 Finally, Buddhism brought them a later form of the 
 future life as developed in the worship of Amitabha. 
 Mr. De Groot, in his comprehensive work on the religion 
 of the Chinese, agrees with me in these views, and 
 conversation with him in China led me to expand them 
 still more. Tibetan Buddhism lays great stress on astro- 
 logy, and by so doing points plainly to Babylon. 
 
 The same is true of the Hindoos. Their cosmogonies 
 are Babylonian. Their triad of gods, Brahma, Vishnu, 
 and Siva, is based on a Babylonian model, just as the 
 Chaldean triad of the higher gods is derived from the 
 Accadian. Hindu sculpture is based on that of Greece. 
 Hindoo arithmetic is Babylonian in origin. Babylonian 
 thought was adopted by the Hindoos, because it was 
 more refined and profound than their own. In the 
 history of philosophy it is as true in Asia as in Europe 
 that every new philosophy rests on its predecessors. The 
 origin of each new philosophy can only be satisfactorily 
 explained when attention has been adequately given to 
 those systems of thought which, by their influence, tended 
 to produce it. 
 
 Chinese Buddhism is Northern Buddhism, and it can 
 only be suitably accounted for in this way. How neces- 
 sary it is to make plain from what source the variations 
 found in Northern Buddhism from the primitive standard 
 have sprung, is clear from what one of my critics, Dr. 
 Khys Davids, has stated. In the Academy of October 2, 
 1880, he says that to speak of Buddha as "entering into 
 
nv 
 
 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 Nirvana" is an expression wliich absolutely contradicts 
 the doctrines of the early Buddhists. My author says there 
 are three Nirvanas — i, a pure nature, that of heretics; 2, 
 purity gained by practising the methods of the greater or 
 lesser vehicle ; 3, the purity of Buddha's death. This I 
 take from Kiau cMng fa shu, one of my best Chinese 
 authorities. The reason is in the change which came over 
 Buddhism through contact with Persia. Dr. Rhys Davids 
 also assumes that the Chinese have onl}^ one date for 
 Buddha's birth. I have carefully pointed out that they have 
 at least two, one among them being B.C. 623, given in the 
 Imperial dynastic histories. In fact, Northern Buddhism 
 is undervalued by Pali scholars. It has gone through 
 the purifying process of a thousand fights with Brahmins 
 and other sects in India, with Parsees, Manichaeans, and 
 Christians abroad, and with Confucianists in China. The 
 Chinese author thinks much of style, and possesses an 
 immense repertoire of elegant phrases. The original 
 Sanskrit is changed into these phrases, and comes to mean 
 something much nearer to men's business and bosoms, and 
 more polished in expression, than it did in the Indian 
 form. The Chinese translator accepts no new idioms 
 which can be avoided. Foreign lingo must be modified to 
 suit Confucianist taste. It would be well if Dr. Rhys 
 Davids would allow for the influence on Northern Bud- 
 dhism of foreign systems of thought, and also take into 
 consideration the qualities of the Chinese translators. He 
 says Brahmajala does not mean " net of Brahma." The 
 Chinese author says it does. I prefer to follow my autho- 
 rity, and leave my critic to prove that he is wrong. When 
 the Sanskrit bears two or three meanings, the Chinese 
 translator sometimes gives them all, wishing to get all he 
 can out of his text. Dr. Rhys Davids, on the contrary, selects 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. xv 
 
 one and denies the others. He also expects me to follow 
 the Pali as translated by Gogerly, vouched for by Dr. Khys 
 Davids himself as accurate. I think, however, it is better 
 for me to follow my Chinese guides. Native Buddhist 
 works by Chinese are, I believe, more entertaining and in- 
 teresting than those written in Pali by Hindoos. In saying 
 this, I fear I shall not get Dr. Rhys Davids to agree with 
 me. But however this may be, what I give is taken 
 from Chinese authorities, except where European writers 
 are cited expressly. I began studying Chinese Buddhism 
 more than forty years ago. Dr. Eitel, Rev. Samuel Beal, 
 and Mr. Consul Watters followed me, and have done well. 
 Before they began publishing, I had already pointed out 
 that the Chinese Buddhist schools of authorship all 
 spread to Japan many centuries ago, and were firmly 
 planted in that country. It is surely worth the earnest 
 thought of Pali students that Buddhism was developed 
 powerfully in North-Western India under Persian and 
 Christian influence so far as to allow of the teaching 
 of a future life, and to treat the Nirvana practically as 
 a euphemism for death. In this state Buddhism entered 
 China. No sooner had it arrived than controversy com- 
 menced on immortality. The Chinese Buddhists con- 
 tended vigorously for the immortality of the soul against 
 the followers of Confucius. Pali Buddhism, if it had 
 been propagated in China, would not, probably, have 
 originated such a controversy. It was the Northern 
 doctrines invigorated by faith in the immortality of the 
 soul which gave Chinese Buddhism sufficient energy to 
 found new schools. 
 
 JOSEPH EDKINS. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 When the first Hindoo missionaries arrived at the capital 
 of China and were admitted to see the emperor, it was, 
 the Buddhists tell us, in the last month of the year a.d. 
 68, and the 30th day of that month. By imperial com- 
 mand they were entertained in a building called Pe-ma 
 si, " Office of the white horses ; " so named because they 
 had ridden on white horses on their way from Cabul. 
 The two Brahmans enjoyed the imperial favour, and one 
 of the books they translated has remained popular to the 
 present time. 
 
 Thirteen years before these men reached China, the first 
 missionaries of Christianity crossed the ^gean Sea and 
 entered Europe. Instead of being received, however, with 
 the smiles of those in power and enjoying imperial hospi- 
 tality, they were publicly whipped and imprisoned by 
 the magistrates of a Roman colony, and ignominiously 
 dismissed. 
 
 Buddhism covered China with monasteries and images ; 
 Christianity covered Europe with churches and charitable 
 institutions. A hundred authors have written on the his- 
 tory of the spread of Christianity in the various countries 
 of Europe. Very few have ever studied the liistory of 
 Buddhism as it has spread through China, and taught its 
 
xvm 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 doctrines in every part of that empire. There is room for 
 new information on the entrance, progress, and charac- 
 teristics of Chinese belief in the religion founded by 
 Shaky amuni. 
 
 Especially is there a need for facts on the history of 
 Buddhism, because it is that one among the world's 
 religions which has acquired the greatest multitude of 
 adherents, and has also above any other carried out most 
 systematically the monastic institute. 
 
 Isaac Taylor drew attention in his Ancient Christianity 
 to the knowledge of Hindoo monasticism possessed by 
 Clement of Alexandria, and traced the origin of the 
 monasticism of Christianity to that of India. 
 
 Buddhism never became the State religion of China. It 
 has grown side by side with the State religion, and obtained 
 only the partial faith of the people. In this it differed 
 from Christianity, which in Europe took the place of the 
 old State religions of the various countries, after first 
 vanquishing them all. 
 
 One of the titles of Buddha is " the Lion ; " another 
 is " the Great hero ; " another is " Honoured one of the 
 world ; " another is " King of the Law." His followers love 
 to represent him as completely victorious over metaphy- 
 sical opponents by argument, and as gaining a thorough and 
 final conquest over temptation impersonated by demons. 
 He is also spoken of as victorious in saving from their 
 unbelief all sorts of heretics, of men sunk in pleasure, and 
 every class of adversaries. He has infinite pity, as well as 
 infinite wisdom. 
 
 Such is the ideal of Buddha. Let it be compared with 
 that of the Christian Saviour. Let the result of the 
 teaching of Shakyamuni on the Chinese be compared with 
 that of the teaching of Christ on Europe. Is China as 
 
PREFACE, »x 
 
 much better for Buddhism as Europe is for Christianity ? 
 If the beginnings of the world's religions are very interest- 
 ing and important subjects of inquiry, their progress and 
 development are not less so. The various causes which 
 operated to aid the spread of Buddhism, if carefully inves- 
 tigated, will be a valuable contribution to the history of 
 humanity. Koeppen has said that, at the time of Alex- 
 ander's conquests, while there was a tendency imparted by 
 him to the races he conquered, which led to the breaking 
 up of a restrictive nationalism, and to the welding of 
 various peoples, formerly separated by blood, customs, 
 religions, and culture, into a higher unity in the conscious- 
 ness of a common humanity, so also India was, by the 
 propagators of Buddhism, putting forth vigorous efforts in 
 the same cause. Alexander sought to make all mankind 
 one. So did Buddhism. The Greek spirit and the spirit of 
 Buddhism sympathised with each other and helped each 
 other. In this way he finds an explanation of the rapid 
 spread of the Buddhist religion in the Punjab, Afghan- 
 istan, Bactria, and the countries near. He then proceeds 
 to compare Buddhism with Christianity, which he speaks 
 of as cosmopolitan Judaism to which had been added 
 Alexandrian and Essene elements. Just as Christianity 
 conquered the Western world, so Buddhism the Eastern ; 
 and this it was able to do because it rejected caste and 
 taught the brotherhood of humanity. 
 
 It must ever be regarded as a noble instinct of the 
 Hindoo race, which prompted them to throw off the yoke 
 of caste. But it should not be supposed that the yoke of 
 caste was so strong then as it now is. It was easier then 
 than now for a Hindoo to visit foreign countries. The 
 social tyranny of caste was then less powerful. 
 
 What gave the first Buddhists theii- popularity ? In 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 part, doubtless, the doctrine of the common brotherhood 
 of men; but there were several other principles in their 
 teaching which rapidly won adherents, and must also be 
 taken into account. 
 
 They taught the universal misery of man, and offered 
 a remedy. They met the yearning of humanity for a 
 redemption by giving instruction, which they said came 
 from the Buddhas and Bodhisattwas, each of whom was a 
 powerful saviour to the devotee. 
 
 These saviours, instead of being members of the Hindoo 
 hierarchy of popular gods, like those of Olympus, were 
 either human beings or incarnations of ideas, and combin- 
 ing wisdom with mercy in their acts and teaching. 
 
 The early Buddhists surrounded death with a halo of 
 lofty spiritual glory, and called it the Nirvana. Death 
 became synonymous with absolute peace, and so was 
 looked on with less dread and dislike. 
 
 When the Buddhists began to teach races to whom the 
 subtle Hindoo metaphysics were a riddle beyond their 
 comprehension, they taught, for the Nirvana, a Western 
 Heaven ruled by a newly-invented Buddha, and additional 
 to the paradises of the Devas. This is a new doctrine of a 
 future life which is commonly accepted by the Northern 
 Buddhists, from the Himalayas to the Altai mountains, 
 and from Thibet to Japan. 
 
 Another popular element was communism joined with 
 the monastic institute. The monastery is a refuge for the 
 unhappy, for those who have not succeeded in trade, for 
 sickly children, for all who feel a call to enter on a monastic 
 life. In the monastery they subsist on the common fund 
 supplied by the gifts of the charitable. A home, a quiet life, 
 and very little to do, was the prospect held out to those whom 
 society can very well spare, and is not unwilling to part with. 
 
PREFACE. xA 
 
 Another popular element was the charm of nobleness 
 attached to the monastic life. Self-denial becomes attrac- 
 tive, and not at all difficult to those who are sensible of 
 this charm. The renunciation of the world, and the absorb- 
 ing occupation of a religious life, seem to many who enter 
 the gates of the monastery a pleasant dream, and very 
 desirable. 
 
 Another attractive element in Buddhism has been the 
 social character of the worship. The monks meet for 
 morning and evening prayers in the presence of the images. 
 To this should be added the agreeableness to the eye of 
 dressed altars, lofty gilt images, and the encouraged belief 
 that they are representative of powerful beings, who will 
 afford substantial protection to the devotee who faithfully 
 discharges his duty as a disciple. 
 
 Then there is the doctrine of the Karma. Every act 
 of worship, every Buddhist ceremony, every book of devo- 
 tion read, every gift to a monastery or a begging priest, 
 every mass for the dead, every invocation of a Buddha 
 or Bodhisattwa, every wish for the good of others, infal- 
 libly causes great good, through the necessary operation 
 of the law of cause and effect in the moral sphere. 
 
 How far these and other causes have helped to spread 
 Buddhism through the many countries where it now pre- 
 vails deserves the careful thought of the European student 
 of the history of religions. Next to India itself, China 
 has done more for the development of Buddhist thought 
 than any other Buddhist country. This is a remarkable 
 fact and very useful ; showing, as it does, that, judging 
 from the past, the Chinese are susceptible to a very con- 
 siderable degree of a foreign religion. They will also use 
 intellectual energy in teaching and expanding it. Let 
 any one who doubts this look over Kaempfer's account of 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Japanese Buddhism. He will there find nearly all the 
 Chinese sects described in this volume occurring again. 
 They have been transplanted entire with their books and 
 discipline into that island empire, — a striking proof of the 
 vigour of Chinese Buddhism. 
 
 Why should they not accept Christianity with the 
 same zeal, and apply to the task of teaching it as much 
 mental force ? 
 
 Dr. Draper says,^ " From this we may also infer how 
 unphilosophical and vain is the expectation of those who 
 would attempt to restore the aged populations of Asia 
 to our state. Their intellectual condition has passed 
 onward never more to return." 
 
 My own conviction is, that so far as this theory of 
 despair affects China, it is not warranted. The eras of 
 intellectual expansion in that country may be briefly enu- 
 merated in the following way : — After the Chow period, 
 the most famous of all, came that of Han, when classical 
 studies, history, and Tauist philosophy flourished together. 
 Then followed a Buddhist age. Then came an age of 
 poetry and elegant literature, that of the Pang dynasty. 
 After this came the time of the Sung philosophers, who 
 were most prolific in moral and critical writings tinctured 
 with a peculiarly bad philosophy of nature. The present 
 is an age of classical criticism, a reaction from that of the 
 Sung writers. 
 
 We have six distinct periods of intellectual vigour, 
 covering nearly three thousand years, and what do we now 
 see? The intellectual vigour connected with Buddhism 
 and Tauism dead, past any hope of a resurrection. Con- 
 fucianism is still living, but it is not very strong. The 
 people have an excellent physique, adapting them for 
 
 1 Draper's Intellectual Development of Europe, vol. L p. 57. 
 
PREFACE. x$iii 
 
 various climates. They emigrate extensively. They have 
 at home an autonomous empire of immense dimensions, 
 administered by printed codes of laws, and such a mode 
 of governing as to enable them to keep that empire from 
 falling to pieces in a time of foreign wars and rebellions. 
 
 They are not then to be despaired of intellectually. 
 What they need is to be educated in the mass, to be ele- 
 vated by the diffusion of a living Christianity, to have 
 improvements in the physical condition of the poor, with 
 a system of scientific instruction in every province, and 
 a development of the mineral and manufacturing resources 
 of the country. 
 
 No one need despair of the intellectual progress of the 
 people, or of their susceptibility of spiritual development. 
 Christianity fosters mental growth, and the science of the 
 West is eminently stimulating to thought. The descen- 
 dants of the men whose mariners sailed with the compass 
 seven hundred years ago, and whose schoolmasters were at 
 the same time making use of printed books in education, 
 will not fail to respond to these powerful influences. 
 
 That Buddhism has affected Chinese literature and 
 thought to a considerable extent, is shown in the follow- 
 ing pages. It taught them charity, but it did not impart 
 a healthy stimulus to the national mind. It made them 
 indeed more sceptical and materialistic than they were 
 before, and weakened their morality. 
 
 But since Buddhism has had among the Chinese its 
 age of faith, prompting them to metaphysical authorship, 
 and the formation of schools of religious thought, and 
 also impelling them to undertake distant and perilous 
 journeys, to visit the spots where Shakyamuni passed his 
 life, it must be admitted that there is a very promising 
 prospect for Christianity, and that the beneficial effect on 
 
Xxiv 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 the people must be in proportion to the excellence of the 
 Christian religion. 
 
 Perhaps Dr. Draper, in view of the facts contained in 
 this book, would not be unwilling to modify his theory of 
 the necessary decline of nations so far as it appertains to 
 China, or at least allow the people of that country a 
 further tenure of national life, till Christianity and educa- 
 tion have had a trial. 
 
 The present volume is the fruit of many years' studies. 
 Some parts of it were written nearly twenty-five years 
 ago ; nearly all is the fruit of Chinese reading. 
 
 Dr. Eitel of Hongkong and Mr. Thomas Watters have 
 since written ably and extensively on the same subject. 
 But my mode of treatment differs from theirs, and in my 
 revision it has been an advantage to have the results of 
 their researches before me. My own collection of native 
 books on Buddhism has increased, while my acquaintance 
 with the actual form of this religion in its popular 
 development at the present time has been considerably 
 enlarged. 
 
 The facts here collected on the esoteric sects are adapted 
 to throw light on the history of Buddhism in India, 
 and will help, it may be, to define the position of the 
 Jains. 
 
 In the section on Feng-shui, I ask attention to the view 
 there given on the influence of Buddhism in producing 
 the modern Chinese doctrine of the physical influences of 
 nature, and the part that, through the Buddhists, India 
 and Greece have both had in producing the superstitious 
 materialism of the Chinese in its modem shape. 
 
 Pkkino, October 1^79. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 PAOV 
 
 Buddhism deserves examination — Researches of Remusat, Burnouf, 
 Koeppen, and St. Hilaire — Sanscrit manuscripts from Nepaul — 
 Buddhist books reveal to view the ancient Hindoo world — The 
 opening scene of the Kin-kang-king 1-9 
 
 A LIFE OF B UDDHA, 
 
 IN FOUR CHAPTERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 LIFE OF SHAKYAMUNI TILL HIS APPEARANCE AT BENARES 
 AS A TEACHER. 
 
 Previous lives— Chronology— The seventh Buddha— Birth— Early life 
 — Becomes a hermit — Becomes Buddha — Legendary stories of 
 his early preaching — Hwa-yen-king — Extramundane teaching — 
 Appearance at Benares, 11-26 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LIFE OF BUDDHA FROM HIS APPEARANCE AS A TEACHER AT 
 BENARES TO THE CONVERSION OP RAHDLA. 
 
 The four truths - Godinia and his four companions — The first monas* 
 tic community — The first lay brother — Conversion of five hundred 
 fire-worshippers in the kingdom of Magadha — Buddha at Raja- 
 griha — At Shravasti, in Jeta's garden — Appoints punishments for 
 crimes of monks — Goes to see his father after twelve years' absence 
 — Story of his son Rahula, 27-33 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 PROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF RAHULA's RELIGIOUS LIFE TILL 
 THE NEAR APPROACH OF THE NIRVANA. 
 
 PAOK 
 
 Buddha sends for Rahula— Arrangements for instructing Rahula 
 and other boys— Tutors — Boys admitted to the vows — Nuns — 
 Rapid spread of monasticism — Disciplinary rules — Education in 
 metaphysics — Ananda and the Leng -yen-king — Buddka in these 
 works like Socrates in Plato — Buddha said to have gone to Cey- 
 lon — Also to the paradise of desire— Offer of Devas to protect 
 Buddhism — Protectors of China — Relation of Buddhism to Hin- 
 doo polytheism — Prajna-paramita — King Prasenajit — Sutra of 
 the Benevolent King— Daily liturgy— Ananda becomes Buddha's 
 attendant disciple — Intrusted with the Sutras in twelve divisions 
 — Buddha teaches his esoteric system — Virtually contained in the 
 "Lotus Sutra" — In this the sun of Buddha culminated — His 
 father's approaching death announced — Buddha reaches the 
 forty-ninth year of his public preaching, 34-45 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LAST DISCOURSES AND DEATH OF BUDDHA. 
 
 Buddha's immortality in his teaching — Death real and final— Object of 
 Nirvdna teaching — Buddha visits the Tau-li heaven — Descends 
 again by Indra's staircase— The first images— Death of Buddha's 
 aunt — Death of Sharipntra — Buddha at Kushinagara — Between 
 the Sala trees— Last instructions — Kashiapa made patriarch — 
 Flesh prohibited — Relieves the king of Magadha— Sends for 
 Ananda — Answers to four questions — Brahma comes — Buddha's 
 last words — Death — Gold coflBn— Maya comes — Cremation — ^His 
 relics— Pagodas, 46-59 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 THE PATRIARCHS OF THE NORTHERN BUDDHISTS. 
 
 Features of Asiatic life in the time of the patriarchs— Character, 
 powers, and intellectual qualities of the patriarchs— Series of 
 thirty-three patriarchs — Appointment of Kashiapa by Shakya- 
 muni — The Svaatika — Council of Rajagriha, for writing out the 
 books of Buddha, and settling what should be received as canonical 
 — The part taken by Ananda in the authorship of the Buddhist 
 books— Ananda, second patriarch— The third w.is Shangnavasu — 
 Remarks on tamadhi and reverie— Fourth, Upagupta— Conversion 
 of a wicked woman when dying — Fifth, sixth, and seventh patri- 
 archs-Buddha's prophecy regarding Buddhanandi, the seventh — 
 Struggle between filial love and Buddhist conviction in Puddha- 
 
CONTENTS. xxvii 
 
 PAoa 
 mitra — The way in which he subdued an unbelieving king — Ma- 
 nning given to the king of the Getae to induce him to raise the siege 
 of Pataliputra — Kapimara, the thirteenth— Nagarj una, the four- 
 teenth—Converts ten thousand Brahmans — Writes the Ta-cKi-tu- 
 lun — Vigorous defence of Buddhism by Kanadeva — Assassination 
 of Kanadeva — Sanghanandi, precocious as a boy— Prophecy re- 
 specting him — Rahulata ascends to heaven — Sangkayasheta's dis- 
 cussion on the nature of sound — Converts five hundred hermits — 
 Kumarada's views on the inequality of present retribution — Diffi- 
 culties met with by Manura in teaching Buddhism in Southern 
 and Western India — A patriarch's power over birds — Haklena 
 converts Singhalaputra, who succeeded him as patriarch (the 
 twenty-fourth), but was killed by the king of Caudahar— The 
 orthodox school has only twenty-four patriarchs — The contempla- 
 tive school has twenty-eight— Pradjnyatara, the twenty-seventh, 
 converts Bodhidharma, the twenty-eighth, who proceeds to China 
 — Hindoo knowledge of the Roman empire, .... 60-86 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN CHINA. 
 
 The emperor Ming-ti sends an embassy to India for images, A.D. 61 — 
 Kashiapmadanga arrives in China — Spread of Buddhism, A.D. 335 
 — Buddojanga — A pagoda at Nanking, A.D. 381 — The translator 
 Kumarajiva, A.D. 405 — The Chinese traveller, Fa-hien, visits India 
 — His book — Persecution, a.d. 426— Buddhism prosperous, 451 — 
 Indian embassies to China in the Sung dynasty — Opposition of the 
 Confucianists to Buddhism — Discussions on doctrine — Buddhist 
 prosperity in the Northern Wei kingdom and the Liang kingdom — 
 Bodhidharma — Sung-yiin sent to India — Bodhidharma leaves Liang 
 Wu-ti and goes to Northern China — His latter years and death — 
 Embassies from Buddhist countries in the south — Relics — The 
 Liang emperor Wu-ti becomes a monk — Embassies from India and 
 Ceylon — Influence of Sanscrit writing in giving the Chinese the 
 knowledge of an alphabet — Syllabic spelling — Confucian opposition 
 to Buddhism in the T'ang dynasty — The five successors of Bodhi- 
 dharma — Hiuen-tsang's travels in India — Work as a translator — 
 Persecution, A.D. 714 — Hindoo calendar in China — Amogha intro- 
 duces the festival for hungry ghosts — Opposition of Han Yu to 
 Buddhism — Persecution of 845— Teaching of Ma-tsu— Triumph of 
 the Mahayana — Bodhiruchi — Persecution by the Cheu dynasty — 
 Extensive erection of pagodas in the Sung dynasty — Encouragement 
 of Sanscrit studies — Places of pilgrimage — P*u-to — Regulations 
 for receiving the vows — Hindoo Buddhists in China in the Sung 
 dynasty— The Mongol dynasty favoured Buddhism — The last 
 Chinese Buddhist who visited India — The Ming dynasty limits the 
 right of accumulating land — Roman Catholic controversy with 
 Buddhists— Kang-hi of the Manchu dynasty opposes Buddhism — 
 The literati still condemn Buddhism, ^7-154 
 
XXVlll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SCHOOLS OF CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The growth of esoteric sects in India— The Jains — Their series of 
 twenty-four patriarchs — Bodhidhaima beaded a new school in 
 Southern India, and was heretical as viewed from the Jains' stand- 
 point—He founded the contemplative school in China — Nagarjuna, 
 the author of the most revered books of this school — Tsung-men — 
 Kiau-men— Divisions of Tsung-men — The Tsung-men sects are 
 heretical in the view of the old orthodoxy — Specimen of the teach- 
 ing of the Tsung-men — Lin-tsi school— Professes strict discipline 
 — Its founder died A.D. 868 — His monument on the bank of the 
 Hu-to river in Chi-li — Resemblance to European speculation on 
 the absolute — Is Buddhism pantheistic? — Exoteric sects — Lii-men 
 (Vinaya) — Yogachara — Fa-siang—Madhyamika— Fa-sing — Tsing- 
 tu, or sect of the " Pure land " or " Western heaven " — T'ien-t'ai' 
 — Poetry of the Tsing-tu scliool, iSS-174 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 ON CHI-K'aI and the T'IEN-T*AI SCHOOL OF BUDDHISM. 
 
 T'ien-t'ai, a place of great note in Chinese Buddhism — Chi-k*ai resided 
 there in the sixth century — His cloak and rice bowl — Fu-lung feng 
 — Fang-kwang si and the rock bridge— Legend of the Lo-hans — 
 Twelve monasteries founded — He taught the Fa-hwa-king — 
 System of threefold contemplation — Six connectives — Eight 
 modes of characterising Buddhism — Ten steps in progress — 
 Derived much from Nagarjuna — T'ien-t'ai, a middle system- 
 Regulations, 175-187 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THP: BUDDHIST MORAL SYSTEM. 
 
 The Ten virtues and Ten vices — The cause of human stupidity is in 
 the passions— The Five prohibitions — The Ten prohibitions — Klap- 
 roth's praise of Buddhism— But it is atheistic, and therefore this 
 praise should be qualified — Kindness to animals based on the 
 fiction of transmigration —lludilhism teaches compassion for suffer- 
 ing without inculcating obedience to Divine law — Story of Shak- 
 yamxini — Sin not distinguished from misery — Buddhists teach that 
 the moral sense is innate — They assign a moral nature to animals 
 — The Six paths of the metempsychosis — Hindoo notions of heaven 
 and hell— Countless ages of joy and suffering — Examples— Exemp- 
 tion from punishment gained by meritorious actions- Ten kings 
 of future judgment— Fate or ^arma— Buddhism depreciates 
 
CONTENTS. xxix 
 
 PAOB 
 
 heaven and the gods— Buddha not God, but a Saviour— Moral 
 influence of the Paradise of the Western heaven— Figurative inter- 
 pretation of this legend — The contemplative school identifies good 
 and evil— No moral distinctions in the Nirvfina— Buddhism has 
 failed to produce high morality— The Confuciauist condemnation 
 of the Buddhists — Mr. P. Hordern's praise of Buddhism in Birmah 
 —The Birmese intellectually inferior to the Chinese— Kindness to 
 animals known to the Chinese before they received Buddhism- 
 Buddha's reasons for not eating flesh, i88-ao4 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CALENDAR. 
 
 National festivals— Festivals in honour of celestial beings — In honour 
 of the Buddhas and Bodhisattwas — In honour of characters in 
 Chinese Buddhist history — Supplemental anniversaries — Sin- 
 ghalese Buddhists keep a different day for Buddha's birthday — 
 In the T'ang dynasty Hindoo astronomers reformed the calendar 
 — Gaudamsiddha — The week of India and Babylon known to the 
 Chinese — Word mit for Sunday — Peacock Sutra — The Hindoo 
 Rahu and Ketu^ 205-213 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 RELATION OF BUDDHISM TO THE OLDER HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Buddhism accepted the Hindoo mythology, vdth the sacred books of 
 the Brahmans, so far as it agreed with its own dogmas— The gods 
 Indra, Brahma, and Ishwara listen as disciples to Buddha — Eight 
 classes of Devas — Four kings of Devas— Yakshas — Mahoragas — 
 Pretas — Maras — Yama, king of the dead — Creation is denied to 
 the Hindoo gods in the Chung-lun and other works, . . 213-220 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE BUDDHIST UNIVERSE. 
 
 The universe passes through incessant changes— ^aYpas of various 
 lengths — Kalpas of establishment, of destruction, &c. — Saha world 
 — Sumeru mountain — The Southern continent is Jambudvipa — 
 Heaven of the thirty-three — Tushita paradise — Upper tier of para- 
 dises — Heavens of form and of desire— Heavens without form — 
 Brahma's paradise— No wise man is born there, because Brahma 
 says he created the universe — The hells — Story from the "Ti-tsang 
 Sutra," 221-227 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE EXTENDED UNIVERSE OF THE NORTHERN BUDDHISTS. 
 
 Primitive Buddhism aimed at moral improvement and the Nirv&na 
 — Its mythology was of popular growth — The Mahayana mythology 
 was introduced by the metaphysicians of Buddhism itself — Nagar- 
 juna the chief inventor — Hwa-yen-king — An extended universe 
 invented to illustrate dogma — Ten worlds beyond the Saha world 
 in ten different directions — New divinities to worship — Amitabha 
 — His world in the West— Kwan-yin and Ta-shii-chi— The world 
 of Ach'obhya Buddha in the East— "World of Yo-shi Fo, the heal- 
 ing teacher — Mercy, wisdom, &c., are symbolised in the Bodhi- 
 sattwas— Wu-t'ai shan in China is introduced in the Hwa-yen- 
 king, , , 228-238 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 BUDDHIST IMAGES AND IMAGE-WOUSHIP. 
 
 Temples— Entering hall, Sl-ta-tHen-wang— These four kings described 
 — The laughing Buddha, Mi-li Fo— Behind him, Wei-to — Chief 
 hall, Ta-hiung-pau-tien — Shakyamuni — Ananda — Kashiapa — 
 Kwan-yin, Wen-shu, and other Bodhisattwas— Buddha repre- 
 sented as teaching — Buddha of the past, present, and future — 
 Chapels to 0-mi-to Fo, Ti-tsang, and the Ten kings — Representa- 
 tion of the eight miseries from which Kwan-yin delivers — Temples 
 in Ceylon — Images in temples near Peking— Tan-cho si snake— 
 Pi-yiin si — Hall of Lo-hans — Diamond throne of Buddha — Colossal 
 images of Maitreya — Musical instruments— Reflections, . . 239-258 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MONASTERIES AT P'U-TO. 
 
 This establishment more modern than T'ien-t'ai and Wu-t*ai— Many 
 Thibetan inscriptions— Frequent visits of Peking lamas— Dedi- 
 cated to Kwan-yin — Gifts by Kang-hi— Images — Caves — Pagodas 
 — Inscriptions— Resident defenders of Buddhism — The Potala of 
 Jehol in Mongolia — It is also the name of the palace — Temple of 
 the Dalai Lama — In China an island was preferred to be the tau- 
 ch'ang of Kwan-yin, 259-267 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 BUDDHIST PROCESSIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, PILGRIMAGES, AND 
 CEREMONIES FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 YU-lan-hwei, "Asiociation forgiving food to the dead" — Worship of 
 ancestors —Liturgical services in the houses of the rich, for the 
 liberation of the souls of the dead from hell — Village processions — 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAQB 
 
 Based on the old rural processions of classical times — Masquerades 
 — Plays -Pilgrimages to Miau-feng shian — Pilgrims wearing iron 
 chains — Supposed eflScaey of the prayers of the priests — Zeal of 
 the laity in promoting pilgrimages to celebrated ahrines, . 268-273 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 BUDDHIST LITERATURE. 
 
 Buddhist libraries presented to monasteries by emperors — Ch'eng-tsu, 
 of the Ming dynasty, was the first to print the entire series of the 
 Buddhist accepted books — Prajna-paramita, eighty times as large 
 as our New Testament —The Pei-tsang, or second printed edition, 
 dates from the sixteeuth century — The Kia-hing edition of the 
 Pei-tsang — Division into King, Lii, Lun—Fix&t Council — "Work of 
 Ananda — The Mahayana of Northern Buddhism - Council of Cash- 
 mere — Authors of the Mahayana — Lung-shu wrote the Hwa-pen- 
 king — Contrasts between the primitive and Mahayana books — List 
 of translators, a.d. 70 to A.D. 705 — Sixteen hundred works are 
 classified, inclusive of those by Chinese authors — On the councils 
 for settling the canon— Translations by Burnouf and others — 
 Lotus — Book of Forty-two Sections— Character of this and other 
 early works — Stories illustrative of ancient hfe—Fan-wang-king 
 — Chan-tsi-king translated by Beal — Pratimoksha, . . . 273-288 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE LENG-YEN-KING— FIRST CHAPTER. 
 
 The Sutra of firm establishment in all doctrine, describing clearly the 
 secret merit and attainments in the religious life of Tathagata, who 
 appears as Buddha in his great and unsurpassed stature ; also the 
 many acts of the Bodhisattwas, 289-30X 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE EKASHLOKA SH ASTRA. 
 
 The " Ekashloka Shastra," translated from the Chinese, with an 
 
 analysis and notes, 302-317 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 EFFECT OP BUDDHISM ON THE PHILOSOPHY OP THE SUNG DYNASTY. 
 
 The Sung philosophers differ from Confucius— Five periods of Chinese 
 intellectual development— The Sung writers changed the old cos- 
 mogony — The Han writers had already done so — Diagram of the 
 Great Extreme — Other pictorial illustrations — Avoidance of the 
 doctrine of a personal God — Materialistic philosophy of nature — 
 New view of divination, 3x8-336 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 FENG-SHUI, OR THE WIND AND WATER SUPERSTITION 
 OF THE CHINESE. 
 
 P 
 
 An obstacle to civilisation— Meaning of Fevg, "'Wind"— Of Shui, 
 " "Water "—Use of cyclic characters — Meaning of Luiuj, "Dragon " 
 — Names of the geomancers — Hindoo nomenclature — Sha-ch'i, 
 "Destructive vapour" — Dark arrow — Chen-wu, or "Protecting 
 shield " — Fcng-shul professedly based on the "Book of Changes" 
 — '^odievn Feng-shui is based on the Han-lung-king — Buddhist 
 element in Feng-slmi — The four elements of the Greeks— The 
 Hindoo "Air and water" is Feng-shui— Earth, water, fire, and 
 air are creative forces, existing in successive kalpas, and forming 
 successive worlds — Kesemblance to the theories of the Ionian 
 philosophers— Geomancy in the T'ang dynasty— ^a/m and Ketu — 
 The Feng-shui system grew out of Buddhism— Native element in 
 Feng-shui — Nine fancied stars — Causes of the contour of hills and 
 plains — Stars of the six houses — Feng-shni inconsistent with 
 genuine Coufucianisni, 327-352 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 BUDDHIST PHRASEOLOGY IN RELATION TO CHRISTIAN 
 TEACHING. 
 
 Use of Buddhist terms in the Nestorian inscription, AD. 781 — Mo^ 
 "demon;" in Sanscrit, mara— Ti-yU, "hell," is naraka — Ten 
 judges of hell— Among them Pau Cheng, the famous judge of the 
 Sung dynasty — The Sung philosophers encouraged the popular 
 belief in future retribution — This prepares for Christianity — T^ieu- 
 t''ang, " heaven" — Defects of this term — Ming-kung, &c., as names 
 for "heaven" — Buddhist paradises possibly bt)rrowed from West- 
 ern Asia or some other country farther west— Redemption — Ti- 
 tsang and Kwan-yin — Pity — Instruction — Effect of sin— Decreed 
 forgiveness to penitents — Secret merit — Happiness and merit 
 confounded— Sin and misery confounded- -Illustration from the 
 narrative of a Christian convert, 353-370 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 NOTICE OF THE WU-WEI-KIAU, A REFORMED BUDDHIST 
 SECT, 
 
 Originated two hundred and seventy years ago by a native of Shan- 
 tung— No showy ceremonial— No images — Sacred books six in 
 number — Interview of the founder with the emperor of the 
 period, Cheng-te — Discussion with opponents — Victory— One of 
 their leaders was ci-ucified, 371-379 
 
CONTENTS. xxxiii 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 BUDDHISM AND TAOISM IN THEIR POPULAR ASPECTS. 
 
 PA OK 
 
 The popularity of Buddhism rests on its doctrine of retribution, and 
 not on its ethics — Magical claims of the Tauists — Kwan-yin, since 
 the twelfth century, usually a female— Powers and claims of 
 Kwan-yin — Popular Buddhism loves to have prayers said for the 
 dead — Hopes for paradise hereafter — Popidar Tauism believes in 
 haunted houses, in charms, and in the efficacy of the wizard in control- 
 ling demons — The present head of the Tauists and chief magician 
 — Went from "Western China to Kiang-si, where he has ever since 
 resided as hereditary Pope — The Tauist divinity Yii-hwang shang- 
 ti has incarnatious assigned to him — Chang Sien the bowman, a 
 physician — Tail-cutting delusion — Tauist luayers for the dead — 
 The Buddliist Yen-lo-wang, " God of death " — The eight genii — 
 The eighteen Lo-hans — The Tauist delusions dangerous politically 
 — T'ien-tsin massacre — Need of the light of education— The effect 
 of the assault of Christianity on these religions, . . . 380-397 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ON THE USE OF SANSCRIT BY THE CHINESE BUDDHISTS. 
 
 Changes in Chinese sounds since the time of the Buddhist translitera' 
 tion of Indian words — Examples of Sanscrit words in old and new 
 Chinese — The importance of translations made in a.d. 60 to a.d. 
 76 for reading the Four Books— The Hindoo translators did not 
 speak pure Sanscrit — Sanscrit was the language of the books — No 
 Pali books in China — The translators spoke Pracrit — The term po- 
 li, "glass" — Use of Sanscrit words in magic — Dharani — Inscrip- 
 tion in six languages at Kii-yung kwan, 398-407 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 BOOKS AND PAPERS THAT MAY I3E CONSULTED FOR THE 
 STUDY OF CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Fo^ kou8 ki by Kemusat — Works of Julien — Interesting passage from 
 Fa-hien — Translations by Beal — Schott, Ueber den Buddhaismus in 
 Hoch A»ien und in China — Writings of Palladius— Eitel's Handbook 
 for the Student of Chinese Buddhism — Watters' account of Chinese 
 Buddhism— Eitel's Three Lectures, and article on Nirvana, . 408-419 
 
 Alphabetical Index of Proper Names and Subjects, . . 422-443 
 Alphabetical Index of Titles of Books Mentioned, . . 445-453 
 
CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 mTRODUCTION. 
 
 BuddMsm deserves examination — Researches of Remusat, Bumouf, 
 Koeppen, and St. Hilaire — Sanscrit manuscripts from NepaiU 
 — Buddhist books reveal to view the ancient Hindoo world — 
 The opening scene of the Kin-kang-king. 
 
 At the present time, when foreign intercourse with China 
 is increasing every year, and our knowledge of that country 
 is extending in proportion, an account of the history and 
 literature of Buddhism in that land will perhaps find more 
 readers than at any former period. The traveller will not 
 fail to inquire why this Indian religion has sunk into 
 such helplessness and decay as he observes. The philo- 
 sophical historian naturally will wish to know the causes ■ 
 of the vast extension of Buddhism, and of its present 
 decline. The Christian missionary would wilUngly learn 
 the amount and nature of the religious feeling possessed 
 by the monks, and the strength of the opposition which 
 the religion of Christ has to expect during its propagation, 
 from them and from the Buddhist laity. Especially the 
 statesman needs to be informed how far the Chinese 
 people are likely to be offended by the introduction of 
 Christianity, and whether the opposition to idolatry 
 which it excites will strike at any of their most dearly- 
 cherished prejudices and beliefs. 
 
 A religion that has extended its sway over so many 
 Eastern nations, and whose converts far outnumber those 
 
 A 
 
CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 of any other sect in the world, deserves minute investiga- 
 tion. The present sketch will be necessarily too brief to do 
 justice to the subject, but it is hoped some results will 
 be brought forward that may assist the foreign observer 
 to explain the great and long-continued success of the 
 Buddhistic system, the causes of its growing weakness, 
 and the many indications of its hopeless decay. 
 
 Among European scholars Remusat and his successors in 
 the study of Chinese literature have bestowed considerable 
 attention on Buddhism, and their labours have been re- 
 warded with many interesting and valuable results. Espe- 
 cially is the world indebted to Burnouf and St. Hilaire for 
 their work in this field of Buddhist inquiry, and lucid 
 exposition of their results. The aid to be derived from 
 their investigations has not been neglected in the account 
 now given to the reader. Further, the most direct means of 
 gaining information is to study some parts of the volu- 
 minous works extant in Chinese on this subject. The 
 numerous Indian priests who came to China early in the 
 Christian era were indefatigable translators, as is shown 
 by what they have bequeathed to their disciples. These 
 monuments of the highly civilised race that spoke the 
 Sanscrit language, give to the inquiry a special literary 
 interest. They were till lately inaccessible in their 
 original form. The European students of Sanscrit for 
 a long period sought in vain for an account of Buddhist 
 doctrines and traditions, except in the writings of their 
 adversaries. The orthodox Indians destroyed the sacred 
 books of their heretical brethren with assiduous care. The 
 representations they give of the views of their opponents 
 are necessarily partial, and it may be expected that what 
 Colebrooke and others have done in elucidating Buddhism 
 from the polemical writings of tlie Bralimans, would receive 
 useful corrections and additions as well from Chinese 
 sources as from the Sanscrit manuscripts of Buddhist 
 books obtained by Hodgson.^ 
 
 > During his residence in Nepaul. Of these works, the Lciui of the Oood 
 
INTRODUCTION, 3 
 
 An extended critique of the Buddhist literature of 
 China and the other countries professing Buddhism, such as 
 Buruouf planned and partly accomplished for India, would 
 be a valuable contribution to the history of the Hindoo 
 race. The power of this religion to cliain the human 
 mind, the peculiar principles of its philosophy, its mytho- 
 logical characteristics, its mode of viewing human life, its 
 monastic and ascetic usages, all result from the early intel- 
 lectual development of the nation whose home is south of 
 the Himalayas. In the Buddhist classics it is not the life 
 of China that is depicted, but that of Hindostan, and that 
 not as it is now, but as it was two thousand years ago. 
 The words and grammatical forms that occur in their 
 perusal, when deciphered from the hieroglyphic Chinese 
 form that they have been made to assume, remind the 
 reader that they spring from the same stem of which 
 the classical languages of Europe are branches. Much 
 of their native literature the Buddhist missionaries left 
 untouched — for example, the highly- wrought epic poems 
 and dramas that have recently attracted the admiring 
 notice of Europeans; but a large number of fables and 
 tales with a moral are found in Chinese Buddhist books. 
 Many specimens of this peculiar mode of composition, 
 which, originating in Greece, was adopted by the Hindoos, 
 and spread into the various literatures of modern Europe 
 and Asia, have long since been made to wear a Chinese 
 garb.i Further, the elements of grammar and the know- 
 ledge of the alphabet, with some important contributions 
 from mathematical science, have reached China through 
 the same medium. Several openings are thus presented 
 into the old Hindoo world. The country where specula- 
 tive philosophy, with grammatical and arithmetical science, 
 
 /iow, in Chinese Miau-fa-lien-hwa- tures, and TJic Romantic Legend 0} 
 
 king, has been translated by Bur- Sdkt/a Buddha. 
 
 nouf, Paris, 1852. The Rev. S. Beal, ^ Of these works Stanislas Julien 
 Professor of Chinese in University has translated Les Avadanas, con- 
 College, London, has translated from sisting of tales and apologues. 1859. 
 Chinese A Catena of Buddhist Sorip- 
 
CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 attained greater perfection than anywhere else in ancient 
 times, is seen spreading its civilisation into the neighbour- 
 ing countries, and producing remarkable and permanent 
 changes in the national life of China. To witness this, as 
 may be done in the Buddhist books, cannot be regarded 
 as devoid of attraction. The very existence of Buddhism 
 is sufficient evidence of the energy of the Indian race as 
 it was long ago. The Mongols, Thibetans, and Singhalese, 
 with the inhabitants of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, com- 
 bine with the Chinese and Japanese to prove by the faith 
 they still maintain in Buddhism the enthusiasm of its 
 first missionaries, and their power to influence mankind. 
 Buddhism was not always that decrepit and worn-out 
 superstition that it now appears. 
 
 Having said thus much by way of preface, it is time to 
 introduce to the reader's attention the founder of the re- 
 ligion. No way of doing this suggests itself as more suit- 
 able than to translate from the opening scene of a popular 
 Buddhist work called the ** Diamond Classic" afew passages, 
 where he appears in the midst of his disciples, instructing 
 them in some of the principles of his system. The time, 
 according to the Singhalese chronology, was in the sixth 
 century before Christ. The place is Sha-wei,^ a city in 
 Central India. The hero is Shakyamuni himself, i.e., Bud- 
 dha or Julai. The subordinate characters are the Bikshu ^ or 
 religious mendicants, who are so denominated because they 
 beg instruction for the mind and food for the body. They 
 consist of two classes, says the editor of the Diamond 
 Classic. Those who have abandoned vice and are aiming 
 at virtue are the small Bikshu. Those who are released 
 from both alike are great Bikshu. Among the latter, who 
 
 ^ Sha-wei was on the north of the 
 Ganges, about 200 miles above Ben- 
 ares. It is also written Shravaati. 
 All the upper part of the valley of 
 the Ganges was embraced in what 
 was known as Central India. 
 
 3 This Sanscrit word is pronounced 
 
 according to K'ang-hi Bi-k'u. The 
 orthography here adopted for Chinese 
 and Sanscrit words, agrees nearly with 
 that of Sir T. Wade and of the 
 French writers on kindred subjects. 
 For oil, the 00 of Morrison, u is here 
 written 
 
INTRODUCTION, % 
 
 have gone deeper than the others into the profundities of 
 Buddhist doctrine, are included those called Bosat and 
 Lahan, or, as these characters are now pronounced by the 
 Chinese, P'usa and Lohan. 
 
 The chief minister of the king having at Rajagriha heard 
 Buddha's instructions, and been deeply impressed by them, 
 wished to invite him to some suitable dwelling. Jeta, 
 the king's son, had a garden. The minister offered to buy 
 it. The prince said by way of jest that he was willing if 
 he would cover it with gold. The minister, who was child- 
 less, obtained gold-leaf and spread it over the garden. 
 The prince then gave it him free of cost. According to 
 another account the minister ordered eighty elephants 
 loaded with gold to come immediately. The prince, admir- 
 ing the doctrine which had so affected the minister as to 
 make him willing to give all this gold for a hall to teach it, 
 gave it for nothing. In a house " in this garden, which lay 
 outside the city Sha-wei, Buddha with his disciples, 1250 
 in number, assembled. It was the time of taking food. 
 Buddha put on the robe " called seng-gha-li, and with his 
 pat ^ or " mendicant's rice bowl " in his hand, entered the 
 city to beg for food. When having gone from door to 
 door he had finished his task, he returned to his lodging- 
 place. "His meal being ended, he put his robe and 
 rice vessel aside, and washed his feet," for it was the 
 practice of this religious reformer to walk with naked 
 feet. "He then sat cross-legged on a raised platform," 
 remaining some time in meditation before he began to 
 teach. 
 
 " At that time the aged Subhiiti, who was sitting among 
 the crowd of disciples, arose. With his right shoulder un- 
 covered, and kneeling on his right knee, he raised his 
 joined hands respectfully, and addressed Buddha in the 
 following words : — " Eare is it to meet with the world's 
 
 ^ In modern Chinese the t is dropped and the a (a in father) changed to o. 
 In Sanscrit the word is pdit'a. 
 
6 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 honoured one,^ Julai,^ who in the best manner protects 
 his disciples (Bosat), keeps them in his thoughts, and gives 
 them his instructions. World-honoured sage ! (Sh2ntsun) 
 if good men and good women exhibit the unsurpassed Just 
 and enlightened heart, how should they place it firmly, 
 and how should the evil risings of the heart be suppressed 
 and subdued ? " The words in italics, corresponding to 
 the Sanscrit anutara samyaksamhuddhi^ are written with 
 Chinese characters in the text, and are explained by the 
 commentator as consisting of an, " not," utara, " superior," 
 samya, " right and equal," sambodi, " rightly knowing." 
 Buddha replied, " The question is a good one, and you have 
 truly described my disposition. It is thus that a resting- 
 place can be found and the heart controlled." The words 
 ju-shl, " thus," says the commentator, refer not to what 
 precedes, as in Chinese syntax, but to what follows, ac- 
 cording to the usage of Sanscrit grammar. Subh^ti 
 then expresses his anxious desire to hear the instructions 
 of the sage, who consequently addresses his disciples 
 called Bosat and Great Bosat (Ma-ha-sat). "All men, 
 whether they resemble in their nature oviparous animals," 
 that are light and fly, or imitate the moral dispositions 
 and reflecting habits of " the mammalia, or are like the 
 fish," sprung from spawn, instinctively following the mul- 
 titude in the path of evil, " or are of the same class with 
 animals born by transformation," and pass through re- 
 markable changes, should enter that state which is final 
 and unchangeable * — the Nirvana,^ " Whether they still 
 
 1 A title of BuddhA — Shi-tsun ; 
 in Sanscrit, LoMs^varardja (Eitel's 
 Handbook of Chinese Buddhism), or 
 Lokadji/csht'a, v. Remusat's Mdlanges 
 Asiatiques, vol. i. p. 164. 
 
 3 Julai is the Chinese translation 
 of Tathagata. It means literally 
 "thus come/'and is explained, "bring- 
 ing human nature as it truly is, with 
 perfect knowledge and high intelli- 
 gence, he come* and manifest* him- 
 self." 
 
 * These words are pronounced in 
 old Chinese a nu-ta-la sam-viia sam- 
 bo-di, and in Mandarin a neuto-lo 
 san-miau san-p'u-tH. 
 
 * Without remainder, Wu-yii. 
 ' Nit is translated by the commen- ' 
 
 tator "go out if," and ban, "harass- 
 ment." By the French Sinologues 
 it is identified with Nirv&na, the 
 happy condition of perfect rest at 
 which the Hindoos aim. The diction- 
 ary Ching-tsz-Vung, says, that "th« 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 think " on the phenomena of the sensuous world " or have 
 ceased to think," i.e., become so far enlightened as to pay 
 no attention to passing scenes, " or are neither with thought 
 nor without thought," that is, have become entirely indififer- 
 ent to life or death, appetite or aversion, love or hatred, 
 " they should thus seek salvation in destruction/' Why 
 do not all living men obtain this immeasurably great re- 
 lease ? " If the Bodhisattwa (Bosat, he who knows and 
 feds) has for his aim self, or man, or the world of living 
 things, or old age, he is not a true Bodhisattwa." Buddha 
 now bade Subhiiti resume his seat, and went on to in- 
 form him concerning the fixed place of rest for which he 
 had inquired. "The Bodhisattwa in action should have 
 no fixed resting-place for his thoughts. In what he does 
 he should not rest on colour, sound, smell, taste, collision, 
 or any particular action. He should not rest in forms of 
 things, that is, allow himself to attend to any special 
 sensational phenomena. If he thus acts, his happiness 
 and virtue will be boundless." Buddha is asked by his 
 disciple for a further explanation of this doctrine. He 
 replies by inquiring if the four quarters of space can be 
 measured by thought. Eeceiving a negative answer, he 
 says that the same is true of the doctrine that the Bodhi- 
 sattwa in acting without regard to particular objects 
 obtains great happiness and virtue. He then asks if with 
 the material body and its senses Julai or Buddha can be 
 truly perceived. No, says the disciple, for body and form 
 are not truly body and form. Buddha himself replies by 
 denying the existence of all matter in the words " what- 
 ever has form is an empty delusion. If any one sees that 
 all things having forms are not forms, i.e., nothing, he then 
 
 Chinese equivalent of this Sanscrit may be, by a Hindoo who pronounced 
 
 term is, to announce that he is at the word Nirbana. It is called in 
 
 rest, and that it is applied to describe some translations Nirwau. The Hin- 
 
 the death of Buddha, because his is doo translator would pronounce Nir- 
 
 not a true death like that of other wana. The Chinese character used 
 
 men, whose tsing-shin (soul) does not for ni was called nit in some parts 
 
 die." The sound ban was selected, it of China, and nir in other*. 
 
CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 truly perceives Julai" in his formless and matterless 
 reality ; that is, has attained to a profound understanding 
 of Buddhist doctrines. 
 
 In these few passages from the Kin-hang-king or 
 " Diamond Sutra," some of the most prominent doctrines of 
 Buddhism are brought to view, viz. : — (i.) The happiness of 
 the Nirvana or state of unconsciousness which frees him 
 who attains it from the miseries of existence. (2.) The 
 mischievous influence of human life, with its struggles 
 after particular forms of happiness, and of the sensuous 
 world with its deceptive phenomena. (3.) The non-exist- 
 ence of matter, to be convinced of which is to take the 
 first grand step on the road to enlightenment. 
 
 This introduction into the Buddhist sphere of thought 
 makes the system appear to be based rather on philosophy 
 than on any religious principle. More will subsequently 
 occur to confirm the correctness of this opinion. With 
 regard to the real character of Buddhism, piety towards 
 the Euler of the world does not form either its foundation 
 or the result to which it aims to elevate its votaries. It 
 will be seen that, while striving to escape from the evils 
 incident to life, and from every selfish aim, it is nothing 
 but selfishness in an abstract philosophical form, stripped 
 of the grosser qualities which are manifested in the com- 
 mon course of human history. 
 
 In enumerating the various kinds of sensations conveyed 
 to our minds by the senses, a verb "to strike or pierce," ch'Uf 
 is employed in place of "touch," the familiar term of our own 
 popular philosophy. All these sensations are said by the 
 Buddhists to be produced by the respective organs with 
 which they are connected. They are called the six kinds 
 of " dust " or " worldly things " — the unwelcome accretions 
 that attach themselves to our garments as we walk through 
 the world. " Action," /a, said to emanate from the "will,** 
 yi, is classed with them as the sixth mode assumed by 
 worldly phenomena. 
 
 The preceding specimen of Buddha's teaching, sur- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 rounded by his disciples in a city of ancient India, is 
 sufficient to introduce the subject. The principal facts in 
 the life of that sage will now be detailed. Buddha will be 
 here represented as he appears in the Chinese biographies. 
 They describe him as a sort of divine man, possessed of 
 unbounded magical power, and visiting the most distant 
 spots, as, for example, the paradises of the gods, in an 
 instant of time. 
 
 In giving an account of Chinese Buddhism, I feel the 
 importance of exhibiting Shakyamuni in the form which 
 is familiar to the Chinese devotee. It is well, in our pic- 
 ture, to retain the details of a marvellous nature which 
 have been so abundantly added by the Northern Bud- 
 dhists to the simplicity of the first narrative. Man cannot 
 live without God. This was an effort to recover the divine. 
 When God, through the absurdities of polytheism, was 
 pushed out of view, the substitute was Buddha, the perfect 
 sage, the model ascetic, the patient and loving teacher, the 
 wonder-working magician, the acknowledged superior of 
 gods and men. Such was the conception worked out by 
 the Hindoo mind to take the place of the old polytheism 
 of India, and accepted by all the Buddhist nations north 
 of Shaky amuni's birthplace. In the history of religions 
 it is of extreme importance that this fact should be 
 recognised and appreciated. 
 
A LIFE OF BUDDHA 
 
 IN FOUR CHAPTERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 LIFE OF SHAKYAMUNI TILL HIS APPEARANCE AT BENARES 
 AS A TEACHER. 
 
 Previous lives — Chronology — The seventh Buddha — Birth — 
 Early life — Becomes a hermit — Becomes Buddha— Legendary 
 stories of his early preaching — Hwa-yen-king — Extramundane 
 teaching — Appearance at Benares. 
 
 In examining the Buddhist writings, the reader is at once 
 reminded that he has entered a field where he is deprived 
 of the trustworthy guidance and careful adherence to facts 
 and dates of native Chinese authors. Not only is this true 
 of works that contain the wilder extravagances of Indian 
 mythology, and introduce the wondering disciple to the 
 scenery and inhabitants of numberless other worlds, even 
 those that wear an historical look, and yield the most in- 
 formation, do not fail thus to betray their foreign origin. 
 The doctrine of transmigrations, and an eternal succession 
 of Jcalpas past and future, is tempting to the biographer 
 who wishes for variety of incident. He can place his hero 
 wherever he pleases, in the universe boundless in space and 
 time of the Indian imagination. The founder of Buddhism, 
 Shakyamuni, or the " Sage of the house of Shakya," is a 
 case in point. It is said of him that before his birth more 
 than two thousand years since in the present Jcalpa, he 
 had during many previous ones taken religious vows, 
 
12 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 and honoured the Buddhas who then instructed the 
 world. His name is associated particularly with Dipan- 
 kara, in Chinese, Janteng, a fictitious Buddha, who re- 
 ceived him as his disciple, and foretold that he would in 
 a subsequent hdpa become Buddha, and bear the name 
 by which he is now known. The time when this hap- 
 pened was too long ago to be expressed by common 
 Chinese numerals. It was at a distance of numberless 
 halpas} In modern Chinese temples, an image behind 
 that of Julai sometimes represents Janteng. In the 
 kalpcb immediately preceding the present, Shakya is 
 said to have risen to the rank of Bodhisattwa. He 
 was then born in the heaven called Tushita,^ and when 
 the time was come his soul descended to our world. He 
 came on a white elephant having six tusks. The date of 
 Shakya's birth is very variously given. The Siamese, 
 Peguans, and Singhalese, all using the Pali versions of 
 the Buddhist classics, differ among themselves. The 
 numbers as stated by them are B.C. 744, 638, and 624.^ 
 The Chinese historian. Ma Twan-lin, mentions two dates 
 as assigned by various authorities to this event, viz., 
 1027 and 668. The former is what is commonly given 
 in Chinese books. Burnouf rightly prefers the chrono- 
 logy of the Southern Buddhists. Their discrepancies 
 between themselves form an objection, but not at all a 
 fatal one, to such a conclusion. The uncertainty that 
 involves this question is an instance of the difficulty 
 attending researches in Indian chronology and history, 
 as contrasted with the fulness and accuracy of Chinese 
 writers. What was the original language of Buddhism 
 is another point not yet fully determined. The settle- 
 ment of it would throw light on the chronology. Only! 
 one of the dates can be right, for there is no doubt as 
 
 1 A-gervi-gi-kap. The Sanscrit word ' Tushita now pronounced Tushlto, 
 
 Aaankhyd means " innumerable." ^ g^^ Klaproth's Life of Buddha^ 
 
 Kalpa is applied to periods of time and Tumour's Eynmination of thi 
 
 varying from a few hundreds to many PoUi Buddhisticai Annul*, 
 thousand yuan. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 1$ 
 
 to Buddha's identity. If Sanscrit was the language in 
 which he taught his disciples, it must have been just 
 dying out at the time, for the old Buddhist inscriptions, 
 in the countries watered by the Ganges, are in a dialect 
 derived from the Sanscrit and differing little from Pali. 
 The mother- tongue of the Hindoos must then have been 
 already supplanted by a derived dialect in the time of 
 Ashoka, king of Central India, who reigned near Patna, 
 as both the Northern and Southern Buddhists inform us, 
 about 150 or 200 years after Buddha's death. It is to 
 his age that those monuments are ascribed. Perhaps a 
 discussion as to whether the Sanscrit or Pali versions of 
 the sacred books were the earlier, may have led to a 
 designed altering of dates by the Northern or Southern 
 school of Buddhism. The deception was an elaborate 
 one, by whichever party it was practised, for the interval 
 from the death of Buddha until modern times is in the 
 writings of both schools filled up by a series of events 
 and dates.^ The lives of some of the patriarchs, as given 
 in Chinese books, appear too long. Ananda, a favourite 
 disciple of Buddha, is made to die eighty-three years after 
 him. Of his successors in the office of patriarch, the first 
 two held it for sixty-two and sixty-six years respec- 
 tively. The average of the first fourteen patriarchs is 
 more than fifty-two years to each. Without forgetting 
 the simple and abstemious habits of these ancient ascetics, 
 their lives must be regarded as prolonged beyond proba- 
 bility. Perhaps the most convincing argument for the 
 claim of the Pali to be that which was spoken by Buddha 
 himself, is that the ascertained interval between him and 
 Ashoka is too short for the formation of a new language. 
 
 The work called San-kiau-yi-su^ places the Buddha 
 called Shaky amuni in the seventh place among those whom 
 
 1 The suggestion of Tumour to This throws light on the design of 
 
 account for the sixty -five years dis- the Northern Buddhists in antedating 
 
 crepancy of the Singhalese and Greek Buddha's birth by 447 years, 
 
 dates is, that dates were altered to re- ' San-kiau-yi-su, " Supplementary 
 
 concileBuddha'sprophecieswithfacti, account of the three religions." 
 
1* 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 it commemorates as having, on account of their perfect 
 enlightenment, received that title. The list begins with the 
 ninety-eighth Buddha of a preceding hd'pa. He is called 
 the Biba Buddha. The two next, who are supposed to live 
 toward the close of the same vast period of time, are called 
 Shi-chi and Baishevu. The three first Buddhas of the pre- 
 sent hxl-pa are said to have been named Kulusan, Kuna- 
 shemuni, and Kashiapa. In Ward's Mythology of the 
 Hindoos, it is said, " The Buddhists assign to their hero 
 ten incarnations, and designate the histories of these in- 
 carnations by the names of ten Hindoo sages." But the 
 true history of the religion begins with Shakyamuni. 
 
 Where all is fictitious, it matters not very much whethei 
 the preceding six Buddhas were incarnations of Shakya- 
 muni Buddha, or were separate in their personality. There 
 appears to be no ground for believing in any Buddhism 
 before Buddha. Given a hero, it is easy to invent for him 
 six preliminary lives, or six predecessors in the same dig- 
 nity. One would like to know whether the Mohammedan 
 series of seven sages, selected out of the Jewish and Chris- 
 tian Scriptures, from Adam to Christ, is imitated from this 
 Hindoo series of seven sages. 
 
 The effects of the teaching of each of the past Buddhas 
 are recorded. The most ancient of the seven is said to 
 have saved 34,8cx) men. The figures diminish, step by 
 step, to 20,000, the number attributed to the immediate 
 predecessor of the historical Buddha. 
 
 The names of the most faithful, and also the two pro- 
 ficient disciples, are given in the case of each Buddha. 
 The city in which they lived is also mentioned, and the 
 tree under which they were fond of delivering instruction. 
 The favourite city of Shakyamuni was Shravasti, and his 
 tree, the Bodhi tree. His disciples were too many to 
 number. His faithful disciple was Rahula, his son, and 
 his two most proficient pupils were Shariputra and Maud- 
 galyayana. 
 
 The true history of the Buddhist religion begins with 
 
BIRTH. 15 
 
 Shakyamuni. He was the son of Suddhodana, king of the 
 city Kapilavastu, near the boundary of Nepaul. The king 
 of Kapilavastu was subject to the king of Magadha, a 
 country in Southern Bahar, to which the Ganges provinces 
 were then tributary. Suddhodana is called in Chinese 
 Tsing-/a7i — " He who eats food freed from impurities." 
 
 Buddha was born B.C. 623, and attained the rank of 
 Buddha at thirty- five years of age, in B.C. 588, the sixteenth 
 year of the reign of Bimbisara. He died at seventy-nine, 
 in the eighth year of the reign of Ajatashatru, B.C. 543. 
 These are Ceylonese dates, and are, says Turnour, too late 
 by sixty-five years. According to the Siamese and Birmese 
 chronology, the birth and death of Buddha are assigned to 
 the years B.C. 653 and B.C. 628. Koeppen prefers the 
 former dates, on the ground that they are usually accepted 
 by the Southern Buddhists, and the date of the Nirvana is 
 sanctioned by a very extended official use. He suggests 
 that the Buddhists of China and other northern countries 
 were influenced by the prophecy uttered by Shakyamuni, 
 which stated that his doctrines would spread in China a 
 thousand years after his death. It was in a.d. 64 that 
 Buddhism entered China. The Nirvana, therefore, should 
 have its date a thousand years earlier. From this we may 
 understand why the Chinese Buddhists place the life of 
 Buddha so much earlier than do their brother believers in 
 the south. Koeppen also remarks that Ceylon was con- 
 verted to Buddhism much earlier than countries north of 
 India, and that historical events are, therefore, more likely 
 to be correctly recorded in Ceylon. The events in Buddha's 
 life were fresher in remembrance when the early Buddhist 
 literature of Ceylon was compiled, than when Buddhism 
 spread in China and other northern countries. 
 
 The accepted date in China for Buddha's birth is B.C. 
 1027. His name was Siddharta, and that of his mother 
 was Maya. She died ten days after his birth. The ques- 
 tion in regard to this date is thus treated by the author of 
 FO'tsU'Vung-ki. He first gives six grounds for accepting 
 
i6 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 the older chronology, i. A portent in the year B.C. 1027. 
 According to a work called Cheu-shu-yi-ki, a bright light 
 of five colours was seen to pierce the constellation Tai-wei, 
 and pass over the whole west. On seeing it, the historian 
 Su Yen remarked that a great sage was bom in the west. 
 Seventy- nine years later, a white rainbow was seen, having 
 twelve stripes stretching from south to north. The his- 
 torian Hu To, seeing it, said, " It is the sign of the death of 
 a great sage in the west." 2. Kashiapmadanga said to 
 the Han emperor, Ming-ti, who introduced Buddhism into 
 China, that it was in the year B.C. 1027, on the eighth day 
 of the fourth month, that Buddha was born. 3. The 
 statement of the third Chinese patriarch in the sixth 
 century, that it was in the fifty-first year of the cycle, on 
 the fourth month and eighth day. 4. Another early work 
 of a Chinese Buddhist gives the year B.C. 1027, the 
 month and day agreeing. 5. The same is true of a state- 
 ment by a Buddhist in the History of the Wei, an imperial 
 work. 6. Early in the seventh century, the emperor Pai- 
 tsung ordered an investigation into the date of Buddha's 
 birth. Lieu Te-wei, a minister of State, inquired of a 
 famous Buddhist named Fa-lin the reason of the dis- 
 crepancy in the current accounts. The consequence was 
 that Fa-lin settled it to be B.C. 1027. 
 
 The same author proceeds to give several other epochs, 
 believed in by as many authorities, i. Inscription on a 
 stone pillar. This gives B.C. 718. 2. The statement of 
 the pilgrim Fa-hien, B.C. 1197. 3. The statement of the 
 work Siang-cheng-ki, B.C. 753. 4. Another statement places 
 it in the time of Hia-kie, B.C. 1800. The fifth authority, 
 Chung-sheng-tien-ki, gives the date B.C. 457. The sixth 
 states that B.C. 687 was the year in question, and that 
 then, according to the Tso-chwen, there was a shower of 
 falling stars. This phenomenon is supposed to indicate 
 Buddha's birth. A learned Buddhist, Ku-shan, argues 
 that the birth must have taken place in the second month 
 of the modern Chinese calendar, because in the Cheu 
 
EARLY LIFE. 17 
 
 dynasty the year began two months later. To this the 
 defenders of the orthodox Chinese view say in reply, that 
 in three Sutras the birth of Buddha is said to have taken 
 place in the fourth month, and as they were all translated 
 since the modern calendar was adopted, a century before 
 the Christian era, it is not open to us to say that it took 
 place in the second month. 
 
 At fifteen years of age he was, in an assembly of nobles 
 and Brahmans, formally invested with the rank of heir- 
 apparent. The nobles presented to his royal father basins 
 filled with water from the four seas, and ornamented with 
 the seven precious things. They also sprinkled water on 
 the prince's head, and gave him the seal of the seven 
 precious things. 
 
 At seventeen he was married to a Brahman maiden 
 of the Shakya family called Yashodara. He was taught in 
 his youth every possible accomplishment, and was supplied 
 with all the delights that high position and riches could 
 afford, but he soon learned to despise them. 
 
 At eighteen years of age he left the palace to visit cer- 
 tain pleasure gardens and groves. Passing the east gate 
 of the city he saw there a Deva who had assumed the 
 form of an old man, with white hairs and crooked back. 
 He thought sadly on the rapidity with which men grow 
 old. They become aged like lightning, and yet are not 
 afraid. Going out again, the same divinity presented him- 
 self at the south gate in the disguise of a sick man, with 
 languid features and swelled paunch. At the west gate 
 he saw a dead man, and the members of his family laugh- 
 ing as they followed him to the grave. He went out once 
 more, and saw at the north gate a begging priest, a Bikshu 
 in fact. He wore the garb of an ascetic, and carried a 
 bowl. A staff was in his hand. The prince asked him 
 who he was. He replied, "I am a Bikshu, practising 
 sacred duties, and always obtaining the reward of freedom 
 from action." As he finished these words he rose into the 
 air, and was soon out of sight. The prince thought, " I fear 
 
 B 
 
CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 lest 1 may be pressed down by old age, sickness, death, 
 the miseries I have witnessed. This Bikshu has arrived 
 at the perception of my feelings. He shows me the path 
 of deliverance." From this time the prince began to desire 
 the ascetic life. 
 
 At twenty-five years old he sought an interview with 
 his father, and said, " Kindness and affection, multiplied as 
 they may be, lead but to partings. Allow me to enter 
 on the ascetic life, that I may learn what wisdom is." His 
 father tried in vain to detain him. On the seventh day 
 of the second month the prince, while reflecting on the 
 life of the recluse, emitted from his body a light which 
 shone to all the palaces of the Devas. These beings then 
 knew that Siddharta had become a recluse, and came to 
 congratulate him. He asked their aid, and left his father's 
 palace in the night-time under their escort, resolved to be 
 a hermit, and saying, " If the eight miseries " — viz., birth, 
 death, sickness, love, hatred, &c. — " be not abandoned, wis- 
 dom cannot be attained." He refused to return to his 
 father's palace, and lived on the Himalaya Mountains in 
 solitary spots, trying various methods to attain mental 
 satisfaction, but in vain. He lived on hemp and barley, 
 and assuaged his thirst with snow, till at thirty years of 
 age he came to the perception of the true condition and 
 wants of mankind. " He sighed, and said, * It is strange 
 that all men while they have within them Julai (the capa- 
 city of perceiving the true nature of life and worldly 
 phenomena), and possess knowledge and virtue as the 
 original property of their nature, should be entangled by 
 deceptive thoughts and remain in ignorance of these 
 things.* After this he lived forty-nine years, and delivered 
 thirty-five discourses of special importance." 
 
 There were, during Buddha's life, five principal periods 
 of instruction. 
 
 I. The time of delivering the Hwa-yen-king. — The 
 scene was mostly in the paradises of the Devas, and the 
 audience was composed of mythological personages. Thia 
 
 I 
 
EARL Y PREACHING. 19 
 
 was the fiist grand outburst of Buddhist thought, and it 
 belongs to the " Greater development." 
 
 II. The deer garden period. — Buddha now becomes 
 historical. His teaching and his audience are human. 
 This is the period of instruction in the four miseries, 
 examples of which we have in the Sutra of Forty-two Sec- 
 tions, and other works. 
 
 III. The teaching of squareness and equality ; — where 
 aU the principles of Shakyamuni's philosophy appear in 
 symmetry, as in the Leng-yen-king. 
 
 IV. The period of the Prajna. — Here Shaky amuni 
 becomes most coldly metaphysical, and expounds the 
 doctrine of salvation for man and all living beings in the 
 triumphant tone of an icy logic. The miseries of society 
 are to be terminated by minute hair-splitting and belief 
 in certain profound abstractions, which, after all that may 
 be said for them, are simply impossibilities. 
 
 V. The closing period of Buddha's public life included 
 the announcement of the Lotus of the Good Law, and the 
 doctrine of Nirvana. Here, in prospect of death, the 
 warmth of human feeling returns. Shakyamuni becomes 
 sympathetic and touching, as in the days of youth when 
 he founded the Hindoo monastic societies, and when, as 
 an enthusiastic preacher, he visited one after another the 
 great cities of Oude and Bahar. 
 
 At first Buddha appeared like the sun in the east 
 illuminating the tops of the western hills. Bodhisattwas 
 from immense distances were attracted, and came to re- 
 cognise him as the teacher whose instructions would guide 
 mankind to the highest truth. This was the Hwa-yen 
 period. Next the sun shone on the valleys, and then 
 upon the wide plains. After the Bodhisattwas had been 
 taught, the first disciples of the human race, the Shra- 
 TnaTias, or " listeners," were instructed in the valleys, and 
 then all mankind in the plains. The changes of milk are 
 referred to in illustration. The first teaching was like 
 m ilk fresh from the cow. There are four subsequent 
 
CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 stages, cream, ordinary butter, rich butter, and the oil 
 which appears on the surface in the last boiling process. 
 In Mongolia and North China milk is boiled to make 
 butter. 
 
 The Hwa-yen doctrine is described also as tun, "an 
 abrupt outburst." The teaching of the Bikshus is 
 "gradual and elementary" (tsien), proceeding step by 
 step from the Book of the Forty -two Sections to the 
 Len^-yen, or " Square and equal," and from thence to the 
 Prajna paramita. Beyond that, in the later years of 
 his life, Buddha unfolded the " secret " {pi-mi) and " un- 
 fixed " (pu-ting) aspects of his doctrine. 
 
 The scene of the delivery of the Hiva-yen Sutra was 
 laid in nine places. The first was under the Bodhi tree 
 of Aranya in the kingdom of Magadha. This is different 
 from the Bodhi tree of the Agama Sutras of the Small 
 Development school. Aranya is " wild," " a quiet place," 
 " belonging to the woods ; " and Aranyakah " a forester," 
 " a hermit," " living in seclusion " (see Eitel). The addition 
 of ka marks an agent. Before Buddha's time, and during 
 his youth, the hermit life had already become a fashion 
 in India. He would, when a young and enthusiastic 
 hermit, find himself more at home with men of this class 
 than any other. In some green glade of the forests that 
 skirt the mighty Himalayas, Shakyamuni is pictured by 
 his northern followers with numberless mythological per- 
 sonages assembled before him. F'li-hien, or, as he is called 
 in Sanscrit, Samantahhadra, is the principal speaker. He 
 is one of the fabulous Bodhisattwas. Manjusiri, auother, 
 follows him. 
 
 The scene is then suddenly changed to the paradises 
 of the Devas. Indra receives Buddha in one of his palaces ^ 
 
 1 The Tau-li-tHcv, or " Heaven of 
 the number 33 ; " in Sanscrit, Trii/as- 
 trimsas. Sumeru is probably Elburz, 
 an isolated mountain of the Caucasus 
 lange, 18,000 feet in height, and sur- 
 rounded by low ground. The sylla- 
 
 ble 8u, like el, is a prefix. If this sup- 
 position be correct, the Hindoo race, 
 when forming its legends of the Deva 
 worlds in their first form, must have 
 lived in the vicinity of the Caucasus, 
 Su = El ; Me =» Bu ; Ru = r. 
 
HWA'YEN-KING. %\ 
 
 on the Sumeru Mountain, and utters an encomium upon 
 him in a speech in which he states that Kashiapa Buddha 
 had discoursed on the same spot. He is followed by- 
 ten Bodhisattwas, who all speak in praise of Buddha's 
 wisdom. 
 
 Buddha is next found in the heaven of Yama, the 
 Indian Pluto, and after this in that called Tushita, liter- 
 ally " the happy," where his mother Maya resides. After 
 this, the scene of the instructions and encomiums of the 
 Bodhisattwas in the presence of Buddha is transferred to 
 other Deva paradises, where Indra and other gods of the 
 Brahmanical mythology hold conference with them. 
 
 Last of all, at the close of this long Sutra, the scene is laid 
 in the garden of Jeta as in the " Sutra of the Diamond," 
 Kin-kaTig-hing. Shariputra and other disciples are there 
 by anticipation, but do not see Buddha, nor the magnifi- 
 cent assemblage of Bodhisattwas. Before the assembly 
 breaks up, Manjusiri takes his farewell of Buddha, and 
 sets forth on a southward journey among mankind. 
 Shariputra and 6000 Bikshus went to him for instruction. 
 He exhorted them to practise the duties of the Bodhisatt- 
 was, that they might obtain the samadhi of faultless vision, 
 and see the Buddha regions and all the Buddhas. Man- 
 jusiri then proceeded to the " city of happiness," on the 
 east of which he met the youth familiarly known among 
 the Northern Buddhists as Shan-ts'ai-t'ung-tsi, who be- 
 came his disciple and learned from him the knowledge 
 of Bodhi. He also traversed Southern India, where he 
 taught in 1 10 cities. 
 
 Shakyamuni himself says very little in the course of 
 this Sutra. It is intended rather for developing the my- 
 thology of the great Bodhisattwas. As such, it is highly 
 valued in China, where the images of Wen-shu (Manjusiri) 
 and P'u-hien are common in the temples. P^u-hien in one 
 speech mentions China under the name Chen-tan,^ as a 
 
 ^ Hwa- yen-king, chap. xxvi. Tan means " country," as in Hindostan, 
 AfghaDii>taD. 
 
22 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 region where many Bodhisattwas have been engaged in 
 past times in instructing the people. 
 
 But the time had arrived when Shakyamuni must be- 
 come a teacher of mankind, and we now find him suddenly 
 making his appearance at Benares. 
 
 Legend having resolved to exalt Shakyamuni to the 
 utmost extent of her resources, busied herself particularly 
 with the year when he attained that perfect vision of truth 
 which is called the state of Buddha. 
 
 He had passed six years in the exercises of severe absti- 
 nence and meditation. One day he thought, " I had better 
 eat, lest the heretics should say that Nirvana is attained 
 in famishing the body. Let me eat, and tlien attain to 
 perfect knowledge." He went to the Nairanjana river to 
 bathe. Here a shepherdess gave him food which suddenly 
 grew on a lotus-flower at her feet. He took it, and felt 
 his strength return. He went to sit under a banyan tree 
 (Pippala), or tree of Bodhi. The god Indra brought him 
 a straw seat. He sat here, resolved not to move till the 
 transformation he was about to undergo should be com- 
 pleted. 
 
 The king of the Maras, perceivmg that the walls and 
 foundations of his palace were shaking, thought in him- 
 self, " Gautama is now attaining perfect knowledge. Before 
 he has reached the height of wisdom, I will go and trouble 
 him." He went with bow and arrows, and attendant 
 demons, to the tree where the object of his attack was 
 sitting. He then addressed him — " Bodhisattwa ! give up 
 the monastic principle {c'Mi-hia fa), and become a ' wheel 
 king.' ^ If you rise not, I will shoot my darts at you." 
 The Bodhisattwa was unmoved. The darts, as they fell, 
 became lotus flowers. The king of the Maras then offered 
 him his three daughters to attend on him. Shakyamuni 
 said, "You attained, by a small act of virtue, the body 
 
 * A king who rules the world, and Chakravarti in Sanscrit, from Chakra^ 
 
 oatises the wheel of doctrine every- "wheel," the symbol of activity, 
 
 where to revolve. The irreat A8h6ka whether of Buddha in preaching, or 
 
 was a wheel king. The word lit of kings bke Aah6ka iu ruling. 
 
RANK OF BUDDHA A TTAJNED. ~' 23 
 
 of a Deva. You think not on the perishing, but seek to 
 tempt me. You may leave me; I need you not." The 
 king of the Maras again said, " I will resign to you my 
 throne as a Deva, with the instruments of all the five 
 pleasures." "No," replied the Bodhisattwa, "you attained 
 the rank of Ishwara by some charitable deed. But this 
 happiness has an end. I wish it not." 
 
 An army of spirits now issued from the ground and 
 rebuked the tempter, who, as his last device, summoned a 
 host of demons to assault the unconquerable youth. The 
 air was filled with grim faces, gnashing teeth, and bristling 
 spears. The Bodhisattwa looked on this scene as if it 
 were child's play. A spirit in the air was now suddenly 
 heard to say, " The Bodhisattwa attains this day, under 
 the Bodhi tree, the perfection of knowledge. Here stands 
 the diamond throne of many past Buddhas. It is not for 
 you to disturb him. Cease your hostility, and wait upon 
 him with respect." The king of the Maras then returned 
 to his palace. 
 
 It was on the seventh day of the second month that 
 Shakyamuni, after this victory, attained the rank of 
 Buddha. This is described as entering into a state of 
 reverie, emitting a bright light, and reflecting on the four 
 modes of truth.^ It is added, that he comes to the com- 
 plete knowledge of the unreality of all he once knew as 
 good and evil acting, long and short life, and the five paths 
 of the metempsychosis, leading all living beings into a 
 perpetual interchange of sorrow and joy. As the morning 
 star of the eighth day of the month appeared, he suddenly 
 awoke to this consciousness, and attained the perfect view 
 of the highest truth. 
 
 As soon as Shakyamuni had risen from the state of 
 
 * These are, Ku, "misery," Tsi, separation from the ties of passion, 
 
 "assembling," Mie, "destruction," the possibility of destroying the de- 
 
 and Tau, "the path," consisting in sires, and the path of salvation as 
 
 knowledge of misery, truth, and regards the practical Buddhist life, 
 oppressive resirainis, the need of 
 
14 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 P'usa to that of Fo, the assembly of the forty-one great 
 teachers embodying the law, and of innumerable Devas, 
 Nagas, and other supernatural beings, gathered round him, 
 as the clouds gather round the moon. 
 
 To them he discoursed, as already described, in the Hwa- 
 yen-king. 
 
 While he was meditating on the hopelessness of attempt- 
 ing the instruction of mankind, none but a Buddha being 
 able to comprehend what Buddha knew, it first appeared 
 better that he should enter at once into the Nirvana. But 
 from this wish he was dissuaded by Brahma and Indra, 
 who came to intercede for mortals, and induce Buddha to 
 become a public teacher. During seven days he received 
 in silence Brahma's entreaties. In the second week he 
 reflected on the sufferings and sorrows of man. In the 
 third week, he said, " I ought to open the gate of the sweet 
 law. Who should first hear it ? The hermit Arara, who 
 desired the perfect knowledge of truth ? Let me first save 
 him." A voice in the air said, " He died yesterday." Again 
 he thought, " Then let the hermit Nalana be the first." The 
 x'oice again said, " He died last night." He thought once 
 more, " The five messengers sent by the minister of state 
 had a like wish. Let them first hear the law." Buddha 
 accordingly set out for Benares. 
 
 On the way, he sat by a pool in a state of samadhi for 
 seven days. A blind Naga (snake or dragon) that lay in 
 the pool felt the light that shone from Buddha restore his 
 vision. He came out of the water, was transformed into 
 a youth, and received the vows as a disciple. 
 
 On the seventh day of the third month, the spirit of the 
 tree under which Buddha had for seven days been in a 
 state of samadhi, took notice of Buddha's long abstinence 
 from food. Five hundred travelling merchants passed at 
 the moment, and the oxen that drew their waggons proved 
 unable to pull the vehicles over the obstacles that lay in 
 the road. Two of the merchants came to the tree to ask 
 
APPEARANCE AT BENARES. 25 
 
 the spirit's aid. The spirit advised them of the presence 
 of Buddha near the pool, and said they should offer him 
 food. They gave him barley mixed with honey. The 
 four kings of the Devas (who are seen in the front hall of 
 Buddhist temples) took from the mountain stones four 
 sweet-smelling bowls, which they found there by a happy 
 chance. In these they offered the food. Buddha took all 
 the bowls, for fear of giving offence to any of the kings. 
 He then piled them up on his left hand, and, with his 
 right (by magical manipulation), formed them into one, 
 holding it so that all present might see it. Then, after 
 uttering a charm, he ate the food, and proceeded at once 
 to administer the vows to the two merchants, who, with 
 their companions, all attained high grades in Buddhist 
 knowledge. 
 
 Buddha, in this instance, imposed on the neophytes the 
 ordinary five prohibitions suited for men and Devas. This 
 must be regarded, therefore, as exoteric teaching. But as 
 the grade attained was high in proportion to the amount 
 of training, it belongs so far to the unfixed or arbitrary 
 division of the exoteric doctrine Sien-lu-chi-pu-ting-Jciau, 
 " manifested, and not fixed teaching." 
 
 It is at this point in Shakya's biography that a new 
 section begins. 
 
 Mankind were not at this time in a state to receive the 
 doctrine of the Greater development, and Buddha must 
 be content to leave the brilliantly-illuminated regions of 
 the great Bodhisattwas and shine upon the retired valleys, 
 where he will, by a gradual process of teaching, reform 
 and make happy such groups as he may meet of ordinary 
 mortals in their wretchedness and desolation. He will, 
 for the time, postpone his more elevated discourses, and 
 proceed to Benares to teach the rudiments of his system. 
 The shining robes of the recognised Buddha must be 
 exchanged for the tattered garb of the ascetic. This is to 
 hiTTi a temporary disguise. 
 
96 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The Northern school, with all the looseness of its chrono- 
 logy, professes great exactness in dates. 
 
 Month. 
 
 Day. 
 
 Event. 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 » 
 
 8 
 
 29 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 Shakyamuni becomes Buddha. 
 Teaches the Hwa-yen doctrine. 
 In reverie by the pool. 
 Receives food from the merchants. 
 In the garden at Benares. 
 
 In these dates, says the biographer, intervals of three, 
 four, and five weeks may be observed. 
 
 ^ 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 LIFE OF BUDDHA FKOM HIS APPEARANCE AS A TEACHER AT 
 BENARES TO THE CONVERSION OF RAHUL A. 
 
 The four truths — Godinia and his four companions — The firat 
 monastic community — The first lay brother— Conversion of five 
 hundred fire -worshippers in the kingdom of Magadha — Buddha 
 at Rajagriha — At Shravasti, in Jeta's garden — Appoints punish- 
 ments for crimes of monks — Goes to see his father after twelve 
 years' absence — Story of his son Rahula. 
 
 It was exactly thirty-five days after his arriving at perfect 
 wisdom that Buddha opened his public life at Benares, by 
 discoursing to Godinia and others on the four trutlis. 
 " You should know," he said to his auditors, " the fact 
 of misery (Duk'a), and the need of becoming separated from 
 the accumulation of entanglements caused by the passions 
 (Samudaya). These two truths belong to the world from 
 which you are now exhorted to take your departure. You 
 should also experience the extinction of these miseries 
 and entanglements (Niroda), and the path of reformation 
 (Marga). These two truths belong to the monastic life on 
 which you should now enter." 
 
 Having these subjects to discourse on, Buddha went 
 forth to appeal to the youth of India, the hermits, the 
 followers of the Zoroastrian fire-worship, the Brahman 
 who studied the Vedas, and to men of every class. 
 
 The wheel of doctrine revolved thrice. There was first 
 didactic statement, then exhortation, and lastly appeal to 
 evidence and personal experience. The image is that 
 of grinding. The chaff and refuse are forced from the 
 
a8 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 good flour by repeated revolutions of the wheel. The 
 statement of facts, the urgent appeal, and the proof are 
 repeated in the inculcation of each of the " four truths." 
 The wheel of Buddhist preaching was thus made to per- 
 form twelve revolutions.^ 
 
 Having once launched the subject under these four 
 heads, it was natural that the Hindoo minds of the time, 
 fond as they were of dialectical hair-splitting, should ramify 
 them into numberless subdivisions. They talked of the 
 eighty- one states of misery, the eighty-eight varieties of 
 deception, the thirty-seven methods of reformation, &c. 
 
 One of Buddha's earliest converts was Godinia, who 
 was attracted by his teaching upon the four truths, and 
 attained the first grade of clear vision. It was at Benares, 
 the ancient Varanasi, in the Mrigadava garden {Lu-ye-yuen\ 
 that this conversion and that of four others took place. 
 Thus began the revolving of the wheel of the Buddhist 
 law, which was destined to spread the new doctrine over 
 so wide a portion of Asia, and to continue for so many 
 centuries. These new disciples asked to be permitted to 
 commence the monkish life. This Shakya allowed, say- 
 ing, " Bikshus ! it is for you to take off your hair, wear 
 the kasha, and become Shramanas." He discoursed of the 
 non-permanence of human actions, of the emptiness of the 
 external world, the non-existence of the Ego, the deliver- 
 ance of the mind from thraldom by the cessation of faults, 
 and the consequent attainment of the moral and intellec- 
 tual rank of Arhan. 
 
 " Thus," adds the delighted Buddhist historian, " the 
 world for the first time had six Arhans, and (including 
 the new doctrine) the Three Precmcs Ones (San Pau). The 
 first was Buddha, the second was the revolving of the 
 wheel of the doctrine of the four truths {Dharma), and 
 the third was the company of the five Arhans (Sanga). 
 Well might that garden be regarded as the happy land of 
 men and Devas {Tien)." 
 
 * SM-er-hing-fa-lun. 
 
THE FIRST LA Y BROTHER. 29 
 
 This was the foundation of the spiritual communities of 
 Buddhism. The Sanga, or assembly of believers, distin- 
 guished by common vows of abstinence from marriage, 
 from animal food, and the occupations of social life, now 
 commenced. The Sangarama and Vihara,^ or monastery, 
 was soon rendered necessary for the residence of the 
 voluntary coenobites, who daily grew in numbers, and the 
 greatest social revolution that ever took place in India 
 was fairly begun. 
 
 Soon afterwards, a youth of great intelligence saw in 
 the night-time a light. He opened the door of the house, 
 and went out in search of the light. He soon reached 
 Buddha's garden, was taught, became an Arhan, and re- 
 quested permission to take the vows, to which Buddha at 
 once consented. The father of this youth came in search 
 of him, and was also taught by Buddha. He became a 
 convert ; with purged vision took the vows of adherence 
 to the Three Precious Ones, and returned home to become 
 the first Upasaka, or lay brother, keeping the rules, but 
 living at his own house. It was permitted to the neophyte, 
 if he preferred it, to continue in the position which he held 
 in social Ufe, and not to join the monastic community. 
 
 As soon as the number had increased to fifty-six, another 
 great step was taken by Shakyamuni. He broke up the 
 community, and dismissed all its members to travel every- 
 where, giving instruction in the doctrine of the four 
 miseries to all persons with whom they met. This occu- 
 pation was connected with begging for food. At this 
 time the Buddhist community had no property. It was 
 supported by the liberality of the new members, or by the 
 gifts of rich persons. Whether the monks were in the 
 monastery or upon their travels, the normal mode of gain- 
 ing support was by the charity of neighbours, of passers- 
 by, of kings and nobles, and all the kindly disposed. The 
 system was thus gradually, in the early years of Shakya- 
 
 1 Sanga, "assembly;" ardtna, "garden;" Vihdra, "a place for walking 
 about in." 
 
30 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 muni's teaching, assuming the form it has taken in all 
 Buddhist countries. Monastic vows, living in spiritual 
 communities, voluntary poverty, and universal preaching 
 — these formed the basis on which the great Buddhist 
 structure was erected. We cannot but admire the won- 
 derful practical genius of the man who conceived the 
 system, and carried it out with such triumphant success. 
 In a few years India was covered, through the labours 
 of the Buddhist preachers, with flourishing communities 
 of monks, and in the c^ol season of the year the Bik- 
 shus, or religious mendicants, were everywhere seen on 
 the roads and in the cities teaching the true path to the 
 Nirvana. 
 
 As Shakyamuni was the first in time of the founders of 
 monastic communities, so he surpassed them all in the 
 originality of his conceptions, in the success of his system, 
 and in the force of his influence. 
 
 The Buddhist preachers left their master, who proceeded 
 from Benares to Magadha. At evening he slept in the 
 house of Uluvilva Kashiapa. He there subdued a fiery 
 snake, and administered to him the vows of adherence to 
 Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood. To produce an 
 impression on Kashiapa's mind, he enclosed the snake in 
 a rice bowl. Kashiapa was still deficient in knowledge, 
 but from this time he ripened and progressed visibly. 
 
 On the banks of the Nairanjana river, Shakyamuni had 
 an interview, says the legend, with his old enemy, tlie king of 
 the Maras (the Chinese mo in mo-kwei, " devil "), who wished 
 to enter the Nirvana. But Buddha refused his thrice re- 
 peated request, on the ground that he was not mentally pre- 
 pared for the change. Thus, legend — which was never more 
 active in inventing wonderful stories about any one than 
 about Shakyamuni — makes him sovereign over the most 
 powerful supernatural beings. He did not, however, 
 always refuse applicants for salvation from other worlds. 
 He is said to have gone up to the Tushita paradise to 
 instruct his mother Maya in the new law. 
 
y ETA'S GARDEN A T SHRA VAST/. 31 
 
 On the banks of the same river, five hundred fire- wor- 
 shippers, after hearing his discourse on the four miseries, 
 became Arhans, and threw their implements of worship 
 into the river. Their religion — frequently mentioned in 
 early Buddhist history — was, as it would appear, propa- 
 gated from Persia to India not long before the time of 
 Cyrus. In Persia, fire-worship had been added to the old 
 Magian worship of the heavenly bodies. But while it had 
 triumphed through Zoroaster's influence in Persia, it was 
 destined to be expelled from India by Buddhism. With 
 these new converts, Buddha went to the city of Eajagriha, 
 and was received there with perfect confidence and admira- 
 tion. The king Vimbas^ra, Ajatashatru's father,^ and all 
 the principal persons in the city, Brahmans, officers, and 
 people, became his disciples. 
 
 The ruins of this city are still visited by the Jains, at a 
 spot sixteen miles south-west of Bahar.^ It was the metro- 
 polis of the Magadha princes till the era of Ashoka, the 
 Buddhist monarch who ruled all India about two hundred 
 years after the time of Shakyamuni. Here Buddha taught 
 for many years, and received some of his most celebrated 
 disciples, such as Shariputra, Maudgalyayana, and Ka- 
 shiapa. At this time Buddha began to appoint the wear- 
 ing of the shangati, or upper robe, reaching to the knees. 
 It is worn outside the kasha, or long robe, which was in 
 use from the commencement of the monastic institute. 
 
 Three years later, Shakya was invited to Shravasti, to 
 occupy a house and garden expressly provided for him by 
 the king's eldest son and a rich noble, as already described. 
 It was the Jetavana Vihara, or Monastery of Jeta's Garden. 
 Here he was in the kingdom of Kosala, then ruled by Pra- 
 senajita, who, with the chief persons of influence, were aU 
 in favour of the new doctrine. 
 
 Buddha was obliged to become a legislator. As thefts, 
 assassination, and evil-speaking occurred in his community, 
 
 ^ From Vivihay "shadow;" sdra, - Eitel's Handbook of Chinen 
 "strength." In old Chiuese, £tmba- Buddhirm. 
 
32 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 he made special rules for the punishment of such crimes 
 (Fo-tsu-t'ung-ki, iii. 30). 
 
 His father sent a messenger to him, after he had been 
 absent from home for twelve years, to inform him that he 
 wished to see him, and to invite him to come for a visit. 
 The messenger was a Brahmach^ri (a religious student 
 or observer of Brahmanical rules of purity), named Udaya. 
 On hearing Buddha discourse, Udaya at once attained to 
 the state of Arhan (Lohan). Buddha now resolved to go 
 to see his father, and attempt, by teaching, to save both 
 him and his mother. He sent forward Udaya to inform 
 the king, and perfonn before him the eighteen changes — 
 a series of magical effects. The king was delighted, and 
 went out of the city thirteen miles, accompanied with an 
 escort of ten thousand persons, to welcome Shakyamuni, 
 who was conspicuous for his stature — being sixteen feet in 
 height — and his brilliant golden colour. He appeared like 
 the moon among the clouds. Around him were many 
 Brahmachari who had long been in the woods and moun- 
 tains, and whose bodies were black. They seemed like 
 those black-winged birds that fly round the purple-golden 
 mountain. The king then ordered five hundred youths 
 of distinguished families to become monks and attend 
 on Buddha, like phoenixes round Mount Sumeru. 
 
 The hermit life in India preceded the monastic life. 
 Buddha himself was at first a hermit, like the Brahmachari 
 of the time. But while they aimed at the old Brahmanical 
 purity, his mind swelled with new thoughts and aims. 
 They were content to avoid the stains of a secular life. 
 He was bent on saving multitudes by teaching. 
 
 When Buddha was come to see his father after twelve 
 years' absence, his wife brought his little son, Rahula, 
 to see him. The boy was just six years old, and the 
 courtiers doubted if Buddha was his father. Buddha said 
 to the doubters, " Yashodara has been true to her duty. 
 I will give proof of it." He then, by his magical power, 
 caused the monks present all to become Buddhas in 
 
S TOR Y OF RA HULA. 33 
 
 appearance. Yashodara then took a signet ring and gave 
 it to the boy, saying to him, " This is your father's ; give 
 it to him." Eahula took it and gave it at once to Buddha. 
 The king and all the courtiers said, " Good ! this boy is 
 truly the son of Buddha." ^ 
 
 1 other stories take the place of this in Mr. Beal's translation of The 
 Romantic Leyend of Sdkya Buddha. 
 
( 34 ) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF RAHULA'S RELIGIOUS LIFE TILL 
 THE NEAR APPROACH OF THE NIRVANA. 
 
 Buddha sends for Rahula — Arrangements for instructing Rahula and 
 other boys — Tutors — Boys admitted to the vows — Nuns — Rapid 
 spread of monasticism — Disciplinary rules — Education in meta- 
 physics — Ananda and the Leng-yen-king — Buddha in these 
 works like Socrates in Plato — Buddha said to have gone to 
 Ceylon — Also to the paradise of desire — Offer of Devas to pro- 
 tect Buddhism — Protectors of China — Relation of Buddhism to 
 Hindoo polytheism — Pradjna Paramita — King Prasenajit — 
 Sutra of the Benevolent King — Daily liturgy — Ananda becomes 
 Buddha's attendant disciple — Intrusted with the Sutras in 
 twelve divisions — Buddha teaches his esoteric system — Virtually 
 contained in the " Lotus Sutra " — In this the sun of Buddha 
 culminated — His father's approaching death announced — 
 Buddha reaches the forty-ninth year of his public preaching. 
 
 When Buddha was forty-four years old he seut a messen- 
 ger to his father and wife to say that his son Rahula was 
 now nine years of age, and ought to commence the reli- 
 gious life. Maudgalyayana was the messenger. The 
 mother replied, "When Julai (Tathfigata) was a prince 
 he married me, and before we had been married three 
 years he went away to lead a mountain life. Having 
 after six years become Buddha, and returned to visit his 
 country, he now wishes me to give him my son. What 
 misery can be so great as this ? " She was, however, 
 persuaded to consent to this sacrifice, and committed 
 him to the care of the messenger. With him the king 
 
BOYS AND NUNS ADMITTED. 35 
 
 sent fifty sons of noble families to be his companions 
 in taking the vows and receiving instruction. 
 
 They were placed, says the legend, under the care of 
 Shariputra and Maudgalyayana as their tutors — Ho-shang 
 {Updsaka), and A-che-li (Acharya)} The original meaning 
 of the ordinary Chinese term for Buddhist priest thus 
 appears to be " tutor." The primary duty of the Ho-skaTvg 
 was to be the guide of young monks. The term was 
 afterwards extended in Eastern Turkestan to all monks. 
 From that country it was introduced into China, where 
 it is still used in the wider sense, all monks being called 
 Ho-^hang. 
 
 It was now arranged by Buddha that while boys might 
 be received into the community, if the parents were will- 
 ing, when still of tender years, as from twelve to seventeen, 
 they should not receive the full vows till they were twenty. 
 He also ordered the erection of an altar for administer- 
 ing the vows. It is called Kiai-t'an, " Vow altar." It is 
 ascended by three flights of steps. On the top sit the 
 officiating priest and his assessors. The flights of steps 
 are so arranged that the neophyte passes three times 
 round the altar on his way up, to indicate his triple sub- 
 mission to Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood. 
 
 Women began to ask and received permission to take 
 the vows. They were called in India Bikshuni, and in 
 China Niku. Ni is the Sanscrit feminine termination 
 of Bikshu, and ku is o. common respectful term used of 
 aunts, young girls, &c. 
 
 In twelve years from the commencement of his public 
 teaching Buddha's doctrines had spread over sixteen Indian 
 kingdoms, the monastic system was founded, and the out- 
 line of the regulations for the monks and nuns was already 
 drawn. 
 
 Shakyamuni taught morality by rules. He hedged 
 
 ^ Eitel's Handbook. The word From Turkestan it was introduced 
 Ho-shang is translated from Updsaka into China,. — {Fam.-yi-ming-i). 
 into the former language of Khoten. 
 
36 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 round his community with the strictest regulations, but 
 he made metaphysics the staple article of his oral instruc- 
 tions. He tried first to bring his disciples out of danger 
 from the world's temptations by introducing them to the 
 spiritual association of the Bikshus. Here there was 
 community of goods, brotherhood, the absence of secular 
 cares, strict moral discipline, and regular instruction. The 
 only respite was when the whole community went out 
 into the streets of the city to receive the alms of the 
 householders in the form of money or food. The instruc- 
 tion consisted of high metaphysics and a morality which 
 speaks chiefly of mercy, and only looks at duty on its 
 human side. Obedience to the law of God is in Shakya- 
 muni's morality kept assiduously out of view. Instead 
 of theology he taught metaphysics, and instead of a his- 
 tory of God's dealings witli mankind, such as the Bible is 
 to the Christian, he supplied them with an unlimited 
 series of the benevolent actions of the Buddhas and Bodhi- 
 sattwas. 
 
 This is true of Nortliern and Southern Buddhism, but 
 the system prevailing in Ceylon and Siam has perhaps 
 somewhat less of the metaphysical and more of the moral 
 element than that found in China and Mongolia. 
 
 One of the most striking examples of the use of meta- 
 physics as a cure for moral weakness, is found in the 
 Leng-yen-Jciug. The incident, which is of course legendary, 
 is placed by Buddha's biographers in the forty-fifth year 
 of his age and in the city Shravasti. Ananda, the fa- 
 vourite disciple, lingered one evening in the streets, where 
 he proceeded alone from door to door begging. He acci- 
 dentally met a wicked woman named Mateuga. The god 
 Brahma had already resolved to injure Ananda, and now 
 drew him by a spell into the house of Matenga. Buddha, 
 knowing of the spell, after the evening meal returned 
 from the house of the rich man who entertained him, 
 sent forth a bright lotus light from his head and received 
 a charm. He then directed Maujusiii to take the charm 
 
 I 
 
ANANDA AND THE LENG-YEN-KING. 37 
 
 with which he had thus been miraculously furnished, and 
 go to save Ananda. By means of it he was told to bring 
 Ananda and Matenga for instruction. Ananda on arriving 
 made his bow and wept, blaming himself that he had not 
 come before, and that after much teaching his " strength " 
 {taU'li) was so far from perfect. Earnestly he asked the 
 aid of the Buddhas of the ten regions that he might obtain 
 the first benefits of knowledge (Bodhi). Buddha in agree- 
 ing to his desire announced to him the doctrine of the 
 Leng-yen-hing. The attempt is made to strengthen the 
 disciple against temptation by a grand display of meta- 
 physical skill. The man who founded the monastic in- 
 stitute as a cure for worldliness, might consistently teach 
 philosophical negations as a remedy against bad morality. 
 But it is for ever to be regretted that Shakyamuni failed 
 to see the true foundations of morality. Confucius was 
 able to uncover the secret of the origin of virtue and 
 duty so far as to trace it to conscience and natural light. 
 Judaism found it in the revealed law of God. Christian- 
 ity combined the law written on the heart with the re- 
 vealed law of the Divine Ruler. But Shakyamuni failed 
 to express rightly the relation of morality to God or to 
 human nature. Here is the most grievous failure of his 
 system. He knew the longing of humanity for deliver- 
 ance from misery, and the struggle which takes place 
 perpetually in the heart of mankind between good and 
 evU ; but he misunderstood them because he was destitute 
 not only of Christian and Jewish, but even of Confucian 
 light. Fortunately, however, all the imperfect teaching 
 in the world cannot destroy the witness which conscience 
 in every land bears to the distinctions of eternal and 
 immutable morality, or Buddha's teaching would have 
 been still more harmful. 
 
 The occurrence of the Leng-yen-king early in Buddha's 
 public life constitutes a difficulty to the Buddhist com- 
 mentators. Buddha is perfect. He commences with the 
 superficial, and finishes with the profound. How was it 
 
38 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 that this most polished specimen of his acumen, acknow- 
 ledged to be so by noted Chinese Confucianists like Chu- 
 fu-tsi, should equal the Sutras which were delivered at 
 the end of his life ? They therefore deny its equality 
 with the Fa-hiva-king, "The Lotus of the Good Law," 
 delivered, so they say, when Shakyamuni was an old 
 man. 
 
 It has cost much labour to reduce the Sutras into a 
 self-consistent chronological order. The Northern Bud- 
 dhists when they added the literature of the Mahayana 
 to that which was composed by Shakyamuni's immediate 
 disciples, felt obliged to show in a harmonious scheme of 
 his long life, to what years the various Sutras of the Hina- 
 yana and Mahayana, or " Smaller " and " Greater Develop- 
 ment," should be assigned. 
 
 Imagine a life of Socrates composed by a modern author 
 on the hypothesis that he really spoke all that Xenophon 
 and Plato said in his name. Each of these authors im- 
 parted his own colouring to his account, and introduced 
 his own thoughts in various proportion ; and Plato's works 
 certainly constitute the record of his own intellectual life 
 rather than that of Socrates. His rambles in the world 
 of thought have ever since his time been regarded as his 
 own much more than they were those of his revered 
 teacher. How foolish and useless would be the endeavour 
 to construct a biography of Socrates on the principle that 
 he wrote Plato, that the Platonic dialogues were all the 
 products of his mind, that the incidents real or fictitious 
 they record were all capable of arrangement in a self- 
 consistent scheme, and that the philosophical principles 
 they contain were all developed in a symmetrical succes- 
 sion, and at definite epochs in the life of Socrates ! Such 
 is the hopeless task undertaken by Buddha's Northern 
 biographers. 
 
 Buddha, in the eighteenth year of his public teaching, 
 is said to have gone to Ceylon, called in the Sutras Lenga 
 Island. He went to the top of Adam's Peak, and here 
 
THE PARADISE OF DESIRE. 39 
 
 delivered the Lenga Sutra. A Bodhisattwa said to him, 
 " Heretics prohibit the eating of flesh. How much more 
 should Buddha enforce abstinence from flesh ! " Buddha 
 assented, and gave several reasons why Bodhisattwas and 
 others should conform to this rule. Lenga Island is de- 
 scribed as inhabited by Yakshas, and as unapproachable 
 by men except by those who are endowed with magical 
 power. 
 
 During the next year Buddha is said to have visited 
 one of the heavenly paradises, in the middle of the second 
 range of the heaven of colour and desire, where an assem- 
 blage of Buddhas and Bodhisattwas from the ten regions 
 gathered before him. Here he delivered the Ta-tsi-king, 
 Each P'usa appeared in the form of the element he governed, 
 whether it were " air " (kung), water, or any other. The 
 Devas and Nagas now came forward, and said, " We will 
 henceforth protect correct doctrine. If any kings scourge 
 members of the monkish community, we will not protect 
 their kingdoms. The disciples of Buddha wiU abandon 
 their inhospitable territories, which will then remain un- 
 blessed. Not having the religious establishments which 
 bring happiness on a country, pestilence, famine, and war 
 will commence, while wind, and rain, and drought will 
 bring ruin on the agriculture." 
 
 After the gods and dragons had finished this speech, 
 Buddha addressed himself to a son of a Deva called 
 Vishvakarma, the patron of artisans,^ the Yaksha Kapila, 
 and fifteen daughters of Devas, having eyes with two 
 pupils, and directed them to become the patrons of 
 China. Each of them was told to take 5000 followers 
 and wherever there was strife, litigation, war, or pestil- 
 ence, to put a stop to those evils, so that the eye of 
 Buddha's law might long remain in that land. 
 
 The mythology of India appears in this description in 
 its true light. The aboriginal inhabitants of a distant 
 
 * Eitera Handbook. 
 
40 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 island like CeyloD "were thought of as a race of demons. 
 The beings called Devas, the Tluoi of Greece, and the 
 Dei of the Latins, were a class subordinate to Buddha, 
 the self -elevated sage. For want of a better word, the 
 Chinese term for " Heaven," Tien, is applied to them. The 
 " dragons," or nagas, — with which the Hebrew nahask ^ and 
 English snake may be compared, — are here viewed as a 
 class of celestial beings. 
 
 All these beings, however exalted, are regarded by the 
 Buddhists as subject to the commands of their sage. Con- 
 tinuing to rule the world, they do so in the interest of the 
 new law which Shakyamuni has introduced. Hence in 
 Buddhist temples they are placed at the door, and are 
 worshipped as invisible protectors of all faithful Bud- 
 dhists. 
 
 When the legend says that "gods" (Devas) and "dragons" 
 (Nagas) agreed to protect Buddhism, the meaning is, that 
 at this period in Buddha's life the Indian kings began to 
 favour his religion in a more public and extended manner 
 than before. 
 
 Shakyamuni next delivered — according to the Chinese 
 account of him — the Prajna Paramita (Pat-no-pa-la-mit- 
 to). Prajna is " wisdom." Para is " the farther side " of 
 a river. Mita is " known," "measured," "arrived at." There 
 are six means of arriving at the farther shore of the sea of 
 misery. They constitute the six Paramitas. Of these, that 
 called the Prajna is the highest. The original works con- 
 taining this system were thought too voluminous to be 
 translated in full by Kumarajiva. It was not till the 
 seventh century that Hiuen-tsaug the traveller, after his 
 return from India, undertook the laborious task of trans- 
 lating one of these works, which extended to six hundred 
 chapters, and one hundred and twenty volumes. Nagar- 
 juna, the most noted writer among the twenty-eight 
 patriarchs, founded on some of these works the Shastra 
 
 ^ Nahath in Hebrew, "serpent," is said to be named from the hissing 
 sound uf the auiuial. To " utter incantations " is nafiash or lahasfu 
 
KING PRASENAJIT, 41 
 
 of the " Measure of Wisdom." ^ The Chinese Chi-k'ai, 
 the sage of T'ien-t'ai, made much use of the Prajna 
 in constructing his system. He had only Kumara- 
 jiva's fragmentary translations, sucli as the "Diamond 
 Classic." 
 
 The " Benevolent King " (Jen-ivang), here takes his place 
 in the Chinese narrative of Shakyamuni's life. This oft- 
 meutioned personage was Prasenajita, king of ShravastL 
 It was to him that Buddha is said to have delivered one 
 of the Prajna discourses, and to have given the advice 
 that he should, for the avoidance of national calamities, 
 invite a hundred priests to recite this Sutra upon a hundred 
 elevated seats twice in one day. Thus he would be able 
 to prevent rebellion, the invasion of hostile armies, portents 
 in the sun, moon, and stars, great fires, inundations, dearth, 
 destructive winds, and drought. The king, when travel- 
 ling, should have the Sutra placed upon a table ornamented 
 with the Seven Precious Things, viz., articles of gold, silver, 
 crystal, glass, cornelian, coral, and pearls, and it should be 
 fully a hundred paces in advance of himself. When at 
 home, it should be kept on an elevated throne, over which 
 hang curtains ornamented with the same precious things. 
 It should be honoured daily with reverential bows, as a 
 man would honour his father and mother. 
 
 Here is the first mention of the daily service, and of 
 the superstitious reverence for the sacred books called 
 Sutras common among the Buddhists of all countries. 
 The possession of a "Sutra" or noin among the Mongols, and 
 a Jcing among the Chinese, is believed to bring good luck 
 to the family and the state. They are often written in 
 gilt letters, and occupy an honourable position near the 
 domestic idol. The rulers of nature will protect those 
 who honour Buddha's true words. Such is the Asiatic 
 fetishism. Buddha himself, and the books containing his 
 teaching, become worshipped objects ; and the grand litur- 
 gical services performed by large companies of priests at 
 
 * Chi-tU'lun. See Fo-tm-Vung-ki^ xxx. 13. 
 
4« CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 the call of emperors and rich men in times of drought, 
 sickness, death, and other calamities, are believed by the 
 people to be beneficial on the ground of such passages as 
 that just given. 
 
 When the same Sutra — ^%Prajna Paramita — was heard 
 by the kings of sixteen Indian States, they were, says the 
 enthusiastic but evidently not truthful narrator, so de- 
 lighted, that they gave over the affairs of their govern- 
 ments to their brothers, adopted the monastic life, and 
 became devoted seekers after Buddhist perfection. The 
 names of the countries or cities they ruled were — Shra- 
 vasti, Magadha, Paranai or Benares, Vaishali the seat of 
 the second synod, Kapilavastu Buddha's birthplace, Kushi- 
 nara the city where he died, Kosala the modern Oude and 
 Berar, Cophen the modern Cabul, Kulu, Gatakana, Kucha, 
 &c. — (Fo-tsu-t'ung-ki). 
 
 In the sixtieth year of his age, Ananda was selected to 
 be the personal attendant of Shakyamuni, and in his care 
 were deposited the Sutras in twelve great divisions. This 
 statement means that Ananda was the most active of the 
 disciples in preserving the sayings of his teacher, and 
 perhaps in composing the older Sutras. Godinia's offer 
 of service was declined on account of his age. Maudgal- 
 yayana, in a state of reverie, saw that Shakyamuni's 
 thoughts were on Ananda. He told Godinia, who per- 
 suaded Ananda to accept the duty. 
 
 In temples Ananda is placed on the right hand of 
 Buddha, for, says the legend, Shakyamuni set his heart 
 upon him, as the sun at his rising sheds his light straight 
 on the western wall. In Singhalese temples Ananda's 
 image is not placed in that close proximity to Buddha 
 which is common in China.^ This circumstance suggests 
 that he does not, among the Southern Buddhists, occupy 
 so prominent a position as keeper of the Sutras and per- 
 sonal attendant on Shakyamuni as he is entitled to in tlie 
 opinion of their Northern brethren. In the sentence "Thus 
 
 4 
 
ESOTERIC SYSTEM. 43 
 
 have I heard," which opens all the Sutras, the person who 
 speaks is Ananda. 
 
 At seventy-one years of age, Buddha gave instruction 
 in his esoteric or mystic doctrine. It was in answer to 
 thirty-six questions propounded to him by Kashiapa. 
 Nagarjuna lays it down as a rule that " every Buddha 
 has both a revealed and a mystic doctrine." The exoteric 
 is for the multitude of new disciples. The esoteric is for 
 the Bodhisattwas and advanced pupils, such as Kashiapa. 
 It is not communicated in the form of definite language, 
 and could not, therefore, be transmitted by Ananda as 
 definite doctrine among the Sutras. Yet it is virtually 
 contained in the Sutras. For example, the Fa-hwa-hing, or 
 " Sutra of the Lotus of the Good Law," which is regarded 
 as containing the cream of the revealed doctrine, is to 
 be viewed as a sort of original document of the esoteric 
 teaching, while it is in form exoteric. 
 
 This work, the Saddharma Fundarika, or " Great Lotus 
 of the Good Law," takes its name from the illustrations 
 employed in it. The good law is made plain by flowers 
 of rhetoric. For example, in the fifth chapter, Maitreya 
 rises in the assembly and addresses Buddha, reminding 
 him of the time, forty and more years before, when he 
 became an ascetic, left the palace of the Shakya clan, and 
 lived near the city of Gay a as a hermit. He then points 
 to the multitude of immeasurably exalted Bodhisattwas, 
 the fruit of his teaching. " The wonderful result is," he 
 says, " to men incredible. It is as if a man of beautiful 
 countenance and black hair, about twenty-five years of 
 age, should say, pointing to an old man of a hundred, 
 * This is my son ; ' and the old man should point to the 
 young man and say, 'This is my father.' Their words 
 would be hard to believe, but it is not less so to credit 
 the fact of the marvellous results of Buddha's exertions in 
 so short a space of time. How is it, too," he asks, " that 
 these innumerable disciples have, during past periods of 
 boundless time, been practising Buddha's law, exercising 
 magical powers, studying the doctrines of the Bodhisattwas 
 
44 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 escaping the stains of the world, emerging, like the lotus 
 from its miry bed, and now appear here with reverence in 
 the presence of the World's Honoured one ? " 
 
 This Sutra marks the time when, say the biographers, 
 Buddha's sun reached the zenith and cast no shadow. 
 They take the opportunity to remark here that Central 
 India, where Buddha lived, is in fact the Middle kingdom, 
 as shown by the gnomon, which, at the summer solstice, 
 in that latitude casts no shadow. China, they say, cannot 
 so well be called the Central kingdom, because there is a 
 shadow there on the day mentioned. 
 
 When Buddha's father was an old man, and was seized with 
 a threatening sickness, the son sent him a comforting mes- 
 sage by Ananda. Having, by attending to the prohibitions 
 of purity, caused the removal of pollution from his heart, he 
 should rejoice and meditate on the doctrine of the Sutras. 
 The messenger was directed first to leap in the air, so as 
 to produce a supernatural light, which should shine upon 
 the sick king, causing relief from pain. Then he was to 
 put his hand upon his forehead, and state the message. 
 Immediately afterwards, the king, placing his hand on his 
 heart in an attitude of worship, suddenly took his de- 
 parture preparatory to his next transmigration. Members 
 of the Shakya clan placed him in his coffin, and set him 
 upon the throne ornamented with lions. At the funeral, 
 the four kings of the Devas, at their own request, officiated 
 as coffin-bearers, having for this purpose assumed the 
 human form. Buddha himself went in front carrying an 
 incense-holder. The coffin was burnt, with sandal-wood 
 for fuel, and the bones were collected in gold caskets by 
 various kings, who afterwards erected Dagobas and Stupas 
 over them. Buddha informed his followers that the de- 
 ceased, on account of his purity of life, had been born into 
 one of the higher paradises above the Sumeru mountain. 
 
 Early Buddhism favoured no castes. Persons of all 
 castes were equal in the eyes of Buddha. This circum- 
 stance made the new religion very popular with men of 
 humble origin. This, perhaps, was the cause of the pre- 
 
APPROACHING END, 45 
 
 servation of Buddha and Ananda when the clan of Shakya, 
 to which they belonged, was massacred. Prasenajita had a 
 son by a woman of low caste. This boy, when eight years 
 old, had been insulted by the Shakya clan. He was learn- 
 ing archery in the house of a tutor. A new house for 
 Buddha to discourse in had just been completed, and the 
 sage had been invited with his followers. Euli, the young 
 prince, mounted the lion throne, when he was sarcastically 
 reviled by members of the Shakya clan for presuming to 
 sit on the throne, he being of ignoble birth. On succeeding 
 to the kingdom, he went to make war on the Shakyas, and 
 had an immense number of them trodden to death by 
 elephants in pits. His brother, Jeta, giver of the garden 
 of that name, was also killed by him for refusing to take 
 part in this cruel act. 
 
 Buddha told his followers that Jeta was born anew in 
 the Paradise of Indra, usually called in Chinese "The 
 thirty-three heavens." He also foretold the early destruc- 
 tion of Euli and his soldiers in a thunder-storm, which took 
 place, it is said, according to the prediction, when they all 
 went to the hell called Avichi. Buddha also said that the 
 unhappy fate of the Shakyas was due to their mode of life. 
 They were fishermen, and, as they had been destroyers of 
 life, so were they destroyed. 
 
 In the view of Shakyamuni, a moral fate rules the 
 world. Innumerable causes are constantly working out 
 their retributive effects. These are the yin-yicen of which 
 we hear the Chinese Buddhists say so much. This moral 
 fate is impersonal, but it operates with rigid justice. Every 
 good action is a good yin-yuen, securing at some future 
 time an infallible reward. All virtuous and wise persons 
 are supposed to be so, as the result of good actions accumu- 
 lated in former lives. 
 
 Buddha was now approaching the last year of his 
 life. In the eleventh month he said to the Bikshus 
 gathered round him in the city Vaishali, " I shall enter 
 the Nirvana in the third month of next year." 
 
( 4« ) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LAST DISCOURSES AND DEATH OF BUDDHA. 
 
 Buddha's immortality in his teaching — Death real and final — Object 
 of Nirvana teaching — Buddha visits the Tau-li heaven — Descends 
 again by Indra's staircase— The first images — Death of Buddha's 
 aunt — Death of Shariputra — Buddha at Kushinagara — Between 
 the Sala trees — Last instructions — Kashiapa made patriarch — 
 Flesh prohibited — Relieves the king of Magadha — Sends for 
 Ananda — Answers to four questions — Brahma comes — Buddha's 
 last words — Death — Gold coffin — Maya comes— Cremation — His 
 relics — Pagodas. 
 
 The fifth period of development in the discourses of Buddha 
 embraces those books vs^hich belong to the " Lotus of the Good 
 Law," and the " Nirvana." They close his public life as a 
 teacher, and are regarded as the mellowest and richest of his 
 productions. They were adapted to excite the longing of his 
 disciples for higher attainments. This was his meaning when 
 he said, " I am not to be destroyed, but shall be constantly 
 on the 'mountain of instruction' (ling-shan, 'efficacious 
 mountain ')." This, says the writer, is what is intended by 
 Buddha entering the Nirvana, where there is neither life 
 nor death. He is not dead, because he lives in his teaching. 
 
 Thus interpreted, the claim of tlie Northern Buddhists 
 on behalf of their sage amounts to an immortality in the 
 results of his instructions. This is the Buddhist non 
 omnvi moriar. It is consistent with much scepticism, 
 and may amount by implication to a denial of the future 
 life, and the continued existence of the soul in any form. 
 
 We must not forget that the enthusiastic Buddhists 
 
BUDDHA'S IMMORTALITY, 47 
 
 who wrote the treatises we are now examining belonged 
 to the same actual waking, moving world with ourselves. 
 They fell back, not seldom, from a state of metaphysical 
 reverie into the condition of common men under the do- 
 minion of the senses. Then they took a firm grasp of the 
 world. Metaphysics vanished. Death they looked on as 
 a real death. The destruction of the material organisation 
 is real. As for the soul, it lives in its actions. A great 
 hero like Buddha lives only in the results of his life work. 
 Perhaps our Sung dynasty author of six centuries ago felt 
 satisfaction occasionally in resting the truth of his philo- 
 sophy, as an expounder of the Mahay ana, on the reality 
 of visible things. In this case he finds the Nirvana of 
 Shakyamuni in the unbroken continuance of the results 
 of his teaching. 
 
 The same tendency to look out on the actual world 
 accounts for the view here taken of the Nirvana as a 
 system of ultimate doctrine adapted to correct the faults 
 of negligent and misguided monks and others. After the 
 earlier instructions had been delivered, down to the period 
 of the " Lotus of the Good Law," there were still some men 
 who failed to comprehend the full sense of Buddha's teach- 
 ing. To them it was necessary still to discourse on the 
 true nature of Buddha, that they might learn what is 
 " really permanent " {chen-c'hang), and so enter the Nirv§,na. 
 As the farmer has the early and the late harvest, so 
 Buddha, when the first sowing of instruction had been 
 followed by the ripening and the harvest, proceeded to a 
 later sowing and harvest. It was then that a multitude of 
 disciples, high and low in attainment, came to see, as never 
 before, the true nature of Tathagata, and to bear the fruit 
 of a ripe experience. After their autumn harvesting and 
 winter garnering, there was no more for them to do. Among 
 them were those who advanced from the PraJTia Paramita 
 to the Fa-hwa (lotus), and others who, their perceptions 
 still blunted, found the Fa-hwa beyond their reach, and 
 w^ere only capable of being reduced to a state of mental 
 
48 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 and moral submission by the Nirvdna. They find in the 
 Nirvana doctrine that which enables them to see Buddha's 
 nature. 
 
 The historian has his eye upon those monks of later 
 times who like to read other books than those of Buddha 
 himself, and cease to use the books of Buddha for their 
 instruction. They learn to encourage injurious and de- 
 structive thoughts, even when under the control of 
 Buddha's law. They shorten wisdom's life, and let go 
 completely from their possession the " embodiment of the 
 law" {f ashen). It is for such backsliders that the doc- 
 trine of permanence was introduced. Its fulness and 
 reality were to furnish them with a firm support. This 
 was why, near the close of his life, Shakyamuni dis- 
 coursed specially on the Nirvana before himself enter- 
 ing into that state of blissful extinction. By this means 
 he is stated to have strengthened the authority of the 
 monkish system of rules, and with it that of the three 
 divisions of the Buddhist library. 
 
 We see the teaching of the Nirvana to be the doctrine 
 of Buddha in his old age, when his experience was ripe. 
 It was the result of his observation of the needs of the 
 Buddhist community. It was the completing process in 
 the development of doctrine, and was adapted to affect 
 minds which remained unmoved under earlier and simpler 
 forms of teaching. 
 
 In the year 947 B.C., according to the chronology of the 
 Northern school, Buddlui went to the Tau-li heaven, and re- 
 mained three months. He sent Manjusiri to his mother to 
 ask her for a time to bend before the Three Precious Things. 
 She came. Immediately milk flowed from her and reached 
 Buddha's mouth. She came with Manjusiri to the place 
 where Buddha was, who instructed her. She attained the 
 Su-da-wan fruit. In the third month, when Buddha was 
 about to enter Nirvana, Indra made three flights of steps. 
 By these Buddha, after saying farewell to his mother, 
 descended to the world, led by a multitude of disciples, 
 
DEATH OF BUDDHA'S AUNT. 49 
 
 and went to the Jetavana garden in the city of Shiavasti. 
 The king Udayana, of Kaushanibi, felt for Buddha a lov- 
 ing admiration, and made a golden image. Hearing that 
 Buddha was about to descend by the steps Indra had made, 
 he came with the image and bowed before Buddha. The 
 image was of " sandal- wood " {clmn-tan), and five feet high. 
 When the king Prasenajita heard of it, he also caused an 
 image to be made of purple gold. It was five feet high. 
 These were the first two images of Buddha known to have 
 been made in the world of Jambudvipa. These images 
 radiated light while the sky rained flowers. 
 
 Buddha joined his hands, and said to the image, " After 
 my entrance into the state of extinction and salvation, I 
 give into your charge my disciples." 
 
 Buddha's aunt, Mahapraj^pati, could not bear the thought 
 of seeing Buddha enter the state of extinction and sal- 
 vation that would hide him from mortal view for ever. She 
 took with her five hundred women and girls under vows of 
 fasting, and made obeisance to Buddha. They then re- 
 turned to the house, where they resided according to their 
 rules, and each then exhibited the eighteen movements, 
 attitudes, and marvellous performances. Some walked on 
 the water as on dry land; others, leaving the ground, 
 walked in the air, or sat, or lay down, or stood still, all in 
 the same element. Fire and water were seen flowing from 
 the right side of some, and from the left side of others. In 
 others it was seen issuing from their mouths. They then 
 all together entered the Nirvana. 
 
 Buddha now ordered Ananda to go into the city, and 
 announce to all the resident Buddhist householders, that 
 it would be proper for them to make five hundred coffins. 
 Wlien the burning of the bodies with the cof&ns was com- 
 pleted, the relics were gathered and placed in temples 
 erected for the purpose, where they might be continually 
 honoured with worship. 
 
 Shariputra and Maudgalyayana were also grieved at the 
 prospect of witnessing the entrance of their master into 
 
 D 
 
50 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 the Nirvana, and themselves died first. At the same time 
 70,000 Lohans also entered the state of extinction. Buddha, 
 seeing that his disciples of all four classes were also exceed- 
 ingly disturhed in mind, made use of his magical power, 
 and changed the two proficient ones into the form of two 
 attendant disciples, one on his right and the other on his 
 left. All living beings rejoiced when they saw this, and 
 were at once liberated from every anxiety and vexation. 
 
 On the fifteenth day of the second month, Buddha was 
 at the city Kushinagara. He went to a spot between two 
 Sala trees, and here in a short time entered Nirvana. A 
 great voice was heard proclaiming to all the assembly, 
 " To-day the World's Honoured One is about to enter the 
 Nirvana. Whoever has any doubts, now let him come 
 forward and ask for a solution of them. It is the last 
 opportunity of asking Buddha for instruction." 
 
 At this time the great Bodhisattwas, the various kings 
 of the Jambudvipa continent, the kings of the Devas, the 
 kings of the mountains and rivers, and of the birds and 
 beasts, with the personal disciples of Buddha, all arrived 
 with offerings, wishing^ to administer to the wants of the 
 World's Honoured One. In silence he firmly declined to 
 receive anything. Chunda, a " lay disciple " ( Updsaka), 
 addressed him in the words, " We look to Julai for food 
 in the future. Now we desire to receive sorrowfully the 
 vows of the obedient, and to make our small offering." 
 Buddha replied, " I accept your offering, for it is the last 
 offering you will present to me." 
 
 Chunda said in reply, " Though I know the benefit that 
 is derived to mankind from Buddha entering the Nirvana 
 in a public manner, yet I cannot but grieve." For this 
 Buddha commended him. 
 
 At this time the kings of the Devas and Nagas urged 
 Shakyamuni, but in vain, not to enter the Nirvana at 
 present. In reply, the World's Honoured One discoursed 
 on the symbol " I," written with three dots (.•.), arranged as 
 a triangle resting on its base. This he used as a symbol 
 
KASHIAPA MADE PATRIARCH. 51 
 
 of the embodied form of TatMgata when released from 
 the three methods of the Prajna. All the assembly of 
 Bikshus then invited him to discourse on the cessation of 
 permanence, on misery, on emptiness, and on the negation 
 of self. Buddha, in consequence, gave them instruction 
 in the four antitheses, viz., the permanence which is not 
 permanent, the joy that involves sorrow, the I that is not 
 I, and the purity that contains impurity. 
 
 The vast audience of Bikshus said, " Julai being with- 
 out these four contradictions, why will he not remain with 
 us for a hal'pa or half a kalpa, that we may be informed 
 how to escape from the four contradictions ? " 
 
 Buddha said in answer, " I have already committed to 
 Maha Kashiapa the complete and unsurpassed doctrine, 
 to keep in trust, that you may all have a form of teaching 
 on which you can rely. It will be the same as if you had 
 Buddha himself." He then added, " I also intrust to you, 
 kings of countries and leaders of supernatural armies, the 
 deposit of sound doctrine that you may defend it by punish- 
 ments and lawful force, in case of want of diligence, negli- 
 gence, or wilful breaking of monkish rules." 
 
 The prohibition of animal food is referred by the Great 
 Development school to this period. The compiler takes 
 the opportunity here to throw blame on the Lesser 
 Development school, because it allows fish and flesh to 
 be eaten on certain occasions. This refers to the teaching 
 of Shaky amuni in the Deer garden at Benares, where the 
 Agama Sutras of the Lesser Development school were 
 delivered. 
 
 In the first Sutras, those of the Hwa-yen and Fan-waiig 
 class, the Bodhisattwas could not eat animal food. This 
 was the state of the question also at the time of the teach- 
 ing in Benares. It occurs again in the Lenga Sutra, as a 
 restriction on the Bodhisattwa. In the work called Shih 
 tsien, " Tallies of the Shaky a communities," it is said, that 
 the restriction on the entire Buddhist community began 
 subsequent to the Agama period. In the Nirvana teach- 
 
52 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 ing of Buddha it was that the law was first made binding 
 on all disciples of the Buddhist religion. Thus the 
 Nirvana teaching made an important addition to the 
 Buddhist code of discipline. 
 
 Ajatashatru, king of Magadha, had killed his father, and 
 in consequence, by natural retribution, suffered from a 
 painful ulcer. He had six ministers of depraved minds 
 who counselled him, in their deceptive way, to apply for 
 relief to the six heretical teachers, Purana Kashiapa, &c., 
 who taught that there is no need to honour prince or 
 parents, and that happiness and misery do not depend on 
 the moral character of actions, but come by chance. 
 
 Another adviser informed the king that Buddha could 
 cure him. While the king was lamenting that Buddha 
 was about to enter the Nirvana, Shakyamuni himself 
 went into a remarkable state of samadhi, by which he 
 was enabled to radiate pure and cool light as far as to 
 the body of the king, whose ulcer was at once healed. 
 The king, with the queen and 580,000 of his subjects, then 
 proceeded to Kushinagara to see the sage, who there taught 
 them. In consequence, the heavy crime of Ajatashatru 
 became much lightened. He, his wife and daughters, made 
 high attainments in the Bodhi wisdom, and then bade 
 farewell to the sage, and returned to their palace. 
 
 Buddha now said to Godinia, '* Where is Ananda ? " 
 Godinia replied, that he was beyond Salaribhu, involved 
 in the delusions of sixty-four thousand millions of de- 
 mons. These demons had transformed themselves into 
 so many Buddhas, discoursing on the law and displaying 
 marvellous powers. Ananda was led to think himself 
 receiving instruction from tnie Buddhas, while he was at 
 the same time entangled in a demon thrall. Consequently 
 he did not come, and remained in this state of great 
 unhappiness. Buddha then addressed Manjusiri in the 
 words, " Ananda has been my disciple and has served me 
 for more than twenty years. My teaching of the law has 
 been heard by him in its entireness. As water flows into 
 
BUDDHA SENDS FOR AMANDA. %% 
 
 a vessel, so he received my instructions. Therefore, I ask, 
 Wliere is he ? I wish him to hear from me the Nirvdna 
 Sutra. He is now vexed with demons. Take in your 
 hand this ' charm ' (dharani) of mighty power, and go and 
 save him." Manjusiri took it and went. The kings of 
 the Maras, on hearing the charm recited, at once began 
 to feel "wise thoughts" {Bodhi) stirring within them. They 
 immediately abandoned the devices of Maras, and released 
 Ananda, who returned to Buddha. 
 
 Buddha now informed Ananda that Subhadra, an " as- 
 cetic " (Brahinachdri) of a hundred and twenty years old, 
 who lived beyond the Salaribhu kingdom, although he 
 had acquired the eyesight and hearing of a Deva, and the 
 power to search into other persons' minds and purposes, 
 had not been able to put away his pride. He directed 
 Ananda to go to him and say that Buddha, who came into 
 the world like the "Udumbara tree" (Ficus glomerata)} 
 would to-night enter the Nirvana. If he would do any- 
 thing he should do it quickly. 
 
 Ananda went as commanded. Subhadra came with 
 him to see Buddha, who discoursed to him so effectively 
 that he attained the rank of Arhan, and immediately used 
 his endeavours to induce Buddha to delay entering the 
 Nirvana. The sage made silent signs that his resolution 
 was unchanged, and Subhadra, not able to bear the pain 
 of witnessing the entrance into the Nirvana, himself first 
 entered the state of destruction. On this, Buddha said to 
 the assembled multitude, " From the time that I attained 
 wisdom I have been engaged in saving men. The first 
 was Godinia, the last was Subhadra. I have now nothing 
 more to do." 
 
 Ananda, at the instance of Anuruddha, asked him four 
 questions : — " With whom should we live ? Whom shall 
 we take as our teacher? Where shall we live? What 
 words shaU we use as a sig i ? " 
 
 * This tree, a fig-bearing fruit without distinct flowerg, is said to bloom 
 once in three thousand years. 
 
54 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Buddha replied, " In regard to your first question, my 
 judgment is that, after my death (entrance into the Nir- 
 vana), such men as Chandaka, belonging to the six classes 
 of unreformed Bikshus, must come under the yoke, and 
 put away their evil dispositions. 
 
 " As to the question, Whom after Buddha's death you 
 should take as your teacher ? I reply that your teacher 
 will be the Shipara system of discipline. 
 
 " As to the question, Where shall you reside ? I reply, 
 In the four places of meditation, i. Meditation on the 
 body. The body and the moral nature are identical in 
 vacancy. 2. Meditation on receptiveness. Keception is 
 not inside; nor is it outside; nor is it in the middle. 
 3. Meditation on the heart. It is only a name. The 
 name differs from the nature. 4. Meditation on 'the 
 Law ' {pharma). The good Dharma cannot be attained ; 
 nor can the evil Dharma be attained. 
 
 " As to the words you should regard as a sign, there 
 should be in all Sutras, at the beginning, the sentence 
 Ju-shi-wO'Wen — 'Thus have I heard.' This should be 
 followed by an announcement of the place where Buddha 
 was teaching, and of whom his audience was composed." 
 
 Ananda again asked, " After Julai has entered the Nir- 
 vana, how should the burial be conducted?" Answer, 
 "Like that of the wheel kings. The body should be 
 wrapped in fine white hair-cloth,^ and coated with a pulp 
 of odoriferous dust. The inner coffin should be of gold, 
 the outer of iron. When the body of the king is placed 
 in it, it should be sprinkled with melted butter and burned 
 with fragrant wood. When the burning is completed, let 
 the remaining fragments of bone be taken up and placed 
 under a pagoda, tower, or other monumental building. 
 Those who see it will both rejoice and grieve as they think 
 of the king who ruled his country justly. In this our 
 land the multitudes of men still to live will continue 
 to bury with washing, and with burning, and construct 
 
 1 Tie, 8, dip, " Fine hair-cloth," ^. tapis, tapestrj. 
 
BRAHMA COMES. 55 
 
 tombs and pagodas with a great variety of customary 
 practices." 
 
 " Within the Jambu continent is the kingdom of China. 
 I will send three sages to renovate and instruct the people 
 there, so that in pity and sympathy, and in the institution 
 of all needful ceremonies, there may be completeness." 
 
 This passage is founded on statements in the Sutra 
 Tsung-mu-yin-yuen-king, " Sutra of Tombs in connection 
 with sympathetically operating causes." The three sages 
 are Confucius, Laou-tsi, and Yen Hwei. They are called 
 the Bodhisattwa of light and purity, the Kashiapa Bodhi- 
 sattwa and the Bodhisattwa of moonlight. 
 
 Northern Buddhism gives its approval to the morality 
 of Confucius, the ascetic philosophy of Li Laou-tan, and 
 the high purpose of Yen Hwei. It also looks benevolently 
 on the funeral customs of the Chinese. 
 
 Brahma not appearing in the assembly when Buddha 
 was about to enter the Nirvana, was sent for by the angry 
 multitude, who appointed the immortal man of a hundred 
 thousand charms to go on this mission. Brahma's city 
 was found to be in a filthy condition. Filthy things filled 
 the moat, and the hermit died. 
 
 Buddha created a diamond king by the exercise of his 
 magical power, who went to Brahma's abode, and pointing 
 to the filth, transformed the moat into good land. He 
 then pointed to Brahma, and made use of a small portion 
 of his adamantine and indestructible strength. This had 
 its effect in inducing Brahma to come to the place where 
 Buddha was. 
 
 Buddha then proceeded to tell his disciples that they 
 must follow the instructions of the book of discipline 
 called Pratimoksha Sutra. This work details the laws 
 by which the priests are to conduct their lives. They 
 must not trade, or tell fortunes, or make profit by land, 
 or train slaves and serving girls for families. They must 
 not cultivate plantations for gain, or concoct medicines, or 
 study astrology. The rules he ordered them to maintain 
 
56 CHINESE BUDDHISM 
 
 were of this kind. This treatise was to be their teacher 
 in place of himself. 
 
 The last words ascribed to Buddha by the author of 
 Fo-tsu-Vung-hi (iv. 12) are, "While I have been in this 
 continent of Jambudvipa, I have appeared several times ; 
 and though I have entered the Nirvana, it has not been a 
 complete Nirvana. Therefore you ought to know the ' Law * 
 (Dharma) that constantly remains, the unchanging law." 
 
 Buddha then, as he lay on the couch of the Seven 
 Precious Things, reclined on his right side, with his head 
 to the north, his feet to the south, his face to the west, 
 and his back to the east. At midnight, without a sound, 
 he entered the Paranirvdna. He lay between eight Sala 
 trees, arranged in four pairs. When he had entered the 
 Nirvana, the two pairs that lay east and west became 
 one tree, as did also the two pairs that lay north and 
 south. They united to spread their shade over Buddha, 
 and through extreme grief changed to a storklike 
 whiteness. 
 
 The grief of the multitude, manifested in loud cries, 
 now filled the universe with sadness. A large number 
 going into the city made a gold coffin, ornamented with 
 the Seven Precious Things. They also prepared banners 
 and canopies of sandal-wood, aloes, and other fragrant 
 substances. They came to where Buddha was, and pre- 
 sented them respectfully. With sincere grief the multi- 
 tude raised Buddha and placed him in the coffin of gold. 
 Four strong men were appointed to invite the coffin to 
 enter the city. They could not raise it. Then sixteen 
 strong men tried to lift it, but failed, 
 
 Anuruddha now said, " If all the people in the city 
 were to try to lift it, they would be unable. The Devas 
 must be appealed to, for they can do it." Before he had 
 finished speaking, Indra Shakra appeared in the air carry- 
 ing a magnificent canopy. A host of Devas of the visible 
 heavens came with Shakra offering service. Buddha was 
 moved with pity. He himself lifted the coffin into the 
 
 I 
 
MAVA COMES. J7 
 
 air to the height of a Sala tree. The coflBn of itself entered 
 the west gate, and came out by the east. It then entered 
 the south gate, and came out by the north. In this way 
 Buddha went the round of the city gates seven times, and 
 arrived at last slowly at the place of cremation. 
 
 When the coffin reached the grove of the Seven Pre- 
 cious Things, the four kings of the Devas arrived carrying 
 branches of sandal-wood and aloes. 
 
 On the twenty -second of the second month, Buddha, hav- 
 ing entered the Nirvana seven days, wished to leave his 
 coffin. His disciples carried him weeping to the grove of 
 the Seven Precious Things. They then took odoriferous 
 water and sprinkled him with it, and wrapped him from 
 head to foot in silk and fine hair-cloth. After this they 
 lifted him into the coffin, and placed him as he lay in 
 the coffin upon a high framework constructed of fragrant 
 wood. Each of them then took a torch of fragrant wood, 
 proceeded to the wooden structure, and all was consumed. 
 
 Anuruddha went up to the Tushita heaven to announce 
 these events to Maya, the mother of Buddha. Maya at 
 once came down, and the coffin opened of itself. The 
 Honoured One of the world rose up, joined his hands, and 
 said, "You have condescended to come down here from 
 your abode far away." Then he said to Ananda, " You 
 should know that it is for an example to the unfilial 
 of after ages that I have risen from my coffin to address 
 inquiries to my mother." 
 
 Kashiapa was instructing five hundred disciples at the 
 Gridhrakuta mountain when an earthquake occurred, from 
 which he knew that Buddha had entered the Nirvana. 
 At once he set out with his disciples to go to the spot 
 where the coffin was. Buddha compassionated him. The 
 coffin opened of itself, and presented to view the golden 
 and purple body of Buddha, strong and beautiful. Ka- 
 shiapa, weeping, sprinkled it with fragrant water, and 
 wrapped it again with the hair-cloth. 
 
 The coffin again closed, and a Gutha was chanted by 
 
$8 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Kashiapa, when the feet of Buddha became again visible, 
 and the representations of the wheel of a thousand spokes 
 (on which Buddha sits) appeared outside of the cofi&n. 
 Kashiapa performed reverent salutations to the feet indes- 
 tructible as the diamond, and saw them return within the 
 coffin. Another wonder was added. Flame from the 
 heart and bones of Buddha was seen extending out of the 
 coffin. The process of cremation went gradually on till 
 the seventh day, when the entire frame of fragrant wood 
 on which the coffin rested was consumed. 
 
 According to another account, Kashiapa took fire and 
 lit the pile of fragrant wood. The Sung dynasty author, 
 Chi-p'an, prefers the statement that the cremation was 
 caused by a flame issuing from Buddha's own body. 
 
 Seven days had passed after the death (literally de- 
 struction and extrication) of Buddha, when Kashiapa 
 announced to 500 Arhans that they should go to all 
 worlds and gather Arhans who possess the six powers of 
 penetration.^ No fewer than 8o8,(XX) came and received 
 instruction in Dharma near the two trees. 
 
 On the twenty-ninth of the second month, seven days 
 after the cremation of Buddha, Indra Shakra opened the 
 coffin and took out a right tooth of Buddha. He caused 
 two pagodas to be erected in his paradise. A Raksha also 
 took two teeth. The people of the city came and filled eight 
 golden pots with relics. They took them into the city, and 
 made offerings to them for seven days in succession. 
 
 There was much contention among those who desii'ed 
 a share in the relics. Those who struggled were the 
 kings of the Devas, the kings of the Nagas, and eight kings 
 of India. To end the strife, Upakutta proposed a division 
 into three parts for the Devas, the dragon kings, and the 
 Indian kings respectively. His advice was followed. 
 
 King Ashoka obtained 84,000 relics, and also the mous- 
 
 1 These are such as the power of ties of form, life, death, and retribu- 
 distinguishing all sounds, the feel- tion, &o. 
 iiigs and aims of idl persons, varie- 
 
PAGODAS. 59 
 
 taches of Buddha. On his way home he met Nanda, a 
 king of the Nagas, who begged relics from him, threaten- 
 ing to destroy his kingdom if he refused. Ashoka gave 
 him a hair of Buddha's moustaches, which he took to the 
 Sumeru mountain. He there erected a pagoda of rock- 
 crystal for its safe keeping. In various parts of the 
 Jambudvipa continent ten pagodas were soon erected 
 with a similar object in view. 
 
( 6o ) 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE PATRIARCHS OF THE NORTHERN BUDDHISTS. 
 
 Features of Asiatic life in the time of the patriarchs — Character, 
 powers, and intellectual qualities of the patriarchs — Series of 
 thirty-three patriarchs — Appointment of Kashiapa by Shakya- 
 muni — The Svastika council of Rajagriha, for writing out the 
 books of Buddha, and settling what should be received as 
 canonical — The part taken by Ananda in the authorship of the 
 Buddhist books — Ananda, second patriarch — The third was 
 Shangnavasu — Remarks on samadhi and reverie — Fourth, 
 Upagupta — Conversion of a wicked woman when dying — Fifth, 
 sixth, and seventh patriarchs — Buddha's prophecy regarding 
 Buddhanandi, the seventh — Struggle between filial love and 
 Buddhist conviction in Buddhamitra — The way in which he 
 subdued an unbelieving king — Maming given to tlie king of the 
 Getaeto induce him to raise tlie siege of Pataliputra — Kapimara, 
 the thirteenth — Nagarjuna, the fourteenth — Converts ten thou- 
 sand Bralimans — Writes the Ta-chi-tu-lun — Vigorous defence of 
 Buddhism by Kanadeva — Assassination of Kanadeva — Sangha- 
 nandi, precocious as a boy — Prophecy respecting him — Rahulata 
 ascends to heaven — Sangkayasheta's discussion on the nature of 
 sound — Converts five hundred hermits — Kumarada's views on 
 the inequality of present retribution — Difficulties met with by 
 Manura in teaching Buddhism in Soutliern and Western India 
 — A patriarch's power over birds — Haklena converts Singhala- 
 putra, who succeeded him as patriarch (the twenty-fourth), but 
 was killed by the king of Candahar — The orthodox school has 
 only twenty-four patriarchs — The contemplative school has 
 twenty-eight — Pradjnyatara, the twenty-seventh converts Bodhi- 
 dharma, the twenty-eighth, who proceeds to China — Hindoo 
 knowledge of the Roman empire. 
 
 We are now in the midst of the Asiatic world of two thousand 
 and sixteen hundred years ago. In India, in Afghanis tan, and 
 
FEA TURES OF ASIA TIC LIFE. M 
 
 in Turkestan, Buddhist priests had entered actively on that 
 pilgrim life to which monasticism inevitably gives origin. 
 With the object either of instructing, or of worshipping at 
 some celebrated shrine, travellers were constantly seen on 
 each foot-wom mountain path proceeding to some distant 
 monastery. Such scenes as the following, illustrating the 
 beliefs of the time and locality, would not seldom occur. 
 A wayfarer in the country of the Getae (Jats) (Afghanistan) 
 knocks at the door of a Brahman family. A young man 
 within answers, "There is no one in this house." The 
 traveller was too well taught in Buddhism not to know 
 the meaning of this philosophical nihilism, and at once 
 answered, " Who is no one ? " The young man, when he 
 heard this, felt that he was understood. A kindred spirit 
 was outside. Hurriedly he opened the door, and invited 
 the stranger to enter. The visitor was the patriarch of 
 the time (seventeenth), with staff and rice bowl, travelling 
 to teach and make new disciples. On his entrance, he at 
 once proceeded to utter a statement that this young man 
 was the object of a long foretold destiny. A thousand 
 years after Buddha's death, a distinguished teacher would 
 appear in the country of the Getse, who would reform his 
 contemporaries, and follow up the work of illustrious pre- 
 decessors. This meant that he was to become patriarch. 
 He is eighteenth in the series. 
 
 A patriarch is represented as one who does not look at 
 evil and dislike it ; nor does he, when he sees that which 
 is good, make a strong effort to attain it. He does not 
 put wisdom aside and approach folly ; nor does he fling 
 away delusion and aim at comprehending truth. Yet he 
 has an acquaintance with great truths which is beyond 
 being measured, and he penetrates into Buddha's mind to 
 a depth that cannot be fathomed. His lodging is not 
 with the sage, nor with the common class. Because he 
 is above every one else in his attainments, he is called 
 a patriarch. 
 
 A patriarch has magical powers. He can fly through 
 
6a CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 the air, cross rivers on a boat of leaves, rain milk ^ at will 
 from the air, and enter into a very great variety of trances 
 or samadhi. 
 
 A patriarch has the keenest intellectual perception. He 
 can dive into men's thoughts, and explain the meaning of 
 the longest and most obscure compositions. The superiority 
 of his mental faculties to those of common men is most 
 marked. He can accomplish intellectual feats where 
 others fail. Possessed of such gifts and qualifications as 
 these, a patriarch is the chief defender of Buddhism against 
 the heretics and opposers of his time. Selected by the last 
 patriarch from the crowd of common disciples, he takes 
 the chief place ever after as champion of the Buddhist law 
 and discipline. He cares nothing for luxurious living or 
 social rank. He lives poorly, is meanly clad, and keeps 
 up the dignity of his position by the influence of mind, of 
 character, and of supernatural acts. 
 
 The succession was broken at the fifth Chinese patriarch, 
 and has never been restored. 
 
 The rank of patriarch could be the more easily dis- 
 continued because he had no ruling power. He was simply 
 a defender, teacher, and example of the Buddhist doctrine 
 and life. 
 
 The following paragraphs are taken from papers I wrote 
 many years ago. 
 
 After the death of Shakyamuni, or, to speak honorifi- 
 cally, his entrance into the Nirvana at Kushinagara, a 
 series of thirty-three patriarchs, if we include five Chinese 
 holders of the dignity, superintended in succession the affairs 
 of the religious community he had founded. Eemusat has 
 given an abstract of the biography of the patriarchs taken 
 from a Japanese encyclopaedia. He says, Buddha, before 
 his death, committed the secret of his mysteries to his 
 disciple, Maha Kashiapa. He was a Brahman, born in the 
 
 ^ This is stated in the life of grant milk." This is the name of a 
 Shangnavasu, the third patriarch, milky plant, Eschscholtzia cristata, 
 The word used is hiang-ju, "fra- allied to the vervain. — Wtlliams. 
 
APPOINTMENT OF KASHIAPA. 63 
 
 kingdom Magadha, in Central India. To him was intrusted 
 the deposit of esoteric doctrine, called Cheng-fa-yen-tsang, 
 " the pure secret of the eye of right doctrine." The symbol 
 of this esoteric principle, communicated orally without 
 books, is f^man or wan. This, in Chinese, means " 10,000," 
 and implies the possession of 10,000 perfections. It is 
 usually placed on the heart of Buddha in images and 
 pictures of that divinity. It is sometimes called sin-yin, 
 " heart's seal." It contains within it the whole mind of 
 Buddha. In Sanscrit it is called svastika. It was the 
 monogram of Vishnu and Shiva, the battle-axe of Thor in 
 Scandinavian inscriptions, an ornament on the crowns of 
 the Bonpa deities in Thibet, and a favourite symbol with 
 the Peruvians. 
 
 The appointment of Kashiapa to be successor of Buddha 
 and patriarch is described in the following manner : — " The 
 World-honoured teacher ascended the platform from which 
 he gave his instructions, holding in his hand a flower, the 
 gift of a king. His disciples were all regardless of his 
 teaching. Only Kashiapa showed attention and pleasure 
 in his countenance. Buddha understood what was passing 
 in his mind, and gave him the pure mystery of right doc- 
 trine, the secret heart of the Nirvana, that true know- 
 ledge of existing things which consists in knowing them 
 not to exist, and the method of enlightenment and refor- 
 mation." 
 
 Kashiapa distinguished himself by severely ascetic prac- 
 tices. Buddha knew his excellence, and wished him to 
 sit on the same seat with himself, as being not inferior in 
 merit. But to this he would not consent. He also easily 
 comprehended the ideas of Buddha. Buddha, on one 
 occasion, used the following illustration: — "A notable 
 man's house took fire. He brought goat-carts, drawn by 
 goats, deor, and bullocks, to rescue his sons. He after- 
 wards gave them a lofty, broad waggon, drawn by white 
 bullocks. The first are the methods of Hinayana. The 
 last is that of Mahayana." Kashiapa understood that 
 
64 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Buddha, when he thus alluded to the various modes of 
 teaching employed by him to save men, wished to point 
 out that the Mahayana is superior to the others in capacity, 
 adaptability, and utility. 
 
 He taught at Kajagriha after the Nirvana. The king, 
 Ajatashatru, supplied daily with food for a whole summer 
 a thousand Arhans, who were engaged under Kashiapa in 
 collecting the books containing the sayings of Buddha, i.«., 
 the Tripitaka. This is what is called by Koeppen the First 
 Buddhist council. 
 
 Kashiapa taught after this for twenty years, and then 
 intrusted to Ananda the secret of pure doctrine. After 
 this we hear of his proceeding to the four places of pil- 
 grimage to worship. These were — the place of Shakya- 
 muni leaving his home to become a recluse, the place of 
 his becoming Buddha, of first preaching, and of entering 
 the Nirvi^na. 
 
 The second patriarch, Ananda, figures in many narra- 
 tives as the constant attendant and disciple of Buddha. 
 In temples he is represented as the corresponding figure 
 to the old man Kashiapa, where he stands on Buddha's 
 right hand. He was the second son of Shaky amuni's 
 uncle, and was therefore first cousin of the sage. His 
 name means " joy." His face was like the full moon, and 
 his eyes like the lotus flower. He became a disciple at 
 eight years old. 
 
 At the assembly of the Lotus of the Good Law, Buddha 
 foretold of Ananda that he would ultimately become 
 Buddha. This was to be a reward for his joy at hearing 
 the law, and his diligent listening to it. Buddha obtained 
 knowledge and taught the law. The Bodhi was perceived ; 
 and the Dharma became its embodiment. The part of 
 Ananda was to grasp, hold firmly, and save from destruc- 
 tion the Dharma as uttered by Buddha. In so doing 
 be also saved from oblivion the Dharma which will be 
 uttered by coming Buddhas, as foretold by Shakyamuni. 
 
 Kashiapa appointed that Ananda should sit on the lion 
 
AN AND A, SECOND PATRIARCH. 65 
 
 throne, with a thousand secretaries before him. They 
 took down his words while he repeated the Dharma as he 
 had heard it from Buddha. Evidently he had a good 
 memory. Kashiapa was an old man, and Ananda was 
 comparatively young. Both were alike anxious to pre- 
 serve the teaching of Buddha ; and the thousand Arhans, 
 who received the sacred Dharma, were selected from a vast 
 multitude of those who had accepted Buddha as the lion of 
 the law, the mighty hero of the new and popular religion. 
 
 It is not said that they wrote. They may have com- 
 mitted to memory the sacred Dharma as Ananda gave 
 it, but writing became the common mode of preserving 
 Buddhist teaching so soon after, that this narrative may 
 describe actual dictation and the work of a diligent secre- 
 tariat, or company of disciples, who acted as scribes. 
 
 The aged patriarch, Kashiapa, when he died, intrusted 
 to Ananda the very victorious law, and told him the 
 following story, which throws light on ancient Buddhism 
 as represented by the Northern school. " Anciently, 
 when Ting-kwang Fo was a ' Shamen ' {Shramana), he 
 had under his protection a ' Shami ' (Shramanera) whom 
 he required to recite prayers and meditations constantly, 
 reproving him severely if he failed in reading the whole 
 of his tasks. The Shami sometimes went out to beg for 
 his instructor; but if he delayed beyond the due time, 
 and did not complete his daily readings, he had to bear 
 heavy blame from that very instructor for whom he 
 begged. This led him to feel unhappy, and he com- 
 menced reciting on the road as he went his rounds. A 
 kind and friendly man asked him the reason, and finding 
 how matters stood, addressed him as follows : — * Do not 
 be sad. In future I will provide for your wants.' The 
 Shami ceased to beg, and gave his whole attention to 
 recitations of the sacred books, and was never deficient 
 in the number of pages read. This Shami afterwards 
 became Shaky amuni Buddha. His kind friend became 
 Ananda in a later birth, and his sagacity, his power of 
 
66 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 retention, and diligence in learning resulted from his 
 meritorious treatment of the Shami." 
 
 The third patriarch was Shangnavasu of Kajagriha. 
 In a former life he had been a merchant. On the road, 
 as he travelled, he had met a Pratyeka Buddha, very sick, 
 and poorly clad. He gave him medicine, and clothing of 
 a beautiful grass-cloth.^ 
 
 This is what, by Buddhists, is called sowing the ** field 
 of happiness " {fu-Vien). Other ways of acting so as to reap 
 happiness are improving roads, building bridges, respect 
 to parents, care of the poor, and opening common wells. 
 
 The Pratyeka Buddha said, " This is called the Sliangiia 
 robe. With it the acquirement of wisdom can be made, 
 and with it the Nirvana of destruction should be entered." 
 He then took wing, performed the eighteen movements 
 in the air, and entered the Nirvana. 
 
 Shangnavasu collected fragrant wood, burned the body, 
 and raised a dagoba over the relics. He also, as he wept, 
 uttered a wish that in five hundred future births he might 
 always wear a robe of this kind, and have a merit equal 
 to that of his present life. 
 
 He went to sea, obtained valuable pearls, and became 
 a rich man. He then invited large numbers to a free 
 feasting assembly in a forest, such as was held once in 
 three years. He built a tower at the entrance of the 
 place of meeting. Ananda said to him, " You should learn 
 our doctrine, and live to benefit mankind." To this he 
 consented. He took the vows and became an Arhan. 
 
 Going away to the Manda mountain, he there by means 
 of the samadhi of mercy, changed two poisonous young 
 Nagas into beings having a good disposition. 
 
 Samadhi means ecstatic reverie, and as there is some 
 uncertainty as to its nature in some writers on Buddhism, 
 
 * This cloth was brought to China plant of which it was made had niue 
 
 from Thibet and other western coun- stalks. When an Arhan is bom this 
 
 tries in the T'ang dyiiiisty. It was plant is found growing iu some clean 
 
 white, fine, thick, and strong. The spot. 
 
REMARKS ON SAMADHF AND REVERIE. 67 
 
 it may be well to draw attention to this instance of snake- 
 cliariidng. It means a mesmerising power, a fixing of the 
 mind and eye which has an effect on the snake. To fix 
 the faculties in Buddhist contemplation is to enter into 
 san-mei or samadhi. Those phenomena which we call 
 trance, brown study, reverie, are examples of an inactive 
 samadhi. The addition of an effort of will makes an 
 active samadhi, as that used in snake charming by Bud- 
 dhists, and as that of mesmerists. 
 
 He founded a house to be used by monks as a con- 
 templation hall at the spot, and perhaps the snakes he 
 tamed may have been kept there in a box, as is sometimes 
 done now in China. But the account does not say. 
 
 He went thence to Candahar, at that time called Kipin, 
 and there propagated the doctrines of Buddhism about 
 eighty years before the conquests of Alexander. He lived 
 in the Siaiig- (elephant) jpe (white) mountain, sat on his 
 chair, and entered into a trance. While this was happen- 
 ing, Upagupta, his successor, was being much troubled with 
 five hundred pupils, who were self-opinionated and proud. 
 He felt that they were beyond his power to guide and 
 elevate. There was not existing between him and them the 
 " secret link of influence " {yuen, ** cause." Sansc. nidaiia) 
 that would have overcome this difficulty. This conviction 
 he acquired in a samadhi, and learned or rather thought 
 at the same time, while still in the ecstatic state, that 
 only Shangnavasu could reform them. The samadhi here 
 appears to be an elevated state of inspiration. But it has 
 also a magical power. The next point in the narrative 
 is the arrival of Shangnavasu himself flying through the 
 air. He was habited most shabbily, and when he sat 
 down on Upagupta's chair, the pupils stared angrily at him 
 for daring to do this. But Upagupta came before him and 
 bowed to him most respectfully. Shangnavasu pointed 
 to the air, and fragrant milk fell as if from a spring on the 
 side of a high mountain. 
 
 This was the result of a samadhi^ which the patriarch 
 said was the samadhi of a Naga rushing eagerly forward. 
 
68 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 He then exhibited five hundred different kinds of mmadM, 
 At the same time he observed to Upagupta, that when 
 Buddha performed any magical act by samadhi, his pupil 
 Maudgalyayana did not know what samadhi it was. Nor 
 did inferior disciples know the name of any samadhi by 
 help of which Maudgalyayana might do anything won- 
 derful " Nor do I," he said, " understand that of Ananda. 
 Nor do you understand mine." 
 
 " When I enter the Nirvana," he continued, " 77,000 
 Sutras will perish with me; also 10,000 Shastras and 
 80,000 works of the class of discipline." 
 
 After this the five hundred pupils bitterly repented, 
 received the patriarch's instructions, and became Arhans. 
 Upon this the patriarch entered into the Nirvana. 
 
 Upagupta, the fourth patriarch, was a native of the Ma- 
 dura country. He had a noble countenance which indi- 
 cated his integrity, and was highly intelligent and eloquent. 
 His instructor, Shangnavasu, the third patriarch, told him 
 to keep black and white pebbles. When he had a bad 
 thought he was to throw down into a basket a black pebble ; 
 when he had a good thought he was to throw down a 
 white pebble. Upagupta did as he was told. At first bad 
 thoughts abounded, and black pebbles were very nume- 
 rous. Then the white and black were about equal. On 
 the seventh day there were only white pebbles. Shang- 
 navasu then undertook to expound to him the four truths. 
 He at once attained tlie fruit "Srotapanna" {Sii-t'o-hiuan). 
 
 At that time a woman of wicked life in the same city 
 with Upagupta, hearing of his upright conduct, sent mes- 
 sengers to invite him to go and see her. He refused. The 
 son of a citizen in good repute at about the same time 
 went to stay with her. This youth she slew, because a 
 rich traveller came with presents of valuable precious 
 stones and pearls, which he offered for her acceptance. 
 She buried the youth iu a court of her house. His rela- 
 tions came to seek him and dug up the body. The king, 
 informed of what had occurred, ordered the woman to have 
 her arms and legs cut off, and also her nose and ears. She 
 
CONVERSION OF A WICKED WOMAN, 69 
 
 was then thrown out among graves in the open ground 
 beyond the city. When Upagupta went out on his begging 
 round he arrived at the spot. She said to him, " When I 
 invited you to come and see me I had a beautiful face, 
 but you refused. Now that I am maimed, my beauty 
 gone, and my death near, you have come to see me. Why 
 is this ? " He replied, " I have come to see you from a 
 wish to know what you truly are, and not through evil 
 desire. You have by your beauty corrupted and ruined 
 many. You were like a painted vase always giving out 
 evil odours. It was no pleasure to the truly enlightened 
 to approach you. They knew that this beauty would not 
 be permanent. Now all miseries have gathered on you 
 like numberless boils and ulcers. You ought diligently to 
 seek liberation by means which are in your power." The 
 woman as she listened opened the eye of Dharma, and 
 obtained the purification of her heart. At death she was 
 born anew in paradise. 
 
 Upagupta, when still a youth, saw that all the common 
 methods of redemption were marked by bitterness, empti- 
 ness, and non-permanence, and at once attained the fruit 
 Anagamin, the third degree of saintship, or that from 
 which there is *'no" (ana) "return " {gamin). He was then 
 seventeen. Shangnavasu at once received him to the 
 vows on his application, and he became an Arhan. 
 
 He was contemporary during the later years of his patri- 
 archate with king Ashoka, who, hearing that he was on 
 Mount Uda discoursing to a large audience of believers, 
 sent messengers to him, inviting him to come to the city 
 where the king was, and bless him, by touching him on the 
 crown of the head. The king much desired to learn at 
 what spots he should erect pagodas in honour of Buddha. 
 To this the patriarch responded, by pointing out to him all 
 the places where Buddha had done anything remarkable 
 during his life. 
 
 The number of converts was immense. Each of them 
 threw down a tally four inches long. The tallies filled a 
 storehouse which was sixteen feet high. Upagupta became. 
 
70 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 in virtue and wisdom, almost a Buddha, lacking, however, 
 the thirty-two points of characteristic beauty. When he 
 had finished his journeys for reforming others, and the 
 *' accomplishment of destiny in meetings with them " Qiwor 
 yuien-yi-pi, " renovating destiny already ended "), he per- 
 formed the eighteen metamorphoses, and seized on the sal- 
 vation that consists in destruction, i.e., he died. The tallies 
 in the house were used as offerings, yajun (yajur), to 
 burn. The people all wept aloud, collected the ''relics" 
 (sJiarira), erected a t'a (stupa), and performed regular wor- 
 ship before it. 
 
 In this example of the saint worship of Buddhism may 
 be observed the upgrowth of superstitious practices. It 
 aptly illustrates the way in which the religious principle 
 in man works outward. Buddha, a sort of human god, 
 was first worshipped. Other highly venerated men of a 
 secondary type were in succession added, and became the 
 inferior gods of a new pantheon. 
 
 Drikata, the fifth patriarch, was given by his father to 
 Upagupta as a disciple, to be in constant attendance on 
 him as Ananda was upon Shakyamuni. Upagupta received 
 him to the vows at twenty years old. It was in this way. 
 Upagupta was on a religious journey. He came to the 
 door of an elderly man, who asked him, " Why do you, a 
 holy sage, travel unattended ? " He replied, '* I have left the 
 world, and am without family ties. No one has given me 
 an attendant disciple. It may be you who will bestow 
 this kindness." The elderly man replied, " If I have a son 
 I will respectfully offer him to you." He afterwards had 
 a son whom he named Drikata, who devoted himself in 
 youth to the study of the Sutras and other books, and 
 then went in search of Upagupta. 
 
 When Upagupta was old, he said to Drikata, " My time 
 for entering the Nirvana is come. The Dharma wliich I 
 have taught I intrust to you. It will be your duty to 
 teach it in regions far and near." This he did in Central 
 India, and when he died (seized on the Nirvllna) Devas 
 and men were sad. 
 
SE VENTH PA TRIARCH. 7 1 
 
 Michaka was the sixth patriarch. When he met first 
 with Drikata, he said to him, " I was formerly born with 
 you in the heaven of Brahma. I met with Asita,^ who taught 
 me the doctrine of the Eishis. You met with good and wise 
 teachers who instructed you in the principles of Buddhism. 
 So your path differed from mine for a period of six kalpas. 
 The record of the Rishis said, * After six Jcalpas you shall 
 meet with a fellow learner. Through him you shall 
 obtain the holy fruit.' To-day, in meeting with you, is it 
 not the fulfilment of destiny ? " 
 
 Drikata then instructed him in Dharma, and he made 
 eminent attainments. The Rishis, his companions, did 
 not believe, until Drikata performed before them various 
 magical transformations, when they all believed and ob- 
 tained the fruit of doctrine. When Drikata died, Michaka 
 took his place in renovating mankind by teaching the 
 Nirvana. 
 
 The seventh (should be eighth) patriarch was Buddha- 
 nandi, a native of Northern India. When Michaka came 
 to his country, Buddhanandi saw on the city battlements 
 a golden-coloured cloud. He thought that there must be a 
 sage beneath the cloud, who would transmit the Dharma. 
 He went to search, and found Buddhanandi in the street 
 leading to the market-place. Michaka said, " Formerly 
 Buddha, when travelling in Northern India, said to An- 
 anda, ' Three hundred years after my death there will be a 
 sage named Buddhanandi. He will make the Dharma 
 great in this region.' " Buddhanandi replied, " I remember 
 that in a former kalpa I presented to Buddha a throne. 
 It was on this account that he made reference to me, and 
 foretold that I should in the 'kalpa of the sages' {Bhadra- 
 kalpa) spread the Dharma far and wide. Since this agrees 
 exactly with what you have said, I wish to become a disciple." 
 He at once obtained the four fruits of enlightenment. 
 
 The ninth patriarch, Buddhamitra, was found by his 
 
 ^ A Kisbi who was able to detect the marks of Buddha on a child. 
 Shakyamuni was his slave in a former birth. — Eitel. 
 
7» CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 predecessor in the patriarchate in the following manner. 
 Buddhanandi came to his country to teach. Seeing a 
 white light over a house, he said to his disciples, " There is ( 
 
 a sage here, who has a mouth, but does not speak, and has \ 
 
 feet, but does not walk." He went to the door, and was 
 asked by an old man why he came. The answer was, " In 
 search of a disciple." The old man replied, " I have a son 
 just fifty. He neither speaks nor walks." " That," said 
 Buddhanandi, " is my disciple." i 
 
 Buddhamitra rose, made obeisance, walked seven steps, ^ 
 
 and then pronounced the following Gatha : — " If my father 
 and mother are not my nearest of kin, who is so ? If the , 
 
 Buddhas are not my teachers, who are my teachers?" 
 Buddhanandi replied, " You speak of your nearest relative 
 being the heart. To this your love for your parents is not 
 comparable. Your acting in accordance with * doctrine ' 
 (tau) is the mind of the Buddhas. The Buddha of the 
 wai tau (heretical teachers) belongs to the world of forms. 
 Their Buddha and you are not alike. You should know 
 that your real mind is neither closely attached nor sepa- 
 rated." He further said to the father: — " Your son formerly 
 met with Buddha, and, stimulated by compassion, had 
 great longings to benefit others. But because he has 
 thought too much of his father's and mother's love, who 
 could not let him go, he has not spoken nor walked." 
 The aged father hearing this, at once let him leave the 
 family to become a monk. 
 
 When Michaka (in Eitel, Mikkaka ; in San-kiau-yi-su, 
 Misuchaka) was about to die, he intrusted to Buddhanandi 
 the correct Dharma to teach to mankind. 
 
 Such is the statement of Chi-p'an of the Kiau-men in 
 Fo-tsu-Vung-ki. He rejects Vasumitra, the seventh patri- 
 arch of the contemplatist school. He does not even men- 
 tion Vasumitra, who yet was very distinguished. He 
 took a chief part in the last revision of the canon, as pre- 
 sident of the third or fourth synod, under Kanishka, Rajah 
 of Cashmere, B.C. 153. To this, Eitel adds, that he must 
 
SUBMISSION OF AN UNBELIEVING KING. 73 
 
 have died soon after, though Chinese chronology places 
 his death in B.C. 590. 
 
 The Kiau-men writers apparently say little about the 
 synods or councils, perhaps because they were presided 
 over by the patriarchs, who favoured the contempla- 
 tist school. Can this be the reason that Chi-p'an has 
 neglected the seventh patriarch and caused Michaka to 
 nominate Buddhanaudi (the eighth) as his successor, 
 making him the seventh ? 
 
 From this point I prefer to follow San-kiau-yi-su and 
 Eitel in numbering the patriarchs, while continuing to 
 take the story of their lives from the interesting pages of 
 Fo-tsu-t'ung-ki, because the author is full of anecdote. 
 
 Chi-p'an, to fill the vacancy caused by the omission of 
 Vasumitra, mentions Madhyantika, a disciple of Ananda, 
 who converted Cashmere. He was contemporary with 
 Shangnavasu. Buddhamitra passed at once through the 
 steps of enlightenment, and began to teach the correct 
 Dharma. 
 
 There was a king then reigning who followed another 
 school, and wished to destroy the influence of Buddhism, 
 a religion which he despised. Buddhamitra, wishing to 
 bring this king to submission, took a red flag in his hand, 
 and carried it before the king for twelve years. The king 
 at last asked who this man was. Buddhamitra replied, 
 "I am a man of knowledge, who can discuss religion." 
 The king ordered an assembly of Brahmans to meet him 
 in a large hall, and discuss religion with him. Buddha- 
 mitra took his seat, and delivered a discourse. A man 
 weak in knowledge was pitted against him, whose reason- 
 ings he at once subverted. The rest declined to argue. 
 The king then entered himself into argument with him, 
 but soon gave way, and announced his intention to follow 
 the Buddhist religion. 
 
 In the same kingdom was a " Nirgrantha " {Nikan), who 
 reviled Buddhism, and was an expert calculator. Nirgratitha 
 means a devotee who has cut the ties of food and clothing. 
 
74 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 and can live without feeling hungry or cold. It is from 
 grantha, " tie." Buddhamitra went to him and received 
 information in regard to his calculations. The Nirgrantha 
 spared no abuse in speaking of Buddha. The Buddhist 
 then said, "You are now working^ out punishment to 
 yourself, and will fall into hell. If you do not believe 
 what I say, try your calculations, and you will find 
 whether it is so or not." The heretic calculated, and found 
 that it was so. He then said to the Buddhist teacher, 
 " How can I avoid this calamity ? " 
 
 The reply was, "You should become a believer in 
 Buddha. You may then have this demerit annulled." 
 NirgTantha (or the Nirgrantha) upon this, pronounced five 
 hundred sentences in praise of Buddha, and repented of 
 his former faults. 
 
 Buddhamitra then said, " Having performed these meri- 
 torious actions, you will certainly be born in one of the 
 heavenly paradises. If you doubt this, make the calcula- 
 tions, that you may know it to be so." He did this, and 
 found that his demerit was gone, and that he would be 
 born in heaven. He and five hundred of his followers 
 joyfully enrolled themselves as Buddhist monks, shaved 
 their locks, and placed themselves under the protection of 
 the Three Precious Things. 
 
 The tenth patriarch was Parshva, and the eleventh 
 Punayaja. Parshva came to the city of " Pataliputra " 
 (Chinese, Hwa-sh%), and rested under a tree. He pointed to 
 the ground and said, " If this earth should change to a 
 golden colour, a sage must be here." As soon as he had 
 said this, the ground changed its colour, and immediately 
 Punayaja arrived. He was received to the vows by 
 Parshva, and became his successor. 
 
 The twelfth patriarch was Ashwagosha, or Maming, " a 
 horse neighing." In the city of Pataliputra, five hundred 
 youths of princely families became at one time converts 
 
 ^ T$au-ttui, "creating sin," t.«., the punishment of sin. 8iu and its 
 punishment are confused and loosely identified. 
 
M AMINO GIVEN TO THE KING OF THE GET^. 7$ 
 
 to his doctrine, and took the tonsure. The king feared 
 that his Kingdom would become depopulated, and issued 
 an order that there should be no more chanting. This 
 decree was levelled against the use of some very popular 
 and sweet music introduced by Maming. The music 
 must have excited great attention, and must have had its 
 effect in leading many persons to resolve on leading the 
 Buddhist life. This would lead to diminution in popula- 
 tion. The country would become poorer. There would 
 be fewer workers, fewer tax-payers, fewer soldiers, and 
 fewer traders. 
 
 At this juncture the king of the Getae (Indo- Scythians) 
 besieged Pataliputra. There were 900,000 men in the city, 
 and the besieging king required 900,000 pieces of gold as 
 a ransom. The king of Pataliputra gave him Maming, a 
 Buddha's rice bowl, and a cock, observing that each of 
 these gifts was worth 300,000 gold pieces. Maming's 
 wisdom was unrivalled. Buddha had boundless virtue, 
 and a merciful heart. The cock would not drink water 
 that had insects in it. All three would be able to drive 
 away enemies. 
 
 The king of the Getse was delighted, drew back his 
 troops, and returned to his country. After a time, the 
 Parthians attacked him. He gained a victory, and killed 
 900,000 of the enemy. 
 
 Maming was born at Benares, but taught chiefly at 
 Pataliputra. One day, while he was causing the wheel of 
 the wonderful law to revolve, an old man suddenly fell 
 on the ground just before him. The patriarch said, " This 
 is no ordinary person. There will be some remarkable 
 appearance." No sooner was this said than he vanished. 
 Then, in a trice, a man with a golden skin rose out of the 
 ground. He soon became changed into a young woman, 
 who pointed with her right hand at Maming and said, " I 
 bow to the aged and honoured patriarch. Let me receive 
 the mark of Julai." She disappeared. The patriarch 
 said, ''A demon must be coming to struggle with me." 
 
76 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 There was a violent wind and heavy rain. The sky 
 became dark. The patriarch remarked, "The demon is 
 indeed come. I must expel him." 
 
 When he pointed into the air, a golden dragon appeared, 
 who showed marvellous power, and shook the mountains. 
 The patriarch sat calmly, and the demon's agency came to 
 an end. 
 
 After seven days, a small insect appeared, which hid 
 itself under the chair of the patriarch, who took it up and 
 said to the assembly, " This is the demon in an assumed 
 shape come stealthily to hear my teaching." 
 
 He set the insect free, and told it to go, but the demon 
 in it could not move. The patriarch then said to the 
 demon, " If you only place yourself under the direction of 
 the Three Precious Things, you may at once obtain mar- 
 vellous powers." The demon at once returned to his ori- 
 ginal shape, made a prostration and a penitent confession. 
 
 The patriarch, asking him his name, he replied, " Kapi- 
 mara." When the inquiry, what was the extent of his 
 powers, was addressed to him, he replied that to transform 
 the sea was easy to him. " Can you," asked the patriarch, 
 " transform the * sea of the moral nature ' {sing-hai) ? " He 
 answered that he did not know what was meant. Maming 
 explained that the physical world rests on this moral 
 nature for its existence. So also the powers of saniadhi, 
 and of far-reaching perception on the part of Buddhist 
 proficients, also depend on this for all their value. 
 
 Kapimara became a believer, and three thousand of his 
 adherents all entered the ranks of the shaven monks. 
 The patriarch called in five thousand Arhans to aid in 
 administering the vows to this large crowd of applicants. 
 
 Kapimara became the thirteenth patriarch. His nume- 
 rous followers spread the Buddhist religion in Southern 
 India. He compiled a Shastra {Lun), called the " Shastra 
 of the Non-ego." It extended to the length of icx) Gatlvas 
 (Kie). Wherever this Shastra came, the demons and 
 heretics were pitiably discomfited. 
 
NAGARJUNA, THE FOURTEENTH PATRIARCH. 77 
 
 TAing-shu, or " Nagarjuna," was the fourteenth patriarch. 
 He belonged to Southern India. A king there was very- 
 much opposed to Buddhism, and influenced by what that 
 religion calls "depraved views" (sie-kien). Lung shu wished 
 to convert him, and for seven years carried a red banner 
 before him when travelling. The Rajah asked, " Who is 
 this man ? " He replied for himself, " I am a man pos- 
 sessing all kinds of knowledge." The Rajah asked, 
 "What are the Devas now doing?" He replied, "Just 
 now the Devas are fighting with the Asuras." In a 
 moment they became aware of the conflict of swords in 
 the sky, and, to the Rajah's astonishment, some ears and 
 noses of the giants fell on the ground. The Rajah reve- 
 rentially performed a prostration before Lung-shu. Ten 
 thousand Brahmans who were at the time in the hall of 
 audience all joined in praising the marvellous virtue of 
 the patriarch, and at once submitted themselves to the 
 tonsure, and entered on the monkish life. 
 
 Lung-shu wrote several important Shastras. Among 
 them was that one called Ta-chi-tu-lun, " Shastra of the 
 Method of Great Wisdom." He was one of the most prolific 
 authors of the Mahay ana school. On this account he be- 
 came the object of the jealous dislike of the older school 
 of the Lesser Conveyance. 
 
 When drawing near the end of his life, he unexpectedly 
 fell one day into the trance called the samadhi of the 
 moon's wheel, in which he only heard words of the 
 Dharma, but saw no forms. His pupil, Deva, compre- 
 hended him, and said, " The Buddha nature which you, 
 my teacher, make known to us, does not consist in sights 
 and sounds." Lung-shu intrusted to him the care of the 
 Dharma, and entered a vacant room. As he did not come 
 out for a day, the pupils broke open the door. He had 
 gone into a state of samadhi, and died. In all the king- 
 doms of India, temples were erected for him, and he was 
 honoured as if he were Buddha. 
 
 The fifteenth patriarch was Kanadeva, a native of South 
 
78 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 India. The king of his country followed a form of depraved 
 doctrine. When men were invited to act as guards, Kana- 
 deva responded to the call, and took his place, spear in 
 hand, in the front rank, discharging his duties in so regular 
 and exemplary a manner that the king's attention was 
 attracted. In reply to the king's inquiries, he said he was 
 a man who studied wisdom and practised argumentative 
 oratory. The king opened for him a discussion hall. Here 
 Kanadeva proposed three theses : — (i.) Buddha is the most 
 excellent of sages ; (2.) No law can compare with the law 
 of Buddha ; (3.) There is no happiness (or merit) on earth 
 equal to that of the Buddhist monk. "If any one can 
 vanquish me in regard to these three theses, I consent to 
 have my head taken off." In the discussion that ensued, 
 all the heretics were worsted, and asked permission to 
 become monks. 
 
 A follower of one of the scholars who were vanquished 
 in argument felt ashamed for his master, was much enraged, 
 and resolved to kill Kanadeva. He attacked him while 
 engaged in writing a controversial work, and with his 
 sword pierced him through. Before life was extinct, the 
 patriarch said, " You can take my robe and rice bowl, and 
 go quickly to my disciples and inform them, that if any 
 among them have not made progress, they should keep 
 firmly to their purpose without despairing." The pupils 
 came to see their master with loud lamentation. He 
 said to them, " All methods and systems are empty. I do 
 not exist, and cannot be injured. I do not receive love or 
 hatred from any. What that man has injured is the form 
 of retribution for my past. It is not I myself." He then 
 cast oil' the body, as a cicada does its outer covering. 
 
 His disciples collected the relics after his cremation, 
 erected a dagoba, and paid him the regular honours of 
 worship. 
 
 The sixteenth patriarch was Kahulata, a native of Ka- 
 pila. When a certain Brahman wrote a work of 100,000 
 Gathas, extremely difficult to explaiu, Nagarjuna was able 
 
 
SANGHANANDI PRECOCIOUS AS A BOY. 79 
 
 to understand the whole at first hearing, and Kanadeva 
 at the second hearing. Eahulata was able to comprehend 
 the whole when he had heard Kanadeva's explanation. 
 On this, the Brahman said, under the influence of great 
 astonishment, " The Shramana knows it as clearly as if 
 he had known it all of old." He then became a believer. 
 
 After his destined work of reformation and instruction 
 was done, Eahulata entered (the word is " took," '' seized 
 on ") the Nirv§-na. 
 
 The seventeenth patriarch, Sanghanandi, of the city 
 Shravasti, was the son of the king. He could speak as 
 soon as he was born, and read the books of Buddha when 
 an infant. At seven years old he formed a dislike to a 
 worldly life. His parents tried in vain to check him in 
 resolving to be a monk. Two years later, Eahulata came 
 to the banks of the Golden- water river and said, pointing 
 with his finger, " At a distance of five hundred li from this 
 spot, there is a holy person, named Sanghanandi, who will, 
 a thousand years after Buddha, succeed him on the throne 
 of purity." Eahulata led his disciples to see him. He 
 had just awaked from a trance of twenty-one days, and at 
 once desired to take the monastic vows. He very soon 
 understood the principles of Buddha's teaching, and be- 
 came himself an instructor. 
 
 One day Eahulata ascended to the heaven of Brahma 
 with a golden rice bowl in his hand to obtain rice for a 
 multitude of believing Buddhists. On a sudden they dis- 
 liked its taste. Eahulata said, "The fault is not in me. 
 It is in yourselves." He then desired Sanghanandi to dis- 
 tribute the food and eat with the others. All wondered. 
 Eahulata then said, " He is a Buddha of bygone times, 
 and you also were disciples of the law of Buddha in ages 
 long past. However, you had not attained to the rank of 
 Arhan, but only realised the first three fruits of the monastic 
 life." They replied, " The marvellous power of our teacher 
 can lead to faith. This Buddha of the past has still secret 
 doubts." Sanghanandi observed that when Buddha was 
 
8o 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 living, the earth was at peace and the waters made every- 
 thing beautiful ; but after his death, when eight hundred 
 years had passed, men had lost faith. They did not believe 
 the true form of beauty. They only loved marvellous 
 powers and deeds that astonish. 
 
 He had no sooner ended, than he seized a crystal jar, 
 and slowly entered the earth. He went with it to the 
 boundary of the diamond wheel region, and filled it with 
 the "drink of the immortals" (kan-lu). This he brought 
 back to the assembly, and placed before them. They all 
 repented of their thought, and thanked him. 
 
 An Arhan, full of all virtue and merit, came there. 
 Sanghanandi tried his powers by a question. " One bom 
 of the race of the wheel kings was neither Buddha nor 
 an Arhan. He was not received by after ages as real, 
 nor was he a Pratyeka Buddha." The Arhan, unable to 
 solve this problem, went to the paradises of the Devas, 
 and asked Maitreya, who replied, " The custom of the 
 world is to form a lump of clay, and with a wheel make 
 it into a porcelain image. How can this image compare 
 with the sages or be continued to later generations ? " 
 
 The Arhan came back with this answer. Sanghanandi 
 replied, " It must have been Maitreya that told you this." 
 
 When his destined course was finished, he grasped a 
 tree with his right hand, and entered the state of destruc- 
 tion and salvation. The corpse could not be removed by 
 his disciples on account of its great weight. A large ele- 
 phant also came to try his strength, but was unable to 
 move it. The disciples then piled up fragrant wood 
 against the tree, and performed the process of cremation. 
 The tree became still more luxuriantly beautiful. A 
 dagoba was erected, and the relics were worshipped. 
 
 The eighteenth patriarch was named Sangkayasheta. 
 When he heard the bells of a temple ringing on account 
 of the wind blowing, his teacher asked him, " Is it the 
 bells that make tlie sound, or the wind?" The youth 
 replied, " It is neither the bells nor the wind, it is my 
 
CONVERSION OF FIVE HUNDRED HERMITS, 8i 
 
 mind." Walking on the sea-side, he came to a temple and 
 went into it to beg food, saying, " Hunger is the greatest 
 evil. Action is the greatest suffering. He who knows the 
 reality of Dharma that there is in this statement, may 
 enter the path of Nirvana." He was invited to enter and 
 supplied with food. 
 
 Sangkayasheta saw in the house two hungry ghosts, 
 naked and chained. '■' What is the meaning of this ? " he 
 asked. His host said, " These ghosts were in a former 
 life my son-in-law and daughter-in-law. They were angry 
 because I gave away food in charity, and when I instructed 
 them they refused to listen. I then took an oath and 
 said, ' When you suffer the penalty of your sin I will cer- 
 tainly come and see you.' Accordingly, at the time of 
 their suffering their retribution, I arrived at a certain 
 place where monks, at the sound of the bell, had assembled 
 for food. When the food was nearly all eaten, it changed 
 to blood, and the monks began to use their bowls and 
 other utensils employed at meals, in fighting with one 
 another, and said, ' Why are you saving of food ? The 
 misery we bear now is a recompense for the past.' I asked 
 them to tell me what they had done. They replied, that 
 in the time of Kashiapa Buddha, they had been guilty on 
 one occasion, when Bikshus came asking food, of conceal- 
 ing their store and angrily refusing to share it with them. 
 This was the cause of their present retribution." 
 
 Sangkayasheta went on the sea and saw all the five hun- 
 dred hells. This taught him fear, and the desire to avoid, by 
 some means, such a fate as to be condemned to live there. 
 
 He attained the rank of Arhan, and finding in a wood 
 five hundred " hermits " (sien) who were practising ascetic 
 rules, he converted them to Buddhism by praising Buddha, 
 the Law, and the Priesthood. When his destined course 
 was run, he entered the Nirvana, B.C. 13. 
 
 In the account of Kumarada, the nineteenth patriarch, 
 is included an answer he gave to a youth who was puzzled 
 at the inequality of rewards and punishments in the pre- 
 
82 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 sent life. The youth's parents were devout Buddhists, 
 but in very feeble health. Their neighbour was a butcher, 
 and enjoyed an immunity from all sickness and pain. 
 Why should a man whose business it was to take animal 
 life escape retribution from this sin ? 
 
 Kumarada told him that the inequality of men's con- 
 dition in the present life is mainly on account of sins and 
 virtuous acts in a former life. Virtue and vice belong to 
 the present. Happiness and misery are the recompense 
 of the virtue and vice of the past. The virtue and vice of 
 the present will be rewarded in the future life. Jayata 
 was charmed with this conversation. His doubts were dissi- 
 pated. He subsequently became the twentieth patriarch. 
 Kumarada also said to him, " Activity, in which you have 
 hitherto believed, comes from doubt, doubt from knowledge, 
 knowledge from a man's not possessing the perceptive power, 
 and the absence of perception from the mind's being in a 
 morbid state. Let your mind be pure and at rest, and with- 
 out life or death, victory or defeat, action or retribution, and 
 you will then have attained the same eminence as the Bud- 
 dhas of the past. All vice and virtue, action and inaction, 
 are a dream and a delusion." Kumarada died a.d. 23. 
 
 The work of the patriarchs was to engage in a perpetual 
 argument against unbelief. There were differences in loca- 
 lities. Some parts of India were more favourable to Budd- 
 hism than others. In the account of the life of Manura, 
 the " twenty-first " patriarch, in Fo-tsu-t'ung-ki (but 
 really the twenty-second), it is said that in the two Indias 
 south of the Ganges, Western and Southern India, tliere 
 was great perversity of view. Manura was well skilled 
 in the analysis of alphabetic sounds, and was recommended 
 by a learned Buddhist named Yaja, to proceed to Western 
 and Southern India to teach Buddhism. Evidently he 
 would aid in giving alphabets to tlie Tamil and other lan- 
 guages, which at that time were first committed to writing. 
 
 On the other hand, in Northern, Central, and Eastern 
 India, all stated to be to the north of the Gauges, the work 
 
DIFFICULTIES MET WITH BY MANURA, 83 
 
 of Buddhist teaching is said to be easy. Yaja undertook 
 to teach in this part of India. 
 
 The campaign of Manura is described as a long struggle 
 with errors and heresies. He specially made use of a book 
 by the twelfth patriarch called the Sutra of the Not-me. 
 He found Western India under the control of king Teda, 
 who one day when travelling passed a small pagoda. His 
 attendants could not say what was the occasion of its 
 being erected. He asked the " Brahmans of pure life " {Fan- 
 hing), the " contemplatists " {ch'un-kwan), and the "utterers 
 of charms " (cheu-shio), who formed three classes of the 
 community of that day. They did not know. 
 
 Manura was then asked; who said it was a pagoda 
 erected by king Ashoka, and which had now come to 
 light through the good fortune of the king.^ The king was 
 much impressed with Manura's teaching, and became a 
 disciple. He gave over his royal authority to his son, and 
 himself took vows as a monk. In seven days he advanced to 
 the fourth grade of the understanding of Buddhist doctrine. 
 
 Manura gave the work of reforming the kingdom by 
 Buddhist teaching into the hands of the king, and went 
 himself to the kingdom of the Indian Getse, who — retreat- 
 ing westward before the Hiung-nu, B.C. 180 — conquered 
 the Punjab and Cashmere in A.D. 126. Manura taught in 
 Western India and in Ferghana in the third Christian 
 century. He is author of the Vihhasha Shastra. 
 
 The twenty-third patriarch was Haklena. He was of 
 the country of the Getae (Candahar). At seven years old 
 he began to rebuke those people who visited temples to 
 sacrifice to the gods. He said they were deceivers of the 
 people, by wrong statements of the causes of calamities 
 and of happiness. " Besides, you are," he said, " wasting 
 the lives of innocent cattle, wliich is a very great evil." 
 On a sudden the temple and images fell down in ruins. 
 At thirty-eight years of age he met with Manura, and was 
 
 1 "Good fortune," fu-li, "power fortune is always deserved by some 
 
 of the king's merit." Fu, "happi- good action done, either iu the present 
 
 ness,"is in aBuddhist sense "merit." or in some former life. 
 By the law of hidden causation, good 
 
CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 instructed. Manura told him that formerly five hundred 
 of his disciples had, on account of small merit, been born 
 as storks. " These are the flock that are now following 
 you, wishing to delude you into showing them favour." 
 
 Haklena asked him, " How can they be removed ? " 
 Manura spoke some sentences in the form of Gathas. 
 " The mind follows the ten thousand forms in their revo- 
 lutions. At the turning-points of revolution, there really 
 must be darkness. By following the stream and recog- 
 nising the true nature, you attain a position where there 
 is no joy or sorrow." 
 
 The birds hearing these words, flew away with loud cries. 
 This is inserted by the Chinese biographer as an example 
 of a patriarch's power over the animal creation. 
 
 Haklena went to Central India. While he was teaching 
 in the presence of a Rajah, two men appeared dressed in 
 dark red mantles and white togas. They came to worship, 
 and stayed a long time. Suddenly they went away. The 
 Rajah asked, " Who are they ? " Haklena replied, " They 
 are the sons of the Devas of the sun and moon." 
 
 His most promising disciple was Singhalaputra (Lion 
 !on; in Chinese, SM-ts'i), who had formerly believed in 
 Brahmanism, and abandoned it in favour of the Buddhist 
 faith. He asked Haklena, " To what must I give my chief 
 attention if I would attain the true knowledge of things ?" 
 " Do nothing," was the reply. " If you do anything there 
 is no merit in it. By doing nothing, you will comply with 
 the system of Buddha." Haklena died A.D. 209 (Chinese 
 chronology). 
 
 The twenty-fourth patriarch was Singhalaputra, a 
 native of Central India. He went to Candahar (Ki-pin), 
 and there brought over very many persons to Buddhism. 
 Some heretics were guilty of gross crimes, and took the 
 name of Buddhists. The king became angry against 
 Buddhism, and cut off tlie head of the patriarch. 
 
 On account of this unhappy fate of the patriarch, the 
 succession, according to some authors, was broken off at 
 this point. Another reason for terminating the list of 
 
THE CONTEMPLATIVE SCHOOL. 85 
 
 patriarchs here, is said, by the author of Fo-tsu-Pung-ki, 
 to have been that the remaining patriarchs were not fore- 
 told by Buddha by name, and did not equal in gifts 
 and honour those that preceded. 
 
 The contemplative school, or school of Bodhidharma, 
 however, have retained the twenty-eight names, and re- 
 cognise no superiority in the twenty- four universally 
 acknowledged patriarchs over the remaining four. For 
 many centuries there was an active discussion on the 
 claims of the last four and the Chinese patriarchs to the 
 honour of the name. Chi-p'an, writing in a.d. 1269, at 
 Ningpo, decides against them. Some of the friends who 
 reviewed his work, and whose names are given, belonged 
 to the contemplative school. The difference of views 
 would not therefore be an unfriendly one. 
 
 The twenty-fifth patriarch, according to the contem- 
 plative school, was Basiasita. He was a Brahman, and 
 a native of Candahar. He travelled into Central and 
 Southern India, and died A.D. 328. 
 
 Putnomita was the next (twenty- sixth) that received the 
 cloak and secret symbols of the patriarchs. He was a 
 Kshatrya of Southern India. He visited Eastern India, 
 where he found the king under the influence of heretical 
 doctrine, and converted him. He died in a.d. 388. 
 
 His successor, the twenty-seventh patriarch, was Pradj- 
 natara, a native of Central India, who travelled to the 
 southern part of the peninsula, and there took under his 
 instructions Bodhidharma, the second son of the kinsf. 
 He died a.d. 457, and left as his successor the pupil just 
 mentioned, who, he foretold, would visit China sixty-nine 
 years afterwards. Bodhidharma asked him, when under 
 instruction, what he had to say about precious things, 
 pearls, and doctrines, which are round and bright. The 
 patriarch answered, " Among all precious things the 
 Buddhist Dharma is the most precious. Among all bright 
 things, knowledge is the brightest. Among all clear 
 things, a clear mind is the clearest. Among aU things, 
 
86 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 other men and I are the highest. Among all things, the 
 " essential nature " {sing) of Dharma is the greatest." 
 
 Bodhidharma was the twenty-eighth patriarch. He 
 represents a school that despises books and reduces Bud- 
 dhist teaching to the simplest possible principles. He 
 was an ascetic of the first water. 
 
 In A.D. 526, Bodhidharma left Southern India for China 
 by sea. The sixty-nine years that passed between the 
 death of his predecessor and his departure from India 
 formed tlie basis of the prediction above mentioned, con- 
 structed we must suppose after the event. The cause of 
 his departure was probably persecution and disaster. He 
 was a sectarian even in Buddhism, and possibly his ene- 
 mies were not only the Brahmans, but also fellow- 
 Buddhists. The reading of books was the life and soul 
 of many monasteries. Bodhidharma decried book reading. 
 His system made the monasteries much less educational 
 and much more mystical and meditative than before. 
 Lovers of knowledge among the Buddhists would dislike 
 his system. This would be the case in China and in India. 
 In China the dogmatic reason given for not acknowledg- 
 ing the last four patriarchs was that, in the " Dharmapitaka 
 Sutra," Buddha had said, " After my entering the Nirvana, 
 there will be twenty-four honourable teachers, who will ap- 
 pear in the world and teach my law " {Fo-tsu-t'ung-ki, v. i). 
 After this what could be done but take the statement 
 as a final answer to the inquiry, How many patriarchs 
 could there be ? 
 
 Bodhidharma wished to return to India, but died in 
 China before accomplishing this purpose. 
 
 The " Geta3 " (Jats) mentioned in the account of Haklena 
 are called Yue-ti by the Chinese. In the Cyclopaedia Fa- 
 yuen-chu-lin, it is said that the great kingdoms to the east, 
 north, and west of India, are China, the Getae, and the 
 " Koman empire," Ta-ts'in. By the kingdom of the GetsB 
 the Chinese author meant some great empire between Rome 
 and China. This is a statement drawn from Indian sources. 
 
( S7 ) 
 
 CHAPTEK VI. 
 
 SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN CHINA. 
 
 The emperor Min^'-ti sends an embassy to India for images, a.d. 6i 
 — KaHhiapmadanga arrives in China — Spread of Buddhism in 
 A.D. 335 — Buddojanga — A pagoda at Nanking, a.d. 381 — The 
 translator Kumarajiva, a.d. 405 — The Chinese traveller, Fa- 
 hien visits India — His book — Persecution, a.d. 426 — Buddhism 
 prosperous, 451 — Indian embassies to China in the Sung dynasty 
 — Opposition of the Confucianists to Buddhism — Discussions on 
 doctrine— Buddhist prosperity in the Northern Wei kingdom 
 and the Liang kingdom — Bodhidharma — Sung-yiin sent to 
 India — Bodhidharma leaves Liang Wu-ti and goes to Northern 
 China— His latter years and deatli — Embassies from Buddhist 
 countries m the south — Relics — The Liang emperor Wu-ti 
 becomes a monk — Embassies from India and Ceylon — Influence 
 of Sanscrit writing in giving the Chinese the knowledge of an 
 alphabet — Syllabic spelling — Confucian opposition to Buddhism 
 in the T'ang dynasty — The five successors of Bodhidharma — 
 Hiuen-tsang's travels in India— Work as a translator — Persecu- 
 tion, A.D. 714 — Hindoo calendar in China — Amogha introduces 
 the festival for hungry ghosts — Opposition of Han Yii to Bud- 
 dhism — Persecution of 845 — Teaching of Matsu — Triumph of 
 the Mahayana — Budhiruchi — Persecution by the Cheu dynasty 
 — Extensive erection of pagodas in the Sung dynasty — Encourage- 
 ment of Sanscrit studies — Places of pilgrimage— P'uto — Regula- 
 tions for receiving the vows— Hindoo Buddhists in China in 
 the Sung dynasty — The Mongol dynasty favoured Buddhism — 
 The last Chinese Buddhist who visited India — The Ming dynasty 
 limits the right of accumulating land — Roman Catholic contro- 
 versy with Buddhists — Kang-hi of the Manchu dynasty opposes 
 Buddhism — The literati still condemn Buddhism. 
 
 It was in the year a.d. 61, that the Chinese emperor 
 Ming-ti, in consequence of a dream, in which he saw the 
 image of a foreign god, sent messengers to India, a country 
 
88 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 several thousand miles to the south-east of the capital, 
 to ask for Buddhist books and teachers.^ A native of 
 Central India named Kashiapmadanga, with others, accom- 
 panied thera back. He translated a small but important 
 Sutra, called the Sutra of Forty-two Sections, and died at 
 Lo-yang. The religion had now long been established in 
 N'epaul and Independent Tartary, as the travels of the 
 patriarchs indicate. It had also extended itself through- 
 out India and Ceylon, and the persecution of the Brahmans, 
 instigated partly by controversial feeling, and more by a 
 desire to increase their caste influence, had not yet com- 
 menced. Long before this, it is stated that in B.C. 217, 
 Indians had arrived at the capital of China in Shen-si, in 
 order to propagate their religion. Eemusat, after mention- 
 ing this in the Foe kovM ki, adds that, towards the year 
 B.C. 122, a warlike expedition of the Chinese led them to 
 Hieou-thou, a country beyond Yarkand. Here a golden 
 statue was taken, and brought to the emperor. The 
 Chinese author states that this was the origin of the 
 statues of Buddha that were afterwards in use. 
 
 At this period the geographical knowledge of the Chinese 
 rapidly increased. The name of India now occurs for the 
 first time in their annals. In the year B.C. 122 Chang 
 K'ien, a Chinese ambassador, returned from the country 
 of the Getae, and informed the Han emperor Wu-ti, of the 
 kingdoms and customs existing in the west. Among other 
 things, he said, " When I was in the country of the Dahse,^ 
 12,000 Chinese miles distant to the south-west, I saw 
 bamboo staves from K'iung and cloth from Si-ch'uen. On 
 asking whence they came, I was told that they were 
 articles of traffic at Shin-do (' Scinde/ a country far to 
 
 ^ He had the dream in A.D. 6i. the twelfth month they saw the em- 
 
 Eighteen men were sent. They went peror. 
 
 to the country of the Getae, bor- ^ Ta-^ta, in old Chinese Z)at-Ae. It 
 
 dering on India, and there they met was 207 years earlier that the Dalise 
 
 the two Brahmans. They came rid- and Getae were defeated in battle by 
 
 iug ou white horses, witli pictures, Alexander. Dahistan borders on the 
 
 images, and books ; and arrived Caspian, forming the south-east coast 
 
 In A.D. 67, On the tidrticth day of of t.iat »ea. 
 
BUDDOJANGA. 89 
 
 the south-east of the Dahse)." It is added in the com- 
 mentary to the Tung-hien-kang-muh^ that the name is 
 also pronounced, Kan-do and Tin-do, and that it is the 
 country of the barbarians called Buddha. 
 
 Early in the fourth century, native Chinese began to take 
 the Buddhist monastic vows. Their history says, under 
 the year 335, that the prince of the Ch'au kingdom in the 
 time of the Eastern Ts'in dynasty, permitted his subjects 
 to do so. He was influenced by an Indian named Buddo- 
 janga,! who pretended to magical powers. Before this, 
 natives of India had been allowed to build temples in 
 the large cities, but it was now for the first time that the 
 people of the country were suffered to become " Shamen " ^ 
 {Shramanas), or disciples of Buddha. The first translations 
 of the Buddhist books had been already made, for we 
 read that at the close of the second century, an Indian 
 residing at Ch'ang-an, the modern Si-an fu, produced the 
 first version of the " Lotus of the Good Law." The emperor 
 Hiau Wu, of the Ts'in dynasty, in the year A.D. 381, erected 
 a pagoda in his palace at Nanking. 
 
 At this period, large monasteries began to be established 
 in North China, and nine-tenths of the common people, 
 says the historian, followed the faith of the great Indian 
 sage. 
 
 Under the year A.D. 405, the Chinese chronicles record 
 that the king of the Ts'in country gave a high office to 
 Kumarajiva, an Indian Buddhist. This is an important 
 epoch for the history of Chinese Buddhist literature. Kuma- 
 rajiva was commanded by the emperor to translate the 
 sacred books of India, and to the present day his name may 
 be seen on the first page of the principal Buddhist classics. 
 The seat of the ancient kingdom of Ts'in was in the southern 
 
 ^ He foretold future events by ^ The syllables Sang-mun are also 
 
 interpreting the sound of pagoda employed. Shramana means the 
 
 bells as they were blown by the "quieting of the passions." Sih-sin, 
 
 wind. On one occasion he placed "to put the mind at rest," is the 
 
 water in an empty flower-pot, and Chinese translation of it. 
 burned incense, when a blue lotus 
 sprang into view in full bloom. 
 
90 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 part of the provinces Shen-si and Kan-su. Ch*au, another 
 kingdom where, a few years previously, Buddhism was in 
 favour at court, .was in the modern Pe-chi-li and Shan-si. 
 That this religion was then flourishing in the most 
 northerly provinces of the empire, and that the date, place 
 (Ch'ang-an), and other circumstances of the translations 
 are preserved, are facts tliat should be remembered in con- 
 nection with the history of the Chinese language. The 
 numerous proper names and other words transferred from 
 Sanscrit, and written with the Chinese characters, are of 
 great assistance in ascertaining what sounds were then 
 given to those characters in the region where Mandarin is 
 now spoken. 
 
 Kumarajiva was brought to China from Kui-tsi, a 
 kingdom in Thibet, east of the Ts'ung-ling mountains. 
 The king of Ts'in had sent an army to invade that country, 
 with directions not to return without the Indian whose 
 fame had spread among all the neighbouring nations. 
 The former translations of the Buddhist sacred books 
 were to a great extent erroneous. To produce them in a 
 form more accurate and complete was the task under- 
 taken by the learned Buddhist just mentioned, at the 
 desire of the king. More than eight hundred priests 
 were called to assist, and the king himself, an ardent 
 disci]^le of the new faith, was present at the conference, 
 holding the old copies in his hand as the work of correc- 
 tion proceeded. More than three hundred volumes were 
 thus prepared.^ 
 
 While this work, so favourable to the progress of Bud- 
 dhism, was proceeding, a Chinese traveller, Fa-hien, was 
 exploring India and collecting books. The extension of 
 the religion that was then propagated with such zeal and 
 fervour very much promoted the mutual intercourse of 
 Asiatic countries. The road between Eastern Persia and 
 China was frequently traversed, and a succession of 
 Chinese Buddhists tlms found their way to the parent 
 
 ^ See the Ttin higlorjf. 
 
FA-HIElSf'S BOOK. 9k 
 
 land of the legends and superstitions in which they be- 
 lieved. Several of them on their return wrote narratives 
 of what they had seen. Among those that have been 
 preserved, the oldest of them, the Account of Buddhist 
 Kingdoms, ^ by Fa-hien, is perhaps the most interesting 
 and valuable. He describes the flourishing condition of 
 Buddhism in the steppes of Tartary, among the Ouighours 
 and the tribes residing west of the Caspian Sea, in Afghan- 
 istan where the language and customs of Central India 
 then prevailed, and the other lands w^atered by the Indus 
 and its tributary rivers, in Central India and in Ceylon. 
 Going back by sea from Ceylon, he reached Ch'ang-an in the 
 year 414, after fifteen years' absence. He then undertook 
 with the help of Palats'anga, a native of India, the task of 
 editing the works he had brought with him, and it was 
 not till several years had elapsed that at the request of 
 Kumarajiva, his religious instructor, he published his 
 travels. The earnestness and vigour of the Chinese 
 Buddhists at that early period, is shown sufficiently by the 
 repeated journeys that they made along the tedious and 
 dangerous route by Central Asia to India. Neither re- 
 ligion nor the love of seeing foreign lands, are now enough, 
 unless the emperor commands it, to induce any of the 
 educated class among them to leave their homes. Fa- 
 hien had several companions, but death and other causes 
 gradually deprived him of them all. 
 
 The Ts'in dynasty now fell (a.d. 420), and with it in 
 quick succession the petty kingdoms into which China 
 was at that time divided. The northern provinces became 
 the possession of a powerful Tartar family, known in 
 history as the Wei dynasty. A native dynasty, the first 
 of the name Sung, ruled in the southern provinces. The 
 princes of these kingdoms were at first hostile to Buddhism. 
 
 * V. Foe kou^ hi, translated by Re- nated Shwo-/u, a Ts'ung-shu (selec- 
 
 musat ; from the preface to which, tion of extracts and books old and 
 
 some of the facts given above are new) of the reign of Shun-chi. Also 
 
 taken. The original work, Fo-kwo-ki^ in the Han-wti-tsung-iku, 
 is contained in the collection denumi- 
 
9S CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Image making and the building of temples were forbidden, 
 and in the north professors of the prohibited religion were 
 subjected to severe persecution. The people were warned 
 against giving them shelter, and in the year 426 an edict 
 was issued against them, in accordance with which the 
 books and images of Buddha were destroyed, and many 
 priests put to death. To worship foreign divinities, or 
 construct images of earth or brass, was made a capital 
 crime. The eldest son of the Tartar chief of the Wei 
 kingdom made many attempts to induce his father to deal 
 less harshly towards a religion to which he himself was 
 strongly attached, but in vain. 
 
 The work of this king was undone by his successor who, 
 in the year a.d. 451, issued an edict permitting a Buddhist 
 temple to be erected in each city, and forty or fifty of the 
 inhabitants to become priests. The emperor himself 
 performed the tonsure for some who took the monastic 
 vows. 
 
 The rapid advancement of Buddhism in China was not 
 unnoticed in neighbouring kingdoms. The same prosperity 
 that awoke the jealousy of the civil government in the 
 country itself, occasioned sympathy elsewhere. Many 
 embassies came from the countries lying between India 
 and China during the time of Sung Wen-ti, whose reign of 
 more than thirty years closed in 453. Their chief object 
 was to congratulate the ruling emperor on the prosperity 
 of Buddhism in his dominions, and to pave the way for 
 frequent intercourse on the ground of identity in religion. 
 Two letters of Pishabarma, king of Aratan, to this emperor 
 are preserved in the history of this dynasty. He describes 
 his kingdom as lying in the shadow of the Himalayas, 
 whose snows fed the streams that watered it. He praises 
 China^ as tlie most prosperous of kingdoms, and its rulers 
 
 ^ The common Indian name of these characters, that the Indians 
 
 "China," written in Chinese Chen- wlio translated into Chinese at that 
 
 tan, is here employed. Another or- early period, did not regard the word 
 
 thography found in Buddhist books "China "as the name of a dynasty, but 
 
 is Chi-na. It is clear from the use of as the proper name of the country to 
 
INDIAN EMBASSIES TO CHINA. 93 
 
 as the benefactors and civilisers of tlie world. The letter 
 of the king of Jebabada, another Indian monarch, ex- 
 presses his admiration of the same emperor in glowing 
 language. He had given rest to tlie inhabitants of heaven 
 and earth, subjected the four demons, attained the state of 
 perfect perception, caused the wheel of the honoured law 
 to revolve, saved multitudes of living beings, and by the 
 renovating power of the Buddhist religion brought them 
 into the happiness of the Nirvana. Eelics of Buddha were 
 widely spread — numberless pagodas erected. All the trea- 
 sures of the religion (Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood) 
 were as beautiful in appearance, and firm in their founda- 
 tions as the Sumeru mountain. The diffusion of the sacred 
 books and the law of Buddha was like the bright shining 
 of the sun, and the assembly of priests, pure in their lives, 
 was like the marshalled constellations of heaven. The 
 royal palaces and walls were like those of the Tauli heaven. 
 In the whole Jambu continent, there were no kingdoms 
 from which embassies did not come with tribute to the 
 great Sung emperor of the Yang-cheu^ kingdom. He 
 adds, that though separated by a wide sea, it was his wish 
 
 which it was applied. This leaves in traders coming from Kashgar, Samar- 
 great uncertainty the usual derivation cand, and Persia. Chen-tan, the 
 of the term "China " from the Dzin other Hindoo name of " China " used 
 dynasty, B.C. 250, or that of jTs'in, A. D. in the Buddhist books, may be the 
 300. The occurrence of the word as Thince of Ptolemy. When the first 
 the name of a nation in the " Laws of Buddhists reached China, the charac- 
 Manu," supposed to date from some ter used for writing the first of these 
 time between B.C. 1000 and B.C. 500, two syllables would be called Tin, and 
 with the use of the term "Sin im" in soon afterwards Chin. In Julien's 
 the "Prophecies of Isaiah," indicate a Methode, &c., its Sanscrit equiva- 
 greater antiquity than either of these lent is Chin. This would be some- 
 dynasties extends to. Some have what late. Would it not be better, 
 supposed that the powerful feudatory having traced the tenn to India, to 
 kingdom, Dzin, that afterwards grew make that country responsible for its 
 into the dynasty of that name, may etymology ? 
 
 have originated the appellation by 1 At that time the territory of 
 
 which the whole country subject to Yang-cheu embraced Kiang-nan, with 
 
 the Cheu emperors was known to parts of Ho-nan and Kiung-si. Jam- 
 
 the Hindoos. Dzin occupied the bu, the southern continent, is one of 
 
 north-western tract now called Shen- the four Indian divisions of the 
 
 si and Kan-su. It was that part of world. India is in its centre. 
 China that would be first reached by 
 
94 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 to have embassies passing and repassing between the two 
 countries. 
 
 The extensive intercourse that then began to exist be- 
 tween China and India may be gathered from the fact that 
 Ceylon^ also sent an embassy and a letter to Sung Wen-ti. 
 In this letter it is said, that though the countries are dis- 
 tant three years' journey by sea and land, there are constant 
 communications between them. The king also mentions 
 the attachment of his ancestors to the worship of Buddha. 
 
 The next of these curious memorials from Buddhist 
 kings preserved in the annals of the same Chinese emperor, 
 is that from " Kapili " (Kapilavastu), the birthplace of 
 Shakyamuni, situated to the north-west of Benares. 
 
 The compiler of the Sung annals, after inserting this 
 document, alludes to the flourishing state of Buddhism in 
 the countries from which these embassies came, and in 
 China itself. He then introduces a memorial from a 
 magistrate representing the disorders that had sprung from 
 the wide-spread influence of this religion, and recom- 
 mending imperial interference. That document says that 
 " Buddhism had during four dynasties been multiplying its 
 images and sacred edifices. Pagodas and temples were 
 upwards of a thousand in number. On entering them the 
 visitor's heart was affected, and when he departed he felt 
 desirous to invite others to the practices of piety. Lately, 
 however, these sentiments of reverence had given place to 
 frivolity. Instead of aiming at sincerity and purity of 
 life, gaudy finery and mutual jealousies prevailed. While 
 many new temples were erected for the sake of display, in 
 the most splendid manner, no one thought of rebuilding 
 the old ones. Official inquiries should be instituted to 
 prevent further evils, and whoever wished to cast brazen 
 statues should first obtain permission from the authorities." 
 
 A few years afterwards (a.d. 458) a conspiracy was 
 detected in which a chief party was a Buddhist priest. 
 
 * Shi-tn-kivo, the '* Ijion kingdom," translated from the Sanscrit name 
 Sinhala, whence "Singhalese." 
 
CONFUCIANIST OPPOSITION TO BUDDHISM. 95 
 
 An edict issued on the occasion by the emperor says, that 
 among the priests many were men who had fled from 
 justice and took the monastic vows for safety. They took 
 advantage of their assumed character to contrive new 
 modes of doing mischief. The fresh troubles thus con- 
 stantly occurring excite the indignation of gods and men. 
 The constituted authorities, it is added, must examine 
 narrowly into the conduct of the monks. Those who are 
 guilty must be put to death. It was afterwards enacted 
 that such monks as would not keep their vows of absti- 
 nence and self-denial should return to their families and 
 previous occupations. Nuns were also forbidden to enter 
 the palace and converse with the emperor's wives. 
 
 The advances of Buddhism later in the fifth century 
 were too rapid not to excite much opposition from the 
 literati of the time, and a religious controversy was the 
 result. 
 
 In the biography of Tsi Liang, a minister of state under 
 the emperor Ts'i Wu-ti (a.d. 483), there are some fragments 
 of a discussion he maintained in favour of Buddhism. He 
 says, " If you do not believe in ' retribution of moral actions ' 
 (2/m-A:i^o),then how can you account for the difference in the 
 condition of the rich and the poor ? " His opponent says, 
 " Men are like flowers on trees, growing together and bent 
 and scattered by the same breeze. Some fall upon curtains 
 and carpets, like those whose lot is cast in palaces, while 
 others drop among heaps of filth, representing men who 
 are born in humble life. Eiches and poverty, then, can be 
 accounted for without the doctrine of retribution." To this 
 the advocateof Buddhism is said to have been unable to reply. 
 He also wrote on the destruction of the soul. Personating the 
 Confucianists, he says that, " The 'soul' (sAm) is to the 'body' 
 {)dng) as sharpness to the knife. The soul cannot continue 
 to exist after the destruction of the body, more than sharp- 
 ness can remain when the knife is no more." These ex- 
 tracts show that some of the Confucianists of that age 
 denied any providential retribution in the present or a 
 
96 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 future life. Whatever may be thought of notions con- 
 nected with ancestral worship, and the passages in the 
 classical books that seem to indicate the knowledge of a 
 separate life for the soul after death, they were too imper- 
 fect and indistinct to restrain the literati from the most 
 direct antagonism on this subject with the early Buddhists. 
 Holding such cheerless views as they did of the destiny of 
 man, it is not to be wondered at that the common people 
 should desert their standard, and adopt a more congenial 
 system. The language of daily life is now thoroughly 
 impregnated with the phraseology of retribution and a 
 separate state. All classes make use of very many ex- 
 pressions in common intercourse which have been origi- 
 nated by Buddhism, thus attesting the extent of its influ- 
 ence on the nation at large. And, as the Buddhist 
 immortality embraces the past as well as the future, the 
 popular notions and language of China extend to a pre- 
 ceding life as much as to a coming one. 
 
 A distinct conception of the controversy as it then 
 existed may be obtained from the following extracts from 
 an account of a native Buddhist, contained in the bio2:ra- 
 phical section of the History of the Sung dynasty : — " The 
 instructions of Confucius include only a single life ; they 
 do not reach to a future state of existence, with its inter- 
 minable results. His disciple, in multiplying virtuous 
 actions, only brings happiness to his posterity. Vices do 
 but entail greater present sufferings as their punishment. 
 The rewards of the good do not, according to this system, 
 go beyond worldly honour, nor does the recompense of 
 guilt include anything worse than obscurity and poverty. 
 Beyond the ken of the senses nothing is known; such 
 ignorance is melancholy. The aims of the doctrine of 
 Shakya, on the other hand, are illimitable. It saves from 
 the greatest dangers, and removes every care from the 
 heart. Heaven and earth are not sufficient to bound its 
 knowledge. Having as its one sentiment, mercy seeking || 
 to save, the renovation of all living beings cannot satisfy "I 
 
DISCUSSIONS ON DOCTRINE. 97 
 
 it. It speaks of hell, and the people fear to sin ; of heaven, 
 and they all desire its happiness. It points to the Nirvana 
 as the spirit's 'final home' (ch'ang-Jcwei, lit. 'long return'), 
 and tells him of * the bodily form of the law ' (/ashen)} 
 as that last, best spectacle, on which the eye can gaze. 
 There is no region to which its influence does not reach. 
 It soars in thought into the upper world. Beginning from 
 a space no larger than the well's mouth in a courtyard, it 
 extends its knowledge to the whole adjacent mansion." 
 These sentiments are replied to, in the imaginary dialogue 
 in which they occur, by a Confucian, who says, " To be 
 urged by the desire of heaven to the performance of virtue, 
 cannot bear comparison with doing what is right for its 
 own sake. To keep the body under restraint from the fear 
 of hell, is not so good as to govern the heart from a f eehng 
 of duty. Acts of worship, performed for the sake of ob- 
 taining forgiveness of sins, do not spring from piety. A 
 gift, made to secure a hundredfold recompense to the 
 giver, cannot come from pure inward sincerity. To praise 
 the happiness of the Nirvana promotes a lazy inactivity. 
 To speak highly of the beauty of the embodied ideal re- 
 presentation of Buddhist doctrine, seen by the advanced 
 disciple, tends to produce in men a love of the marvellous. 
 By your system, distant good is looked for, while the 
 desires of the animal nature, which are close at hand, are 
 unchecked. Though you say that the Bodhisattwa is freed 
 from these desires, yet all beings, without exception, have 
 them." To these arguments for the older Chinese system, 
 the Buddhist comes forward with a rejoinder: — "Your 
 conclusions are wrong. Motives derived from a future 
 state are necessary to lead men to virtue. Otherwise how 
 could the evil tendencies of the present life be adjusted ? 
 Men will not act spontaneously and immediately without 
 
 ^ When the Buddhist has become as in the " Diamond Sutra," it is 
 
 sufficiently enlightened, an ideal spoken of as a state that can be ar- 
 
 picture of Buddhistic doctrine pre- rived at, but here it seems rather to 
 
 sents itself to his mind. It is called mean an object of mental vision. 
 Fa-8hen or Fa-siany. Elsewhere, 
 
98 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 something to hope for. The countryman is diligent in 
 ploughing his land, because he expects a harvest. If he 
 had no such hope, he would sit idle at home, and soon go 
 down for ever 'below the nine fountains.' " ^ The Confucian 
 answers that ''religion" {tau) consisting in the repression of 
 all desires, it is inconsistent to use the desire of heaven as 
 a motive to virtue. 
 
 The discussion is continued with great spirit through 
 several pages, turning entirely on the advantage to be 
 derived from the doctrine of the future state for the in- 
 culcation of virtue. The Buddhist champion is called the 
 teacher of the " black doctrine," and his opponent that of 
 " the white." The author, a Buddhist, has given its full 
 force to the Confucian reasoning, while he condemns with- 
 out flinching the difficulties that he sees in the system he 
 opposes. The whole is preserv^ed in a beautifully finished 
 style of composition, and is a specimen of the valuable 
 materials contained in the Chinese dynastic histories for 
 special inquiries on many subjects not concerned with the 
 general history of the country. It was with fair words 
 like these, the darker shades of Buddhism being kept out 
 of view, that the contest was maintained in those days by 
 such as would introduce a foreign form of worship, against 
 the adherents to the maxims of Confucius. The author 
 of the piece was rewarded for it by the reigning emperor. 
 
 In the northern provinces Buddhism was now flourish- 
 ing. The prince of the Wei kingdom spared no expense in 
 promoting it. History says, that in the year 467 he caused 
 an image to be constructed " forty-three feet " in height 
 (thirty-five English feet). A hundred peculs of brass, or 
 more than five tons, were used, and six peculs of gold. 
 Four years after, he resigned his throne to his son, and 
 became a monk. When, about the same time, the Sung 
 emperor erected a magnificent Buddhist temple, he was 
 severely rebuked by some of his mandarins. 
 
 The time of Wu-ti, the first emperor of the Liang 
 
 ^ Kiev)-t»' tuen-chl'hiay a common phraie for *' death." 
 
 I 
 
BUDDHIST PROSPERITY IN WEI AND LIANG. 99 
 
 dynasty, forms an era in the history of Chinese Buddhism, 
 marked as it was by the arrival in China of Ta-mo (Bodhi- 
 dharma), the twenty-eighth of the patriarchs, and by the 
 extraordinary prosperity of the Buddhist religion under 
 tlie imperial favour. 
 
 At the beginning of the sixth century, the number of 
 Indians in China was upwards of three thousand. The 
 prince of the Wei kingdom exerted himself greatly to pro- 
 vide maintenance for them in monasteries, erected on the 
 most beautiful sites. Many of them resided at Lo-yang, 
 the modern Ho- nan fu. The temples had multiplied to 
 thirteen thousand. The decline of Buddhism in its 
 motherland drove many of the Hindoos to the north of the 
 Himalayas. They came as refugees from the Brahmanical 
 persecution, and their great number will assist materially 
 in accounting for the growth of the religion they propagated 
 in China. The prince of the Wei country is recorded to 
 have discoursed publicly on the Buddhist classics. At the 
 same time, he refused to treat for peace with the ambas- 
 sadors of his southern neighbour, the Liang kingdom. Of 
 this the Confucian historian takes advantage, charging him 
 with inconsistency in being attached to a religion that for- 
 bids cruelty and bloodshed, while he showed such fondness 
 for war. 
 
 Soon after this, several priests were put to death (a.d. 
 515) for practising magical arts. This is an offence attri- 
 buted more than once by the Chinese historians to the 
 early Buddhists. The use of charms, and the claim to 
 magical powers, do not appear to have belonged to the 
 system as it was left by Shakyamuni. His teaching, as 
 Burnouf has shown, was occupied simply with morals and 
 his peculiar philosophy. After a few centuries, however, 
 among the additions made by the Northern Buddhists to 
 popularise the religion, and give greater power to the 
 priests, were many narratives full of marvels and impossi- 
 bilities, falsely attributed to primitive Buddhism. These 
 works are called the Ta-cKeng, or " Great Development " 
 
loo CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Sutras. Another novelty was the pretence of working 
 enchantments by means of unintelligible formulae, which 
 are preserved in the books of the Chinese Buddhists, as in 
 those of Nepaul, without attempt at explanation. These 
 charms are called Dharani. They occur in the Great 
 Development classics, such as the "Lotus of the Good 
 Law," Miau-fa-lien-hwa-hing (Fa-hwa-king), and in various 
 Buddhist works. The account given in the T'ung-kien- 
 kang-muh of the professed magician who led the priests 
 referred to above, says that he styled himself Ta-ch*eng, used 
 wild music to win followers, taught them to dissolve all the 
 ties of kindred, and aimed only at murder and disturbance. 
 
 The native annotator says that Ta-dCeng is the highest 
 of three states of intelligence to which a disciple of Buddha 
 can attain, and that the corresponding Sanscrit word, Malia- 
 yana, means " Boundless revolution and unsurpassed know- 
 ledge." It is here that the resemblance is most striking 
 between the Buddhism of China and that of other countries 
 where it is professed in the north. These countries having 
 the same additions to the creed of Shakya, the division of 
 Buddhism by Burnouf into a Northern and Southern school 
 has been rightly made. The superadded mythology and 
 claim to magical powers of the Buddhists, who revere the 
 Sanscrit as their sacred language, distinguish them from 
 their co-religionists who preserve their traditions in the 
 Pali tongue. 
 
 In the year A.D. 518, Sung-yiin was sent to India by the 
 prince of the Wei country for Buddhist books. He was 
 accompanied by Hwei-sheng, a priest. He travelled tu 
 Candahar, stayed two years in Udyana, and returned with 
 175 Buddhist works. His narrative has been translated 
 by Professor Neumann into German. 
 
 In A.D. 526, Bodhidharma, after having grown old in 
 Southern India, reached Canton by sea. The propagation 
 of Buddhism in his native country he gave in charge to one 
 of his disciples during his absence. He was received with 
 the honour due to his age and character, and immediately 
 
BODHIDHARMA. loi 
 
 invited to Nanking, where the emperor of Southern China, 
 Liang Wu-ti, held his court. The emperor said to him — 
 " From my accession to the throne, I have been incessantly 
 building temples, transcribing sacred books, and admitting 
 new monks to take the vows. How much merit may T be 
 supposed to have accumulated?" The reply was, "None." 
 The emperor : " And why no merit ? " The patriarch : "All 
 this is but the insignificant effect of an imperfect cause not 
 complete in itself. It is the shadow that follows the sub- 
 stance, and is without real existence." The emperor: "Then 
 what is true merit?" The patriarch: "It consists in purity 
 and enlightenment, depth and completeness, and in being 
 wrapped in thought while surrounded by vacancy and 
 stillness. Merit such as this cannot be sought by worldly 
 means." The emperor: "Which is the most important of 
 the holy doctrines ? " The patriarch: " Where all is empti- 
 ness, nothing can be called * holy ' {sheng)!' The emperor : 
 " Who is he that thus replies to me ? " The patriarch : " I 
 do not know." The emperor — says the Buddhist narrator — 
 still remained unenlightened. This extract exhibits Bud- 
 dhism very distinctly in its mystic phase. Mysticism can 
 attach itself to the most abstract philosophical dogmas, 
 just as well as to those of a properly religious kind. This 
 state of mind, allying itself indifferently to error and to 
 truth, is thus shown to be of purely subjective origin. The 
 objective doctrines that call it into existence may be of the 
 most opposite kind. It grows, therefore, out of the mind 
 itself. Its appearance may be more naturally expected in 
 the history of a religion like Christianity, which awakens 
 the human emotions to their intensest exercise, while, in 
 many ways, it favours the extended use of the contem- 
 plative faculties, and hence the numerous mystic sects of 
 Church history. Its occurrence in Buddhism, and its kin- 
 dred systems, might with more reason occasion surprise, 
 founded as they are on philosophical meditations eminently 
 abstract. It was reserved for the fantastic genius of India 
 to construct a religion out of three such elements as 
 
I02 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 atheism, annihilation, and the non-reality of the material 
 world ; and, by the encouragement of mysticism and the 
 monastic life, to make these most ultimate of negations 
 palatable and popular. The subsequent addition of a 
 mythology suited to the taste of the common people was, 
 it should be remembered, another powerful cause, contri- 
 buting, in conjunction with these quietist and ascetic ten- 
 dencies, to spread Buddhism through so great a mass of 
 humankind. In carrying out his mystic views, Ta-mo 
 discouraged the use of the sacred books. He represented 
 the attainment of the Buddhist's aim as being entirely the 
 work of the heart. Though he professed not to make use 
 of books, his followers preserved his apophthegms in writ- 
 ing, and, by the wide diffusion of them, a numerous school 
 of contemplatists was originated, under the name of Gh'an- 
 hio (dhyana doctrine) and Ch'an-men (dhyana school). 
 
 Bodhidharma, not being satisfied with the result of his 
 interview with royalty, crossed the Yang-tsze keang into 
 the Wei kingdom and remained at Lo-yang. Here, the 
 narrative says, he sat with his face to a wall for nine years. 
 The people called him the " "Wall - gazing Brahman."^ 
 When it was represented to the Liang emperor, that the 
 great teacher, who possessed the precious heirloom of 
 Shakya, the symbol of the liidden law of Buddha, was lost 
 to his kingdom, he repented and sent messengers to invite 
 him to return. They failed in their errand. The pre- 
 sence of the Indian sage excited the more ardent Chinese 
 Buddhists to make great efforts to conquer the sensations. 
 Thus one of them, we are told, said to himself, " Formerly. 
 for the sake of religion, men broke open their bones and 
 extracted the marrow, took blood from their arms to give 
 to the hungry, rolled their hair in the mud, or threw them- 
 selves down a precipice to feed a famishing tiger. What 
 can I do ? " Accordingly, while snow was falUng, he ex- 
 posed himself to it till it had risen above his knees, when 
 the patriarcli observing him, asked liim what he hoped to 
 
 * Pi-kwan '' p'o-lo-nun** (in old Chinese, Ba-ki-nun), 
 
BODHIDHARMA'S LATTER YEARS AND DEATH. 103 
 
 gain by it. The young aspirant to the victory over self 
 wept at the question, and said, " I only desire that mercy 
 may open a path to save the whole race of mankind." 
 The patriarch replied, that such an act was not worthy of 
 comparison with the acts of the Buddhas. It required, he 
 told him, very little virtue or resolution. His disciple, 
 stung with the answer, says the legend, took a sharp knife, 
 severed his arm, and placed it before the patriarch. The 
 latter expressed his high approval of the deed, and when, 
 after nine years' absence, he determined to return to India, 
 he appointed the disciple who had performed it to succeed 
 him as patriarch in China. He said to him on this occasion, 
 " I give you the seal of the law as the sign of your adherence 
 to the true doctrine inwardly, and the kasha (robe worn by 
 Buddhists) as the symbol of your outward teaching. These 
 symbols must be delivered down from one to another for two 
 hundred years after my death, and then, the law of Buddha 
 having spread through the whole nation, the succession of 
 patriarchs will cease." He further said, " I also consign to 
 you the Lenga Sutra in four sections, which opens the door 
 to the heart of Buddha, and is fitted to enlighten all living 
 men." Ta-mo's further instructions to his successor as to 
 the nature and duties of the patriarchate are fully detailed 
 in the GhAryue-luk. He died of old age after five attempts 
 to poison him, and was buried at the Hiuug-er mountains 
 between Ho-nan and Shen-si. At this juncture Sung-yiin, 
 who had been sent to India a few years previously for 
 Buddhist books, returned, and inspected the remains of 
 Bodhidharma. As he lay in his coffin he held one shoe 
 in his hand. Sung-ytln asked him whither he was going. 
 *' To the Western heaven," was the reply. Sung-yun then 
 returned home. The coffin was afterwards opened and 
 found empty, excepting that one of the patriarch's shoes 
 was lying there. By imperial command, the shoe was 
 preserved as a sacred relic in the monastery. Afterwards 
 in the T'ang dynasty it was stolen, and now no one knows 
 where it is. 
 
I04 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The embassies from Buddhist kingdoms in the time of 
 Liang Wu-ti afford other illustrations of the passion for 
 relics and mementoes of venerated personages, encouraged 
 by the Buddhist priests. The king of Bunam, the ancient 
 Siam, wrote to the emperor that he had a hair of Buddha, 
 twelve feet in length, to give him. Priests were sent from 
 the Chinese court to meet it, and bring it home. Three 
 years before this, as the History of the Liang dynasty in- 
 forms us, in building, by imperial command, a monastery 
 and pagoda to king A-yo (Ashoka), a sharira, or " relic of 
 Buddha," had been found under the old pagoda, with a hair 
 of a blue lavender colour. This hair was so elastic that 
 when the priests pulled it, it lengthened ad libitum, and 
 when let alone curled into a spiral form. The historian 
 quotes two Buddhist works in illustration. The " Seng-ga 
 Sutra" (king) says, that Buddha's hair was blue and fine. 
 In the San-mei-Jcing, Shakya himself says, " When I was 
 formerly in my father's palace, I combed my hair, and 
 measuring it, found that it was twelve feet in length. 
 When let go, it curled into a spiral form." This descrip- 
 tion agrees, it is added, with that of the hair found by 
 the emperor. 
 
 In A.D. 523, the king of Banban sent as his tributary 
 offering, a true " sharira " (she-li) with pictures and minia- 
 ture pagodas ; also leaves of the Bodhi, Buddha's favourite 
 tree. The king of another country in the Birmese penin- 
 sula had a dream, in which a priest appeared to him and 
 foretold to him that the new prince of the Liang dynasty 
 would soon raise Buddhism to the summit of prosperity, 
 and that he would do wisely if he sent him an embassy. 
 The king paying no attention to the warning, the priest 
 appeared again in a second dream, and conducted the 
 monarch to the court of Liang Wu-ti. On awaking, the 
 king, who was himself an accomplished painter, drew the 
 likeness of the emperor as he had seen him in his dream. 
 He now sent ambassadors and an artist with instructions 
 to paint a likeness of the Chinese monarch from life. On 
 
RELICS. 105 
 
 comparing it with his own picture, the similarity was 
 found to be perfect. 
 
 This emperor, so zealous a promoter of Buddhism, in 
 the year a.d. 527, the twenty-sixth of his reign, became a 
 monk and entered the T'ung-tai monastery in Nanking. 
 The same record is made in the history two years after- 
 wards. As might be expected, this event calls forth a 
 long and severe critique from the Confucian historian. 
 The preface to the history of the dynasty established by 
 this prince, consists solely of a lament over the sad neces- 
 sity of adverting to Buddhism in the imperial annals of 
 the nation, with an argument for the old national system, 
 which is so clearly right, that the wish to deviate from it 
 shows a man to be wrong. In reference to the emperor's 
 becoming a priest, the critic says, " that not only would 
 the man of common intelligence condemn such conduct 
 in the ruler of a commonwealth, but even men like Bodhi- 
 dharma would withhold their approval." 
 
 A few years afterwards, the same emperor rebuilt the 
 Ch'ang-ts'ien monastery five le to the south of " Nanking," 
 in whicli was the to'pe (shrine for relics) of A-yo or Ash6ka. 
 The writer in the T'ung-kien-kang-muh adds, that a true 
 relic of Buddha's body is preserved near "Ming-cheu" (now 
 Ningpo). Ashoka erected 80,000 topes, of which one- 
 nineteenth were assigned to China. The tope and relic 
 here alluded to are those of the hill Yo-wang shan, well 
 known to foreign visitors, and situated fifty- two li east- 
 ward of Ningpo. To Buddhist pilgrims coming from far 
 and near to this sacred spot, the she-li is an object of 
 reverential worship, but to unbelieving eyes it presents a 
 rather insignificant appearance. The small, reddish, bead- 
 like substance that constitutes the relic, is so placed in 
 its lantern-shaped receptacle, that it does not admit of 
 much light being thrown upon it. The colour is said to 
 vary with the state of mind of the visitor. Yellow is 
 that of happiest omen. The theory is a safe one, for 
 there is just obscurity enough to render the tint of the 
 
io6 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 precious remains of Shaky a's burnt body somewhat un- 
 certain. 
 
 King Ashoka, to whom this temple is dedicated, was 
 one of the most celebrated of the Buddhist kings of India. 
 Burnouf in his Introduction db VHistoire du Buddhisme 
 Indien, has translated a long legend of which Ashoka is 
 the hero, and which is also contained in the Chinese work, 
 Fa-yuen-chu-lin. The commencement in the latter differs 
 a little from that given by Burnouf. Buddha says to 
 Ananda, " You should know that in the city ' Palinput * 
 (Pataliputra), there will be a king named ' The moon pro- 
 tected ' {Yue-hu; in Sanscrit, Chandragupta). He will have 
 a son named Bindupala, and he again will have a son 
 Susima." Ashoka was the son of Bindupala by another 
 wife, and succeeded his father as king. The Indian king 
 Sandracottus, who concluded a treaty with Seleucus Nica- 
 tor, the Greek king of Syria, B.C. 305, was identified with 
 Chandragupta by Schlegel and Wilson. According to 
 the Mahavanso, the Pali history of the Buddhist patriarchs, 
 there was an interval of 154 years from Buddlia's death 
 to the accession of Chandragupta, making that event to be 
 in B.C. 389, which is more than half a century too soon. 
 Turnour thinks the discrepancy cannot be accounted for 
 but by supposing a wilful perversion of tke chronology. 
 These statements are quoted in Hardy's Eastern Monachism, 
 from Wilson's Vishnu Purana. By this synchronism of 
 Greek and Indian literature, it is satisfactorily shown that 
 Ash6ka lived in the second century before Christ, and Bud- 
 dha in the fourth and fifth. The commonly received chrono- 
 logy of the Chinese Buddhists is too long, therefore, by more 
 than five hundred years.^ Probably this fraud was effected 
 to verify predictions found in certain Sutras, in which 
 Buddha is made to say that in a definite number of years 
 after his death, such and such things would happen. The 
 
 ' The Northen) Wei History gives common date, to the time required by 
 the date of Shakyamuni's birth, B.C. the evidence. 
 688, which is much ucarer thau the 
 
THE EMPEROR WU-TI A MONK. 107 
 
 Northern Buddhists wrote in Sanscrit, made use of Sanscrit 
 Sutras, and were anxious to vindicate the correctness of 
 all predictions found in them. Burnouf supposes that the 
 disciples of Buddlia, would naturally publish their sacred 
 books in more than one language ; Sanscrit being then, 
 and long afterwards, spoken by the literati, while derived 
 dialects were used by the common people. By Fa-hien 
 Ashoka is called A-yo Wang, as at the monastery near 
 Ningpo. In Hiuen-tsang's narrative, the name Wu-yeu 
 wang, the " Sorrowless king," a translation of the Sanscrit 
 word, is applied to him. 
 
 The Liang emperor Wu-ti, after three times assuming 
 the Buddhist vows and expounding the Sutras to his 
 assembled courtiers, was succeeded by a son who favoured 
 Tauism. A few years after, the sovereign of the Ts'i king- 
 dom endeavoured to combine these two religions. He 
 put to death four Tauist priests for refusing to submit to 
 the tonsure and become worshippers of Buddha. After 
 this there was no more resistance. In a.d. 558 it is re- 
 lated that Wu-ti, an emperor of the Cli'in dynasty, became 
 a monk. Some years afterwards, the prince of the Cheu 
 kingdom issued an edict prohibiting both Buddhism and 
 Tauism. Books and images were destroyed, and all pro- 
 fessors of these religions compelled to abandon them. 
 
 The History of the Northern Wei dynasty contains some 
 details on the early Sanscrit translations in addition to 
 what has been already inserted in this narrative.^ The 
 pioneers in the work of translation were Kashiapmadanga 
 and Chu-fa-lan, who worked conjointly in the time of 
 
 1 Of the interest felt by Sauscrit by that traveller to his native 
 
 icholars in this subject, the letter land. 
 
 of Professor Wilson, formerly San- Of the Chinese translations I col- 
 
 scrit Professor at Oxford, to Sir lected more than fifty while residing 
 
 John Bowring is evidence. He in- at Shanghai, for the library of the 
 
 vited the attention of the "China India House. Kecently E.ev. S. Beal 
 
 Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society " has published an interesting account 
 
 to the translations made by Hiuen- of these translations in the Transac- 
 
 tsang in the T'ang dynasty, and tions of the Oriental Congreit, held in 
 
 the Sanscrit oiigiual works brought London^ 1874. 
 
I08 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Ming-ti. The latter also translated the " Sutra of the ten 
 points of rest." In A.D. 150, a priest of the "An-si" 
 (Arsaces) country in Eastern Persia is noticed as an excellent 
 translator. About A.D. 170, Chitsin, a priest of the Getae 
 nation, produced a version of the Nirvdna Sutra. Sun 
 K'iuen, prince of the Wu state, one of the Three Kingdoms, 
 who, some time after the embassy of Marcus Aurelius 
 Antoninus, the Eoman emperor, to China, received with 
 great respect a Eoman merchant at his court,i treated with 
 equal regard an Indian priest who translated for him some 
 of the books of Buddha. The next Indian mentioned is 
 Dharmakakala, who translated the " Vinaya " or Kiai-lii, 
 (Discipline) at Lo-yang. About a.d. 300, Chi-kung-ming, 
 a foreign priest, translated the Wei-ma and Fa-hwa^ 
 " Lotus of the Good Law Sutras," but the work was im- 
 perfectly done. Tau-an, a Chinese Buddhist, finding the 
 sacred books disfigured by errors, applied himself to cor- 
 rect them. He derived instruction from Buddojanga and 
 wished much to converse with Kumarajiva, noticed in a 
 previous page. The latter, himself a man of high intelli- 
 gence, had conceived an extraordinary regard for him, and 
 lamented much when he came to Ch'ang-an from Liang- 
 cheu at the north-western corner of China where he had long 
 resided, that Tau-an was dead. Kumarajiva found that 
 in the corrections he proposed to make in the sacred books, 
 he had been completely anticipated by his Chinese fellow- 
 religionist. Kumarajiva is commended for his accurate 
 knowledge of the Chinese language as well as of his own. 
 With his assistants he made clear the sense of many pro- 
 found and exteusive "Sutras" {Kmg) and "Shastras" 
 (Lun), twelve works in all. The divisions into sections and 
 sentences were formed with care. The finishing touch to 
 the Chinese composition of these translations was given 
 
 1 In A.D. 226. This Roman was translated. See the " Liang History *' 
 
 named Dzinlon. After describing — India. 
 
 his country to the Chinese prince, he - In Sanscrit, Saddharnia Punda* 
 
 w;ia sent back honourably. His name rika Sutra, 
 Vookii in its Chinese form as if it were 
 
BUDDHIST WORKS TRANSLATED. 109 
 
 by Seng-chau. Fa-hien in his travels did his utmost to 
 procure copies of the Discipline and the other sacred 
 books. On his return, with the aid of an Indian named 
 Bhadra, he translated the 8eng - Td - lil (Asangkhyea 
 Vinaya), which has since been regarded as a standard 
 work. 
 
 Before Fa-hien's time, about a.d. 290, a Chinese named 
 Chu Si-hing went to Northern India for Buddhist books. 
 He reached Udin or Khodin, identified by Eemusat with 
 Elhoten, and obtained a Sutra of ninety sections. He 
 translated it in Ho-nan, with the title Fang-kwang-pat- 
 nia-king (Light-emitting Prajna Sutra). Many of these 
 books at that time so coveted, were brought to Lo-yang, 
 and translated there by Chufahu, a priest of the Getae 
 nation, who had travelled to India, and was a contem- 
 porary of the Chinese just mentioned. Fa -ling was an- 
 other Chinese who proceeded from " Yang-cheu '' (Kiang- 
 nan) to Northern India and brought back the Sutra 
 HvM-yen-king and the Fen-ting-lil, a work on discipline. 
 Versions of the " Nirvana Sutra " {Ni-wan-king), and the 
 Seng-ki-lil were made by Chi-meng in the country Kau- 
 ch'ang, or what is now " Eastern Thibet." The translator 
 had obtained them at Hwa-shi or " Pataliputra," a city 
 to the westward. The Indian Dharmaraksha brought to 
 China a new Sanscrit copy of the Nirvdna Sutra and 
 going to Kau-ch'ang, compared it with Chi-meng's copy 
 for critical purposes. The latter was afterwards brought 
 to Ch'ang-an and published in thirty chapters. The Indian 
 here mentioned, professed to foretell political events by the 
 use of charms. He also translated the Kin-kwang-king, 
 or " Golden Light Sutra," and the Ming-king, " Bright 
 Sutra." At this time there were several tens of foreign 
 priests at Ch*ang-an, but the most distinguished among 
 them for ability was Kumarajiva. His translations of 
 the Wei-ma, Fa-hwa, and C'heng-shih (complete) Satras, 
 with the three just mentioned, by Dharmaraksha and 
 «ome others, together form the Great Developnunt course of 
 
Iio CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 instruction. The "Longer Agama Sutra "^ and the " Discip- 
 line of the Four Divisions " ^ were translated by Buddha- 
 yasha, a native of India, the " Discipline of the Ten 
 Chants " ^ by Kumarajiva, the " Additional Agama Sutra " 
 by Dharmanandi, and the " Shastra of Metaphysics " {Ah- 
 hidharma-lun) by Dharmayagama. These together formed 
 the Smaller Development course. In some monasteries the 
 former works were studied by the recluses ; in others the 
 latter. Thus a metaphysical theology, subdivided into 
 schools, formed the subject of study in the Asiatic monkish 
 establishments, as in the days of the European school- 
 men. The Chinese travellers in India, and in the chain 
 of Buddhist kingdoms extending — before the inroads of 
 Mohammedanism — from their native land into Persia, 
 give us the opportunity of knowing how widely there 
 as well as in China the monastic life and the study of these 
 books were spread. About a.d. 400, Sangadeva, a native of 
 " Cophen " {Kipin), translated two of the Agama Sutras. 
 The " Hwa-yen Sutra " was soon afterwards brought from 
 Udin by Chi Fa-ling, a Chinese Buddhist, and a version of 
 it made at Nanking. He also procured the Fen-ting-lil, 
 a work in the Vinaya or " Discipline " branch of Buddhist 
 books. Ma Twan-lin also mentions a Hindoo who, about 
 A.D. 502, translated some Shastras of the Great Develop- 
 ment {Ta-ch'eng) school, caUed Ti-ch'i-lun (fixed position), 
 and Shi-ti-lun (the ten positions). 
 
 The Hindoo Buddhists in China, whose literary labours 
 down to the middle of the sixth century are here recorded, 
 while they sometimes enjoyed the imperial favour, had 
 to bear their part in the reverses to which their religion 
 was exposed. Dharmaraksha was put to death for refus- 
 ing to come to court on the requisition of one of the Wei 
 emperors. Sihien, a priest of the royal family of the 
 Kipin kingdom in Northern India, in times of persecution 
 assumed the disguise of a physician, and when the very 
 severe penal laws then enacted against Buddhism were 
 
 ^ Ck'angahan king. * Si-fun-lii. ^ Shih-8U7iiilil. 
 
BUDDHISTS ARRIVE FROM CEYLON. iii 
 
 remitted, returned to his former mode of life as a monk. 
 Some other names might be added to the list of Hindoo 
 translators, were it not already sufficiently long. 
 
 About the year 460 it appears from the history that 
 five Buddhists from Ceylon arrived in China by the 
 Thibetan route. Two of them were Yashaita and Buda- 
 nandi. They brought images. Those constructed by the 
 latter had the property of diminishing in apparent size 
 as the visitor drew nearer, and looking brighter as he 
 went farther away. Though a literary character is not 
 attributed to them, the Southern Buddhist traditions 
 might, through their means, have been communicated 
 at this time to the Chinese. This may account for the 
 date — nearly correct — assigned to the birth of Buddha in 
 the History of the Wei dynasty, from which these facts 
 are taken, and in that of the Sui dynasty which soon 
 followed. 
 
 According to the same history there were then in China 
 two millions of priests and thirty thousand temples. This 
 account must be exaggerated ; for if we allow a thousand 
 to each district, which is probably over the mark, there 
 will be but that number at the present time, although the 
 population has increased very greatly in the interval.^ 
 
 Buddhism received no check from the Sui emperors, 
 who ruled China for the short period of thirty-seven 
 years. The first of them, on assuming the title of emperor 
 in 581, issued an edict giving full toleration to this sect. 
 Towards the close of his reign he prohibited the destruc- 
 tion or maltreatment of any of the images of the Buddhist 
 or Tauist sects. It was the weakness of age, says the 
 Confucian historian, giving way to superstitions that led 
 him to such an act as this. The same commentator on 
 the history of the period says, that the Buddhist books 
 were at this time ten times more numerous than the Con- 
 
 1 Mr. "Watters, citing the " Mirror those who had taken the vows was 
 
 of History," Tung-kiea, chap, cccxvi., so great that the labours of the field 
 
 eays, " Every household almost had were frequently neglected for lack of 
 
 been converted, and the niunber of workmen " 
 
112 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 fucian classics. The ^ui History in the digest it gives 
 of all the books of the time, states those of the Buddhist 
 sect to be 1950 distinct works. Many of the titles are 
 given, and among them are not a few treating of the mode 
 of writing by alphabetic symbols used in the kingdoms 
 from whence Buddhism came. The first alphabet that was 
 thus introduced appears to have been one of fourteen sym- 
 bols. It is called Si-yo hu-shu or " Foreign Writing of the 
 Western countries," and also Ba-la-men-shu, " Brahmanical 
 writing." The tables of initials and finals found in the 
 Chinese native dictionaries were first formed in the third 
 century, but more fully early in the sixth century, in the 
 Liang dynasty. It was then that the Hindoos, who had 
 come to China, assisted in forming, according to the model of 
 the Sanscrit alphabet, a system of thirty-six initial letters, 
 and described the vocal organs by which they are formed. 
 They also constructed tables, in which, by means of two 
 sets of representative characters, one for the initials and 
 another for the finals, a mode of spelling words was 
 exhibited. The Chinese were now taught for the first time 
 that monosyllabic sounds are divisible into parts, but 
 alphabetic symbols were not adopted to write the sepa- 
 rated elements. It was thought better to use characters 
 already known to the people. A serious defect attended 
 this method. The analysis was not carried far enough. 
 Intelligent Chinese understand that a sound, such as rjian, 
 can be divided into two parts, m and an; for they have 
 been long accustomed to the system of phonetic bisection 
 here alluded to, but they usually refuse to believe that a 
 trisection of the sound is practicable. At the same time 
 the system was much easier to learn than if foreign sym- 
 bols had been employed, and it was very soon universally 
 adopted. Shen-kung, a priest, is said to have been the 
 author of the system, and the dictionary Yu-p'ien was one 
 of the first extensive works in which it was employed,^ 
 That the Hindoo Buddhists should have taught the Chinese 
 
 1 See my Introduction to the Study of the Chinese character$. 
 
 I 
 
S YLLABIC SPELLING. 1 13 
 
 how to write the soimds of tliis language by an artifice 
 which required nothing but their own hieroglyphics, and 
 rendered unnecessary the introduction of new symbols, is 
 sufficient evidence of their ingenuity, and is not the least 
 of the services they have done to the sons of Han. It 
 answered well for several centuries, and was made use of 
 in all dictionaries and educational works. But the lan- 
 guage changed, the old sounds were broken up, and now 
 the words thus spelt are read correctly only by those 
 natives who happen to speak the dialects that most nearly 
 resemble in sound the old pronunciation. 
 
 To Shen Yo, the historian of two dynasties, and author 
 of several detached historical pieces, is attributed the dis- 
 covery of the four tones. His biographer says of him in 
 the "Liang History:" — '' He wrote his ' Treatise on the Four 
 Tones,' to make known what men for thousands of years 
 had not understood — the wonderful fact which he alone 
 in the silence of his breast came to perceive." It may be 
 well doubted if the credit of arriving unassisted at the 
 knowledge of this fact is due to him. He resided at 
 the court of Liang Wu-ti, the great patron of the Indian 
 strangers. They, accustomed to the unrivalled accuracy 
 in phonetic analysis of the Sanscrit alphabet, would 
 readily distinguish a new phenomenon like this, while to 
 a native speaker, who had never known articulate sounds 
 to be without it, it would almost necessarily be undetected. 
 In the syllabic spelling that they formed, the tones are 
 duly represented, by being embraced in every instance in 
 the final. 
 
 The extent of influence which this nomenclature for 
 sounds has attained iu the native literature is known to 
 all who are familiar with its dictionaries, and the common 
 editions of the classical books. In this way it is that the 
 traditions of old sounds needed to explain the rhymes and 
 metre of the ancient national poetry are preserved. By 
 the same method the sounds of modern dialects that have 
 deviated extensively from the old type have been com- 
 
 H 
 
114 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 mitted to writing. The dialects of the Mandarin provinces, 
 of Northern and Southern Fu-kien, and Canton have heen 
 written down by native authors each with its one system 
 of tones and alphabetic elements, and they have all taken 
 the method introduced by the Buddhists as their guide. 
 The Chinese have since become acquainted with several 
 alphabets with foreign symbols, but when they need to 
 write phonetically they prefer the system, imperfect as it 
 is, that does not oblige them to abandon the hieroglyphic 
 signs transmitted by their ancestors. Never, perhaps, 
 since the days of Cadmus, was a philological impulse more 
 successful than that thus communicated from India to the 
 Chinese, if the extent of its adoption be the criterion. 
 They have not only by the use of the syllabic spelling 
 thus taught them, collected the materials for philological 
 research afforded by the modern dialects, but, by patient 
 industry, have discovered the early history of the language, 
 showing how the number of tones increased from two to 
 three by the time of Confucius, to four in the sixth cen- 
 tury of our era, and so on to their present state. Few 
 foreign investigators have yet entered on this field of re- 
 search, but it may be suggested that the philology of the 
 Eastern languages must without it be necessarily incom- 
 plete, and that the Chinese, by patience and a true scien- 
 tific instinct, have placed the materials in such a form 
 that little labour is needed to gather from tliem the facts 
 that they contain. 
 
 The Thibetans, and, probably, the Coreans also, owe 
 their alphabets, which are both arranged in the Sanscrit 
 mode, to the Buddhists. Corean ambassadors came in the 
 reign of Liang Wu-ti to ask for the " Nirvana " and other 
 Buddhistic classics. It may then have been as early as 
 this that they had an alphabet, but the writing now in 
 use dates from about a.d. i 360, as Mr. Scott has shown.^ 
 
 ^ ReinuHat suppoHed that this al- had invented a writing of their own, 
 phabet was borrowed by the Coreans and ruled inCorea in the eleventh and 
 from the Nu-chih and Kie-tan, who twelfth centuries ; but such an hypo- 
 
CONFUCIAN OPPOSITION TO BUDDHISM. 115 
 
 The first emperor of the T*ang dynasty was induced by 
 the representations of Fu Yi, one of his ministers, to call a 
 council for deliberation on the mode of action to be adopted 
 in regard to Buddhism. Fu Yi, a stern enemy of the new 
 religion, proposed that the monks and nuns should be com- 
 pelled to marry and bring up families. The reason that 
 they adopted the ascetic life, he said, was to avoid con- 
 tributing to the revenue. What they held about the fate of 
 mankind depending on the will of Buddha was false. Life 
 and death were regulated by a " natural necessity " with 
 which man had nothing to do {yeu-u-tsi-jan). The retri- 
 bution of vice and virtue was the province of the prince, 
 while riches and poverty were the recompense provoked 
 by our own actions. The public manners had degenerated 
 lamentably through the inHuence of Buddhism. The " six 
 states of being " ^ into which the souls of men might be 
 born were entirely fictitious. The monks lived an idle 
 life, and were unprofitable members of the commonwealth. 
 To this it was replied in the council, by Siau U, a friend of 
 the Buddhists, that Buddha was a " sage " (shing-jen), and 
 that Fu Yi having spoken ill of a sage, was guilty of a great 
 crime. To this Fu Yi answered, that the highest of the 
 virtues were loyalty and filial piety, and the monks, cast- 
 ing off as they did their prince and their parents, dis- 
 regarded them both. As for Siau JJ, he added, he was — 
 being the advocate of such a system — as destitute as they 
 
 thesis is incompatible with the fact invented for the occasion by Liang 
 
 that the Corean letters are more like Wu-ti, and which has passed into 
 
 the Thibetan and Sanscrit letters. familiar colloquial in some dialects 
 
 ^ The lu-tau here alluded to are the as vio-kwei, in the sense of " demon." 
 
 modes of existence into which, in the (4.) " Hell," the prison of the lost, ti- 
 
 revolutions of the metempsychosis, all yu : {5. )iV5fo-A'z/,'ct, wandering "hungry 
 
 will be born who have not been saved spirits ; " (6.) Animals, 
 
 by the teaching of Buddha. They The use of T'ie7i, "Heaven," in a 
 
 are: — {i.) T'ien, the DevasoiiheHm- personal sense, as the translation of 
 
 doos(Lat. (/eM.«); (2.) Man; (3.)^swm the Sanscrit Deva, whether in the 
 
 and itfara, superior classes of demons, singular or plural, is, perhaps, more 
 
 Both these words are transferred. The common in Buddhist works than its 
 
 former is transliterated by characters use in a local sense. In explaining this 
 
 now read sieu-Io (in old Chinese, su- new meaning of the word, Deva is 
 
 la), the latter by mo (ma), a character transcribed as {De-ba) TH-p'o. 
 
ii6 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 of these virtues. Siau t)" joined his hands and merely re- 
 plied to him, that hell was made for such men as he. The 
 Confucianists gained the victory, and severe restrictions 
 were imposed on the professors of the foreign faith, but 
 they were taken off almost immediately after. 
 
 The successors of Bodhidharma were five in number. 
 They are styled with him the six "Eastern patriarchs," 
 Tung-tsu. They led quiet lives. The fourth of them was 
 invited to court by the second emperor of the T'ang dynasty, 
 and repeatedly declined the honour. When a messenger 
 came for the fourth time and informed him that, if he 
 refused to go, he had orders to take his head back witli 
 him, the imperturbable old man merely held out his neck 
 to the sword in token of his willingness to die. The em- 
 peror respected his firmness. Some years previously, with 
 a large number of disciples, he had gone to a city in Shan- 
 si. The city was soon after laid siege to by rebels. The 
 patriarch advised his followers to recite the " Great Prajna," 
 Ma-ha-pat-nia, an extensive work, in which the most 
 abstract dogmas of Buddhist philosophy are very fully 
 developed. The enemy, looking towards the ramparts, 
 thought they saw a band of spirit-soldiers in array against 
 them, and consequ -ntly retired. 
 
 In the year 629 the celebrated Hiuen-tsang set out on 
 his journey to India to procure Sanscrit books. Passing 
 from Liang-cheu at the north-western extremity of China, 
 he proceeded westward to the region watered by the Oxus 
 and Jaxartes where the Turks ^ were then settled. He 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 1 It was about this time that the 
 contests between Cbosroes king of 
 Persia, and the Turks on one side, 
 and the Byzantine emperor on the 
 other, occurred. The same events that 
 have been described by Gibbon's luxu- 
 riant pen are found in a form more 
 laconic and curtailed in the " History 
 of the T'aii;:,' Dynasty." It might well 
 be so, when Chinese tr.avellers passed 
 the eastern borders of Persia on their 
 way to India, and when the imperial 
 
 occupants of the throne of Constan- 
 tinople sent tMiil)assies frequently to 
 Cliina. There are two records of 
 these embassies preserved, the inte- 
 rest of which will be a sufiicient ex- 
 cuse for a short digression. In a.d. 
 643, says the history, Pa-ta-lik, the 
 king of the Fulim country, sent an 
 eniliassy with presents of red ghiss. 
 That this king was a Byzantine em- 
 peror is shown by the narrative of 
 events in Persia just preceding it in 
 
HIUEN-TSANG'S TRAVELS IN INDIA. 
 
 117 
 
 afterwards crossed the Hindoo-kush and proceeded into 
 India. He lingered for a long time in the countries 
 through which the Ganges flows, rich as they were in 
 reminiscences and relics of primitive Buddhism. Then 
 bending his steps to the southwards, he completed the tour 
 of the Indian peninsula, returned across the Indus, and 
 reached home in the sixteenth year after his departure. 
 The same emperor, T'ai-tsung, was still reigning, and he 
 received the traveller with the utmost distincti-m. He 
 spent the rest of his days in translating from the Sanscrit 
 originals the Buddhist works he had brought with him 
 from India. It was by imperial command that these 
 translations werq undertaken. The same emperor, T'ai- 
 tsuug, received with equal favour the Syrian Christians, 
 Alopen and his companions, who had arrived in a.d. 639, 
 only seven years before Hiuen-tsang's return. The His- 
 toire de la Vie de Hioiisn-tlisang, translated by M. Julien, 
 is a volume full of interest for the history of Buddhism and 
 
 the history. It says, " At the close 
 of the Sui dynasty (endcl A.D. 617), 
 the " khiui " [k'a-haa) of the Westeru 
 "Tiirks " {Tu-kiue) attacked "Persia" 
 [Pa-si), and killed the king K'u-sa-ha 
 (Chosroes I., or Nushirvan). His son 
 (S'At-/i(Hormouz) succeeded him. After 
 his death the daughter of K'u-sa-ha 
 was made queen, but was killed by the 
 Turks. Shi-li'.s8oni7e?i-A;i (Chosroes II. 1 
 fled to Fulim. (Gibbon says he took 
 refuge with the Romans. ) The people 
 of the country biought him back and 
 made him king. He was assassinated 
 by I-fa-chi, and succeeded by his 
 brother's son I-dzi-zi (Yezdegerd).'' 
 This prince sent an embassy to China, 
 A.D. 638. For misconduct he was 
 driven away by his nobles, and fled to 
 the T'u-ha-la, a tribe in Afghanistan, 
 On his way he was put to death by 
 the Arabs (Ta-shih). Pi-la-si the son 
 of I-dzi-zi appealed to the coui-t at 
 Ch'ang-an for aid against the irresis- 
 tible Arabians, but in vain. These 
 last details have been introduced by 
 Gibbon into his narrative from De 
 
 Guignes. It may be inferred, then, 
 that the king Pa-ta-lik was the Byzan- 
 tine emperor " Constans II." In the 
 year 108 1 there was also an embassy 
 to China from the king of Fulim, who 
 is called Mih-li-i-litvi kai-xa. This 
 Kaisar or "Cresar" should be either 
 Nicephorus Bataniares, who died this 
 year, or his successor, Alexius Com- 
 nenus. In Kin-shl-t'u-shu-pu, a Chi- 
 nese work on coins and other antiqui- 
 ties, there is a rude representation 
 of a gold coin of this prince. 
 
 The word Fulim is evidently the 
 same as the Thibetan Philing and the 
 Indian Feringi, which, as Hodgson ob- 
 serves, must be variations of the word 
 "Frank," commonly applied to all 
 Europeans in Western Asia. Modern 
 Chinese authors suppose Judaea to be 
 Fulim, but the old passages in the 
 Syrian inscription and elsewhere, in 
 which the country is described as to 
 its natural features, whether under 
 this name or that of Ta-tsH)i, read 
 much more intelligibly if the Roman 
 empire be understood. 
 
t T 8 CHINESE B UDDHISM. 
 
 Buddhist literature. As a preparation for the task, the 
 accomplished translator added to his unrivalled knowledge 
 of the Chinese language an extensive acquaintance with 
 Sanscrit, acquired when he was already advanced in life, 
 with this special object. Scarcely does the name of a 
 place or a book occur in the narrative which he has not 
 identified and given to the reader in its Sanscrit form. 
 The book was originally written by two friends of Hiuen- 
 tsang. It includes a specimen of Sanscrit grammar, exem- 
 plifying the declensions of nouns, with their eight cases 
 and three numbers, the conjugation of the substantive 
 verb, and other details. Hiuen-tsaiig remained live years 
 in the monastery of Nalanda, on the banks of the Ganges, 
 studying the language, and reading the Brahmanical litera- 
 ture as well as that of Buddhism. 
 
 Hiuen-tsang was summoned on his arrival to appear at 
 court, and answer for his conduct, in leaving his country 
 and undertaking so long a journey without the imperial 
 permission. The emperor — praised by Gibbon as the 
 Augustus of the East — was residing at Lo-yang, to which 
 city the traveller proceeded. He had brouglit with him 
 115 grains of relics taken from Buddha's chair; a gold 
 statue of Buddha, 3 feet 3 inches in height, with a trans- 
 parent pedestal ; a second, 3 feet 5 inches in height, and 
 others of silver and carved in sandal-wood. His collection 
 of Sanscrit books was very extensive. A sufficient con- 
 ception of the voluminous contributions then made to 
 Chinese literature from India will be obtained by enume- 
 rating some of the names. 
 
 Of the Great Development school, 124 Sutras. 
 
 On the Discipline and Philosophical works of the fol- 
 lowing schools : — 
 
 Shang-tso-pu (SarvfistivAdaa), , , 15 works. 
 
 Saii-mi-ti-pu (Sanimittya.s), . . 15 »» 
 
 Mi-sha-se-pu (Mahishfi«hakas), . . 22 „ 
 
 Kia-she-pi-ye-pu (Kashyapiyas), . . I7 » 
 
 Fa-mi-pu (Dbarmaguptas), . . . 42 „ 
 
 Shwo i-tsie-yeu-pu (Sarvafitiv&das) . . 67 ^ 
 
HIUEN'TSANGS TRANSLATIONS, 119 
 
 These works, amounting with others to 657, were carried 
 by twenty- two horses. 
 
 The emperor, after listening to the traveller's account 
 of what he had seen, commanded him to write a descrip- 
 tion of the Western countries, and the work called Ta- 
 Vaiig-si-yu-ki was the result.^ 
 
 Hiuen-tsang went to Ch'ang-an (Si-an-fu) to translate, 
 and was assisted by twelve monks. Nine others were 
 appointed to revise the composition. Some who had 
 learned Sanscrit also joined him in the work. On pre- 
 senting a series of translations to the emperor, he wrote a 
 preface to them ; and at the request of Hiuen-tsang issued 
 an edict that five new monks should be received in every 
 convent in the empire. The convents then amounted to 
 3716. The losses of Buddhism from the persecutions to 
 which it had been exposed were thus repaired. 
 
 At the emperor's instance, Hiuen-tsang now corrected 
 the translation of the celebrated Sutra Kin-hang-pat-nia- 
 pa-la-mi-ta-hing (in Sanscrit, Vajra-chedika-prajna-para- 
 mita Sutra). Two words were added to the title which 
 Kumarajiva had omitted. The new title read Neng-twan- 
 kin, etc. The name of the city Shravasti was spelt with 
 five characters instead of two. The new translation of this 
 work did not supplant the old one — that of Kumarajiva. 
 The latter is at the present day the most common, except 
 the " Daily Prayers," of all books in the Buddhist temples 
 and monasteries, and is in the hands of almost every 
 monk. 
 
 This work contains the germ of the larger compilation 
 Prajna paramita in one hundred and twenty volumes. 
 The abstractions of Buddhist philosophy, which were after- 
 wards ramified to such a formidable extent as these num- 
 bers indicate, are here found in their primary form pro- 
 bably, as they were taught by Shaky amuni himself. The 
 translation of the larger work was not completed till A.D. 
 
 1 This work has been recently re- SJieu-ihan-ko-Wung-shu, at Suug- 
 printed, in the collection entitled kiang, near Shanghai 
 
ISO 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 66i. That Hiuen-tsang, as a translator, was a strong 
 iiteralist, may be inferred from the fact, that when he was 
 meditating on the propriety of imitating Kumarajiva, who 
 omitted repetitions and superfluities, in so large a work as 
 this, he was deterred by a dream from the idea, and 
 resolved to give the one hundred and twenty volumes 
 entire, in all their wearisome reiteration of metaphysical 
 paradoxes. 
 
 Among the new orthographies that he introduced was 
 that of Bi-ch'u for Bi-k'u, " Mendicant disciple," and of Ba- 
 ga-vam instead of But for " Buddha." This spelling nearly 
 coincides with that of the Nepaulese Sanscrit, BhagavaL 
 In the Pali versions he is called " Gautama," which is a 
 patronymic, in Chinese, Go-dam. Ba-ga-vam is used in the 
 Sutra Yo-s%-lieu-li-kwang-ju-lai-kiing-te-king. Modern re- 
 prints of Hiuen-tsang's translation of the Shastras called 
 AhhidJmrma, are found in a fragmentary and worm-eaten 
 state in many of the larger Buddhist temples near Shang- 
 hai and elsewhere at the present time. He lived nineteen 
 years after his return, and spent nearly the whole of that 
 time in translating. He completed 740 works, in 1335 
 books. Among them were three works on Logic, viz., 
 Zi-men-lun, In-ming-lun, In-ming-shu-kiai. Among other 
 works that he brought to China, were treatises on Gram- 
 mar, Shing-ming-lun and Pe-ye-kie-la-Tutn, and a Lexicon, 
 Abhidlmrma Kosha} 
 
 ^ Vide Professor Wilson's letter 
 ]>ublished by the China Branch of the 
 Royal Asiatic Society, at Hongkong. 
 
 The changes in orthogrni)hy adopted 
 by Hiuen-tsang, may be made use of 
 to show, that it was from Sanscrit and 
 not Pali originals, that the Chinese 
 Buddhist books were translated. He 
 spells tope or " pagoda, "su-f'M-pa. In 
 Pali the word is t'upa, and in Sanscrit 
 sVupa. Defore Hiuen-tsang's time, 
 the initial 8 was not expressed, pro- 
 bably for brevity, or through the in- 
 fluence of a local Indian dialect. 
 Other examples might also be ad- 
 
 duced. There is another use that 
 may be made of these orthographical 
 changes. As compared with preced- 
 ing transcriptions, they arc an index 
 to the alterations that were taking 
 l>lace in the Chinese language itself. 
 For convenience the age of Buddhist 
 translations may be divided into three 
 periods:— ( I.) A. D. 66, when Buddhism 
 entered China, and the " Sutra of 
 Forty-two Sections" was translated; 
 (2,) A.D. 405, the age of Kumarajiva; 
 (3.) A.D. 646, the age of Hiuen-tsang. 
 The Sanscrit syllable man had been 
 written with the character for "litera> 
 
mUEN-TSANG'S NARRATIVE. 121 
 
 The modern Chinese editor of the " Description of 
 Western Countries " complains of its author's superstition. 
 Anxiety to detail every Buddhist wonder has been accom- 
 panied by neglect of the physical features of the countries 
 that came under review. Here, says the critic, he cannot 
 be compared with Ngai Ju-lio (Julius Aleni, one of the 
 early Jesuits) in the Chih-fang-wai-ki (a well-known geo- 
 graphical work by that missionary). In truthfulness this 
 work is not equal, he tells us, to the " Account of Buddhist 
 kingdoms " by Fa-hien, but it is written in a style much 
 more ornamental. The extensive knowledge, he adds, of 
 Buddhist literature possessed by Hiuen - tsang himself, 
 and the elegant style of his assistants, make the book 
 interesting, so that, though it contains not a little that is 
 false, the reader does not go to sleep over it. 
 
 The life and adventures of Hiuen - tsang have been 
 made the basis of a long novel, which is universally read 
 at the present time. It is called the Si-yeu-ki or Si-yeu- 
 chen-ts'euen. The writer, apparently a Tauist, makes 
 unlimited use of the two mythologies — that of his own 
 religion and that of his hero — as the machinery of his tale. 
 He has invented a most eventful account of the birth of 
 Hiuen-tsang. It might have been supposed that the wild 
 romance of India was unsuited to the Chinese taste, but 
 our author does not hesitate to adopt it. His readers 
 become familiar with all those imaginary deities, whose 
 figures they see in the Buddhist temples, as the ornaments 
 of a fictitious narrative. The hero, in undertaking so 
 distant and dangerous a journey to obtain the sacred 
 
 ture," wen. Hiuen-tsang adopted a example is an index to a multitude of 
 character now as then heard, man. He other words, passing through the same 
 changed the name of the Gauges from change at the same time. The three 
 Heng, "Constant," to CkHng-ch'ia X'^riods here given will help to supply 
 [Gang-ga). Comparison with existing the chronology of these changes, ex- 
 dialects shows, that the Sanscrit pro- tending through almost all the sounds 
 nunciation may be assigned without in the language. Thus, with other aid, 
 hesitation to the characters chosen, as the age of the Mandarin language may 
 nearly the sound that then belonged be fixed with comparative certainty. 
 to them iu Northern China, and one 
 
122 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 books of Buddhism, and by translating them into his 
 native tongue, to promote the spread of that superstition 
 among his countrymen, is represented as the highest 
 possible example of the excellence at which the Buddliist 
 aims. The effort and the success that crowns it, are 
 identified with the aspiration of the Tauist after the elixir 
 of immortality ; the hermit's elevation to the state of 
 Buddha, and the translation of those whose hearts have 
 been purified by meditation and retirement, to the abodes 
 of the genii. 
 
 The sixth emperor of the T'aug dynasty was too weak to 
 rule. Wu, the emperor's mother, held the reins of power, 
 and distinguished herself by her ability and by her cruelties. 
 
 In the year 690 a new Buddhist Sutra, the Ta/-yun-king, 
 " Great cloud Sutra," was presented to her. It stated that 
 she was Maitreya, the Buddha that was to come, and the 
 ruler of the Jambu continent. She ordered it to be circu- 
 lated through the empire, and bestowed public ofi&ces on 
 more than one Buddhist priest. 
 
 Early in the eighth century, the Confucianists made 
 another effort to bring about a persecution of Buddhism. In 
 714, Yen Ts'ung argued that it was pernicious to the state, 
 and appealed for proof to the early termination of those 
 dynasties that had favoured it. In carrying out an edict 
 then issued, more than 12,000 priests and nuns were 
 obliged to return to the common world. Casting images, 
 writing the sacred books, and building temples, were also 
 forbidden. 
 
 At this time some priests are mentioned as holding 
 pubUc ofiBces in the government. The historians anim- 
 advert on this circumstance, as one of the monstrosities 
 accompanying a female reign. 
 
 About the beginning of the same century, Hindoos were 
 employed to regulate the national calendar. The first 
 mentioned is Gaudamara, whose method of calculation 
 was called Kwaiig-tse-li, "The calendar of the bright house." 
 It was used for three years only. A better-known Bud- 
 
HINDOO CALENDAR IN CHINA. 123 
 
 dhist astronomer of the same nation was Gaudamsiddha. 
 By imperial command he translated from Sanscrit, the 
 mode of astronomical calculation called Kieu-chi-shu. It 
 embraced the calculation of the moon's course and of 
 eclipses. His calendar of this name was adopted for a 
 few years, when it was followed in A.D. 721 by that of the 
 well-known Yih-hing, a Chinese Buddhist priest, whose 
 name holds a place in the first rank of the native astrono- 
 mers. The translations of Gaudamsiddha are contained in 
 the work called K'ai-yiien-chan-king, a copy of which was 
 discovered accidentally, in the latter part of the sixteenth 
 century, inside an image of Buddha. It has been cut in 
 wood more than once since that time. The part translated 
 from Sanscrit is but a small portion of the w^ork. The 
 remainder is chiefly astrological. Among other things, 
 there is a short notice of the Indian arithmetical notation, 
 with its nine symbols and a dot for a cipher. There was 
 nothing new in this to the countrymen of Confucius, so 
 far as the principle of decimal notation was concerned ; 
 but it is interesting to us, whose ancestors did not obtain 
 the Indian numerals till several centuries after this time. 
 The Arabs learned them in the eighth, century, and trans- 
 mitted them slowly to Europe. Among the earlier Bud- 
 dhist translations, a book is mentioned under the title of 
 '* Brahmanical Astronomy," P'o-lo-men-tHen-wen, in twenty 
 chapters. It was translated in the sixth century by 
 Daluchi, a native of the Maleya kingdom. Another is 
 Ba-la-men-gih-ga-sien-jen-Pien-wen-shwo, "An Account of 
 Astronomy by the Brahman Gigarishi." 1 
 
 The date of these translations, mentioned in the " History 
 of the Sui dynasty," can be no later than the sixth century 
 or very early in the seventh. The same should be observed 
 of two works on Brahmanical arithmetic, viz., Ba-lcL-Ttien- 
 swan-fa and Ba-la-7nen-swan-king, each containing three 
 chapters, and a third on the calculation of the calendar, 
 
 1 A trauslation of a work by the same author, on the prophetic charactei 
 of dreams, ia sJso alluded to. 
 
124 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 Ba-la-men-yin-yaTig'Swan-li, in one chapter. All these 
 works, with one or two others given by the same authority, 
 are now hopelessly lost, but the names as they stand in 
 the history unattended by a word of comment, are an 
 irrefragable testimony to the efforts made by the Hindoo 
 Buddhists to diffuse the science and civilisation of their 
 native land. The native mathematicians of the time may 
 have obtained assistance from these sources, or from the 
 numerous Indians who lived in China in the T'ang dynasty. 
 In the extant arithmetical books composed before the date 
 of these works, examples of calculation are written per- 
 pendicularly, like any other writing, but in all later 
 mathematical works they are presented to the eye as we 
 ourselves write them from left to right. The principle by 
 which figures are thus arranged as multiples of ten chang- 
 ing their value with their position, was known to the 
 Chinese from the most ancient times. Their early mode 
 of calculating by counters, imitated more recently in the 
 common commercial abacus, was based on this principle.^ 
 But it does not appear that they employed it to express 
 arithmetical processes in writing before the Hindoos began 
 to translate mathematical treatises into the language. 
 
 The next notice of Buddhism in the history is after 
 several decades of years. The emperor Su-tsung, in a.d. 
 760, showed his attachment for Buddhism by appointing 
 a ceremonial for his birthday, according to the ritual of 
 that religion. The service was performed in the palace, 
 the inmates of which were made to personate the Buddhas 
 and Bodhisattwas, while the courtiers worshipped round 
 them in a ring. 
 
 The successor of this emperor, T*ai-tsung, was still more 
 devoted to the superstitions of Buddhism, and was seconded 
 by his chief minister of state and the general of his army. 
 A high stage for reciting the classics was erected by im- 
 perial command, and the " Sutra of the Benevolent King," 
 Jcn-wang-kiiig, chanted tliere and explained by the priests. 
 
 1 Shanghai Almanac for 1853— ** Jottings on the Science of the Chinese.'* 
 
 i 
 
FESTIVAL FOR HUNGRY GHOSTS. 125 
 
 This book was brought in a state carriage, with the same 
 parade of attendant nobles and finery as in the case of the 
 emperor leaving his palace. Two public buildings were 
 ordered to be taken down to assist in the erection and 
 decoration of a temple built by Yii Chau-shi, the general, 
 and named Chang-king-si. A remonstrance, prepared on 
 the occasion by a Confucian mandarin, stated that the 
 wise princes of antiquity secured prosperity by their good 
 conduct — not by prayers and offerings. The imperial ear 
 was deaf to such arguments. The reasoning of those who 
 maintained that misfortune could be averted and happiness 
 obtained by prayer was listened to with much more 
 readiness. Tae-tsung maintained many monks, and be- 
 lieved that by propitiating the unseen powers who regulate 
 the destinies of mankind, he could preserve his empire 
 from danger at a less cost than that of the blood and 
 treasure wasted on the battle-field. When his territory 
 was invaded, he set his priests to chant their masses, and 
 the barbarians retired. The Confucianist commentary in 
 condemning the confidence thus placed in the prayers of 
 the priests, remarks that to procure happiness or prevent 
 misery after death, by prayers or any other means, is out 
 of our power, and that the same is true of the present life. 
 One of those who had great influence over the emperor 
 was a Singhalese priest named " Amogha," Pu-h'icng} " Not 
 empty," who held a high government office, and was 
 honoured with the first title of the ancient Chinese nobility. 
 Monasteries and monks now multiplied fast under the 
 imperial favour. In the year y6^, at the full moon of the 
 seventh month, an offering bowl for feeding hungry ghosts 
 was brought in state by the emperor's command from the 
 palace, and presented to the Chang-king-si temple. This 
 is an allusion to a superstition still practised in the large 
 Buddhist monasteries. Those who have been so unhappy 
 
 1 Chief representative of the Tantra also called Amogha Vajra, and his 
 school in China, and author of tl.c school is that called the Yogachara. — 
 festival for hungry ghosts. He is (EiteL) 
 
n6 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 as t6 be born into the class of ngo-kwei, or " hungry spirits," 
 at the full moon of the seventh month, have their annual 
 repast. The priests assemble, recite prayers for their 
 benefit, and throw out rice to the four quarters of the 
 world, as food for them. The ceremony is called Yil-lan- 
 hwei (ulam), " the assembly for saving those who have been 
 overturned." It is said to have been instituted by Shakya- 
 muni, who directed Moginlin, one of his disciples, to make 
 offerings for the benefit of his mother, she having become 
 a ngo-kwei. 
 
 The emperor Hien-tsung, a.d. 819, sent mandarins to 
 escort a bone of Buddha to the capital. He had been told 
 that it was opened to view once in thirty years, and when 
 this happened it was sure to be a peaceful and prosperous 
 year. It was at Fung-siang fu, in Shen-si, and was to be 
 reopened the next year, which would afford a good oppor- 
 tunity for bringing it to the palace. It was brought 
 accordingly, and the mandarins, court ladies, and common 
 people vied with each other in their adndration of the 
 relic. All their fear was, lest they should not get a sight 
 of it, or be too late in making their offerings. 
 
 On this occasion Han Yu, or Han Wen-kung, presented 
 a strongly-worded remonstrance to the emperor, entitled 
 Fo-ku-piau, "Memorial on the bone of Buddha." He 
 was consequently degraded from his post as vice-president 
 of the Board of punishments, and appointed to be prefect of 
 Chau-cheu, in the province of Canton. A heavier punish- 
 ment would have been awarded him, had not the courtiers 
 represented the propriety of allowing liberty of speech, 
 and succeeded in mitigating the imperial anger. 
 
 In this memorial he appealed first to antiquity, arguing 
 that the empire was more prosperous and men's lives 
 were longer before Buddhism was introduced than after. 
 After the Han dynasty, when the Indian priests arrived, 
 the dynasties all became perceptibly shorter in duration, 
 and although Liang Wu-ti was on the throne thirty-eight 
 years, he died, as was well known, from starvation, in a 
 
OPPOSTTTON OF HAN YU TO BUDDHISM, 127 
 
 monastery to which he had retired for the third time.^ 
 The writer then pleads to Hien-tsung the example of his 
 predecessor, the iirst T'ang emperor, and the hope that he 
 himself had awakened in the minds of the literati by his 
 former restrictions on Buddhism, that he would tread in 
 his steps. He had now commanded Buddha's bone to be 
 escorted to the palace. This could not be because he 
 himself was ensnared into the belief of Buddhism. It 
 was only to gain the hearts of the people by professed 
 reverence for that superstition. None who were wise and 
 enlightened believed in any such thing. It was a foreign 
 religion. The dress of the priests, the language of the 
 books, the moral code, were all different from those of 
 China. Why should a decayed bone, the filthy remains 
 of a man who died so long before, be introduced to 
 the imperial residence? He concluded by braving the 
 vengeance of Buddha. If he had any power and could 
 inflict any punishment, he was ready to bear it himself to 
 its utmost extent. This memorial has ever since been a 
 standard quotation with the Confucianists, when wishing 
 to expose the pernicious effects of Buddhism. The bold- 
 ness of its censures on the emperor's superstition, and the 
 character of the writer as one who excelled in beauty of 
 style, have secured it lasting popularity. Among the 
 crowd of good authors whose names adorn the T'ang 
 dynasty, Han Wen-kung stands first of those who devoted 
 themselves to prose composition. Christian natives in 
 preaching to their countrymen often allude to this docu- 
 ment. 
 
 Extraordinary superstition provoked extraordinary re- 
 sistance. The sovereigns of the T'ang dynasty were so 
 fond of Buddhism that it has passed into a proverb.- 
 
 1 Liang Wu-ti was eighty-six years 2 Watters, iii Chinese Recorder, 1869, 
 
 of age when he died. His adopted July, p. 40. The proverb T'ang Fo, 
 
 son, whom he hiui appointed to sue- "Buddha of the T'ang," means to he 
 
 ceed him, withheld the supplies of as devoted to Buddhism as was the 
 
 food that the aged emperor needed, T'ang dynasty. 
 and he died in consequence. 
 
128 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 In the year 845 a third and very severe persecution 
 befell the Buddhists. By an edict of the emperor Wu- 
 tsung, 4600 monasteries were destroyed, with 40,000 
 smaller edifices. The property of the sect was confiscated, 
 and used in the erection of buildings for the use of govern- 
 ment functionaries. The copper of images and bells was 
 devoted to casting cash. More than 260,000 priests and 
 nuns were compelled to return to common employments. 
 The monks of Wu-t'ai, in Shan-si, near T'ai-yuen fu, fled to 
 " Yen-cheu " (now Peking), in Pe-chi-li, where they were 
 at first taken under the protection of the officer in charge, 
 but afterwards abandoned to the imperial indignation. 
 
 At this place there was a collection of five monasteries, 
 constituting together the richest Buddhist establishment 
 in the empire. There is a legend connected with this 
 spot, which says that Manjusiri, one of the most cele- 
 brated of the secondary divinities of Buddhism, has fre- 
 quently appeared in this mountain retreat, especially as 
 an old man. By the Northern Buddhists " Manjusiri," 
 Wen-shu-sM-li (in old Chinese, Men-ju-si-li\ is scarcely 
 less honoured than the equally fabulous Bodhisattwa, 
 Kwan-shi-yin. The chief seat of his worship in China is 
 the locality in Shan-si just alluded to, where he is regarded 
 like P'u-hien in Si-ch'wen and Kwan-yin at P*u-to the 
 Buddhist sacred island, as the tutelary deity of the region, 
 Wen-shu p'u-sa, as he is called, differs from his fellow 
 Bodhisattwas in being spoken of in some Sutras as if he 
 were an historical character. On this there hangs some 
 doubt. His image is a common one in the temples of the 
 sect. 
 
 The emperor Wu-tsuug died a few months afterwards. 
 Siuen-tsung, who followed him, commenced his reign by 
 reversing the policy of his predecessor in reference to 
 Buddhism. Eight monasteries were reared in the metro- 
 polis, and the people were again permitted to take the 
 vows of celibacy and retirement from the world. Soon 
 afterwards the edifices of idolatry that had been given 
 
TEACHING OF MA-TSU. 129 
 
 over to destruction were commanded to be restored. The 
 Confucian historian expresses a not very amiable regret 
 at the shortness of the persecution. Those of the Wei 
 and Cheu emperors had been continued for six and seven 
 years, while in this case it was only for a year or two that 
 the profession of Buddhism was made a public crime. 
 
 A memorial was presented to the emperor a few years 
 after by Sun Tsiau, complaining that the support of the 
 Buddhist monks was an intolerable burden on the people, 
 and praying that the admission of new persons might be 
 prohibited. The prayer was granted. 
 
 Tlie line of the patriarchs had terminated a little before 
 the period which this narrative has now reached, and the 
 most influential leader of the Chinese Buddhists was Ma- 
 tsu, who belonged to the order of Ch'an-sln,^ one of the 
 three divisions of Buddhist monks. As such, he followed 
 the system taught by Bodhidharma, which consisted in 
 abstraction of the mind from all objects of sense, and even 
 its own thoughts. He addressed his disciples in the 
 following words, " You all believe that the ' mind ' {sin) 
 itself is * Buddha' (intelligence). Bodhidharma came to 
 
 1 The other two orders of Buddhist thus early. The marked diflference 
 monks are (i.) l>M-sAe, or " Disciplin- betweeu the Buddhism of Bodhi- 
 ists," who go barefoot and follow rigid- dharma, and that already existing in 
 ly the rules enjoined in the early ages China, requires some such supposi- 
 of Buddhism, for the observance of all tion. These three orders still exist, 
 who entered on the ascetic life ; (2.) The common priests met with in 
 Fa-shi, or those who jjerform the temples are not considered to deserve 
 common duties of priests, engage in either denomination, but on the sup- 
 popular teaching, and study the position that they fulfil their duties, 
 literature of their religion. The they are Fa-shi. Distinguished priests 
 word C/i'art. (in old Chinese, j>a7t and are called Ch^an-shi. The emperors 
 d<in), originally signifying "resign," till very recently have always been 
 had not the meaning to "contem- accustomed to give names to distin- 
 jdate" (now its commonest sense), guished priests. The early translators 
 before the Buddhists adopted it to were honoured with the title San- 
 rejjresent the Sanscrit term Dhyana. tsang-fa-shi. In common cases the 
 The word in Chinese books is spelt title Ch'av-shi is all that is appended 
 in full jan-na, and is explained, " to to the new name given by the imperial 
 reform one's self by contemplation or favour to those who. from their learn- 
 quiet thouglit." Perhaps an Eastern ing and character, are supposed to 
 extension of the Jaina, or some lost deserve it. 
 sect, still existing in India, took place 
 
I30 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 China, and taught the method of the heart, that you might 
 he enlightened. He brought the Lenga Sutra, exhibiting 
 the true impression of the human mind as it really is, 
 tliat you might not allow it to become disordered. There- 
 fore that book has but one subject, the instructions of 
 Buddha concerning the mind. The true method is to 
 have no method. Out of the mind there is no Buddha. 
 Out of Buddha there is no mind. Virtue is not to be 
 sought, nor vice to be shunned. Nothing should be looked 
 upon as pure or polluted. To have a sensation of an object 
 is nothing but to become conscious of the mind's own 
 activity. The mind does not know itself, because it is 
 blinded by the sensations." He was asked, by what 
 means excellence in religion should be attained ? He 
 replied, " Eeligion does not consist in the use of means. 
 To use means is fatal to the attainment of the object." 
 Then what, he was again asked, is required to be done 
 in order to relisfious advancement ? " Human nature in 
 itself," he said, " is sufficient for its own wants. All that 
 is needed is to avoid both vice and virtue. He that can 
 do tliis is a * religious man ' {sieu-tau-jen)" 
 
 These extracts indicate that a great change had taken 
 place in the popular teaching of Buddhism. In the first 
 centuries of its history in China, retribution and the future 
 life were most insisted on. But the tenets of Bodhi- 
 dharma, wlio aimed to restore what he considered the true 
 doctrine of Buddha, gradually diffused themselves and 
 became the most powerful element in the system. The 
 consequence was a less strong faith in the future life. 
 
 I-tsung, who ascended the tlirone a.d. 860, was devoted 
 to the study of the Buddhist books. Priests were called 
 in to discourse on their religion in the private apartments 
 of his palace, and the monasteries were frequently honoured 
 with the imperial presence. He was memorialised in vain 
 by the Confucian mandarins, who represented that Tauism, 
 speaking as it did of mercy and moderation, and the ori- 
 ginal religion of China, of which the fundamental prin- 
 
BODHTRUCHI. 131 
 
 ciples were benevolence and rectitude, were enough for 
 China, and the emperor should follow no other. This 
 emperor practised writing in Sanscrit characters, and 
 chanted the classics in the originals according to the 
 musical laws of the land from which they came. Nothing 
 could be more irritating to rigid conservatives, who hated 
 everything foreign and lived to glorify Confucius, than to 
 hear such sounds issuing from the imperial apartments. 
 In this reign another bone of Buddha was brought to the 
 palace. When it arrived the emperor went out to meet 
 it, and prostrated himself on the ground before it, weeping 
 while he uttered the " invocation of worship" {namo). The 
 ceremonies were on a scale even greater than at the 
 annual sacrifice to Heaven and Earth. Similar scenes 
 occurred at about the same time in the West, when Euro- 
 pean kings were not ashamed to honour the relics of 
 Christian romance, just as their contemporaries in the far 
 East revered those of the equally luxuriant imagination of 
 Buddhism. No one in the West, however, raised so loud a 
 voice of warning against these superstitions as the Confu- 
 cian mandarins at the court of Ch'ang-an. 
 
 Among the foreign Buddhists who took up their residence 
 in China in the first T'ang dynasty was Bodhiruclii. He 
 translated the Hwa-yen and Fau-tsih Sutras. Lenga, a 
 second, came from the north of the Ts'ung-ling mountains ; 
 others from India. The usual story of these wanderers was 
 that they were the sons of kings, and had resigned their title 
 to the crown to free themselves from worldly cares, and 
 cultivate the heart. These tales may have been true, but 
 they should not be repeated too often, for fear of exciting 
 suspicion in the mind of the reader. More than one of 
 these ci-devant princes adopted the profession of rain- 
 maker at the Chinese court, and saved the country from 
 drought for a considerable period. On one occasion the 
 emperor was assured that it would rain when certain 
 images opened their eyes. After three days the images 
 showed the same willingness to gratify the expectation of 
 
!32 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 their worshippers as have those of another religion, and 
 the prophecy was fulfilled. 
 
 Pu-k'ung, already mentioned, came from Ceylon. ^ As 
 he was travelling, a herd of elephants rushed towards 
 him. He sat quietly on the way side. The elephants all 
 knelt down before him and retired. When he came to 
 China, he produced, it is said, a great reformation of man- 
 ners in court and country, and was reverenced as a divi- 
 nity. If judged by his works,^ however, consisting of 
 unintelligible charms with pictures of many Bodhisattwas, 
 he brought a grosser superstition than before. His book 
 of directions for calling hungry spirits to be fed, by magi- 
 cal arrangements of the fingers, delineations of Sanscrit 
 characters and such like means, vindicates for him the 
 unenviable honour of being the chief promoter of Bud- 
 dhist fetishism in China. From Sin-la, a kingdom now 
 forming part of Corea, some priests also came. One of 
 these, named Wu-leu, was retained by the emperor Hiuen- 
 tsung, with Pu-k'ung, to pray for the imperial and national 
 prosperity. When he approached his end he rose in the 
 air a foot high, and so died.^ 
 
 At this time some priests came from Japan, bringing 
 ten of the monastic dresses denominated Sanghali, as pre- 
 sents to those in China who sliould best deserve them. 
 Lan-chin praised the gift as evidence of the advancement 
 made by the donors in the knowledge and dispositions of 
 the true Buddhist. He determined to go to Japan, and 
 
 1 The Yoga or Yogachara school 
 was founded by Asengha, and its syK- 
 tem taught in China \\y Fu-k^nn;j 
 (Aniugha). It coniMued lirahniau- 
 isni, Shivaism, and the doctrine of 
 Dhyana Buddhas (derived from Ne- 
 paul), with the Mahayana philosophy. 
 
 - See the work called lYien-sheu 
 ts'ien-i/en kwan-shi-yin p'u-sa ta-pei- 
 gin to-h-ni, "The magical formixla of 
 the Bodhisattwa Kwan-shi-yin, who 
 has a thousand hands and eyes and 
 a merciful heart. " " Da-la-ni " (To-lo- 
 
 nt)is in Sanscrit Dharani, "a charm." 
 See also the very jjopular work called 
 Ya-k^ia-i/ai-k'eu, universally used by 
 tlie priests as a mass-book for the 
 benefit of the hungi y dead, who come, 
 in consequence of the priest's incan- 
 tations, from hell, with "flaming 
 mouths " (i/€ti-k''eu) to receive "'sweet 
 dew " {kan-ln) and go back relieved. 
 
 •^ These notices of foreign Buildhists 
 are taken from the Supplement to the 
 well - known cyclopsidia Wen-hien- 
 Vung-k^au. 
 
PERSECUTION BY THE CHEU DYNASTY. 133 
 
 after a tempestuous voyage he arrived there. The king 
 came out to meet him, and assigned him a residence. 
 From him the Japanese received their first instructions in 
 the Discipline of Buddhism, or the rules of the monastic 
 life. 
 
 Under the Later Pang dynasty a native priest of 
 Wu-t'ai, observing the mode in which the foreign Bud- 
 dhists obtained their influence, felt a wish to share with 
 them in the dominion of the atmosphere. He gave out 
 that the dragon of the sky was obedient to him, and that 
 wind and rain came at his call. The emperor and empress 
 prostrated themselves before him, and he did not think it 
 necessary to rise in their presence. Unfortunately a long 
 drought arrived, and his prayers were unavailing to bring 
 it to a termination. Enraged at his want of success, some 
 proposed to bum him, but he was permitted to return 
 home, and died of disappointment. 
 
 The last emperor of this short dynasty was much under 
 the influence of Ajeli, a foreigner at Fung-siang, in Shen-si. 
 He was memorialised by an officer of his court, on the sub 
 ject of instituting examinations for those who wished to 
 adopt the Buddhist life of reading and retirement. The 
 monks and nuns sliould both be examined in the " Shastras" 
 {Lun), the " Sutras" (King), and the daily duties of the mon- 
 astery. In the same way he recommended that those who 
 aspired to become Tauist priests should be examined in 
 the literature of that sect. The emperor assented to these 
 propositions. His successor of the Later Tsin dynasty 
 distributed favours and titles very freely among the pro- 
 fessors of the two faiths, and, as was natural, foreign 
 priests, with teeth and other relics of Buddha, continued 
 to arrive. 
 
 A little later a prince of the Cheu family and the 
 immediate predecessor of the founder of the Sung dynasty, 
 placed severe restrictions on Buddhism, and prohibited all 
 temples except those that had received an inscribed tablet 
 from former emperors. More than thirty thousand of these 
 
134 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 buildings were in consequence suppressed by edict ; 2694 
 temples were retained. The same edict prohibited the 
 monks and lay Buddhists from cutting off their hands and 
 feet, burning their fingers, suspending lighted lamps by 
 hooks inserted into the flesh, and from carrying pincers in 
 a similar manner. " Let us not smile," says Mr. Watters, 
 " at these self-imposed tortures, unless we can also weep 
 to think that similar tortures have been practised by the 
 followers of Jesus — not only by individuals on their own 
 bodies, but also upon those of their fellows." 
 
 T'ai-tsu, the first emperor of the Sung family (a.d. 964), 
 sent messengers to persuade his contemporary of the house 
 of T'ang not to show such devotion to Buddhist supersti- 
 tions as he had done. The latter took the remonstrance 
 in good part, and ceased to look with his former regard on 
 the crowd of priests that frequented his capital. T'ai- 
 tsung, the second in the new succession, stopped the 
 public examinations of candidates for monk's orders. He 
 was an enemy to the delusions which he saw to be so 
 popular among his subjects. Hearing that wood was 
 being collected to form a death pyre for a priest who 
 had determined to burn himself, he thought it was time 
 to act, and issued an edict forbidding new temples. He 
 changed his policy a few years after ; for the history of 
 tlie time relates the erection by his command of a pagoda 
 360 Chinese feet in height. It was completed in eight 
 years, and relics of Buddha were deposited in it. A short 
 notice of this class of structures will be here introduced. 
 
 The number of pagodas in China is very great. There 
 are nine within thirty miles of Shanghai. When complete 
 and well situated, the pagoda is without dispute the most 
 ornamental edifice to be seen in this Eastern world. Per- 
 haps no more beautiful single object could be added by 
 the hand of man to hill and wood scenery. At Lo-yang, in 
 the Tsin dynasty (a.d. 350), there were forty- two, from 
 three to nine stories high, richly painted, and formed after 
 Indian models. The word Va (formerly ^op), now in uni- 
 
ERECTION OF PAGODAS. 135 
 
 versal use, has displaced the older names feu-t'u (budu) 
 and fo-t'u (huddu). The original purpose of the edifice 
 was to deposit relics of Buddha. These relics might be a 
 hair, tooth, metamorphosed piece of bone, article of dress, 
 or rice vessel. When the bodies of deceased Bodhisattwas 
 and other revered persons were burnt, the remains were 
 placed in structures which received the same name, t'upa or 
 st'upa, and it is these that have been described by travellers, 
 in Afghanistan and other regions where Buddhism formerly 
 prevailed, as topes. 
 
 " AVhen there is no ' relic' " (she-li; in Sanscrit, sharira), 
 says the cyclopaedia Fa-yuen-chu-lin, "the building is 
 called chi'ti" (in Sanscrit, chaitya), and it may be in- 
 tended to commemorate the birthplace of Buddha, the 
 spot where he became enlightened, .where he taught, or 
 where he entered into the Nirvana. Footsteps of Buddha, 
 an image of a Bodhisattwa or of a Pratyeka Buddha, are 
 also honoured with the erection of a chi-ti. 
 
 When pagodas are without relics and unconnected with 
 any legend, their erection must be attributed to reasons 
 founded on the Chinese " geomancy " {feng-shui). These 
 buildings are supposed to have a very important and 
 happy influence on the districts in which they are situated. 
 The charity of the contributors is also believed to be repaid 
 in riches, longevity, and forgiveness of sins, as in the case 
 of all Chinese almsgiving. 
 
 Most of the existing pagodas date from the time at 
 which our narrative has now arrived. Those built in the 
 Pang and previous dynasties have many of them fallen a 
 prey to the ruinous hand of time; while more recently 
 the diminished favour which those possessing wealth and 
 power have extended to Buddhism has caused an entire 
 cessation of pagoda building, except when old ones were 
 to be restored. 
 
 In the tenth century,^ the royal family of the Min king- 
 dom, bearing the surname Wang, were very much devoted 
 
 1 Walters, p. 42. 
 
136 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 to Buddhism. To them the city of Foochow owes the two 
 pagodas which adorn it. The king admitted ten thousand 
 persons to the vows in A.D. 940. 
 
 Anything that is precious in the eyes of the Buddhist 
 devotee may be deposited in these structures. One was 
 erected by the emperor for the preservation of the newly- 
 arrived Sanscrit books at the request of Hiuen-tsang, lest 
 they should be injured for want of care. It was 180 feet 
 high, had five stories with grains of she-li (relics) in the 
 centre of each, and contained monuments inscribed with 
 the prefaces written by the emperor and prince royal to 
 Hiuen-tsang's translations. 
 
 The great expense of large Buddhist structures some- 
 times led the more self-confident of the priests to rash 
 resolutions. On one occasion a monk of T'ien-t'ai, a large 
 and ancient establishment to the south of Ningpo, pro- 
 fessed to the emperor his wish to commit himself to the 
 flames when the erection of a certain temple was com- 
 pleted. His desire was granted, and an officer sent to see 
 that the temple was built and the feat carried into execu- 
 tion. The pile was made and the priest called on to come 
 forward. He excused himself, but in vain. He looked 
 round on the assembled crowd for some one to save him ; 
 among priests and people, however, none offered to help 
 the trembling victim of his own folly. The stern voice of 
 the imperial messenger bade him ascend the pile. He 
 still lingered, and was at length seized by the attendants, 
 placed forcibly on the pile and burnt. 
 
 The conduct of the emperors towards Buddhism was 
 then, as it has been more recently, very inconsistent. 
 Favour was shown to priests, while occasional edicts were 
 issued intended to check tlie progress of the system. The 
 emperors gratified their private feelings by gorgeous erec- 
 tions for the practice of idolatry, while they paid a tribute 
 to the Confucian prejudices of the literati by denouncing 
 the religion in public proclamations. 
 
 In the reign of Chen-tsung, a favourer of Buddhism, a 
 
ENCOURAGEMENT OF SANSCRIT STUDIES. 137 
 
 priest from India is mentioned as translating the " Sutra 
 of Good Fortune," Fo-kirsiang-king, and other works, to the 
 number of more than two hundred chapters. 
 
 Jen-tsung, in A.D. 1035, made an effort to preserve the 
 knowledge of Sanscrit literature by appointing fifty 
 youths to study it. A few years earlier, it is said, in a 
 notice of Fa-t'ien-pen, a native of '' Magadha " (Bahar), in 
 India, that he was assisted in translating the Wu-liang- 
 sheU'king, the " Sutra of Boundless Age," and other works, 
 by a native of China familiar with Sanscrit. These facts 
 have a bearing on the possible existence of Sanscrit manu- 
 scripts in China. One old manuscript only has yet been 
 discovered, in South China, in that mode of writing. Occa- 
 sionally a few specimen characters are introduced in native 
 works where foreign alphabets are treated of.^ In an 
 account of the Kwo-ts'ing monastery in the " History of 
 T*ien-t'ai-shan " it is said that a single work was saved from 
 a fire there several centuries ago, which was written on 
 the pei-to (patra), or " palm " leaf of India. A visit to T'ien- 
 t'ai — a spot abounding in Buddhist antiquities, the earliest, 
 and except P'u-to, the largest and richest seat of that 
 religion in Eastern China — by myself and two companions 
 led to the discovery that this work is still there, but in 
 the Kau-ming monastery, and that it is written in the 
 Sanscrit character. I had a copy made which was sent 
 to Professor Wilson ; but the work of the copyist was 
 found to be too incorrect to admit of its being read. T'ien- 
 t'ai is about fifty miles south of Ningpo, and is celebrated 
 for its beautiful scenery. As a monastic establishment it 
 dates from the fourth century, while P'u-to is no earlier 
 than the tenth. In the province of Che-kiang, where 
 
 1 Sanscrit characters are also con- sale. They are written in a later 
 
 tained in such works as Yii-k'ia-yen- DevanagaH with the top line, from 
 
 i'ew, which may be seen in any left to right, distinct iu form. There 
 
 monastery. In Peking, Sanscrit sen- are also Sanscrit inscriptions on 
 
 tences, chiefly charms, are seen " octagonal stones "(s/a-c/iwa??//). The 
 
 written under the eaves of the roofs Devanagari is of an older style with- 
 
 of temples. Some manuscripts have out the top line. They date from 
 
 been brought to foreign resident* for the Kin dynasty. 
 
138 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 maritime and hill scenery are so luxuriantly combined, 
 the picturesque homes of the Buddhist monks are clustered 
 together more thickly, it would seem, than anywhere else. 
 Like their English contemporaries whose mode of life was 
 in many points so similar, they knew well how to choose 
 spots where the rich landscape spread before their eyes 
 would be some compensation for their banishment from 
 social enjoyments. They were quite as inventive too in 
 peopling the woods and rocks where they selected their 
 place of retirement with supernatural visitors, whose rank 
 or good deeds lent a mysterious sanctity to the place 
 where traces of their presence were observed. And they 
 framed with equal facility marvellous legends to form a 
 ground for erecting temples in honour of the hero thus 
 endowed with an imaginary immortality. The Bodhi- 
 sattwas and " Arhans" {Lo-han) of Oriental religious fiction, 
 correspond to the saints and martyrs venerated in the West. 
 Those who chose the situations of many of the large 
 Buddliist establishments must have had an eye for the 
 loveliness of nature. The ignorant and unreflecting class 
 of priests now usually met with, whose aim is no higlier 
 than to count beads, to chant the classics, and to perform 
 the genuflexions according to rule, must not be taken as 
 examples of the earlier race of Buddhist monks. There 
 was in the flourishing days of Buddhism more devotion to 
 the system, and a much better appreciation of its nature, 
 than at present. It was quite in keeping with a more 
 sinoere belief in the religion, to choose beautiful solitudes 
 high among hills for the practice of its rites, and to spare 
 no expense in constructing appropriate edifices in the 
 most magnificent style of Chinese architecture. It is only 
 by supposing sincere attachment to the principles of the 
 system, that cases of self-destruction by fire in imitation 
 of the ancient Hindoo practice can be accounted for. 
 History says that the emperor Jen-tsung, having as a high 
 mark of favour introduced into the standard edition of 
 Buddhist books some works by the priests of T'ien-t'ai, 
 
PLACES OF PILGRIMAGE. 139 
 
 one of the monks performed this terrible feat to show his 
 gratitude for the emperor's goodness. Another prevailing 
 motive in uniting the utmost attainable beauty in nature 
 and art, was undoubtedly the desire to produce popular 
 effect, and to provide attractions for the rich and the 
 superstitious when they went on a religious pilgrimage. 
 
 Among these spots none in all China is more famous than 
 the island of P'u-to, to the east of Chusan. It was about 
 A.D. 9 1 5 that it was taken possession of by the Buddhists, 
 not many years before the time this narrative has reached. 
 It is dedicated to " Kwan-shi-yin," a name translated from 
 the Sanscrit Avalokiteshwara. P'u-hien (Samantabhadra), 
 another fictitious Bodhisattwa, is honoured in a similar way 
 at 0-mei shan, in Si-ch*wen. At Kieu-hwa, in An-hwei, 
 a little westward of Ch'i-cheu fu, Ti-tsang another of the 
 great Bodhisattwas, is honoured with special worship. The 
 fourth and last of tliese establishments, the great gather- 
 ing-places of the followers of Julai, is that of " Manjusiri " 
 ( Wen-shu p'u-sa) at Wu-t^ai in Shan-si, already referred to. 
 The name " P'u-to " (Fu-ta) is the same as that known in 
 Indian ancient geography as " Potala" or " Potaraka" (F'u- 
 ta-lo-hia). Kwan-shi-yin is said in the Hwa-yen-hing to 
 have taught the Buddhist doctrines on that island. The 
 original island was situated in the Southern sea of Indian 
 geographers, and P*u-to is therefore denominated Nan- 
 hai pu-to (the P'u-to of the Southern sea). Through the 
 Sung and Yuen dynasties buildings were added till they 
 grew to their present magnitude. The number of priests: 
 from all parts of China who visit this sacred island is 
 immense.^ 
 
 The residents, however, are not so numerous as at 
 T'ien-t'ai. T'ien-t'ai was at this time become famous for 
 
 1 The Thibetan inscriptions at P'u- tor of the Thibetans, and, as Hue 
 
 to, which have frequently attracted informs us, monuments with the 
 
 the notice of foreign visitors, pro- words Om mani-padme-hum^ a sen- 
 
 baldy owe their origin to some far- tence which occurs on the P*u-tc 
 
 travelled devotee from that country, stones, are e\ erywhere seen there. 
 KwHU-shi-yin is the national protec- 
 
r4o CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 the origination of a new school. The works by Chinese 
 authors mentioned above as placed parallel with the 
 translations from Sanscrit, consisted of the productions of 
 this school called Chl-kwan-hio or T'ien-fai-kiau. The 
 common book of prayers, Ta-pei-ts'an, has the same origin. 
 The object of this new school was to combine contempla- 
 tion with image worship. While the regulations for 
 kneeling and chanting by several persons in unison are 
 most complicated and minute, the operators aim to fix 
 their thoughts on certain objects of devotion. This system 
 differs from Bodhidharma's school of pure mental abstrac- 
 tion, by adding to devotional thoughts the helps of the 
 senses. The tawdry gaiety of the idols, the union of 
 many persons under the direction of a time-keeper in 
 kneeling and standing, mute thought and loud recitation, 
 it was believed would have a highly useful influence, when 
 combined with an intense effort after pure religious medi- 
 tation. The union of these two elements was intended to 
 be a great improvement on the previous methods. The 
 first Buddhist worship had made no express provision for 
 the meditative faculties, and it had in consequence de- 
 generated into the driest of forms. The common cere- 
 monial of the sect at the present time exemplifies it, 
 exhibiting as it does postures devoid of all reverence and 
 lifeless repetitions of foreign words destitute of all emotion. 
 The founder of this new system, Chi-k'ai, lived at T'ien- 
 t'ai in the latter half of the sixth century. It was not 
 till after more than four centuries that the principal 
 writings of the school he established were included among 
 the standard books of Buddhism. The title by which he 
 is known is T'ien-t'ai-chi-che. The ceremonial thus intro- 
 duced still maintains its reputation, and is practised by 
 those who wish to infuse a deeper feeling into the service 
 of the religion than is aimed at by the every-day worship- 
 pers of Buddha. 
 
 These changing forms of Chinese Buddhism — and there 
 are others that will subsequently be described — are facts 
 
ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC SCHOOLS, 141 
 
 not without significance for the religious history of man- 
 kind, that most interesting chapter in the chronicle of our 
 race. Human nature, true to itself, will run the same 
 round of varieties in connection with religions most dif- 
 ferent in their origin, principles, and geographical situation. 
 Christianity has been greatly affected in the form that it 
 has assumed in successive ages by the operation of the 
 natural religious feelings inherent in man, which are the 
 parents of all superstition and are independent of the new 
 spiritual life bestowed by Divine power. This fact, which 
 is clearly exhibited in Church history, renders the histori- 
 cal comparison between Christianity and other religions a 
 possible one. The monastic institute, for example, which 
 began in Buddhism, as its earliest books show, with 
 Shakyamuni the founder of the religion, was in Christianity 
 an innovation originating in the desire felt by many to 
 engage constantly in religious contemplation, without 
 being interrupted by the cares of secular life. In the 
 history of both religions there have been leading minds 
 that have elevated contemplation at the expense of external 
 forms. Others have sought by sensible representations 
 alone to call the religious feelings into action. Minds of 
 a third class have combined the two. But when Bud- 
 dhism proceeds to the negation of all thought, action, and 
 individual existence, the parallel fails, for though philo- 
 sophy has intruded frequently and extensively into the 
 battle-field of Christianity, it has never been attempted to 
 construct a new religious life on such a basis of philosophy 
 as this. Philosophical scepticism in the West has been 
 confined to the safer regions of speculation, without being 
 brought, as Buddhism has tried to bring it, to a practical 
 form.^ Another subdivision of the Buddhist schools into 
 Tsung-men an'^ Kiau-men may be best characterised by 
 using the terms esoteric and exoteric to distinguish them. 
 The first of the former entered China when the patriarch 
 
 ^ The attempt of Comte and liis religion on a basis of philosophy has 
 half-dozen followers to construct a been conspicuous only by its failure. 
 
T42 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Bodliidhnrma brought the traditional symbol, called in 
 Chinese cheng-fa-yen-tsang, and the school he established 
 is its highest kind. The magical formulae cheu (dharani) 
 also belong to esoteric Buddhism. These childish produc- 
 tions are as destitute of meaning in their original Sanscrit 
 as they are in their transferred Chinese form, but all sorts 
 of miracles are believed to be wrought by them. The 
 classics and books of prayers, with the other parts of the 
 literature, belong to exoteric Buddhism, which also em- 
 braces all rules for life and worship. For this classifica- 
 tion the native terms in use are Men, "open," and tni, 
 " secret." 
 
 The despotic nature of the Chinese government has 
 been often shown in its treatment of religions. When per- 
 secution has not been resorted to, the riglit of interference 
 in the internal regulations of Buddhism and Tauism has 
 been often assumed. Thus the Sung emperor, Shen-tsung, 
 orderedmany of the "temples" denominatedsi to be changed 
 into the "monasteries" called ch'an-yuen, for the use of the 
 monks who followed the system of Bodhidharma. His 
 successor issued a similar decree. In 1119, Hwei-tsung, 
 advised by Lin Ling-su, commanded the title of Buddha 
 to be changed to one like those of the Tauist genii. He 
 was to be styled Ta-kio-km-sien, in which kio, to "per- 
 ceive," is a translation of the word Buddha, and kin, i.e., 
 " golden," represents the substance of which his image 
 is supposed to be formed. The other Indian titles were 
 also ordered to be abandoned. The " priests," instead of 
 being known as seng, were to be called te-shi, " virtuous 
 scholars." The " temples," si, and " monasteries," yuen, 
 were to receive the designations kung, " palace," and kwan, 
 " monastery," terms in use among the Tauists. This futile 
 attempt to amalgamate the two religions was abandoned 
 the following year. 
 
 The two brother philosophers, (Jheng, in the city of 
 Lo-yang, set themselves against the Buddhist burial rites. 
 But an admirer compared them to the rock in the middle 
 
 ^ 
 
MONASTIC VOWS. 143 
 
 of a torrent, wliich can retard but for a moment the pro- 
 gress of the impetuous stream. 
 
 Si-ma Wen-kung wrote soon after that men need not 
 practise burial rites for deliverance from hell, because 
 neither heaven nor hell are to be expected. The body- 
 decays at death, and the spirit flies off, carried away by 
 a puff of wind. — (See Wattcrs.) 
 
 At that time, as at the present day, Buddhist priests 
 were invited by rich persons to go through a ritual for 
 the dead. The follower of Confucius engages priests from 
 both the other sects without scruple to offer prayers, in 
 whose efficacy he does not believe, for the souls of deceased 
 relatives. By the Oriental, sincerity and independence in 
 religious belief are without difficulty subordinated to the 
 outward show of respect which is felt to be necessary 
 while it is unreal. When, as death approached, a certain 
 mandarin prohibited the employment of Buddhist priests 
 at his funeral, the incident is commemorated as something 
 remarkable. In justification of himself he quoted the 
 saying of an author, " That if there were no heaven there 
 was no need to seek it ; and that if there were, good men 
 would certainly go there. If there were no hell there 
 was no need to fear it ; and if there were, bad men would 
 go there." 
 
 In the times of Buddhist prosperity persons received 
 from the emperor a written permission to become ho-shang ^ 
 or " monks." When this practice was abandoned, as by 
 Kau-tsuug, one of the emperors who reigned at Hang- 
 cheu, A.D. 1 143, the higher members of the Buddhist 
 hierarchy undertook to distribute the usual certificates 
 of membership in the order. Thus the aim of the em- 
 
 1 The word ho-snamj, as the Chinese selves also use ck^u-km-jen, a Chinese 
 
 Life of Buddha informs us, is trans- term convertible witli it. It means 
 
 ferred from the language of " Udin " "men who have left the family." 
 
 {Ya-tian) or " Khoteu," southeast t//>a<i/i?/a«/a is a Sanscrit term for " a 
 
 of Kashgar, and was originally trans- self-taught teacher," and Hwa-shie is 
 
 hited from the Sanscrit Updmka. a vernacular term in Kashgar and 
 
 Ho-shartg is now the universal term Kustana, and has become ho-ihang in 
 
 for the Buddhist monks. They them- Chinese.— (EiteL) 
 
144 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 peror, who had argued that for want of imperial patron- 
 age the inmates of the monasteries would be thinned 
 in numbers, until death effected what former emperors 
 liad sought to accomplish by persecution, was frustrated. 
 When the neophyte visits the chief monk at some monas- 
 tery, in order to go through the ceremonies of initiation, 
 an indentation is usually burnt in at the top of his shaven 
 head, and a new one is made at every repetition of the 
 visit. A priest is proud to show these marks of distinc- 
 tion, arranged in a square on his naked cranium, as testify- 
 ing to the self-denial he has practised in attaining his 
 position. 
 
 There are various evidences of the continued influence 
 of Indian Buddhism on that of China at this compara- 
 tively late period. The "History of the Sung Dynasty," in 
 its account of India, details the arrival in a.d. 95 1 of 
 Samanta, a monk, with a large party of companions from 
 Western India, belonging to sixteen families. In 965 a 
 Chinese priest, named Tau-yuen, returned from a journey 
 to the Western countries with relics and Sanscrit copies 
 of Buddhist books written on the " palm-leaf " {pci-to) to 
 the number of forty volumes. He was absent twelve years, 
 and resided in India itself half of that time. He returned 
 by the usual route round the north-west of the great 
 mountain mass denominated Ts'ung-ling. lie gave an 
 account of liis travels to the emperor on his return, and 
 showed him the Sanscrit books. The next year 157 
 Chinese priests set out together, with the emperor's per- 
 mission, to visit India and obtain Buddhist books. They 
 passed through Pu-lu-sha and " Cashmere " (Ka-shi-mi-lo), 
 but nothing is said of their fui-ther proceedings. During 
 the latter part of the tenth century Sanscrit manuscripts 
 continued to arrive at court in great numbers. On one 
 occasion the son of a king of Eastern India was a visitor. 
 The reason of his abandoning his native land, continues 
 our authority, was that it is customary for the younger sons 
 of a deceased kins: to leave their eldest brother at home to 
 
HINDOO BUDDHISTS IN CHINA. 145 
 
 sncceed their father, and themselves become mouks. They 
 travel then to other countries and never return. These 
 extracts from the " Sung History " are continued, because 
 they are not only valuable in themselves, but because also 
 there is some uncertainty as to the time when Buddhism 
 was expelled from India, and they may be of assisiance 
 in determining that question. In 982 a priest of Western 
 China returned from India with a letter from a king of 
 that country to the emperor. It was translated by an 
 Indian at the imperial command, and contained con- 
 gratulations on the favour shown in China to Buddhism, 
 together with geographical details on India and adjacent 
 countries. The next year another Chinese monk returned 
 by sea with Buddhist books from India. On his way he 
 met at San-fo-t'si, a country bordering on Cambodia to 
 the south-west, an Indian who wished to come to China 
 to translate Buddhist books. He was invited by the 
 emperor to engage in so doing. Other traces occur, not 
 seldom in Chinese history, of the presence of Buddhist 
 Indians in the Birmese peninsula, some of them of the 
 Brahman caste. The rising influence of Brahmanism, and 
 the more modern forms of religious belief in India, drove 
 the followers of Shakya, not only into the northern regions, 
 where they spread their system through Thibet and Tar- 
 tary, and by which many of them found their way to 
 China, but also into the islands and kingdoms that lay 
 on the other side of the Bay of Bengal. A few years 
 later than the last-mentioned date a Chinese, and with 
 him a foreign Buddhist monk, came from the king of 
 Northern India with a letter to the emperor. A Buddhist 
 priest of the Brahman caste, with Aliyin, a Persian of 
 another religion, are also mentioned as coming to the 
 capital. The former, in the account he gives of his native 
 country, mentions Buddhism as the religion favoured by 
 the king. Some came by sea at tliis time who could not 
 make themselves understood, but the images and books 
 they brought showed that they were Buddhists. Several 
 
 K 
 
146 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 other arrivals of Hindoos are recorded, aud if the books 
 they are said to have presented to the Chinese emperor 
 are still preserved in the state archives, there can be no 
 lack there of Sanscrit manuscripts of Buddhist works. 
 
 Though the great mass of Buddhist literature was 
 already translated, additions not a few w^ere made in 
 the Sung and Yuen dynasties, and the whole number 
 of " chapters " (Jciuen) raised from 4271 to 4661. 
 
 The account given of Kau-ch'ang (the Ouighour country 
 north-west of China) says that the calendar there used 
 was the one introduced by the Hindoo Buddhists at the 
 court of the T'ang dynasty in the early part of the eighth 
 century. More than fifty Buddhist temples had monu- 
 mental tablets presented by emperors of the same dynasty, 
 and, with the collected sacred books of Buddhism, are 
 also preserved the early Chinese dictionaries ^ made with 
 the assistance of the Hindoos. The reader is left to sup- 
 pose that the Buddhist classics in the language of China 
 were at that time used in the countries beyond its north- 
 western frontier, as they still are in Japan, Loo-choo, and 
 Corea. 
 
 It is added, " Temples of Manes and Persian * priests ' 
 {senga) are also found there, each following his own 
 ritual. These are such as are called in the Buddhist 
 Sutras * heretics ' (wai-tau)" This must be an allusion to 
 the Manicheans, the fire- worshippers, and probably also to 
 the Nestorians, who, on the Si-an inscription, call them- 
 selves by the Buddhist term senga in the sense of " priest." 
 
 From the extended sketch given of Japanese intercourse 
 with China in the " Sung History," it appears that the ob- 
 ject of the majority of the embassies then and previously 
 was a Buddhist one. Monks were the ambassadors ; books 
 of that religion, such as were known in Japan only by 
 name, were asked for ; remarkable places, like the Wu-t'ai 
 mountain in Shan-si, were visited ; the doctrines of parti- 
 cular sects, such as that of T4en-tai, were studied at the 
 
 1 Ta/txgyiin, YU-p'ievif &c. 
 
MONGOL DYNASTY FAVOURED BUDDHISM. 147 
 
 spots where they were principally cultivated; travellers 
 like Hiuen-tsang were regarded with veneration, and the 
 books that he intrusted to them, Sutras, Discipline, and 
 Shastras, guarded with especial care. The impression left 
 on the reader's mind by the narrative alluded to is, that the 
 early and constant embassies from Japan were decidedly 
 Buddhistic in tlieir character. Perhaps this arose simply 
 from the fact of the ambassadors having been monks, 
 while some other cause led to the appointment of persons 
 of that profession to the duty. At least, however, it indi- 
 cates that the Buddhist priests in Japan possessed for a 
 long period great political influence. 
 
 Kublai khan, the first Mongol emperor, was strongly 
 attached to Buddhism. The imperial temples, for sacri- 
 ficing to the objects of Chinese national worship, were 
 converted to Buddhist uses; while Tauism was persecuted, 
 injunctions were issued to all followers of Buddha to chant 
 the sacred books diligently in all the monasteries. When 
 Kublai was recommended by his courtiers to send an 
 army to subjugate Japan, he refused on the ground that 
 it was a country where the precepts of Buddha were 
 honoured. A monk of that sect was sent as ambassador, 
 but the king refused to follow the custom of his ancestor, 
 by sending the tributary offering that pleases oriental 
 vanity, and marks the submissive obedience of an inferior 
 sovereign to his more powerful neighbour. A hundre<i 
 thousand soldiers were sent to enforce the claim of supre- 
 macy over Japan, and their destruction in a storm while 
 crossing the sea thither is a well-known fact of history. 
 
 The early attachment of the Mongols to Buddhism 
 appears in the first notices of them in the annals of the 
 dynasty that they overthrew. While they still possessed 
 only the northern parts of China more than one Buddhist 
 monk was appointed to the office of kxoo-shji (national 
 instructor). The first of these was Namo, a native of one 
 of the Western kingdoms. Another was Pa-ho-si-pa or 
 " Baschpa," a '* Thibetan" {Tu-fan), who introduced a new 
 
I4S CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 alphabet for the use of the Mongols based on that of his 
 own language. It was issued by authority of Kublai 
 khan, but failed to win its way, perhaps because the 
 characters were less simple than the writing taken from 
 the Syriac, which had already been adopted from the 
 Nestorians. 
 
 In the reign of the successor of Kublai the historians 
 complain that three thousand taels of gold were set apart 
 to write Buddhist books in gilt letters, and other expenses 
 for this religion were in the same proportion of extra- 
 vagance. The " Yuen History " describes the politic aims 
 of Kublai in his preference for Buddhism. Becoming 
 sovereign of a country wild and extensive, and a nation 
 intractable and quarrelsome, he resolved, in order to give 
 his native wilderness a civilised aspect, and soften down 
 the natural roughness of his subjects, to form cities on 
 the Chinese model, to appoint mandarins of various ranks, 
 and put the people under the guidance of a public instruc- 
 tor. A priest of Buddha held this post, and he was only 
 subordinate to the chief lay mandarin. His orders were 
 treated with the same respect as the imperial proclama- 
 tions. When all the state officers were assembled he 
 alone remained seated on the floor in the corner, and 
 he was received at court with the highest honours that 
 could be paid to a subject. 
 
 The remarks of Confucianist historians on such things 
 are. naturally bitter. It is not according to precedent 
 to praise Buddhism. To censure it is the fashion of the 
 literati. When they wield the historic brush, they deepen 
 the colouring if superstitious emperors and Buddhist suc- 
 cesses have to appear on the canvas. What they record 
 of censure they record as a painful duty, and, as often 
 happens when men have a painful duty to perform, they 
 feel more pleasure in the performance than they like 
 to acknowledsje. 
 
 Towards the end of the thirteenth century, a census 
 was taken by imperial command of the Buddhist temples 
 
TRANSLATIONS BY THE MONGOLS. 149 
 
 and monks in China. Of the former, there were reported 
 42,3 18, and of the latter, 2 1 3,148. Three years after, at the 
 close of Kublai's reign, when a priest came from " Thibet " 
 {Si-fan) to become kwo-sJii (national instructor), the 
 emperor, regretting that he could not converse with him, 
 ordered Kalutanasi, a Mongolian, to learn the Thibetan 
 language from him. This task was accomplished in a 
 year, and, says the narrative, the complete translation of 
 the Buddhist Sutras and Shastras, from " Thibetan " {Si- 
 fan)} and Sanscrit into Mongolian, and written in Oui- 
 ghour characters, was presented to the founder of the Yuen 
 dynasty in the year of his death, a.d. i 294. He ordered 
 it to be cut on blocks, and distributed among the kings 
 and great chiefs of his nation. The notices of Buddhism 
 that occur in the reigns of the successive Mongol emperors 
 are extremely numerous, but they belong perhaps more 
 to Mongolian and Thibetan Buddhism than to that of 
 China, and it will be only necessary, therefore, to take a 
 brief review of them. The recitation of the classics was 
 frequently practised in the Thibetan language in the 
 monasteries of the capital at the emperor's command. In 
 1324 a second record occurs of the translation into Mon- 
 golian of the Buddhist books. It merely says that the 
 translation from the Si-fan (Thibetan) language was then 
 made in the "Ouighour" {Wei-ngu-r'i) writing. Those 
 who received the highest religious title, that of kwo-shl 
 or tirsTii, "imperial instructor," were foreigners. One of 
 these, Pi-lan-na-shi-li, of the Kan-mu-lu kingdom, learned 
 in his youth the Ouighour and " Sanscrit " {Si-t'ien, " West- 
 ern heaven") writing. In 13 12 he was ordered by the 
 emperor to translate Buddhist books. From Chinese he 
 translated the Leng-y en-king, a Sutra regarded by the 
 Chinese literati as the best of all the Buddhist books. 
 From Sanscrit he translated four Sutras, and others from 
 Thibetan, in all a thousand "chapters" {kiuen). He was 
 put to death for suspected treason, concerted with the 
 
 1 See the "Supplement to Wen-kten-Vung-k^au." 
 
150 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 son of the king of the An-si country on the eastern border 
 of Persia. The Mongol emperors continued faithful to 
 their adopted creed during the short continuance of their 
 power in China. It was, as it has continued to be, one 
 of their national institutions. The people accepted the 
 religion that their chiefs appointed for them. While 
 among the Chinese people, Buddhism has frequently had 
 to struggle against direct and indirect hostility from the 
 literary class and the government of the country, the 
 Mongolians have beheld without envy the priests of this 
 religion raised to the highest offices of state, and retain- 
 ing unquestioned their position as the most influential 
 body in the community. 
 
 The immoral pictorial representations introduced in the 
 worship of Shiva were imitated by the Thibetan Buddhists. 
 When brought to one of the Mongolian emperors by a Thi- 
 betan priest, he is said to have received them with approba- 
 tion. The Chinese people were indignant when they heard 
 that such representations were permitted to demoralise the 
 inmates of the imperial palace. At present, although 
 some authors have asserted the contrary, there appear to 
 be no traces of any such practice in Chinese Buddhism, 
 but they are found in the lama temples in Peking. 
 
 Curiosity to visit the first home of their religion had 
 not yet entirely forsaken the Chinese Buddhists. Early 
 in this period a Chinese priest named Tau-wu was excited 
 by reading the accounts of Fa-hien and the early Buddhist 
 travellers to try his fortune in a similar undertaking. 
 He passed the Sandy desert, and through the kingdoms of 
 Kui-tsi and Sha-la to Ki'pin (Cophen). He there learned 
 the original language of the Buddhist books, obtained 
 a Sutra on the admission of Kwan-shi-yin to the Buddhist 
 life, and turning westward proceeded through the country 
 of the Getae and so into India. He returned by sea to 
 Canton. This, however, is the last record of tlie kind. 
 
 There was no reaction against Buddhism for some time 
 after the overthrow of the Yuen dynasty. Monks of that 
 
MING DYNASTY LIMITS BUDDHIST PRIVILEGES. 151 
 
 religion from the countries west of China were still wel- 
 comed at court, and decrees were promulgated applaud- 
 ing the beneficial tendencies of the system. When a 
 mandarin ventured to reprove the third Ming emperor 
 on this account, he was silenced by the inquiry. Did he 
 wish to imitate HanWen-kung? In A.D. 1426 the next 
 occupier of the throne ordered examinations to be in- 
 stituted for those who wished to become monks. At this 
 time, as had sometimes happened before, the attention 
 of the government was called to the increasing property 
 in land of the monasteries. In 1450 it was forbidden to 
 any monastic establishment to have more than 60 meu 
 (6000 feet square) of land. What was in excess of this 
 was given to the poor to cultivate, they paying taxes to 
 the emperor. Similar acts of interference with the pro- 
 perty of the monasteries are recorded in the preceding 
 dynasty. In the sixteenth century, in the time of Kia- 
 tsiDg, some attempts to revive persecution were made by 
 Confucian memorialists, but all they succeeded in effect- 
 ing was the destruction of the Buddhist chapel belonging 
 to the palace. High titles were still granted to certain 
 priests who stated that they came from the West. They 
 were called shang-sH, " superior teacher," instead of ti- 
 sh'i, " imperial teacher," the title given in the Yuen 
 dynasty. 
 
 In the latter years of the Ming dynasty, new enemies 
 to Buddhism arrived in China. The Eoman Catholic 
 missionaries followed the Mohammedans in protesting 
 against idolatry. The banner of hostility could be raised 
 by Christians with more reason against this religion than 
 against the national one, of which the worship of images 
 forms no part. Matteo Eicci had a controversy with a 
 noted Buddhist priest residing at Hang-cheu. It was with 
 a show of reason pressed upon the Buddhists that if their 
 theory of transmigration were true, it would be wrong to 
 enter into wedlock for fear of marrying one's own father 
 or mother. The Buddhists suggested in reply, that divi- 
 
152 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 nation would reveal if such were the fact. Sii Kwang-k'i, 
 Eicci's most illustrious convert, wrote a short tract against 
 Buddhism, in which a few" of its principal doctrines are 
 discussed and condemned in a popular style. It is con- 
 cluded by a chapter against ancestral worship. The 
 work is called P'i-shihslii-chU'Wang, " The Errors of the 
 Buddhists Exposed." 
 
 Of the Manchu emperors, Shun-chi was a friend to 
 Buddhism, and wrote prefaces to some works of the fol- 
 lowers of Bodhidharma, but his son K'ang-hi felt in his 
 later life great repugnance to all religions except the 
 Confucian. His sentiments are recorded in the " Sacred 
 Edict," or Imperial book of moral instructions for the 
 common people. 
 
 By insertion in the " Sacred Edict " these opinions have 
 been widely spread, and are extensively approved of to 
 the present time. The author cites the judgment pro- 
 nounced by Chu Hi, the philosopher and critic of the 
 Sung dynasty, saying that the Buddhists care nothing 
 for heaven or earth, or anything that goes on around 
 them, but attend exclusively each to his single mind. 
 They are then condemned for fabricating groundless tales 
 of future happiness and misery. They are charged with 
 doing this only for gain, and encouraging for the same 
 object the large gatherings of the country population at 
 the temples; ostensibly to burn incense, but really to 
 practise the worst forms of mischief. 
 
 Policy has led the Manchu emperors to adopt a very 
 different tone in Mongolia and Thibet. The lamas of 
 those countries are received at Peking with the utmost 
 respect, and care has always been taken to avoid ex- 
 citing a religious animosity that would be fraught with 
 danger. 
 
 At the present time in the parts of China open to 
 foreign observation, each country village has its annual 
 festival, at which thousands assemblo from distances of 
 many miles to witness processions of the images, and join 
 
LITERATI STILL CONDEMN BUDDHISM. 153 
 
 in the idolatrous ceremonies to which the day is conse- 
 crated. It is the same to tlie people whether it be a 
 Buddhist or Tauist temple, where the concourse takes 
 place. Their worship and offerings are presented with 
 equal willingness in either, and whatever story is told of 
 the power of any idol they are ready to believe. 
 
 The feeling of the educated is different from this. De- 
 spising the popular development of Buddhism, as consist- 
 ing of image worship and procuring for money the pro- 
 tection of powerful unseen beings, they read with interest 
 those of the Buddhist books that have in them a vein of 
 metaphysical thought presented in elegant language. They 
 study Buddhism for the profundity of its ideas, while 
 they continue to adhere to Confucius, as their own chosen 
 teacher in morals and religion. In the wide literature of 
 this system there is room for readers of very various 
 predilections. There are several works of which meta- 
 physical discussion is the prominent feature, and they are 
 read with pleasure by the intelligent, to whom a further 
 attraction is the excellent native style adopted by the 
 scholars who assisted in the translation. Such, for ex- 
 ample, are the Kin-kaMg-king and the Leng-y en-king. 
 
 There are, however, not a few sincere Buddhists, chiefly 
 in the middle class of society, who believe that there is 
 a great merit and efficiency in the recitation of the sacred 
 books. They have a higher aim than those who practise 
 the mere burning of incense to secure particular forms of 
 happiness. They engage in the reading of these books or 
 enter on the life of a hermit or monk, hoping to quiet the 
 passions and train the heart to virtue. 
 
 Hermits are not uncommonly met with in the vicinity 
 of large Buddhist establishments. They occupy hill-side 
 caves, or a closed apartment, which for a certain term of 
 years they never leave. Their hair is allowed to grow 
 unshorn. Their food is brought them by the monks of 
 a neighbouring monastery. They employ their time in 
 reciting the sacred books, meditation on Buddhist doc- 
 
154 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 trine, care of their cell, and replenishing the incense urn 
 placed before the image of Shakyamuni. 
 
 The preceding pages may be regarded as a sketch of 
 the external history of Chinese Buddhism. A notice of 
 the successive schools into which this religion has sub- 
 divided itself will now be presented to the reader. 
 
 Note on Indian Science and Art. 
 
 The Hindoos borrowed copiously from Babylon and other western 
 countries. If in the eighth and ninth centuries they used what we 
 call the Indian arithmetical notation in giving mathematical in- 
 struction to the Chinese, it was because they had already learned 
 it from Babylonian teachers. The decipherment of mathematical 
 inscriptions from Mesopotamia shows that long before the age of 
 David and Solomon this notation was in common use there. So in 
 art the Hindoos copied the Greeks. After Alexander's invasion of 
 India the Hindoos l)ecame sculptors. They carved Buddhist friezes 
 by the lielp of Greek suggestion. Vincent A. Smith says in the 
 volume for 1889 of the Journal of the Bengal Brunch of the Royal 
 Asiatic Society, that the Hindoos followed Greek prototypes when 
 planning buildings, images, and pillars. This is the reason that 
 the metempsychosis appears somewhat late in Indian literature. It 
 too was of foreign origin. 
 
( t55 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SCHOOLS OF CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The growth of esoteric sects in India — The Jains — Their series of 
 twenty-four patriarchs — Bodhidharma headed a new school 
 in Southern India, and was heretical as viewed from the Jains' 
 standpoint — He founded the contemplative school in China — 
 Nagarjuna, the author of the most revered books of this school — 
 Tsung-men — Kiau-men — Divisions of Tsung-men — The Tsung- 
 men sects are heretical in the view of the old orthodoxy — 
 Specimen of the teaching of the Tsung-men — Lin-tsi school — 
 Professes strict discipline — Its founder died a.d. 868 — His 
 monument on the bank of the Hu-to river in Chi-li — Resem- 
 blance to European speculation on the absolute — Is Buddhism 
 pantheistic ? — Exoteric sects — Lil-men (Vinaya) — Yogachara — 
 Fa-siang — Madhyamika — Fa-sing — Tsing-tu, or sect of the 
 " Pure land " or " Western heaven " — Pien-t*ai — Poetry of 
 the Tsing-tu school. 
 
 Buddhism, as a religion of books and images, with the 
 vow of celibacy and the monastic system, had entered 
 China, and been widely propagated for several centuries, 
 before anything was heard of schools. Gradually the 
 Chinese Buddhists came to know of patriarchs, of the 
 contemplative school, and of its many subdivisions. 
 
 We are told that when the use of books was carried to 
 excess, and the true nature of humanity veiled from view, 
 Bodhidharma arrived with a tradition of his own teach- 
 ing, that men by becoming conscious of their own nature 
 would attain the state of Buddha. He becarae the chief 
 founder of the esoteric schools, which were divided into 
 five principal branches. 
 
 The common word for the esoteric schools is daii, the 
 
15^ CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Sanscrit Dkyana, now called in the modern sound given 
 to the character, ch'an. 
 
 Dr. Hamilton says, speaking of the Swaracs or Jains, 
 a still existing Buddhist sect in India, that they worship 
 twenty-four great teachers, who are called either Avatars 
 or Tirthancaras. Tirtha is an incarnation or an heretical 
 teacher or non- Buddhist ascetic of any sect.^ Ehode 
 supposed the Jains to he descendants of the Asuras and 
 Kakshas, races hostile to the early Hindoos.^ But they 
 were rather a school. 
 
 The Chinese have the series of twenty-four patriarchs. 
 They may be assumed to be the same with the Jaina 
 twenty-four patriarchs. Bodhidharma will then be a 
 heretic and continuator of an offshoot from the Jaina list 
 of patriarchs, commencing with Basiasita. The location 
 of this offshoot of the patriarchs, embracing the twenty- 
 fifth, twenty-sixth, twenty- seventh, and twenty- eighth, 
 was Southern India, for these four patriarchs were either 
 natives of Southern India or were at least engaged in 
 active labours there. Perhaps it will be better to say 
 that the Jains and the school of Bodhidharma are both of 
 them offshoots from a common stock, which recognised 
 patriarchs from the time of Kashiapa, and maintained 
 esoteric doctrine from that time. 
 
 The author of Fo-tsiv-Vung-ld, after describing the life of 
 Buddha in four chapters, gives an account of the twenty- 
 four patriarchs in his fifth chapter, and of nine selected 
 patriarchs in his sixth and seventh chapters. Among the 
 nine, Nagarjuna is the only foreigner, and the eight 
 natives are not any of them among the five regular suc- 
 cessors of Bodhidharma. Among them were (i.) Kau 
 Hwei-wen, A.D. 5 50 ; (2.) Li Hwei-si, founder of the Nan- 
 ngo school ; (3.) Ch'en Chi-k'ai of T'ien-t'ai and founder of 
 that school. The five others I shall not mention. 
 
 Then he selects eight others. After this he gives the 
 
 ' Tran*actioii» of tht Royal Atialic ^ Rhode. ReiigUm BUdung u, s. w, 
 Secitlif, vol. i. p. 538. dor Hindus, 
 
BODHWHARMA HEADED A NEW SCHOOL, 157 
 
 history of the succession in each case till he has related 
 the lives of an immense number of teachers of schools, 
 large and small, important and unimportant. After this 
 he finds room for the school of Bodhidharma, on which, 
 however, he is rather brief. 
 
 The author of San-kiaTi-yi-sto places Bodhidharma in 
 a much more important and elevated position. If Chi- 
 p'an's view is a better representation of the old and ortho- 
 dox Buddhist opinion, that of this later book is a better 
 indication of tlie most prevalent opinions of modern 
 Chinese monks. 
 
 Orthodox Buddhism has in China slowly but steadily 
 become heterodox. The Buddhism of books and ancient 
 traditions has become the Buddhism of mystic contempla- 
 tion. The followers of Bodhidharma have extended them- 
 selves on every hand, and gained an almost complete 
 victory over steady orthodoxy. 
 
 The history of ancient schools springing up long ago 
 in the Buddhist communities of India, can now be only 
 very partially recovered. Possibly some light may be 
 thrown back by China upon the religious history of the 
 country from which Buddhism came. In no part of the 
 story is aid to the recovery of this lost knowledge more 
 likely to be found than in the accounts of the patriarchs, 
 the line of whom was completed by Bodhidharma. In 
 seeking the best explanation of the Chinese and Japanese 
 narrative of the patriarchs, and the seven Buddhas ter- 
 minating ill Gautama or Shakyamuni, it is important to 
 know the Jain traditions as they were early in the sixth 
 century of our era, when the patriarch Bodhidharma 
 removed to China. 
 
 If it occur as an objection to this hypothesis that the 
 discrepancies iiow existing between the school of Bodhi- 
 dharma and of the Hindoo Jains are very great, the latter 
 having temples and an external worship, and that their 
 chronology also differs, in reply, it may be observed that 
 the fame and influence of Bodhidharma in China mark 
 
158 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 him out as himself a great sect founder. In this character 
 he would preserve only as much as he pleased of the 
 traditions and observances of his fellow religionists, 
 and in their view he was probably in many points a 
 heretic. The absence of the esoteric element (at least 
 that distinct and highly-developed form of it which 
 belongs to China) from modern Jainism would follow 
 the departure of the last patriarch. Further, his school 
 keep images, and never think of dispensing with them, 
 though they hold that they may be dispensed with. Their 
 ritual also is most elaborate. 
 
 The second native writer, already quoted, thus compares 
 Buddha and Bodhidharma. The former, " Julai " {Tatlid- 
 gata), taught great truths and the causes of things. He 
 became the instructor of men and Devas. He saved 
 multitudes, and spoke the contents of more than five 
 hundred works. Hence arose the Kiau-men, or exoteric 
 branch of the system, and it was believed to be the tradi- 
 tion of the wards of Buddha. Bodhidharma brought from 
 the Western heaven " the seal of truth " (true seal), and 
 opened the fountain of contemplation in the East. He 
 pointed directly to Buddha's heart and nature, swept away 
 the parasitic and alien growth of book instruction, and 
 thus established the Tsung-men, or esoteric branch of the 
 system, containing the tradition of the heart of Buddha. 
 Yet, he adds, the two branches, while presenting of neces- 
 sity a different aspect, form but one whole. 
 
 Though the two systems have worked harmoniously 
 together, a line is readily drawn in their literature. Thus 
 in the Fa-yuen-cJiu-lin, a large collection of miscellane- 
 ous Buddhist information coming down from the T'ang 
 dynasty, nothing is said of Bodhidliarma or his system. 
 To separate the productions of these two great schools 
 is then an important step in the classification of the Bud- 
 dhist books in China. Among die traditions preserved in 
 the history of the patriarchs are notices of some of the 
 disciples of Buddha and other eminent persons, fabulous 
 
SCHOOLS OF ESOTERIC BUDDHISM. 159 
 
 or real. They are given in an extended form in the work 
 Ch/i-yue-luh. Manjusiri is tlie first. The others are Tien- 
 ts'in p'U'Sa (Vasubandu Bodhisattwa), Wei-ma, Shan-ts'ai 
 (good ability), Subhiiti, Wu-yeu-tso-ivang (the perfect 
 king without any dissatisfaction), Shariputra, Yangimara, 
 Pindulo, Chang -'pi-mo-wang (the king who resists Mara), 
 the prince Na-Vo, Kwang-ngo-tu-ri, and Dzin-ha-da. 
 
 In tracing the rise of the various schools of esoteric 
 Buddhism it must be kept in mind that a principle some- 
 what similar to the dogma of apostolical succession belongs 
 to them all. They all profess to derive their doctrines 
 through a succession of teachers, each instructed personally 
 by his predecessor, till the time of Bodhidharma, and so 
 further up in the series to Shakyamuni himself and the 
 earlier Buddhas. 
 
 The sixth Chinese patriarch did not appoint a successor. 
 The monastic habit and rice bowl that had descended to 
 him were in accordance with what Bodhidharma had said, 
 not communicated to a new patriarch. In the five petals 
 the flower, as he had expressed it, would be complete, he 
 himself, the first of the six, being the stem on which the 
 others grew. The last of the patriarchs resided at Ts'au- 
 k'i, in Kiang-si. Two schools were formed by his disciples, 
 denominated Naii-ngo (South Mountain) and Ts'ing-yuen, 
 from the spots where the teachers resided. The former 
 is near Heng-cheu, in Hu-nan, the latter near Ts'iuen-cheu, 
 in Fu-kien. In these schools there was no very real differ- 
 ence in sentiment from the doctrine of the parent stem. 
 
 Heng-shan is the old Confucianist mountain known by 
 that name, and also as Nan-ngo. The tablet of Yii was 
 said to be discovered there, and we can see the reason 
 of this. It was the southern limit of the Chinese empire 
 of that time. He was the traditional civiliser, the canal 
 maker and embankment engineer of the Hia dynasty, and 
 of his work the geographical section in the " Book of His- 
 tory " is the record. 
 
 Though Bodhidharma was nominal founder of the eso- 
 
i6o CHINESE BUDDHISAf. 
 
 teric schools in China, the real philosophic thinker, who 
 gave them the impulse to reflection, was Nagarjuna, the 
 most important founder of the Mahayana school. He spe- 
 cially originated the Madhyamika system, which reduces 
 everything to hald abstractions and then denies them. 
 The soul has neither existence nor non-existence. It is 
 neither permanent nor non-permanent. Such was his 
 teaching. — (See in Eitel). His system influenced Kau 
 Hweiwen, who studied the Shastra Ta-chl-tu-lun, and mas- 
 tered the idea of " central gazing," ehung-kwan, and also 
 that of three branches of wisdom — viz. matter is nothing ; 
 the mind's annoyances are nothing; the temptations 
 through the senses are nothing. 
 
 Li Hwei-si, of the Nan-ngo school, built up his ideas on 
 those of Hwei-wen, and transmitted to Chi-k'ai the " triple 
 gaze," the empty, the hypothetical, and the medial. 
 
 Such is the statement of Chi-p'an, the orthodox autho- 
 rity. But, according to San-kiau-yi-su, the chief influence 
 in the formation of the Nan-ngo and of the Ts'ing-yuen 
 was that of the sixth patriarch upon the mind of Tu 
 Hwai-jang and Lieu Hing-si. 
 
 The founders of these two schools, the first of the Tsung- 
 men, were Hwai-jang and Hing-si. Their successors were 
 Ma-tsu in Kiang-si, and Hi-k'iau or Shi-t'eu, who, while 
 they changed their residences and became themselves 
 teachers of the esoteric doctrine, retained the names, Nan- 
 ngo and Ts'ing-yuen, of the schools where they had been 
 tauglit. 
 
 The biographical record of the Tsung-men teachers in 
 the CM-yue-luh contains notices of priests trained by the 
 predecessors of the sixth patriarch, and sent out to teach 
 the doctrine of Bodhidharma. Two were instructed by the 
 successor of Bodhidharma, eight by the fourth patriarch, 
 and six by the fifth. One of tlie latter, Shin-sieu, was 
 styled the sixth patriarch for North China, while Hwai- 
 neng, the legitimate successor of Bodhidiiarma, from resid- 
 ing in the southern provinces, was called the sixth patriarch 
 
TSUNG-MEN SECTS HERETICAL. i6i 
 
 for the South. Nothing is said of the schools originated 
 in various provinces by these teachers. It is only the 
 successors of Hwai-neng, the last-mentioned hierarch, that 
 are regarded as deserving a memorial. From him a series 
 of disciples, all becoming "teachers" (ch'an-s'i) in their 
 turn, are counted to the sixteenth generation. This mode 
 of expression is used instead of mentioning, according to 
 custom, the years of imperial reigns and dynasties. The 
 biography in the Chiryue-luh^ a book of the Ming dynasty, 
 ceases at the sixteenth descent. This was at the begin- 
 ning of the twelfth century, and the whole series embraces 
 about four hundred years. Modern monks of these schools 
 trace their succession in a similar manner, according to 
 a more recent arrangement, in twelve divisions. The 
 reason for this careful record of ecclesiastical ancestry 
 is to be sought in the principle of unbroken lineal descent, 
 which is indispensable to the maintenance of esoteric tradi- 
 tion. Yet it does not appear that there was any secret 
 doctrine which those who knew it would not divulge. 
 What they held was simply a protest against the neglect 
 of the heart, and dependence on book knowledge and the 
 performance of outward rites. Since their object was to 
 draw neophytes away from the inordinate study of the 
 books of the religion, instruction was given orally. An 
 extensive series of works containing records of the instruc- 
 tions of these teachers has been the result. They are called 
 Yu-luh, " Eecords of the sayings " of celebrated teachers. 
 
 Several branch schools were originated by the successors 
 of the sixth patriarch. In the fourth generation from him 
 the Hwei-niang school was formed. In the fifth appears 
 that of Lin-tsi and Ts'au-tung. The Ytin-men belongs 
 to the eighth generation. That called Fa-yen belongs to 
 the ninth. These names are taken from the places where 
 the founders of the respective schools resided. They are 
 denominated collectively the Wv^tsung, or " Five schools," 
 to distinguish them from those which preceded them, and 
 adhered more closely to the tradition of the patriarchs. 
 
 L 
 
1 62 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The differences that existed between these schools and 
 the parent doctrine were not great. But it is not essential 
 that differences should be great to make them the subject 
 of controversy and the cause of division. An example 
 of the mode in which the contemplative Buddhists carried 
 on their discussions will here be given, 
 his doctrine in the following verses: — 
 
 Shin-sieu taught 
 
 " The body is like the knowledge tree. 
 The mind is like a mirror on its stand. 
 It should be constantly and carefully brushed, 
 Lest dust should be attracted to it." 
 
 His teacher, the fifth patriarch, was pleased with this 
 mode of representing the importance of watching over the 
 heart. But Hwai-neng, the sixth patriarch, opposed it 
 with vehemence. He also wrote his view in verses : — 
 
 " There is no such thing as a knowledge tree. 
 There is no such thin^,' as a mirror-stand. 
 There is nothing that has a real existence. 
 Then how can dust be attracted ? " 
 
 In the former appears very distinctly the practical part 
 of the esoteric system, attention to the heart. In the 
 latter its speculative tendency — denying everything ex- 
 ternal to the mind — is brought to view. 
 
 According to the system held in common by these 
 schools, the heart is Buddha. There is no mode of attain- 
 ing to the state called Buddha but by the mind itself. 
 This mind has neither beginning nor end, colour nor form. 
 To look outward is to be a common man. To look in 
 ward is to be Buddha. In reality man is the same thing 
 as Buddha. To rely on the performance of particular acts 
 is not true knowledge. To make offerings to all the past 
 Buddhas is not to be compared with offering to one man 
 who has become superior to mental passions and sensa- 
 tional influences. 
 
 All that the great Bodhisattwas have taught, men have 
 in themselves. The pure vacancy of Manjusiri, the with- 
 
LTN-TST SCHOOL. 163 
 
 drawal of the thoughts from the world of sensations 
 recommended by P'u-hien, the mercy of Kwan-yin, the 
 knowledge of Shi-chi, the purity of " Vimakita " ( Wei-mo) 
 — all these various principles are in the heart. To know 
 it, is all that is needful. To become Buddha the mind 
 only needs to be freed from every one of its affections, 
 not to love or hate, covet, rejoice, or fear. To do, or aim 
 at doing, what is virtuous or what is vicious is to leave 
 the heart and go out into the visible tangible world. It 
 is to become entangled in the metempsychosis in the one 
 case, and much trouble and vexation in the other. The 
 right method is in the mind ; it is the mind itself. The 
 fountain of knowledge is the pure, bright, self-enlighten- 
 ing mind. The method taught by all the Buddhas is 
 no other than this. Let the mind do nothing, observe 
 nothing, aim at nothing, hold fast to nothing; that is 
 Buddha. Then there will be no difference between living 
 in the world and entering the Nirvana. Then human 
 nature, the mind, Buddha, and the doctrine he taught, all 
 become identical.^ 
 
 While revising these papers, and adding to them, so 
 that they may form a distinct book on Chinese Buddhism 
 (August II, 1879), I here insert a brief account of the 
 Lin-tsi school. 
 
 The Lin-tsi school has been very successful. It has 
 pushed out the other sects, and spread over the north and 
 south of China to an enormous extent. Beginning in 
 Shan-tung, it has been accepted throughout the eighteen 
 provinces, and in Japan, as the most popular exponent of 
 the teaching of the contemplative school. 
 
 They say, " Within the body which admits sensations, 
 acquires knowledge, thinks, and acts, there is the * True man 
 without a position,* Wu-wei-chen-jen, He makes himself 
 clearly visible ; not the thinnest separating film hides him. 
 Why do you not recognise him ? The invisible power of the 
 
 1 This description ig taken from a little work of th« T'ang dynasty, called 
 Twan^tH-nn-yau. 
 
1 64 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 A 
 
 mind permeates every part. In the eye it is called seeing, 
 in the ear it is hearing. It is a single intelligent agent, 
 divided out in its activity in every part of the body. If 
 the mind does not come to conscious existence, there is 
 deliverance everywhere. What is the difference between 
 you and the sages of antiquity ? Do you come short in 
 anything ? What is Buddha ? Aris. A mind pure, and at 
 rest. What is the law ? Ans. A mind clear and enlight- 
 ened. What is Tau^ Ans. In every place absence of 
 impediments and pure enlightenment. These three are 
 one." The object of the Lin-tsi has been to teach Bud- 
 dhism, so that each monk should feel that there is diffi- 
 culty in the paths of self-improvement, and that he has 
 in himself the power to conquer that difficulty. 
 
 The " true man without a position," Wu-wei-chen-jen, is 
 wrapped in a prickly shell like the chestnut. He cannot be 
 approached. This is Buddha, the Buddha within you. 
 
 The sharp reproof of discipline is symbolised by slaps 
 on the cheek with the palm of the hand, and blows with 
 the fists under the ribs. This treatment gives an improved 
 tone to the mind and feelings. 
 
 An infant cannot understand the seven enigmas. 
 
 These enigmas are given in dark language difficult even 
 for adepts to explain. Thus : " Is it to search in the grass 
 where there is the shadow of the stick that you have already 
 come here ? " " To kill a man, to strike with the sword 
 a dividing blow, and the body should not enter the water." 
 
 The explanations of these enigmas are not given in the 
 book I have consulted. Doubtless they mean sometliing 
 quite in harmony with the fundamental principles of 
 Buddhism, otherwise the Lin-tsi school would not be so 
 popular as it is. 
 
 They have the " Three ' dark,' hitien, principles," the 
 "real," shi, the "formal," t'i, and the "practical," yuncf. 
 They have also the " Three * important,' yau, principles." 
 These are, "illumination," chau, "utility or use," yunc/, 
 and the combination of the two. 
 
FOUNDER OF L7N-TS/ SECT DIED A.D. 868. 165 
 
 In their discipline they have three blows with the cane, 
 three successive reproofs, and the alternation of speech 
 and silence. They have a play on the words " guest " and 
 " host." The guest may learn from the host by seeing 
 how he meets circumstances, and imitating him. The 
 host may learn from the guest, as when those who are 
 already profound in wisdom make constant inquiries from 
 their visitors, and seize ardently on what they approve. 
 The host may learn from another host, as when those who 
 are already wise discuss points, and such as are learning 
 throw away what they had been grasping firmly. The 
 guest may learn from another guest, as when the learner 
 is laden with the heavy wooden neck collar and iron lock, 
 and all discussion ceases. 
 
 Where the meaning of such mysterious teaching is not 
 clear, there will be an oral explanation by the tutor ; and 
 so step by step the pupils will acquire a knowledge of 
 the Lin-tsi school doctrines and discipline, and of the 
 enigmatical language in which they are couched. 
 
 The founder of the Lin-tsi school died a.d. 868. A 
 dagoba was erected over his ashes in the south part of the 
 province of Chi-li, near Ta-ming fu, on the north-west 
 angle not far from the city. 
 
 He resided for some years on the banks of the river 
 Hu-t'o, which rushes with great force of current out of 
 Shan-si into Chi-li, at the distance of a mule's journey of 
 five days from Peking on the south-west. This river flows 
 through the prefecture of Chen-ting fu to the Grand Canal. 
 On the banks of this river to the south-east of the city of 
 Chen-cheu, as Chen- ting fu was then called, the founder 
 of the Lin-tsi school spent much of his life in a small 
 monastery. Here he was in a quiet spot surrounded by 
 the objects of a well-cultivated plain, where wheat and 
 millet have been sown from time immemorial ; and here 
 he acquired a reputation for magical powers. He could 
 stroke the beard of a fierce tiger, split rocks, burst open 
 precipices, walk upon ice, and move along the edge of a 
 
i66 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 sword. The main features in the landscape on which he 
 looked were the blue mountains of Shan-si, forming a 
 broad and continuous chain on the west, with the swift 
 river which flowed by his monastery with a full and foam- 
 ing stream in the summer months, and sinking to a much 
 smaller one in the winter, when it is frozen hard enough 
 to be passed by loaded waggons. It was this river that 
 gave a name to the school, for Lm-tsi means " Coming to 
 the ford." 
 
 To the kind of philosophy springing up in India, and 
 further developed by the Chinese in the esoteric schools 
 above described, there is much that is similar in recent 
 European speculation. We see here the Finite going back 
 into the Absolute, the denial of the existence of every- 
 thing but self, the identity of self and God, and of the 
 subject and object. That abstraction which is the pan- 
 theist's God, may, without violence to the meaning of 
 words, be considered as the corresponding term to Buddha 
 in this system. For God, as the Absolute, is the state 
 towards which nature and man are returning, a descrip- 
 tion which answers to the notion here alluded to of the 
 state called Buddha. When, however, in the manner of 
 the older schools, Buddlia is looked upon as having his- 
 torical personality, it becomes at once incorrect to say that 
 he is God ; his personality being strictly human, and not 
 divine. There is, however, a difference. The Asiatic 
 speculator undertakes to realise his system, and employs 
 the monastic institute or other aids for the purpose, hoping 
 thus to escape from the chains of sense and passion into 
 the freedom of pure abstraction. The European theoriser, 
 on the other hand, even if he attempts to show how a 
 practical religion may be based on a system of abstrac- 
 tions — as was done by Fichte — never seriously thinks of 
 carrying it into execution. 
 
 Neander, following Schmidt and Baur, represents Bud- 
 dhism as one form of pantheism, on the ground that the 
 doctrine of metempsychosis makes all nature instinct with 
 
IS BUDDHISM PANTHEISTIC t 167 
 
 life, and that that life is the Deity assuming different forma 
 of personality, that Deity not being a self-conscious free 
 acting First cause, but an all-pervading spirit. The eso- 
 teric Buddhists of China, keeping rigidly to their one 
 doctrine, say nothing of the metempsychosis, the paradise 
 of the Western heaven, or any other of the more material 
 parts of the Buddhist system. The Indian Buddhists 
 were professed atheists ; but those of China, instead of 
 denying the existence of God, usually content themselves 
 with saying nothing about Him. To deny or affirm any 
 special existence, fact or dogma, would in their view be 
 equally inconsistent. Their aim is to keep the mind from 
 any distinct action or movement of any kind. They look, 
 therefore, with pity on worshippers of every class as 
 necessarily missing what they aim at, and that because 
 they aim at it ; and as having no prospect of escaping 
 from the misery of life until they abandon all special 
 dependencies and doctrines, look within instead of with- 
 out, and attend to the voiceless teaching of the mind 
 itself. 
 
 This system also exists in Japan, and the same sub- 
 divisions into schools occur there among its followers. 
 (See Burger's account of religious sects in Japan, Cfhi7i. 
 Rep., vol. ii. pp. 318-324.) 
 
 It is in high estimation among the reflecting class of 
 Chinese, who look with contempt on the image worship 
 of the multitude. 
 
 An account of the " Exoteric sects," the Kiau-men of 
 Chinese Buddhism, will now be presented to the reader. 
 
 Shakyamuni is said to have foretold that, for five 
 centuries after his death, the true doctrine would be fol- 
 lowed. After that, for a thousand years, a system of 
 forms or "Image worship," Siang-Jciaou, would prevail. 
 This would subsequently give place to another called the 
 " final system," which would terminate the present Jcalpa. 
 The popular Buddhism of China belongs to the second of 
 these developments. It was this form that it first as- 
 
i68 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 sumed on entering China. Buddha is said to have taught 
 the doctrines of this system in early life, while the more 
 abstruse and mystical parts of his teaching were delivered 
 when he was become an old man. After his entrance 
 into the Nirvana, Ananda compiled the " Sutras " {King). 
 In the council that was then held, these Sutras were 
 adopted as an authentic account of the Buddhist doctrine, 
 and they are the first of the Three collections that consti- 
 tute the standard books of Buddhism. 
 
 The biographical notices of the principal translators of 
 the Sutras, and founders of the Kiau-men, are by the 
 author of the San-kiau-yi-su placed before the five schools 
 into which he divides the exoteric Buddhists. The first 
 of the eight who are thus distinguished is Kashiap- 
 madanga. When he came to Lo-yang in the first century 
 of our era, he lodged in the Pe-ma si (White horse temple). 
 Hence the residences of Buddhist priests were called si 
 (ga-lam, " monasteries ; " for the Sanscrit, sangarama). 
 Associated with his countryman Chu-fa-lan, he translated 
 five Sutras. The latter afterwards translated five more, 
 consisting of thirteen "chapters" (kiven). " Kumarajiva's" 
 (Kieu-mO'lo-sM) name is the third, and the fourth that of 
 " Buddojanga " (Fo-fu-cheng), who is better known as a 
 wonder worker and a founder of monasteries (he erected 
 893) than a translator. A commentary on the Tau-ie- 
 king of Lau-tsi came from his pen. The remaining four 
 names most noted in the early history of Chinese Bud- 
 dhism are Chi-tun, Tau-an, Pau-chi', and Shan-hwei. They 
 were all natives of China, noted for their writings and 
 public discussions in explanation and defence of the Bud- 
 dhist system. 
 
 The five subdivisions of exoteric Buddhism will now be 
 considered, (i.) That named from the Vinaya or second 
 division of the sacred books, is the first. The writer of 
 the " Vinaya " (Zu) and founder of this school was " Updli " 
 {Yeu-po-li; in old Chinese, U-pa-li), one of the ten chief 
 disciples of Shakyamuni. He wrote the Si-pu-lil, which 
 
THE VINAYA DIVISION, 169 
 
 was admitted into the " Three pitaka " {San-tsang) at the 
 council held after Buddha's death {vide Hardy's Eastern 
 Monackism). Among the nine leaders of this school, two 
 other Hindoos are mentioned. The first Chinese among 
 them is in the fifth century. He taught the system of 
 the work called " Discipline of Four Divisions." The name 
 of this school is Hing-s%-faiig-fei-ch%-ngo, indicating that 
 its aim is in action to guard against error and check vice. 
 It is also called the Naii-shan (Southern hill) school. 
 Priests of this school at the present time dress in black. 
 There was at Nanking, before the T'ai-ping rebellion, a 
 monastery where this system was in operation. 
 
 (2.) Yo-ga-mi-hiau, " The secret teaching of Yoga." The 
 founder of this system is called Kin-hang -sat ~ioa (Vajra- 
 sattwa). It was brought to China about a.d. 720 by Kin- 
 Icang-cM (Vajramati), who was succeeded by Pu-k'ung. 
 Seventy-two works came from the pen of the latter, and 
 were placed in the national collection of Buddhist books. 
 His numerous disciples learned to repeat charms with 
 great effect, and this seems to be the proper business of 
 the school. The word Yoga is explained as " Correspon- 
 dence " and, it is added, is employed as a general term for 
 books " containing secret doctrines " (referring to magic). 
 To this school belongs the very popular festival of the 
 hungry ghosts, held in the seventh month. 
 
 The Yoga or Yogachara school is also called the Tan- 
 tra school, because it taught the use of magic formulae 
 or unintelligible charms used for rain, for protection in 
 storms, &c. They are written in Sanscrit or Thibetan 
 letters. — (See in Eitel, under the word " Yogatchara.") 
 
 (3.) Wei-shi-siang-kiau. This school occupied itself 
 wdth the study of the Shastra Wei-sM-lun, and similar 
 works. These books were written by the two Bodhisat- 
 twas Wu-cho^ and T'ien-ts'in, Kiai-hien, a Hindoo re- 
 
 ^ Asengha, *'Withoutattachment," the Mahayana system, and wrote the 
 
 was originally a follower of the Ma- books which contain the Wei-shi doc- 
 
 I hashasaka school. He first taught trines. Then he became the found« 
 
I70 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 siding at the monastery Nalauda, was their most distin- 
 guished disciple, and was principally concerned in estab- 
 lishing this school, and arranging those forms of Buddhist 
 instruction called the Three "Developments" {Yariob). 
 Next to him was the traveller Hiuen-tsang, who received 
 the Shastra mentioned above from Kiai-hien, and origi- 
 nated the school in his native country. He was succeeded 
 by his pupil Kwei-ki. This school is called Fa-siang- 
 tsung, or the " School that exhibits the nature " and 
 meaning of the Buddhist written doctrines. 
 
 (4.) Another of these schools derives its name from the 
 Shastra called Chung-lun. That work was written by the 
 Hindoo Lung-shu, " Nagarjuna " (Dragon tree). The 
 founder of the school based on the doctrines of that book 
 was a Chinese of the Northern T'si kingdom in the sixth 
 century. His successor was a monk of one of the sects 
 that followed the teaching of Bodhidharma, Hwei-si of 
 Nan-ngo. He was succeeded by Chi-k'ai of T'ien-t'ai shan, 
 who developed the system to a much greater extent, and 
 divided it into four subordinate schools, named from their 
 subjects, those of the written doctrine, true human nature, 
 the use of the senses, and action. 
 
 (5.) The last exoteric school is that whiqh was founded 
 by Fa-shun, a native of Tun-hwang, an ancient kingdom 
 in what is now Thibet. He gave his chief attention to 
 the "Hwa-yen Sutra." The third leader of the school 
 was Hien-sheu, the best known of them all. His name 
 is often given to the system that he with his predecessors 
 and successors recommended. It is called usually Fa- 
 sing-tsuTig, the " School of the true nature " of the written 
 doctrine. 
 
 Another exoteric school parallel with these, but placed 
 separately in the classification, is that called Lien-tsung 
 (Lotus school), or Tsing-tu (Pure land). To it belongs the 
 })opular legend of the Western heaven, the abode of 
 
 of the Yogn school, and wrote a book Maitreya in the Tushita paradise, 
 which he said waa dictated to him by —(See in BiteH 
 
PURE LAND SECT. Vf\ 
 
 "Amida Buddha" (A-mi-to Fo), a fabulous personage 
 woi-shipped assiduously — like Kwan-yin — by the Northern 
 Buddhists, but unknown in Siam, Birmah, and Ceylon. 
 The founder of this school in China was a native of 
 Shan-si, Hwei-yuen, of the Tsin dynasty (fourth century). 
 The second " patriarch " (tsu) of this school was Kwang- 
 ming of the seventh century. For more than thirty years 
 he taught the doctrine of the " Pure laud," persuading 
 multitudes to adopt it. Pan-cheu, his successor, was 
 honoured with the title JCwo-sM (National instructor) in 
 the reign of T*ai-tsung (760 A.D.). The sixth in order was 
 Chi-kio. His views diflered little from those of T'ien- 
 t'ai, Hiuen-tsang, and Hien-sheu. He was very fond of 
 saving fish and crabs from being killed and eaten. Seven 
 chiefs of this sect are enumerated. To the same school 
 belongs Chu-hung, the priest who opposed Matteo Ricci 
 in works and letters still extant, and founded the Ytin- 
 tsi monastery near Hang-cheu. 
 
 The Western paradise promised to the worshippers of 
 Amida Buddha is, as has been pointed out by Schott in 
 his work on the Buddhism of High Asia and China, in- 
 consistent with the doctrine of Nirvana. It promises 
 immortality instead of annihilation. The great antiquity 
 of this school is evident from the early date of the trans- 
 lation of the Amida Sutra, which came from the hands 
 of Kumarajiva, and of the Wu-liang-slicu-king, dating 
 from the Han dynasty. Its extent of influence is seen in 
 the attachment of the Thibetans and Mongols to the 
 worship of this Buddha, and in the fact that the name of 
 this fictitious personage is more commonly heard in the 
 daily conversation of the Chinese people than that of the 
 historical Buddha Shakyamuni. 
 
 The only remaining school is that of T'ien-t'ai, already 
 partially described. In the latter part of the sixth cen- 
 tury Hwei-wen, a native of " Northern China " {Pe-t^i), 
 studied the Chung-lun (Central Shastra), written by the 
 Hindoo called " Conqueror of the Dragon " {Luiig-sheng or 
 
172 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Lung-shu), the fourteenth patriarch. Convinced of its 
 excellence, he instituted *' three sorts of meditation " (sa7i- 
 kwan), viewing the world as (i.) empty, (2.) false, or (3.) 
 central. This he regarded as the limit of religious medi- 
 tation on the surrounding universe, and therefore called 
 his system Chij-kwan, " Eeflection carried to its limiting 
 point." He also founded his doctrine partly on the Fa- 
 hoa-kiiig, and was followed by Hwei-si and Chi-che of 
 Pien-t'ai, who gave his name to the school. 
 
 The following verses translated from the poetry of the 
 Tsing-tu sect will serve to illustrate the doctrine of that 
 school It is not much of the Buddhist system that easily 
 admits of being put into this form of composition. There 
 is nothing akin to the spirit of poetry in the turgid splen- 
 dour and wearisome reiteration of the legends that abound 
 in the books of this religion. Chinese versifiers have, 
 however, found some materials more to their taste in the 
 Western heaven of Amida Buddha. If the reader should 
 think the conceptions are poor, they are at least a genuine 
 description, so far as they go, of the heaven of the Nor- 
 thern Buddhists. 
 
 **The Western Heaven. 
 
 " The pure land of the West, say what language can tell 
 Its beauty and majesty? There ever dwell 
 The men of this world and the Devas ^ of hea\ eu, 
 And to each has the same wreath of glory been i;iven. 
 The secrets of wisdom unveiled they behold, 
 And the soil that they tread on is bright yellow gold. 
 In that land of true pleasure the flowers never fade, 
 Each terraced ascent is of diamond and jade. 
 • The law of Tathagata * sung by each bird 
 
 From thicket and grove in sweet music is heard. 
 
 The unwithering Upata,^ fairest of flowers, 
 
 Sheds fragrance around in ihofe thrice lovely bowers. 
 
 * D«fM,the "gods " of the TTindooi - Tathdgata^ a title of Buddha ; in 
 
 (in Chinese, ('?>«). They are inferior Chinese, Julai. "The law," is the 
 
 in power and splendour to human doctrine proclaimed by ButMlnu 
 
 nature when elevated to the rank of * Also spelt Utanxpatala. 
 the Buddhns and Bodhisattwas. 
 
POETRY OF THE PURE LAND. 173 
 
 There, each from the world that he governs, are fouml 
 
 ABsembled in conference long and profound, 
 
 The ten supreme Buddhae who cease not to tell 
 
 The praise of the land where the genii' dwell. 
 
 For there is no region f*o happy ami blest, 
 
 As the henven of great Amida far in the west. 
 
 On the moment of reaching it by a new birth, 
 
 The material hody of men while on earth 
 
 Is exchanged for another ethereal ami bright, 
 
 That is seen from afar to be glowing with light. 
 
 Happy they who to that joyful region have gone ! 
 
 In numberless Jcalpas their time flows on. 
 
 Around are green woods, :ind above them clear skie?«, 
 
 The sun never scorches, cold winds never rise, 
 
 Neither summer nor winter are there ever known 
 
 In the land of the Law and the Diamond Throne ; 
 
 All errors corrected, all mysteries made clear, 
 
 Their rest is unbroken by care or by fear. 
 
 And the truth that before lay in darkness concealed 
 
 Like a gem without fracture or flaw is revealed." 
 
 The word " diamond " is used in the sense of " uncon- 
 quered and unconquerable," and may refer either to Bud- 
 dha's power as a teacher, or to the divinities that support 
 his throne and act as his protectors. 
 
 "Amida Buddha. 
 ** See where, streaming forth radiance for thousands of miles, 
 Ever sits the compassionate Buddha, and smiles, 
 Giving joy to the victims of sorrow and strife 
 Who are saved by his law from the sorrows of life. 
 All liis features of beauty no words can expresg, 
 For the sands of the Ganges in number are less ; 
 Mark the flowers of the lotus encircling his seat 
 As if of themselves they sprang up round his feet. 
 Whoever would enter the home of the blest 
 In his innermost thoughts should incessantly rest 
 On that beautiful form like the clear moon on high 
 When she marches full-orbed through an unclouded sky. 
 By that halo of light that encircles his head, 
 On all living beings a radiance is shed. 
 The sun at noon-day is less glorious than he. 
 His compassion resembles a bottomless sea, 
 
 * "Q«nii." In Sanscrit, Rithi ; in Chinwe. SUn-jen. 
 
174 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 Without ceasing his arms are outstretched to relieve 
 The afflicted that weep, and the orphans that grieve, 
 F<ir his mercy is such as none else can display. 
 And long ages ot gratitude cannot repay.'' 
 
 These descriptions are taken from a collection of poems 
 called Tsing-tu-sJii. The measure in the original is the 
 usual one of seven words in a line. The Chinese words 
 are monosyllables, and the diction consequently very terse. 
 Our English tongue is different. A metre like that here 
 adopted has more room in it than others for unaccented 
 syllables. This circumstance renders it convenient. It 
 has often been used by translators. 
 
 In these descriptions there is a prominent materialism 
 in the expressions. Buddha in the Western heavens is 
 thought of as like the monstrous gilt image seen by the 
 worshippers as they go to a temple on a gala day. Idol- 
 atry loves to borrow from nature. Here there are flowers, 
 and singing- birds, and the favourite jade-stone. Buddha 
 is here made popular; there is no abstruse speculation. 
 The boasted Nirvana is abandoned, and a paradise gratify- 
 ing to the senses takes its place. Many a simple-minded 
 dreamer spends his days in meditating on this picture, and 
 indulging his imagination with the hope that he will one 
 day be bom from a lotus flower, in the very joyful world 
 of Amida, and live there for ever gazing on his sacred 
 form. 
 
( 175 ) 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 ON CHI-K'AI AND THE T'IEN-T'AI SCHOOL OF BUDDHISM. 
 
 T'ieu-t'ai, a place of great note in Chinese Buddhism — ChX-k*ai re- 
 sided there in the sixth century — His cloak and rice bowl — Fu- 
 hmg-feng— Fang-kwang si and the rock bridge — Legend of the 
 Lo-hans — Twelve monasteries founded — He taught the Fa-hwa- 
 king — System of threefold contemplation — Six connectives — 
 Eight modes of characterising Buddhism — Ten steps in progress 
 — Derived much from Nagarjuna — T'ien-t'ai, a middle system — 
 Regulations. 
 
 There is no Buddhist establishment better known in 
 China than T'ien-t'ai. It has much natural beauty, but 
 its interest, so far as it is historical, centres chiefly round 
 the ancient monk who is the subject of this notice. It 
 had been visited before by Tauist recluses, but it was he 
 that by selecting it for his abode gave it its high reputa- 
 tion as a spot consecrated to the meditative life. 
 
 The cluster of hills that compose T'ien-t'ai terminate 
 abruptly to the south-west. Ch'ih-ch'eng,^ an imposing 
 hiU crowned with a pagoda, is conspicuous from the time- 
 worn walls of the city of T'ien-t'ai, 1 80 miles south-east 
 of Hang-cheu. This is the southern extremity of the 
 hQly region known by the same name. From a valley 
 on its left flows a mountain stream, which, increasing in 
 width as it traverses the plain, is capable of bearing boats 
 of considerable size when it reaches the busy little city 
 just mentioned. Passing on it bends to the south-east, and 
 arriving at T'ai-cheu, an important sea-port, pours its 
 
 ^ The "Red wall," so called from iti colour and precipitous appearance. 
 
I 
 
 176 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 waters, after a short course of ten or fifteen miles, into th« 
 ocean. 
 
 It was up one of the feeders of this stream that, near 
 the end of the sixth century, Chi-k'ai wended his way in 
 search of a lonely mountain residence suited to his medi- 
 tative cast of mind. Leaving the beautiful site where 
 afterwards stood the Kwo-ts'ing monastery, just below 
 four hills now covered to their summits with rich foliage, 
 he ascended a long and romantic valley. He was travel- 
 ling in a region threaded by few paths, and in a direction 
 that seemed to lead nowhere but farther away from the 
 habitations of men. In this wilderness of hills and val- 
 leys, occupying many square miles, which he now entered, 
 although unknown to the agriculturist, he yet found some 
 few residing whose views of human life were congenial to 
 his own. Local traditions point out where he lived and 
 reflected. An antique mausoleum, with a long inscription 
 of the Sui dynasty, marks the place where his ashes were 
 deposited. At a little distance from it the Kau-ming 
 monastery comes into view. It is in a deep valley shut 
 all round by wooded heights. The building has an old 
 look, befitting the relics of our hero still preserved there. 
 The visitor will have shown to him a large square silk 
 garment. It is said to have been the cloak worn by Chi- 
 k'ai. It is handsomely embroidered after a pattern evi- 
 dently very antique. A metal bowl, worn by long use, 
 and capable of holding several meals of rice for an abste- 
 mious monk, is another curiosity. These memorials of 
 this early Buddhist will appear, however, to one who is 
 not a special admirer of the monastic life, secondary in in- 
 terest to a Sanscrit manuscript which escaped a fire some 
 centuries ago, and is one of the few remains of that litera- 
 ture still existing in China. The history of the manu- 
 script, its name and contents, are unknown to the resident 
 priests. 
 
 This monastery is even now difficult of access. But the 
 valley where it stands, in Chi-k'ai's time had scarcely ever 
 
FANG-KIVANG MONASTERY. 177 
 
 been visited .^ It was filled with forest trees and thick 
 brushwood, and formed a favourite cover for deer. The 
 woodcutter and herdsman seldom wandered to this wild 
 spot. An accident led our hero there. On the hill above — 
 iu-lung-feug — near where the "st'upa" {Vah) that contains 
 his ashes is still standing, he was one day explaining to 
 his disciples the Tsmg-ming-king (Sutra of Pure name) 
 when a gust of wind blew away the leaves far into the 
 deep hollow below. With his tin-headed staff in his hand 
 to assist him in the search, he set out to recover the fugi- 
 tive book. After a pursuit of a mile and a half the wind 
 ceased, and the book fell to the ground. He caused a 
 building to be erected at the spot, in commemoration of 
 the circumstance, which became one of the twelve estab- 
 lishments that owe their origin to him. It was not, how- 
 ever, till many years after that the present monastery was 
 erected and its modern name assigned to it. When the 
 Kwo-ts'ing monastery was destroyed by fire, the manu- 
 script spoken of above was removed to Kau-ming for 
 greater safety. 
 
 After penetrating several miles farther to the north- 
 west in this hilly and desolate region, Cln-k'ai arrived ^ at 
 the remarkable rock bridge where the Fang-kwang monas- 
 tery now stands. The loud roar of the waterfall, and the 
 close-set woods on the hills around, the two mountain 
 brooks uniting before they reach the cataract, then pass- 
 ing beneath the natural bridge down the fall, and thence 
 pursuing their way to the north, united to give this spot 
 an air of grandeur in the hermit's mind. It seemed a 
 home for supernatural beings. It is they that cause the 
 unusual appearances of nature. The Lo-hans, those exalted 
 disciples of Buddha whose power and knowledge are so 
 great, might reside here. In fact a legend on the subject 
 soon grew into public belief, and the music of the Lo-hans 
 was said to be heard at times a little before dawn by 
 priests lying awake in their cells. A choir of five hun- 
 
 1 T'ien-Vai-shan-chi. 2 ^^^ ^75, Biograpbyin THen-Vai-han-chi. 
 
 M 
 
178 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 dred at that silent hour made the woods resound with har- 
 mony. Such a colony of Buddha's superhuman disciples 
 served to invest this wild mountainous district with a 
 sacred character. In every monastery of this region a 
 hall devoted to images of the five hundred Lo-hans now 
 exists, and on the side of the natural bridge is a small 
 shrine containing five hundred small stone figures, which 
 are worshipped by those who venture to cross by the narrow 
 and dangerous path that spans the cataract. 
 
 Our hero continued his wanderings in this elevated 
 region, where the valleys do not sink farther than 1500 
 feet above the sea-level, and which is by its loneliness well 
 suited for the ascetic. Solitude reigns here for many miles 
 round, in one of the most densely-populated provinces of 
 China. He did not take up his abode at one place exclu- 
 sively. No fewer than twelve monasteries mark the spots 
 where he formed a cottage of stones and straw, or caused 
 a modest building to be erected. 
 
 As he approached the peak of Hwa-ting, nearly 4CXX) 
 feet high, and five miles to the east of the natural bridge, 
 he met on the T'ien-feng ridge an old man who said to 
 him, " Sir, if you seek a residence for contemplation, select 
 the place where you meet a rock." The monk soon after 
 encountered a Buddhist from Corea named Fan-sh% (Eock), 
 who encouraged him to stay there, and give himself up to 
 study. He accordingly constructed a hut there, in which 
 he remained sixteen years, and composed a commentary 
 on the " l)Ook of the Nirvana." 
 
 A little farther to the north is Hwa-ting, the highest 
 ground in Che-kiang excepting T*ien-mu shan. The 
 monastery, bearing the same name as the mountain, had 
 already been erected by Te-sliau, a celebrated Buddhist 
 who lived a century anterior to Chi-k'ai. Several hundred 
 monks now belong to the society, a large part of them 
 residing in hermitages on the hill. The monastery is an 
 extensive thatched range of buildings, more comfortable 
 than the bleak huts where, out of sight of any human 
 
MONASTERIES FOUNDED, 179 
 
 being, the more self-denying spend their days and nights 
 chanting in honour of Buddha. Certainly theirs is a 
 gloomy home. A thick mist usually rests on the sum- 
 mit and spreads down the sides of the mountain, envelop- 
 ing these rude cottages with their visionary inmates ; and 
 snow often remains unmelted for many months. It is 
 hard to explain how a people so social as the Chinese, so 
 fond of cities and crowds, and so averse to mountain tra- 
 velling, can supply hermits to live in residences like these. 
 Tliat Chi-k'ai, the founder of a flourishing sect, a man of 
 deep reflection, and in love with solitude, should choose 
 such an abode, is not so surprising as that common Chinese 
 minds, without his profound thinking, or his love of wild 
 nature, should still follow his example. 
 
 Another spot where Chi-k'ai once resided is Si-tso, at 
 some distance to the west of the rock bridge, and near the 
 Wan-nien monastery. Here he composed his system of 
 doctrine called GKi-hwan, " Limited or perfected observa- 
 tion." 
 
 Chi-k'ai had in early life followed the teaching of the 
 school established by Bodhidharma, the Hindoo patriarch 
 who had died in Northern China thirty years before. He 
 afterwards became dissatisfied with the Gh'an-men (Con- 
 templative school), as that sect is called, not agreeing with 
 its principle that book learning should be discarded, even 
 that which consisted of Buddha's own words, and the heart 
 nurse itself into a state of perfection by rejecting every- 
 thing external and giving itself up to an unconscious sleep- 
 like existence. 
 
 Chi-k'ai grew tired of this system, and formed the out- 
 lines of another, which he taught to multitudes of admiring 
 disciples. He resided at Nanking, the capital of the king- 
 dom (Ch'en dynasty), and maintained a high reputation. 
 When he determined on removing to T'ien-t'ai, the em- 
 peror forbade him, but allowed him to leave when he saw 
 that his mind was made up. Three times afterwards an 
 imperial message required his attendance at court, but he 
 
i8o CHINESE BUDDHTSAf. 
 
 pleaded indisposition and remained at T'ien-t'ai. He com- 
 plied on one occasion only, and explained the sacred books 
 of his religion to the emperor and his court. He also 
 made one visit home to Hu-nan, but returned to die at 
 the mountain residence to which he was so much attached. 
 He expired while sitting cross-legged and giving instruc- 
 tion to his followers. 
 
 He wrote commentaries on the Fa-hwa-king, Kin-kang- 
 king, and A-mi-ta-kingyVfiW\ several original works. These 
 books were in the year a.d. 1024, all included in the Bud- 
 dhist Tripitaka (Collection of sacred writings) of China. 
 
 His school continued to flourish for a long period at the 
 Kwo-ts'ing and Fu-lung monasteries. 
 
 The Miau-fa-lien-liiva-king (Lotus of the Good Law) 
 was his favourite book. He thus explained its name : — 
 **As the lotus grows out of the mire and yet preserves 
 its freshness and purity, so the doctrines of this book, tlie 
 good law, assist men to retain their original nature unsul- 
 lied and undisturbed amidst the misery and corruption 
 around them." In the course of the book, he added : " Truth 
 is sometimes taught in abstract, at other times by illustra- 
 tion, sometimes it is explained and elsewhere defended, 
 just as the lotus flower buds, blossoms, fades, and falls by 
 a succession of changes, and at last produces fruit." 
 
 Chi-k'ai divided the teaching of Shakyamuni into tive 
 periods, beginning with the Hwa-y en-king y and ending 
 with the Fa-hwa-king and the Nirvdna. After this classi- 
 fication of the sacred books, he introduced to his followers 
 his own system. To restore man's true moral nature 
 there must be " observation " (kivan, " to see ") of human 
 actions. In regard to o]iiuions, there are three kinds — 
 the true, the common, and the mean. The true is " destruc- 
 tive of all methods and doctrines " (idealism), the popular 
 brings them into existence, and the mean places them 
 all together and chooses the middle path. The deceptions 
 that prevent men from perceiving the truth are threefold : 
 ignorance, th« dust of the world, and the activity of the 
 
THREEFOLD CONTEMPLATION. i8i 
 
 thoughts and senses. These taken in their order hide 
 from view the beauty of the religious life, prevent moral 
 improvement, and operate against pure mental vacancy. 
 The feeling of Buddha, on observing the world in this 
 state, was that men's own notions are false and not to 
 be trusted ; that in true knowledge there is no distinction 
 of what is myself and what is not myself, and that the 
 conception of a living personal Buddha should be aban- 
 doned. Otherwise men could not return to their true 
 moral nature. 
 
 Having proceeded thus far, Chi-k'ai developed his three- 
 fold system of observation, which, as he believes it to be 
 conclusive of controversy and perfectly satisfactory, he 
 called Chi-hwan, " Perfected observation." This observa- 
 tion is " empty " (k'ung), " hypothetical " (kia), or " medial " 
 (chung). For removing the deceptions that blind men's 
 minds, the most successful method is to view all things 
 in "vacancy" (Jcfung). For constructing doctrines and 
 institutions, the "inventive" (kia) method is the best. 
 For establishing and confirming man's moral nature, the 
 medial method is the most effective. These three modes 
 of viewing the world are complete in each other and 
 inseparable, resembling the three eyes of the god Maha 
 Ishwara. The vacant mode destroys the illusions of the 
 senses, asserting their nothingness, and constructs the 
 virtue of PraJTia (Knowledge). The inventive mode 
 destroys the deluding effects of the dust of the world, 
 and constructs the virtue of " rescue (from all errors and 
 evils)," kiai-t'o. The medial method destroys the delusion 
 that results from ignorance, and constructs the " religious 
 character" (f ashen). 
 
 Still fearing lest his followers should be in error as to 
 the method of self -reformation, and fall into one-sided 
 views, he formed a series of what he called the Six con- 
 nectives. 
 
 I. '• Reason " (li). All living beings, down to the smallest 
 insects, have received a moral nature, and have Buddha 
 
i82 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 within them. Constantly resting in this, they attain their 
 perfection, because the gift of reason is equally bestowed. 
 
 2. Names and terms. Although reason is the same in 
 all beings, yet in the course of the world, they will not 
 come to the knowledge and use of it, and therefore instruc- 
 tion is necessary to produce belief and remove what is false. 
 
 3. Observation of human action. Instruction having 
 been imparted and belief produced, the threefold mode 
 of viewing the world, as already explained, must then be 
 employed. 
 
 4. Likeness. Perfection itself being diliicult to gain, 
 the likeness to it may be reached. 
 
 5. The true development of human nature. 
 
 6. Confirmation. Ignorance is for ever gone. The 
 mind becomes perfectly intelligent. 
 
 Each of these six steps being Buddha, the three embodi- 
 ments of the religious life are thus completed — viz., " em- 
 bodiment " {shen) of the " law " (/a), of '' recompense " 
 (patt), of " renovation " Qiwa)} 
 
 Chi-k'ai divided the Buddhist system according to its 
 characteristics into "Eight parts" (Pa-kiau): — (i.) The 
 compliant; (2.) The gradual; (3.) The secret; (4.) The 
 indeterminate ; (5.) Collection ; (6.) Progress ; (7.) Distinc- 
 tion ; (8.) Completion. The last four are Called Chi-k*ai's 
 " Four modes of contemplation " {S'i-kwan). 
 
 With regard to Collection, the sacred books were em- 
 braced in three divisions, Icing, lu, lun, or sutra, viriaya, 
 and abidharma. These include, under the head of suffer- 
 ing, the twenty-five classes of beings that inhabit heaven, 
 earth, and hell; also the eighty-eight causes of human 
 delusion ; and further, thirty-seven steps in self-knowledge 
 and improvement. They also embrace the five classes of 
 instructed and enliglitened beings : — (i.) The disciple, 
 in several subdivisions ; (2.) The wise, in four grades — 
 Sudawan, Sidagam, Anagam, Arhan ; (3.) The perfectly 
 intelligent ; (4.) The Bodhisattwa ; (5.) The Buddha. 
 
TEN STEPS IN PROGRESS. 1S3 
 
 With regard to Progress, there are ten steps — viz., un- 
 productive knowledge, moral nature awaking, the eight 
 convictions of the true sage, perception, first advances, 
 conquest of the passions, the wrong set right, the Pratyeka 
 Buddha, the Bodhisattwa, and the Buddha. 
 
 In these successive steps of moral improvement there is 
 some resemblance to the common Buddhist view of the 
 material universe. They regard it as divided according 
 to a moral scale into stages accurately definable. The 
 metempsychosis, by a rigid law of moral retribution, as- 
 signs at death the position of every soul in the fifty or 
 sixty grades of being belonging to heaven, earth, and hell. 
 Above these are found the states of Buddha's disciples 
 and that which is itself called Buddha. 
 
 Witli regard to the excellence termed Distinction, which 
 is reached by the Bodhisattwa only, there are embraced 
 in it Ten modes of faith, Ten modes of firm adherence, 
 Ten modes of action, Ten inclinations. Ten mental states, 
 together with the liighest knowledge in two separate forms. 
 
 In reference to the last class, that of Completion, every- 
 thing is viewed as perfect. There ai'e five states which 
 the student may occupy — viz., pleasure, recitation, in- 
 structing, putting in practice the ten rules, correct prac- 
 tice of the ten rules. 
 
 A series of twenty-five auxiliaries to knowledge and 
 virtue, and of ten modes of observing the true nature and 
 end of human actions, follow the preceding.^ 
 
 To give these numerous divisions of Buddhist doctrine 
 more minutely is here unnecessary. So much as is here 
 presented will illustrate the manner in which reflecting 
 Buddhists comment on the doctrines of their religion. It 
 contains a sketch of the opinions of one of the oldest and 
 most influential schools in China, and exhibits the same 
 fondness for a numerical arrangement of propositions 
 ramifying endlessly, which also belongs to other Buddhist 
 
i84 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 schools. This symmetrical classification of doctrines in 
 round numbers pervades the whole Buddhist literature; 
 and suggests a resemblance to the habits of the European 
 schoolmen. 
 
 The fundamental subdivision of the T'ien-t'ai system 
 into three modes of contemplation, the empty, the in- 
 ventive, and the medial, originated with "Nagarjuna" 
 {Lung shu)j who lived in North-western India about 
 two centuries after Christ. The views which the T'ien- 
 t'ai-kiau have borrowed from him are contained in the 
 "Medial Shastra" (Chung-lun), a work in five hundred 
 stanzas based on the principles of the Prajna paramita, 
 and translated into Chinese early in the fifth century. 
 This work gave rise to the Madhyamika school (the Central 
 philosophy) in Thibet. The author says in this work : 
 "The methods and doctrines springing from various 
 causes, I declare to be all ' emptiness ' (k'ung). They may 
 also be called ' invented ' (kia) names. Further, they may 
 be said to contain the meaning of the 'medial' {chung) 
 path." Hwei-wen erected a system on this, as the basis, 
 and Chi-k'ai, following him, moulded it to its present form 
 as the T'ien-t'ai-kiau. 
 
 The following extract from a commentary on the Fa- 
 hioa-king will illustrate the way in which the principles of 
 this school are applied in interpreting the sacred books : — 
 " All were * Arhans' {Lo-lians) whose defects were oblite- 
 rated, for whom there was no more suffering, who had 
 obtained benefits for themselves, who had broken all ties, 
 and in their hearts possessed peace." This is the text. 
 The commentator says : " The word Arhan expresses 
 rank, and what follows, character. Arhan is variously 
 explained as the 'true man,* or the 'extricated man.' 
 Some say it contains three meanings, viz., freedom 
 from birth, killer of robbers in the sense of being delivered 
 from perceptions and sensations, the robbers of the mind, 
 and deserving honour. This is the sense according to the 
 
DOCTRINES OF NAGARJUNA. 185 
 
 principles of (i.) Collection, and (2.) Progress. But for the 
 two higher principles, (3.) Distinction, and (4.) Completion, 
 the word implies, not only the killing of robbers, but of 
 non-robbers, i.e., the Nirvana, which in the higher region 
 of these two principles is also deserving of extinction. 
 Freedom from birth expresses their complete rescue from 
 life and death, and that is the meaning of their defects 
 having been obliterated. Because they can give happiness 
 to all the nine classes of beings, therefore they are said to 
 deserve honour. By their embodiment of the religious life, 
 they benefit themselves. By their wisdom, they obtain 
 deliverance from life and death. By expelling ignorance 
 and evil, they kill robbers. 
 
 " Interpreting according to the Threefold contemplation, 
 empty, inventive, and medial, the first is exemplified in 
 their wisdom, the second in their expulsion of evil, and 
 the third in their embodiment of the religious life. In the 
 transition from the inventive to the empty, there are also 
 three modifications of the sense, viz., arrival at the central 
 point of contemplation, killing the thieves of ignorance, 
 and keeping the heart from a one-sided position. 
 
 *' Interpreting according to the contemplation of the 
 heart, following the middle path, and taking the correct 
 view, they do not err on the side of the empty or in- 
 ventive mode of observation. The sorrow of the heart 
 is gone. When a man sees the true moral nature of his 
 mind, that is called the higher state of confirmation. Like 
 a hidden treasure, reserved for myself, is the benefit which 
 the Arhans have obtained." 
 
 When Brahma appears before Buddha as a disciple, the 
 commentary says : " The word Brahtna means ' leaving the 
 desires, abandoning earthly ties, and ascending to the 
 coloured heavens.' It is also said to mean ' high ' and 
 * pure.' This Brahma is one of the wheel kings of a single 
 generation, who asks instruction of Buddha, which he re- 
 ceives according to his wish and capacity. Interpreting 
 the idea of Brahma, according to that method which ob- 
 
i86 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 serves the heart, it means ' contemplating the removal of 
 all pollutions.' " ^ 
 
 These extracts exemplify how the mythological appa- 
 ratus of the Buddhist Sutras, or "Sacred books of the 
 first class," is explained away. The whole machinery of 
 Buddhas and Bodhisattwas, kings and divinities, disappears 
 under this process. Eastern and Western pantheism are 
 ahke in this, that they will not be content with an inde- 
 pendent self-evolved structure of metaphysical thought, 
 but assuming the critical office, aim at the overthrow of all 
 the objects of popular belief. Knowledge, self, the abso- 
 lute — these are the only existences allowed by this arro- 
 gant philosophy to remain in the universe. Even these 
 are made identical, and finally explained into nothing. 
 
 While the reflecting Buddhists hold these views, they 
 encourage the faith of the vulgar in the Hindoo mytho- 
 logy and the more recent inventions of their own system 
 Their denial of the reality of worldly phenomena, and 
 of the validity of the information afforded by our senses, 
 has not been a check to popular image worship, but 
 rather promoted it, from the license that it gave them to 
 countenance lying legends and invent new additions ad 
 libitum to the Hindoo pantheon. 
 
 The special object of the T'ien-t'ai school has been to 
 strike a middle path between the credulous acceptance of 
 the sacred books as literally true, and their entire rejection 
 by extreme idealism. It was thought best to recognise 
 both these modifications of Buddhism as genuine deve- 
 lopments of the system, and to add a third reconciling 
 principle which distinguishes tlie others, compares and 
 combines them, and then chooses the path between them. 
 
 In conformity with this view, regulations for the practice 
 of his followers were instituted by Chi-k'ai : — ( I.) Con- 
 stant sitting, to attain the state of smnadJd or reverie 
 taught to Manjusiri ; (2.) Constant njoving, to attain an- 
 other state of samadhi taught by Buddha; (3.) Partly 
 
 1 Fahwa-ktoei-u 
 
HEGULA TIONS. 187 
 
 sitting and partly moving, to attain the state of samadhi 
 taught by him to P'u-hien ; (4.) Neither sitting nor moving, 
 to attain still another form of religious reverie. 
 
 The regulations for chanting as followed by this school 
 were elaborated by a priest named Fa-chi who lived some 
 centuries after Chi-k'ai. They are very minute, and are 
 intended to produce more reverential feelings in the 
 minds of those engaging in the ceremonial than is common 
 in Buddhist worship.^ 
 
 1 Regulations of the T'ieii-t*ai-kiau. in the liturgical work called Ta-pei- 
 Wan. 
 
( m ) 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BUDDHIST MORAL SYSTEM. 
 
 The Ten virtues and Ten vices — The cause of human stupidity is in 
 the passions— The Five prohibitions — The Ten prohibitions — 
 Klaproth's praise of Buddhism — But it is atheistic, and there- 
 fore this praise should be qualified — Kindness to animals based 
 on the fiction of transmigration — Buddhism teaches compassion 
 for suffering without inculcating obedience to divine law — Story 
 of Shakyamuni — Sin not distinguished from misery — Buddhists 
 teach that the moral sense is innate — They assign a moral nature 
 to animals — The Six paths of the metempsychosis — Hindoo 
 notion- of heaven and hell — Countless ages of joy and suffering — 
 Examples — Exemption from punishment gained by meritori- 
 ous actions — Ten kings of future judgment — Fate or Karma — 
 Buddhism depreciates heaven and the gods — Buddha not God, 
 but a Saviour — Moral influence of the Paradise of the Western 
 heaven — Figurative interpretation of this legend — The contem- 
 plative school identifies good and evil — No moral distinctions 
 in the Nirvana — Buddhism has failed to ))roduce high morality 
 — The Confiicianist condemnation of the Buddhists — Mr. P. 
 Hordern's ])raise of Buddhisni in Birmah — The Birmese intel- 
 lectually inferior to the Chinese — Kindness to animals known 
 to the Chinese before they received Buddhism— Buddha's reasons 
 for not eating flesh. 
 
 The books of primitive Buddhism exhibit a higher moral 
 tone than is found in the larger works full of metaphysi- 
 cal abstractions, which succeeded them. The " Book of 
 Forty-two Sections," translated in the first century, and 
 belonging to the former class, speaks of Ten vices and Ten 
 virtues as belonging to mankind. The vices are : three 
 of the body — killing, stealing, and adulteiy ; four of the 
 lips — slandering, reviling, lying, and elegant words (uttered 
 
THE FIVE PROHIBITIONS, 189 
 
 with a vicious intention) ; three of the iniud — ^jealousy, 
 hatred, and " folly " (cA't), the last of which includes 
 not believing in " the Honoured Three " {Bnddlia, Dharma, 
 Sanga), and holding erroneous opinions. The opposites 
 of these are the Ten virtues. 
 
 In the same work Buddha says : " That which causes 
 the stupidity and delusion of man is love and the desires." 
 " Man having many faults, if he does not repent, but 
 allows his heart to be at rest, sins will rush upon him 
 like water to the sea. When vice has thus become more 
 powerful it is still harder than before to abandon it. If 
 a bad man becomes sensible of his faults, abandons them 
 and acts virtuously, his sin will day by day diminish and 
 be destroyed, till he obtains full enlightenment." 
 
 In the work KiaiC'Ch'eng-fa-shu, the three vices of the 
 mind are described as — covetousness, hatred, and folly. 
 The Ten virtues that correspond to the Ten vices are 
 there stated to be — preserving life, almsgiving, a "pure 
 and virtuous life" (fan-hing), peaceful words, yielding 
 words, truthful words, plain unadorned words, abstinence 
 from quarrelling, mercy, and " acting from good causes " 
 (yin-yuen). 
 
 Hardy, in describing the Buddhism of Ceylon, states the 
 four sins of speech to be — lying, slander, abuse, and unpro- 
 fitable conversation. The three sins of the mind he states 
 to be — covetousness, malice, and scepticism. 
 
 The disciple of Buddha, wliether he enters a monastery 
 or wears the prescribed dress and continues in the family, 
 must pledge himself to the five following things : — (i.) not 
 to kill; (2.) not to steal; (3.) not to commit adultery; 
 (4.) not to lie ; (5.) not to drink wine. These are called 
 ]Vu-hiai, " The five prohibitions." In Hardy's Manval 
 0/ Buddhism, five evils to be avoided are mentioned — viz., 
 (i.) drinking intoxicating liquors; (2.) gambling; (3.) idle- 
 ness ; (4.) improper association; (5.) frequenting places of 
 amusement. 
 
 In the work called Sheng-t'ien-sh%h-kiai'Mng, '* The book 
 
19© 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 of birth in heaven through keeping the ten prohibitions " 
 a Deva informs Buddha that he was born in the " heaven 
 of the Thirty-three Devas " (that of Indra Shakra), as a 
 reward for reverencing the "Three Precious Ones" (Buddha, 
 the Law, and the Priesthood), for not inflicting death, or 
 stealing, or committing adultery, or slandering, or deceiv- 
 ing, or lying, or drinking wine, or eating flesh, or coveting^ 
 or holding false opinions. 
 
 In the work Kiau-ch'eng-fa-shu, the Ten prohibitions 
 are stated to be: — (i.) killing; (2.) stealing; (3.) adul- 
 tery; (4.) lying; (5.) selling wine ; (6.) speaking of others' 
 faults ; (7.) praising one's-self and defaming others ; (8.) 
 parsimony joined with scoffing; (9.) anger, and refusing 
 to be corrected; (10.) reviling the Three Precious Ones. 
 
 In the comment on the Fan-icang-king , a work of the 
 Great Development school in the Discipline division, by 
 Chi-hiu, the Ten prohibitions are identified with the Ten 
 vices, but in the text the prohibitions are given as in the 
 last quotation. 
 
 Other lists of prohibitions might be transcribed amount- 
 ing to two hundred and fifty, and even higher numbers. 
 For these it will be sufficient to refer to the works already 
 mentioned. 
 
 Klaproth, having in view these moral precepts, and 
 their effects on the character of nations, speaks of Bud- 
 dhism as being of all religions next to Christianity in 
 elevating the human race. 
 
 He says : " The wild nomades of Central Asia have been 
 changed by it into amiable and virtuous men, and its bene- 
 ficent influence has been felt even in Northern Siberia." 
 
 The beneficent influence of this religion would have 
 been mucli greater had it recognised the love and fear of 
 God as the fii-st of all the virtues. Buddhism, by ascribing 
 the creation, continuance, and destruction of the world 
 to an ever-changing fate, avoided the necessity of admit- 
 ting a supreme God. This was the side the Buddhists 
 took in their controversies with the Brahmans in India. 
 
KINDNESS TO ANIMALS. loi 
 
 Atheism is one point in the faith of the Southern Bud- 
 dhists. By the Chinese Buddhists each world is held to be 
 presided over by an individual Buddha, but they do not hold 
 that one supreme spirit rules over the whole collection of 
 worlds. Klaproth affirms that, according to the Buddhists 
 and the other Hindoos, " the universe is animated by a 
 single spirit, individualised under innumerable forms, ' by' 
 {far) matter which does not exist except in illusion/' 
 This spirit, however, is not God, the universal Creator and 
 Preserver, and separated from the world by His everlast- 
 ing personality. 
 
 Good has resulted doubtless in many instances from 
 the prominent exhibition made by this system of the 
 virtues and vices enumerated. But much more good 
 would have been done if they had rested on a better 
 bi\sis, and been supported by a different view of the future 
 state. The crime of killing rests chiefly on tlie doctrine 
 of metempsychosis, which ascribes tlie same immortal soul 
 to animals that it does to man. Faithful Buddhists are 
 told not to kill the least insect, lest in so doing they 
 should cause death to some deceased relative or ancestor 
 whose soul animates the insect. On this account the 
 corresponding virtue is stated to be fang-sheng, " to save 
 life," constantly applied by the Buddhist priests and 
 common people of China to the preservation of the lives 
 of animals. The monks are vegetarians for the same 
 reasons. They abstain from flesh because they will not 
 share in the slaughter of living beings. They also con- 
 struct reservoirs of water near the monasteries, in whicli 
 fish, snakes, tortoises, and small shell-fish, brought by 
 worshippers of Buddha, are placed to preserve them from 
 death. Goats and other land animals are also given over 
 sometimes to the care of the monks, and it is a custom in 
 some monasteries, as at T'ien-t'ung, near Ningpo, to feed 
 a bird with a few gTains of rice just before the morning 
 meal has commenced. When the priest appears at the 
 door, the little bird, which is watching in the neighbour- 
 
192 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 hood, and knows how to act on the occasion, flies to 
 receive the gift. 
 
 In the Buddhist account of human sins and duties no 
 obligation is included except the duty of lessening the 
 sum of human misery and promoting happiness. This 
 accords with the anecdote aheady related of Shakya- 
 muni in his youth. His father, remembering the fore- 
 warning of a hermit, that the prince his son would wish 
 to abandon the world, erected for him three palaces, where 
 ever)? thing fascinating was placed to keep him from such 
 a purpose. The son of a Deva came down to praise the 
 beauty of the gardens and groves. 
 
 But the prince, then eighteen years old, wished to go out 
 and see the city. The king sent him with a wise minister 
 to attend him. A Deva appeared at one of the city gates 
 transformed into an old man resting on a staff. At another 
 gate a Deva appeared as a sick person in pain and help- 
 less. ^Vt another gate he saw a corpse attacked ])y ravens 
 — also a Deva. The prince asked in each case the reason 
 of what he saw. The wise counsellor told him these suf- 
 ferings came from the natural state of the world, and 
 could not be avoided. People must grow old, must suffer 
 from sickness, and must die. The prince was not satisfied, 
 and the next day, seeing a Deva dressed as a monk, he 
 dismounted from his horse and asked him wlio he was. 
 The reply was, " A Shamen ^ who has left the world." 
 The prince asked him why he had left the world. He 
 said, because he saw men exposed to the evils of birth, 
 old age, sickness, and death ; he therefore left the world 
 to seek truth and save living beings. The disguised Deva 
 then ascended into the air and disappeared. 
 
 At nineteen, assisted by the Devas, Shakyanmni is said 
 to have gone throufjh the air on horseback two hundred 
 
 and fifty miles to Baga, a mountain 
 
 belonging 
 
 to the 
 
 1 lu S.iuscrit, Shramana ; but ac- 
 coriling to the commentator on the 
 Chinese "Life of Buddha," Shaka- 
 
 mananga, 
 CMsation.^ 
 
 nieauing " Dilijfeuce and 
 
MISERY EQUIVALENT TO S/N. 193 
 
 Himalayas. Here he lived as a hermit fur six years, and 
 became prepared for the office he was to assume. 
 
 According to the view thus presented of the great object 
 of Buddha's teaching,, it is to deliver men from suffering. 
 This is done by persuading them to enter on the monastic 
 or hermit life, and act in obedience to the directions of 
 Buddha. This system looks on mankind as involved in 
 misery ratlier than guilt. The Ten vices are rather to be 
 regarded as faults, into which men fall from delusion and 
 ignorance, than positive sins. The common people in 
 China, whose phraseology is extensively infected with 
 Buddhist ideas, see in every attack of sickness, and in 
 other misfortunes, a close connection with "sin" (tsui). 
 They hold that sin is the cause of suffering. Yet they 
 do not mean by this wilful sin, but some improper act 
 done unconsciously, or in childhood, as treading on an 
 insect, wasting rice- crumbs, or misusing paper that has the 
 native characters upon it. Or the}^ refer the calamity to 
 the sins of a former life. Hence they regard themselves 
 as more to be pitied than blamed for the tsui or " sin " 
 of which their ill fortune gives evidence. 
 
 This is an example of the mode in which the better 
 tendencies of the Buddhist system are neutralised by its 
 omissions. Its moral precepts, good as most of them 
 are, would have more power, and the true character of 
 sin be more felt by the people, if the authority of God 
 were recognised as the great reason for acting well — the 
 source of moral obligation. 
 
 Buddhism shook the faith of the Chinese in Heaven as 
 a personal ruler, and put the Buddlias and Bodhisattwas 
 in the place of that personal ruler. The effect of Bud- 
 dhism in part was to urge the Chinese mind to see in 
 Heaven only impersonal and material power. Thus the 
 good effect of its moral teaching was neutralised; and 
 then the Chinese had good moral teaching before. 
 
 The question that has been raised by European moralists 
 as to whether man has from his natural constitution an 
 
 N 
 
f04 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHTSM, 
 
 inborn moral sense, is decided by the Buddhists, though 
 without holding a controversy on the subject, in the affir- 
 mative. They may be said to appeal to a natural con- 
 science, when they teach that all men have within them 
 a good moral nature, and that this principle of good is 
 only prevented from making men virtuous and happy by 
 contact with the world and the delusions of the senses. 
 This is similar to the Confucian doctrine, that all men are 
 born good, and it is only by falling into evil habits subse- 
 quently that they become vicious. Most systems of morals, 
 indeed,^ in words or by implication, admit the existence 
 of conscience, because all men possess it, and cannot be 
 made to understand moral distinctions without it.^ The 
 existence of a system of virtues and vices shows the 
 operation of conscience on the maker of it, as the use 
 of that system in moral instruction involves an appeal 
 to conscience in the disciple. The identification of con- 
 science, however, with natural goodness, by the Confu- 
 cianists and the Buddhists, obscures its true character as 
 the judge between right and wrong. And to tell men that 
 they are naturally good is not only assuming, in compli- 
 ment to human nature, a fact that should be proved, but 
 it is also likely to induce those who are thus taught to 
 look leniently on their own vices as originating solely 
 in the influences of the outside world. The feebleness of 
 the Buddhist appeal to conscience, as the source of moral 
 obligation, is further increased by its assigning the same 
 originally good nature to each member of the animal 
 creation that it does to man. 
 
 The motives to well-doing, drawn from a future state 
 of retribution in this system, are derived from the Hindoo 
 popular account of heaven and hell. The Six life-paths 
 into which living beings can be born are — (i.) "Devas" 
 
 ^ Paley aud those who side with - Morality is now accounted for 
 
 him, who have attempted to con- by evolution. The School of Darwin 
 
 struct a moral system without a and Spencer refuses to accept moral 
 
 nutural sense of right and wrong in law as eternal. Yet all the Asiatic 
 
 man, must be excepted. religions make it their basis. 
 
METEMPSYCHOSIS. 195 
 
 (gods) ; (2.) men ; (3.) " Asuras " (monsters) ; (4.) " hell " 
 (naraka); (5.) hungry ghosts; (6.) animals. The first 
 three are assigned to the good, the latter three to the 
 wicked. The moral action is called yin (cause), and its 
 recompense kwo (fruit). All beings, whether virtuous or 
 vicious, continue to be re-born in one of these six states, 
 until saved by the teaching of Buddha. 
 
 Buddha said : " To leave the three evil states is difficult. 
 When the state of man has been attained, to leave the 
 female sex and be born in the male, is difficult. To have 
 the senses and mind and body all sound is hard. When 
 this is attained, to be born in Central India is hard." 
 He continues to say, that to meet Buddha and be in- 
 structed, to be born in the time of a good king, to be born 
 in the family of a Bodhisattwa, and to believe with the 
 heart in the Three Honoured Ones, are all difficult. 
 
 Buddha said,^ in a discourse delivered in the heaven 
 of Indra Shakra, that whatever good man or woman 
 heard the name of Ti-tsang Bodhisattwa, and in con- 
 sequence performed an act of praise or worship, or 
 repeated that Bodhisattwa's name, or made an offering 
 to him, or drew a picture of him, such a person would 
 certainly be born in the heaven of Indra Shakra. 
 
 The same Bodhisattwa teUs the mother of Buddha, who 
 resides in the paradise just mentioned, that " disobedience 
 to parents, with slaying, and wounding, are punished with 
 an abode in the place of suffering called Wu-klen-ti-yu. 
 Slandering the Three Precious Ones, or wounding the per- 
 son of Buddha, or dishonouring the sacred books, or break- 
 ing the vows, or stealing from a monk, are punished in a 
 similar way. Their punishment will last for ten millions 
 of millions of halpas. Then their sin being compensated 
 for by sufficient suffering, they will be released. 
 
 " If a woman with an ugly countenance and sickly con- 
 stitution prays to this Bodhisattwa, she will, for a million 
 of kalpas, be born with a beautiful countenance." If any 
 
 1 Vide Ti'ttanff-king. 
 
196 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 men or women perform music before the image of the 
 same deity, sing, and offer incense, they shall have hun- 
 dreds and thousands of spirits to protect them day and 
 night, so that no unpleasant sound may enter their ears. 
 Any one who slanders or ridicules a worshipper of this 
 Bodhisattwa will be transported to the " Avichi naraka" 
 [O-fi ti-yiX) till the end of this halpa. He will then be 
 born a wandering hungry ghost, and, after a thousand 
 halpas become an animal. After a thousand kalpas more 
 he will again become a man. 
 
 Such are a few specimens of the doctrine of retribution 
 as taught to the popular mind. It is easy to see that such 
 sensual conceptions of the future existence of man must 
 degrade the common notions of the people on duty and 
 virtue. The objects for which the common people in 
 China worship in the Buddhist temples are almost all of a 
 very inferior nature. Keligious worship, which ought to 
 concern the recovery of man to pure virtue, and the resto- 
 ration of direct communication with God by the forgive- 
 ness of sin, is changed into an instrument for acquiring 
 various kinds of material happiness. 
 
 The opinion the Buddhists hold on the forgiveness of 
 sin is, that it can be attained by repentance and merito- 
 rious actions. A definite amount of gifts and worship will 
 gain the removal of a corresponding amount of sin and its 
 attendant suffering. Thus, a filial daughter, by a certain 
 number of days spent in worshipping a Bodhisattwa, or a 
 Buddha, can obtain the rescue of a mother from hell. 
 
 In the popular view of the future state, the Hindoo 
 king of death, " Yama " ( Yen-lo) holds a high place as the 
 administrator of the pujiishments of hell. Nine others 
 are joined with him of Chinese origin. They are called 
 the Ten kings. The wicked at death are conducted to 
 them to receive judgment. 
 
 The decree by which men are born into the Six states 
 of the metempsychosis is merely that of fate, expressed in 
 the words yin-kwo, " cause and effect," or, employing one 
 
BUDDHA NOT GOD. 197 
 
 factor only, yin-ytien, " causation," or " fate " Qcamia). 
 " Good actions " are also sometimes called yin-yuen^ be- 
 cause they ultimately bring happiness to the doer. 
 
 The motive to a good life, drawn from heavenly happi- 
 ness, cannot be considered a strong one, when the Devas 
 and their felicity are systematically depreciated, as they 
 are in Buddhism. The " Devas " (or popular Hindoo gods ; 
 in Chinese, Vien) are all mortal, and limited in power. 
 The state of man may be so elevated as to approach to 
 that of the paradise of the Devas. Some men attain to 
 nearly the same power as the gods, e.g., Krishna. Southey, 
 in the Curse of Kehama, has made that personage, although 
 a man, a terror to the kings of the Devas, and such a re- 
 presentation is in accordance with Hindoo notions. So in 
 Chinese Buddhist temples, the visitor sees the highest of 
 celestial beings listening humbly to Buddha. 
 
 It may be said that it is not correct to institute or im- 
 ply a parallel between God as He is in the view of the 
 Christian, and the Hindoo deities. It may be said that a 
 parallel between God and Buddha would be more just. 
 But Buddha is a world-born man, who washes away his 
 sins like others, by penances, offerings, and the teaching of 
 some enlightened instructor. He is not said to create the 
 universe, nor to act as the judge of mankind. He is 
 simply a teacher of the most exalted kind, who, by supe- 
 rior knowledge, passes out of the world of delusion, and 
 gradually attaius the Nirvana, His attitude towards his 
 disciples is simply that of an instructor, not an authori- 
 tative superior. The tie by which the disciple is attached 
 to him is that of voluntary not compulsory obedience. 
 
 In fact, the character ascribed to Buddha is ratlier that 
 of a Saviour than that of God. The object of his life and 
 teaching is to rescue living beings from their misery. 
 While such is the character of Buddha as he is described 
 in books, he is, as an object of popular worship, like the 
 great Bodhisattwas, simply regarded as a powerful divi- 
 nity. 
 
198 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 A brief notice will here be taken of the ethical views of 
 some of the Chinese sects. The Tsing-tu school substitutes 
 a paradise of purely Buddhist invention for that of Hin- 
 doo mythology. It makes birth in the Western heaven, 
 the abode of Amitabha Buddha, the reward of virtue. The 
 description of this paradise consists entirely of things 
 pleasing to the senses. It is popularly regarded as real, 
 but the founder of the Yiin-ts*i school in his commentary on 
 the " Amitabha Sutra," ^ explains it as figurative. Accord- 
 ing to this explanation, the Western heaven means the 
 moral nature, confirmed, pure, and at rest. Amitabha 
 means the mind, clear, and enlightened. The rows of 
 trees mean the mind cultivating the virtues. The music 
 means the harmony of virtues in the mind. The flowers, 
 and particularly the lotus, mean the mind opening to con- 
 sciousness and intelligence. The beautiful birds mean the 
 mind becoming changed and renovated. 
 
 It is evident that, on adopting this mode of commenting 
 on the fable of the Western heaven, it cannot any longer 
 be honestly held out as a future state of reward, to attract 
 men to good actions. 
 
 The object of this figurative interpretation of the West- 
 ern paradise of Amitabha was, doubtless, to redeem the 
 Tsing-tu school from the discredit into which it had fallen, 
 by abandoning the Nirvana in favour of a sensual heaven. 
 The original inventors of the fiction must also have had 
 such a notion of it as that here given, while they did not 
 tiy to prevent its being accepted as real by the ignorant 
 and unin{[uiring. 
 
 In the contemplative school, founded by Bodhidharma, 
 the distinction of vice and virtue is lost. To the mind 
 that is given up to its own abstract meditations, the outer 
 world becomes obliterated. A person who attends simply 
 to his own heart may revile Buddha without sin, for 
 nothing is sin to him. He does not make offerings or 
 pray. All actions are the same to him. This system. 
 
 ^ (hna'to kiny-au-U*au, by lica-si'-tu-Bh'i. 
 
NO MORAL DISTINCTIONS. 199 
 
 however, is not in opposition to ethical distinctions. It 
 only aims to enter a higher sphere. It seeks to attain a 
 sort of Nirvana even in the present life. 
 
 In the books of this school, as in others where the un- 
 reality of all sensible phenomena is maintained, virtue 
 and vice occupy an inferior position. These notions only 
 come into existence through the imperfection of the pre- 
 sent state. They disappear altogether when an escape 
 from it is effected, by admission into the higher region 
 of pure enlightenment. Virtue and vice, life and death, 
 happiness and misery, the antithetical states originated 
 in the world of delusions to which we belong, are all con- 
 demned together as constituting a lower state of existence. 
 All beings should strive to be freed from them, and to 
 rise by Buddha's teaching to that perfection where every 
 such diversity, moral or physical, will be lost in unity. 
 The Nirvana does not admit any such distinctions as those 
 just mentioned. It is absolute and pure illumination, 
 without anything definite attached to it, whether good or 
 evil, pain or pleasure. Thus there is no place for ethics, 
 except in the lower modes of life. 
 
 It is common for intelligent priests in China of the con- 
 templative school to defend their system of idolatry by 
 saying that they do not worship images themselves. They 
 are intended fur the ignorant who cannot comprehend the 
 deeper principles of their reUgion. Eeligion being purely 
 a matter of the heart, offerings and prostrations are 
 really unnecessary. This exemplifies how what is re- 
 garded as a highly virtuous action in the common people, 
 ceases to be so in the case of one who, as he thinks, has 
 made some progress towards the state of Buddha. Accord- 
 ing to this view the consistent Buddhist will offer worship 
 to no being whatever. He simply aims to raise himself 
 above all the common feelings of human life. 
 
 We cannot wonder that the Buddhist system of ethics 
 having such deficiencies and such faults as have been 
 pointed out, has failed to produce high morality among its 
 
200 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 votaries. The mass of the people have gained from it 
 the notion of a future retribution, but what is the use of 
 this when the promised state beyond death consists merely 
 of clumsy fiction ? The metempsychosis, administered by 
 a moral fate, has only provided them with a convenient 
 means for charging their sinfulness and their misfortunes 
 on a former life. What virtue the people have among 
 them is due to the Confucian system. Buddhism has 
 added to it only idolatry, and a false view of the future 
 state, but has not contributed to make the people more 
 virtuous. 
 
 Klaproth complains of " a worthy and learned English 
 missionary" (Dr. Marshman of Serampore) for saying, 
 " Unhappily for mankind, Buddhism . . . was now fitted 
 to spread its baneful influence to any extent." 
 
 These modes of expression are not, however, by any 
 means too strong to describe the effects of this religion in 
 China if we accept the Confucianist view of Buddhism. 
 No thorough-going disciple of Confucius would think this 
 language too strong if only Buddhism be judged from the 
 standpoint of political and social morality. Surely if the 
 Confucianist cannot see how the monk, who forsakes his 
 family and his duties as a working citizen, is to be 
 excused from heavy condemnation, the Christian also may 
 be permitted to criticise with severity a system which 
 denies the authority of God, identifies the moral nature of 
 men and animals, teaches mankind to look to man instead 
 of to God for redemption, and amuses the imagination 
 with the most monstrous fictions of the unseen world and 
 of the future state. 
 
 The morality of Buddhism has received very high 
 praise from more recent writers. Professor Max Miiller 
 says, " The moral code of Buddhism is one of the most 
 perfect the world has ever known." Mr. P. Hordern, the 
 Director of Public Instruction in Birmah, says, " The poor 
 heathen is guided in his daily life by precepts older and 
 not less noble than the precepts of Christianity. Centuries 
 
BUDDHISM IN BIRMAH. lot 
 
 before the birth of Christ men were taught by the life 
 and doctriue of one of the greatest men who ever lived 
 lessons of the purest morality. The child was taught to 
 obey his parents and to be tender of all animal life, the 
 man to love his neighbour as himself, to be true and just 
 in all his dealings, and to look beyond the vain shows of 
 the world for true happiness. Every shade of vice was 
 guarded by special precepts. Love in its widest sense of 
 imiversal charity was declared to be the mother of all the 
 virtues, and even the peculiarly Christian precepts of the 
 forgiveness of injuries and the meek acceptance of insult 
 were already taught in the farthest East. 
 
 " Throughout Birmah it is a daily thing to see men, 
 women, and children kneeling on the road side, their 
 hands clasped, and their faces turned devoutly to a dis- 
 tant pagoda ; while at the weekly festivals, or the full 
 moons, the devotions of the mass of the population is 
 among the most interesting spectacles in the whole East." 
 
 It is otherwise in China. Though the Buddhists have 
 good precepts they are very much neglected, even in the 
 teaching. Books containing hard metaphysical dogma 
 such as the non-existence of matter, form much more the 
 subject of daily reading. The monks are subject con- 
 stantly to the Confucianist criticism that they are not filial 
 to parents nor useful working members of the common- 
 wealth. A widely-extended monastic system does not 
 approve itself to the Chinese political consciousness any 
 more than it has done to European governments in times 
 of revolution. The charge of laziness and neglect of 
 social duties was made the ground of persecution in former 
 days. At present, while Confucianism has ceased to per- 
 secute Buddhism, it has never withdrawn its indictment 
 against it on the ground of morality. Indeed, all the 
 force of the moral teaching of the Chinese is in Confuci- 
 anism and not in Buddhism. It is the moral sense of 
 the Chinese themselves that is energetic and influential 
 so far as they are really a moral people. The Buddhist 
 
202 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 moral code is feebleness itself compared with the Confu- 
 cianist. This is partly because it is entangled by the co- 
 existence with it of monkery as a life, and of the metem- 
 psychosis and metaphysical nihilism as dogma. 
 
 Then in regard to the power of Buddhism to elevate a 
 people above the vain shows of the world and render 
 them devotional, the conclusion to be drawn from the 
 effect of this religion in the Chinese is very different from 
 that adopted by Mr. Hordern in regard to Birmah. The 
 Chinese intellect is strong and independent in its judg- 
 ments, and it does not accept the fictions of Buddhism. 
 The Hindoo mind cannot dominate the Chinese mind, 
 and the contemplative life has no attractions for the 
 countrymen of Confucius. The foreign resident in China 
 does not witness the appearance of devotion which has 
 won the admiration of Mr. Hordern in Birmah. 
 
 The power shown by Buddhism to win the faith of the 
 Birmese I should rather trace to the superiority of the 
 Hindoo race over the mountain tribes of the Indo-Chinese 
 peninsula. The Birmese belong, with the Thibetans, to 
 the Bod race, which, having no intellectual development 
 of its own, accepted the Hindoo religion when brought 
 them by the Buddhist teachers. The superiority of Hin- 
 doo arts and civilisation helped Buddhism to make this 
 conquest. Bishop Bigandet ^ says : " The Birmese want 
 the capability to understand the Buddhist metaphysics. 
 If the Buddhist moral code in itself has the power to 
 influence a people so far as to render them virtuous and 
 devotional, independently of the element of intellectual 
 superiority, we still lack the evidence of it. 
 
 " The success of Buddhism is in this respect the reverse 
 of the success of Christianity, which, originating in Judea, 
 subjugated both Greece and Rome without aid from in- 
 tellectual superiority." 
 
 I just add here that the Confucianists do not allow that 
 kindness to animals was first taught them by Buddhism, 
 
 ' See VU de Gaudania, p. 4x2. 
 
 I 
 
KINDNESS TO ANIMALS PRE-BUDDHISTIC. 203 
 
 They find it in their own ancient books. Thus Mencius 
 made the compassion felt by a prince, Tsi Siuen-wang, 
 for a bullock about to be slaughtered, a ground for his 
 exhibiting compassion still more for the people he governed. 
 He had been distressed at the shuddering of the bullock 
 chosen for sacrifice, and ordered it to be changed for a 
 sheep, which was done. Confucianism assumes that pity 
 for auimals is natural for the human heart. The mother 
 of Mencius moved her residence from the neighbourhood 
 of a butcher's shop because she would not have her boy, 
 while of tender years, witness daily that which would 
 make him cruel. 
 
 Yet it cannot fairly be denied that beneficial effects 
 must follow from the great prominence and publicity 
 assigned to compassion as an attribute of Buddha to be 
 imitated by every devout believer. The salvation of 
 multitudes from suffering is held up as his great achieve- 
 ment, and to this he was prompted by disinterested pity. 
 
 This the Confucianists would probably admit, while 
 tliey would never allow that there is any ground to be- 
 lieve in the Buddhist metempsychosis, on which pity for 
 animals is often made to rest for its basis. With Bud- 
 dhist temples and monks everywhere, the Chinese do not 
 accept the teaching that the souls of men migrate into 
 animals, nor do the monks cordially maintain it. 
 
 Among the reasons the Buddhists give for sparing the 
 life of all animals, they do not mention the duty of not 
 inflicting unnecessary pain, nor do they say that Buddha 
 has a sovereign power to make laws, and he having made 
 this law it must be obeyed. 
 
 Their reasons are of a lower sort, or they are based on 
 dogmatised necessity. This, like other matters, is by 
 the Buddhists treated in a thoroughly utilitarian and 
 selfish way. Only in one point it is not so. They are 
 invariably conscious of " moral fate," the Icarina, pervad- 
 ing the universe by an inevitable and unconquerable 
 
204 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 force. Kindness to animals is sure to bring happiness, 
 as cruelty will cause misfortune. 
 
 The following are the reasons given by Buddha for 
 abstinence from animal food : — 
 
 First, In the endless changes of the metempsychosis, 
 persons in the relation to me of any of the six divisions 
 of kindred have become, from time to time, some of the 
 animals used for food. To avoid eating my relations I 
 ought to abstain. 
 
 Second, The smell and taste are not clean. 
 
 Thirdy The smell causes fear among the various ani- 
 mals. 
 
 Fowrthy To eat animal food prevents charms and other 
 magical devices from taking effect. 
 
 The writer who invented these reasons and put them 
 in the mouth of Buddha, did not add the certainty of 
 the retribution of the harma, as an additional motive 
 for showing compassion to objects possessed of life, but 
 this is understood and lies underneath all Buddhistic 
 thought. 
 
 I 
 
( 205 ) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE BUDDHIST CALENDAR. 
 
 National festivals — Festivals in honour of celestial beings — In 
 honour of the Buddhas and Bodhisattwas — In honour of char- 
 acters in Chinese Buddhist history — Supplemental anniver- 
 saries — Singhalese Buddhists keep a different day for Buddha's 
 birthday — In the T*ang dynasty Hindoo astronomers reformed 
 the calendar — Gaudamsitldha — The week of India and Babylon 
 known to the Chinese — Word mit for Sunday — Peacock Sutra 
 — The Hindoo Rahu and Ketu. 
 
 One of the most instructive illustrations of a religion is 
 its calendar. Not only do the fasts and festivals kept by 
 a people point out in succession who are the personages 
 held by them in the highest honour ; they also contain an 
 epitome of the history and doctrines of the religion they 
 believe, and especially aid in opening to observation the 
 popular religious life. 
 
 The work called Ts'ing-kwei, " Regulations of the Priest- 
 hood," contains instructions for the observance of all fasts 
 and festivals through the year. From it are extracted the 
 following details of anniversaries : — 
 
 I. National. 
 
 Emperor*s birthday. — The ceremonial for this anniver- 
 sary lasts a week, embracing three days before and three 
 after the day in question. It is called Slieng-tsie, " Sacred 
 festival" 
 
 impress's birthday. 
 
 Day of receiving an imperial message at the moTvastery. — 
 Six persons are sent out " five li " (nearly two miles) to 
 
3o6 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 meet it. On its approach, the monks, headed by their 
 chief, issue from the monastery, and bow their foreheads 
 to the ground three times. 
 
 Fowr monthly feasts. — These are at the new and fuU 
 moons, and on the 8th and 23d of the month. They are 
 called Xin-ming si-chai, "The four feasts illustriously 
 decreed." The last two words refer to a decree of an 
 emperor of the Sui dynasty in a.d. 584, requiring the 
 special observance of the monthly feasts in the ist, 5 th, 
 and 9th months ; because then the great Southern conti- 
 nent was prayed for, in whicli China is included. 
 
 Anniversaries of emperors' deaths. — Those of the present 
 dynasty only are included. 
 
 2. Celestial Beings 
 
 Day of worshipping the Devas {Rung- Tien). — All the 
 chief personages, whether Devas, spirits, demons, Asuras, 
 Rakshas, &c., of the Hindoo older mythology, are wor- 
 shipped on this occasion. This observance rests for its 
 authority on the Kin-kwang-ming-king , " The Bright Sutra 
 of Golden Light." 
 
 Eclipses of the Sun and Moon. — In the services for these 
 days, the sun and moon are addressed as " Bodliisattwas " 
 (F'u-sa), and the power of Buddha is invoked to deliver 
 them. Hence the name of the service, Hu-ji, Hti-yue, 
 " Delivering the sun and moon." The prayers offered for 
 them are considered as gratitude for their light. 
 
 Sacrifice to the Moon, Sth month, i^th day. — The ground 
 for this observance is that this day is, according to national 
 tradition, the moon's birthday. As in the service for 
 eclipses, Naino, " Honour to," the introductory formula 
 of worship, is used in addressing the moon. She is called 
 in full Yue-ku7ig-t'ai-yin-tsun'fie7i-p*u-sa, *' The moon in 
 her mansion, luminary of night, honoured Deva and Bo- 
 dhisattwa." 
 
 Prayer for fine weatlier. — Prayer to various Buddhas, 
 and other divinities. 
 
CELESTIAL BEINGS. 207 
 
 Prayer for rain, — Worship is performed towards the 
 East, and prayers offered to the Dragon king, the various 
 Buddhas, &c. 
 
 Prayer for snoic. — Ditto. 
 
 Prayer against locusts. — To various Devas and spirits. 
 
 Prayer to Wei-to (Veda). — The Deva Wei-to is the pro- 
 tector of the Buddhist religion. When the supplies of 
 the monastery fail, he is prayed to, to replenish them. 
 He is chief general of the army of the four Mahadevas. 
 
 Birthday of Wei-to, 6th month, ^d day ; according to some 
 the i^thday. — Wei-to is a deity of Hindoo mythology, who 
 protects three of the four continents into which the world 
 is divided. (See Eemusat's Notes to Fol^ koue Jci.) 
 
 Birthdays of the divine protectors of the monasteries. — 
 They are three: — (i.) Hwa-kwang, 9th month, 28th day; 
 (2.) Lung-wang, or Naga-raja, the " Dragon King ; " (3.) 
 Kwan-ti, the " God of war," 5th month, 13th day, accord- 
 ing to the common account ; hut according to his biography 
 in the national aunals, 6th month, 24th day. These three 
 personages take the place of eighteen worshipped in India. 
 One of them is the well-known hero of the " Three King- 
 doms." They receive the same honours that are awarded 
 to Wei-to. 
 
 Birthday of the Kitchen god, 6th month, 24th day, Sth 
 month, ^d day, and 12th month, 24th day. — The Buddhists 
 say, to excuse themselves for adopting a Tauist supersti- 
 tion, that the Kitchen god they worship is not the Tsau- 
 kiiLn venerated commonly by the people, but a king of 
 the " Kinnaras " (a fabulous race of celestial beings), who 
 became a Chinese priest in the Tang dynasty, and was 
 appointed at death to preside over the vegetarian diet of 
 the monks. This is a lame defence of what is evidently 
 a self-interested accommodation to popular notions. 
 
 3. The Buddhas and Bodhisattwas. 
 
 Birthday of Shakyamurii, 4th month, Sth day. — He is 
 also called Buddlia, ''Tathagata" or Julai, and Gautama, 
 
2o8 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 and is revered as Pv.n-shl, the "Teacher of the world 
 during the present kalpa.'" 
 
 Anniversary of Shahjamuni*s elevation to the rank of 
 Buddha, 1 2th month, Sth day. — The phrase in use is Ch'eng- 
 tau, " Attained the summit of knowledge and virtue." 
 
 Anniversary of BiiddJias entrance into the Nirvana^ 2d 
 month, i$th day. 
 
 Birthday of Yo-shi Fo (The Buddha who instructs in 
 healing, Bhaishajyaguru Buddha), gth month, ^oth day. — 
 The world governed by this Buddha is in the East. 
 
 Birthday of O-ini-to Fo or "Amida " (Amitabha) Bud- 
 dha, nth month, lyth day. — The Buddha who rules in the 
 universe to the west of that governed by Shakya, and 
 grants the request of all those who pray to him to admit 
 them to the Western heaven. 
 
 Birtliday of Mi-li Fo (Mai trey a Buddha), 15^ month, ist 
 day. — The Buddha who is to succeed Shaky amuni in the 
 government of the world. Mai trey a was visited in one 
 of the paradises by Shaky amuni, and foretold his destiny. 
 
 Birthday of the female Buddha, Chun-ti, ^d month, 6th 
 day. — Great powers of sorcery are attributed to this per- 
 sonage. 
 
 Birtliday of " Wen-shu p'u-sa " (Manjusiri Bodhisat- 
 twa), ^th month, 4th day. — One of the Bodhisattwas of 
 Northern Buddhism. 
 
 Birthday of '' P'u-hien p'u-sa" (Samantabhadra), 2d 
 month, 21st day. — A fictitious Bodhisattwa of Northern 
 Buddhism. 
 
 Birthday of " Kwan-shl-yin p'u-sa " (Aval6kit^shwara), 
 2d month, igth day. — This fabulous Bodhisattwa has in 
 China been usually represented with female attributes. 
 In the Fa-hwa-king, Kwan-yin is described as being able 
 to assume any form at pleasure, whether that of Buddhas, 
 Devas, men, or others, and as being guided in such volun- 
 tary metamorphoses by a constant desire to proclaim the 
 Buddhist doctrine to those who need it, in the form most 
 likely to effect the object. Kwan-yin is thus able to save 
 
CHARACTERS IN BUDDHIST HISTORY. 209 
 
 any of the inhabitants of the Saha (or Saba) world, i.e., 
 the present race of mankind. When Kwan-yin is trans- 
 lated, not inappropriately, " Goddess of mercy," it should 
 be remembered that female attributes are only temporarily 
 assumed by the Bodhisattwa in question. (See the 
 " Kwan-yin " section, near the end of the Fa-hwa-hing,) 
 
 Birtliday of Ta-sM-cM p'u-sa, yth month, i ^th day. — 
 The position of this Bodhisattwa is to the right of Ami- 
 tabha Buddha, while Kwan-yin takes the left. They are 
 styled together, " the Three Sages of the West " (Si-fang- 
 san-sheng). 
 
 Birtliday of Ti-tsang p'u-sa, yth month, ^oth day. 
 
 4. Characters in Chinese Buddhist History. 
 
 Anniversary of the death of " Bodhidharm^ " (Ta-mo), 
 loth month, ^th day. — The first of the six patriarchs. 
 
 Death of Fe-chang, ist month, igth day. — He was a 
 teacher of Bodhidharma's system in the T'ang dynasty. 
 He wrote the work TsHng-hwei from which these notices 
 of fasts and festivals are taken. 
 
 Death of CJvt-k'ai, nth month, 24th day. — The founder 
 of uhe T'ien-t'ai school. 
 
 Death of Hien-sheu, nth month, 14th day. — A founder 
 of a school bearing his name, and advocating the " Great 
 Development" system {Ta-clVeng). 
 
 Death of Tan-siuen, loth month, ^d day. — A founder of 
 the Discipline school. 
 
 Death of Hwei-yuen, Sth month, 6th day. — A founder of 
 the Tsing-tu school. 
 
 Death of tJie founder of the monastery, — also of a priest's 
 own religious instructor, of the priests who admitted him 
 to the vows, and of his parents. 
 
 5. Supplementary Anniversaries. 
 
 Commencement of summer (Li-hia), 4th month, i6th day. 
 — This anniversary is traced to the usage of the earliest 
 Hindoo Buddhists, who, when summer arrived, came to- 
 
 
 
2IO 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 gether and remained associated under strict monastic rule 
 during the hot months. This period over, they began 
 their begging excursions afresh. 
 
 " Yil-lan-p'en " ( U-lam) ceremony ^ for feeding hungry 
 ghosts, yth month, i ^th day. — The authority for this festival 
 is the Yii-lan-p'cn Sutra, translated into Chinese about 
 A.D. 270. It terminates the summer, as the preceding 
 began it. 
 
 End of summer, yth month, i6th day. 
 
 Commencement and end of winter (Li-tung, Kiai-tung), 
 loth month, i^th day, and ist month, i^th day. 
 
 First day of the year. — Special worship. 
 
 Birthday of Shakra, ist month, gth day. — Shakra, or 
 Indra, god of the atmosphere, is, in the modern editions of 
 Pe-chang-tsHng-kwei, " Manual of Buddhist Eegulations and 
 Festivals," identified with the well-known Tauist divinity 
 Yil-ti. Oriental religions are so mutually complimentary, 
 that they sometimes adopt each other's divinities with- 
 out scruple. The Sanscrit ' Indra Shakra ' is rendered in 
 Chinese Ti-shi (formerly shak). 
 
 Birthday of " Yo-wang p'u-sa " (Bhdishajyardja), " Medi- 
 cal king and Bodhisattwa," 4th month, 1 $th day. 
 
 BirtMay of the Bodhisattwa " Lung-shu " (Nagarjuna,), 
 or "Dragon-tree," yth month, 2^th day. — He was the 
 fourteenth patriarch, and author of the " Hundred Dis- 
 courses," one of the most noted of the Buddhist Shastras. 
 
 Birthday of the ancient Buddha Jan-teng, " Light lamp" 
 {Dijpankara Buddha)^ Sth month, 22d day. — Shakyamuni 
 in a former kalpa was a disciple of this Buddha. 
 
 Winter solstice. — Special worship. 
 
 Birthday of the Bodhisattwa Hwa-yen, 1 2th month, 2gth 
 day. 
 
 The method of observing these anniversaries, and the 
 prayers to be used, are very minutely detailed in the book 
 from which these notices are translated. 
 
 The dates are those of the lunar months of the Chinese 
 national almanac. 
 
 I 
 
THE WEEK KNOWN TO THE CHINESE, 211 
 
 It may be doubted whether more than a very few of 
 them are identical with the festivals of the Southern 
 Buddhists, viz., those of Ceylon, Siam, and Birmah, there 
 being several of the great Bodhisattwas who are not 
 mentioned in works by foreign authors treating of the 
 Buddhism of those countries. 
 
 In Ceylon the prevalent legend of Gautama's life states 
 that he was born on the day of the full moon in the 
 second month of spring. This differs irreconcilably. 
 
 In this popular calendar, there is no mention of any- 
 thing astronomical; yet in the T'ang dynasty Buddhist 
 calculators from India were invited to undertake the im- 
 provement of the imperial calendar. 
 
 Gaudamsiddha, in the eighth century, published a work 
 called Kieu-cM-li. It is a translation from a Hindoo ori- 
 ginal. In it the days of the week are apportioned among 
 the planets in the following order : Yung-hwo, " Mars ; " 
 Uhfen-sing, ''Mercury;" Sui-sing, "Jupiter;" Vav-pe, 
 " Venus ; " Chen-sing, " Saturn." ^ 
 
 These planets, with the sun and moon, form the ts'i-yau, 
 " seven bright celestial objects." They constitute the 
 mythological week of seven days, which sprang up in 
 Babylonia, and spread to India, and also to Europe in the 
 days of the Koman empire. 
 
 Some Chinese almanacs call Sunday the day of Mity 
 the Persian " Mithras," a name for the sun. Mit is 
 spoken of as a Hwei-hwei word. This term Hwei-hwei 
 is one of the names for the Persian language among the 
 Chinese. It is the word onighour. 
 
 In the Kung-ch'io-hing, " Peacock Sutra," the days of 
 the week are also given. This work is a translation by a 
 Chinese priest named Yi-tsing. When Mr. Wylie was 
 visiting Peking on one occasion, he went with me to a 
 monastery to consult the " Peacock Sutra " in the library. 
 
 1 See Chinese Recorder, 1872. Mr. But add to Mr. Wylie's very full and 
 Wylie, " On the Knowledge of a interesting statements, that Mit ia 
 weekly Sabbath in China," pp. 40-45. " Mithras " here, and in page 8. 
 
8T2 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 We were courteously received, and allowed to take it home 
 with us for a few days. 
 
 Many superstitious beliefs and observances native to 
 India were imported to China by the Hindoo Buddhists. 
 They taught much that was not at all purely Buddhist, 
 The education they received embraced a wide range. Meta- 
 physics, astronomy, medicine, and other subjects were 
 taught in India in the old times of Buddhist prosperity, 
 probably much as they are now in the Lamaseries of 
 Mongolia. 
 
 Thus the ascending and descending nodes of the moon's 
 orbit were known as two monsters, called " Eahu " and 
 " Ketu," in modern Chinese, Lo-heu and Ki-tu. At eclipses, 
 the Chinese story of a wild dog eating the sun and moon 
 is derived from this piece of Hindoo mythology. In 
 native almanacs these names are preserved in the nomen- 
 clature of astrology, and the conception is encouraged that 
 the earth's shadow crossing the moon is a dark heavenly 
 body, and a sort of planet of a dark nature, becoming 
 visible only at eclipses. 
 
 The Indian year of three seasons is described, but no 
 attempt has been made to interfere with the Chinese 
 seasons of three months each. The Buddhists have 
 arranged their calendar of festivals and fasts to suit the 
 Chinese months. 
 
 * 
 
 I 
 
( 113 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 RELATION OF BUDDHISM TO THE OLDER HINDOO 
 MYTHOLOGY. 
 
 Buddhism accepted the Hindoo mythology, with the sacred books 
 of the Brahmans, so far as it agreed with its own dogmas — The 
 gods Indra, Brahma, and Ishwara listen as disciples to Buddha 
 — Eight classes of Devas — Four kings of Devas — Yakshas — 
 Mahoragas — Pretas — Maras — Yama, king of the dead — Creation 
 is denied to the Hindoo gods in the Chung-lun and other works. 
 
 Following the guidance of the Buddhist books, the exist- 
 ence of the Vedas and their mythology at least five or six 
 centuries before the Christian era must be regarded as an 
 established fact. Religious divisions had then already 
 arisen in the social life of the Hindoos, and numerous 
 adherents of all castes were joining the newly-raised 
 standard of Buddliism. Colonel Sykes and others have 
 maintained the hypothesis that Buddhism was the original 
 religion of Hindostan, and that the Vedas with their re- 
 ligion, the four castes, and the Sanscrit language itself 
 were all invented at a later date by the Brahmans. This 
 conjecture has little to support it from any source of evi- 
 dence, and is perfectly untenable when recourse is had for 
 information to the Buddhist books. From them it is 
 clear that the Brahmans were in antagonism with the 
 system of Shaky am uni from the first, that the four 
 Vedas were already venerated as the sacred books of the 
 nation, and that the truth of their mythology was not 
 denied by the founder of Buddhism or his followers. So 
 far from opposing the popular belief in such beings as 
 
214 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Indra and Yama, the Asuras, Devas, and Gandharvas, they 
 are included in the mythological personnel of the new 
 religion, and these names have thus become known from 
 Japan to Persia, and from Java to the Altai mountains. 
 No mythology perhaps has ever spread so far as the 
 Hindoo, forming as it does a part of the people's religion 
 in all Buddhist countries, as well as in its mother-land. 
 
 An account of the opening scene of the Saddharma pun- 
 darika, or " Lotus of the Good Law," in Chinese Fa-hwa- 
 king, will show the place assigned in the Sutras of the 
 Great Development class to these fictitious beings. The 
 Sanscrit names in most instances are taken from Burnouf s 
 translation of the Nepaulese original. 
 
 " Thus have I heard. On a time Buddha was residing 
 at the city 'Rajagriha' {Wang-she), on the mountain 
 Gridhrakuta, with two thousand Bikshus, all of them 
 Arhans." Here follow the names of many of Buddha's 
 disciples. " There were also two thousand more, some 
 having knowledge and some having none. Ma-ha-pa- 
 ja-pa-ti} (Mahaprajapati) came with female disciples 
 and their followers, in all six thousand." " Of Bodhi- 
 sattwas, eighty thousand also came." " Their names are 
 Manjusiri, Kwan-shi-yin, &c." There came also ShaJv-de- 
 wan-yin (Shakra, the Indra of the Devas),'- with a 
 retinue of twenty thousand sons of Devas. There were 
 also the sons of the Devas Chandra, Samantagandha, 
 and Ratnaprabha. Besides these tliere were the four 
 "Great kings" of the Devas {Mahaj'aja), with a suite 
 of ten thousand sons of Devas. Then there were the 
 sons of the 'Deva Tshwara' (Tsi-tsai-t'ien) and of the 
 ' Deva Maheshwara' (Ta-tsi-tsai-t'ien), and their retinue 
 of thirty thousand sons of Devas. The lord of the 
 universe " Saba " (Saha), the ' King of tlie Brahma 
 
 ^ This was ShakjamuDi'i aunt, who part iu the .scene of Buddha's en- 
 took care of him when an infant at trance into the Nirv&n.i. 
 the death of liis mother. She became - De-tcan is "the Devas." Yin ia 
 a leader in the female propaganda of " Indra." 
 Huddhism. and acted a cuiispicuuuB 
 
HINDOO MYTHOLOGY. 215 
 
 heaven * (Fan-tien-wang) also came, with the two great 
 Brahmas, Shikhiu and Jyotishprabha, and their retinue of 
 twenty thousand. There were also eight ' Dragon kings ' 
 {Nagaraja), with their retinues, four kings of the Kin- 
 naras, four of the Gandharvas, four of the Asuras, and four 
 of the Garudas. The son of Waid^hi, Ajatashatru king 
 of Magadha (Bahar) and father of Ashoka, with a suite of 
 many thousands, was also there." 
 
 These constitute Buddha's audience while he delivers 
 the instructions contained in this Sutra. Most of the 
 names, the descriptive passages, and many notices of the 
 retinues of the kings, are omitted for brevity. The whole 
 account, however, in the Chinese version is one-third 
 shorter than in that of the French translator, who has fol- 
 lowed the Sanscrit text. Kumarajiva did not scruple to 
 pare off the redundancies of this and other works that ha 
 translated, which is perhaps one reason of their permanent 
 popularity. 
 
 Two of the principal Hindoo divinities occur in this ex- 
 tract, Shakra and Brahma. The latter is the first in the 
 well-known triumvirate of gods, Brahna, Vishnu, and 
 Shiva, or the "Creator," "Preserver," and "Destroyer," 
 Here he occupies a humbler position, being merely the 
 disciple of Buddha. Shakra or Indra is met with in 
 Buddhist legends more frequently than Brahma. In some 
 Chinese temples their images are said to form a pair 
 among the auditors of Shakyamuni. The Buddist com- 
 pilation, Fa-yioen-chu-lin, contains an extract from the 
 " Central Agama Sutra," where several names by which 
 Shakra is commonly known are explained. Indra, his 
 most frequent appellation, is a term of office, " Lord " or 
 " Ruler," and as such is translated into Chinese by Ti or 
 Ohu. It is often applied to others of the chief Devas or 
 gods with distinctive names. Two other Brahmas will be 
 observed to accompany the chief Brahma. 
 
 The word Ishwara, rendered by tsi-tsai, " self -existent," 
 is the term used by missionaries in India for God, in the 
 
2i6 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Christian sense. Mr. Wenger's letter, inserted in Dr. 
 Legge's Notions of the Chinese concerning God and Spirits, 
 says, that this term is applied to Shiva and Vishnu as a 
 title of authority ; " but should any other of the innumer- 
 able devatas be called Ishwara, it would be an unusual 
 thing, and call for something like an explanation." In 
 the Buddhist passage cited above, the term is applied as a 
 distinctive name to two of these devatas, indicating a differ- 
 ence in the Brahmanical and Buddhist use of the word. 
 The commentator on the " Fan-wang Sutra " identifies the 
 great Ishwara with Brahma, but this is not authorised by 
 the text, and disagrees with common usage, which makes 
 them different personages. He adds, " In the whole uni- 
 verse there is but one king, and this is he." According to 
 the Chinese rendering, " Self-existent," the term Ishwara 
 strongly resembles the Hebrew name Jehovah. 
 
 The four Maharajas, or "Great kings" of the Devas, 
 preside each over one of the four continents into which 
 the Hindoos divide the world. Visitors in Chinese 
 temples will have noticed two warlike images on each 
 side, just within the entering door. They are the Devas 
 here alluded to. Each leads an army of spiritual beings 
 to protect mankind and Buddhism. At the head of the 
 Gandharvas and Vaishajas is Dhritar^shtra, for the Eastern 
 continent. The inhabitants of the South, Jambudvipa, 
 are protected by Virudhaka with an army of Kubandas. 
 In the West, Virupaksha commands an army of " dragons" 
 (nagas) and Putanas. In the North, Vaishramana is at 
 the head of the Yakshas and Rakshasas. 
 
 i he names of various classes of mythological beings are 
 sometimes translated, and at other times transferred, in 
 Chinese Buddhist works. The " Nagas," from tlieir form, 
 are rendered by the word Lung, * Dragon.' The Apsaras 
 are called Tien^nil or " Female Devas." The Devas, in- 
 cluding all the Hindoo gods that are mentioned, whether 
 great or small, are called Tien (Heaven). The Kinnaras 
 are celestial choristers looking like horses with horned 
 
GODS ARE DISCIPLES TO BUDDHA. 217 
 
 heads. The Gandharvas are also musicians who play and 
 sing for the amusement of the Devas. The Asuras are 
 beings of gigantic size, dwelling in solitary woods and 
 mountain hollows. They make war with the Devas, and are 
 connected with eclipses {vide Hardy's Manual of Buddhism). 
 The Garudas are golden- winged birds who are large enough 
 to devour the Nagas. Beings inferior to the Devas are 
 called collectively the " Eight classes " {Pa-pu). They are 
 called Nats by the Birmese. 
 
 It will be observed that all these beings, including the 
 most venerated and powerful of the gods, are introduced as 
 disciples of Buddha, The combination of ascetic eminence 
 and profound philosophy in Shakyamuni raise him to a 
 position higher than any of them. Beings of every rank 
 in earth or heaven confess their inferiority to the human 
 Buddha by becoming his humble and attentive auditors. 
 
 The Hindoos having become acute metaphysicians, 
 thought themselves superior to every being in the uni- 
 verse. 
 
 Further on in the same work other names occur. The 
 Yakshas are a species of demons living in the earth and 
 waters, often represented as malignant in their disposition 
 towards man. The Mahoragas are the genii of the large 
 serpent called in Chinese the Mang. The Kakshasas 
 resemble the Yakshas, but they have not the power like 
 them to assume any shape at pleasure. When they appear 
 to men it must be in their own form. They live in the 
 forest of Himala, and feed on the flesh of the dead {vide 
 Hardy's Manual of Buddhism). The " Brahmas " {Fan ; 
 formerly Bam or Fam) are the inhabitants of the heaven 
 called " Brahma-loka " {Fan-t'ien)^ over which Fan-t'ien- 
 wang (Mahabrahma) or the chief Brahma presides. The 
 Pretas, in Chinese, kwei, " demon," are the inhabitants of 
 the narakas or " subterranean " and " other prisons " called 
 ti-yu, " hell." Many of them formerly belonged to the 
 world of men. Some are condemned by Yama to certain 
 prisons. Others haunt the gmves where their former 
 
2l8 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 bodies are interred. The Pretas hunger for food, 'ctnd 
 hence the custom so prevalent in China of feeding the 
 hungry ghosts both of relatives and of others. The Maras 
 are enemies of Buddha's doctrine. On this account they 
 are considered as demons, although they inhabit one of 
 the lokas or " heavens " of the Hindoo cosmogony. The 
 king of the " Maras " (Mo-kwei) is called Po-siiln and Mo- 
 (Ma) wang. The word Mara is explained, " he who kills," 
 also " the culprit." The kwei are, in some instances, of a 
 good disposition. Among such are reckoned — as a Buddhist 
 work quoted in the Fa-yuen-chu-lin informs us — the slicn 
 or " genii " of mountains, seas, and other natural objects. 
 The word shen is also used generically for the eight classes 
 of beings before mentioned, from the dragons downwards, 
 and is very frequently employed by the Buddhists for the 
 soul of man, perhaps more than in any other sense. The 
 early Buddhist apologists, in pleading for the immortality 
 of the soul as a part of the doctrine of metempsychosis, 
 constantly used shen for " soul." 
 
 The king of the kwei or " demons " is Yama, in Hindoo 
 mythology the ruler of the dead. From his office as judge 
 of future punishments, his name constantly occurs in the 
 conversation of the common people in China. He is called 
 Yen-mo-lo-she (formerly Jam-ma-la-ja), which is abbrevi- 
 ated to Yen-lo. The usual Hindoo name may be recognised 
 in Yen-7na and Yem-ma, which are other designations ap- 
 plied to him in Chinese books. Jam-ma-raja means the 
 " Koyal pair," a brother and sister, who judge men and 
 women respectively. Associated with Yen-lo are nine 
 kings who preside together over the state of the dead. 
 His image is placed with theirs in temples, accompanied 
 with various representations suited to remind the spec- 
 tator of the world of torment. In the Ti-tsang Sutra, he is 
 described as coming from the iron mountain wall where 
 the Buddhist hell is situated, to the Tau-li heaven, to hear 
 Shakyamuni Buddha deliver a Sutra there. He is classed 
 among the sons of Devas, and is attended by many thou- 
 
HINDOO GODS NOT CREATORS. 219 
 
 sand kings of demons. He may be pointed to as the most 
 remarkable example of the influence of Hindoo mytho- 
 logy on the popular mind of China. The common people 
 all expect to meet Yen4o-ioang (Yama) after death, and 
 be judged by him with the strictest impartiality. They 
 believe that he fixes the hour of dissolution, and that the 
 decision once made, nothing can alter or postpone it. 
 
 These various beings, when in the Sutras they appear 
 before Buddha, perform to him an act of worship, and ask 
 for instruction like any other of his auditors. Their power 
 is great, but it is surpassed by that of Buddha, and it is 
 all employed to extend his fame and doctrines. Their 
 authority as rulers of the world is still recognised, but 
 Buddhism by a simple stretch of the imagination makes 
 a universe a thousand times as large to form tke kingdom 
 of Buddha. They promote virtue and the Buddhist re- 
 ligion. For this they live and rule. The very highest 
 acts of deity, such as the creation of all things, or in 
 the language of idealism the causation of all sensational 
 phenomena, are denied them. The " Central Shastra " 
 {Chung-lun) sets out with proving that creation was not the 
 act of the great "Self-existent god" {Ishwara JDeva), nor 
 of the god " Vishnu " ( Ve-nu Deva ; also written Ve-shi- 
 nu) ; nor did concourse and commixture, or time, or the 
 nature of things, or change, or necessity, or minute atoms, 
 cause the creation of the universe. In the Buddhist 
 view, these deities are also subject to death, and men 
 by certain virtuous acts which are specified, may be born 
 at some future period to become their successors. 
 
 Buddhism, while it thus aimed to find some intelligence 
 and power higher than those of the popular divinities, failed 
 to perceive that the creation and government of the uni- 
 verse are united in one all-wise eternal mind. It looked 
 no further than the wisdom of a human sage, and the in- 
 nate goodness and self -elevating power of the human mind. 
 It gives to the wise man the honour that is due only to God. 
 
 In formin" an estimate of the extent to which the older 
 
330 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 Hindoo mythology has been spread in China, it should 
 be remembered that the Tanists have copied from the 
 Buddhist books in the most slavish manner. Some names 
 are new, but the majority are adopted without alteration. 
 Brahmas, Devas, Asuras, and Maras figure in the writings 
 of this native sect. The prayer-books used in chanting 
 by the Tauist priests are from beginning to end an imi- 
 tation of the Buddhist Sutras. By the combined influence 
 of these two religions, the Hindoo view of the universe, 
 with its numerous classes of beings higher than and inferior 
 to man, and its multiplicity of worlds, some for happiness, 
 and others for torment, has become the common belief of 
 the Chinese people. 
 
 Other Hindoo gods, such as the modern Shiva and Dur- 
 ga, Kama and Krishna, do not occur, unless concealed 
 under names which closer examination may decipher. 
 The rise of their worship in India was at too recent a 
 date to allow of their being introduced into the early 
 Buddhist literature. The unexampled viciousness of the 
 recent Hindoo worship would also be an insuperable bar 
 to its adoption in China. In the Buddhist books of China 
 there is abundance of what is puerile, superstitious, and 
 incredible, but nothing openly opposed to good morality. 
 In such a country only what is decorous in the images 
 and worship of any sect could be tolerated. 
 
 Since neither Vishnu nor Shiva occur among the audi- 
 tors of Buddha, on occasions when all the chief persons 
 in the universe are present, it must be supposed that the 
 extended popular worship of both these well-known deities 
 was subsequent to the time when the Buddhist books were 
 written, and within the Christian era. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
( 221 ) 
 
 CHAPTER Xn. 
 
 THE BUDDHIST UNIVERSE. 
 
 The universe passes through incessant changes — Kalpas of various 
 lengths — Kalpas of establishment, of destruction, &c. — Saha 
 world — Suineru mountain — The Southern continent is Jambu- 
 dvipa — Heaven of the thirty-three — Tushita paradise — Upper 
 tier of paradises — Heavens of form and of desire — Heavens with- 
 out form — Brahma's paradise — No wise man is born there, be- 
 cause Brahma says he created the universe — The hells — Story 
 from the " Ti-tsang Sutra." 
 
 The universe, according to the Buddhists, is in a con- 
 stant state of change. The periods in which its changes 
 take place are called kalpas (kie-po or kie.) Eighty small 
 kalpas make one large kalpa. The inhabitants of the 
 Brahma heaven live through twenty small kalpas, and 
 their chief, Mahabrahma, through sixty. Kalpas are divided 
 into the small kalpa, the kalpa of establishment and de- 
 struction, and the great kalpa. In the small kalpa, the 
 age of mankind diminishes from an immeasurable length 
 to ten years, and then increases to a length of from ten 
 to eighty thousand years. In twenty of such periods the 
 world is completed. Through twenty more it remains in 
 the same state. After twenty more the world is de- 
 stroyed, and there remains nothing but vacancy during 
 twenty more. The first forty mean kalpas make up the 
 kalpa of establishment. The other forty compose that 
 of destruction. All of them taken together form a great 
 kalpa. We live in the second intermediate kalpa, or that 
 
222 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 in which the world continues in its completed state, in a 
 period called the Men halpa or" Age of wise men" (Mahu- 
 hhadra-kalpa. There are still eleven small kalpas to be 
 passed before the age of destruction commences. During 
 the " eighth kalpa " (Mandu-kalpa), immediately preced- 
 ing the present, a hundred Buddhas successively appear. 
 Shakyamuni is the fourth Buddha of the Mahabhadra- 
 kalpa. In liis time the age of man had already gradually 
 diminished to a hundred years, and the same process of 
 gradual subtraction by one year at a time is still going 
 on. In the centre of the Saha world, or that ruled by 
 Shakyamuni, is the Sumeru mountain. A wide sea sepa- 
 rates this from eight other mountains. Outside these 
 mountains, beyond another wide sea, is a great circular 
 mountain mass of iron. A thousand such circular iron 
 mountain chains constitute one " small world " (siau- 
 ts'ien-slut-kiai). Three thousand such walls form a " great 
 world " {ta-ts'ien-sM-kiai). This is the Saha world. 
 
 Within each iron wall are four continents, and a sun 
 and moon to shine upon them. It is in the southernmost 
 of these continents, Jambudvipa in the case of our own 
 world, that India and all countries known to the Hindoos 
 are situated. Far to the north is the Sumeru moun- 
 tain, one million one hundred and twenty thousand miles 
 high, and whose depth in the sea is equally great. It is 
 composed of gold on its east side, of "lapis-lazuli" (lieu-li, 
 spelt in full, according to the old pronunciation, he-lu-li 
 and be-du-li; in Sanscrit, vaiduria'^) on the south, of 
 "crystal" (j)'o-li, "glass;" in Sanscrit, sp'atika) ou the 
 north, and silver on the west. 
 
 Travelling south from Jambudvipa across the Southern 
 
 ' The d and t in these two Sanacrit IL'ang-hi, we are told. " the Romnn 
 
 words are th»; cerebral d and t, usually empire has glass of tive colours," ta- 
 
 printed witli a dot under them. They ts*in-i/eu-wu-8f-p*o-li. In Buddhist 
 
 approach the sound of /. The IJud- books it means "rock crystal." Why 
 
 ♦ Ihist dictionary, Yi-ts'ie-ki7i;/->iin-i, the aspirate is not preserved in th« 
 
 savs, that the word p'o-li is in its common colloquial term po-^i "glass," 
 
 full Sanscrit form, sa-p*a'ti-ka. In is not clear. 
 
 ! 
 
 I 
 
HEAVEN OF THE THIRTY-THREE. 223 
 
 ocean, there are three hundred and sixty thousand six 
 hundred and sixty-three "yojanas"^ {yeu-siun) to the cir- 
 cular mountain mass of iron. This mountain's depth 
 in the sea is three hundred and twelve yojanas, and its 
 height about the same. Its circumference is three million 
 six hundred and ten thousand three hundred and fifty 
 yojanas. Each iron-bound world has a Sumeru mountain 
 in its centre. Supposing the world to be under the eternal 
 law of change sketched above, Buddhist authorities give 
 no account of its first origin, not feeling the need of a 
 doctrine of creation. The physical causes engaged in its 
 periodical formation and destruction are water, wind, 
 and fire. These are three of the four elements tiy shui, 
 hwo, feng, " earth, water, fire, and air," which are supposed 
 to form the basis of all things. They are perhaps to be 
 taken in the sense of elemental causes rather than ele- 
 mental atoms. 
 
 Over and under this world of mountains, seas, and con- 
 tinents are two others, heaven and hell. Of celestial 
 regions there are thirty-two inhabited by the divinities 
 of the older Hindoo mythology. For the Buddhas and 
 Bodhisattwas, peculiar to Buddhism, other abodes are 
 found. Among the thirty-two heavenly regions, ten are 
 called worlds of desire; including, among others, the 
 heaven of the sun and moon, the heaven of the four 
 kings of Devas, and the heaven of the thirty-three or 
 paradise of Indra Shakra, who has under him thirty-three 
 powerful Devas. There are also the Yama paradise, the 
 Tushita paradise, the " Nimala paradise " {Hwa-lo), and 
 the paradise of " Paranimita" (T'a-hwa-tsi-tsai). 
 
 At the base of the Sumeru mountain reside shens, 
 "spirits," and Yakshas. Half-way up the mountain is 
 the paradise of the Four kings of Devas. On the summit 
 is the Taic-li or " Trayastrinsha " (thirty-three) heaven, 
 
 ^ There are two kinds of yqjana. tance at which the bellowing of a biiU 
 One consists of four r/oshalas, the can be heard, or nearly two miles, 
 other of eight. A goshala is the dis- 
 
224 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 i.e.y the paradise of Shakra, king of the gods. The rest 
 of these celestial abodes are fixed in vacancy, each as 
 high again as the one beneath it. 
 
 The next tier of these paradisiacal regions consists of 
 eighteen. They are called heavens of form, denoting that 
 the senses are still in activity there, though there is free- 
 dom from that influence of the passions which is still felt 
 in the regions of desire near the world of men. The 
 eighteen heavens of form are divided into stages of con- 
 templation. Three belong to the first, second, and third 
 stages, and nine to the fourth. The first stage is appro- 
 priated to the Brahmas, divided into three classes, the 
 (Mahabrahma or) " king," officers of state, and people. 
 Each of these classes has a paradise assigned to it. The 
 heavens above these have various names compounded of 
 the ideas of purity, light, virtue, abstraction, and tran- 
 quillity. In the highest of them all, Akanit'a, resides 
 " Maha Ishwara," or Ma-he-shwa-ra. 
 
 The uppermost tier of four, " formless," as they are 
 called, derive their names from the notions of vacancy, 
 knowledge, destitution of all properties, and negation of 
 all thought. 
 
 Of these thirty-two heavens, five are inliabited only by 
 sages, twenty-five by sages and common men together, 
 and two by common men alone. One of the latter is the 
 paradise of Mahabrahma. A wise man can never be born 
 in the abode of Brahma, say the Buddhist cosmogonists, 
 because that deity, in his ignorance of causes, asserts that 
 he can create heaven, earth, and all things. He being so 
 arrogant as this, no wise man would go to live in his 
 heaven. The other is the paradise of abstraction, where 
 those heretics who disbelieve in the Nirvana, but aim to 
 gain a state of perfect mental abstraction, will hereafter 
 be born. They will there enjoy five hundred years of 
 freedom from the sufferings of life in a state of mindless 
 vacancy ; but since they will not tread the path of the 
 Nirvana, evil desires must afterwards arise, and they must 
 
 I 
 
THE HELLS. 225 
 
 be bom subsequently in hell. No wise man, therefore, 
 would willingly go to that heaven. 
 
 One of the higher worlds is assigned for the residence 
 of those disciples of Buddha who have attained the rank 
 of Anagamins and Lo-hans. Those who are shortly to 
 become Buddha are first born into the Tushita paradise. 
 
 Mara, king of the " demons " (mo-lcwei), resides in the 
 space below the Brahma heaven. 
 
 These heavens are peopled by Devas. Men from the 
 four continents of our own world may be born into them 
 by transmigration into the body of a Deva. The Devas 
 are born and die, their bodies are of great stature, they 
 wear clothing, have horses and elephants to ride upon, 
 marry, eat and drink, and perform many other actions 
 resembling mankind. Above the worlds of desire, there 
 is no distinction of sexes. 
 
 To become an inhabitant of these worlds is regarded as 
 a reward for good actions, for those who have lived pre- 
 viously in lower states of existence. But it is still a 
 punishment when viewed in comparison with the attain- 
 ment of Nirvana or any of the higher grades of disciple- 
 ship under the teaching of Buddha. 
 
 The Buddhist " hells " (in Sanscrit, niliya or naraka), 
 the prisons of the lost, are in some cases situated under 
 the region inhabited by man. Twenty thousand yojanas 
 (28o,ocx) miles) below the Jambu continent is one called 
 the Avichi naraka, or the "Hell of unintermitted torments." 
 The Yama naraka is half-way between. Others are among 
 fabled mountains, or on the shores of a great sea. In 
 Chinese books they are called by a common name ti-yil, 
 " earth-prisons. " 
 
 In the " Ti-tsang Sutra " is a story of a maiden of the 
 Brahman caste, whose mother had been condemned to the 
 Wu-kien ti-yily or " Avichi naraka." Full of distress, she 
 went to a temple to pray for help from an ancient Buddha 
 whose image was there adored. In reply to her offerings 
 and prayers a voice addressed her — that of the Buddha 
 
126 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 represented by the image. She was told to sit at home 
 and meditate on the name of the same Buddha. While 
 doing so she fell, after a day thus spent, into a state of 
 deep reverie, and found herself on the banks of an ocean. 
 Here she saw many beasts of prey with iron bodies, flying 
 and walking on the sea. Multitudes of unhappy men and 
 women were also swimming there, and were constantly 
 bitten by these ferocious animals. The maiden, supported 
 by the power of Buddha, did not feel terrified. A demon 
 king addressed her kindly, and informed her that she was 
 come to the great iron mountain girdle that surrounds 
 the world. " I have heard," said the maiden, " that hell 
 is here; how can I reach it?" Ans. "Only by spiritual 
 power, and of merit self-acquired." Quj. "And who are 
 these unhappy criminals suffering in this sea?" Atis, 
 " They are the wicked inhabitants of the Jambu continent 
 who have recently died. After forty-five days, if no one 
 performs any meritorious act for their benefit, they must 
 first be transported to this place. Eastward are two other 
 * seas of misery ' {ku-hai), where the punishment inflicted 
 is still greater." Qu, " But where is hell ?" Ans. " Within 
 these three seas there are many thousand prisons, but of 
 the larger kind only eighteen." Qu. " My mother died not 
 long since; where now is her soul?" The good-hearted 
 demon king answered this question by another. Qu. " 
 Bodhisattwa, what sort of life did your mother formerly 
 lead ?" Ans. " My mother held heretical opinions. She 
 ridiculed and slandered the ' Three treasures ' (Buddha, 
 the Law, and the Priesthood). If she became a believer 
 for a time, she soon ceased to honour them." Qu. " What 
 was her name ?" Ans. " My father and mother were both 
 of the Brahman caste. Their names were Shira and Yetili." 
 The demon king, holding up his joined hands respectfully 
 to the Bodhisattwa, said, " Holy maiden, return. Dismiss 
 all sad thoughts. It is now three days since the sinful 
 Yetili was born an inhabitant of paradise. The filial love 
 that prompted such acts to save a parent, and such piety 
 
STORY FROM THF ThTSANG SUTRA, 227 
 
 towards an ancient Buddha, are sufficient not only to pre- 
 serve a mother from hell, but also to raise innumerable 
 other persons to heaven." The Brahman maiden then 
 returned to consciousness as from a dream. Keflecting on 
 what had happened, she visited again the shrine of the 
 ancient Buddha, and made a vow that through innumer- 
 able coming kalpas she would perform acts of merit for 
 the deliverance from suffering of multitudes of living 
 beings. Shakyamuni Buddha added, addressing Manju- 
 siri, " That demon king and Brahman maiden have now 
 become the Tsai-sheu Bodhisattwa and the Ti-tsang 
 Bodhisattwa." 
 
 This story must serve instead of a detailed description 
 of the Buddhist hells. It will be sufficient to say of them 
 that they combine all that is horrible to each of the senses. 
 Every form of torment, mental and physical, that can 
 befall the unhappy violators of a good conscience and of 
 the Buddhist law, are found there. The extremes of cold 
 and heat, cutting, flaying, biting, insulting, and tantalising, 
 have to be endured by such persons according to their 
 deserts. Demons of the most monstrous shapes and most 
 cruel dispositions terrify them in every possible way. All 
 that fire and water, knives and clubs, can by ingenuity 
 be made to do in tormenting, is there done. 
 
 The preceding brief sketch of the " three worlds " {san- 
 kiai) almost all refers to what is common to the other 
 native Hindoo sects. Buddhism adopted the national 
 belief in regard to the form of the universe, including 
 the worlds of reward and punishment. It belongs to aU 
 forms of Buddhism in China or elsewhere. 
 
 The Northern Buddhists have, however, gone further, 
 and framed a much more extensive cosmogony, which 
 deserves a separate consideration. 
 
( 12% ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE EXTENDED UNIVERSE OF THE NORTHERN BUDDHISTS. 
 
 Primitive Buddhism aimed at moral improvement and the Nirvtina 
 — Its mythology was of popular growth — The Mahayana mytlio- 
 logy was introduced by the metaphysicians of Buddhism itself 
 — Nagarjuna, the chief inventor — Hwa-yen-king — An extended 
 universe invented to illustrate dogma — Ten worlds beyond the 
 Saha world in ten different directions — New divinities to wor- 
 ship — Amitabha — His world in the West — Kwan-yin and Ta-shi- 
 chi— The world of Ach'obhya Buddha in the East — World of 
 Yo-shi Fo, the healing teacher — Mercy, wisdom, &c., are sym- 
 bolised in the Bodhisattwas — Wu-t'ai shan in China is intro- 
 duced in the Hwa-yen-king. 
 
 About four centuries after the time of Shakyamuni, or 
 Gautama as he is more commonly called in Birmah and 
 Ceylon, a great increase to the Sanscrit literature of the 
 Buddhist religion began to be made. Very little had been 
 added to the national mythology by the founder and first 
 propagators of this system, except what respected Buddha 
 himself. Their aim was to inculcate virtue, encourage the 
 ascetic life, and urge persons of all castes and both sexes 
 to aim at deliverance from the evils of existence and 
 the attainment of the Nirvana. They based their teaching 
 on the existing doctrine of metempsychosis, of the gods 
 and other classes of beings, and of heaven and hell. 
 These had been united from the earliest infancy of the 
 Hindoo nation in one system. By the transmigration of 
 souls, all in heaven or earth, whether gods, men, demons, 
 or inferior animals, are linked together into one chain 
 of animated existence, and compose one world. It is the 
 
MYTHOLOGY WAS OF POPULAR GROWTH. 229 
 
 business of a Buddha and a Bodhisattwa to instnict these 
 beings in moral truths, and assist them to escape from all 
 the six forms of Kfe, into a state of perfect enlightenment 
 and tranquillity. The mytliological element, as it existed 
 in early Buddhism, was even then an old creation of the 
 popular mind that had grown up with the first literary 
 efforts of the nation. In this respect it agrees with most 
 other mythologies, in the fact of its originating, not in 
 philosophical schools, but among the people themselves. 
 
 To this was added a legendary element. Long tales 
 were invented to illustrate the great merits and powers 
 of Buddha. Free use was made in these narratives of 
 those vast periods of time into which the Hindoos divide 
 the past history of the world. The biography of the great 
 sage was extended by attributing to him numberless pre- 
 vious lives. The manner in which, from small beginnings, 
 he rose by self-sacrificing and meritorious acts to be lord 
 of the world, and " teacher of gods and men " (t'ien-Jen- 
 sM), is minutely recorded. But the scene is not extended 
 in any other way. New worlds are not invented in far 
 distant space. The writers of these legends, while they 
 represent their hero as visiting the celestial regions to 
 instruct their inhabitants, or as becoming by transmigra- 
 tion an inhabitant of those paradisiacal residences for long 
 terms of years, do not transgress the limits of the popular 
 Hindoo universe. 
 
 The Northern Buddhists, however, about the beginning 
 of the Christian era, pushed the bounds of their system 
 much further. Men appeared at that time in Northern 
 India devoted to metaphysical discussion, who aimed to 
 develop to the utmost the principles of Buddhism.^ In 
 adding to the number of Buddhas and Bodhisattwas, they 
 felt it necessary to frame new worlds to serve as suitable 
 abodes for them. With their peculiar philosophy it was 
 easy to do this. Not believing in the existence of the 
 
 ^ Vide BurnoTif's account of the third Buddhist council held in Cash- 
 mere, in his Introduction A VHutoire du BuddJiimne Indien. 
 
iy> CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 world of the senses, there was no more difficulty in admit- 
 ting to their system an unlimited number of lictitious 
 worlds and fictitious Buddhas than in continuing to recog- 
 nise the universe of their predecessors. They named their 
 system Mahay ana, Ta-cJVeng, or " Great Development." 
 Among these teachers the leading mind was Lung-shu, 
 or '' Nagarjuna," as he is called by the Thibetans. Csoma 
 Kbrosi, cited in Hardy's Manual of Buddhism, says, " With 
 Nagarjuna originated what is known in Thibet as the 
 Madhyamika system in philosophy. The philosophers in 
 India had taught either a perpetual duration or a total 
 annihilation with respect to the soul. He chose a middle 
 way, hence the name of this sect." The Chinese " Central 
 Shastra " (Chung-lun), which bears his name as the author, 
 contains this system, and his opinions may therefore be 
 regarded as nearly those of the T'ien-t'ai school, whose 
 doctrine is based on that work, and of which Lung-shu 
 is consequently regarded as the first founder. 
 
 This circumstance throws light on the objects of Lung- 
 shu in composing the Sutras of which he was the author. 
 For this school gives a symbolical interpretation to the 
 mythology of the Buddhist books. The very popular and 
 influential Sutra called Hwa-ycn-king came from the pen 
 of Lung-shu. The Chinese preface to that work says that 
 Lung-shu p'u-sa, having exhausted the study of all human 
 literature, entered the Dragon palace to examine the Bud- 
 dhist "pitaka" (san-tsang). He there found three forms 
 of the Hwa-yen-hing. The largest was divided into sec- 
 tions whose number is expressed by the particles contained 
 in a world of dust. The next consisted of twelve hundred 
 sections, and the smallest of forty-eight sections. The 
 last and least he gave to the world with its present title, 
 and he must therefore be regarded as its author. 
 
 This and other works of the Great Development class 
 contain a great extension of the mythological element 
 of Buddhism. Many new Buddhas and Bodhisattwas 
 here appear, distinguished by vai'ious high attributes of 
 
HWA-YEN'KING. 231 
 
 goodness, knowledge, and magical ])Ower. To afford 
 room for the display of these attributes, new worlds are 
 located at pleasure in the boundless regions of space. 
 But the whole of this imaginative creation was probably 
 intended by the authors to be symbolical. According 
 to the explanation of the T'ien-t'ai school, and of tlie 
 esoteric Buddhists, the whole of this fictitious universe 
 was meant to illustrate certain Buddhist dogmas. It was 
 the extreme scepticism of the Buddhist philosophers that 
 paved their way to this mode of teaching their system. 
 In the T'ien-t'ai commentary on the Fa-hwa-king, the 
 symbolical method of interpreting this mythological crea- 
 tion of the fancy may be seen exemplified. — (See Fa^hwa- 
 hwei'i). 
 
 Some specimens of this mythology will now be given. 
 
 The Hwa-y en-king says that, on one occasion, Buddha 
 was presiding over an assembly at a place of meeting 
 called Aranyaka, in the kingdom of Magadha. He saw 
 approaching a multitude of Bodhisattwas from distant 
 worlds. They asked to be instructed in regard to the 
 " lands where the Buddhas resided." {Fo " ch'ah,'' spelled 
 in full in the old pronunciation, ch'a-ta-la; in Sanscrit, 
 ksh^tra, " land." ^ ) Buddlia accordingly entered on a 
 description of the kingdoms of the Buddhas. To the 
 east, after passing worlds equal in number to the dust of 
 ten of these kingdoms, there is one termed the golden- 
 coloured world. The Buddha of " wisdom unmoved " pre- 
 sides there. Wen-shu (Manjusiri) and a crowd of other 
 Bodhisattwas attend his instructions, as he sits on a lion 
 dais surrounded by lotus flowers. To the south, west, 
 and north, and to the north-east, south-east, south-west, 
 and north-west, are other worlds at a distance equally 
 great. Towards the zenith and nadir two other worlds 
 make up the number ten, each having a governing Buddha, 
 
 1 The dictionary Yi-ts^ie-kinff-yin-i castes, to which belong the royal fami- 
 
 adds, that this word, used for " land" lies of India, the Kshatryas being 
 
 or " kingdom," is the root of the word Lords of the soil. 
 Kshatiya, the second of the ioxnr 
 
232 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 and a countless number of Bodhisattwas, who perform to 
 him an act of worship, and humbly receive his instructions. 
 
 The same work also describes the ten worlds that come 
 next to the one in which we live, on the east, south, west, 
 and north, and the other directions as before. Each of 
 them is ruled by a Buddha, to whom prayers are to be 
 offered, in which he is to be addressed under ten different 
 names. 
 
 The moral import of these worlds and their Buddhas is 
 contained in the names that are given them. These names 
 are formed symmetrically, and carry the reader and the 
 worshipper round a circle of Buddhist ideas. Thus the 
 significations of the appellations given to the Buddhas 
 are such as surpassing wisdom, self-possessed wisdom, 
 Brahmanical wisdom, &c. The leading Bodhisattwas 
 receive such denominations as chief in the law, chief in 
 merit, chief in visual power, &c. 
 
 It was thus that these Buddhist philosophers employed 
 the imagination as an instrument of moral instruction, 
 just as western authors write a poem or a novel for a simi- 
 lar end. They were men whose minds were cultivated to the 
 utmost subtlety in argument, as the Shastras, works by the 
 same authors, and taken up exclusively with philosophical 
 discussions, abundantly show. They did not, therefore, 
 believe in the truth of these fanciful creations. Their 
 metaphysical creed would prevent it, and there is not 
 wanting such indirect evidence to the fact as has been 
 already adduced. But what shall be said to the morality 
 of such modes of teaching a religion ? These sceptical 
 writers cannot be shielded from the charge of practising a 
 vast and systematic deception on the common people, in 
 inducing them to regard these imaginary beings with reli- 
 gious reverence. Falsehood is involved in the very form 
 of the Buddhist Sutras, for they are attributed unhesi- 
 tatingly in all their multitudinous variety and voluminous 
 extent to Shakyamuni himself. Ananda, the cousin and 
 favourite disciple of the sage in his declining years, is put 
 
AMITABHA. 233 
 
 forward as the compiler from memory of all these works. 
 The practice of worshipping the divinities introduced in 
 these new mythological creations was also directly encour- 
 aged, and this new idolatry spread with great rapidity 
 throughout the countries where Northern Buddhism pre- 
 vails. 
 
 To illustrate these statements more fully, reference must 
 be made to the more popular personages and better-known 
 worlds in the new mythology. Among these fabled worlds 
 located in distant space, the best known is the paradise of 
 Amitabha. In the Wu-liang-sheu-king (Amitabha Sutra), 
 Buddha tells a tale of a king in a former kalpa who left 
 the world, adopted the monkish life, assumed the name 
 Fa-tsang, " Treasure of the law," and became, by his rapid 
 growth in knowledge and virtue, a Bodhisattwa. To the 
 Buddha who was his teacher he uttered forty-eight wishes, 
 having reference to the good he desired to accomplish for 
 all living beings, if he should attain the rank of Buddha. 
 Ten kalpas since, he received that title with the name 
 " Amitabha '*' (0-mi-to Fo), and now resides in a world far 
 in the West, to fulfil his forty-eight wishes for the benefit 
 of mankind. Ten million kingdoms of Buddhas separate 
 his world from our own. It is composed of gold, silver, 
 lapis-lazuli, coral, amber, a stone called ch'a-ku, and cor- 
 nelian. There is there no Sumeru mountain, nor iron 
 mountain girdle, nor are there any prisons for punish- 
 ment. There is no fear of becoming a hungry ghost, or an 
 animal by transmigration, for such modes of life are un- 
 known there. There are all kinds of beautiful flowers, 
 which the inhabitants pluck to present as offerings to the 
 thousands and millions of Buddhas that reside in other 
 parts of space. Birds of the most licautiful plumage sing 
 day and night of the five principles of virtue, the five 
 sources of moral power, and the seven steps in knowledge. 
 The listener is so affected by their music, that he can 
 think only of Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood. The 
 life-time of this Buddha is without limit, lasting through 
 
234 CHINESE BUDDHISM, ^HfHHk 
 
 countless kalpas, and therefore he is called '' Amitabha ** 
 (Wu-liang-sheu, 'Boundless age"). Two Bodhisattwas 
 reside there, anxious to save a multitude of living beings, 
 who, with Amitabha, are worshipped assiduously by the 
 Northern Buddhists. They are, says the Wu-liang-sheu- 
 Jcing, Kwan-shi-yin and Ta-shi-chi. They radiate light 
 over three thousand great worlds. They attained their 
 rank by good deeds performed in our own world, and 
 were rewarded by birth into the Western paradise of 
 Amitabha. 
 
 The Amitabha Sutra, after minutely dilating on this 
 paradise, describes nine other worlds at a corresponding 
 distance from our own, and occupying, as in the former 
 case, the cardinal points and intermediate positions, with 
 the zenith and nadir. Ach'obhya and other Buddhas 
 rule in the East, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, 
 each proclaiming the doctrine that instructs and saves to 
 the inhabitants of his own kingdom. A similar account is 
 given of the other worlds and their Buddhas. 
 
 The two Sutras already cited, together with one called 
 Kwan-wu-liang-slieu-hing, are entirely occupied with Ami- 
 tabha and his paradise. These three works form the text- 
 books of the Tsing-tu school, whose very numerous publica- 
 tions, suited to the popular taste, and based on the doctrine 
 of these Sutras, are very widely disseminated among the 
 Chinese people at the present day. 
 
 In the last-mentioned work, Buddha, when seated in 
 the midst of his disciples, is said to have poured forth 
 from his eyebrows a flood of golden light wliich shone 
 to all the surrounding worlds. Tliis light returning was 
 seen by the assembly to form itself into a golden tower 
 on Buddha's head. It was like the Sumeru mountain, 
 and by its splendour many kingdoms of Buddhas were 
 revealed to view. One was constructed of the Seven pre- 
 cious stones and metals, another of lotus flowers, another 
 was like the palace of Ishwara, another like a crystal 
 mirror. A disciple, struck by this magnificent display, 
 
WORLD OF YO-SHf FO, S35 
 
 expressed a desire to be born in the Western heaven, and 
 Buddha told him how he might have his desire gratified. 
 This is an example of the manner in which the inventors 
 of this mythology intended, by scenes of vastness and 
 splendour, to affect the reader's or listener's mind. Feel- 
 ings favourable to the influence of Buddhist ideas were 
 thus to be called into action. 
 
 Another of these creations which has gained consider- 
 able notoriety is a world in the East ruled by Yo-sh/i Fo 
 (Bhaishajyaguru Buddha). There intervene between that 
 world and ours, kingdoms of Buddhas to the number of ten 
 times the sands of the Ganges. This personage, when he 
 was a Bodhisattwa, uttered twelve great wishes for the 
 benefit of living beings, including the removal of various 
 bodily and mental calamities from those who are afflicted 
 with them, and the lengthening of their life. Hence his 
 name, "The healing Teacher.*' In attendance on him 
 are two leading Bodhisattwas, whose names, Ji-kwang- 
 pien-chau, and Yue-hioang-pien-chau, signify the "Far- 
 shining light of the sun" and "of the moon." The world in 
 which he resides is composed of lapis-lazuli, its walls and 
 palaces of the seven precious stones and metals, its streets 
 of gold, thus resembling, as is observed by the author of 
 the Yo-sM-king, the Xi-lo-sM-kiai, or " Paradise of Amita- 
 bha." He is worshipped as a deity who removes suffer- 
 ings and lengthens life, and is in fact the symbol of these 
 ideas. While many of the fabulous beings introduced in 
 the literature of Northern Buddhism have no image or 
 shrine in the temples of the present day, Yo-shi Fo is one 
 of those who are very seldom omitted in the arrangement 
 of these edifices. 
 
 The freedom of imagination in creating new worlds 
 and new deities, in which the authors of this literature 
 indulged, would naturally lead to incongruities. Newly- 
 invented worlds would be located in regions already ap- 
 propriated by previous writers. In the Fa-hwa-king, a 
 circle of eight worlds, with two Buddhas to each, is de- 
 
236 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 scribed. Aniitabha and Ach'obhya occur in the west and 
 east respectively, the account agreeing in this respect 
 with that in the Amitahha Sutra, but the other names 
 do not harmonise ; so that in several cases new Buddhas 
 are imagined in regions preoccupied by those created at 
 an earlier date. 
 
 Accounts of many more of these fancied worlds might 
 be collected from other works. For example, in the Pei- 
 hwa-Jdng, one in the south-east with its Buddha, is de- 
 scribed with minuteness. 
 
 The symbolical character of this mythology is seen very 
 clearly in the attributes of the Bodhisattwas, who play in 
 it such an important part, and who are the objects of such 
 extended popular worship in the Buddhist countries of 
 the North. In Kwan-yin, mercy is symbolised ; wisdom, in 
 Wen-shu ; and happiness, in P'u-hien. To the philosophic 
 Buddhists, these personages, with Amitahha, Yo-shi Fo 
 and the others are nothing but signs of ideas. The unin- 
 structed Buddhists believe in their real existence, but all 
 the evidence goes to show that they were invented by the 
 former class of Buddhists, and palmed upon the people 
 by them as real beings proper to be worshipped. 
 
 A near parallel to this is the setting up of the image of 
 Reason to be popularly adored, by the atheists of the first 
 French revolution. If, as some think, the pantheism of 
 Germany will, according to the common law of progress 
 in human perversity, result in polytheism, we have here 
 an example of the way in which such a new idolatry will 
 possibly be introduced. 
 
 I append here some further account of Manjusiri, the 
 Bodhisattwa honoured at Wu-t*ai shan in North China. 
 
 These notices will also show how in the expansion of 
 the mythology which we meet with in the Sutras of the 
 Great Development, even China is made one of the coun- 
 tries, and Wu-t'ai one of the mountains, where Buddha 
 delivered discourses. 
 
 We learn from the Mongol account of Wu-t*ai, that 
 
WU-T'AT SHAN. tyf 
 
 Manjusiri is addressed in prayer as the enlightener of the 
 world. His wisdom is perfect, and is symbolised by the 
 sword he holds in his right hand; because his intellect 
 pierces the deepest recesses of Buddhist thought, and cuts 
 knots which cannot otherwise be solved. 
 
 He is also represented as holding in his hand a volume 
 of Buddha's teaching, of which a flower is the symbol. He 
 is styled also the lamp of wisdom and of supernatural 
 power. 
 
 He is said to drive away falsehood and ignorance from 
 the minds of all living beings, and on this ground the 
 lama who compiles the books prays to him for knowledge 
 in reverential terms. 
 
 The Hwa-yen-king, called in Mongol Olanggi sodar, is 
 cited in this work as recording an assembly of numberless 
 Bodhisattwas at Wu-t*ai, among whom Manjusiri is con- 
 spicuous in power and in honour. To faithful Buddhists, 
 the mention, in a discourse of Buddha, of a Chinese moun- 
 tain, is evidence of the superhuman knowledge of the sage. 
 But as we know that Nagarjuna was the real writer of this 
 work, we look upon it rather as proof that the geography 
 of China was known to the translators of the works of this 
 copious author, and that they lived in a time when this 
 mountain had already become a favourite abode of the 
 devotees of this religion in that country. 
 
 In another book quoted by the author, Manjusiri is in- 
 formed by Buddha, that it is his duty to seek the instruc- 
 tion and salvation of the Chinese by making his home at 
 Wu-t'ai, and there causing the wheel of the law to revolve 
 incessantly on the five mountains of the five different 
 colours, and crowned by five variously-shaped pagodas. 
 
 The lotus will not grow at Wu-t'ai. It is too cold. 
 How shall Manjusiri be born from its ample couch of 
 leaves ? The magical power of Buddha causes a lotus to 
 grow from the seed of a certain tree. Thus he was with- 
 out father or mother, and was not stained with the " pollu- 
 tion of the common world " (orchilang). 
 
238 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The legend of Manjusiri at Wu-t'ai seemed to require the 
 authority of Buddha. The translators of the Mahayana 
 Sutras in the T'ang dynasty — in order to supply this want 
 — did not scruple to insert what they pleased in their 
 translations. Certainly Wu-t'ai was not a Buddhist esta- 
 blishment till some centuries after Nagarjuna. If some 
 Sanscrit scholar would consult the Nepaulese Hwa-yen- 
 king, he would probably find nothing there about Wu-t'ai 
 shan. It would be curious to note what the original 
 says in those passages where China is introduced by the 
 translators. 
 
( 239 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 BUDDHIST IMAGES AND IMAGE WORSHIP. 
 
 Temples— Entering hall, S'i-ta-tHen-wang — These four kings described 
 —The laughing Buddha, Mi-li Fo — Behind him, Wei-to — Chief 
 hall Ta-hiung-pau-tien — Shaky amuni — Ananda — Kashiapa — 
 Kwan-yin, Wen-shu, and other Bodhisattwas — Buddha repre- 
 sented as teaching — Buddha of the past, present, and future — 
 Chapels to 0-nii-to Fo, Ti-tsang, and the Ten kings— Repre- 
 sentation of the eight miseries from which Kwan-yin delivers — 
 Temples in Ceylon — Images in temples near Peking — Tan-cho- 
 tH snake — Pi-yiin-si — Hall of Lo-hans — Diamond throne of 
 Buddha — Colossal images of Maitreya — Musical instruments — 
 Reflections. 
 
 The temples of the Buddhists, like other Chinese struc- 
 tures, usually look south. Their architecture also is simi- 
 lar. Temples cut in rock, like those of the same religion 
 in India and Java, are not found. In natural caves, how- 
 ever, and on hill sides images are sometimes cut from the 
 stone. Temples consist of several halls and chapels called 
 by a common name, tien. In the " entering hall " (si-iHen 
 wang-tien), two colossal wooden statues meet the eye on 
 each side. These are the Mahdrdjas, or " Four great kings 
 of Devas," or S'i-ta-Vien-wang. 
 
 The Sanscrit names are explained: " Vaishramana " 
 (Pi-sha-men), " He who has heard much; " " Dhritarashtra " 
 {Ti-to-lo-to), " Protector of kingdoms; " " Virudhaka " {Pi- 
 leU'U'cha), "Increased grandeur; "and Virupaksha {Pi- 
 lieu-pa-cha), "Large eyes." They are called in Chinese 
 To-wen, Ch%-kwo, Tseng-chang, and Kwang-mu. 
 
 They govern the contiuents lying in the direction of the 
 four cardinal points from Mount Sumeru, the supposed 
 centre of the world. 
 
240 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 In the Kin-kwang-ming'king, they are described ag 
 actively interfering in the affairs of the world. When 
 kings and nations neglect the law of Buddha, they with- 
 draw their protection. They bestow all kinds of happi- 
 ness on those that honour the San-pau (Three treasures), 
 viz., Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood. 
 
 Properly they are all warlike, but as seen in temples 
 they are dressed in different modes. He of the South holds 
 a sword. He has a black countenance and ferocious ex- 
 pression. The others have blue, red, and white faces. One 
 holds in his hands a "guitar" (p'i-pa), at the sound of 
 which all the world begins to listen, or, as some say, the 
 camps of his enemies take fire. Another has an umbrella 
 in his hand, at the elevation of which a violent storm of 
 thunder and rain commences; or, according to others, 
 universal darkness ensues. Another holds in his hand a 
 snake, or some other animal hostile to man, but by his 
 power made submissive and instrumental to the wishes of 
 its conqueror. 
 
 Between them and the south wall are sometimes placed 
 two figures in military attire and with fierce countenances, 
 called Heng-Eo-er-tdang, "the two generals Heng and 
 Ho." 
 
 In the same building, opposite the door, is usually an 
 image of Maitreya Buddha " {Mi-li Fo), or the Buddha 
 to come. The Sanscrit name, Maitreya, means the " Merci- 
 ful one." He is always represented as very stout, with the 
 breast and upper abdomen exposed to view. His face 
 has a laughing expression. After three thousand years he 
 will appear in the world and open a new era. 
 
 An image of Kwan-fu-tsi the Chinese deified hero, in 
 his capacity as protector of the Budelhist religion, is also 
 sometimes placed in this hall on one side of the north 
 door. Behind Maitreya is the image of Wet-to, a Deva 
 who is stiled Hu-fa-wei-to, or the " Deva who protects the 
 Buddhist religion." He is represented clad in complete 
 armour and holds a sceptre-shaped weapon of assault 
 
TA-HIUNG-PAU-TIEN, 241 
 
 usually resting on the ground. He is general under the 
 Four kings. 
 
 The shrine in which these two idols are placed forms a 
 screen to a door behind, which opens into the court oi 
 the *' Great hall " called Ta-hiung-pau-tien. This is ap- 
 propriated to the images of Shakyamuni Buddha and a 
 select number of his disciples. He is represented in an 
 attitude of contemplation, sitting on a lotus-leaf dais ; 
 Ananda, a young-looking figure, and Kashiapa, an old man, 
 are placed on his right and left. On the east and west 
 sides of the hall are arranged eighteen figures of " Arhans " 
 (Lo-hans). They are represented as possessing various 
 kinds of supernatural power, symbolised in some instances 
 by wild animals crouching submissively beside them. 
 They listen to Buddha, some with though tfulness, some 
 with pleasure. Along the north wall are often to be seen 
 the images of Jan-teng, an ancient Buddha, and of six 
 Bodhisattwas and disciples of Shakyamuni, viz., Kwan-yin, 
 Fu-hien, Shi-chi, Wen-shu,Shariputra,and Maudgalyayana. 
 This is the arrangement at the Kwang-fu-si, the princi- 
 pal monastery in Shanghai. Wen-shu and P'u-hien often 
 take the right and left of the central Buddha. Be- 
 hind the three central images, and looking northwards, is 
 usually placed an image of Kwan-yin with rock, cloud, and 
 ocean scenery i*udely carved in wood and gaudily painted. 
 This Bodhisattwa,with Wen-shu and P'u-hien, is sometimes 
 placed in front, as at Lung-hwa, near Shanghai, Kwan-yin 
 occupying the centre, immediately behind Shakyamuni, 
 who then sits alone on his dais in the midst of the hall. 
 This hall, the highest and largest building in the whole 
 monastery, takes its name from one of Buddha's titles, 
 Ta-hiung, or " Great hero " — in Sanscrit, Virah — with the 
 addition of the word pau, " precious." 
 
 The image of Kwan-yin has several forms corresponding 
 to the various metamorphoses which he or she assumes. 
 Two of the commonest are those of the Northern and 
 Southern sea. In the large cloud-and-water picture in 
 
 Q 
 
342 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 alto-relievo, of which he so often forms the principal figure, 
 several smaller personages are added to lend variety to the 
 scene. The Four kings of Devas are occasional!}^ employed 
 for this purpose, and still more frequently a female figure, 
 Lung-nu^ "Daughter of the Dragon king," and a youth 
 called Shan-ts'ai, who form interlocutors in some of the 
 Sutras. Another metamorphosis of Kwan-yin is repre- 
 sented in a female figure, holding in her arms a child. It 
 is in reference to this image that a parallel has often been 
 instituted between Kwan-yin and the Virgin Mary. A 
 stranger who did not take notice of minute peculiarities 
 in dress, would very naturally have the idea of similarity 
 presented to him, and mistake the child which the goddess 
 presents to mothers praying for posterity, for the infant 
 Saviour. It is in part from such resemblances that Hue 
 has adopted the hypothesis that the modern form of Bud- 
 dhism in Thibet arose from a mixture of Christianity 
 with that religion. Sometimes Kwan-yin appears with a 
 thousand hands, symbolising his desire to save all man- 
 kind. 
 
 The interval between the hall of the Four great kings 
 of the Devas, and that of Shakyamuni, is occasionally 
 occupied by another hall. Kwan-yin of the Southern sea 
 may be seen here pictured with his usual attendants. Be- 
 hind, looking northwards, is often found a scene in honour 
 of Ti-tsang Bodhisattwa. He is surrounded with cloud 
 and rock carving, on the abutments of which are seen the 
 ten kings of hell. They all listen to the instructions of 
 this Bodhisattwa, who seeks to save mankind from the 
 punishments over tlie infliction of which they preside. 
 The Hindoo god "Yama" (Yen-lo-wang) is the fifth of 
 them. Sometimes in this intermediate space there is a 
 structure called the hall of the Lo-hans, where are found 
 on the east and west walls, small carved figures of the five 
 hundred Arhans of Buddhist legends. They are placed on 
 the protuberances of a rough alto-relievo scene such as 
 those above described. In other instances this repre 
 
 I 
 
 « 
 
 1 
 
ANANDA, KASHTAPA, &*c. 243 
 
 sentation of the five hundred Arhans is placed over the 
 more powerful and better known eighteen Arhans in the 
 hall of Sliakyamuni. 
 
 In the central hall, representatives of all the four ranks 
 above the range of the metempsychosis are found, as will 
 be seen from the preceding details. Disciples of the lower 
 ranks, who are, however, delivered from the world of life 
 and death, and are called sheng-wen, " listeners," are repre- 
 sented in Ananda and Kashiapa ; the one holding a writ- 
 ten scroll emblematic of his great work, the compilation 
 of the Sutras ; the other resting on a staff, the symbol of 
 his office, as successor of Buddha in the patriarchate. 
 They are bareheaded and close shaved. The "Arhans" 
 (A-lo-han), eighteen in number, speak for themselves as 
 to the extraordinary power, knowledge, and gratification 
 which they have gained through listening to the teaching 
 of Buddha, by their attitudes as conquerors of evil, and 
 defenders of good, and by the expression of intelligence 
 and pleasure which the artist has attempted to depict on 
 their countenances. The rank above this, that of Bodhi- 
 sattwa, uniting great knowledge and power with strong 
 desire to save those beings who are still involved in the 
 metempsychosis, is represented in Wen-shu and P'u-hien 
 wearing crowns gilt and ornamented in the lotus-leaf shape. 
 To the highest rank of all in wisdom and power, that of 
 Buddha, belong Shakyamuni, and his instructor in a for- 
 mer life, Jan-teng. They have short curly hair formed of 
 shells, and painted a dark blue. Devas sometimes appear 
 there, e.g., " Brahma " {Fan-tHen) and " Shakra " (Ti-shih), 
 who in some temples make two of six auditors of Buddha, 
 the others being Ananda and Kashiapa, P'u-hien and 
 Wenshu. 
 
 As the principal hall is appropriated to the four highest 
 classes of beings recognised by Buddhism, so the hall of 
 the Four Diamond kings, or kings of the Devas, contains 
 the images of those beings still involved in the wheel of 
 the metempsychosis, so far as they are considered by the 
 
244 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Buddhists as proper to be worshipped. Wei-to and the 
 Four kings with their attendants all belong to the class of 
 Devas or inhabitants of heaven. The presence of Maitreya 
 there may be accounted for by the fact, that he as the pre- 
 dicted successor of Shakyamuni in the office of Buddha, 
 now resides in the Tushita paradise, from which at the 
 appointed time he will descend to the earth, to assume the 
 duties assigned him. He is not yet therefore exempt from 
 the metempsychosis. 
 
 In the monasteries of Ceylon, a small temple termed 
 Dewala is placed before the chief building, and dedicated 
 to the worship of the Devas {vide Hardy's Eastern Monach- 
 ism). Thus in both cases, the visitor arrives first at the 
 hall where the metempsychosis still prevails, and after- 
 wards passes on to the abode of the Buddhas and Bodhi- 
 sattwas. 
 
 Looking at the arrangements of these two parts of a 
 Buddhist temple from another point of view, the large 
 central hall already described is intended to symbolise 
 Buddha giving his instructions to an assembly of disciples, 
 while the leading idea of the entering hall is the repre- 
 sentation of the powerful protection by celestial beings 
 enjoyed by the Buddhist religion and its professors. In 
 some large temples, Wei-to, and a king of the Devas, hold- 
 ing a pagoda in his hand, stand with the usual figures on 
 the right and left of Shakyamuni. Twenty Devas, ten on 
 each side, are also sometimes placed at the south end of 
 the two rows of Arlians that line the eastern and western 
 walls. This accords with the descriptions given in the 
 Sutras of the audience gathered round Buddha on remark- 
 able occasions, when the inhabitants of the various celes- 
 tial mansions hold a conspicuous position among the crowd 
 of his disciples. The carrying out of this thought is 
 doubtless the prevailing aim in the choice of personages, 
 attitudes, dress, and positions, and all is in agreement with 
 the "Developed" Sutras or those of the Mahay aua class 
 used by the Northern Buddhists. 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
CHAPELS TO 0-MI-TO FO, TI-TSANG, 6^c. 245 
 
 Exceptions to this rule occur. For example, figures 
 illustrating the thirty-two points of personal beauty be- 
 longing to Buddha are in some temples placed where the 
 Arhans are usually found. So also, in large temples, in- 
 stead of the two disciples on each side of Juki, are two 
 other figures of Buddha, representing the future and the 
 past, as the central one does the present. The three 
 imajres are much alike, and each of them wears the close- 
 fitting skull-cap of painted shells which is always appro- 
 priated to Buddha. 
 
 Facts of this latter class point to another aim as influ- 
 encing the arrangement of the figures, that of presenting 
 to the mind of the visitor a picture of the conception of 
 Buddha, in its most expanded form, each image exhibiting 
 a distinct feature of the ideal whole to the contemplation 
 of the worshipper. This principle of arrangement is, how- 
 ever, followed much less frequently than the former. 
 
 The idea of celestial protection as prevailing in the 
 arrangement of the entering hall, has already been illus- 
 trated in the description of the Four kings and of Wei-to. 
 It may be further observed, that the beings called K'ia-lan 
 (Ga-lam) or protectors of the " monasteries " (sangarama), 
 viz., Kwan-ti, the god of war, and others, are placed here 
 in vacant spaces, as in a suitable spot. 
 
 The other " chapels " (tien) or halls are erected on the 
 side of or behind the central structure. They are appro- 
 priated to Yo-shi" Fo, 0-mi-to Fo, Ti-tsang p'u-sa, and the 
 ten kings of hell. Other names occur, such as the liall 
 of the thousand Buddhas, &c., but these are the most 
 common. 
 
 In some instances, as for example in the Kwan-yin- 
 tien, there are two images, one light enough to be carried 
 in a sedan chair for processions, another larger for daily 
 worship. Kwan-yin is sometimes represented in eight 
 metamorphoses, assumed for the purpose of saving men 
 from eight kinds of suffering. Shipwrecked sailors, in 
 one part of the carving, are seen reaching the shore. In 
 
246 CHINESE BUDDHISM. §| 
 
 another some traveller escapes from a wild beast. The 
 deliverer Kwan-yin stands by. In a scene of this kind, the 
 image of this divinity is thus repeated eight times, besides 
 the larger one in the centre. The whole is called Pa-nan 
 Kwan-yin, " the Kwan-yin of eight kinds of suffering." 
 
 Kwan-yin is also occasionally found in a subordinate 
 position, as one of the two supporters of " Amitabha Bud- 
 dha" {0-mi-to Fo), Shi-chi being the other. They are 
 called together the three sages of the west. 0-mi-to is 
 also called Tsie-yin Fo, or the " Buddha who receives suffer- 
 ing mortals to the rest of the Western paradise over which 
 he presides, and to which he guides them." 
 
 The usual right and left supporters of Yo-shi Fo, the 
 Buddha of the East, are Yo-tsang p*u-sa and Yo-wang 
 p'u-sa. These preside over medicine, but the jurisdiction 
 of the Buddha himself is not limited to healing ; it includes 
 all kinds of calamity. He is sometimes represented like 
 Shakyamuni with three images, denoting the past, present, 
 and future. 
 
 Ti-tsang is often attended by the ten kings of hell, from 
 whose punishments he seeks to save mankind. All of 
 them, except Yama, have Chinese names. Some of them 
 point to particular localities, as Pien-ch'eng, or the city 
 of K'ai-feng fu. T'ai-shan is a mountain of Shan-tung. 
 Others refer to attributes, as p'ing-teng, " even," chuen-lun, 
 the " turner of the wheel (of doctrine)." Criminals receiv- 
 ing punishments and attendants are also represented by 
 small earthen or wooden figures. The ten kings all stand 
 when in the presence of Ti-tsang p*u-sa; but if Tung- 
 ngo-ti-kiun, a Tauist divinity, presides, they may sit, he 
 being little superior to them in rank. Most of the names 
 of these ten kings are of Chinese origin and not many 
 centuries old. 
 
 Ti-tsang is represented by the priests as the son of a 
 king of Siam. He has a full round countenance of mild 
 aspect, with a lotus-leaf crown, the usual head furniture 
 of a Bodhisattwa. 
 
 I 
 
THE GOD OF WEALTH. 247 
 
 The figures on his right and left are sometimes Muh- 
 kien-lien and P'ang-kli-shi, disciples of Shaky aniiini Bud- 
 dha. Elsewhere Min-kung and Min-tsi take this position. 
 The former was a Chinese who gave the land at Kieu-hwa, 
 the hill some miles west of Nanking, on which is erected 
 a large monastery in honour of Ti-tsang. Min-tsi is his 
 son. Two other disciples, who act as " servants " of the 
 Bodhisattwa {shl-clie), are also represented by two other 
 smaller figures. 
 
 The idols called P*u-sa sit when in their own shrines, 
 but if in the presence of Buddha they stand. 
 
 Tauist idols are numerously employed in the Buddhist 
 temples. Kwan-ti, Lung-wang, and Hwa-kwang have been 
 formally adopted by the sect as protecting divinities. 
 Several of a medical character are also extensively made 
 use of, obviously to attract those who in time of sickness 
 seek aid from supernatural sources. Diseases of the eye, 
 ulcers, the small-pox, and bodily ailments in general are 
 assigned to the care of various heavenly beings, and the 
 sick in large numbers seek their assistance. "He who 
 presides over riches," Ts'ai-shen, whose popularity is un- 
 rivalled among all the Chinese divinities, has also a shrine 
 bestowed on him. There are also many others, such as 
 San-kwan, Yii-ti, &c., which, as properly belonging to 
 Tauism, will not be described here. 
 
 Celebrated Chinese Buddhists have also images where 
 the arrangements of a temple are complete. That of 
 " Bodhidharma " (Ta-mo ch'u-shi) is frequently met with 
 in temples where priests of the tmng-men reside, as also 
 that of the founder of the monastery. 
 
 According to the explanations of the philosophic Bud- 
 dhists, the principle of arrangement and the use of idols 
 at all must be viewed as symbolical, as already remarked. 
 When the worshipper enters he is met with the idea of 
 " protection " from celestial beings. As he advances into 
 the presence of Buddha, he sees in his image " intelligence," 
 the fruit of long and thoughtful contemplation. In the 
 
248 , CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 Bodhisattwas are exhibited " knowledge and mercy " com- 
 bined. In the Arhans he sees those who have become 
 " venerable " by years, wisdom, and a long course of as- 
 ceticism. In the sheng-weny the bareheaded "disciple," 
 he sees the first step in progress towards the Nirvana, the 
 introduction to the other three. When he bows before 
 these images, and makes his offering of incense, candles, 
 and gilt paper, this also is a symbol. It only means the 
 reverence with which he receives the instructions of Bud- 
 dhism. 
 
 The common people, however, as happens in Christian 
 countries where the worship of images prevails, see in each 
 idol a powerful divinity, and losing sight of the moral and 
 intellectual objects of the system, pray to be freed from 
 sickness, poverty, childlessness, an early death, and other 
 dreaded evils. Such a faith in the objects of their idola- 
 try is of course encouraged to the utmost by the priests, 
 whose prosperity depends upon the number of the wor- 
 shippers. 
 
 In April 1858, I visited at Galle, in Ceylon, two Bud- 
 dhist temples. The image of Buddlia is remarkably like 
 what it is in China. The skull-cap, the posture, and 
 the form of the body are the same. It is made of mud 
 and gilt in the same manner. Three Buddhas were 
 represented, and they were all called Godam and Shakya- 
 muni. The disciples were Mogallana, Shariputra, Ka- 
 liula, Ananda, and Kashiapa. The last two of these do 
 not, as in China, occupy the nearest place to Buddha. 
 Brahma and Vishnu were the kings of the Devas repre- 
 sented. 
 
 I noticed a pictorial representation of heaven and hell, 
 and I know not what more, upon the four faces of a square 
 screen that completely surrounded Buddha's image. On 
 the inside face of the screen were images of Vishnu and 
 Brahma, with other Devas. A Garuda attended Vishnu. 
 
 Beside the smaller temple was a shipa or " tomb" of Bud- 
 dha. It was a handsome circular mausoleum, apparently 
 
TEMPLES IN CEYLON. 249 
 
 of stone, twelve or fourteen feet in height. In China this 
 would be a pagoda. 
 
 In the series of painted tableaux, hell was on the left, 
 and heaven on the right. Heaven was also on the back 
 of the screen. 
 
 Beside each temple lives a priest in a yellow hasha, 
 with his pupils, whom he teaches to read. Fresh flowers 
 of the strongest odours are constantly placed in abundance 
 on the altar before Buddha. There were also oil lamps, 
 which were not lit. Both temples were on an eminence 
 in secluded spots and encircled by trees. 
 
 A few cottages of the Singhalese were near. They 
 looked wretchedly poor. 
 
 A friend with me from Siam, Mr. Alabaster, informed 
 me that the temples in Ceylon are entirely different in 
 appearance from what they are in Siam. The following 
 is the arrangement of the images in a temple at the 
 Western hills near Peking. In the centre, Shakyamuni; 
 on his right, Kwan-yin; on his left, Shi-chi. In front 
 there are three large fans (a cylindrical cloth is so called), 
 embroidered with inscriptions, hanging from the roof- 
 beams. The dais on which are the three images is sup- 
 ported by lions, elephants, and griffins. The horse-shoe 
 shaped aureole which encircles Buddha's head is carved 
 with winged monsters and warriors. 
 
 Paper rubbings of the sixteen Lohans from Hang-cheu 
 hang on the side walls. These are celebrated as having 
 been carved in the T'ang dynasty. They were made 
 eighteen at a later period. The sixteen were Hindoo, and 
 there are Sanscrit characters on the fifth in order. The 
 addition of two is due to Chinese love of change, originat- 
 ing with we do not know whom. 
 
 If the observer is reminded in the carved entablatures 
 of stone pagodas of old date, that there is a resemblance 
 to Greek and Roman sculpture, let him meditate on the 
 idea that Alexander's conquest of Persia and invasion of 
 India was a signal for a host of new thoughts to originate 
 
250 CHINESE BUDDHISM. ^ 
 
 in the countries conquered. Stone sculpture may have 
 come in this way into India, and elevated the ruder art 
 there prevailing. 
 
 In Peking and its neighbourhood metal images are not 
 uncommon. Shakyamuni and the two favourite disciples 
 who usually accompany him are sometimes seen made of 
 copper or white copper, about six feet high, with hanging 
 bands of yellow cloth suspended in front of them. To 
 these bands small bells are attached, which ring when 
 shaken with the wind, or when touched by the priests or 
 by visitors coming forward to burn incense. 
 
 In North China it is also common to see pictures of 
 Buddhist subjects painted more or less rudely on the 
 walls of the halls where the images are seen. 
 
 One of the forms, as said already, in which the goddess 
 of mercy is adored is as the " Kwan-yin of the eight 
 misfortunes " which attend unprotected travellers. In 
 painting them on walls travellers are seen, for example, 
 on a mountain attacked by robbers, who draw their bows at 
 their intended victims. Just at this moment the goddess 
 and her attendant appear in the air, and save the travel- 
 lers by rendering them invisible. This is accomplished 
 by pouring a fluid from a bottle which becomes a cloud in 
 its descent, and intervenes between the travellers and the 
 banditti. 
 
 In the monasteries in North China are sometimes found 
 a tooth of Buddha, or some other relic. One tooth I saw 
 at the temple called Teu-shwai-si was two inches and a 
 half thick and ten by thirteen in width. Kelics are kept 
 in bottles and shown to visitors. 
 
 In the T'ang dynasty a vast number of temples and 
 pagodas were erected. It became the fashion then, under 
 the influence of the superstition of feng-slmi, which came 
 into vogue in the time of that dynasty, to build pagodas for 
 luck as well as to contain relics. The pagoda of T'ien- 
 ning-si, near Peking, on the south-west, and dating from 
 the Sui dynasty, must have been then in the old city. The 
 
INTERIOR OF IMAGES. 251 
 
 Pa-li-chwang pagoda would be a fcng-shui protector on 
 the north of the ancient city. On both these pagodas, 
 which are strongly built of stone, there are carved Buddhas 
 and Deva kings on large entablatures. The former and 
 older of these pagodas grows narrower as it rises. The 
 other is almost as wide above as below. 
 
 The Peking custom in making large images, whether 
 they are of brass, iron, wood, or clay, is to construct them 
 with the internal organs as complete as possible. While 
 the smaller images are filled with Thibetan incense or 
 cotton wool, the larger have the interior arranged accord- 
 ing to Chinese notions of anatomy. The heads are always 
 empty. The chief viscera of the chest and abdomen are 
 always represented. They are of silk or satin, and their 
 shape is that found in drawings of the organs in native 
 medical works. A round red piece of silk represents the 
 heart, whose element is fire. It is the size of a dollar. It 
 and the lungs, which are white, and divided into three 
 lobes, are attached to a piece of wood, round which is 
 wound a piece of yellow paper, having on it a Thibetan 
 prayer. To the wood is attached, by silk threads of five 
 colours, a metallic mirror called ming-hing. This repre- 
 sents intelligence, the heart being regarded as the seat of 
 mind. The lungs cover the heart as an umbrella or Hd, as 
 if to preserve it from injury. 
 
 In the abdomen the intestines are made of long narrow 
 pieces of silk with cotton wool stitched along the concave 
 border. This may represent fat or the mesentery. Em- 
 bracing all, like the peritoneum, is a large piece of silk 
 covered with prayers or charms. Inside are also to be 
 found little bags containing the five kinds of grain, with 
 pearls, jade, small ingots of silver, and gold of five canda- 
 reens' weight, and bits of solder of various shapes to repre- 
 sent silver. 
 
 The larger and older idols have, in very many cases, 
 been rifled of these little valuables, no one knows when. 
 Poor priests in want of money, if the fear of sacrilege is 
 
252 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 not strong in their minds, know where to get help, so that 
 idols, in the interior of which gold and silver were once de- 
 posited, have now none. In the metallic images, the way 
 to get to the inside is from the bottom. As they are very 
 heavy, they have usually escaped being robbed. But the 
 clay and wooden images are packed from a hole in the 
 back, and are more liable to thievish depredation. 
 
 When the idols are set up there is a ceremony of conse- 
 cration. The priests prostrate themselves before them, 
 and a film of clay or some other substance is cleared away 
 from the eyes of the idols. It is called the ceremony of 
 opening to the light, and the day is spoken of as h^ai- 
 hwang-ji-tsi. 
 
 I am indebted to Dr. Dudgeon for the preceding state- 
 ment of the contents of Buddhist images in Peking. 
 
 The richest temple at the Western hills near Peking 
 is that called Tan-cho-si. It has a revenue of twelve 
 thousand taels of silver a year. This is between three and 
 four thousand pounds. In 1866 I arrived there one even- 
 ing with some friends and slept in a guest room. At the 
 evening service there were about forty priests performing. 
 In addition to chanting they struck the wooden fish, 
 clashed cymbals together, and had several other kinds of 
 simple instruments. At the end of the service they all 
 walked in single file round the hall twice behind the 
 images. The reason why the three principal images in 
 front of the great central door are placed with a space be- 
 hind them is, that a procession behind may be practicable. 
 It is also convenient to have a door there, and in front of 
 the door an image or picture, wliich is, consequently, at 
 the back of the three principal idols. 
 
 In a box given a century ago to this monastery by the 
 emperor, and placed near the western wall of the large 
 hall, is a snake two feet long. Beside it is a porcelain tray 
 of fresh water. When a rap on the box is given by the 
 attendant priest, the snake moves its tongue out about 
 half an inch, vibrating it in token of reverence and 
 
TAN-CHO-ST SNAKE. 253 
 
 submission. It takes nothing but water. So the priest 
 assured us. If we are to believe him, it had been there 
 for two thousand years. The snake is not worshipped as 
 a divinity, but rather represents the power of Buddha 
 in charming and taming a savage nature. It was a snake 
 with brown body and black spots, and its head was small. 
 The power of Buddha keeps the animal in subjection. 
 That is the theory. If the snake goes out of the box, 
 as it does occasionally to take an airing, it returns to it as 
 to its home. 
 
 We also saw a structure called the Leng-y en-Van. It has 
 eight sides, and is used as an altar to represent in its 
 carved ornaments the scenes of the Leng-y en-king. The 
 central figure is what is called a Pratyeka Buddha. Kound 
 it on the eight sides are carved eight representatives of 
 Shakyamuni. Above them are crowns of flowers. Sin- 
 gularly enough there are placed here six Portuguese 
 sailors, with iron cuirasses and broad-brimmed hats, in 
 European fashion. Each of them kneels on one knee, and 
 holds up with both hands an ofiering to Buddha. They 
 are small iron figures, made in the time of the Ming 
 dynasty, and are called Si-yang-jen. This is the name by 
 which the Portuguese are known in China. 
 
 There is behind the Leng-yen-Van an altar for receiving 
 new monks to the vows, that is, a Kiai-Van, consisting of 
 two stories. On the upper story or terrace are arranged 
 chairs for the abbot and his assessors. The abbot sits on 
 the central chair, and six monks on each side. The neophyte 
 kneels with his face toward the " abbot " or fang-chang, 
 from whom he is separated by a table. The rules are read 
 by the abbot while the neophyte kneels. 
 
 Tan also belongs to the school of the " Vinaya" or Zil-men. 
 
 There had been a storm of rain, and we were invited by 
 a friendly priest to go and see the foaming and dashing 
 water near the great gate of the monastery. The bed of 
 the stream is steep, and filled with large stones. The 
 water coming down the mountain after a storm rushes 
 
254 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 madly over boulders and gravel to the bridge, and 
 shown to every visitor. 
 
 Near this spot is a small temple in honour of Pratyeka 
 Buddha. The temple is called An-lo-yen-sheu-tang. The 
 terrace on which is placed the image of Pratyeka Buddha 
 is supported by four protectors of the law of Buddha. 
 These four personages were once in a robber band of five 
 hundred men, and they lived at that time for nothing but 
 crime. They were subdued to virtue by the teaching of 
 Buddha. In gratitude for the enlightenment they received, 
 they offered to carry Buddha henceforth on their shoulders. 
 
 The Pratyeka Buddha wears the skull-cap of the ordi- 
 nary Buddha. It is supposed to be the form assumed by 
 the hair after several years of ascetic retirement in moun- 
 tain solitudes. 
 
 At Pi-yiln si, a temple twelve miles west of Peking, 
 there is a hall of five hundred Lo-hans. The buildingr is 
 a large square, and contains six galleries. It is entered 
 from the north. The first figure met by the visitor is 
 Maitreya. He faces the door. Beyond and behind him 
 is the central north and south gallery. On each side of 
 it, as of the other five galleries, are seated full-sized figures 
 of Lo-hans. They are of clay and seated on a stone terrace 
 two feet in height. To the right and left are parallel 
 galleries. Four small courts in the centres of the four 
 quarters of the large square give light by continuous rows 
 of paper windows to the galleries. On a beam overhead, 
 near the entrance, is a small figure, the five hundred and 
 first, which was placed there as a supplementary image. 
 The story is that this Lo-han came too late, the places 
 were all filled, and, therefore, he was accommodated with 
 a seat in the roof. 
 
 In another court are representations of the future state. 
 Mountain scenery, clouds, bridges, lakes, as well as men 
 and other living beings, are represented in clay. The five 
 principal Bodhisattwas preside, and especially Ti-tsam/. 
 Good Buddhists are seen crossing a bridge with happy 
 
DESCRIPTION OF A TEMPLE. 255 
 
 faces. Bad men are pushed by demons into a place of 
 torture below. Various cruel punishments arc represented. 
 Everything is in carefully moulded and coloured clay. 
 Kivan-yin is associated with Ti-tsang in presiding in the 
 side halls. Along with the three other divinities, Wen-shu, 
 P'u-hien, and Ta-slii-cM, they preside with equal honour 
 in the centre hall. On the coloured rock-work, the tor- 
 tures of the wicked and the happiness of the good are 
 mixed, to indicate the results of Buddhist teaching as 
 imparted by the five divine instructors. 
 
 Above these courts is the chief court of the temple with 
 Shakyamuni's hall, the residences of the priests, and the 
 guest rooms. In the principal guest room there is a large 
 picture hung on the wall descriptive of an ancient Chinese 
 princess, Chau-chitin, who was demanded by the king of 
 the Hiung-nu Tartars as an indispensable condition of 
 peace, and was sent to Tartary accordingly. She leaped 
 into the Black River and was drowned. In the picture 
 she looks unhappy at the forced exile from her home and 
 country. At some distance behind her is the Shan-yu or 
 emperor of the Hiung-nu. 
 
 Above this hall is a very handsome marble gateway. 
 It is flanked by large stone lions. The pillars are sur- 
 mounted also by lions. The cross-beams are carved with 
 phoenixes above and dragons below. Two large entabla- 
 tures have carved scenes representing the triumph of the 
 four virtues — hiau, " filial piety," chung, " loyalty," lien, 
 " official purity uncorrupted by bribes," and tsie, " chastity." 
 Certain celebrated persons are here represented. Above 
 this is a pagoda of the shape called Kin-kang pau-tso, 
 " Diamond throne." It is very massive and is built with 
 blocks of marble. On the square flat summit are seven 
 small pagodas surmounted with bronze caps. The larger 
 ones have thirteen stories, but they are very shallow. 
 There are various inscriptions cut in the stone, Thibetan 
 and Chinese. The view of Peking from the sumndt is 
 very fine. 
 
 In the province of Che-kiang I have seen two large 
 

 256 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 stone images of Buddha cut out of mountain rock. One 
 is at Hang-cheu, and the other at a town called Sin-chang. 
 The second of these is the larger of the two. The road 
 to it extends a mile and a half to the south-east of the 
 city, and it is seventy feet high. That at Hang-cheu is 
 not, I believe, more than forty. The Sin-chang image is 
 more than a thousand years old, and was cut by the 
 labour of a father, son, and grandson, requiring the 
 chiselling of three generations. It is an image of Mai- 
 treya, the coming Buddha. Being so majestic in height, 
 the sight of this image is very impressive. It is about 
 the height of Nebuchadnezzar's image on the plains of 
 Dura, and has a reflecting benevolent aspect. 
 
 The wooden image of Maitreya in Peking, at the large 
 lamasery, Yung-ho-kung, is still higher. 
 
 The traditional height of Shakyamuni, the historical 
 Buddha, is sixteen feet. That of Maitreya appears to be 
 sixty. Let it be remembered that teeth of Buddha and 
 also his footsteps in rocks are of monstrous size. 
 
 In Hiuen-tsang's travels he mentions a statue of wood 
 at Dardu, to the north of Cashmere and the Punjab. It 
 was a hundred feet high, and was executed by the Lo-han 
 Madhyantika, who converted to Buddhism the king of 
 Cashmere and all his people. By magic he raised a 
 sculptor to the Tushita paradise to see for himself the 
 wonderful form of Maitreya. After going up three times 
 he executed this image. 
 
 An enormous tope, or Buddhist tower, was seen by the 
 traveller ten li east of Peshawur, in the Punjab. It was 
 three hundred and fifty feet round, and eight hundred feet 
 high. Every Buddhist structure in China is dwarfish be- 
 side this. From its erection till the year a.d. 550, a period 
 of eight hundred and forty-two years were said to have 
 passed. This would show that in B.C. 292 Buddhism was 
 the prevalent faith in the Punjab (Koeppen, p. 191). 
 Modem travellers have found it west of the city, and 
 still remarkable for its immense size. It was built — if 
 this statement can be accepted — in the reign of Chandra- 
 
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. 257 
 
 gupta (^avBpaKOTTOfi), with whom Seleucus concluded a 
 treaty, and at whose court at Pataliputra, the Greek his- 
 torian Megasthenes appeared as an ambassador. But the 
 Chinese travellers ascribe it to Kanishka ; and this can be 
 believed, for it is only in the time of powerful monarchs 
 that monuments of this size can be erected ; and Kanishka 
 was a most devoted Buddhist. He was a contemporary of 
 Augustus and Antony, as is known by coins. (See in 
 Koeppen, p. 192.) 
 
 The prayers are chanted by the priests either sitting, 
 kneeling, or standing. They consist of extracts from 
 Sutras, or special books containing charms. The extracts 
 are statements of doctrine, of the mercy and wisdom of 
 Buddha, and the glory attaching to him. 
 
 The prayers are not prayers in our sense. They work a 
 sort of magical effect. The law of a secret causation con- 
 nects itself with the act of the reader of the law, or the 
 offerer of incense, flowers, and fruits. 
 
 Music accompanies the worship. The following instru- 
 ments I have noticed : — the drum, small bells, cymbals, 
 tang-tsi, chHng, wooden fish, yin-chHng, and the large bell. 
 
 The drum has a clapper called kvrch'ui. 
 
 The cymbals are of brass. Each has a cloth liolder 
 through the centre tied inside. The " cymbal" is called kwo. 
 
 The tang-tsi is a small gong, and is held by a half cross, 
 to which it is tied by strings. It is of brass, and is struck 
 by a small clapper. 
 
 The ch'ing is a flat metallic plate cut in the shape of 
 flowers. It is supported by a wooden cylindrical box, and 
 this again rests on a low table. It has a cloth- covered 
 clapper. 
 
 A small kind of chHng is called yin-ch'ing. A thin iron 
 rod strikes it to keep time for the chanters. This yin-ch'ing 
 is two inches long by one deep, and is fastened tightly to 
 a long carved wooden handle. 
 
 The large bell is struck by a wooden mallet. 
 
 In the images and the worship ofiered to them by the 
 
258 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Buddhist monkish community, may be found a key to the 
 solution of the question, how Buddhism as a religion has 
 lasted so long. 
 
 It does not need faith, or conviction, or zeal. The 
 monk's life is a quiet one. His work is very light. 
 Nothing is expected of him but orderly conduct, and the 
 chanting of the instructions of Buddha, with invocations 
 and the beating of the wooden fish. The indolent become 
 monks. Of real religious activity there is none. There is 
 no God to worship but Buddha, and Buddha is a teacher, 
 an uncrowned god, in the sense in which Confucius was 
 an uncrowned king. 
 
 The monks kneel to adore images, not to pray. When 
 seated in a large hall, they recite together the teachings of 
 their Shakyamuni, it is to favour contemplation and reflec- 
 tion. The reflex influence of the images on their minds is 
 all-important. 
 
 Good luck is expected, not through the will of any god, 
 but through an impersonal fate. 
 
 Yet they go beyond this, and rest their faith on the 
 legends, with which their books are crowded, relating the 
 powerful interference of the Buddhas and Bodhisattwas ; 
 and thus these personages become, in the religious faith of 
 the people, virtual divinities. 
 
 If however this is so, there are no printed prayers. If 
 0-mi-to Fo, or Shi-kia Fo, or Kwan-yin p'u-sa, are believed 
 in as gods by the more credulous, the worship is not altered 
 on that account. The monks still read the traditional pas- 
 sages out of the books of Buddha which teach the nothing- 
 ness of the universe, and seem to be so many sermons 
 on the old text in Ecclesiastes, " Vanity of vanities, all is 
 vanity." In the Buddhist literature, prayers with special 
 ends in view, directly addressed to either of these person- 
 ages, I do not remember ever having seen more than once 
 or twice. There is nothing but praise and invocation in 
 an exceedingly brief form. It is a prayerless and godless 
 relisnon, if looked at from the Christian point of view. 
 
( 359 ) 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 MONASTERIES AT P*U-TO. 
 
 This establishment more modern than T'ien-t'ai and Wu-t*ai — Many 
 Thibetan inscriptions — Frequent visits of Peking lamas — Dedi- 
 cated to Kwan-yin — Gifts by K'ang-hi — Images — Caves — Pago- 
 das — Inscriptions — Resident defenders of Buddhism — The Potala 
 of Jehol in Mongolia — It is also the name of the palace — Temple 
 of the Dalai Lama — In China an island was preferred to be the 
 tau-ch^ang of Kwan-yin. 
 
 This island has long been known to foreigners as a cele- 
 brated spot, to which multitudes of zealous Buddhists 
 make pilgrimages. It has of late years been a favourite 
 summer residence of foreigners, and has been frequently 
 described in recent books on China, so that its natural 
 features need not be here repeated. 
 
 The peculiarities of the monasteries, however, need 
 some remarks, for travellers have hitherto said nothing 
 to explain them. Their interest is modern compared with 
 that of some other celebrated seats of the Buddhist reli- 
 gion. For antiquities they cannot vie with T'ien-t'ai, or 
 with Wu-t'ai shan in Shan-si. They are remarkable rather 
 as forming a connecting link with the lama Buddhism of 
 Thibet and Mongolia. This connection is seen in several 
 circumstances. Kwan-yin is the patron deity of Thibet 
 and also of P'u-to, leading to a peculiar arrangement 
 of the images in the monasteries, and the substitution 
 of this deity for Shaky amuni Buddha in the centre 
 of the great hall. Lama priests at Peking have always 
 been accustomed to visit the island, and perform worship 
 
26o CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 A 
 
 there till recently, of which Thibetan inscriptions still on 
 the island are monuments. The monastic establishments 
 now on the island date principally from the Mongolian 
 dynasty in the fourteenth century, and the Manchu em- 
 perors have, from motives of policy, always shown favour 
 to the national religion of their Western tributaries. 
 
 Yet the regulations of the monasteries are all Chinese, 
 and the schools to which the monks belong are those which 
 have sprung up in China itself. One establishment be- 
 longs to the Lin-tsi school, and the other to that of Ts'au- 
 tung. The following is the mode of teaching in these 
 schools. The instructor utters a few sentences to his 
 pupils adapted to enlighten them on some point considered 
 of importance. The pupils in the Tsung-men division of 
 Chinese Buddhism, to which both these schools belong, 
 depend not on books or on a regular course of study, but 
 simply on the living teacher. The founder of the Lin-tsi 
 once said, in answer to a disciple's questions, " What is 
 really Buddha? What is dharma (the law)? What is 
 religious progress ? " — " That the heart be pure and calm, 
 is Buddha. That the mind be clear and bright, is dlmnna. 
 That hindrances in all directions be removed, and the 
 mind calm and bright, is ' religious progress ' (tau)." There 
 appear to be more monasteries now belonging to this school 
 than to any other. 
 
 The visitor to the Buddhist sacred island will notice the 
 green and yellow tiling of the two large monasteries. The 
 same material was employed in the Nanking porcelain 
 tower now destroyed, and is found in the monasteries of 
 the lauias in Peking. This glazed pottery is of the live 
 colours at Nanking, viz., blue, yellow, red, black, and 
 white. Here it is only green and yellow. It is called 
 lieu-li-wa. Lieu-li is a word introduced to China, like 
 po-li " glass," by the Buddhists. It is one of the Eight pre- 
 cious things, and is called at full length in Sanscrit Vai- 
 duria. This name appears to be given by the Hindoos 
 to a natural and an artificial substance (as in the case also 
 of " sp*atika " or po-li, " glass "). 
 
 1 
 
GIFTS BY K'ANG-HI, 261 
 
 The buildiDgs are on a large scale. Thus the great hall 
 of Kwan-yin, in the first monastery, is fifty yards long 
 and thirty wide. 
 
 Both the large monasteries are dedicated to Kwan-yin 
 p'u-sa, instead of to Shakyamuni Buddha. In other monas- 
 teries the central position and the most monstrous image are 
 always assigned to Shakya, the Buddha reigning in the 
 present kalpa, and the teacher to whom every monk unites 
 himself when he takes the vows. Here, however, Kwan- 
 yin presides, and is therefore called Chu Fo, " the Kuling 
 Buddha," of the monasteries and of the island. 
 
 Instead of the usual name Ta-hiung-pau-tien, " The pre- 
 cious hall of the great hero," alluding to Shakyamuni, we 
 have the Ta-yuen-t'ung-tien, " The hall of the complete and 
 correct doctrine," referring to Kwan-yin. 
 
 In this hall is a large image of earthenware with pedestal 
 and canopy, all brought from Thibet, by order of the emperor 
 K'ang-hi, and presented to each of the monasteries. The 
 figure is gilt, and is that of a female sitting cross-legged 
 in the Buddhist manner. There is no dress on it except 
 rings on the arms, a few lotus leaves, and the usual crown 
 of the Bodhisattwas. In one of the monasteries, a yellow 
 silk cloak is thrown over the image. Kound the canopy, 
 which is of wood, are figures of Bodhisattwas, and on the 
 pedestal several white elephants and lions carved in wood, 
 which are also foreign. 
 
 Behind the Thibetan image is a monstrous male Kwan- 
 yin, with the Pi-lu crown, representing the ruler of the 
 monastery. Over his head is a large circle, on which nine 
 dragons twine themselves. From them the hall is also 
 sometimes called Kieu-lung-tien. Above, on a tablet, is a 
 sentence given by K'ang-hi, F'u-tsi-k'iun-ling, " The uni- 
 versal saviour of all living beings." This is said in praise 
 of Kwan-yin. 
 
 On the left of this image is a figure of wood, represent- 
 ing Amitabha, the fictitious Buddha of the Western heaven, 
 whose name is constantly on the lips of the Chinese 
 
262 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 and Thibetan priests, and is 
 walls and carved on stone, 
 part in the legend of the * 
 " The Western heaven," and 
 
 seen everywhere painted on 
 Kwan-yin plays a principal 
 Peaceful land" or Tsing-tu, 
 is one of the "three sages" 
 
 (san-sheng) supposed to reside there, the other two being 
 Ta-shi-cJvi pu-sa and Amitabha. 
 
 On the right is another Kwan-yin, called Kwo-hai Kwan- 
 yin, alluding to a "passage across the sea" of this deity 
 to the island Putaloka, the Indian archetype of P'u-to 
 itself. Along the east and west walls of the hall are 
 ranged thirty-two images, representing the metamor- 
 phoses of Kwan-yin. They are called Kwan-yin san-sJii- 
 r'i-siang ; they are all male, and are individualised by 
 varieties in posture, dress, and head-coverings. 
 
 The name Kwan-tsi-tsai is used in some of the inscrip- 
 tions for Kwan-shi-yin. This is a new name introduced 
 by Hiuen-tsang the traveller, from the Sanscrit Avaloki- 
 teshwara, in place of the older one translated by Kumara- 
 jiva from the shorter Hindoo name Avalokite. 
 
 There are other representations of this deity. The 
 Eight-faced Kwan-yin, the Thousand-handed Kwan-yin, 
 and " The giver of sons " are found here, and commonly in 
 Buddhist temples. The last of these, Sung -ts'i-Kwsm-y in ^ 
 is a female figure. 
 
 Before the principal idol is a stand for an incense urn, 
 &c. It is called Wu-shi-hiang-pau, "The five- vessel-in- 
 cense stand." The five vessels are — an incense urn in the 
 middle, two candle supporters, and two urns for flowers. 
 
 The same five vessels are also placed on the pavement 
 in front of the hall. Artificial flowers only are used. 
 
 There is much similarity in the arrangements of the two 
 monasteries. Both have two imperial tablets with halls 
 specially erected for their reception. When these build- 
 ings are injured by time, it is not permitted to repair them 
 without au order from the emperor. Hence some of them 
 have become much dilapidated. Lamas used to be sent 
 every year from P*^,king to the island, to worship Kwan- 
 
IMAGES. 263 
 
 yin in the emperor's name, and investigate the condition 
 of the monasteries. None, however, have gone there dur- 
 ing the last forty years. The two Thibetan inscriptions 
 on the road side leading to the first monastery were made 
 by these lamas. The older one dates from the time of 
 Kia-k'ing, A.D. 1796 to 18 19. The other is no earlier than 
 the reign of Tau-kwang. 
 
 In both monasteries the eighteen Lo-hans (Arhans), 
 usually placed in the central hall of temples, are found in 
 side chapels, their place being occupied by the thirty-two 
 figures of Kwan-yin. These supposed beings are a step 
 inferior to the rank of Bodhisattwa; both are inferior to 
 Buddha. The reverence paid to Kwan-yin is not, how- 
 ever, less on this account. Like other deities of the same 
 rank, Kwan-yin has refused for a time to become Buddha, 
 preferring to save mankind by discoursing to them on the 
 doctrines of this religion, and inducing them to enter on 
 the path to the Nirvana. 
 
 In a small temple called Hung-fa-t'ang, just beyond the 
 firstmonastery,isaninterestingrepresentationoftheeighteen 
 Arhans crossing the sea. They are seated on various sea 
 animals. The proper names of these personages are all 
 Hindoo, and unfamiliar in their sound, from the circum- 
 stance that they do not occur in current legends, but only 
 in more recondite ones, contained in some among the great 
 collection of works termed Tsang-king. The names of 
 well-known deities are therefore frequently substituted 
 for them, such as Kwan-yin, Maitreya, and Ti-tsang-wang. 
 The last of these is seated on a large sea quadruped in the 
 representation here referred to. While he sleeps, a star 
 with a stream of light issues from his head. Beside him, 
 sitting on a dragon, are two youths called " Joy " {Ki-king) 
 and " Eest " {B'ing-an). The one, in a playful humour, 
 wishes to wake his sleeping neighbour, but he is checked 
 by his companion. Bodhidharma, the founder of the con- 
 templative school in China, is introduced seated on what 
 is termed a *' one-homed immortal bull." He carries a 
 
264 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 pole on his shoulder with one shoe suspended on it. The 
 story is that, on crossing the Yang-tsze keang, he dropped 
 the other, which was picked up by a countryman, and was 
 found to possess wonderful powers. Manjusiri is seated on 
 a sea demon. A tiger is whispering at his ear. He thus 
 learns what people at a distance are doing. It should be 
 remembered that the attribute of this great Bodhisattwa is 
 wisdom. In the same representation Kwan-yin sits on 
 some other sea animal. He is pouring the elixir of life 
 from a gourd. As it flows out it becomes the genius of a 
 star. 
 
 There is no difficulty felt by the arrangers of temples in 
 placing the Bodhisattwas among the Arhans, because they 
 have all necessarily passed through that state before arriv- 
 ing at their present position. So the Arhan is only such 
 after passing through three grades of discipleship, which 
 are the first steps on the road to the Nirvana. The Buddha 
 himself must go through all these stages from the first in- 
 troduction to the sacred life up to the state of Bodhisattwa. 
 They form the ladder from the actual world of human life 
 to that cloud-land of abstractions which the contemplative 
 Buddhist hopes to reach at last. In accordance with this, 
 the hermit life of Shakyamuni Buddha is depicted on the 
 walls of the same temple. Above the eighteen Arhans 
 just described, is a representation, in painted clay, of the 
 Himalayas. Here is seen a hut of rushes inhabited by the 
 future Buddha. Monkeys and sacred geese bring him 
 food, and dragons, tigers, and white rabbits are his near 
 neighbours. 
 
 In the third monasteiy, high on the hill called Fo-ting 
 shan, is a somewhat remarkable representation of the Hin- 
 doo gods. They are presided over by Yii-hwang of the 
 Brahma heaven. I could not, however, obtain an intelli- 
 gent account of them from the illiterate priest wlio was 
 residing there. He was an artisan from Kjeu-kiang in 
 Kiang-si, who had left his wife and family in charge of his 
 eldest son, and become a monk 
 
PAGODA OF THE CROWN PRINCE. 265 
 
 At another smaller temple, where there are several caves, 
 each with one or more small stone Buddhas seated inside, 
 shown to visitors as emblematic of the hermit life, I found 
 a young priest very ready to defend his system. When 
 the worship of Buddha was objected to, on the ground that 
 it substituted the creature for the Creator, he replied that 
 Shakyamuni Buddha, being at the head of the Hwa-tsang 
 universe, was far higher in dignity than He who ruled this 
 lesser universe. He was reminded in reply that the vast 
 Hwa-tsang'slvL'kiai, a congeries of an immense number of 
 lesser worlds, was nothing but an invention of the author 
 of the Hwa-yen-hing, and that in reality there was no 
 existence or world not included within the dominions of 
 God. He did not attempt to continue the argument. 
 
 Facing the first monastery is a small pagoda, dedicated 
 to the Ming emperor, known as Wan-li hwang-ti. This 
 prince before ascending the throne had conferred benefits 
 on the institutions of the island, and this pagoda was 
 named after him Tai-ts'i-t'a, "Pagoda of the crown 
 prince." On its four sides are placed stone images of the 
 four great Bodhisattwas, to each of whom one of the four 
 elements is assigned. Ti-tsang, under whose jurisdiction 
 hell is supposed to be, presides over earth. He is said to 
 have become incarnate in a former Siamese prince. He is 
 worshipped specially in the South at Kieu-hwa, near Nan- 
 king. Kwan-yin presides over water. His attribute is 
 mercy, and he is worshipped in the East at Fu-to. P'u- 
 hien presides over fire. His attribute is happiness, and 
 he is worshipped in the West at the Woo-wei mountain 
 in Si-ch'wen. Manjusiri presides over air (wind), and is 
 worshipped in Shan-si. His attribute is wisdom. 
 
 Inscriptions on rocks lining the paths are very nume- 
 rous at P'u-to. Most of them are Buddhistic. Some 
 specimens of them will be now given. Hwei-t'eu-shl-an, 
 " You have but to turn back and you will have reached 
 the shore." Teng-pei-an, "Go up on that shore." The 
 Buddhists say that salvation is in knowledge. The dis- 
 
266 
 
 :hinese buddhism. 
 
 'rajna para- 
 golden 
 
 ciple is led by the teaching of Buddha, 1 
 ignorance to the "Shore of true wisdom 
 mita, Po-je po-lo-mi-to), Kin-sheng-hio-lii, "The 
 thread that guides into the path of intelligence." Hwei-ji- 
 tung-sheng, " The sun of wisdom rises in the east." Teng- 
 ta-yuen-cheu, "Ascend the ship of great wishes." The 
 great wish of a Buddha or a P'u-sa is to save mankind 
 and all living beings. They rescue those who are strug- 
 gling in the sea of life and death, and vice and virtue, and 
 convey them to the shore of true knowledge. Hence 
 Kwan-yin is called Ts%-hang, " Vessel of mercy." Fa-lun- 
 ch' ang-clmuen, " The wheel of the law constantly revolves." 
 This refers to the unceasing proclamation by books and 
 monks of the doctrines of Shakyamuni. The metaphor 
 by which Buddhist preaching is called the revolving of the 
 wheel, is seen practically exemplified in the praying-wheels 
 of Mongolia, by the turning of which an accumulation of 
 merit is obtained. So in China, the whole Buddhist library 
 of several thousand volumes is placed in a large octagonal 
 revolving bookcase, which is pushed round at the instance 
 of the visitor. 
 
 At Jehol, about a hundred and twenty miles north-east 
 of Peking, there is a nest of lama monasteries, in a valley 
 close to the emperor's hunting-lodge and summer palace. 
 Among these monasteries are some of Thibetan architecture, 
 the chief of which is Potala. It is modelled after the Potala 
 in which the Dalai Lama lives at Lhassa in Thibet. The 
 Dalai Lama is a living incarnation of Kwan-yin, and there- 
 fore his palace-temple was called Potala. This name is 
 applied variously to a sea-port at the mouth of the Indus, 
 the seat of Shakyamuni's ancestors, and to a mountain 
 range near or part of the Nilgherries where Avalokitesh- 
 wara was fond of going, in addition to the island in the 
 Indian Ocean, the palace at Lhassa, and the Chinese P'u-to. 
 For particulars, see in Eitel, p. 93. 
 
 Perhaps the island may have been at the mouth of the 
 
AN ISLAND PREFERRED FOR K WAN- YIN. 267 
 
 Indus, and left its name in the present Tatta, the Pattala 
 of the Greeks. 
 
 The setting apart of the island P'u-to, in the Chusan Ar- 
 chipelago, is proof that the Buddhist imagination, in select- 
 ing a place for the special worship of Kwan-yin in China, 
 preferred an island. This agreed best with the legends. 
 
 Here Kwan-yin would, in expounding the dharma 
 that is to save living beings, seem more in her place than 
 on a mountain of the main-land. This is an appropriate 
 tau-c'hang ^ for her, where she can be at hand to rescue 
 sailors from the dangers of the sea, and where crowds of 
 pilgrims will in fair weather not be wanting to receive the 
 benefit of her instructions. 
 
 * Tau-c*hainjf ** Place of doctrine. " 
 
( 268 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 BUDDHIST PROCESSIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, PILGRIMAGES, AND 
 CEREMONIES FOR THE DEAD. 
 
 Yu-lan-kweij "Association for giving food to the dead " — Worship of 
 ancestors — Liturgical services in the houses of the rich, for the 
 liberation of the souls of the dead from hell — Village processions 
 — Based on the old rural processions of classical times — Masque- 
 rades—Plays — Pilgrimages to Miau-fcng shan — Pilgrims wear- 
 ing iron chains — Supposed efl&cacy of the prayers of the priests 
 — Zeal of the laity in promoting pilgrimages to celebrated 
 shrines. 
 
 A STRIKING example of the popular influence of Buddhism 
 is found in the associations called Yu-lan-hwei. The day 
 for feeding hungry ghosts, the professed object of this 
 association, is the 1 5th of the seventh month. The original 
 hungry ghosts were the Hindoo Pretas. In China the 
 hungry ghosts are the spirits of the dead, especially of 
 ancestors. Buddhists are appealed to on behalf of the dead 
 who have no descendants to worship them, and feed them 
 by sacrifices. Thus the sentiment of compassion for the 
 neglected dead and of ancestors is ingeniously made by 
 Buddhism into an instrument for promoting its own influ- 
 ence among the people. 
 
 The belief in the metempsychosis among the Hindoos 
 connected itself with the Chinese sacrifices to ancestors. 
 The two things combined formed an engine of great power 
 for affecting the public mind. 
 
 When the rich die in Peking, priests are invited to read 
 liturgies for three days in their houses. Eight men ar<» 
 
 I 
 
LITURGICAL SERVICES. 269 
 
 sent A priest told me that they read five books in par- 
 ticular on one occasion recently, when I made inquiry. 
 They were the Leng-yen-hing, the Kin-kang-king, the Fa- 
 hworhing (Lotus of the Good Law), the Ti-tsang-king^ and 
 the Ta-pei-ch'an, a Tantra of the T'ang dynasty. They 
 read for about six hours each day, with a particular intona- 
 tion, which is determined by a certain musical notation 
 and is learned specially. They took with them candle- 
 sticks, a picture of Buddha, and the wooden fish, and had 
 no musical instruments. Their object was by prayers to 
 liberate as early as possible the soul of the dead from 
 misery. Buddhism found village processions of a religious 
 character already existing in the country, and accepted 
 them so far as seemed fitting. When it is considered that 
 in the old religion of Greece and Rome, rural processions 
 were in those countries a favourite amusement mixed with 
 religious ideas, the examination of similar customs in 
 China is of special interest. 
 
 In the discourses of Confucius it is said, that when the 
 agricultural labourers came out to drink wine, or to perform 
 a ceremony intended to drive away pestilential diseases, 
 and the old men appeared leaning on their crooks, Con- 
 fucius himself also came from his house in his court 
 robes and stood on the east side on the stone steps. This 
 was an indication of his desire to conform to the habits of 
 the country. He abhorred all irregularity. The play or 
 spectacle here alluded to was a procession of singers. It 
 was called No. 
 
 The custom at present representing the ceremony of the 
 No is called Yang-ko. The performers, about ten in num- 
 ber, go about the villages and hamlets on high stilts in 
 fancy costumes. One is a fisherman, another is a wood- 
 gatherer called Chai-wang, " Prince of fuel." There is a 
 " l>6gging priest," or ho-shang, and an old woman called 
 tso-tsi, and some others. They sing as they go. The 
 word ko is '' song," and yang is " to raise." The " stilts" 
 are called kau-k'iau. These processions are seen in the 
 
270 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 country at the end of February. The old custom of 
 Confucius' age has died out, to be revived afresh in this 
 modern form with a Buddhist priest as one of the per- 
 formers. It is regarded by the literati as a mere theatri- 
 cal performance and an amusement of the rural popula- 
 tion. Some trace it to the son of Lieu Pei, who reigned 
 in Si-ch'wen, a.d. 280. But then there were few priests, 
 which is an objection to this view. 
 
 In the Cheu-li, the ancient sovereigns of China or their 
 deputies are represented as performing certain ceremonies 
 for the removal of pestilential diseases four times in the 
 year — once for each season. The view then held was that 
 the wen-yi or " sickness," prevailing at certain times of the 
 year, is caused by demons called li or dit. 
 
 These customs could only be introduced on their pre- 
 sent basis at a time when Buddhism was rife and shorn 
 priests were found in every village. Probably they are 
 earlier than the T^ang dynasty. Some natives think they 
 belong to the Sung, because it is customary to represent in 
 masquerade the robbers of the novel called Shid-hu, the 
 scene of which is laid at the mountain Liang-shan in 
 Shan-tung. These robbers all at last submit to control, 
 and are made ofi&cers of the government, which was that 
 of the Sung dynasty, when Pien-liang was the capital. 
 But the main object of these village amusements being 
 religious, it is perhaps better to regard them as Buddhist, 
 and as parallel with the theatrical shows of the lamas in 
 their monasteries in Peking and Mongolia. 
 
 Buddhist nunneries in Peking have theatrical shows 
 once a year. A large mat shed is erected, and play actors 
 are invited to perform an ordinary play. The nuns wait 
 on the spectators of the play, and the money collected 
 helps to defray the expenses of the nunnery for the 
 current year. Plays are considered religious, because they 
 are supposed to be performed to amuse the gods in whose 
 temples they are performed. 
 
 Every year, in the third and ninth months, — our April 
 
PILGRIMS WEARING IRON CHAINS. 271 
 
 and October, — a procession is organised in Peking to 
 Miau-feng slian, a Buddhist place of pilgrimage ; the 
 journey to which by the pilgrims occupies three, four, or 
 five days. Money is subscribed, and is placed in the 
 hands of a committee who erect lofty mat sheds on the 
 line of route for the entertainment of the pilgrims. 
 The worship consists of bowings, kneeliugs, head-knock- 
 ings, burning incense, and offering of money to the at- 
 tendant priest. Large pits are filled with copper money 
 to a depth of two, three, or five feet. With the money 
 thus obtained the priests return to their monasteries, 
 leaving this particular temple shut up and unoccupied at 
 the end of the season, till the time of pilgrimage comes 
 round again, six months later, in the autumn or spring as 
 the case may be. The chief divinity is Pi-hia yuen-chiun, 
 a Tauist personage, but the temple is cared for by Bud- 
 dhist priests. It is placed among the mountains to the 
 northwest of Peking. 
 
 On one occasion I passed a pilgrim going from Peking 
 to Miau-feng shan to fulfil a vow. He was a Manchu of 
 twenty-seven years of age. He had been ill, and while 
 ill had vowed to walk in chains to the temple and back. 
 An iron chain bound his feet and hands. It was borrowed 
 from a temple where such gear is kept for the occasional 
 use of pilgrims. 
 
 The next day I met another such pilgrim returning, but 
 stronger in body and livelier in appearance than the one I 
 conversed with the day before. Both were attended by a 
 companion, and both wore a red dress in token of their 
 being malefactors; for the pilgrims style themselves on 
 these occasions criminals, and the chain is a sign of volun- 
 tary bondage undertaken in the spirit of confession of de- 
 merit. They at first look like prisoners in charge of police, 
 but their submissive air and the red dress show that 
 they are devotees. 
 
 Three sisters, called the three niang-7iiang,SLre worshipped 
 at Miau-feng shan. The second of the three is chiefly 
 
272 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 worshipped there. The eldest is honoured at some place in 
 Shan-tung with special reverence. 
 
 The prayers of the ho-shang are supposed to have the 
 power to break open the caverns of hell. They chant to- 
 gether in the houses of the rich to which they are invited, 
 proceeding through a selection of favourite liturgical books. 
 This is called tso-kung-te, "performing meritorious acts." 
 Every act of merit is a fii-yuen, " cause of happiness." 
 There never yet was a good man whose j^oodness was left 
 without reward. The prayers of the priest must have their 
 effect. The chanting of the books cannot fail to bring 
 happiness. Such is the operation of the karma, or '* moral 
 necessity." 
 
 I conversed, in the spring of 1879, with a woman who 
 brought a sick member of her family to Peking to be under 
 the care of Dr. Dudgeon, at the London Mission Hospital. 
 They stayed for some days, and learned Christian doctrine 
 from a Bible-woman. The woman had been an organiser 
 of Buddhist pilgrimages to a monastery called Si-yii si in 
 the mountains west of Peking. She lives at a small town 
 in the country two days' travelling from the monastery. 
 Every spring she has exerted her influence for many 
 years past to persuade her neighbours to go together 
 to this monastery to worship. She headed the arrange- 
 ments. The procession usually consisted of mule carts to 
 the number of about fifteen. She expressed her deter- 
 mination to give this up and become a Christian. 
 
 Lay Buddhists appear to be far more active in stirring 
 up the people to go on pilgrimage to mountain temples 
 than the priests themselves. When money is to be col- 
 lected for the repair of temples, the priests take the lead ; 
 but in voluntary associations for a religious jaunt in spring 
 or autumn weather, the zeal of the laity is much more 
 conspicuous. 
 
( 373 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 BUDDHIST LITERATURE. 
 
 Buddhist libraries presented to monasteries by emperors — Ch'eng- 
 tsu, of the Ming dynasty, was the first to print the entire series 
 of the Buddhist accepted books — Prajna paramita, eighty times 
 as large as our New Testament — The Pei-tsang, or second printed 
 edition, dates from the sixteenth century — The Kia-hing edition 
 of the Pei-tsang — Division into King, Lil, Liui — First Coun- 
 cil — Work of Ananda — The Mahayana of Northern Buddhism 
 — Council of Cashmere — Authors of the Mahayana — Lung-shu 
 wrote the Hwa-yen-kmg — Contrasts between the primitive and 
 Mahayana books — List of translators a,d. 70 to a.d. 705 — Six- 
 teen hundred works are classified, inclusive of those by Chinese 
 authors — On the councils for settling the canon — Translations 
 by Burnouf and others — Lotus — Book of Forty-two Sections — 
 Character of this and other early works — Stories illustrative of 
 ancient life — Fan-wang-hing — Chan-Wi-king translated by Beal 
 *— Pratimoksha. 
 
 The first fixing of the Buddhist canon was at the Coun- 
 cils of Eajagriha and Pataliputra. The Northern and 
 Southern Buddhists held together till the Council of Pata- 
 liputra, under Ashoka. When an immense missionary 
 development followed on the meeting of this Council, the 
 separation was a natural result, because of the vast extent 
 of country over which Buddhism shortly became the 
 prevalent religion. 
 
 The origin of the primitive Buddhist books which are 
 common to the Northern and Southern Buddhists is, then, 
 anterior to B.C. 746 ; and the addition to the canon of the 
 Mahayana books containing the legends of Kwan-yin and 
 of the Western heaven with its Buddha, Amitabha, waa 
 
 s 
 
274 CIirNESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 also previous to the Council of Cashmere, a little before 
 the beginning of our era. 
 
 When the first books were translated into Chinese from 
 Sanscrit, it was before the time of the introduction of 
 paper. Bamboo tablets were still employed, and they 
 were painted on with a brush. Paper-making soon came 
 into use, and in the fourth century the present system of 
 Chinese writing was fully in use. From that time till 
 the invention of printing, seven hundred years later, copies 
 of the sacred books would be made from time to time in 
 the monasteries. As in countries where the palm grows 
 the monks have continued to write on the palm-leaf, so 
 in China, till printing was known, transcribed copies of all 
 needed books would be made and preserved in monasteries. 
 
 The library of the larger Buddhist monasteries consists 
 of a complete collection — presented by some former emperor 
 — of the " books of the religion " (tsang-king). The visitor 
 will see them in eight or ten large bookcases. In many 
 instances they are preserved with great care and are 
 highly valued. Even if worm-eaten and injured by damp, 
 the priests always express unwillingness to part with any 
 portions of them. Though they seldom make use of this 
 library themselves, they consider that it would be an 
 offence against the emperor to allow any of the books it 
 contains to be removed. 
 
 The preface to one of the last imperial editions is dated 
 A.D. 1410, in the Yung-lo period of the third emperor of 
 the Ming dynasty. In addition to the erection of the 
 porcelain tower at Nanking, previous to the removal of 
 his residence from that place to Peking, he further sig- 
 nalised his zeal for Buddhism by causing blocks to be cut 
 for the first time for the entire series of Buddhist books. 
 They reached the number of 6yy i hiuen or " sections." A 
 little more than three-fourths of this extensive literature 
 consists of translations from Sanscrit. According to a 
 rough calculation, the whole work of the Hindoo trans- 
 lators in China, together with that of Hiuen-tsang the 
 
THE PEf-TSANG. 275 
 
 traveller, amounts to about seven hundred times the size 
 of the New Testament in Chinese form. In this esti- 
 mate lost translations, which are numerous, are not in- 
 cluded. 
 
 One of these works, the Maha Prajna paramita (Ta-poh- 
 je-ki7ig), consists of a hundred and twenty volumes. It is 
 perhaps the most extensive single book ever translated in 
 any age or country, being about eighty times as large as the 
 New Testament. The celebrated Chines© translator, Hiuen- 
 tsang, was engaged on it four years. 
 
 The edition of Buddhist books printed in the period 
 Yung-lo is called Nan-tsang, the "Southern collection." 
 There was another made in the time of Wan-li in the 
 closing part of the sixteenth century. The imperial resi- 
 dence having been already removed from Nanking to 
 Peking, this edition was called the Pei-tsang or " Northern 
 collection." 
 
 A new set of blocks was cut at the expense of private 
 persons from this last, by a priest called Tsi-pe ta-shi, 
 not many years after. They were placed in the Leng-yen 
 monastery at Kia-hing near Hang-cheu, and were still 
 there before the T'ai-ping rebellion. 
 
 In 1723, a former governor of Che-kiang repaired the 
 blocks, and wrote a preface to a catalogue of these books 
 under the title of Pei-tsang-mu-lu. It contains a reprint 
 of the imperial preface to the first complete edition dating 
 in the seventh century (T'ang Chung-tsung). This docu- 
 ment alludes to the labours of the successive translators, 
 and dwells especially on the adventures of Hiuen-tsang 
 who had recently returned from his twenty years' travels 
 in India, and had come to be regarded, on account of his 
 successful journey ;md literary labours, as the most re- 
 markable of all the Chinese Buddhists. 
 
 The primary division of the Buddhist books is into 
 three parts, King, Lii, Lun, or " Sutra, Vinaya, and Abhi- 
 dharma." The first comaius the immediate instructions 
 of Buddha on dogma. It details those present as listeners, 
 
CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 any remarkable circumstances tliat occurred, the conver- 
 sations that took place between Buddha and any of his 
 audience, and the direct instructions that he communi- 
 cated to them. The Vinaya relates the discipline appointed 
 by Buddha for his followers, and the circumstances that 
 led to the establishment of particular rules and observ- 
 ances. The scene, audience, and conversations are detailed 
 much in the manner of the Sutras or works of the first 
 class. The word hiiig is indeed often applied to works 
 that are placed in the Vinaya division. The third part, 
 Abhidharma, consists of discussions, in many instances 
 by known authors, on the Buddhist creed and on heresies. 
 They are not then like the works found in the first and 
 second classes, necessarily spoken — according to Buddhist 
 faith — by Shakyamuni; but include many that were 
 written, in the first centuries after his death, by the more 
 distinguished of bis followers. 
 
 After Buddha's entrance into the Nirvana, we are told 
 his disciples met to agree on the books that should be 
 regarded as the true traditions of their master's instruc- 
 tions. Kashiapa assembled them at the mountain Gi-ja- 
 ku-ta (Gridhrakuta). They came there by the exercise of 
 miraculous power. Ananda, who w^as young, had not 
 yet attained to the rank of Arhan when the meeting be- 
 gan, but just at this time he was raised to the necessary 
 elevation and took his seat with the rest. Kasliiapa then 
 said : " The * Bikshu Ananda ' (O-nan Fi-kHeu) has great 
 wisdom. Like a vessel receiving water, he imbibed the 
 doctrine of Buddha, retaining no more and no less than 
 what the teacher uttered. Let him be invited to compile 
 the Sutra Pitaka (Collection of the hing or discourses of 
 Shakyamuni)." The assembly remained silent. Kashiapa 
 then addressed Ananda : " It is for you now to promul- 
 gate the ' eye of the doctrine ' (fa-yen)" Ananda as- 
 sented, and after observing the countenances of the audi- 
 ence, said: " Bikshas and all here present. Without 
 Buddha nothing is noble or beautiful, as in the expanse 
 
THE MAHA YA NA. 277 
 
 above, the stars cannot spare the moon." He then bowed 
 to the assembly, and ascended the rostrum. He began : 
 " Thus have I heard — At a certain time, when Buddha was 
 in a certain place, he delivered such iustructions." In 
 each instance Kashiapa asked the Bikshus if such were 
 really the words of Buddha, and they all replied, " They 
 were just these words." ^ 
 
 A similar account is retained by the Singhalese of the 
 origin of the Sutras.^ The Vinaya division of the books 
 was, according to their traditions, prepared by Upali, and 
 the Shastras or Abhidharma by Kashiapa. 
 
 So far as this threefold arrangement of the books, the 
 Northern and Southern Buddhists are at one. But for 
 the literature of the North a further division must now 
 be noticed. The distinction of Mahay ana {Ta~cli'eng), or 
 *' Great Development," and Hinayana {Siau-ch'eng), or 
 " Lesser Development," runs through the works of all the 
 three classes above described. The works of the " Lesser 
 Development " (or vehicle) there can be little doubt are 
 the original books of Buddha, for their dogmas and 
 legends agree with the religion as it is still professed in 
 Ceylon and by all the Southern Buddhists. The Maha- 
 yana is, on the other hand, unknown there. Burnouf attri- 
 butes the books of the Lesser Development to the first 
 Buddhist council already described, and those of the Greater 
 Development to another held a little more than four hun- 
 dred years after Shakyamuni's death. It is his opinion 
 that the Mahayana books were composed in Cashmere, 
 in the reign of Kanishka,^ a king of Northern India (Cabul). 
 A council — the third or fourth — was then called to decide 
 what books should be canonical, and it was then that 
 these extensive additions to the Tripitaha or "Three 
 collections " were agreed upon. The same learned writer 
 
 ^ Chi-yue-luh. " Biography of ' Ka- AshOka in his patronage of Buddhism, 
 
 ■hiapa' (Kki-she)." He reigned B.C. 15 to a,d. 45, during 
 
 2 Hardy's Eastern Monachism. the patriarchate of Vasumitra and 
 
 ' Kanishka conquered the greater others, 
 part of India. He was a second 
 
27S CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 interposes another council a hundred and ten years after 
 the first, in the reign of Ashoka also called Piyadasi. This 
 prince, from his extensive empire and his patronage of 
 Buddhism, is called a wheel-king, i.e., a Buddhist king to 
 whom the world is subject, and who causes the wheel of 
 the holy doctrine to be kept turning. 
 
 There need be no hesitation in adopting Burnouf 's view, 
 for we know the names and many of the writings of in- 
 fluential Buddhists who lived at the time and place indi- 
 cated, and whose opinions and qualifications were such as 
 to render them fitted for the authorship of the Ta-ch'eng 
 or '' Mahayana " books, and much presumptive evidence of 
 the fact will be found to exist. 
 
 Among them were — (i.) Ma-miTig, or " Ashwagosha," the 
 twelfth patriarch, who wrote K'i-sin-lun, the " Shastra for 
 awakening faith." ^ (2.) Lung-shu, or "Nagarjuna," the 
 fourteenth patriarch, author of Vibhasha-lun, Chung-lun, 
 Ta'cM-tu-lun, Prajna-teng-lun, 8hArer-men-lun, and seve- 
 ral other works, including the most venerated of all the 
 Buddhist books in China, the Hwa-yen-king. (3.) T'ien-tsHn, 
 or *' Vasubandu." It is said of him, that when he first 
 became a monk he was a bitter enemy of the Mahayana 
 books, and destroyed them whenever he had opportunity. 
 By the influence of his elder brother Asengha,^ he was 
 brought to change his views. His remorse was such that 
 he would have wrenched out his tongue, but Aseugha said 
 to him, " as he had formerly used his tongue to revile the 
 Great Development books, he should now employ it to 
 praise them. This would be an expiation for his fault." 
 After this he wrote more than a hundred works, which 
 were placed in the third division of the sacred books.^ 
 
 ^ T8ing-iMrshen{}-hien'luh contains tivcB of Puruslm in Gandhara (north 
 
 notices of (i) to (4). end of the Punjab). 
 
 2 lutel separates Vasubandu from ' For the names of several of his 
 
 Asengha by an interval of some cen- works und those of Aseugha, see 
 
 turies. ISty authority for making K'ai-yuen-»hi-kiau-lu, a catalogue of 
 
 them brothers is the introduction to Buddhist books published in the 
 
 Ch'eiiy-uiei-s/u-lun. They were ua- T'aog dynasty. 
 
LUNG-SHU WROTE THE HWA-YEN-KING. 279 
 
 (4.) Wu-cho, or " Asengha," brother of the last. (5.) IIv^ 
 /a, or " Dharmapara " (Protector of the law). He was 
 born in the Dravida country in South India. He wrote 
 the Shastra Ch'eiig-wei-shi'lun. (6.) Maitreya. (7.) Deva. 
 (8.) Sheng-t'ien. These and one or two more are men- 
 tioned among the authors of Shastras. All these persons 
 are dignified with the name of Bodhisattwa. 
 
 The authorship of the Hwa-ycn-king may be ascribed 
 to Lung-shu, on the ground that he is said in a Chinese 
 preface to have discovered it in the "Dragon palace," 
 and first promulgated it as one of the Mahayana Sutras, 
 or books of the " Great vehicle." He could not prefix his 
 name to it as to works of the third division, because it 
 is essential to a Sutra that it be a discourse of Buddha. 
 In conformity with this principle, the Great Development 
 " Sutras," or as they are called in Chinese King, are by a 
 fiction ascribed to Shakyamuni, though their real authors 
 were, as there is every reason to suppose, the acute-minded 
 Hindoos whose names have just been given. 
 
 Two principal divisions of the Buddhist books, in refer- 
 ence to the time of their composition, are thus obtained. 
 The former belonging to the fifth century B.C. contain, 
 among other things, the monastic institutions, the moral 
 code, the ascetic life, the metempsychosis, and the Nir- 
 vana, of which the first two are Buddhist, and the latter 
 three common to the native religions of India. The whole 
 is interwoven with the fantastic notions of the Hindoos 
 on geography, astronomy, and supernatural beings. 
 
 The second division embraces later developments in 
 metaphysics and cosmogony. In the Prajna paramita, 
 through a hundred and twenty volumes, the favourite 
 dogma of extreme idealism, the non-existence of mind 
 and matter in all their forms, is reiterated to satiety. 
 In the legends of the Eastern and Western paradise — 
 that of Ach'obhva and that of Amitabha — and regardincr 
 the formation of various other vast worlds and powerful 
 divinities, the new mythological tendencies of this system 
 
28o 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 are exhibited. These books must be assigned to about the 
 first century B.C. 
 
 By help of the catalogue of Buddhist books published 
 A.D. 730 {Kai-yuen-sM-kiau-lu), the earliest and most 
 noted translators may be divided between these two 
 schools. Works of the Siav^ch'eng or "Lesser Develop- 
 ment," i.e., primitive Buddhism, were introduced by the 
 following persons : — 
 
 Translator. 
 
 Kashiapmadanga 
 
 Chu-fa-lan 
 
 An-shS-kau 
 
 Chi-yau 
 
 K'ang-meng-ts'iang 
 
 Dharmati 
 
 Chu-liU-yen 
 
 Chi-kian 
 
 K'ang-seng-hwei 
 
 Fa-kU 
 
 Chu-dharma-lan 
 
 Gaudamsenghad^va 
 
 Country. 
 
 Central India 
 
 Central India 
 
 Ansi 
 
 India 
 
 K'ang-ku (Thibet) 
 
 Ansi 
 
 India 
 
 " Massagetae " or Ta-yue-chi 
 
 K'ang-ku (Thibet) 
 
 India 
 
 Cophen 
 
 Date AD, 
 
 70 
 
 70 
 
 147 
 
 185 
 
 194 
 
 254 
 230 
 
 250 
 
 250 
 300 
 380 
 390 
 
 Among the translators of the books of the Larger De- 
 velopment, were the following individuals : — 
 
 Name. 
 
 Country. 
 
 Dato A.D. 
 
 An-shl-kau 
 
 Ansi 
 
 147 
 
 Chi-lu-ka-ts'an 
 
 Massaget«B 
 
 147 
 
 K'ang-seng-k'ai 
 
 India 
 
 254 
 
 Peh-yen 
 
 India 
 
 258 
 
 ChX-kian 
 
 MassagetfE 
 
 250 
 
 Chu-dhannarakfiba 
 
 MassagetfT. 
 
 313 
 
 Malach*a 
 
 Udin 
 
 299 
 
 Dabadara 
 
 Central India 
 
 400 
 
 Kuniarajiva 
 
 India 
 
 401 
 
 Fa-hicn 
 
 China 
 
 414 
 
 Dbarniarakslia 
 
 Central India 
 
 433 
 
 Gunabailara 
 
 Central India 
 
 435 
 
 Paranioda 
 
 Western India (Oujein) 
 
 540 
 
 Hiuen-tsnng 
 
 China 
 
 650 
 
 Bodhirucbi 
 
 Southern India 
 
 70s 
 
CLASSIFICATION OF WORKS, ««i 
 
 To assist in numbering and distinguishing the books 
 belonging to the great threefold collection, the characters 
 contained in the " Book of a Thousand Characters " (Tsien- 
 tsi-wen) are made use of. 
 
 The first subdivision of the "Sutras" or KiTig under 
 the heading, Ta-ch'eng, " Great Development," is that of 
 "Prajna" (Po-je). It contains the work Maha-prajna- 
 varamita in six hundred chapters, to mark which, sixty 
 characters from the "Thousand Character Classic" are 
 employed. Eighteen other works are placed in the same 
 subdivision. 
 
 These are followed by books containing the legends of 
 Amitabha and Ach'obhya, the Western and Eastern Bud- 
 dhas. These, with others, compose the Pau-tsi subdivision. 
 After this comes that called Ta-tsi, or " Great Collection." 
 Then succeed those called Hwa-yen, so named from the 
 common book of that title in eighty chapters. The fifth 
 comprises books on the Nirvana. After these five chief 
 subdivisions are arranged the names of many others, 
 whether translated once or oftener. With the preceding 
 they make in all five hundred and thirty-six Sutras of the 
 Great Development class. 
 
 Of the Smaller Development school two hundred and 
 twenty-eight works are contained in the collection, the 
 chief of them belonging to the Agama subdivision. There 
 were added in the Sung and Yuen dynasties three hundred 
 altogether. Their names follow in the catalogue. 
 
 Many of these works are very small, ten or more being 
 often placed together under one letter. 
 
 Under the denomination "Vinaya" or Lil, "Discip- 
 line," twenty-five works belong to the Great Development 
 school, while fifty-nine are assigned to the Siau-ch*eng 
 department. 
 
 Among the works belonging to the third class, " Abhi- 
 dharma " or Zun, are ninety-three of the Great Develop- 
 ment school, and thirty-seven of the Lesser. To these 
 twenty-three were added in the Sung and Yuen dynasties. 
 
282 CHINESE BUDDHISM 
 
 After this occur works by various Western authors, 
 in number ninety-seven, which do not admit of being 
 classed with those that precede. Many of these consist 
 of liturgical regulations and biographies of Hindoo Bud- 
 dhists. 
 
 At the end of the collection are placed works by Chinese 
 authors, in all a hundred and ninety-six. These consist 
 of commentaries, biographical works, cyclopaedias, travels 
 in Buddhist countries, apologetic treatises, liturgical works, 
 and the original works of authors belonging to the various 
 native schools of Buddhism. Of these forty were appended 
 in the Ming dynasty — as in all such cases — by imperial 
 order. 
 
 These numbers give a total of about sixteen hundred 
 separate works, of which fourteen hundred are transla- 
 tions from Sanscrit. Several hundred others are lost. 
 
 Many productions of less importance, probably amount- 
 'ng to several hundreds in number, by native authors, are 
 commonly read. In an estimate of the extent of Chinese 
 Buddhist literature these should be included. They con- 
 sist of popular treatises, with anecdotes of the power 
 of the Buddhas and Bodliisattwas, and the benefits of 
 chanting the sacred books. Woodcuts are much used in 
 these books, illustrative of the Buddhist future state, of 
 Shakyamuni instructing his disciples, and of the Hindoo 
 cosmogony and geography. Descriptions of remarkable 
 monasteries and sacred places, and many works on the 
 various schools of this religion in China, should be added 
 to the list. 
 
 I place here some remarks on the councils held by the 
 early Buddhists. 
 
 Professor Max Muller says : " The Northern Buddhists 
 know but one Ashoka, the grandson of Chaudragupta, and 
 but one council held in his reign, viz., the Council of 
 Pataliputra, under Dliarmashoka, and this they place a 
 hundred and ten years after Buddha's death." 
 
 The Singhalese Buddhists speak of two Ashokas, viz., 
 
TRANSLATIONS BY BURNOUF, ETC. 283 
 
 Kalash6ka and Dharma.^hoka. Twelve kings intervened 
 between them. A council was held under each Ashoka. 
 
 If we admit the last, it must have taken place either 
 B.C. 242 or B.C. 246 at Pataliputra. 
 
 The fourth council, under Kanishka, presided over by 
 Vasumitra, was probably a little before the Christian era. 
 Nagarj Una's works and system were recognised, and from 
 this time the " Great Development " spread among all the 
 Northern Buddhists. 
 
 The attention of the student of Buddhism may be 
 directed especially to those works in the San-tsang, or 
 " Three pitaka," of which translations have been made. 
 
 Of these the most elaborate is that of the Fa-hwa-king, 
 " Lotus of the Good Law," by Eugene Burnouf. It is 
 rendered from the Sanscrit, and illustrated by a vast body 
 of notes. 
 
 On comparing it with the Chinese version of Kuma- 
 rajiva, I found considerable lacunae in the Chinese copy. 
 Kumarajiva came under the influence of the Chinese 
 literati, to whom the ponderous verbosity and extensive 
 repetitions of the original were intolerable. He wisely 
 cut it down, and made a much shorter book of it. Burnouf 
 would have been wise to do so too. 
 
 The small books with a prominent moral element are 
 extremely interesting. Some of these are translated by 
 Mr. Beal in his Catena. 
 
 The " Book of Forty- two Sections " was translated from 
 Sanscrit by the first Hindoo missionaries. An edition 
 in five volumes, with very full notes, by SU Fa, and pub- 
 lished a century and a half ago, is a signal example of 
 the industry and fulness of illustration and comment of 
 a Chinese scholar when editing an ancient book. 
 
 In this and other small but interesting works may be 
 seen the principles of primitive Buddhism as taught by 
 Shakyamuni. 
 
 The monastic life is here portrayed, and the duties of 
 those who entered upon it are clearly pointed out. 
 
284 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 But though vows of celibacy, and living in society with 
 fellow-l3elievers in the Buddhist doctrine, or in solitude 
 in woods and caves, were recommended by Shakyamuni 
 as the most suitable mode of carrying out his system, he 
 did not make them absolutely essential. In the " Wei-ma 
 Sutra," VimaJcita ( Wei-mo-kie), a layman native of Vaishali, 
 living in society, is represented as having made great pro- 
 gress in the knowledge of the principles of Buddhism. 
 He is contrasted with many who had taken the vows, but 
 were far inferior to him. "Manjusiri" (Wen-shu p'u-sa) 
 and Vimakita are held up as equally good models of Bud- 
 dhist excellence : the one, as to form, being without a 
 rival in the monastic society; the other, as to action, 
 being the most advanced student of the Buddhist law 
 outside the circle of those who had taken the vows. 
 
 Many of the Buddhist books are valuable, on account of 
 the stories illustrative of ancient life which they contain. 
 
 The following story of travellers killing a guide, to 
 sacrifice to the Devas of a certain place, reminds the 
 reader irresistibly of the narrative of Jonah. 
 
 " A company of merchants undertaking a journey selected 
 a guide. With him they set out across an uninhabited 
 region. On the way they arrived at a temple to the 
 Devas, at which it was the custom, that a man must be 
 sacrificed before the travellers could pass on. 
 
 " They consulted as to what should be done, and said one 
 to another : ' We are all friends, neighbours, and relations. 
 None of us can be sacrificed. Only the guide can be.* 
 When they had put him to death and finished the offering, 
 they proceeded and lost their way. Weary and broken- 
 hearted, all one by one died. 
 
 " So it is with men. They wish to enter the sea of 
 doctrine in order to get the pearls hidden in its depths. 
 They must take virtue for their guide. If they slander 
 and destroy virtue they will be sure to lose their way, and 
 never emerge from the desert of life and death. Their 
 sufferings must last for long ages." 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
ILLUSTRATIVE STORIES. 285 
 
 A story of the shadow of gold in water is told to illus- 
 trate how ignorant men seek for golden doctrine in places 
 where they will never find it. The story says that " for- 
 merly a foolish man went to a lake and saw at the bottom 
 of the water a shadow of what seemed true gold. He 
 called out, ' Here is gold.' He then went into the water 
 and sought it in vain till he was tired and the water grew 
 muddy. He sat down and waited till the water was clear, 
 when he saw it again, and once more he tried fruitlessly 
 to get it. At last the father came to look for his son, and 
 asked him why he was so weary. On learning, he said, 
 after seeing the shadow, * This gold is on the tree above. 
 A bird must have taken it in his beak and placed it 
 there.* The son climbed the tree and found it." 
 
 To illustrate the difficulty of creating, a story is told 
 against the Brahmans, who ascribe creation to Brahma. 
 They call him Maha Brahma Deva, and say that he is the 
 father of the world, and can create all things. The story 
 states that " this so-called creator had a disciple who said 
 he could create all things. He was foolish, but thought 
 himself wise. He said one day to Brahma, ' I desire to 
 create all things.' Brahma replied, ' Do not think of it. 
 You cannot create. Without being able to use the lan- 
 guage of the Devas, you have the desire to create things.' 
 Brahma saw what his disciple had made, and noticed that 
 the head was too large and the crown too small, or the hand 
 too large and the arm too small, or the foot too large 
 and the leg too small. In fact, it was like the Pishacha 
 demons." ^ 
 
 " We thus learn," continues the narrator, " that what 
 every one brings into existence is not the creation of 
 Brahma." 
 
 THE STORY OF THE BRAHMAN WHO KILLED HIS SON. 
 
 " Once there was a Brahman, who, according to his own 
 statement, was extremely wise, and knew all the arts of 
 
 ^ A sort of Tampirea. Retinue of the Dora king Dhritarashtra. 
 
»86 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 astrologers and jugglers. Wishing to show his powers he 
 went to another country, carrying his son in his arms, and 
 weeping. When asked, * Why do you weep ? ' he replied, 
 * This young child is to die in seven days. I mourn over 
 his short life.' The people of the country remarked, ' It 
 is hard to know when men will die. It is easy to err in 
 such calculations. Wait till the seven days are past, and 
 perhaps he will not die. Why weep now ? ' The Brahman 
 answered, ' The sun and moon may be darkened, the stars 
 may fall, but what I have said cannot fail of fulfilment.' 
 On the seventh day, for the sake of fame and profit, the 
 Brahman killed his son to confirm the truth of his own 
 words. When men heard that the Brahman's son was 
 dead precisely seven days after the time of the prediction, 
 they all admired the wisdom of the Brahman, whose words 
 proved true, and came to listen to his instructions. It is 
 BO among the four classes of Buddha's disciples, with those 
 who for gain say they have attained eminent enlighten- 
 ment. By their foolish doctrine they destroy the son of 
 the good, falsely assume a benevolent character, and must 
 in consequence endure much suffering. They resemble 
 the Brahman who killed his son." 
 
 The book proceeds to speak of the Buddhas and their 
 teaching. They are not liable to the errors of such men. 
 The Buddhas in giving instruction keep a middle path, 
 without encroachment on either side. They are neither 
 too constant on the one hand, nor are they too interrupted 
 and inconstant on the other. There is in their actions 
 and teaching no disproportion. Various pretendera, how- 
 ever, try to imitate them, and fall into the errors of boast- 
 ing, lying, and extravagance. Men, in exhibiting the form 
 of the law, fail to present to view the true law. 
 
 These extracts are taken from the " Book of a Hundred 
 Parables," Pe-yii-king, chapter ii., translated by Gunabidi. 
 
 There is a book of moral instructions, arranged in the 
 form of the Gdtha, witli headings, such as teaching, con- 
 versation, mercy, &c. It is called Fa-kil-king, " Book of 
 
 I 
 I 
 
FAN- WAXC-ICrNG. 287 
 
 the Dharma in Sentences." There are five hundred of 
 these sentences. In India every student read this book 
 at the beginning of his course. If he did not read 
 this among the many books of his religion, he omitted 
 the preface. 
 
 The sentences are of the following nature: — When rising 
 in the morning you should think, " My life will not last 
 long. It is like the vessel of the potter, easily broken. 
 He who dies does not return." On this is grounded an 
 appeal to men to learn Buddha's law. 
 
 It was translated from the work of Tau-lio by Kumara- 
 jiva. 
 
 There are some other works specially devoted to fables 
 and parables, such as Tsa-yil-king, " Book of Miscellane- 
 ous Parables." 
 
 Among works specially deserving attention is Fan- 
 wang-king. This book on the " Discipline " or Vinaya, 
 is the Brahmajala^ " Net of Brahma." 
 
 Mr. Gogerly, in the Ceylon Friend, published a brief 
 translation of the work. See Beal in Second Congress of 
 Orientalists, p. 134. It states the rules which guide the 
 Bodhisattwa. 
 
 The Chinese Fo-pe7i-hing-tsi-king is in Sanscrit " Abhi- 
 nishkramana Sutra." It has been translated by Beal, who 
 thinks the narratives it contains will explain the " Sanchi 
 topes," the inscriptions on which are hard to identify in 
 any books. It is a life of Buddha, with many episodes, 
 which may also illustrate the inscriptions at Bharhut, 
 Amravati, &c. 
 
 Mr. Beal finds in the Chan-tsi-king the " Sama Jataka," 
 which contains part of the story of Dasaratha and Rama, 
 and refers to an allusion in the travels of Fa-hien, to 
 a festival in Ceylon, which may have light thrown on 
 it by this book. 
 
 S^ma was Shakyamuni Buddha in a former life, living 
 in a forest with his father and mother, who were blind. 
 He fed them with fruits, fetched water for them, and was 
 
288 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 beloved by the deer and other wild animals of the woods. 
 At last the king came on a hunting expedition, shot an 
 arrow into a large herd of deer by the water side, and 
 killed S4ma with it, who happened to be in the middle 
 of the herd. S§<ma died, and the king was most penitent, 
 while the parents wept over their son. The gods seeing 
 this sad spectacle — the parents lamenting over their son, 
 and the sympathising Kaja — came and restored him to 
 Hfe. 
 
 The work Pratimoksha is mentioned in the last instruc- 
 tions of Buddha. It contains the rules of discipline for 
 the disciples of Buddha. He left this, when dying, in 
 the hands of his followers, as their guide for holy conduct. 
 
 A translation of the first chapter of the Leng-yen-hing 
 and of a short Shastra here follow. 
 
 The Leng- yen-king is praised by Chu Hi and other Con- 
 fucianists as the best worth reading of the Buddhist sacred 
 books. 
 
( 289 ) 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 THE LENG-YEN-KING. — FIRST CHAPTER. 
 
 The Sutra of firm establishment in all doctrine, describing clearly 
 the secret merit and attainments in the religious life of Tath&- 
 gata, who appears as Buddha in his great and unsurpassed 
 stature ; also the many acts of tlie Bodhisattwas. 
 
 It is called also Chung-yin'tu-na-lan-to-ta-tau-chfang-hing. 
 " The Sutra of Nalanda, the great seat of worship, in Cen- 
 tral India." 
 
 The monastery of Nalanda, in the kingdom of Magadha, 
 the present Bahar, was of great size, and lasted through 
 more than seven centuries. The Chinese traveller Hiuen- 
 tsang visited it. He found there ten thousand monks living 
 in six buildings erected by as many monarchs, forming 
 together one great ascetic establishment, the most splendid 
 in India. It was celebrated as a place of study both for 
 the Brahmanical books and those of Buddhism, and was 
 devoted to the study of that branch of Buddhist doctrine 
 called the " Greater Development." For legends connected 
 with this flourishing seat of Buddhism, the translation by 
 M. Julien of Hiuen-tsang's travels, from which I have de- 
 rived these facts, may be consulted. It lay about thirty 
 miles south-east of the modern Patna. 
 
 The Chinese translation of the Zeng -yen-king was made 
 in the year 705 a.d., by Paramiti, a Hindoo Buddhist monk 
 at Canton. He was assisted by Yung-pi, a Chinese, and 
 
290 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Migashakya, a native of Udyana, a country lying north- 
 west of Cashmere. 
 
 Translation. 
 
 Thus have T heard: — On a time, Buddha was at the 
 city Shravasti, in the chapel in the grove of Jeta. He was 
 there with twelve hundred and fifty Bikshus, his disciples, 
 who had all attained the rank of Arhan. These children 
 of Buddha were at rest in their minds, grasping firmly the 
 doctrine of their master, and excelling in goodness. They 
 might in any country be patterns of virtue and dignity. 
 They attended to the " monastic rules " ( Viriayd) with ex- 
 emplary carefulness. Assuming without limitation what- 
 ever bodily form was needed, they could save men from 
 misery. Their names were Shariputra, Maha Maudgal- 
 yayana, Maha Kuhila, the son of Puruna, Mitarani, 
 Subh^ti, Upauishata, and others. 
 
 Besides these, innumerable Pratyekas, together with 
 many who had just begun to desire improvement in 
 knowledge, came to the place where Buddha was, at the 
 close of summer, repenting of their former evil acts. 
 
 Remarks. — Shravasti was situated in what is now the province of 
 Oude. Pratyekas are called in Chinese either P'it-ti, or P^ it-ti-ka-la. 
 They are in Sanscrit denominated " Pratyeka " Buddha, and in Chi- 
 nese Yuen-kioh, " those who have attained intelligence by the study 
 of causes." When a period occurs in the world's history without a 
 Buddha, the Pratyekas appear, and, arriving at the perception of doc- 
 trine in his absence, take his place as teacher till he arrives. 
 
 It happened to be the time when the Bikshus at the 
 close of summer were released from restraint. From every 
 region Bodliisattwas came to ask questions and liave their 
 doubts removed. They listened respectfully, and sought 
 to know the secret thoughts of their teacher. Tathagata 
 sat in a tranquil attitude, and addressed to his audience 
 profound doctrines which they had not before heard. His 
 voice, like the singing of the Kalavingka, penetrated to 
 the boundaries of the world. Bodhisattwas, numerous as 
 
ANANDA TEMPTED. v^x 
 
 the sauds of the Ganges, crowded to the assembly, and 
 Manjusiri was chief among them. 
 
 At this time king Prasenajit had, in memory of his 
 father's death, prepared a vegetable repast for Buddha. 
 He invited Buddha to the interior apartments of his palace, 
 and came himself to conduct him in. He also invited the 
 Bodbisattwas. 
 
 In the city there was a man of rank who had also bid- 
 den the monks to a feast, and was waiting the arrival of 
 Buddha. Buddha directed Manjusiri to send some of the 
 Bodbisattwas and Arhans to attend the feast in place of 
 himself. 
 
 Ananda alone had been invited elsewhere at some dis- 
 tance, and had not returned. He was too late to take his 
 place with the others, and there was no older monk with 
 him nor an A-je-li to admonish him. He was coming 
 back alone and empty-handed. As he passed along the 
 streets he held in his hand a rice bowl, and asked alms 
 from door to door. He was desiring that he might be 
 entertained by some one who had not already invited the 
 monks. He would not ask if the viands were pleasant to 
 the taste or not, whether the host was of the Kshatrya 
 caste, or belonged to the Chendaras. Feeling the same 
 kind disposition towards rich and poor, he did not choose 
 honour in preference to poverty, but was anxious that all 
 with whom he met should obtain unmeasured happiness 
 (by almsgiving). 
 
 Ananda knew that Buddha had blamed Subh^ti and 
 Kashiapa, because they had not obtained the evenhanded 
 justice of the Arhans, and he had reverently listened to 
 his wise advice for relieving scruples and preventing sus- 
 picions and slanders. 
 
 He crossed the moat, and slowly approached the gate. 
 His demeanour was grave. It was that of one who reve- 
 rently observed the dietetic regulations. 
 
 He passed on his way the house of a prostitute, and fell 
 under the influence of enchantment. Matenga, by means 
 
292 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 of a charm obtained from Brahma by one of the Sabikaras, 
 drew him to her couch, and he was about to break his vow 
 of chastity. 
 
 Ta'hagata knew that he had been enthralled by the 
 charm. On returning from the repast to which he had 
 been invited, the king, his courtiers, and many persons of 
 reputation in the city, came to hear Buddha discourse. 
 Light shone from the head of Tath%ata, seeming to com- 
 bine the several rays of all precious stones. Out of this 
 mild radiance was seen to spring a lotus flower with a 
 profusion of petals, and upon it Buddha sat crosslegged 
 with metamorphosed body, uttering a mighty charm. He 
 sent this charm by the hand of Manjusiri to save Ananda. 
 The messenger went, and the influence of the wicked 
 charm being broken, he brought Ananda with Matenga to 
 the presence of Tath^gata. 
 
 Remarks. — The bird called Kalavingka had a very soft, rich 
 voice. 
 
 Prasenajit, the king of Shravasti, was very favourable to the 
 Buddhist religion. It was his minister Sudatta who bought the gar- 
 den of Jeta from the prince of that name, and erected iu it a residence 
 for IBuddha. (See Julien's Memoires sur Us Contrees Occidentales.) 
 Many of the Sutras attributed to Buddha are said to have been de- 
 livered here. At the time of Hiuen-tsang's visit the city was mostly 
 in ruins. He observed the remains of the monastery formerly stand- 
 ing on the site of the garden of Jeta, two miles below the city. (See 
 Julien's Histoire de la Vie de Hiouen-tksang). It was here that the 
 Bikshus assembled to listen to Buddha. 
 
 During three months in summer the Bikshus lived in seclusion, 
 forbidden to travel or to see Buddha. At the end of this time they 
 met before Buddha, and gave liberty to each other to point out any 
 faults in their conduct, in order that they might undergo a penance 
 ap])ointed by Buddha. 
 
 The word A je-li means an instructor in the ascetic discipline. 
 It was required that, in going to a distance, at least three should be 
 in company. A monk in the position of Ananda should have had 
 with him a superior in rank and also an A-je-li. 
 
 When Buddhism was flourishing in India, the Kshatrya-s and 
 Chendaras were at the two extremea of the Bocial scale. The kings 
 
 I 
 
ANANDA PENITENT, 293 
 
 and nobles belonged to the Kshatrya caste. The Chendaras were 
 butchers, and belonged to various humble trades. 
 
 Subhiiti asked alms only from the rich, because they were able to 
 give. Kashiapa preferred to beg of the poor, desiring to increase 
 their happiness. Buddha blamed them both for transgressing the 
 rule of justice. 
 
 The Sabikaras were a heretical sect, with brown hair, who fasted 
 on rice. They obtained this charm by special worship of the god 
 Brahma. It was capable of being communicated to others, and Ma- 
 tenga made use of it. 
 
 The conmientator, Te-ts'ing, a Chinese Buddhist monk of the 
 Ming dynasty, says that a superficial reader might wonder why this 
 Sutra, which unveils the hidden nature of man, points out a secure 
 place of rest, and unfolds a doctrine in all respects complete, should 
 make such an ordinary incident as the temptation of Ananda its 
 point of departure. He says, in explanation, that it is the passions 
 which prevent men from attaining the Nirvana. Among the 
 passions sensual lust is the most powerful, and therefore it needs a 
 remedy of corresponding strength to remove it. 
 
 Ananda, on seeing Buddha, bowed his head to the 
 ground and bitterly wept. He grieved that he had not 
 yet made a successful beginning, and that, after all the 
 instruction he had received, he should still be deficient 
 in moral strength. With earnestness he asked to know 
 how the Buddhas of all worlds had obtained entrance to 
 the region of rest and contemplation. 
 
 The auditors, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, sat 
 silent, waiting for Buddha to address them. 
 
 He then said to Ananda ; — " You and I are akin by 
 birth. We are thus caused by heaven to love each other. 
 You formerly felt a desire to follow my teaching. What 
 beautiful appearance was it which led you to forsake the 
 world's deep love ? " Ananda replied : " I saw the thirty- 
 two beauties of Tathagata.^ They are inexpressibly lovely, 
 and the bodily form to which they belong is transparent 
 as crystal. I reflected that such a form cannot be pro- 
 duced by earthly love. Because the bodily desires are 
 
 ^ "Tath^gata," an appellation of Buddha, is, in Chinese, Ju-lai, "Calmly 
 approaching.' 
 
294 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 coarse and ill-smelling lusts, and they cannot give origin 
 to a pure bright form radiating a purple golden light like 
 that of Tathagata ; therefore I thirsted to follow Buddha 
 and be shorn of my hair, in token of my abandonment of 
 a worldly life." 
 
 Buddha replied : — " You speak well, Ananda. All men 
 continue to live and die, and live and die again, because 
 they do not know that the mind should rest in a state of 
 constant purity, and their nature be kept clear and true to 
 itself. Ideas arise in their minds which are not true, and 
 perforce they enter the wheel of ceaseless revolution. If 
 you would attain the highest knowledge and develop your 
 true nature in its clearness, answer honestly my inquiries. 
 The Buddhas have trodden one path to escape from life 
 and death. They have kept their hearts right. Their 
 hearts and words were right, and they have therefore 
 begun well and ended welL Thus they have no wrong 
 thoughts or pernicious changes. I now ask you, Ananda, 
 when your heart was attracted towards the thirty-two 
 beauties of Tathagata, what was it that saw, and what was 
 it that loved ? " Ananda replied : " This love came from 
 the use of my heart and my eye. My eye saw the trans- 
 cendent beauty of Buddha, and my heart felt love. There- 
 fore it was that I desired to become freed from life and 
 death." 
 
 Buddha answered : — " Since this love came from the 
 heart and the eye, you must know where these organs 
 reside; otherwise you cannot overcome the evils caused 
 by the 'objects of sense* {ch'en). When a country is 
 ravaged, the troops sent to chastise the marauders must 
 know where they are to be found. I ask, then, where the 
 heart and eye, the enemies who have done you harm, 
 reside?" 
 
 Remarks. — The pasedong are the cause of men being subject to life 
 and death. To set them at rest is the means of attaining to the state 
 of Buddha. Ananda had been led away by passion, and he asks to 
 
BUDDHA QUESTIONS ANANDA. 295 
 
 be reinstructed in the mode of escape. He felt the evil to be great, 
 and that some very powerful agency was needed to destroy it. He 
 desired to commence self-reformation afresh, but not knowing where 
 to begin, he asks for information. The first step is to observe, con- 
 template, and loosen the heart from its attachments. 
 
 Buddha does not proceed at once to describe the three modes of 
 contemplation, but first inquii?es of him why, in the firet instance, 
 he had commenced the ascetic life. The answer of Ananda revealed 
 the cause of his want of success. Love had been awakened in his 
 mind by the sight of beautiful forms. This was because his mode 
 of thinking was wrong. He had only exchanged one love for an- 
 other. His heart had been attracted by a beautiful vision ; but he 
 had not seen Buddha in his higher character. If he was right in 
 loving Buddha, might he not also love Matenga ? 
 
 Not only is Ananda the victim of wrong thoughts. All men are 
 so ; and therefore it is that they do not emerge from the region of 
 life and death. But man's true nature cannot be developed where 
 wrong thoughts prevail. The exciting causes of this wrong state of 
 things must be examined into. It is the work of the senses. The 
 senses are the six enemies that disturb the original tranquillity of 
 man's nature. These six thieves, as they are called, are ruled by 
 the heart and the eye. The place where they reside must be dis- 
 covered. 
 
 The answer of Ananda was that " living beings, of all 
 the ten different kinds, without exception regard the per- 
 ceiving faculty and the heart or mind as being within 
 the body. They also see that Buddha's eye forms a part 
 of Buddha's countenance. This eye of mine and three 
 other organs of sense are a part of my face. My ' heart * 
 (mind), then the perceiving organ, is certainly within 
 my body." 
 
 Buddha replied to him : — " You are sitting in this house. 
 You see the grove of Jeta. I ask you where it is ? " " It 
 is," answered Ananda, " outside of this hall. This house 
 is in the garden of Anathapindika. And assuredly the 
 grove is outside of the house." Buddha again inquired : 
 " In this house what do you first see ? " Ananda replied : 
 " I first see Tathagata, then the audience, and farther off 
 the trees and the garden." Buddha continued : " In look- 
 
296 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 towards the trees and the garden, how do you perceive 
 them ? " Auanda replied : " By the door and other open- 
 ings." Buddha then stretched out his golden arm, and 
 touching the head of Ananda, said : " There is a samadhi 
 called that of the Sheu-leng-yen Rajah, who is Buddha-like 
 in size and stature. It embraces all good actions, and 
 describes how all the Buddhas were rescued from the 
 world of sense and entered the glorious path that leads 
 to confirmed rest. Listen ! " Ananda made a prostration, 
 and waited to hear. 
 
 Remarks. — Hluen-tsang relates that the grove of Jeta is "six Zi" 
 (two miles) south of the city Shravasti. In this grove was the 
 garden of Andthapindika or Anathapindada. At the time when 
 the Chinese traveller visited it, the convent which was formerly 
 there was in ruins. Jeta sold the land to Sudatta, and himself gave 
 the grove. Andthajpindika means "He who gives to orphans.'' 
 Sudatta was so named on account of his charities. 
 
 Samadhi is a sort of waking dream or reverie, occurring to Bud- 
 dha or his disciples when engaged in deep contemplation, and in 
 which an impression or vision teaching certain religious dogmas 
 seems present to the mind's eye. 
 
 The commentator Te-ts'ing remarks that men generally fall into 
 the error of Ananda. They think that the mind is enclosed in the 
 visible body. Continuance in the sphere of the metempsychosis 
 arises from men's mistaken opinion that the body, the mind, and 
 "their B,Q.iioTis." {wu-tjun) constitute myself. This false view must 
 be first combated. Buddha, being about to subvert the cherished 
 opinions of Ananda, kindly placed his hand upon his head to in- 
 spire him with confidence, lest he should feel pained. 
 
 Buddha : — " According to what you say you are in this 
 hall, and through the open doors you see the garclen and 
 the grove. If you could not see Tatb^gata, would you be 
 able to see what is outside of the hall ? " 
 
 Ananda : — " That could not be." 
 
 Buddha : — " This to your mind is perfectly clear. Now, 
 if that mind which perceives it be within the body, men 
 ought first to see what is within the body and afterwards 
 
BUDDHA INSTRUCTS ANANDA. 297 
 
 what is outside. Since we do not see the heart, liver, 
 and other viscera, while we can perceive the growth of 
 nails and hair, and the movements of muscles and pulses, 
 the heart cannot reside within the body." 
 
 Ananda (bowing) : — " As I hear the instructions of 
 Tathagata, I am made to perceive the truth, that my 
 mind resides outside of my body. For it is like a lamp 
 lighted in a house. It first shines on what is within the 
 house, and then through the door upon the portico. Since 
 men see only what is outside the body, the perceiving 
 mind cannot reside within them. This statement is in- 
 controvertibly right." 
 
 Buddha : — When these Bil^shus come to seek me in 
 this city of Shravasti, and assemble at the grove of Jeta, 
 should you see one of them eating, would all of them be 
 thereby relieved from hunger ? " 
 
 Ananda : — " No ! for although they were Arhans and 
 share in a different kind of existence, how could one 
 man's taking food remove hunger from the rest ? " 
 
 Buddha : — " The mind and body being entirely separate 
 from each other, neither of them can know what is known 
 to the other. I now show you my hand. Your eye sees 
 it, but does your mind distinguish it ? " 
 
 Ananda : — *' Yes, Honoured Chief of the world ! " 
 
 Buddha : — " If both perceive it, then it is wrong to say 
 that they are separate from each other, and that the mind 
 dwells outside of the body." 
 
 Ananda : — " Buddha has said that the mind, not seeing 
 what is within the body, cannot reside there. Further, 
 he has said that when the mind and body both know 
 what is known to the other, they cannot be outside of 
 each other, but must be in one place." 
 
 Buddha : — " Where, then, is the mind placed ? " 
 
 Ananda : — " I think it must be hidden in the organs of 
 sense. The eye is to the mind like a piece of glass which 
 does not interfere with vision. Whenever the eye sees. 
 
298 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 the mind at once distinguishes. The reason why the 
 mind does not see the interior of the body is because 
 it resides in the sensorial organs, and its position there 
 enables it to notice objects outside of the body.'* 
 
 Buddha : — " Supposing that it is so, I ask what a man 
 will see when a glass is placed before his eyes ? When 
 he sees the hills and mountains beyond, will he see the 
 glass also ? " 
 
 Ananda : — " He will see the glass." 
 Buddha :— " If so, why should not the eye be seen at 
 the time when hills and rivers are visible through it ? 
 But if the eye be seen it is a part of the scenery observed 
 by the mind, and there is no interdependence between 
 the two, so that the mind should at once perceive what 
 is an object of vision to the eye. But if the mind does 
 not see the eye, then it cannot be said that the mind 
 resides in the organs of sense." 
 
 Ananda: — "I have now thought upon another thing. 
 The viscera are in the interior of the body, while the 
 various apertures are outside. There is darkness in the 
 one and light in the other. While I look at Buddha my 
 eye is open and sees light. In this case I see what is 
 external. When I close my eyes I see darkness. In this 
 case I see what is internal. Is this a correct distinc- 
 tion?" 
 
 Buddha : — " When you close your eyes and look on dark- 
 ness, is the darkness which you see ' objective to the eye * 
 (wei-u-yen-tui), or not ? If the darkness be objective, it is 
 something before the eye, and it is therefore wrong to say 
 that it is internal. If, on the other hand, the darkness be 
 internal, then the darkness you see in a room where no 
 light can enter is nothing but the interior of your body. 
 If, however, the darkness be not ' objective ' (tui) to 
 the eye, it cannot be said to be seen. If the darkness be 
 internal, and is yet seen objectively by the eye, why do 
 you not see your face when with open eyes you look 
 
AMANDA ENLIGHTENED. 299 
 
 on brightness ? If you see your face, the perceiving mind 
 with the organ of vision must be in vacancy. They can- 
 not then be within the body, nor can they be a part of it. 
 For if they were a part of your body, then I who now see 
 your face should be part of your body. By means of your 
 eye which is in vacancy, you know that your body does 
 not perceive objects. You must therefore hold that there 
 are two acts of perceiving and two perceiving agents. 
 You would thus become two persons. It cannot therefore 
 be said, that in closing the eye and looking on darkness 
 you see what is within." 
 
 Ananda : — " I have heard Buddha say that actions spring 
 from the mind, and the mind from action (i.e., mind and 
 action are necessary to each other, and equally unreal). It 
 appears to me that my thoughts are my mind, and that 
 wherever my thought is, there is my mind. Thus the 
 seat of the mind need not be within or without, or in an 
 intermediate position." 
 
 Buddha : — " The mind, Ananda, cannot be where the 
 thought is; for it is without 'substance' {p%)y and cannot 
 be at any place. For if an unsubstantial thing could be 
 said to be at a place, the eighteen limiting points which 
 excite sensations would become nineteen, and the six 
 objects of sense would become seven. But that the mind 
 is unsubstantial can easily be shown. When I touch my- 
 self with my hand, the knowing mind (the resulting act 
 of knowledge) must come from within outwards, or from 
 without inwards. If the former, the interior of the body 
 would be visible ; if the latter, I should first see my face. 
 Since I see neither, my mind must be unsubstantial." 
 
 Ananda : — " It is the eye that sees ; though it is not 
 the eye that knows. To say that the mind sees is in- 
 correct." 
 
 Buddha : — " If the eye could see, the door of the house in 
 which you are might also be able to see. The eye of the 
 dead sees nothing. Further, Ananda, the mind, if it has 
 
300 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 substance, must be one substance or many. Your mind 
 must pervade your entire body or not. If your mind be a 
 single substance, when you touch one limb all the limbs 
 should feel the pressure. If it were felt everywhere, the 
 sensation would not be referred to any particular spot. If 
 the sensation belongs to one part, you who are the subject 
 of it cannot form a single substance. But neither can 
 you be many substances, for then you would be many 
 men. If the substance of your mind pervade your entire 
 body, a sensation of pressure would be felt in every 
 part. If it pervaded the body partially, a portion of it 
 would be susceptible to touch, while the remaining parts 
 were not so. Since this is not the case, your supposi- 
 tion, that the mind is wherever thought is, falls to the 
 ground." 
 
 Ananda : — " Formerly I heard Buddha discoursing with 
 Manjusiri and others on the true nature of things which 
 appear. You then said the mind is neither within nor 
 without the body. It seems to me that without interior 
 perception there can be no external knowledge. What is 
 in the body must be perceived, if we are to know what 
 is outside of the body ; else the mind cannot be within 
 the body at all. As it is, we only perceive what is 
 outside, and not what is within. The mind, therefore, 
 must be neither within nor without, but between the 
 two." 
 
 Buddha, in his reply, argues that Ananda is wrong, and 
 that the place of the mind is not between the inside and 
 the outside, any more than it is within the body or with- 
 out in the material things which are the objects of sensa- 
 tions. 
 
 So ends the first chapter of this book. 
 
 i2«marA;«.— The eighteen limiting "boundaries" (kiai) of the sensa- 
 tions are — eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind, colour, sound, smell, 
 taste, " contact" (cAm), law, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, 
 and thinking. 
 
THE EIGHTEEN BOUNDARIES. 301 
 
 These eighteen items are otherwise arranged as six roots, the sen- 
 sorial organs, six kinds of dust, colour, taste, smell, &c., and six 
 kinds of sensational knowledge. 
 
 The second group of six are also called the six thieves, as being the 
 causes of delusion to all mankind who believe in matter. 
 
 The first six are also called the six eubjects that " love" (at), and 
 the six things that " feel " (tsHng), 
 
 I 
 
( 3W ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE EKASHLOKA SH ASTRA. 
 
 The "Ekashloka Shastra," translated from the Chinese, with an 
 analysis and notes.^ 
 
 The author of the original work, of which a translation is 
 here given from the Chinese version, was the patriarch 
 "Nagarjuna" (or Lung-shu), of whom much has been 
 said in the preceding part of this book. Beside being 
 the writer of many of the more important Shastras, he 
 also composed several of the Sutras, though these works 
 are generally attributed to Shakyamuni Buddha. A keen 
 reasoner, acute thinker, and voluminous author, such as 
 Nagarjuna, deserves to be better known, and it is hoped 
 that the following translation of one of his lesser works 
 will prove not altogether useless in the elucidation of 
 Buddhism. 
 
 It is called Yih-shu-lu-kia-lun, the "Shastra of One 
 shloka." The three characters shu-lu-kia are in old Chi- 
 nese pronunciation sho-lo-ka. When a double consonant 
 begins a syllable, it is usual to employ the same vowel 
 after each consonant in transcribing them in Chinese 
 characters. 
 
 Shloka is a Sanscrit term for " verse," and particularly 
 for a couplet of a certain kind. I take the following 
 account of it from Williams' Sanscrit Grammar : — " The 
 Institutes of Manu are written in the Sloka, or Anushticbh 
 
 ^ Read before the Shanghai Literary and Scientific Society, 17th NoTember 
 
 «857. 
 
THE EKASHLOKA SHASTRA. y&% 
 
 metre. This is the commonest of all the infinite variety of 
 Sanscrit metres, and is that which chiefly prevails in the 
 great epic poems of the East. It consists of two lines of 
 sixteen syllables each, but the rules which regulate one 
 line apply equally to the other." "The ist, 2d, 3d, 4th, 
 9th, loth, nth, and 12th syllables may be either long or 
 short. The 1 6th, as ending the line, is also common; so 
 too the 8th." " The 5th syllable ought always to be short. 
 The 6th may be either long or short; but if long, then 
 the 7th ought to be long also; and if short, then the 7th 
 ought to be short also." "The last four syllables form 
 two iambics." 
 
 The Hindoo author has in the present instance taken a 
 single couplet as his theme, and hence the name of his 
 short treatise. This couplet, consisting in its Chinese form 
 of four short sentences, appears at the commencement. 
 
 We are also informed by an introductory note that the 
 treatise was translated into Chinese, from the original of 
 Lung-shu p'u-sa, by the Brahman Gaudama Prajnaluti, at 
 the city of Lo-yang, in the reign of the Yuen-Wei dynasty. 
 This city is that now called Ho-nan fu, on the south bank 
 of the Yellow Kiver, in Ho-nan province. The time of the 
 translation is the fourth century of our era. 
 
 Translation of " Yih-shu-lu-kia-lun " 
 
 (the SHASTRA OF ONE SHLOKA). 
 
 ** My body (or substance) in its nature is not permanent ; 
 Thus, then, my body is not a body. 
 My body in its nature not being a body, 
 I therefore say that it is empty and not permanent." 
 
 " It is asked, Why write this " stanza " {Gdtlia) ? What 
 is its meaning? What man's opinions is it intended to 
 overthrow? I reply, It is written on account of those, 
 who in reading Shastras of great length grow weary ; and 
 also for those intelligent persons, who have studied many 
 Shastras, and exercised their thoughts (deeply) in the sea 
 of Buddha's law, but growing fatigued have begun to doubt 
 
304 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 about the doctrine, not by any means to be questioned 
 or suspected, of the non-permanence of things and the 
 nothingness of my own body. To destroy such doubts 
 I have composed this Shastra. 
 
 " What says my doctrine ? That all kinds of " acting " 
 (/a) are non-permanent, and my own body is nothing. 
 The non-reality of my body is not separate from the 
 non-permanence of all action, my nature and my body 
 being nothing. Therefore there is no such thing as per- 
 manence. 
 
 '' All the Buddhas, and their disciples of the two classes 
 Yneiv-'kidh and Sheng-wen ("Listeners," Shrdvaka), have 
 obtained their liberation from ignorance by means of this 
 principle of nothingness; not by the opposite principle, 
 which maintains the existence of breaking off, and of per- 
 manence in actions. The Gdtha says : — 
 
 '* Lose sight of this principle of nothingness, and prefer to re- 
 side in body ; 
 You then obtain a view of things as permanent. 
 If you say that afterwards they are to be destroyed. 
 You thus come to see things as having cessation." 
 
 " With this meaning I speak of all actions as being in 
 themselves without real embodiment. The Buddhas, the 
 ' Enlightened* {Yuen-kioh)^ the Listeners, and the Arhans 
 have gained their benefits and successes by believing in 
 this principle. 
 
 " I will now speak of what men are to be opposed. If 
 a man who has gained some knowledge says that, with- 
 out reference to * action ' {king), there is non-permanence, 
 his view is not the correct one. If the so-called non-per- 
 manence is separated from ' existence,* yeu-wd, or (actu- 
 ality), iu order to be called non-permanent, then permanence 
 becomes nothing. Thus, then, actuality and non-reality 
 are not essentially different. If actuality and non-reality 
 combine, the actual being joined to the unreal, a bottle 
 cannot be broken (which is absurd, a bottle being an actical 
 thing). If the unreal and the actual combine, the unreal 
 
CAUSATION. 30s 
 
 being joined to the actual, the Nirvana is destructible 
 (which is absurd, the Nirvana being not an actual thing). 
 If the actual and the unreal are, as thus argued, identical, 
 all kinds of * teaching ' (or ' action,' fa) are indestructible, 
 like the Nirvana, which is permanent, and is, therefore, 
 not produced from any cause. If * actions ' ijiing) are not 
 produced from causes, they do not differ from the empty 
 Nirvana. In this case, the method or state of * actuality ' 
 {yeu-wei) need not be called constant. But if the things 
 done, being not produced from causes, are still non-per- 
 manent, then the empty Nirvana is not called permanent. 
 If this be true, the methods of actuality and of non-reality 
 are neither of them good. If the non-permanent is parted 
 from actuality and is still called non-permanent, then actu- 
 ality apart from constancy ought to be called constant. 
 But this is not correct reasoning. In which of the Sutras 
 are there such words as these ? 
 
 " What ideas are to be discoursed upon ? What mean- 
 ing is there in that which you now say ? There is much 
 in it that is unreasonable, such as your crooked mind 
 cannot fathom. Therefore what you say, is not correct 
 doctrine. If men, who have gained some knowledge, 
 maintain that the (action or) 'law ' of the past, present, and 
 future is in each case completed from and in itself, this is 
 to be regarded as a false view. Why so ? Because it is a 
 view which omits the notion of cause. If we speak of the 
 future as not being produced from causes, but as formed 
 from and in itself, then the present is also not produced 
 from causes, but is formed from its own nature. For the 
 future and the present are, in their own nature, even and 
 equal, without any difference. If so, and the law of the 
 present comes from causes, why, in this case, should not 
 the law of the future come from causes also ? You ground 
 this view either on the Sutras, or upon your own judg- 
 ment. But the statement is incorrect and unreasonable. 
 Being unreasonable, it is not to be believed. If the law 
 that regards the future is not produced from causes, but 
 
 u 
 
566 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 comes from its own nature, it must be an empty thing. 
 Being cut off from any connection with causes, it cannot 
 be produced from any cause. It is, therefore, not truly 
 future in itself. But if the future is non-existent, then 
 the present and past are also non-existent. The present 
 and the past being non-existent, then time in its threefold 
 aspect is really nothing in itself. If it be said that it has 
 a real existence, this is to say that it is permanent, and is 
 produced without a cause. 
 
 " If the disciple of Buddha thinks so, who has reached 
 some depth in perception, he does not differ from the here- 
 tical teachers, Kapila and others. This Shastra, however, 
 is not made for such as Kapila and Uluka, but for you 
 who hold the same views with me. What I have thus far 
 said, in opposition to the opinions of certain persons, is for 
 the sake of you who have made some advancement, that 
 you may reject incorrect views. 
 
 " It is on this account that I have compiled this Shastra 
 and the ' Gdtha of one shloJca ' ( Yi-sho-lo-ka-lun), which 
 commences my book. I shall now explain the meaning 
 of this GdtJia. 
 
 " When it is said, ' My body, in its nature, is not per- 
 manent,' * my body ' refers to that which is born and acts, 
 and which is, therefore, called ' my body.' He who has 
 made advancement in right perception, being in the midst 
 of this acting, thinks out for himself that this is the body 
 (or takes it to be the body). This acting commences in 
 the region of the physical and mental operations.^ In it 
 are involved also the Sheng-wen and Yuen-kioh, who wander 
 circuitously (in this lower region). Thus, when we speak 
 of bodies, as one, two, or several ; or of men, as one, two, 
 or several ; each is considered as having a body indepen- 
 dent of the rest, and they are commonly spoken of as such. 
 As earth, water, fire, and wind are respectively hard, moist, 
 hot, and movable, each according to its nature ; so every 
 
 1 The "human operations are five," wu-yiv — oamely, ski, " vision ; " iheu, 
 " reception ; " $iang^ " thinking ; king, ** doing ; " «AI, " perception.' 
 
 "^n 
 
 I 
 
NON-PERMANENCE OF OBJECTS. 307 
 
 man (and thing) has his own form and substance. Hence 
 the expression, * my body.* 
 
 " If he who has made some advancement in knowledge 
 says that man in his birth, in his continued life, and in his 
 death, is the same in form, he speaks erroneously. The 
 body of man is, in its nature, not permanent, and, there- 
 fore, its being called body has arisen from the circum- 
 stance that men who have advanced somewhat in true 
 knowledge have made this distinction. Therefore apart 
 from the various modes of action, there is no non-perma- 
 nent body ; because man is, in his form, not permanent. 
 
 " Therefore Buddha, in instiTicting the Bikshus respect- 
 ing various acts, represents them all as not constant. This 
 is on account of what has been already said. 
 
 " If it be maintained that, apart from acting, men and 
 things are non-permanent, retaining their own form, such 
 an opinion is wrong. Should you not understand why the 
 phrase non-permanent is used, I will now explain it. It 
 is because of what is said in the opening stanza, ' Body is 
 not body.' The notions of body and not body you easily 
 distinguish. The non-permanent, what is it ? It is with- 
 out body. Therefore it is, that body is not body. In its 
 own nature it is not body, and therefore it is formally 
 stated to be without body. 
 
 " When it is said, ' My substance, in its nature, is not 
 substance,' it is asserted that there is no substance but 
 that which is ' not substance ' (wu-Vi). For this reason it 
 is said that substance in itself is not such. If you hold 
 that there is some substance existing beside wu-V% you are 
 wrong; this mode of arguing is not that of the Sutras. 
 If you assert that the * absence of body ' {vni-fi) is what con- 
 stitutes substance, this also is incorrect ; because the Sutras 
 do not say so. In what Sutra has Buddha, the World's 
 Honoured one, taught such a doctrine ? It is not to be 
 found in any Sutra, for it is not ' correct teaching ' (Jcing- 
 shwo, the * teaching of the classics ') ; such arguments can- 
 not succeed, because they are not the doctrine of the great 
 
3o8 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 holy Sutras ; they ought not, therefore, to be believed, 
 is, then, not only my own words that I bring as evidence. 
 
 " The last sentence says, ' Therefore it is stated to be 
 empty and not permanent.' Kefer, for example, to the 
 Sutra, Tiau-fuh-san-mih-t'i'Tcing, 'Narrative of Buddha 
 pacifying and subduing Samidhi,' which says, that Buddha 
 addressed Samidhi with the words, 'The eye of man is 
 empty and not permanent. There is no eye that does not 
 move, that does not perish, that does not change. And 
 why ? It is its nature so to do. The ear, nose, tongue, 
 body, and mind have all the same changeable and destruc- 
 tible nature.' 
 
 " Buddha, the World's Honoured one, speaking in this 
 Sutra of emptiness and of non-permanence, on this account 
 expressed the opinion here stated. Thus we know that all 
 acts are empty and non-permanent. Being not permanent, 
 they are without ' body ' (H). Consequently all acts are, 
 in their nature and of themselves, without bodily form. 
 It is in this way that the meaning of the words xvu-t'i, 
 ' without body,' is established. 
 
 " If, in this manner, an opinion be tested by the Sutras, 
 it will be well established. If it will not bear this test, it 
 must fall to the ground. In my view, what is in the 
 Sutras must be completely satisfactory. Therefore it is 
 that the opinion, that ' (my) nature {sing) is in itself with- 
 out body,' has been now employed to bring to its comple- 
 tion ' the Shastra of one Shloka.' 
 
 " All kinds of action (or existence), such as body, nature, 
 'act' (doctrine), thing, matter, * existence ' {yeii), are diffe- 
 rent in name, but the same in meaning. Whichever of 
 these we speak of, the only difference between them is in 
 the word yeu, ' to be.* 
 
 " This word yeu is, in the original language, suhhava} It 
 
 * This word is a compound of «ii, "conditions of being." Abhdva is 
 
 " good," and Ihdva, one of the twelve *' privation " or " negation. " Prd- 
 
 causes ''being." By Uolebrooke and yahhdva is " present negation of what 
 
 Professor Wilson it is variously tran- will be." Anubhdva is '' notion." 
 slated, "dispositions," "sentiments," 
 
 % 
 
ANALYSIS, 309 
 
 is translated in several ways, as ' the substance which gives 
 substance to itself ' (ts'i-t'i-tH), or as ' without action and 
 with action ' (vm-fa-yeu-fa), or as * the nature which has 
 no nature of its own ' (wu-ts'i-sing-singy 
 
 Analysis and Remarks, — The author begins with stating, 
 in a rhythmical form, the principles he is about to esta- 
 blish. My substance or body, i.e., my whole nature, 
 material and intellectual, is a passing, changing thing, 
 and is, consequently, not a real substance at all. It is, 
 therefore, only right to say of it that it is empty and not 
 permanent. 
 
 This principle agrees with the description given of the 
 Buddhists by Colebrooke, who observes that they are 
 called by their adversaries the orthodox Hindoos, Sarva< 
 vain(lsicas,0T "Those who argue total perishableness." They 
 deny the permanent existence of atoms, and only allow that 
 images of things are formed which immediately pass away. 
 
 The author then gives his reasons for composing the 
 treatise, and the Gdtha or rhythmical statement with 
 which it commences. He wrote it for the sake of such 
 persons as caunot read through the very long and tedious 
 works found in the Buddhist library. He also wished to 
 place in a short compass the argument for the transitory, 
 unreal nature of all existing things, for the use of ad- 
 vanced students ; lest they should be influenced by those 
 arguments, self-suggested or presented by others, which 
 go to prove that the world is real and that the information 
 given by the senses is trustworthy. 
 
 The composition of Buddhist works is varied by the 
 frequent introduction of passages in a rhythmical form, 
 not indeed with rhymes or any fixed succession of long 
 and short syllables, but with lines constantly of the same 
 length. In the Nepaul originals, there is also a difference 
 in dialect between the prosaic and rhythmical parts, the 
 Sanscrit and Pracrit being interchanged. Tliere is no 
 such transition of dialects in the Chinese translations. 
 
310 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The rli3rtlimical parts are called " Gdtha" Kid ; in the olc 
 Chinese pronounciation, Gat. 
 
 The author lays down as his order of procedure, that 
 he will first unfold his meaning, then attack the upholders 
 of opposite views, and afterwards support his own opinions. 
 
 He holds that all kinds of action are transitory and 
 not lasting, that the actor or observer is himself nothing 
 real, and that these two things are connected. Hence the 
 doctrine of non-permanence. 
 
 The Buddhas and their disciples, he says, had in the 
 belief of the principle of nothingness obtained " liberation " 
 (mdksha) from the bonds which restrain the soul. The 
 opposite doctrine, which holds that things are permanent, 
 or break off, has never had such an exemplification of 
 its truth. 
 
 Colebrooke says that the followers of Kanade main- 
 tained that things are partly perishable and transitory, 
 but in part also unchangeable. His followers are called 
 Vais^shikas. 
 
 The disciples of Buddha here alluded to, Tuen-kioh and 
 Sheng-werij occupy the third and fourth rank in the Bud- 
 dhist scale of being. Their position will be understood by 
 the following scheme copied from a Buddhist work : — 
 
 Four degree* 
 
 in "holiness" 
 
 (iheng). 
 
 Bnddha. 
 Bodhisattwa. 
 Yuen-kio. 
 Sheng-wen. 
 
 Intelligence. 
 
 Knowledge and mercy. 
 
 Perception gained by the study of caused. 
 
 *' Listeners," ShravaJcax. 
 
 Six States 
 
 of 
 
 " ignorance " 
 
 {f<m). 
 
 Devas. 
 
 Asuraa. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Pretas. 
 
 Animals. 
 
 Naraka. 
 
 "Gods," T'ien. 
 Monsters, demons. 
 
 Hungry ghosts. 
 
 Hell. 
 
 Four lines in the form of Gdtha are here introduced 
 representing the doctrines of opponents. Two views are 
 given — that which regards the universe as permanent, and 
 
NON-PERMANENCE INCORRECTLY HELD. 311 
 
 that which describes it as liable to cessation. Both are 
 considered as erroneous by the champion of Buddhism. 
 Safety is only to be found in the doctrine of nihility. 
 
 In again appealing to the testimony of the Buddhas 
 and their disciples, he mentions the Arhans. These form 
 the last in a series of four grades of discipleship. The 
 attainment of a certain amount of enlightenment in the 
 Buddhist doctrine is represented as " fruit." These four 
 grades of discipleship, or " fruits," are called, Su-da-wan, 
 Si-da-garn, A-na-gam, and A-la-han. In Sanscrit these 
 names are read " Sr6tapanna," " Sagardagam," "Anagamin," 
 and " Arhan." They are also called the four paths to the 
 Nirvana. 
 
 Lung-shu proceeds to controvert by argument, the 
 opinions of two classes of reasoners, and first of those who 
 hold the doctrine of non - permanence in an incorrect 
 manner. It ought not to be held so as to deny the reality 
 of action, or so as to confound action and inaction. These 
 terms in Chinese, yeu-wei^ wu-wei, may perhaps be trans- 
 lated " actuality " and " non-reality." Their meaning will 
 be seen by the illustrations used. An earthenware bottle 
 is adduced as an example of an " actual thing " (yeu-wei), 
 while the Nirvana belongs to the " non-actual " or wu-wei 
 class. These instances are brought forward to show that 
 things of the two classes of objects must not be con- 
 founded. For if actuality be identified with non-reality, a 
 bottle, it is said, would become a non-actual thing, and it 
 would be wrong to say that it was destructible. So if non- 
 actual things were identified with what is actual, the Nir- 
 vana would cease to be indestructible. The distinction, then, 
 between the actual and the non-actual must be preserved. 
 
 The Sutras are again appealed to in proof of this doc- 
 trine. These works are thus seen to be, in the view of 
 the Buddhist, the standard of truth. They contain the 
 very words of Buddha, which are held to be necessarily 
 true. Several hundreds of these books, thus shown to 
 constitute the scriptures of this religion, have been trans- 
 
312 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 lated into the language of China, and of the other coun- 
 tries where Buddhism prevails. These treatises are not 
 said to be divine, or to be inspired, for the Buddhist has 
 neither God nor inspiration in his creed. He only knows 
 Buddha, the self-elevated human intellect, as the most, 
 exalted being; and he looks on his teaching to be the 
 purest truth and the highest wisdom. Throughout the 
 Shastra, which is now presented to the reader, Lung-shu 
 supports his opinions by the authority of the Sutras which 
 Buddha has left for the use of his disciples as the reposi- 
 tory of his doctrine. 
 
 He goes on to overthrow the notion that the past, the 
 present, and the future are self-produced, and do not 
 come from the action of causes. He observes that the 
 present and the future are as to their nature similar, and 
 controlled by the same laws ; but the present results from 
 causes, and therefore the future must also originate in the 
 same manner. If the past, present, and future do not 
 come from causes, he argues that they can be nothing real 
 at all. The holder of such views would thus fall into the 
 error of Kapila and other heretical teachers. 
 
 Kapila, here referred to, was a remarkable personage, 
 perhaps the most noted of the Indian philosophers. He 
 founded the Sankhya school. " This system," says Cousin, 
 in his History of Modern Philosophy^ " is at once a system 
 of physics, psychology, dialectics, and metaphysics. It 
 is a universal system, a complete philosophy." Cousin 
 says of Kapila that he advocated sensualism, and that 
 " one of the ideas which are most opposed to sensualism 
 being that of cause, Kapila made an effort to destroy it. 
 The argumentation of Kapila is, in the history of philo- 
 sophy, the antecedent of that of ^nesidemus and that 
 of Hume. According to Kapila, there is no proper notion 
 of cause, and that which we call a cause is only an effect 
 in its relation to the cause which precedes it, which is also 
 an effect for the same reason, and continually thus, so 
 
 1 Trannlated by O. W. Wight, vol. L 
 
KAPILAS DOCTRINE, 313 
 
 that the whole is a necessary concatenation of effects, with- 
 out veritable and independent cause." 
 
 Professor Wilson, in his learned comment on the ^an- 
 khya ZanA:a, criticises this statement of the French philoso- 
 pher, and denies that Kapila asserts the non-existence of 
 cause. He admits, however, that "he may so far agree with 
 the philosophers referred to, in recognising no difi'erence 
 between material cause and material effects;" and adds 
 that "his doctrine is that of Brown in his lectures on 
 power, cause, and effect." 
 
 There being such a difference of opinion on the views 
 of this Hindoo philosopher, it is interesting to notice in 
 the treatise of Lung-shu, that Kapila is incidentally con- 
 demned for denying the existence of cause. Our Chinese 
 evidence goes to uphold the statement of the French philo- 
 sopher, where he is called in question by his English critic 
 
 Colebrooke questions whether Kapila be not altogether 
 a mythological personage. With this distinct allusion 
 to him in our little work, dating indubitably from near 
 the beginning of the Christian era, we may perhaps infer 
 his historical reality, and we also obtain an approxima- 
 tion to the period in which he lived. 
 
 Lung-shu proceeds to say that he did not write for the 
 purpose of confuting such philosophers as Kapila and 
 Uluka,^ but for the sake of correcting and confirming the 
 views of the disciples of Buddhism. 
 
 The philosopher, Uluka, I have not found mentioned by 
 Colebrooke or other writers on the metaphysical systems 
 of India. 
 
 It appears to me that Lung-shu is not explicit enough 
 in his argument for the production of events from causes, 
 where he asserts that the present proceeds from causes, 
 and therefore the future does also, being in all respects 
 similar to the present in its nature. He does not first 
 make plain that the present proceeds from cause.^ 
 
 ^ Kia-pi-lo; in the old pronuncia- to nie, that he may regard this m 
 tion, Ka-pi-la. Yeu-leu-kia {U-lu-ka). obvious, being what consciouBness is 
 2 A friend has, however, iuggested ever teaching us. 
 
314 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 As already remarked, Lung-shu appeals repeatedly to 
 the authority of the Sutras. So the advocates of the 
 Sankhya philosophy appeal to the Sutras of Kapila, which 
 are, however, brief aphorisms, and not, like those of Bud- 
 dha, long treatises. Yet Lung-shu has besides this another 
 test of the validity of doctrines, namely, their reasonable- 
 ness or unreasonableness. To this second test he here 
 brings the doctrines he opposes and condemns them. 
 
 In explaining the introductory stanza, Lung-shu first 
 discusses the origin of the phrase " my body." He ob 
 serves that it consists of the body and its actions ; ^.e., it 
 means myself. In the region of mental and physical 
 actions, we come to the consciousness of myself. In this 
 region the inferior classes of Buddha's disciples continue 
 to wander partially enlightened. 
 
 Advancing from this incomplete view, we speak ordi- 
 narily of men and things, in the singular, dual, and plural 
 numbers, as separate beings existing independently of 
 each other, thus increasing the first error. The four ele- 
 ments, earth, water, fire, and wind, dififer in their nature, 
 as being hard, moist, hot, and moving, and so each man 
 and thing is looked at as having its characteristic diffe- 
 rences from others. Hence the common but erroneous 
 expression my hody, my self. 
 
 Lung-shu complains that some persons maintain birth, 
 duration, and destruction to be the same thing. He then 
 proceeds to state that the body in its nature is not per- 
 manent, that its being called body has arisen from the dis- 
 tinctions which men in their ignorance have made, and 
 that the correct doctrine of the body being non-permanent 
 is inseparably connected with the various physical and 
 mental operations which spring from the body ; because, 
 he adds, man is in his entire form non-permanent. 
 
 Buddha, in the instructions he gave to the Bikshus his 
 disciples, always held the doctrine that actions are non- 
 permanent. This must ever be kept in mind in making 
 the statement that the body is non-permanent. 
 
PSYCHOLOGY OF BUDDHISM. 315 
 
 Bikshu is one of the names given to the followers of 
 Buddha generally. They are also called SJmnien and 
 Ho-shang. 
 
 The author then undertakes to prove the second sen- 
 tence of his theme, namely, " Thus, then, my body is not 
 a body." The doctrine of non-permanence has been intro- 
 duced to aid in proving this. The non-permanent is 
 necessarily unsubstantial The things we see are liable 
 to perish. Therefore they are not real things. We must 
 speak of things as they really are. Hence the words " my 
 body is not body," are correct and appropriate. 
 
 The third sentence, when it says, " My body in its nature 
 is not body," asserts that, apart from the unsubstantial 
 and the vanishing, no body exists ; and that therefore it is 
 right to say of my own body, that it does not exist. 
 
 Cousin, in his lectures already referred to, speaks of the 
 psychology of Buddhism as being contained in two pro- 
 positions, extracted by Burnouf from Buddhist books. 
 
 1st, Thought or spirit — for the faculty is not distin- 
 guished from the subject — appears only with sensation, 
 and does not survive it. 
 
 2d, The spirit cannot itself lay hold of itself; and in 
 directing its attention to itself, it draws from it only the 
 conviction of its powerlessness to see itself otherwise than 
 as successive and transitory. 
 
 Burnouf adds, these theses are radically opposed to 
 Brahmanism, whose first article of faith is the perpetuity 
 of the thinking subject. 
 
 We see that the non-permanence of things, which is so 
 important a principle with our author, also pervades the 
 books of Nepaul which Burnouf studied, and constitutes 
 a w^atchword of Buddhism. 
 
 Lung-shu proceeds to observe that some persons hold 
 false views on this subject. One opinion is that inde- 
 pendently of the unsubstantial there is substance, but this 
 is contrary to the Sutras. Others say the unsubstantial 
 is my body, but this is wrong (although it is correct to 
 
3i6 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 say that my body is unsubstantial), because it is not found 
 in the Sutras. Such are not the words of Buddha, nor are 
 they met with in the great holy Sutras, and they must 
 not be believed. 
 
 The last sentence, " I therefore say that it is empty 
 and not permanent," is illustrated by appealing to the 
 teaching of Buddha in one of the Sutras. He takes the 
 eye as an example. There is no eye that does not move, 
 that is not destroyed, that does not change. It is there- 
 fore empty and non-permanent. So it is with the other 
 sensorial organs. The nature of them all is to change and 
 decay. 
 
 The Buddhists in enumerating the organs of sense, after 
 mentioning the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body, add the 
 mind. Lung-shu does so in this passage. The mind, as 
 the organ of consciousness, is viewed as a sense. We 
 limit the term sensorial organs to those which are mate- 
 rial, but the Buddhist, not believing in the reality of 
 material things, calls every organ by which impressions 
 are communicated a sense. 
 
 Buddha having thus expressed his opinion in the Sutras, 
 it is added, we know that all acts are empty, non-per- 
 manent, and therefore without body. Thus we arrive at 
 the doctrine that body does not exist. 
 
 It should be remembered that the Buddhists regard the 
 acts of the thinking being as one with his substance. 
 They do not distinguish between the agent and the act, 
 but deny the reality and permanence of both in their 
 unity. Thus they will say, as in this case, " all acts " iyih- 
 ts^U-fa) are without body, instead of predicating this of 
 the actor. 
 
 Hence also he proceeds to say, that human nature is 
 without body, resting his doctrine on the authority of 
 the Sutras, and adding that it is the object of this entire 
 treatise, " The Shastra of one Sliloka," to illustrate it. 
 
 The same confusion of the agent with his acts presents 
 itself in the closin" sentences of the treatise, where it is 
 
DOCTRINE OF NON-REAIJTY. 317 
 
 asserted that all kinds of action, including body, nature, 
 acts, thing, being, are but different names for the same thing. 
 
 All these varieties in phraseology, he adds, are but 
 differences in the term yeu, " being." The original word, 
 adds the translator into Chinese, is subhava^ which is vari- 
 ously explained " the substance which gives substance to 
 itself," " without action and with action," and " the nature 
 which has no nature of its own." 
 
 Bhawo, says Gogerly in his £ssay on Buddhism,^ is two- 
 fold, consisting of moral causative acts and the state of 
 being. Of these, he adds, kamma-bhawo, or " moral causa- 
 tive acts," are merit, demerit, and all those actions which 
 lead to existence. The various worlds of the Buddhist 
 universe are designated by the term bhawo. "Worlds 
 of sensual pleasure and pain" are kama-bhawo. The 
 " Brahma worlds " are riUpa-bhawo. The " incorporeal 
 worlds" are ar'tj^pa- bhawo, and so on. Here the terra 
 hhava means " states of being." 
 
 The numerous modifications of meaning belonging to 
 this word help to account for the three translations of the 
 related word subhava, which close the treatise. 
 
 I may observe here, that it is common with the modem 
 Chinese Buddhists, to defend the doctrine of the non- 
 reality of material things, by appealing to their liability 
 to destruction. A priest will contend that a wooden table, 
 on the application of fire, passing into smoke and ashes, 
 there is necessarily nothing real in it. 
 
 The truth is, that reality and changeableness are both 
 rightly affirmed of a table, or any other material thing. 
 The Buddhist asserts with perfect correctness, that the 
 objects of sense are non-permanent, but he is wrong when 
 he argues that therefore they are unreal. Christianity, 
 modern science, and all sound philosophy agree in ascrib- 
 ing reality and changeableness to the objects of sense. 
 Lung-shu erred in not seeing that these two things can be 
 reconciled. 
 
 ^ Quoted in Hftrdy's Ea$Um Monachiam, 
 
( 3i8 ) 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 EFFECT OP BUDDHISM ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE 
 SUNG DYNASTY. 
 
 The Sung philosophers differ from Confucius — Five periods of Chi- 
 nese intellectual development — The Sung writers changed the 
 old cosmogony — The Han writers had already done so — Diagram 
 of tlie Great Extreme — Other pictorial illustrations — Avoidance 
 of the doctrine of a personal God — Materialistic philosophy of 
 nature — New view of divination. 
 
 The Sung philosophers were separated about fifteen 
 hundred years from Confucius. During this long period 
 differences might well spring up, which accordingly we 
 find. 
 
 In reverence for antiquity and the inculcation of the 
 five constant virtues, in teaching the principles of per- 
 petual and universal morality, and in drawing the attention 
 of their countrymen to the ancient models of wisdom and 
 virtue, they agreed with Confucius. 
 
 In their cosmogony, their philosophy of nature, their 
 attitude in regard to the ancient practice of divination, 
 and in their explanation of the sovereign power in the 
 world as an abstraction, they differed widely from Con- 
 fucius. 
 
 Four great stages of literary and national development 
 may be pointed to as intervening between the great sage 
 and the age called that of the Sutig ju. Each of them 
 embraced the course of three or four centuries. The first is 
 that of Mencius,Siiin King, Meh Ti, and Kiih Yuen. Ortho- 
 dox philosophers, heretic philosophers, and a highly popular 
 poet indicated the medley of unfixed thought in which, at 
 
FIVE PERIODS OF DEVELOPMENT, 319 
 
 that time, the public mind was involved. It was a time 
 of struggle for Confucian and orthodox doctrine, against 
 various speculators in morals and politics who wished to 
 advance some one principle to the detriment of others. But 
 Tauist doctrine was growing yearly in strength. 
 
 The second is the Han period. A cloud of critical ex- 
 pounders of orthodoxy, fine historians, editors of the classics, 
 astronomers, astrologers, alchemists, and Tauist philosophers 
 marked this age. Though the authority of Confucius was 
 upheld, and the classics maintained in profound venera- 
 tion, the tone of speculation was predominantly Tauist. 
 The air was rife with legendary lore. Tauist magic, the 
 hermit life, the medicine of immortality were fervently 
 believed in, and magicians were honoured with popular 
 veneration. The fault of the age was its superstition. Its 
 redeeming feature was its ardent and successful efforts for 
 promoting the restoration of the ancient books and their 
 use in the education of youth. 
 
 The third age was Buddhist. It was that of the six 
 dynasties. The riches of the country were lavished on 
 Buddhist structures. In all parts of the empire the people 
 adopted this Indian religion. Hindoo astronomy and 
 mythology, the knowledge of the alphabet and of tones, and 
 the introduction of Buddhist metaphysics date from this 
 time. The Buddhists became a power in literature, and 
 founded a native school of Indian philosophy. 
 
 The fourth age was that of the T'ang dynasty. It was 
 a time of luxury and poetry. Han Wen-kung and the 
 poets divided the admiration of the literati of the time 
 between them. The books made in the department of 
 criticism were tonic dictionaries based on the new Indian 
 spelling ; no sages appeared, no philosophers of name ex- 
 cepting Han Wen-kung. Such an age of mental inaction 
 and enervating prosperity must be succeeded by a period 
 of mental energy. 
 
 Such a period ensued. It was that of the Sung ju, the 
 philosophers who now undertook the restoration of the 
 
320 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 weakened Confucianism, which, while retaining its posi- 
 tion, had lost its influence over men's minds. When they 
 appeared on the scene, it had become impossible to retain 
 the system of the ancient sages in its pure and simple 
 form. The religion, the politics, the customs, and super- 
 stitions of the people had all changed. But much might, 
 thought they, be done, and the review of their efforts and 
 achievements is a most curious section in the history of 
 humanity, and fraught with salutary warning. They pro- 
 ceeded under the combined influence of Buddhism and 
 Tauism, to extend and reconstruct the ancient system of 
 cosmogony. 
 
 As we read the Yi-king, the very essence of ancient 
 thought, and the combined work of the most venerated 
 sages, we fail to recognise a distinct cosmogony. Confu- 
 cius speaks of the Great Extreme as the commencement 
 "of changes. It produced the two figures. These pro- 
 duced the four images, and these again the eight divining 
 symbols." This statement looks ambiguous and uncertain 
 in its meaning. The eight symbols are eight arrangements 
 of strokes. We think, then, of primary arithmetic. Is 
 there much in it besides twice one is two, twice two is 
 four, twice four is eight ? Confucius, before and after this 
 passage, is talking of divination. He continues to say: 
 " The eight symbols determine good and ill fortune, aud 
 these lead to great deeds. There are no imitable images 
 greater than heaven and earth. There are no changes 
 greater than the four seasons. There are no suspended 
 images brighter than the sun and moon. In preparing 
 things for use, there is none greater than the sage. In 
 determining good and ill luck, there is nothing greater 
 than the divining straws and the tortoise." 
 
 Evidently the chief thought of Confucius is upon divi- 
 nation, which was the imitation of natural phenomena 
 succeeding each other in a certain order. If we under- 
 stand tlie eight divining symbols to be eight departments 
 of nature, as heaven, earth, fire, water, &c., then we may 
 
 I 
 
HAN WRITERS CHANGED THE COSMOGONY. 321 
 
 construct a cosmogony out of the formula above cited. 
 But the aim of the writer was rather to describe the world 
 as the object of the wise man's inquiries, and to point out 
 that he must imitate the laws of phenomenal change which 
 he observes in heaven and earth, and that he may obtain 
 the most valuable results by divination. While the sage 
 looks at his straws, one becomes two, two become four, 
 and four become eight, as the effect of certain transforma- 
 tions. One of the hwa, or " symbolic sets of lines," is made 
 up of three or sh'. Take the former. We find there, say 
 the Chinese, heaven, earth, and man in miniature. So, 
 say I, we may find there anything we like. When the 
 cosmogonical idea enters then, it is indirectly, and it was 
 not the primary sense. In the Shu-king there is a passage 
 which speaks of the Hwang-hi, the " Emperor's extreme " 
 of perfection. The sense in which ki was here used was 
 of course moral. In Chwang-ts'i we meet with the words, 
 " To be earlier than the Great Extreme, and yet not to be 
 high." The commentator says that the phrase " Great 
 Extreme " here means " heaven, earth, and man, included 
 but not yet separated." Hwai-nan-ts%, a Tauist of the Han, 
 says, " To lead out his class to a position higher than the 
 Great Extreme." Here is the budding of that cosmogony 
 which fructified in the Sung philosophers. The Tauists 
 did what the early Confucianists failed to do. They 
 commenced a cosmogony. We find it still more developed 
 in the Ts'an-t'ung-ki, a. work written by the noted Wei 
 Pe-yang of the Han. Here appears the first map of the 
 Chinese cosmogony, and it wants the "Great Extreme." 
 Bent into three concentric circles are seen the li-hwa, repre- 
 senting " fire," and the k'an-kwa, representing " water." In 
 the li-kwa, the middle is black and the sides are white. In 
 the k'an-kwa the middle is white and the sides are black. 
 They rudely picture a fire giving out flames, and a shining 
 river flowing between two banks. Below this are five 
 small circles, representing the five elements, wood and fire 
 being on the left, metal and water on the right. 
 
 X 
 
322 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 This diagram was put to a fertile use by the Sung philo- 
 sophers. They added to it a hollow circle, to represent the 
 " Great Extreme " above, and two hollow circles to represent 
 heaven and earth below. Afterwards Chu fu-tsi made a 
 change. He thought he would improve the diagram by 
 throwing out the elements and introducing in their place 
 the great and little yin, and the great and little yang. He 
 changed heaven and earth, " the two figures," into yin and 
 yang. 
 
 The Sung philosophers, while they extended tlie cosmo- 
 gony by adding the map of the " Great Extreme," added 
 also all the maps printed in the ordinary editions of the 
 Yi-hing. These maps are not found in any text, nor as pre- 
 fatory matter are they earlier than the Sung. The Buddhists 
 brought the notion of pictorial illustrations with them from 
 India. Before their time the Chinese made very limited 
 use of illustrated diagrams. Probably the Buddhists took 
 tlie notion from the Greeks, subsequently to the age of 
 Alexander, when Greeks were in juxtaposition with Hin- 
 doos and other Buddhist peoples in Bokharia, Cabul, 
 Afghanistan, and the Punjab. 
 
 There were, however, sketches of star groups to the 
 Sing-king, " Star classic " (by Kan and Shi) of the Han 
 dynasty, and the strokes of the eight and sixty-four hwa 
 in the Yi-hing, Ts'an-fung-ki, and other works. The 
 arithmetical combinations called JHo-t'u and Lo-shu were 
 also probably represented by dots or stars. Geometrical 
 diagrams were not known. Though Cheu Kung was 
 aware of the property of the right-angled triangle arith- 
 metically, i.e., that the squares of three and four are to- 
 gether equal to the square of five, he never thought of 
 expressing it by a diagram. It needed the Greek genius 
 to initiate the conceptions of geometry. 
 
 The. later Chinese writers were unconsciously influenced 
 much more by Buddhism, a product of the Indo-European 
 mind, than they ever acknowledged; and they wouhl, 
 under the impressions made on them, imitate the greater 
 
EVASION OF A PERSONAL GOD. 323 
 
 effort of the imagination which they there encountered. 
 Thus they tried to complete the thought of the old sages 
 of China, to fill up their outline, and to form into dis- 
 tinctness the shadowy shapes of more ancient ideas. The 
 round line to represent the T'ai-ki, the circle half white 
 and half black with the curved diameter which marks 
 light and darkness, or yin and yang, are new ; and the old 
 notion of the four seasons, which was popular in the Han 
 dynasty as explaining the four siang or "images," was 
 given up for the great yin and the little yin and the great 
 yaiig and the little yang, phrases new to the Confucian 
 doctrine. We cannot wonder that they gave up the four 
 seasons, for how could the eight kwa come out of the 
 seasons? Others said that the four siang, or "images," 
 were the animals that pass through metamorphoses, such 
 as the tortoise, the dragon, and the dragon-horse that bore 
 on his back the arithmetical scheme or magic square offered 
 to Yii the Great. But why follow out these ideas ? They 
 were unknown to Confucius. They extended the cosmo- 
 gony without introducing the idea of a personal Creator. 
 This was due to the influence of Buddhism, and the fact 
 that the ancient books had not the doctrine. The peculiar 
 form of their cosmogony was due to Buddhist influence, 
 which inculcates faith in a creating and destroying Fate, 
 blindly impartial, entirely impersonal, and incessantly 
 efficient. If Buddhism had been truly a religion adapted 
 to draw man back to God, his Sovereign and Judge, the 
 true doctrine of creation would have been taught in the 
 Indian Shastras, and the Chinese writers of the Sung 
 dynasty would probably have adopted the idea. But the 
 perversity of Hindoo philosophy was better pleased with 
 irresistible Fate as a substitute for the Divine Ruler. 
 
 In taking example from the Buddhists in this particu- 
 lar, the Sung philosophers were the more willing, inas- 
 much as the teachers of Tauism had preferred the doctrine 
 of spontaneous growth, to represent the origin of the 
 world. The tendency of their speculations was to shut 
 
324 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 out God from the world, so far as His beiug in any sense 
 an active Creator. 
 
 This remark brings me, by a natural transition, to 
 speak of the difference between Confucius and the Sung 
 philosophers in regard to their philosophy of nature. In 
 ancient China, the notion of five elements was already in 
 existence, but it was not till the Tauists of the Han de- 
 veloped the doctrine that it assumed its modern form. It 
 is remarkable that, after so great an interval, no gleam 
 of a true science of nature should have entered into the 
 intellects of the Sung philosophers. They were too much 
 devoted to antiquity, and too lacking in independence, to 
 shake off the yoke of a materialistic nomenclature. 
 
 The minds of Confucius and Mencius were warmed by 
 moral considerations. Political and social questions were 
 to them deeply interesting. They accepted the divination 
 of the " Book of Changes " because Wen Wang and Cheu 
 Kung were the saviours of the state and the advocates of 
 benevolence and integrity. If divination by straws had 
 been introduced, subsequently to the epoch of those sages, 
 by men not taking the rank of sages, the moral instinct 
 both of Confucius and Mencius would have absolutely 
 refused all countenance to it. 
 
 Like credit cannot be claimed for the Sung philosophers. 
 Wei Pe-yang, the Tauist of the Han dynasty, and others 
 from whom they drew ideas, were not the representatives 
 of a system which made morality its centre, but of alchemy 
 and a doctrine of self-cultivation which inculcated physical 
 aids instead of the simple teaching of genuine morality. 
 
 The extension of a physical philosophy weakens moral 
 and religious sentiment. The alchemy and astrology of 
 the Han made the Chinese nation less disposed to religious 
 reverence. The occupation of the mind with materialistic 
 ideas and aims obscures the spiritual vision and appetite. 
 It was in this way, to no small extent, that the Chinese 
 nation was prepared to receive Buddhism, partly from 
 religious indifference, and in part also from a desire for 
 
MA TERIALISTIC PHILOSOPHY OF NA TURE. 325 
 
 fervency in ritual and the acquisition of new spiritual 
 objects on which to fix the soul's gaze. A thousand years 
 more and Buddhism had had its trial, and been found 
 wanting. What, then, should have been the course to 
 be steadfastly pursued by the Confucianists of the Sung 
 period ? Undoubtedly, if they desired to follow the example 
 of the sage, they should have opposed tooth and nail the 
 Tauists and Buddidsts. Both these religions are defective 
 in the moral element, and that is the very soul of the 
 Confucian system. They would have then done for the 
 superstitious and heresies of their time what Confucius 
 and Mencius did fifteen centuries before. When Luther, 
 in Europe, made a stand for pure doctrine and against 
 asceticism, he did what might to some small extent have 
 been done by the Sung philosophers. Instead of this, 
 they bowed- their heads to superstition, allowed idolatry 
 to increase in the land of Confucius, and raised no voice 
 against it. 
 
 The most melancholy example of decay in moral and 
 religious instinct is in the denial of a sovereign moral 
 ruler in the universe, and the identification of God with 
 reason and with primeval vapour. This is practically 
 done by Chu fu-tsi, and he is on this account sharply 
 condemned by writers of the present dynasty. The ancient 
 Chinese understood by Tien either the personal Euler of 
 the world, or the physical firmament. Chu fu-tsi said Tien 
 is nothing but 1% " reason ; " and elsewhere he identifies li 
 with ki, " vapour." Such was the unhappy result of the 
 spread of the Tauist physical system and the Buddhist 
 atheism in China. 
 
 The last thing I shall mention is the different attitude 
 of Confucius and the Sung philosophers in regard to 
 divination. 
 
 When Confucius lived, the ancient magic was still in 
 existence, and, if we take for granted the statements of 
 the Kia-yiJb, he practised it himself. However this may 
 be, he praised it to the skies in the Yi-king. Nothing 
 
326 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 was to be compared with the straws and the tortoise for 
 solving difficulties in politics, and for unravelling the 
 enigmas of nature. He believed in divination because of 
 its antiquity and the great names connected with it. The 
 whole of it was swept away about the time of Ts'in Shi- 
 hwang, B.C. 220, not by that emperor himself, for he highly 
 venerated it, but from want of faith on the part of the people. 
 It is said that the reason was that the books were lost which 
 taught the rules. If so, it was not by order of Ts'in Shi- 
 hwang. Want of faith is the more likely reason. The 
 Sung philosophers certainly did not believe in the benefits 
 attending the use of the straws and tortoise in divining, 
 or they would have recommended to the reigning emperor 
 that the old divination should be restored. The Sung 
 writers do not in so many words deny the efficacy of 
 divination. Their object is plain. They wish to veil the 
 weaknesses of the ancient sages. It is necessary to do 
 this in order to maintain the reverence accorded to the 
 sages. They would not like to acknowledge the supersti 
 tion of these much-admired men. But if driven closely 
 in argument, the modem Confucianist admits the useless- 
 ness of divination, and that he himself is without faith 
 in it. 
 
 If we are to believe the modern literati, the faults of 
 the Sung ju are numberless. I have chosen a few of 
 their novelties and heresies for the consideration of the 
 student of Buddhism and the other religions of China. 
 
( 327 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 FENG-SHUI; OR, THE WIND AND WATER SUPERSTITION OF 
 THE CHINESE. 
 
 An obstacle to civilisation — Meaning of Feng, "Wind" — Of Shui, 
 "Water" — Use of cyclic characters — Meaning of Lwn^r, "Dragon" 
 — Names of the geomancers— Hindoo nomenclature — Sha-chH 
 " Destructive vapour " — Dark arrow — Ghen-wu, or " Protecting 
 shield " — Feng-slmi professedly based on the " Book of Changes" 
 — Modern Feng-shui is based on the Han-lung-king — Buddhist 
 element in Feng-shui — The four elements of the Greeks — The 
 Hindoo "Air and water" is Feng-shui — Earth, water, fire, and 
 air are creative forces, existing in successive kalpas, and forming 
 successive worlds — Resemblance to the theories of the Ionian 
 philosophers — Geomancy in the T'ang dynasty — Rahu and Ketu 
 — The Feng-shui system grew out of Buddhism — Native element 
 in Feng-shui — Nine fancied stars — Causes of the contour of hills 
 and plains — Stars of the six houses — Feng-shui inconsistent with 
 genuine Confucianism. 
 
 Everything can be made plainer by investigation. Every- 
 thing can be understood better by the bringing together 
 of facts. The Feng-shui of the Chinese deserves to be 
 examined, for it is one of the great obstacles to the 
 progress of civilisation. 
 
 It interferes with commercial enterprise. It checks the 
 efforts of missionary zeal. It interrupts the free thought 
 of the people, and keeps them wrapped in the mummy 
 folds of ancient prejudices. 
 
 Within the last thirty years this peculiar system of 
 native geomancy ^ has been made the ground for refusing 
 
 ^Geomancy is properly divination maybe called "geomancy," because 
 by means of lines or points drawn on it divines by means of lines noticed 
 the earth. The Chinese /eng-shui in the shape of streams and hills. 
 
328 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 the establishment of the electric telegraph at Shanghai, of 
 railways, of a road from Tientsin to the Chai-tang coal- 
 mines, and of I do not know how many more manifest 
 and desirable improvements, all which would be of the 
 greatest advantage to the people of the district. I begin 
 with the explanation of terms. Feng, " Wind," is the first 
 which occurs. It may be illustrated in this way. 
 
 A grave should not have a hollow near it. The wind 
 will blow into the grave from that hollow and gradually 
 disturb the bones and the coffin. In ten years they will 
 be half turned over. In twenty years or so they may be 
 entirely turned over. In that case the posterity of the dead 
 will suffer by a kind of material necessity. Such a wind 
 is called a wa-feng, from wa, " hollow." An outer wind 
 must not be allowed to invade the chamber of the dead, 
 for fear the family fortunes should be disturbed. Thus the 
 filial piety which takes care of the tombs of parents has 
 a material reward, and may be nothing beyond a coarse 
 selfishness ; on the other hand, the want of it is visited by 
 a natural retribution, involving sickness, poverty, loss of 
 descendants, and degradation in the social scale. 
 
 The aim of the geomancer is to find a spot where the 
 feng, '*cold air which issues from the earth," is hidden. 
 This they call ts'ang-feng. Where there are no hollows 
 it is safe to dig the grave, for here there is no outlet by 
 which this pernicious wind may disturb the dead. 
 
 The second term to be explained is 8hui, " Water." The 
 grave must be carefully chosen. The configuration of the 
 earth is caused by the dragon, whose shape is seen in 
 the mountain boundary cast upon the evening sky. The 
 dragon may be traced to its source. It is observable in 
 the flow of the mountain stream, or in the contour of the 
 earth. The hollow river bed and the variety of hiU and 
 valley are caused by the dragon. Trace the water of a 
 valley to its source ; that is the point from which com- 
 mences the influence that controls human destiny. Water 
 is the element in which the dragon delights. Its wind- 
 
MEANING OF SHUI, OR " WATER:' 329 
 
 ing shape as it meanders through a plain gives evidence 
 of this, for the dragon prefers crooked paths. Since then 
 the dragon gives prosperity, elevates the king and the 
 sage, and is the symbol of all exaltation, social, political, 
 or moral, it is all important to consider the position of 
 water when selecting the site of the grave. In the valley 
 of the Ming tombs the water flows from the north-west, 
 passes under a bridge in front of the grave of the emperor 
 Yung-lo, and then pursues its way down towards the plain 
 of Peking on the south-east. Hills in horse-shoe form 
 embrace the valley. The feng-shui is good. 
 
 If the water flows past a certain point of the geoman- 
 cer's compass, it causes prosperity ; at another, it brings 
 misfortune. If, for instance, to be more particular in 
 detail, the branching point of water be at the north-east, 
 north-west, south-east, or south-west points of the compass, 
 it is possible that there may be prosperity. If it be at the 
 east-north-east, west-south-west, south-south-east, or north- 
 north-west, the elder sons and brothers of the deceased wiU 
 become scattered and poor. Water at the east by north, 
 west by south, south by east, or north by west points, will 
 ensure happiness to his children, they not being the eldest 
 or youngest. The same children will suffer misfortune if 
 water flow past the north by east and west points. 
 
 The chief use of the geomancer's compass is to deter- 
 mine, in regard to the water, the direction of flow, the pri- 
 mary source, the points of junction, and the points from 
 which it starts afresh at a new angle. The grave must be 
 chosen so that the presaged fate, as fixed by the manual of 
 geomancy, may be of the most favourable kind. 
 
 The cutting of a new road would alter the course of 
 water, and in various ways affect the calculation of the 
 geomancer ; and, as the graves of the past generation are 
 found everywhere, there is no spot where the minds of 
 the people will not be disturbed by projects involving the 
 construction of roads. If the mistake in the selection 
 of a grave site leads to poverty, sudden death, and other 
 
330 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 calamities, may not a railway cutting, or any disturbance 
 in the course of streams, be equally deleterious ? The faith 
 in feng-shui must be first eradicated before the Chinese 
 can be induced to look with favour on railways or any 
 description of new roads. If the government should 
 consent to such improvements, their action ought to be 
 accompanied by edicts and publications authoritatively 
 condemning the superstition, and showing what solid 
 reasons there are for disbelieving the whole system of the 
 geomancers. This would aid greatly in soothing the minds 
 of the hostile and calming the fears of the ignorant. 
 
 But to proceed : the water before a tomb must be running 
 water. Eiches and rank flow like water capriciously from 
 one point to another. Hence riches and rank are supposed 
 to depend on the undisturbed flow of the stream which 
 passes under the bridge in front of the tomb. Man in- 
 habits the tomb, and his destiny is afiected by the sur- 
 rounding circumstances. Eiches and rank are attached to 
 flowing water, and, if due care is taken by the geomancer 
 and by the posterity of the dead, a perpetual stream of 
 worldly honour and wealth may be expected to flow into 
 the possession of the family. 
 
 It may be instructive to dwell for a moment on this 
 superstition, proving, as it does, that quite as dense a cloud 
 of ignorance rests on China as upon Europe before it was 
 illumined by the sun of Christianity and of modern know- 
 ledge. On the geomancer's compass the twelve cyclic 
 characters, tsu ch'eu, yin, &c., are inscribed at equal dis- 
 tances interspersed with other cycles. The first, tsii, begins 
 at the north point, and is at the back of the tomb, which 
 faces the south. The order of the words is from east to 
 west, according to the diurnal motion of the sun and stars. 
 Let the observer imagine himself standing at the back of 
 one of those common tombs, which are protected on the 
 north side ^ by a long curved bank overgrown with grass. 
 
 ^ In Southern China this bank is carried aroond the north, east, and west 
 
' USE OF CYCUC CHARACTERS, 331 
 
 Behind him on the horizon is tsu, next on the left is ch'eUy 
 and so on to the south point, wu. If there is a bend in 
 the course of the water, or a junction of two streams on 
 the north at tsu^ the posterity of the occupant of the grave 
 will be thieves if poor, and robbed if rich. If on the north- 
 east they will die young, and be left as widows, and men 
 without children. At the third division, they will be 
 greatly subject to diseases. If the geomancer notices that 
 the bend is in the east point of the horizon, he will be 
 bound to foretell that the posterity of the dead will be 
 vagabonds. At the next two stations the special evils 
 indicated are disobedience and rebellion at the one, and 
 at the other the consequence will be that a snake will 
 grow of itself in the tomb. This is a very bad sign, and 
 presages restlessness for the bones of the dead and the 
 fortunes of the living. It brings the evil wind of unhappy 
 destiny with special force upon the occupier of the tomb. 
 The south indicates that the descendants of the dead will 
 lead licentious lives. Here I stop ; but the geomancer 
 does not rest till he has boxed the compass with a variety 
 of evils supposed to befall the possessor of an ill-chosen 
 site for his grave. Such a system is well adapted to in- 
 crease the authority of the feng-shui sien-sheng, or " geo- 
 mancer." He must be well skilled in all the indications 
 which the traditions and books of his profession single out 
 as of importance. 
 
 These deceivers of their fellow-men who make their 
 living by practising on the superstitious tendencies of 
 their patrons, are sometimes wanting in care for their 
 reputation. They often carry the thing too far. They are 
 held up to ridicule not uncommonly by the people, and 
 especially because the word feng, " wind," is also identical 
 in sound with ferig, " lunatic." The country people ridicule 
 them as they stand on the grave site to make observa- 
 tions, or creep on the ground, or sit on their thighs, or 
 superintend the erection of a mound of grass clods, or 
 come out at evening with a lanthom to set on the 
 
332 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 mount, as an assistance to them in considering at a dis- 
 tance the desirable or unfavourable features of the site in 
 question. 
 
 Very like is all this to the astrology of the Chaldeans, 
 that system of magic and fortune-tellino: acjainst which 
 Christianity had to fight in the days of Hippolytus and 
 Origen. The one applied the cycles of astronomy to divi- 
 nation with the object of making gain by telling fortunes. 
 The other makes use of the same cycles in geomancy to 
 obtain money by forefending evil and coaxing a good des- 
 tiny upon him who pays the conjuror. He will become the 
 most popular and best esteemed geomancer who makes the 
 most cunning observations on the contour of the country 
 and the arrangement of the streams of water at the spot 
 where the grave is, or where it is intended to be made. 
 
 It is often the case that the care bestowed by the 
 Chinese on the graves of their ancestors may be less 
 from respect for the deceased than from fear of ill conse- 
 quences to themselves and their descendants. Large sums 
 are spent by the rich in the hope of obtaining the best 
 possible feng-shui for their ancestral tombs. Thus the 
 stream of prosperity will always flow continuously on- 
 wards in the history of their families, securing them 
 freedom from poverty, misery, sickness, and obscurity. 
 The filial piety of China is less sincere than is by many 
 supposed. It is more selfish than generous, more calcu- 
 lating than spontaneous. The moral sense is deadened in 
 this country by the prevailing desire for riches and rank ; 
 and the moral retribution which attends the acts of indi- 
 viduals and nations, is too much hidden from view by a 
 superstitious belief in an unintelligent physical retribu- 
 tion,^ such as is taught by the Buddhists. Wlien God as 
 governor is banished from the world, atheistic philoso- 
 phers substitute an impersonal Fate, whose decrees some- 
 times are in harmony with the moral sense in man, but 
 are perhaps much oftener influenced by low motives, such 
 
 1 This 18 the karma^ which is essential to the Buddhist metempsychosis. 
 
MEANING OF LUNG, OR "DRAGON:' 333 
 
 as are believed by the superstitious to control the acts of 
 the fetish. In this sense it may be said that the Chinese 
 have retrograded in proportion as the feng-shui and simi- 
 lar superstitions have extended among them. In the 
 days of Confucius the moral sense was probably brighter 
 than it is now, and there was less of superstition. He 
 lived nearer to the early times of the Old Testament 
 monotheism. Even in his age, if we compare the know- 
 ledge of God then possessed by the Chinese with that 
 found in the older classics, we are compelled to admit that 
 there was deterioration. He felt less than the emperors 
 T'ang and Wen Wang, the influence of the personal idea 
 of God as the actual moral governor of the world. As the 
 faith in a personal God grew dim, the moral sense also 
 lost its keenness, and the physical heaven came to be 
 regarded as an object of worship. • 
 
 The third word I shall explain is Lung^ " Dragon." The 
 word means that which rises and is lofty in location. It 
 is used of mountains and of national or individual pros- 
 perity. The fabulous dragon of China is a monster with 
 scales like a crocodile, and having five-clawed feet. He 
 has no wings, and when he rises in the air, it is by a 
 power he is supposed to possess of transforming himself at 
 pleasure. He can make himself large or little, and rise or 
 fall, just as he chooses. The Chinese dragon, which is a 
 flying saurian, is not like the Greek dragon, which be- 
 longed to the serpent family, but seems to be an original 
 Chinese creation, or is connected in some ancient and 
 unknown way with the West. For our present purpose it 
 is sufificient to regard it as purely native, and the most 
 probable cause I can name of the attributes of the dragon 
 is similarity of sound with words meaning "high" and 
 " ascend." Among the words with which it may be iden- 
 tified by etymology, through the mutations of letters, are 
 shang, " to ascend ; " cheng, " the upward motion of steam ; " 
 Veng, " to go up ; " sheng, also " to go up ;" lung, " high ; " and 
 lung, " hill." The geomancer calls all high land lung, and 
 
334 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 all low land shui. The dragon rules the high land, and 
 water the low land. The chains of hills which almost 
 encircle Peking are the protecting dragon, which is be- 
 lieved to ensure its prosperity. The hills which surround 
 in a similar way the Ming tombs are the dragon, which 
 for three centuries protected that dynasty. The mountain 
 chains which bound the province of Chi-li are connected 
 with the Manchurian mountains which cradled the impe- 
 rial family in the days of its comparative obscurity. As 
 the seat of empire is in Peking, and it is there the reigning 
 family resides, it is of the highest importance not to disturb 
 its protecting dragon. On plains the Chinese make a long 
 mound behind a tomb. This is also the protecting dragon 
 of that tomb and of the family it represents. It is called 
 the hill, and its office is to keep off the north wind. When 
 high land is wanting, trees make an excellent shield against 
 bad influence.^ 
 
 The geomancer's books say that the dragon follows the 
 course of the water. He originates his influence where 
 the water takes its beginning, and remains permanently 
 where two streams meet. They mean here the influence 
 which produces happiness and misery by a capricious 
 retribution mixed with a coarse natural philosophy. 
 Divine Providence is here kept out of view, and is by 
 implication denied. The elements — fire, air, earth, and 
 water — dominate. It is by their combinations and acti- 
 vities that human fate is determined. The geomancer's 
 dragon causes men's elevation, longevity, and riches ; and 
 his influence varies according as he has more of water, or 
 of earth, or of any other element. The course of the 
 dragon must be in each instance examined, and it is 
 decided by the direction of the water. But the contour 
 of the ground, whether rising or falling, high or low, must 
 also be considered. Such investigations were made, for 
 example, in regard to the site of the grave of the emperor 
 Yung-lo, and hence the selection of that beautiful valley 
 
 ^ See Essay by Rev. Dr. Yates. 
 
DOCTRINE OF THE DRAGON. 335 
 
 where the Ming emperors are buried. The Manchu 
 empeiors afterwards despoiled the tombs of that dynasty. 
 Much of the teak timber and marble was brought away to 
 use in the new edifices of Yuen-ming-yuen and the other 
 pleasure grounds of the imperial family. Then they 
 began to fear the consequences on themselves and their 
 descendants. The influence from the Ming tombs on the 
 north might have a disastrous effect upon them while 
 enjoying their summer retirement. They therefore erected 
 those geomautic walls which are seen on the hill sides 
 facing north-north-east on the way to Hei-lung-t'an from 
 Peking. These walls, it was supposed, would check the 
 pernicious influences which might otherwise strike them 
 from the invisible retributive power, which was still sup- 
 posed to watch over the last resting-place of the once 
 mighty dynasty of the Ming. 
 
 It is plain that the geomancer's capricious retribution, 
 if believed in by a nation, must have most injurious conse- 
 quences in its manifest interference with the doctrine of 
 moral retribution. It is of a piece with the luck of the 
 Chinese calendar, the belief in the efficacy of red colour 
 and favourite moral sentences in keeping off demons, 
 the choice of days for marriages and funerals, and the 
 remainder of the endless list of native superstitions still 
 believed in in this country. 
 
 In describing the efiect of the dragon, the geomancers 
 say he can remove the " spirit of death," the sha-cki, and 
 preserve life. The sha is a malicious principle, the shed 
 of the Hebrew and Arabic languages, and the chHtgur of 
 the Mongols. When this principle invades the body, man 
 dies. They believe, however, that this enemy who kills 
 and injures men is not invincible. The dragon has the 
 power of checking it. It is curious to notice that here we 
 have to do with impersonal yet living principles. The sha 
 does not receive a proper name. In a Western country 
 these superstitions would have been clothed in the 
 language of a graceful mythology. The Chinese, belong- 
 
336 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 ing altogether to a more primitive and prosaic type than 
 the Greek race, are content with simply calling them good 
 and evil principles. 
 
 I shall now say a few words on the professional names 
 assumed by the geomancers. They call themselves pro- 
 fessors of ti-li, " the doctrine or description of the earth," 
 "geography." This name is in contrast with Vien-wen, 
 "astronomy," which means the description of heaven 
 astronomically and astrologically, as ti-li geographically 
 and geomantically is of earth. 
 
 What astroLjgy is when compared with astronomy, such 
 is geomancy when compared with geography. The astro- 
 logical section in the geomancer's books is bulky. They 
 tell us that the stars shining down (or coming down, for 
 they suppose them" movable) give the mountains their 
 form. Some adopt the Hindoo nomenclature, and make 
 the Sumeru mountain the centre of the mountain and 
 river system of the world. Others, who object to offer so 
 great a concession to the foreign doctrine of Buddhist 
 books, prefer to assign this honour to Kwun-lun, the old 
 Chinese name of the mountains dividing Thibet from Tar- 
 tary. On the north side of these mountains, the Chinese 
 probably resided for a time before proceeding to take 
 possession of their present home, and the same chain 
 has always taken a prominent place in their notions of 
 geography. It is the backbone from which the other 
 mountain chains proceed, and they form together a kind 
 of terrestrial skeleton. The rivers form the veins and 
 arteries, and the mountains the bones, of a living earth. 
 The whole is imagined to be so like the heavens, that 
 certain stars correspond to certain terrestrial spaces, and 
 exercise rule over them. Kwun-lun rules the hills, as the 
 Pole star rules the stars. When the geomancer takes his 
 position to inspect a site for a grave, house, or city, he 
 fixes upon a spot which is called hiue, a name that may 
 be translated into English by, what are indeed possibly, 
 its etymological equivalents, "hole" or "hollow." Tlie 
 
 II 
 
 I 
 
SHA-CH'I. 337 
 
 windings of the surface in its neighbourhood, whether 
 stone, sand, or loam, extending all round until the view 
 is bounded by hills or the horizon, constitute the constel- 
 lations which encircle it as the stars do the pole. As in 
 heaven, the twenty-eight zodiacal groups represent the 
 Blue dragon in the east, the Eed bird in the south, the 
 White tiger in the west, and the Black warrior in the 
 north, so it is supposed to be in the limited horizon of 
 which the centre is the required site. It is in accordance 
 with this system, half astrological and half geomantic, that 
 the professor of ti-li proceeds in searching for what he 
 calls the " true dragon " in each case. 
 
 The expression h'an-yu is also used. This is a favourite 
 name on the signboards of Peking geomancers. The 
 best explanation of this phrase seems to be that which 
 represents k'an as " heaven," yu as " earth." K'an is the 
 covering let down over an idol, as in the phrase Fo-h'an, 
 " A shrine for Buddha," and it here represents the sky as a 
 canopy stretched over the world. YiX is the " chariot " in 
 which man is borne. It is not so well known as it should 
 be, that in China in the Han dynasty a gleam of true light 
 shone on the minds of some of the literati in regard to 
 the system of the world. They accepted the noble idea, 
 probably propagated from the West through Central Asia, 
 that the earth moves, while the heavens are at rest. 
 Pythagoras, if this be true, had disciples even so far away 
 as China. It is possible that the phrase k'an-yu may hint 
 at this idea. Hence the application of the yii, " chariot," to 
 geography and the earth. 
 
 Another term requiring explanation is sha-chH. It is 
 this which is feared when a ying-pei, or " shield wall," is 
 erected before a house door. The dangerous vapour known 
 as sha-ch'i, causing various calamities, might enter by an 
 unprotected door. Every house entrance in Peking has 
 its devices for preventing straight access. The path must 
 wind, and many methods are employed to save the house 
 from the unwelcome intrusion. But there may be some 
 
338 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 confusion here ; for the idea of a winding entrance to a 
 house arises from the desire to keep men at a distance, 
 as well as demons, and to make a limit between what is 
 public and what is private. 
 
 The "secret arrow," an-tsien, is a name given to evil 
 influences coming by a small lane in front of a door, or 
 the lane itself is so called. To oppose the bad influences 
 travelling along a lane towards an open door, a stone lion 
 on a pillar, carved with characters indicating the capability 
 of resistance, is placed opposite the entrance, and it is 
 thought to be so useful that nearly every lane in Peking is 
 thus defended. This and similar " protecting shields " are 
 termed chen-wii. Some Buddhist structures are built to 
 act as chen-vM. Such are pagodas and temples. In the 
 same way operate inscriptions and tigers cut in paper. It 
 is usual to carve stone pillars employed as chen-vm with 
 the words T'ai-shan-sM-kan-tang, because T'ai-shan is the 
 most honourable of mountains, and mountains are a pro- 
 tecting shield to buildings and graves. The carving of the 
 above sentence (meaning, " This stone from T'ai-shan dares 
 to resist ") is supposed to constitute a sufficient barrier. 
 
 Among other things that should not be opposite to a 
 house door are a well, a grindstone, the corner of a wall, 
 a temple, two streets crossing, and the entrance to a lane. 
 
 Among things that protect a house and its inmates is a 
 little image of Kwan-ti, god of war, erected on the roof. 
 A stone arrow is also employed for a similar purpose. It 
 is believed to be a defence against the " dark arrow " of the 
 malignant demon. 
 
 Among inscriptions over a door of great efficacy is one 
 in honour of Kiang T'ai-kung, a hero of the Cheu dynasty 
 — " Kiang Pai-kung is here ; there is then no fear," Kiang- 
 t'ai-kicng'tsai-ts'i-pe-vm-king-ku. 
 
 To have a temple behind a house is a most favourable sign. 
 To be on the east side is also lucky. But to be on the west 
 is bad, and on the north worse. Yang-chai, yin-chai, the 
 " light house and daik house," each has its feiig-shui. 
 
BUDDHIST ELEMENT IN FENG-SHUL 339 
 
 In regard to the origin and history of feng-shui, a few 
 notes here appended may be found useful in the absence 
 of minute information on an obscure subject. 
 
 It professes to be based on the Yt-king, where a rude 
 system of nature is traced by means of a cycle of eight 
 elements, including heaven, earth, mountains, lakes, thun- 
 der, &c. On this are founded methods for seeking good 
 fortune and avoiding ill. On account of its classical 
 authority and repute, every fortune-teller naturally claims 
 that his rules find their origin here. 
 
 The real feiig-shui of the present generation is, how- 
 ever, to be found rather in the Han-lung-king and such 
 works which are of modern date. The name of this 
 treatise means the " Book for shaking the Dragon." It is 
 of the last century. 
 
 It is a system which has been in course of formation 
 since the Han dynasty, and has in it Buddhist, Tauist, 
 and Confucian elements, or, as it should rather be stated, 
 Buddhist and native. 
 
 Let us begin with the Buddhist. The very name feng- 
 shui has in it a tinge of Hindoo notions. The Buddhist 
 Hindoos in China taught the Indian natural philosophy. 
 Their elements were four, namely: — 1% "earth;" shui^ 
 "water;" hwo^ "fire;" feng, "air." As these agree with 
 the Greek doctrine of physics, we may perhaps ascribe its 
 origin to Greece or rather to Babylon, that great centre of 
 ancient civilisation which deserved still more than Egypt 
 to be called " Mother of the sciences." 
 
 Writers on India tell us that the natives of that country, 
 when they speak of climate, always call it " air and water." ^ 
 Since then the Chinese word feng, " wind," was used by 
 them for air, one of the four elements, it is highly probable 
 that the Hindoo physics have something to do with the 
 origin of the name by which the Chinese geomantic 
 doctrine is known. 
 
 To illustrate the way in which the old Hindoo philo- 
 
 1 See Sir Jamea Martin's Influence of Tropical Climates on Europeang. 
 
340 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 sophers discoursed on the elements, I shall here mention ^ 
 that they speak of white clouds as having in them more of 
 the element of earth, of black clouds as having more of 
 water, of red as having more of fire, and of yellow as having 
 more of air. 
 
 Thunder they believe to be caused by the meeting in 
 the clouds of the wind area with the water area, of the 
 wind area with the earth area, and of the wind area with 
 the fire area. 
 
 Calamities caused by wind, fire, and water have local 
 limits in the Buddhist universe. Thus fire works destruc- 
 tion no higher than to the paradise called Kwang-yin t'ien^ 
 " The heaven of brightness and sound." ^ So also with the 
 other elements, each has its sphere and its period of efii- 
 ciency. The kalpas are terminated by one or other of 
 these powerful elemental forces. By their interaction 
 the world is formed, changed, destroyed, and renewed. It 
 was under the influence of such a philosophy that Milton 
 said (for in his time the Greek doctrine of the elements 
 was still undisturbed in Europe) — 
 
 " Air, and ye elements the eldest birth 
 
 Of nature's womb, that in quaternion run, 
 Perpetual circle multiform, and mix 
 
 Aud nourish all things, let your ceaseless change 
 Vary to your great Maker still new praise." 
 
 The heaven of Brahma is said to have been formed by 
 wind blowing on water, in which grew up of itself a vast 
 mass of moist matter. On this again the wind blew, and 
 out of it formed the palace of Brahma, which exhibited in 
 abundance the most beautiful combinations of the pre- 
 cious metals and stones of every kind known to man. 
 
 The sea is said to have been formed by the mighty 
 winds of lieaven blowing upon the earth till they dug in 
 it a vast hollow. In this was placed an immense collec- 
 
 1 Fa-yuen-chU'lin, chap. iv. This work is a Buddhist cyclopaedia of the 
 T'ang djrnaaty. « Fa-yuen-chu-lin, chap. i. 
 
RESEMBLANCE TO THE IONIAN THEORIES. 34* 
 
 tion of water, which settled itself in its bed and became 
 the ocean. 
 
 Here the wind is seen as a great creating agency. An 
 impersonal actor is the aspect in which each of the four 
 elements is regarded by the Hindoo philosophy of nature. 
 This accords well with the superficial view of natural 
 phenomena taken by the Eastern Asiatic mind. The 
 Semite and the believer in the Bible view the events of 
 creation and of universal nature as caused by God. Science 
 comes into the field of nature, and finds out what are the 
 second causes operating to produce observed phenomena. 
 The Christian believer, when convinced of their truth, 
 accepts the results of science as safe and genuine addi- 
 tions to our knowledge, and as harmonising with the 
 teachings of religion. With the Eastern Asiatics it is dif- 
 ferent. The elemental philosophy of the ancient Hindoos 
 could not be scientific, nor could it base its system of 
 nature on a series of patient observations. It was not in 
 the capacity of the Hindoo to undertake such inquiries. 
 He was content, then, to imagine where he could not dis- 
 cover. He therefore willingly adopted that view of nature 
 — probably in its origin Greek, and ultimately Babylonian 
 — which made of the four elements as many active powers 
 controlled in their working, not by a conscious will, but by 
 a blind yet retributive necessity. 
 
 It is interesting to note the resemblances between the 
 Hindoo physical system of the world and that of the 
 Ionian philosophers. Thales of Miletus, who lived B.C. 
 600, held that water is the origin of things. Out of water 
 everything is derived, and to it everything ultimately 
 returns. Heraclitus of Ephesus believed the one principle 
 which underlies all phenomena to be fire. The world is 
 formed, he taught, by evolution from fire ; not made by 
 God or by man. This fire is a rational intelligence con- 
 trolling the universe. It also is the human soul. Anaxi- 
 menes said that the physical principle which originates 
 nature is air, and all the elements may be resolved into 
 
342 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 this. Air made dense gave birth to the earth, and from the 
 earth were formed the heavenly bodies. The air acts by 
 motion impressed on it from eternity, causing in it alter- 
 nate rarefaction and compression. This air he thought 
 to be eternal. Anaximander of Miletus was a friend of 
 Thales. He held the elements of the world to be simple 
 and unchangeable, and taught that they formed all things 
 by concurrence with homogeneous particles already exist- 
 ing.i 
 
 Let it be observed that all these philosophers regarded 
 matter as the cause of all things. They lived two centu- 
 ries before Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, who 
 extended their inquiries into the world of mind, and taught 
 a system in which either mind in the abstract, or God, was 
 regarded as the source of the world. 
 
 No more do they resemble Pythagoras, who, living early 
 enough to be the contemporary of some of them, formed a 
 system of his own based on numbers. The secret soul of 
 the world which causes its various phenomena is a prin- 
 ciple of harmony. 
 
 Zeno, founder of the Stoics, coming after Socrates and 
 Plato, went back to that principle of the Ionian philo- 
 sophy which finds the origin of the universe in physical 
 elements. The universe, he said, comes into being when 
 the primary substance passes from the state of fire into 
 that of air, then takes the form of water, and finally 
 throws off both its thick portions to become earth, and its 
 rarer parts to become air, afterwards fire. He also held 
 with Heraclitus and with the Hindoos, that the world 
 passes through successive periods of decay and reforma- 
 tion, that is to say, the Indian halpas. 
 
 There does not seem much danger, then, in ascribing the 
 Hindoo philosophy of the elements to the Ionian school 
 for its germ. The effect of Alexander's conquest was felt 
 in India in new views communicated on mathematics, 
 astronomy, architecture, and physics. Hence we learn why 
 
 ^ Smith's Dictionary oj Gntk and Eoman Biography and Mythology, 
 
 I 
 
GEOMANCY IN THE T'ANG DYNASTY. 343 
 
 the doctrine of the four elements was so extensively taught 
 by the Buddhists in Chinese literature of that religion. 
 
 According to this view, the feng-sliui of the Chinese 
 may be traced to the early Greek philosophy as one of its 
 causes. During the three centuries before the birth of 
 Christ the region of the Punjab was ruled for a long 
 period by Greek kings, and it was here that many of the 
 Buddhist books were written. Some of the most prolific 
 writers of this religion resided in the Punjab and its 
 neighbourhood during the Greek domination over Persia, 
 Parthia, Bactria, and a part of North-western India. What 
 wonder if they proceeded to supplement their system by 
 the materialistic philosophy of the lonians ? They were 
 pleased with a cosmogony which had no recourse to the 
 doctrine of a Creator. 
 
 The following account of what took place in the eighth 
 century will illustrate the influence of Buddhism on the 
 geomancy of that time. Su Kien, an official of high rank, 
 when about to bury his wife, inquired of a friend how he 
 should construct the grave with regard to its mound and 
 limits. His friend told him of a Buddhist priest of the 
 city of Hwang-cheu, who knew how to connect the affairs 
 of men with those of demons and spirits. The grave 
 should be deep and narrow ; deep for darkness, and narrow 
 for security. Below the surface tw^elve feet is the limit 
 of earth, and eleven feet lower is the commencement of 
 water. The earth and water regions have each a dragon 
 to take care of them. The dragon reveals himself in the 
 one case in six years, in the other case in twelve. If a 
 trench be of ordinary limits, the spirit's path is not tran- 
 quil. The grave should therefore be twenty-four feet deep. 
 Instead of lime-plaster, use starch. Do not place earthen- 
 ware pitchers in the tomb, because they are allied to the 
 element of fire. Do not place gold in the tomb, lest it 
 should become an elf. Do not place orpiment or arsenic 
 in the tomb, because they are hot by nature. Let the 
 grass and trees on the tomb be withered and not fresh. 
 
344 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Melt iron into the shape of cows and pigs ; they will 
 keep the two dragons in subjection. Smooth and clean 
 jade-stone has the power to harmonise the hundred spirits 
 of nature. Place it in the tomb to illuminate the path of 
 the spirits. 
 
 As a further proof of Hindoo influence on the Chinese 
 mind in the formation of the circle of ideas known as 
 the feng-shui, fien-wen, and ti-li, may be mentioned the 
 names Rahu'^ and Ketu, to denote the genius of the 
 ascending and descending nodes of the moon's orbit. Also 
 the use of the triangle, connecting three points of the 
 horizon a hundred and twenty degrees apart, in casting the 
 horoscope is common to China and India. Then also from 
 the mention in books of geomancy of the Sumeru mountain 
 as the centre of the world, it is evident that they have 
 borrowed from India. 
 
 It was for such portions of Buddhist teaching that the 
 Chinese mind had a special affinity. The Chinese are fond 
 of materialism. As Shakyamuni taught Buddhism, it was 
 an ascetic morality. His followers soon gave it a decidedly 
 metaphysical cast. Then followed the materialistic phase, 
 when magic, astrology, and geomancy were developed. 
 The Hindoo Buddhists who taught in China brought with 
 them the whole educational system of their time. In it 
 was included much belonging to the three branches of 
 superstition just mentioned. 
 
 In accordauce with this view feng-shui as now believed 
 is a very modern thing, and subsequent to the spread in 
 the country of Hindoo thought. The mixing of Indian 
 with Chinese ideas produced both the Sung philosophy ^ 
 
 ^ In Chinese, Lo-heu for La-hu. It is not uncommon for doctrines to 
 
 The twenty-eight constellations of the be attributed to the Chinese as a 
 
 Chinese zodiac were identified with nation which only belong to a particu- 
 
 the Hindoo Nakskatras in the Han lar modem sect of the literati. While 
 
 dynasty. some writers attack the Chinese for 
 
 2 It would be interesting to trace beliefs which they do not hold, such 
 
 the effect of Greek and Indian mate- an examination of the modern native 
 
 rialistic philosophy <)n the formation philosophy might prove useful, 
 of the moaeni Ubinese cofmogony. 
 
NATIVE ELEMENT IN FENG-SHUI. 345 
 
 and the modern feng-shui, which has been chiefly developed 
 in the present dynasty. 
 
 I now proceed to the native element in the feng-shui. 
 This may be made, so far as it is physical, to include 
 astrology and the doctrine of starry influences and the 
 elements as taught in the native Chinese literature. The 
 nine fancied stars which move about in the air, and are 
 either lucky or malignant according to circumstances, must 
 here be referred to. They form an extensive portion of the 
 geomancer's system of follies. All this may be described 
 as the Tauist part of the feng-shui. 
 
 After this a few words must be added respecting the 
 moral or Confucian element in the feng-shui, and the 
 effect of the example of distinguished Confucianists in 
 encouraging popular superstition on this subject. 
 
 After a brief allusion to the north star and the chief 
 northern constellatiois, the writer of the work called 
 ffan-lung-king goes on to describe minutely the influence 
 of the nine stars, or influences, which move through the 
 atmosphere and cause prosperity and adversity to men. 
 
 The first is Tan-lang, " Covetous wolf." It has twelve 
 characteristics. Of these five are lucky and seven unlucky. 
 The lucky are pointed, round, flat, straight, and small. The 
 unlucky are not in the middle, crooked, one-sided, pre- 
 cipitous, turned over, broken, and empty. The pointed is 
 shaped like a bamboo sprout. The round is complete on all 
 sides. The flat is perfectly level like a lying silkworm. 
 The straight indicates absence of one-sidedness. The other 
 characteristics are the appearance of being ready to fall 
 over, the presentation of a precipitous cliff, of the breaking 
 off of a watercourse, hollowing into caves, and so on. 
 
 Diagrams in accordance with these indications are 
 given of neighbouring hills which are supposed to exert 
 a corresponding influence on a grave according to their 
 shape. The writer adds in the rough poetry of books such 
 as this, " Men say the covetous wolf is good, not knowing 
 that pure and chaste desires are still more important. With 
 
346 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 all the advantages derivable from the covetous wolf, with- 
 out pureness and honour, no person, even if he acquired 
 rank, would attain to the three highest, anciently known 
 as the San-kung." The prevailing element is wood. 
 
 Looking at the diagram only, the reader sees a conical 
 hill or elevation, a mushroom shaped outline, and a series 
 of four or five conical hills presented in half profile. These 
 appearances all prove the presence of the " covetous wolf." 
 
 The second moving star is Chu-men, " Great door." The 
 form loved by this spirit is flat at the top and square on 
 the sides. When a hill presents the appearance of a square 
 or trapezium with the upper line horizontal, the pheno- 
 menon is caused by the presence of this influence. Wood 
 is the prevailing element. 
 
 The third star is Lu-tsun, " Kank preserved." Nine 
 shapes in hills mark its presence. Its favourite shape has 
 a flat top, a cylindrical body like a drum, and at the bottom 
 it spreads into five branches like the toes of the human 
 feet. Properly it should be a malignant star, because its 
 shape partakes of a spotted and mixed nature. But it is 
 able to adapt itself to conditions which secure good luck. 
 It causes men to attain the lower ranks of promotion, such 
 as the chief magistracy of cities of the second and third 
 ranks, and, in certain circumstances, gives the control of 
 troops or of literary examinations. The five-toed appear- 
 ance is represented in the map as sometimes three or four 
 toed. There are also other modifications. Earth is the 
 ruling element. 
 
 The fourth star, Wen-'chu, " Literary windings," belongs 
 to the element of water. It loves the shape of the snake 
 when seen moving with three or four bends of the body. 
 The " Men of the Dragon," Lung-kia, as the geomancers 
 call themselves, can detect the presence of this influence 
 in the contour of hills. It has, like the other stars, a nor- 
 mal and several occasional shapes. When thin, it is the 
 snake proper ; if thicker, it is a caterpillar ; if still wider, 
 it becomes a cast net The geomancers profess to attend 
 
CONTOUR OF HILLS AND PLAINS. 347 
 
 to the points of bending in the snake, because these indi- 
 cate the line of water-flow and of the dragon's influence. 
 
 The fifth star is Lien-cheng, " Purity and uprightness." 
 Its element is fire. The ancients highly valued it, says 
 the manual, and called it Ked flag and " Brilliant vapour," 
 Yatc-ti. It likes a lofty position, rugged heights, umbrella 
 folds, and the shape of a flattened ball. One form it 
 assumes is that of the " Dragon tower," Lung-leic, which 
 is a conical elevation, overtopping all beside it. Another 
 is that of the "Palace of precious things," Pau-tien, in 
 forming which several cones of equal height are seen in 
 parallel rows. The imaginations of the geomancers lead 
 them also to fancy the appearance in rocky outline of the 
 tortoise and the serpent guarding some little mountain 
 gorge. This is considered to be an indication of the best kind 
 of dragon influence, for here passes some water channel. 
 
 The sixth star is Wu-chlX, " Military windings." Its 
 element is metal. It is round at the top and broad at the 
 bottom, like a bell or an inverted cooking-pan. In judg- 
 ing of the hill shapes that belong to this star, it is easy to 
 mistake the demon for the dragon. This is specially the 
 case when the shape observed is that of an inverted spoon, 
 the spoon being like the tail of the Great Bear, or rather 
 the " Seven stars," usually called Pe-teu, in their entire- 
 ness. The demon and the dragon are both in the habit of 
 assuming the shape of an inverted " dust-pan " (H), an in- 
 verted " spoon " (sAo), and an inverted " palm," clmng (palm 
 of the hand). The skill of the geomancer is displayed in 
 distinguishing the appearances. The demon may affect any 
 one of the nine stars ; and, as there is the fourfold form, 
 square, round, crooked, and straight, there may be thirty - 
 six shapes to be considered. Generally speaking the 
 locality of the demon is behind the " grave site " {hiue), 
 and the corresponding genius in front of it is called hwan, 
 " officer." If the demon and the genius of office look at 
 the tomb site, it is a lucky sign. If they turn their backs to 
 it, the dragon of prosperity wiU not take up his place there. 
 
348 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The seventh star, Po-kiun, " Breaker of the phalanx," is 
 referred to metal. It has one normal and four peculiar 
 shapes. The normal shape is that of three round-headed 
 cones, seen one rising above another like the folds of a flag 
 when carried by a person walking. Below it has ugly- 
 looking points like spear points. Persons seeing these 
 conclude too hastily that this star is malignant and 
 unlucky. It is so, but in certain circumstances it may 
 become highly serviceable for acquiring riches and rank. 
 Consider what stars it corresponds to in the sky. Its 
 power is formed by the descending influence of the " Three 
 terraces," San-fai, three pairs of stars in our Great Bear. 
 Upon high hills the celestial essence of these stars collects, 
 and becomes formed into six terrestrial or atmospheric 
 stars, called Lw-fii, the " Six palaces." They are all mingled 
 with the influences of the five elements. 
 
 STARS OF THE SIX HOUSES. 
 
 Shape. 
 
 1. Round 
 
 2. Oblong, round 
 
 3. Eound head, long body 
 
 4. Alive, crooked, moving 
 
 5. Square 
 
 6. Conical 
 
 Element- 
 Metal 
 Metal 
 Wood 
 Water 
 Earth 
 Fire 
 
 Name. 
 T'ai-yang^ « Great light." 
 T'ai-yinj " Lesser light," 
 Tsi-k^t, " Purple vapour." 
 Yue-pUy " Moon disturber." 
 Ki, " Plan." 
 Lo, " Net." 
 
 The eighth star, Tso-fu, " Left assistant," is under the 
 influence of the element of metal. Its normal shape is 
 that of a head with a napkin wrapped round it, in front 
 high, behind low. This star is a servant to the great 
 dragon, who gives shape to the constellations of astronomy. 
 Fu (the eighth) and Pi are two stars seen near a in Her- 
 cules, called by the Chinese Ti-tso, " Emperor's throne," 
 and by European astronomers, Eos Algethi. On account 
 of their proximity to the throne, it is assumed that these 
 stars confer honour on men by their influence if happily 
 directed. 
 
 The ninth star, YeiL-pi, " Right assistant," has no fixed 
 shape. Its elemtjut is water. Flatness is its favourite 
 
 A 
 
STELLAR INFLUENCES. 349 
 
 characteristic. Where hills break off and give place to 
 the plain, it loves to be. It rules even surfaces. It is 
 therefore called Yin-yau, " Hidden glory." It is also fond 
 of narrow threads and dim vestiges of things. The snake 
 creeping through grass, the fish leaping on sand, the spider's 
 thread, the traces of horses' hoofs, and the strings of the lyre 
 are presided over by this star. It likes that which is half 
 real and half unreal, and which is scarcely visible to the 
 eye. The aid of this star is said to be particularly valu- 
 able in cases of doubtful feng-shui. The unskilled geo- 
 mancer will say, " This is a level plain, I can make nothing 
 of it ; I need some elevation to guide me in the diagnosis of 
 the neighbourhood." He forgets that water flows not only 
 down a hill but even on a plain, and that there is a diffe- 
 rence of level there. One inch is enough for the true 
 " discerner of the dragon." Or the tyro in the mysteries 
 of the feng-shui folly may say, '* This ground is wet. The 
 fault is fatal. You must not bury your dead here." Fool 
 that he is, he perceives not that to decide so hastily is most 
 unwise. Does not the wetness come from an unusual flow 
 of water ? When the water disappears, this place will be 
 soon as dry as those which are higher. The Eight assist- 
 ant loves this state of doubt, and hence the differences in 
 opinion between geomancers respecting the characteristics 
 of the same spot or region. 
 
 It may be said generally in regard to the nine stellar 
 influences that, when seeking for a lucky hollow, you find, 
 for example, here the appearance of a breast, there of a 
 swallow's nest, here a ploughshare, there a comb, here the 
 tumed-up hand, there the spear or lance, and there a hang- 
 ing lanthorn; these effects of starry influence point out 
 the true nature of the desired " hollow " (hiue). The 
 dragon makes the hollow, and in seeking it the correct 
 indications of the dragon's action must be followed. 
 
 It would be of little use to follow the Chinese geo- 
 mancers further into the lucky and unlucky effects of 
 these stars, their division of hills into " male " (hiung) and 
 
35© CHINESE BUDDHISM. _ 
 
 "female" {ts%), into "patriarch" {t&u) and "small hills" 
 {siau-feng), and into *' branches " (clvi) and " stems " (kan). 
 Enough has been said. ■ J 
 
 This whole doctrine of starry influences may be readily f I 
 traced back to the system of the Tauists in the Han period. 
 Hwai An-tsi, Wei Pe-yang, Pau Po-tsi, and others, taught 
 just such a pliilosophy of nature as might give origin to 
 the more modern views of the geomancers. Astrology and 
 alchemy were then in their glory. The former of these 
 influenced geomancy and encouraged popular belief in mov- 
 ing starry influences. From whence came that astrology ? 
 The answer should be from Western Asia and India, but 
 full data on this point are wanting. Not only the imagi- 
 nary stars of the geomancers must be traced to the Han 
 period, but all those star genii and demons of the imperial 
 calendar which are popularly believed to be in perpetual 
 movement in people's houses, in streets, and in the air, 
 may be assigned to the same origin. It was then that the 
 habit began in China of regarding the stars as movable 
 beings regulating the affairs of kingdoms, cities, and indi- 
 viduals. Though the names of the nine stars are new, 
 they are identified by the geomancers with the seven stars 
 of the Great Bear and two neighbouring stars. They 
 move up and down in the ether of space, and are either 
 visible as individual stars, or, if invisible, traverse the 
 world each with an elemental force of its own, to give form, 
 character, and vigour to those parts of nature to which they j 
 attach themselves. ■I 
 
 The remaining element in feng-shui which now comes " 
 to be considered is moral. The choice of a grave is to be 
 made in accordance with the rules of geomancy, because 
 filial piety requires it, and it is sanctioned, it is said, by 
 the example of the sages. 
 
 To prove, however, that Confucius himself believed at 
 all in any of the nonsense connected with geomancy is 
 very difficult. It is said in the biography of the sage by 
 Si-ma Chien that, not knowing where his father's grave 
 
INCONSISTENT WITH CONFUCIANISM, 351 
 
 was, he inquired of the mother of a friend. Learning from 
 her the locality, he buried his mother there. In the Li-ki 
 it is said of Confucius that he was at lirst unwilling to 
 make a mound over the grave, because the ancients did 
 not. At last he consented to carry out the suggestion, but 
 the person left in charge of this duty soon came to the sage 
 to announce in an agitated manner that rain had fallen 
 and reduced the mound to a level. Confucius regretted 
 that he had allowed himself to depart from primitive sim- 
 plicity. These little incidents seem to show that he had 
 no notion of geomancy, and that he loved simplicity. 
 
 In early times it was enough for emperors to be buried 
 on high mountains under a large mound, while feudatory 
 princes were content with hillocks, and the common people 
 found their last resting-place in the plain. There was no 
 thought then of the course of water flowing past the tomb. 
 
 An ancient said, " I have been of no benefit to man- 
 kind while living. Let me not injure them when I am 
 dead. Choose my burying-place where the earth yields 
 no food for man." Others have said, " If a man dies on 
 the hills, let him be buried on the hills. If he dies in the 
 lowlands, let him be buried in the lowlands." This was 
 said with a view to economy. It would be a useless 
 expense to convey the body to a distance. For the same 
 reason another noted person of the Han period ordered his 
 son to bury him without a coffin in a grave dug in the 
 ground. In the T'ang dynasty a high officer gave direc- 
 tions that he should be buried in a plain manner, without 
 monument or stone of any kind, and over his grave the 
 villagers were to be allowed to plough and sow as of old. 
 
 Such dying instructions as these have been carefully 
 preserved by the Chinese literati, who felt that they were 
 more in accordance with true wisdom than the follies 
 which afterwards grew into vogue. They show the proper 
 standpoint of the genuine Confucianist. With him every- 
 thing must give way to moral considerations. 
 
 In arguing against feng-shui and the other superstitions 
 
352 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 of the Chinese, we ought to find on this ground a fast 
 friend in the true follower of Confucius. The freedom of 
 Confucius from superstition is one of the best proofs of the 
 greatness of his mind, and a main cause of his ascendancy- 
 over the literary class. His utterances on the danger of 
 excessive reverence to the kwei-shen have been a barrier 
 against Buddhism, and prevented the extension of its 
 soporific influence over the whole nation. The literati 
 have thus been kept in an independent and self-sustained 
 position, and have not become quite overwhelmed by this 
 intrusive foreign element. Hence, the scions of scholarly 
 families and students who have read extensively are 
 trained in a school of ideas antagonistic to superstition. 
 These men, therefore, may be appealed to in aid of our 
 opposition to the feng-shui. They are ashamed of it. 
 They disown it if brought in argument to close quarters. 
 They only comply with it from an unwillingness to act 
 contrary to custom. The great minds among them avoid 
 even the appearance of compliance, but these are not 
 many. 
 
 Considering that the enlightened Chinese are thus dis- 
 posed, there could be no harm done by a studied attack on 
 the whole system of geomancy in a book prepared for the 
 purpose. It would not be offensive to the true Confu- 
 cianist, and it would afford opportunity to teach much 
 good philosophy and truer views of nature than those 
 to which they have been accustomed. But perhaps the 
 whole structure is so flimsy that it will fall of itself, 
 without laying siege to it or directing the ordnance of 
 argument against it. The shining of true science may 
 pale its ineffectual fire, and cause it to disappear as a 
 thing of darkness, without special effort to bring about 
 its extinction. 
 
( 353 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 BUDDHIST PHRASEOLOGY IN RELATION TO CHRISTIAN 
 TEACHING.^ 
 
 Use of Buddhist terms in the Neatorian inscription, a.d. 781 — Mo^ 
 "demon;" in Sanscrit, inara — Ti-yii, "hell," is naraka — Ten 
 judges of hell — Among them Pau Cheng, the famous judge of 
 the Sung dynasty — The Sung philosophers encouraged the popu- 
 lar belief in future retribution — This prepares for Christianity 
 — THen-Vang, " heaven" — Defects of this term — Ming-hung, &c., 
 as names for " heaven " — Buddhist paradises possibly borrowed 
 from Western Asia or some other country farther west — Redemp- 
 tion — Ti-tsang and Kwan-yin — Pity — Instruction — Effect of 
 uin — Decreed forgiveness to penitents — Secret merit — Happiness 
 and merit confounded — Sin and misery confounded — Illustra- 
 tion from the narrative of a Christian convert. 
 
 We teach the Chinese the Christian religion by means of 
 their own language, and in their vocabulary of religious 
 terms many words and phrases of Buddhist origin have 
 come into common use. 
 
 The Syrian inscription, A.D. 781, shows that no scruple 
 was felt by the first Christian missionaries in China in 
 adopting many Buddhist terms. 
 
 We find there mo, " devil." This is the common word 
 used in mo-kwei. Both name and being are of Hindoo 
 origin ; the " delusions of the devil " are called mo-wang. 
 Hell is called " palace of darkness," an-fu. The " ship of 
 mercy " conveys the faithful disciples across the sea to 
 heaven. The ship is t^i-Jmng ; " heaven " is /ning-kung ; 
 
 1 This paper was read in the spring of 1878, before an association of mia- 
 sionaries resident in Peking. 
 
 Z 
 
354 CHINESE BUDDlflSM. 
 
 Christian "monks" were called smg, from the Sanscrit sanga, 
 " assembly ;" a " monastery " is called s% as by the Chinese 
 Buddhists ; a "monk's robe" is called kia-sha^ which is the 
 Sanscrit word for " gown," kashaya. 
 
 Buddhism throve in the T'ang dynasty. It was the era 
 when Hiuen-tsang went to India. His journey was an 
 instance of the depth of religious faith which characterised 
 the Chinese followers of Gautama in his age, and it also 
 secured an immense increase of popularity to the ideas of 
 his sect. Buddhism was very powerful in the court, and 
 profoundly influenced the literature. Translations from 
 Sanscrit were made with extreme care, and received from 
 the literati a high literary finish. The influence of Bud- 
 dhism is distinctly seen in the dictionaries of the time, in 
 the syllabic spelling, in the discovery of the four tones, and 
 the settlement of the laws of poetry consequent on that 
 discovery. The poets and critics of the T'ang dynasty 
 were conscious of great obligations to Buddhism, and 
 made scarcely any decisive and persistent effort to check 
 the spread of popular faith in that religion, and the general 
 adoption of Hindoo phrases and terms in the language. 
 Han Yu, in his Fo-kv^piau, was an exception. 
 
 The Syrian Christians extended their missions in China 
 at a time when Buddhism was in the ascendant, and 
 adopted terms from the professors of that religion which 
 indicate a more extensive principle of imitation than either 
 the Roman Catholics or the Protestants have in later times 
 thought of adopting. The reason is found in the popularity 
 of Buddhism in the capital of China in the time of the 
 Nestorian missionaries. That religion was much favoured 
 at court, and was the chief agent in teaching the future 
 state and the superiority of the monastic life as a means of 
 subduing the passions. Both Buddhism and Christianity 
 came from the West ; and it would be for the Nestorians 
 difi&cult to maintain the mutual independence of the two 
 religions, agreeing as they did in a belief in a world of 
 happiness and of misery for mankind after the present 
 
 na ■■ 
 
" J/<9," DEMON; IN SANSCRIT, ''MARA." 355 
 
 life. The fact that the Nestorian monks called themselves 
 seiig, as the Buddhists do, has some light thrown on it by 
 an incident in the life of Matthew Bicci. He adopted 
 a Buddhist priest's dress and shaved his head. But 
 after making trial for a time of this costume he changed 
 it for that of the Confucianists, as it was worn in the 
 Ming dynasty. Perhaps the Nestorian priests adopted 
 and retained the Buddhist costume in ordinary life, and 
 reserved their own ceremonial robes for special occasions, 
 as the Roman Catholics do now with the Confucianist. 
 
 The word sengy for " priest," they probably took to be an 
 exact equivalent of their cohen. So in colloquial English, 
 we call the Buddhist monks Buddhist priests. We have 
 given up the word lonzes, the Japanese term introduced 
 by Portuguese and other Romish missionaries, into Euro- 
 pean accounts of the religion of this part of the world. 
 To call them priests at all is, however, somewhat negligent 
 English. The Roman Catholics have done better to call 
 their " monks " sieu-sM, and their " nuns " sieu-nil, rather 
 than to style them seng or ho-shang, and ni-ku or ni-seng. 
 Sieic is " cultivate moral virtues;" sh% " scholar," " person ; " 
 nu is " woman." 
 
 Times have changed. The Buddhists are not now wafted 
 to a proud position by the gales of popular applause ; and 
 still less in the present dynasty, than in the Ming dynasty, 
 would the Jesuit gain any advantage by following the 
 example of Ricci while he was in South China, in adopt- 
 ing the Buddhist garb. 
 
 In discussing Buddhist phrases capable of being applied 
 in Christian teaching, I will begin with mo, the " devil." 
 This is in Sanscrit mara. The maras are, in Buddhist 
 phraseology, a class of demons. They are not known to 
 the Brahmans. The word is formed from the root mar, 
 " death," and is an Aryan personification of death. By 
 the Buddhists the maras are regarded as a king with a 
 host of followers. They wage war against Buddhism, and 
 when Shakyamuni was living he had successful contests 
 
356 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 with them. In Buddhist books all temptations are demons. 
 A demon is hidden in everything that can cause evil to 
 man. The demon of anger prompts to sin in every case 
 of sinful anger. So of lust, of drunkenness, of theft, and 
 each form of sin. 
 
 The use of mo has become so extended that in our transla- 
 tions of the Bible it is freely used for the Greek BiaffoXof;, 
 diabolus in the literary and colloquial versions. To Chris- 
 tian converts it gradually assumes a Christian sense in 
 proportion as they are instructed in the Biblical repre- 
 sentations of the power, agency, and character of Satan. 
 But if not instructed, the views of the convert are Bud- 
 dhistic. These views are brought into connection with 
 " possession," as seen in an intoxicated man, an importu- 
 nate beggar who cannot be got rid of, an opium smoker 
 who is under the dominion of his habit, or a scholar who 
 cannot cease from study. Such persons are possessed by 
 a demon who is called kivei, but in the poetry of the T'ang 
 and the Sung dynasties he might be called mo. A writer 
 is free from the mo-chang, " demoniacal film or hindrance," 
 when his thoughts and language flow freely and beauti- 
 fully. 
 
 The main idea is often that of causing trouble by pos- 
 session. Ju-mo, " a demon entering," is a phrase which is 
 quite commonly used to express the idea. To " become 
 deluded," "to be deadened to," are also thus described. 
 Nan-mo or nan-Jcwei are common examples of the way iu 
 which " demons causing trouble " is expressed. 
 
 Evidently it is necessary in using mo for the Christian 
 sense, to distinguish accurately the peculiar meaning of the 
 word in the heathen religions. The Christian mo-kwei is 
 more intensely wicked than the Buddhist mo-kwei. But 
 both in Europe and in Asia, in ancient or modern times, 
 we nowliere find the demon world dissociated from the 
 phenomenon of possession in popular language. It is one 
 of the primitive identities, permanently retained in the 
 phraseology of all religions. 
 
'^ TI-YU;' EARTH'S PRISON, IS '' NARAKA." 357 
 
 Another common Buddhist expression is, ti-yu, " earth's 
 prison." The Sanscrit naraka, "the abodes of demons," 
 places of punishment underneath the world of men, are so 
 designated. 
 
 The advantage of the employment of this term is that it 
 is ready for use, that it agrees with our word " hell " in being 
 a place of punishment ; and, further, that the visible uni- 
 verse being to the Chinese consciousness in two parts, viz., 
 heaven and earth, it must always be convenient to the 
 Cliristian teacher to speak of " hell " as belonging to earth. 
 The objections to its use are great. It misplaces the locality. 
 No modem Christian books place hell underground. It 
 is plural as much as singular, while our word for the 
 place of punishment is always singular. Further, it gives 
 the Confucianist occasion to say that we have borrowed 
 from the Buddhists, and that we must share in the same 
 condemnation which the adherents of that religion have 
 had to endure. 
 
 The authors who have reasoned against Christianity on 
 the ground of the identity of the doctrine of hell being 
 much the same in the two religions, and that we have 
 borrowed from the Buddhists, are Su Ki-yii in Ying-hwan- 
 chi-lio, Wei Yuen in Hai-kwo-t^u-chi, and the king of 
 Corea in his edict against Christianity, taken away from 
 the hill fort at the mouth of the Corean river, by the 
 United States naval force which captured the fort eleven 
 years ago. 
 
 The words used for "hell" in our translations of the 
 Bible are yin-fu (the hidden palace), yin-kien (the dark 
 world). The natives also use yin-s'i, the (place of hidden 
 judgment). Ti-yil is never used in our translations, at 
 least the recent ones; but all missionaries use it col- 
 loquially, and it finds its place in our catechisms. These 
 phrases, yin-fu, yin-kien, yin-s'i, are very modern. They 
 are subsequent to the teaching of the metempsychosis in 
 China. The term used for hell in the Syrian inscription 
 A.D. 781 is an-/u, "palace of darkness," a phrase borrowed 
 
358 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 from the Buddhism of the time, and meaning the same a^" 
 yin-fu. 
 
 Since the Sung dynasty, the popular notion of hell 
 in China has been formed chiefly by the prevalent repre- 
 sentations of the ten tribunals seen in temples and in 
 the Yil-li (probably a.d. 1068) and other works. Punish- 
 ments are here depicted in the most frightful forms. The 
 incendiary is bound by a chain to a hot cylinder, which he 
 clasps with his arms and legs ; flames are being poured 
 forth from the top and sides of the cylinder. Those who 
 guard written characters from desecration enjoy honours 
 and wealth. Those who waste grains of rice and millet are 
 seen changed into horses, sheep, and oxen. The retribu- 
 tion corresponds with the sin and the merit in all cases. 
 
 In the consent of the governing class to those popular 
 representations of hell which we see painted with char- 
 coal on the white walls of temples, or formed with moulded 
 and painted figures of clay, or taking the form of prints in 
 popular Tauist literature, we see an important concession. 
 While the literary class do not believe in heaven or in hell , 
 they see the advantage that may be derived from them in 
 the inculcation of virtue. In the hands of the moral teacher, 
 future retribution is a powerful engine for good. This 
 is recognised by the governing class so far, that they 
 encourage the people to have in temples the horribly gro- 
 tesque and alarming models in clay of future punishment 
 which we see there. The celebrated judge Pau Cheng, 
 of the Sung dynasty, who died a.d. 1062, is the fifth of 
 the ten judges. The rest are all Chinese, as we know by 
 their surnames, and probably actual judges of about the 
 same period. 
 
 The late Dr. Medhurst, when visiting T'ien-mu shan, in 
 the vicinity of Hang-cheu, was hospitably entertained 
 by the magistrate of the hien city of Hiau-feng. In the 
 course of conversation he asked his host what he expected 
 would be his lot in the future state. He replied that he 
 supposed he would become a Oheng-hwang-ye. This little 
 
BELIEF' IN FUTURE RETRIBUTION. 359 
 
 circumstance shows how the Sung dynasty practice of 
 canonising good magistrates has taken hold upon the 
 country, and made the people think a magistracy in the 
 invisible world quite as attainable as a like post of honour 
 in the present state of existence. Often, however, they 
 will, in using phrases of this kind, speak jokingly. Sung 
 dynasty emperors were the first to practise, so far as I 
 know, the appointment of local magistrates for the invi- 
 sible world, with jurisdiction over particular cities. None 
 of the Sung philosophers lifted up a voice against it. 
 They allowed the up-growth of the religious usages and 
 arrangements connected with the Tung - yo miau, the 
 Ch'eng-hwang miau, and the T*u-ti miau. All of these 
 temples are erected to divinities who are supposed to deal 
 with mankind in the future state in the way of just retri- 
 bution for their crimes. 
 
 These and other judicial divinities were elevated to their 
 posts with the assistance of the literary class, who are, 
 however, ashamed to recognise them in their writings. 
 They kneel before them as officers on duty, encourage the 
 people to believe in the reality of their jurisdiction, and 
 avoid protesting against them in their writings. What 
 the literati believe in their hearts to be a monstrous fic- 
 tion, is to be allowed on account of its moral and political 
 benefits. 
 
 What shall the Christian missionary in these circum- 
 stances do with the native doctrine of retribution ? He 
 will assure the people that there is revealed in the Chris- 
 tian Scriptures a retribution just, comprehensive, and 
 inevitable. He may allude to the modern origin of the 
 Ten judges, and condemn the Sung philosophers for their 
 insincerity in allowing, if not inventing, this mytholo- 
 gical creation. He may proceed to condemn the Bud- 
 dhist also for teaching that Yama is judge in the invisible 
 world, when, according to their own metaphysics, Yama 
 is nothing ; and for urging the Chinese to accept a doctrine 
 of hell punishments which they teach, not as what they 
 
36o CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 really believe, but as a means to an end. In this they 
 set an example of false teaching which the Confucianists 
 were only too ready to accept and imitate. The Christian 
 retribution will come before the Chinese mind on quite 
 a different footing, as resting on the instruction of a divine 
 Saviour. 
 
 But let us be candid in acknowledging the aid we 
 receive from Buddhists in previously spreading far and 
 wide among the people the idea of a moral retribution ; 
 for this helps us to bring over more quickly to the under- 
 standing of the Christian faith on this point, any of the 
 population who are familiar with the Buddhist teaching. 
 
 This is the case even with sects like the Sin-siu in 
 Japan. That sect professes to believe in absorption into 
 the absolute. Many Buddhists profess to take the Western 
 heaven as the goal of their hopes. But these beliefs or 
 aspirations are capable of being reconciled with beliefs in 
 the heavens and hells of the metempsychosis, and they 
 are actually taught along with them. Even the most 
 metaphysical Buddhists, and those who have the most 
 abstruse notion possible of the Nirvana, still teach as 
 exoteric doctrine the metempsychosis as known in India. 
 
 That I am not wrong in imputing to the literati who 
 belonged to the later Sung dynasty, and especially Chu 
 Hi, a principal part in the encouragement of the popular 
 belief in future retribution, may be shown by the chrono- 
 logy. The author of the Yii-li, a Tauist named Tan Chi, 
 who was the first to give currency to the legend of the Ten 
 royal judges, lived more than a century before Chu Hi. 
 The two brothers, Ch'eng Ming-tau and Ch'eng Yi-chwen, 
 lived a little before Tan Chi, in the early part of the 
 eleventh century. The elder died the year before the 
 Yil-li was made; the younger lived for nearly twenty 
 years after. Then came the time of Hwei-tsung, who is 
 said to have deified Chang Yi with the title Yu-hwang 
 ta-ti, and who was carried with his son into Tartary a 
 prisoner under the Nii-chih dynasty. This was the period 
 
 I 
 
CHU FU-TS'i TOLERATED BUDDHISM. 361 
 
 of the founding of this new Taiiist school of a iuture 
 state, with ten judicial courts, and with Yii-hwang ta-ti 
 enthroned as a judge of human actions. Then was the 
 time also that Tsi-hwang shang-ti and Feng-tu ta-ti were 
 made divine judges, each with his special court for the 
 determination of the happiness or misery in the future 
 state of each individual man. 
 
 Chu fu-tsi witnessed all this and did not protest against 
 it. He saw also rising round him the novelty of the 
 Ch'eng-hwang miau, with its judicial apparatus, its magis- 
 trate for trying cases in Hades, and its array of clay servi- 
 tors, with arrangements for periodical processions through 
 the region over which he had jurisdiction, for the sake of 
 knowing the good and bad conduct of individuals. He 
 saw these things and made no struggle against the ex- 
 tension of superstition. The worst he said of Buddhism 
 was, that the doctrine of Yang and Mih was better. The 
 reaction against Buddhism, so far from beginning with 
 him, began rather, as I think, with the expulsion of the 
 images of Confucius, which had in the Sung dynasty 
 found their way into the temples of Confucius in cities. 
 This expulsion took place in the Ming dynasty, and in the 
 present dynasty the reaction against Buddhism has been 
 stronger among the literati. But the pictures of the ten 
 hells have come to be more and more used. 
 
 It is important to note that Chu fu-tsi lived in an age 
 when the Tauist images, and the mythology connected 
 with them received a great development, against which 
 he made no protest. Chu Hi ought not to be put forward 
 as the authoritative representative of Chinese thought ; 
 and some foreign scholars appear to me to have erred in 
 regarding his \dews as final, and as the accepted expres- 
 sion of Chinese thought, ancient and modern. In fact, 
 there is scarcely any one who has been by later writers 
 more heavily condemned. His influence has been great, 
 and it continued long, and some of his works are still 
 authorised school-books; but his authority as a thinker 
 
362 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 and a scholar, is in the present dynasty challenged and 
 criticised severely by all independent writers, without an 
 exception. 
 
 It is possible that Chu Hi may have felt that the 
 doctrine of future retribution is likely to be true. He 
 was certainly rather fond of reading Buddhist books. He 
 may not have cared to contradict what was to some extent 
 perhaps true. Let it be borne in mind that in the " Book 
 of Odes " he approves of the rendering in a certain well- 
 known passage, " The soul of Wen Wang moves up and 
 down in the presence of the Eternal." Scholars not in 
 favour of the continued existence of the soul after death 
 usually explain this away. 
 
 The term Pien-Vaiig, for " heaven," seems to be founded 
 on the use of Pang as a "hall" for holding a court. 
 Heaven is present to the native mind as a vast hall 
 where the Deity sits in celestial state with subordinate 
 divinities as his assessors. The phrase is not Hindoo, but 
 the idea is Hindoo. In other words, the Chinese have 
 made a phrase of their own, to fit the Buddhist notion of 
 a paradise or palace of the gods. The reason is not far to 
 seek. The Buddhist translators, when rendering the word 
 " god " used t'ien invariably. The Sanscrit deva, the Latin 
 deus, and the Bengali debta, have no other equivalent in 
 Chinese than t'ien, "heaven." At the same time deva- 
 loka, the "heaven of a deva," is also translated by Vien, 
 thus causing some confusion. This mixture of two senses 
 has led to the addition of Vawj, in ordinary colloquial use, 
 for heaven as a paradise. This phrase Vicn-Vang, " hea- 
 venly hall," is of course modern and subsequent to the 
 spread of Buddhism. 
 
 The narrow limitation of the word to the sense " hall " 
 is an objection, but Christians all feel tliat the chief and 
 prevailing sense is in the word Vun. Tlie Christian usage 
 omits tang as often as it admits it, even in colloquial inter- 
 course and in preaching. In the various translations of 
 the Bible, Vien-Vang is never used. 
 
''MING-KUNG;' etc., as names for heaven. 363 
 
 Tien-hung, " palace of heaven," is not inappropriate for 
 the throne-scene in the fourth chapter of the Book of 
 the Revelation ; but it is not used in the Chinese versions 
 of the Scriptures. Like ti-yil for " hell," it is limited to 
 colloquial use in Christian literature. In Buddhist books, 
 Vien-t'ang is not used for "heaven," but t'ien-kung, 
 "palace of the gods," which is so used, is a good deal 
 like it, and resembles ming-kung, " bright palace," which 
 is found in the Syrian inscription for " heaven," and in late 
 Christian literature occasionally. Ming-kung and t'len- 
 Vang are both of them phrases formed on the Hindoo 
 notion of heaven. 
 
 "Heaven" and ''hell" are both embraced in yin-kien. 
 The invisible world includes states of happiness as well as 
 misery. This reminds us of Homer, where, in the eleventh 
 Book of the Odyssey, he describes the interviews of Ulysses 
 with many of the shades of the dead, including his own 
 mother. The palace of Pluto and the abodes of the dead 
 were regarded by Homer and his contemporaries as under- 
 ground. Was not the notion of ti-yii, "earth's prison," 
 taken to India from countries farther west ? Egypt may 
 have been the parent of the idea of a subterraneous prison 
 of the dead. We find the notion in Egypt, in Greece, in 
 Babylon, and in India ; but it is not in the Vedas. It was 
 either originated in India after the Vedic age, or it was 
 then introduced from elsewhere. I prefer somewhat the 
 hypothesis of Western origin, on account of the similarity 
 of the view held of the future state as given in Buddhist 
 books, with those found in the reHgious books of Western 
 races. 
 
 We are beginning to find out how fruitful was the Greek 
 mind, not only in inventing, but in communicating the 
 knowledge of inventions. The traces of Greek influence 
 are found in Hindoo architecture, in Hindoo astronomy, in 
 Hindoo arithmetic, and in Hindoo philosophy. The San- 
 scrit writing is now admitted to be of Semitic origin. The 
 Hindoo hells which are first found in the " Laws of Manu," 
 
364 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 of uncertain date, somewhere between B.C. 800 and B.C. 
 500, and then in the Buddhist books, and which are inti- 
 mately connected with the metempsychosis, may have 
 come from Western countries, and subsequently have 
 been elaborated into the Hindoo shape, when the universe 
 based on the metempsychosis was in course of construction 
 by the Hindoo mind ; at any rate when Chinese critics 
 charge Christianity with borrowing "heaven and hell" 
 from the Buddhists, we are right in pointing out that the 
 Olympus of the Greek gods, and the Hades of Pluto 
 (Poseidon), in Homer, are more ancient conceptions than 
 the Buddhist hells and paradises; and that, whether it 
 was from Egypt, from Babylon, or from some other source, 
 the borrowing is on the whole more likely to have been 
 the other way. Otherwise, why do the oldest Hindoo 
 books say nothing of the " earth prisons " and the " palaces 
 of the gods " ? 
 
 Redemption. — Each Buddha and Bodhisattwa is a re- 
 deemer. I notice here Ti-tsang-wang p'u-sa. He is called 
 Yeu-ming-kiati-chu, " Teacher of the unseen world." Full 
 of benevolence and grace towards mankind, he opens a 
 path for self -reformation and pardon of sins. 
 
 The phrases here used are such as we employ in describ- 
 ing the Christian redemption. The Buddhist redemption is 
 moral ; for it includes repentance, and rescue from the net 
 of the delusions of Maya, partly moral and partly mental 
 (Mai/a-saus, " a juggler," " idealism," " delusion "). It brings 
 the idea of grace before the people. That grace is pity in 
 the heart of Buddha, or some Bodhisattwa such as Kwan- 
 yin, prompting them to teach true doctrine to those who 
 have gone astray. In the Buddhist books the Bodhisattwa 
 expresses a wish and proceeds to accomplish it. In the 
 Tauist books, however, the utterance of the wish is attri- 
 buted to Ti-tsaiuf or Kioan-yin, but the issue of the decree 
 of salvation is ascribed to Yu-htuang ta-ti or Tsi-hwang 
 sliang-ti. The love of Buddha is self-prompted, and is 
 the result of a determination entered on millions of years 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
DECREED FORGIVENESS TO PENITENTS. 365 
 
 before in an earlier life. It may be doubted whether this 
 self-originating love can logically be claimed by the Bud- 
 dhists ; for they also believe in an impersonal fate which 
 compels the succession of events just as they happen. But 
 it is better wherever we find a moral love like that of Bud- 
 dhism, being at once the enemy of vice and the friend of 
 virtue, to recognise its existence and assign due credit to it. 
 
 This being so, it seems proper to say, further, that the 
 resemblances with Christianity are most striking, (i.) 
 There is the self- prompted pity of P'u-sa for mankind. (2.) 
 P'u-sa saves men by instruction, from the punishments in 
 which they will certainly be involved in the hundred and 
 thirty-eight hells. (3.) The cause of future punishment 
 is sin committed in the "present life," yang-hien. (4.) 
 The god of the Tauists is represented as promulgating a 
 gracious decree, to remit the punishment of hell for those 
 who repent. 
 
 Such is the way in which redemption is represented in 
 modern Tauist works, where a Buddhist element is freely 
 intermingled. A mixed mythology and scheme for a fic- 
 titious salvation had grown up in the Sung dynasty, and 
 continued to prevail till the present time in works like 
 the Yv^li. In it we see a sort of preparation for Chris- 
 tianity, in the way of familiarising the minds of the people 
 with phraseology which may be used in describing the 
 Christian redemption in several particulars. 
 
 The purely Buddhist notion of the Western heaven, and 
 the disciples of the Tauist sect leading the soul to that 
 abode of happiness, are also introduced without scruple in 
 these Tauist representations. I have often thought that 
 the religious pilgrims, pictured with banners in their 
 hands inscribed with the sentence tsie-yin-si-fang, " we will 
 lead you to the Western heaven," a Tauist priest in front, 
 pencil in hand, ready to write on the head of new dis- 
 ciples met upon the way the sign of initiation to the reli- 
 gious life, might be very efiectively used as an illustration 
 to describe the zeal which Christians ought to show in 
 
366 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 holding aloft their banner in the path of their pilgrimage, 
 and in the readiness which they should exhibit to look out 
 on the way for the victims of sin and error, and induce 
 them to join in the march to the heavenly city. 
 
 Secret merit. — Any virtuous actions are meritorious, and 
 form a stock which may be heaped up like grain in a barn, 
 and constitute a man's treasure of benefits to come. No 
 good action, says the Buddhist, is lost. The spirits un- 
 seen will be sure to take note of it. If you do good, there 
 is an absolute certainty that you will receive benefits 
 by way of recompense. Hence the phrase tsi-yin-kung, 
 " accumulation of secret merit." 
 
 A curious confusion takes place here, through tliat 
 mental tendency which sometimes mixes the cause of an 
 act with the event. Merit produces happiness. Therefore 
 the name happiness is given to merit. In Mongolian 
 Buddhism hoyi7i is both " happiness " and " merit." Ety- 
 mologically, it is the Chinese fu, " happiness ; " doctri- 
 nally, it is any good action. In the ordinary language 
 of social Life, it is either happiness or religious merit. 
 In Chinese Buddhism, tsui-fu means either " misery " and 
 " happiness," or " sin " and " virtue." You may translate 
 them either way ; tsui is " misery," but it is also " sin ; " 
 fu is " happiness," but it is also '* merit." In the ordi- 
 nary use of sheu-tsui in Chinese, "bear suffering" is the 
 idea. The conception of " sin " is lost. This is the effect 
 of Buddhist teaching. 
 
 The following passages occur : — Tiau-t'o-tsui-fu-chi- 
 hwan, "leap out of and escape the gate of misery and 
 happiness ;" sien-Vsung-tsm-fu-yin-kwo-i-jan-sing-wu, "first 
 wake up with a shock from (the delusive dream of) causes 
 and effects, of misery and happiness." 
 
 The effect of Buddhist doctrine on heaven and hell may 
 be judged of partially by a statement in No. 480 ^ of the 
 Wan-kwO'hang-pau. An account is there given by a con- 
 vert of the Basel mission, in the district of Sin-an, near 
 
 1 Published at Shanghai, March i6th, 1878. 
 
NARRATIVE OF A CHRISTIAN CONVERT. 367 
 
 Canton, of his personal experience, first as a heathen and 
 afterwards as a Christian. After leading a dissolute life 
 for some years, he began at the age of twenty-seven to 
 read such books as Pau-ying-lu, Yin-chl-wen, and Kan- 
 ying-p'ien. These teach future retribution in the most 
 appalling language when describing the torments of the 
 wicked, and they make use of the most inviting pictures 
 of the happiness of the virtuous. He then read also Yii-li- 
 ch'au-chwen. He says regarding it, that it speaks of 
 " heaven," t'ien-fang, as a place of incomparable glory, and 
 of " hell " or " earth's prison," ti-yii, as the abode of misery 
 indescribable. He continues: "At this time I was so 
 affected by what these books said, that I felt my very 
 hair and bones grow stiff with fear at the thought of the 
 character of my past life. Coming to myself I looked up to 
 heaven and said, * How shall I escape the punishment of 
 earth's prison ? ' My conscience condemned me. Wak- 
 ing and sleeping I could get no rest. I continued to read 
 books exhorting to virtue, and meditated deeply on them. 
 I kept on saying to myself, *Do nothing wrong, but 
 practice every good deed ; ' or else I thought in my inner- 
 most mind about the words, * Lust is the most deadly of all 
 sins, and filial piety the chief of all virtues.' Of these 
 words I made a warning and a rule. Sometimes I pre- 
 sented a written petition to Wen-ch*ang ti-kitin, declaring 
 my determination to live virtuously. At other times I 
 made it a daily habit to go morning and evening to the 
 image of Kwan-yin and burn incense before it, at the same 
 time reading the * Book (King) of Kwan-yin,' and praying 
 to that divinity to rescue me from my miseries. I also 
 prayed to High Heaven, making use of four sentences : — 
 ' I strike my head and worship the blue heaven ; ' ' My 
 ruined life has been marked by thousands and tens of 
 thousands of sins ; ' * I pray thee to have pity on me ; ' 'I 
 beg forgiveness for all past sins.' I was so full of alarm, 
 that I was anxious to perform some meritorious act to free 
 me from all my sins. 
 
368 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 " Occasionally also on returning home, I presented in- 
 cense, and read a prayer to the kitchen god, and was 
 accustomed to take the manual for the worship of the god, 
 and recite passages to various members of the family, ex- 
 horting them to compliance with the direction to be very 
 reverential to the kitchen god. I also urged my parents 
 to avoid eating beef and dog's flesh, for the preservation of 
 their good fortune. 
 
 "My desire to be virtuous grew greater as I observed 
 the cheats and craft of the world, and the selfishness and 
 greed of many persons. I was at that time bent on be- 
 coming a good man, and superior to others, and so acquir- 
 ing a variety of high rewards." 
 
 He then proceeds to show that all this time he was 
 himself deluded in a multitude of ways, and firmly bound 
 in the snares of ignorance, till, by the help of his grand- 
 mother, an old lady of eighty-seven years, who had been 
 for years an excellent Christian, he was brought to the 
 exercise of faith in Christ and His Gospel. 
 
 Undoubtedly this is an example extremely interesting 
 and instructive, as showing how the Buddhist doctrine of 
 heaven and hell prepares for the Christian. I proceed to 
 detail the steps of this man's conversion. The old lady 
 had five sons, all of whom, except our convert's father 
 and the eldest, followed their mother in adopting Chris- 
 tianity. The opposition of these two sons to Christianity 
 continued for years, and the writer of the account was 
 brought up an unbeliever. The grandmother, coming one 
 day to chapel, slipped her foot, and sustained a severe in- 
 jury. A Christian helped our convert in taking care of 
 her, and in applying his medical skill to cure her. While 
 he was doing this, he plied our convert with exhortations 
 to accept the new doctrine. As he spoke of the coming 
 judgment, and of heaven and hell, our convert felt himself 
 deeply moved. It just suited his mode of fear and of long- 
 ing. It helped him to make up his mind and give his 
 will a fixed direction, so that he yielded himself to the 
 
PREPARA TION FOR CHRISTIANITY. 369 
 
 influence of the new religion and became a secret believer. 
 When his grandmother reiterated her earnest appeals to 
 him to adopt the true faith, he consented. He still felt, 
 however, afraid of calumny and reproach, and confined his 
 praying to the schoolroom where he taught. At last, he 
 says, he felt stronger faith, went to join in worship at the 
 chapel, met the missionary, and was afterwards soundly 
 chastised by his parents. He was subsequently baptized, 
 and entered the training institution of the Basel Mission. 
 
 Let attention be given here to the circumstance, that 
 this man, a genuine convert to Christianity, had made an 
 unsuccessful attempt at a moral self-reformation in con- 
 nection with the Buddhist doctrine of heaven and hell, and 
 the moral teaching inculcated in the universally-known 
 Tauist publications, the names of which he mentions in 
 his account. 
 
 The retribution proclaimed by Buddhism led him to an 
 outward reformation, consisting in the abandonment of a 
 vicious life. At this time he had a glimmering of certain 
 truths, found imbedded in heathen beliefs. He had the 
 moral intention leading him to forsake some sins, but he 
 did not achieve a satisfactory escape from doubt and temp- 
 tation. This could only be the gift of Christianity; yet, in 
 Buddhism, he had the guidance of a certain light which 
 led him to become a seeker for truth. Christianity found 
 him not altogether cold and dull, but in an inquiring and 
 unsatisfied attitude. He was looking for more light than 
 that of Buddhism — for stronger love than that of Buddhism 
 — for a brighter hope than that of Buddhism. These he 
 found in the Gospel. 
 
 Not only had the moral teaching of Tauist books and 
 the Buddhist doctrine of heaven and hell a distinctly 
 perceptible effect in inclining him strongly to self-refor- 
 mation, but the habit of Buddhist devotion, in the form of 
 reciting passages from liturgical books, and prayers for aid 
 to escape from misery, helped him in commencing a quasi- 
 religious life. The petition to Wen-ch'ang ti-kiun, a star 
 
 2 A 
 
37© CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 god, is a written prayer burnt in the incense flame. The 
 prayer to Kwan-yin is an appeal to the powerful divinity, 
 who promises to exercise her delivering power as a P'u-sa 
 to every supplicant. The habit of prayer was already 
 formed, when he was induced by faithful Christian friends 
 and relatives to pray to the God revealed in the Bible. 
 When he did so, he begged the recovery of his grand- 
 mother, in order, he adds, that she might lead him and his 
 family with her to the hall of worship. His grandmother 
 recovered, and he felt that his prayer was answered. This 
 led him to great earnestness in prayer and strength of 
 faith ; for she was confident that the cure took place by 
 the immediate exercise of God's power, and in answer to 
 prayer. His habit of heathen devotion was transmuted 
 into Christian devotion. Christianity takes man as it finds 
 him, and makes him, by teaching and training, a servant 
 of God. 
 
 I do not in any way doubt that Buddhist doctrines have 
 been, for the Christian teacher, most important prepara- 
 tion for Christianity ; and that, through the spread of these 
 doctrines, the Chinese people look upon Christianity with 
 much less strangeness, and accept its doctrines with much 
 less difficulty, than otherwise they would have been able 
 to do. 
 
 On the other hand, it may be said that Buddhist priests 
 do not easily become converts ; that Polynesians, Negroes, 
 un-Mohammedanised Malays, and the mountain tribes in 
 Birmah and India, become converts more readily than the 
 Chinese. This, perliaps, has been so hitherto, but I doubt 
 if it will be so in the future. There have been causes 
 which have operated to check the progress of Christianity 
 in China. They have been chiefly originated by the Con- 
 fucianists. AVhen opposition from the literati is removed, 
 it is surprising with what ease Christianity can be pro- 
 pagated. One reason of this is, that the minds of the 
 people are impregnated with Buddhist ideas and the 
 language with Buddhist expressions. 
 
 ?he|| 
 
( 371 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 NOTICE OF THE WU-WEI-KIAU, A REFORMED BUDDHIST 
 
 SECT. 
 
 Originated two hundred and seventy years ago by a native of Shan- 
 tung — No showy ceremonial — No images — Sacred books six in 
 number — Interview of the founder with the emperor of the 
 period Cheng-te — Discussion with opponents — Victory — One of 
 their leaders was crucified. 
 
 Interspersed through the village population of the east- 
 ern provinces of China are to be found the adherents of a 
 religion called the Wu-wei-hiau. They are little known, 
 usually belong to the lower ranks of life, and have few 
 books. Their principles, however, render them remark- 
 able. They are a kind of reformed Buddhists. Their 
 system is more like Buddhism than any other religion, 
 but they are opposed to idolatry. They appear to be 
 strongly and sincerely convinced of the goodness of their 
 opinions, and they hold with tenacity the uselessness of 
 image worship. This circumstance has often attracted the 
 attention of missionaries at Shanghai and Ningpo, and I 
 have thought that a notice of the sect would not be with- 
 out interest. 
 
 This sect has existed in China for about two hundred 
 and seventy years. Its originator was Lo Hwei-neng, 
 a native of Shan-tung. In imitation of the Buddhist title 
 tsu, he is called Lo-tsu, " the patriarch Lo." His opinions 
 have spread with considerable rapidity through the ad join- 
 provinces — Kiang-nan, Che-kiang, and An-hwei, and may 
 advance farther. 
 
372 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The name of the sect is Wu-wei-hiau, which, translated 
 literally, means the " Do-nothing sect." The idea intended 
 by it is, that religion consists, not in ceremonies and out- 
 ward show, but in stillness, in a quiet, meditative life, and in 
 an inward reverence for the all-pervading Buddha. Buddha 
 is believed in, but he is not worshipped. There are temples, 
 if they may be so called, but they are plain structures, 
 destitute of images, and having in them only the common 
 Chinese tablet to heaven, earth, king, parents, and teacher, 
 as an object of reverence. 
 
 The phrase um-wei, to " do nothing," occurs in the writ- 
 ings of the early Tauists, long before Buddhism appeared 
 in China. In the " Book of Keason and Virtue " (Tau-te- 
 king), it is said by Lau-kiun : " The highest virtue is not 
 (intentionally) virtuous, and on this account it is (de- 
 serving of the name) virtue. The lower sort of virtue is 
 (anxious) not (to be) wanting in virtue, and therefore 
 it is not (true) virtue. The highest virtue does nothing, 
 and consequently does not trust to (or rest on) any action. 
 Virtue of an inferior kind (anxiously) acts and trusts to 
 action." 
 
 This is the controversy that has been so often raised 
 between the contemplative and the active man. In China 
 Confucius and his school are the advocates of activity, 
 and Lau-tsi and his followers of contemplation. These 
 philosophers both discussed the art of government, the 
 one with the aid of idealism, the other under the guidance 
 of (something like) materialism. The phrase wu-wei is 
 one of the watchwords of idealistic and mystical schools 
 in China; while yeu-wei, "action," a phrase of opposite 
 signification, is the cry of systems which favour mate- 
 rialism. 
 
 I give another quotation. It is from the second of the 
 great Tauist authors, Chivang-tsn,. " The way of heaven," 
 he says, " is ' not to act ' (vm-ivei), and therein and thereby 
 to be tlie most honoured of all things. The way of men 
 is ' to act ' {yeu-wei), and to be involved in trouble." 
 
INTERVIEW WITH THE EMPEROR. 373 
 
 When Buddhism entered China, a system much more 
 purely idealistic than Tauism, this phrase vm-wei was 
 soon recognised as the equivalent to the phrase liu-uuu-tsi- 
 mie, " vacancy, stillness, and destruction " of that foreign 
 religion. The resemblance in principle between Bud- 
 dhism and Tauism was in this respect roo evident not 
 to be remarked. The similarity became still closer 
 when the esoteric branch of Buddhism, established by 
 Bodhidharma, and developed by the Chinese Buddhists 
 who succeeded him, extended itself so much as quite to 
 overshadow the older exoteric branch. External Bud- 
 dhism seeks after the Nirvana, encourages the worship 
 of images, appoints prayers for the dead, and makes use 
 of much outward show to win the multitude. This is yev^ 
 wei, or " reliance on action." The mystic Buddhists resist 
 such a method of attaining the ends of religion. They 
 recommend " inaction," or vm-wei. It is from them that 
 the Wu-wei sect has sprung. The name is a favourite 
 Tauist expression, but the source of the religion is Bud- 
 dhism. 
 
 Lo-tsu, the founder of this religion, was a native of Lai- 
 cheu fu, in Shan-tung. He was introduced, say the books 
 of the sect, to the emperor of the Ming dynasty of the 
 period Cheng-te. The following account is given of the 
 interview, in the work Lo-tsv^ch'U'sJui-t'ui-fan-ping-pau- 
 kiuen. A hundred thousand foreign soldiers had invaded 
 China, and an army of ten times that number had been sent 
 out to repel them. The army failed in its enterprise, and 
 I^-tsu offered to the commander to drive back the invaders. 
 He shot an arrow into the air, when a lotus-flower descended 
 with a loud noise, and the enemy seeing it became terri- 
 fied and immediately fled. The emperor was informed of 
 this, and Lo-tsu was called to his presence. The emperor 
 thanked him for his success, and asked him how he came 
 to possess this miraculous power. Lo-tsu denied having 
 any supernatural power, and attributed the deliverance of 
 the state to the protection of the dragons and the gods. 
 
374 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The emperor then directed him to shoot arrows into the 
 air, when a shower of lotus-flowers appeared. The emperor 
 was enraged, and ordered him to be imprisoned and starved 
 to death as a sorcerer. While he lay in captivity, mourn- 
 ing over his fate and reciting prayers to Buddha, a revela- 
 tion seemed to dart into his mind. He said to his jailer, 
 " I have five books to make known to men." The jailer 
 called in Chang Kung-kung to confer with him, who 
 encouraged him to commit his books to writing. He 
 therefore sent for two of his disciples, Fuh-hi and Fuh- 
 pau, to come from the Wu-t'ai mountain, where they 
 resided, to act as his amanuenses. Two other persons, 
 noted in the history of his religion, namely, Wei Kwo- 
 kun;? and T'an2f Shans-shu, were witnesses of the correct- 
 ness of the transcript. 
 
 The five works whose origin is thus described constitute 
 the sacred books of the religion. They comprehend the 
 following six subjects : — 
 
 1. Hing-kio'kiuen (which describes painful efforts after 
 emancipation, resulting in perception of the excellence of 
 this religion), " Chapter of the movement of the feet." 
 
 2. T'an-slii-kiuen, " Lament over the world." 
 
 3. P'o-sie-hiuen, " Overthrow of false doctrine." 
 
 4. Cheng-sin-kiuen, " Inclination of the mind to the 
 right doctrine." 
 
 5. T'ai-shan-kiuen, " Becoming like the mountain T'ai- 
 shan " (confirmation chapter). 
 
 6. TsHtig-tsing-kiicen, " The mind and nature purified and 
 quieted." 
 
 These works were presented, continues the story, to tlie 
 emperor, who recalled the author to his presence and 
 received him more favourably than before. The three 
 friends abovementioned, being officers high in rank, inter- 
 ceded for him, and became sureties for his good conduct. 
 
 At this juncture seven foreign Buddhists arrived at 
 court, bringing a brass Buddha as a present. Lo-tsu was 
 appointed to hold a discussion with them. He was in- 
 
DISCUSSION WITH OPPONENTS. 375 
 
 troduced as the Wu-wei-tau-jen, " Religious man who 
 maintains the principle of non - action." The foreign 
 priests asked liim why he assumed this name. " By 
 means of it," he replied, " I shall be able to overturn 
 your brass Buddha of three thousand pounds weight 
 to-day. Men do not know this principle, and therefore 
 they seek for false doctrine. My method is clear and 
 perfect ; it is suited for the whole world." To this it was 
 replied by the foreign priest, " Do not use boastful words ; 
 I can make a gourd sink to the bottom of the sea and iron 
 tongs swim on the surface. Can you do so ? " The foreign 
 priest expects that our hero will not be able to explain his 
 riddle, but he is mistaken. A ready reply is given, " Man's 
 nature is like the full moon, which, when it emerges from 
 the horizon, shines to the bottom of the sea, across the 
 surface, and everywhere. To sink and to swim, then, 
 become the same. When my 'nature' {sing), like the 
 moon, shines bright and clear, my life returns to the 
 bottom of the sea. In the view of my spiritual nature, 
 born directly from heaven, iron may swim and the gourd 
 may sink." 
 
 The foreign priest then asked him why he did not chant 
 books of prayers. He answered "That the great doctrine is 
 spontaneous, man's nature is the same with heaven. The 
 true unwritten book is always rotating.^ All heaven and 
 earth are repeating words of truth. The true book is not 
 outside of man's self. But the deceived are ignorant of 
 this, and they therefore chant books of prayers. The law 
 that is invisible manifests itself spontaneously, and needs 
 no book. The flowing of water, the rushing of the winds, 
 constitute a great chant. Why, then, recite prayers from 
 books ? " 
 
 The founder of the Wu-wei religion was again asked 
 why he did not worship images of Buddha. He answered, 
 
 ^ There is an allusion here to the chanting a liturgy, as the revolving 
 coniinon Buddhist description of of the wheel of the law. 
 preaching Buddhiat dogma, and 
 
376 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 *' A brazen Buddha melts, and a wooden Buddha bums, 
 when exposed to the fire. An earthen Buddha cannot save 
 itself from water. It cannot save itself ; then how can it 
 save me? In every particle of dust there is a kingdom 
 ruled by Buddha. In every temple the king of the law 
 resides. The mountains, the rivers, and the great earth 
 form Buddha's image. Why, then, carve or mould an 
 image ? " 
 
 I remark here, in passing, that at this point we must 
 consider Buddha as God in the view of these religionists. 
 He is to them that Being whose glory and whose acts are 
 seen in every object of nature. But, then, this Buddha is 
 not a personal being, the ruler and father of the world. 
 He cannot be prayed to. He cannot love me, or be the 
 object of my love. When religionists of this class say they 
 see Buddha everywhere, it is only the reflection of the 
 thoughts and emotions of their own minds that they refer 
 to. 
 
 Again he is asked why he does not burn incense ? He 
 replies, " That ignorant men do not know that every one 
 has incense in himself. What is true incense ? It is self- 
 government, wisdom, patience, mercy, freedom from doubts, 
 and knowledge. The pure doctrine of the Wu-wei is true 
 incense, pervading all heaven and earth. Incense is every- 
 where ascending. That incense which is made by man, 
 the smoke of fragrant woods, does not reach heaven. The 
 winds, clouds, and dew are true incense, always shedding 
 itself forth through the successive seasons of the year." 
 
 He was asked once more, "Why do you not light 
 candles ? " He answered " That the world is a candlestick. 
 Water is the oil. The sky is an encircling shade. The 
 sun and moon are the flame lighting up the universe. If 
 there is light within me, it illumines all heaven and earth. 
 If my own nature be always bright, heaven will never 
 become dark. It will then be perceived that the king of 
 the law is limitless." 
 
 It should be noticed that the king of the law is a perso- 
 
VICTORY. yn 
 
 nification of the doctrine believed. The mind reflects on 
 the doctrine till imagination pictures it to the intellectual 
 eye as a glorious image. This is the king of the law. 
 
 When the discussion was over, the seven priests all con- 
 fessed themselves worsted, and begged Lo-tsu to become 
 their instructor. The book adds that the emperor was 
 highly pleased, and ordered the books of Lo-tsu to be 
 engraved. They were published, continues the record, in 
 the thirteenth year of Cheng-te from the imperial press, 
 A.D. 15 18. 
 
 I met recently with a former adherent of this religion 
 who is now a Christian. He was baptized recently by the 
 late Bishop Russell of Ningpo, of the Church Missionary 
 Society. He gave me much information respecting the 
 sect to which he had previously belonged. He still thinks 
 its principles are good. It enjoins virtue, and its tenden- 
 cies are, he considers, of an excellent kind, but it does not 
 show how goodness is to be attained. He therefore left it 
 and became a Christian. 
 
 On asking him the meaning of the discussion before the 
 emperor, and if it was not fictitious, he said that the army 
 of foreign invaders means the sensorial organs, the six 
 thieves, as they are called by the Buddhists. The arrow 
 shot in the air is the heart. The foreign priests who 
 oppose the true doctrine are mo-kwei, " demons." 
 
 This use of fiction to recommend religious dogmas is in 
 keeping with the usual character of the Buddhist books. 
 Unlimited license is taken by the authors in inventing a 
 suitable tableau of characters and scenery, in which the 
 doctrines to be taught may be prominently represented. 
 
 Two other persons — Yiiig-tsu and Yau-tsu — have, at 
 different periods, taken the lead in this sect. Ying-tsu 
 is said to have discoursed on fa (dharma) "the law," as 
 Lo-tsu did on king the " books." 
 
 There is another personage beside Buddha spoken of 
 by these religionists, the Kin-mii, " Golden mother." She 
 dwells in a heaven called Yau (to shake) chu (to dwell) 
 
378 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 kung (palace). My informant considered that she repre- 
 sents God, in the idea of this religion, more nearly than 
 Buddha does, because she is an object of worship. On my 
 inquiring why this divinity should be female, he said that 
 Kin-mu \N'as the mother of the soul, as the female parent 
 was of the body. Yau dm hmg may be Jasper pearl 
 palace. She is said to protect from various calamities, and 
 is prayed to for deliverance from sickness, and to save the 
 deceased from miseries in the unseen world. 
 
 The origin of her name is found in the Chinese theory 
 of the elements, among which kin, " gold," " metal gene- 
 rally," stands first in order. This and many other Tauist 
 notions are blended with Buddhist principles in the system 
 maintained by the followers of the Wu-wei-kiau. 
 
 They have four principal festivals, of which two are to 
 celebrate the day of the birth and death of Lo-tsu. The 
 others are the new year and the middle of the eighth 
 month. On these occasions, three cups of tea and nine 
 small loaves of bread are placed on the tabic by appoint- 
 ment of Lo-tsu. The number nine refers to the strokes of 
 the pa-kioa, or " eight diagrams," in which nine is the 
 most fortunate number. The bread is called k'ien-k'wan, 
 " heaven and earth," also in imitation of the names of tlie 
 eight diagrams of the "Book of Changes." 
 
 The sect is sometimes called Ch'a-kiau, " Tea sect," and 
 Man-t'evrkiau, " Bread sect," in consequence of the usage 
 here mentioned. These appellations are, however, nothing 
 but popular nicknames. 
 
 They have in their chapels, tablets to the emperor and 
 to the five names of honour — heaven, earth, prince, parents, 
 and teacher. They are strict vegetarians, and argue tena- 
 ciously for the metempsychosis. They have no ascetic 
 institute like the Buddhists, but allow the family insti- 
 tution to be undisturbed. 
 
 They were persecuted in the Ming dynasty. One of 
 their leaders was crucified by nailing on the gate of a city 
 in Shan-tung. On one occasion, some persons of this sect 
 
ONE OF THE LEADERS CRUCIFIED. 379 
 
 addressed me in a missionary chapel in Shanghai, with the 
 remark that their religion resembled the Christian in this 
 respect, that one of their leaders was crucified. 
 
 They have not since been subjected to persecution, but 
 their religion is still prohibited, and its name is found 
 among those charged with teaching depraved doctrines, in 
 some editions of the " Sacred Edict." 
 
 My informant told me, further, that the doctrine of the 
 non-existence of matter is not held by this sect — though it 
 might have been expected from their close adherence to 
 Buddhism that they would have maintained it — ^but that 
 they simply regard all material things as perishable. When 
 the world comes to its end, the Golden mother will take all 
 her children — i.e., all believers in this religion — home to 
 the yau-chu heaven. 
 
 The Wu-wei-kiau is usually spoken of by the Confu- 
 cianists as a corrupt sect, with secret political designs; 
 but its adherents appear at present to be entirely innocent 
 of any illegal aims. They are, so far as can be seen, intent 
 on religious objects, and sincerely attached to their system. 
 We may yet see many of them exchanging abstract philo- 
 sophical dogmas for Christian truth. Their opposition to 
 idolatry is a preparation for Christianity, and they deserve 
 great attention from those who are engaged in teaching the 
 Chinese the religion of the Bible. 
 
 They are very determined vegetarians. When they 
 become Christians, they prefer to free themselves from the 
 bondage of the prohibition by eating some small quantity 
 of animal food, as a proof to others of their change of reli- 
 gion. This is entirely voluntary on their part. 
 
 In the vicinity of Shanghai, a few years since, this hap- 
 pened in the case of a florist and his wife. The wife was 
 a woman of influence and decision. She signalised her 
 change of religion by inviting friends to a feast and par- 
 taking in their presence of a certain portion of animal 
 food. 
 
( 38o ) 
 
 CHAPTEK XXIV. 
 
 BUDDHISM AND TAUISM IN THEIR POPULAR ASPECTS. 
 
 The popularity of Buddhism rests on its doctrine of retribution, and 
 not on its ethics — Magical claims of the Tauists — Kwan-yin, 
 since the twelfth century, usually a female — Powers and claims 
 of Kwan-yin — Popular Buddhism loves to have prayers said for 
 the dead — Hopes for paradise hereafter — Popular Tauism believes 
 in haunted houses, in charms, and in the efficacy of the wizard 
 in controlling demons — The present head of the Tauists and 
 chief magician — "Went from Western China to Kiang-si, where 
 he has ever since resided as hereditary Pope — The Tauist divinity 
 Yu-hwang shang-ti has incarnations assigned to him — Chang 
 Si en the bowman, a physician — Tail-cutting delusion — Tauist 
 prayers for the dead — The Buddhist Yen - lo wang, " God of 
 death" — The eight genii — The eighteen Lo-hans — The Tauist 
 delusions dangerous politically — T'ien-tsin massacre — Need of 
 the light of education — The effect of the assault of Christianity 
 on these religions. 
 
 By the popular aspects of these two religions, I mean their 
 aspects at the present time, in as far as they exercise an 
 influence on the popular mind. They were popular for- 
 merly in a sense different from that in which they are 
 popular at present. Thus, preaching was common among 
 Buddhists in the early ages of their religion. The prin- 
 cipal duty of a shaven monk was to explain tlie doctrine 
 of Shakyamuni as a deliverance from the misery of life. 
 At present the popularity of Buddhism certainly does not 
 rest on any activity in expounding the doctrines of their 
 faitli that we have the opportunity of witnessing. It rests 
 rather on the supposed magical powers of the priests, on 
 
DOCTRINE OF RETRIBUTION. 381 
 
 the merit believed to attach to gifts presented for the sup- 
 port of monks, monasteries, and liturgical services, and on 
 the wide-spread belief that such merit will be followed by 
 all kinds of happiness. The early books of Buddhism 
 abound in beautiful moral precepts, proceeding from the 
 lips of a man who, through a long life, was animated by a 
 pure and lofty asceticism. They are tinged with a proud 
 scorn of worldly glory, and with a firm consciousness that 
 there is nothing so good for a man as to listen to the 
 teaching of his own better nature, while he shuts his ears 
 closely to the siren voices of all sins and all temptations. 
 Assuredly this is not what makes Buddhism popular now. 
 For these early books are never, or almost never, read in 
 the liturgical services ; and as to striving to be good, the 
 Buddhists do not act so as to indicate that this aim is 
 vital and vigorous among them. The sharp eyes of the 
 Conf ucianists are upon them, and the judgment they pass 
 on them is unfavourable. The Confucianists represent them 
 as drones in the community. They describe them as not 
 like the useful silkworm, which gives to man the material 
 of the textile fabric, but as being like the moth, which 
 destroys that fabric. Then, why is Buddhism still believed 
 by the people ? The answer is, that they believe in the 
 magical efficacy of Buddhist prayers, and in moral causa- 
 tion ; or, in other words, the law of moral retribution 
 which Buddhism teaches. It is on these accounts that 
 money flows into the Buddhist treasury for the erection 
 and repair of temples and pagodas, and for the support 
 of innumerable priests. If I give money to gild sacred 
 images, the law of causation will give me back happiness 
 — Yin-JcwO'pu-mei. 
 
 The history of Tauism has been similar. What has 
 come now of the philosophy of Lau-kiun and Chwaug 
 Cheu ? It is much too abstruse for the modern Tauist 
 mind. The Tauists of the present day do not occupy their 
 attention with mysterious speculations on the pure and 
 the true. Nor yet do they give attention to the alchemy 
 
382 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 of the Han dynasty. They have ceased to experiment on 
 the elixir of life, or the transmutation of all metals into 
 gold. Instead of this, they occupy themselves with writ- 
 ing charms for driving demons out of houses, and with 
 reading prayers for the removal of calamities. When you 
 meet a Tauist of this generation, you do not meet with 
 either an alchemist or a philosopher. The man you see 
 claims, however, to be able to do very great things. He 
 will undertake to drive out a demon from the body of a 
 madman, and from a haunted house, to cure the sick by 
 magic, and to bring rain in time of drought by his prayers. 
 He will protect by his charms the quiet citizen and the 
 adventurous traveller from all sorts of dangers; and, when 
 there is mourning in the house, he will — like the Buddhist 
 monk — hire out his services to read passages from the 
 liturgies of his religion, which shall, by their magic power, 
 quickly transfer the soul of the dead to the land of happi 
 ness on high. 
 
 A Chinese writer says in a characteristic way : " The 
 three religions differ in their doctrines. Yet as to the 
 aim, to save mankind, they are at one. In Buddhism 
 no personage holds so large a place in saving mankind aa 
 Kwan-shi-yin. In Tauism there is no one equal to Lli 
 Oh'un-yang. In the Ju-hiau there is no one to be com- 
 pared with Confucius and Mencius." In this extract,^ 
 Kwan-yin is represented as more prominent in saving 
 men than Buddha himself. Such is the modern develop- 
 ment of Buddhism, and it is the popular Buddhism of the 
 day. Kwan-yin was introduced into Indian Buddhism 
 not long before the Christian era. In China, Kwan-yin 
 was worshipped probably in the Han dynasty, but was 
 not so popular as afterwards. A modern change has 
 taken place in the image of Kwan-yin. Down to tlie 
 early part of the twelfth century, Kwan-yin was repre- 
 sented as a man. In a book of drawings of the time of 
 Siuen-ho 2 and in the works remaining of famous painters 
 
 * From Ping-ihu-pi't^ari. ' From A.D. 1119 to 1126. 
 
KWAN'YIN USUALLY A FEMALE. 383 
 
 of the T'ang and Sung dynasties, Kwan-yin is always a ( 1 1 
 man. In later times it has become the custom to repre- 
 sent Kwan-yin frequently as a woman. This has been 
 the custom for about six hundred years. Kwan-yin is in 
 masculine costume in temples where great attention is 
 paid to precedent, but the popular taste is in favour of a 
 goddess rather than a god. Hence the appellation in 
 English, " Goddess of Mercy," founded on the phrases 
 commonly applied to her, Ta-ts'i ta-pei kieu-k'u kievr 
 nan, " Great mercy, great pity ; salvation from misery, 
 salvation from woe." That one of the many metamor- 
 phoses of Kwan-yin should have become a very common — 
 in fact the most common — ^image of this divinity, may be 
 taken as an indication that, in deifying ideas, the Bud- 
 dhist mind in China delights to assign feminine attributes 
 to that of mercy. It is easy to understand how the Sun^- 
 ts'i Kwan-yin, or " Kwan-yin, the giver of sons," should 
 become extremely popular. 
 
 The salvation of mankind by teaching is a conception 
 very characteristic of Chinese Buddhism. This belongs 
 to all those fancied personages called Fo and P'u-sa. For 
 example, the mission of Kwan-yin is the salvation of men. 
 It is symbolised by her thirty-two metamorphoses. In 
 these shapes she enters various kingdoms as a saviour. 
 Among these representations are seen the eighty -four 
 thousand arms and hands with which she guides the 
 ignorant and the lost. The doctrines taught by Kwan-yin 
 are the non-existence of matter, and the infiniteness of the 
 knowledge and mercy of Buddha. All evils are summed 
 up in ignorance. To acquire knowledge of the emptiness 
 of existing things is to become saved. It is this that is 
 meant by the salvation of men through the agency of the 
 goddess of mercy. In accordance with a vow she assumes 
 some one of her thirty-two shapes, and proceeds to the 
 various kingdoms of the world to convert men, and to the 
 regions where gods, giants, demons, and fairies reside, to 
 protect, instruct, and save all Kings, governors, and 
 
384 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 people are renovated by the power of mercy. They are 
 said to lose their fear, to be extricated from the thrall of 
 delusion, to become perfect, and to have the power of 
 aiding themselves or others. Kwan-yin is represented 
 as being able, by uttering charms, to assume numberless 
 shapes for the sake of saving. She saves by mercy, by 
 wisdom, by entering into a state. She obtains the great 
 self-reliant power by which she can ensure that those who 
 pray for sons and those who pray for the state of samadhi 
 shall attain it, and those who pray for deliverance from 
 dangers, or for old age, shall also secure them. She is able 
 to give Nirvana to her petitioners by the same po- ver. This 
 is said to be her great mercy and pity. All the Buddhas 
 and Bodhisattwas have powers analogous to these. But 
 none are so prominent, perhaps, in this respect, as Kwan- 
 yin. Manjusiri (Wen-shu), whose seat of worship is 
 Wu-t'ai shan in Shan-si, is, even in North China, where his 
 worship most prevails, much less thought of than Kwan- 
 yin. Probably P'u-hien, the seat of whose worship is 
 Wo-mei shan, in the province of Si-ch'wen, is even less 
 esteemed than Manjusiri, and a fortiori than Kwan-yin. 
 It would seem, then, to be a fact important in modern 
 Buddhist history, that the most popular of the divinities 
 of this religion should be presented first with male and 
 afterwards with female attributes, and that the change of 
 sex in the images should have been accomplished within 
 the last few centuries. 
 
 Yet it should not be forgotten that Kwan-yin is, pro- 
 perly speaking, to be regarded as masculine even at the 
 present time. The feminine form is a specially popular 
 metamorphosis. If we wish to go further back and to be 
 still more careful in our analysis, Kwan-yin is but a form 
 of Buddha, coming into the world of suffering mankind in 
 a lower position than Buddha, in order more effectually 
 to instruct and save the ignorant. Thus P'u-hien and 
 Wen-shu are in the same way said to be ancient Buddhas 
 appearing among men as the two helpers of Shakyamuni, 
 
PR A VERS FOR THE DEAD. 385 
 
 who styles one of them chang-tn, "eldest son," and the other 
 dau-naUy "little boy." Wen-shu is the god of wisdom, 
 and P*u-hien of action. Wen-shu rides a lion, and P'u-hien 
 an elephant. The lion symbolises boldness, bravery, and a 
 fresh, eager, and advancing spirit. The elephant indicates 
 care, caution, gentleness, and a weighty dignity. This is 
 Buddhist symbolism. It is interesting in itself, because it 
 explains the images. The object of the images is partly 
 instruction, and partly the awakening of devout feelings in 
 the minds of worshippers. The image of a Fo or a P'u-sa 
 is intended to combine in its appearance wisdom, benevo- 
 lence, and victory — the wisdom of a philosopher, the bene- 
 volence of a redeemer, and the triumph of a hero. All 
 perfections are collected in the holy image — perfect power, 
 perfect virtue, infinite compassion, infinite boldness, and in- 
 finite knowledge. These are intended to be represented in 
 the images. This symbolism is, however, not exactly what 
 excites faith and devotion in the rich supporters of the 
 Buddhist religion. It is rather a belief in the magical 
 power of the Buddhist divinities and priests, and confidence 
 in the doctrine of retribution for the bestowment of liberal 
 gifts. 
 
 Priests are invited to perform a liturgical service for the 
 dead. It is called kung-te, " merit." Its object is to give 
 the deceased a better position in the next life than he 
 would otherwise enjoy. This is founded on the metem- 
 psychosis. Souls may be re-born in a better or worse state 
 of existence. The magical power of Buddha may exalt a 
 man from a birth into hell to a birth into the world once 
 more. Buddha's power may cause a poor man to be born 
 in the next life as a rich man. The choir of priests wield 
 this power. They profess to have the power to ch'au-tu- 
 ling-hwun, " save the soul." This means to transfer the 
 soul from an undesirable abode in the next life to a very 
 happy one. The people believe that the priests by beating 
 cymbals and drums, knocking the wooden fish and chant- 
 ing prayers, can redeem the deceased person from the 
 
 2 B 
 
3<S6 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 punishment due to his sins. This is expressed by the 
 phrase, shu-tsui, " redeem from guilt." 
 
 For a service of one day in the house of the dead person, 
 the name tso-kung-te is used. For a service of three 
 days, pai-ch'an is often used. The favourite name (much 
 may be learned from favourite names) 0-mi-to Fo tells of 
 an expected paradise. It speaks of the longing for a happy 
 hereafter. Here Buddhism has abandoned the legitimate 
 Nirv§,na of Shakyamuni, and preferred to allow the people's 
 craving for immortality to dominate the philosopher's 
 dogma of a return to the absolute. A favourite title of 
 Omi-to Fo is Tsie-yin Fo, " The guiding Buddha." He 
 guides from earth to the Western paradise. The legend of 
 0-mi-to is connected with that of Kwan-yin. The school 
 which teaches it is called that of " The peaceful land." 
 In China and Japan this school has always been a popular 
 one. It is so especially in Japan. I was much struck 
 while in that country with inscriptions on tombs. A large 
 number of the inscriptions in ordinary cemeteries indicate 
 that the person there buried died in hope of being taken 
 to " The peaceful land." It is different in China, where 
 Confucianism has prevented Buddhism from taking a firm 
 hold on the hearts of the people. No such inscriptions 
 occur in Chinese cemeteries. Japan has been more 
 thoroughly penetrated with Buddhism than China. Yet 
 in China the funeral procession for the dead bears many 
 marks of Buddhist influence, though the ordinary ceme- 
 teries do not. Thus the hwun-fan, or " soul's banner," 
 carried before a coffin in such a procession has on the 
 top a lotus-flower, and below three strips of cloth, the 
 middle one of which contains the characters pan-yi, which 
 imply faith in the departure of the soul to the Western 
 heaven. The " portrait of the dead," shen-siang, is placed 
 beside it in what is called the tso-ting. Below the portrait 
 is a tablet to be worshipped. On the right hand is an- 
 other banner called ming-tsing, on which are recorded the 
 titles of the deceased. Now it will be noticed here that 
 
HAUNTED HOUSES AND CHARMS. 387 
 
 the wooden frame like a baldachino holding the picture is 
 Buddhist. It contains the stool on which a Buddhist monk 
 sits crosslegged when living, and on which he is placed 
 sitting in the same attitude when dead. Five Buddhist 
 priests and five Tauists read prayers at the grave of per- 
 sons who are rich and high in office. The liturgies read 
 are such as the Sin-king, " Heart classic," and the Kwan- 
 yin-king. In reference to use in funeral processions, these 
 liturgies are called Chwen-ts'ai-king, " Liturgy for 'turning' 
 (or guiding) the coffin " on its path to the grave. The 
 Nirvana is too abstruse for the popular faith. It has been 
 replaced by the Paradise of the Western heaven. 
 
 The belief in the existence of hermit heroes, and of 
 various malevolent spirits and demons, is a marked charac- 
 teristic of popular Tauism. Haunted houses are avoided 
 in all parts of China. The power of expelling demons 
 from haunted houses and localities, is believed to belong 
 chiefly to the hereditary chief of the Tauists, Chang T'ien-shi, 
 and subordinately to any Tauist priest. To expel demons 
 he wields the sword that is said to have come down, a 
 priceless heirloom, from his ancestors of the Han dynasty. 
 All demons fear this sword. He who wields it, the great 
 Tauist magician, can catch demons and shut them up in jars. 
 These jars are sealed with a ** charm " {fu). I have heard 
 that at the home of this chief of wizards on the Dragon 
 and Tiger mountain in the province of Kiang-si, there 
 are many rows of such jars, all of them supposed to hold 
 demons in captivity. The wizard himself is believed to 
 be a power. The charm is a power. The sword he wields 
 is a power. The efficacy of a charm is increased by the 
 supposed magical gifts of the Tauist wizard from whom it 
 is obtained. To secure the services of the great Kiang-si 
 wizard is very expensive. Only the wealthy who can ex- 
 pend a thousand taels of silver without being pinched can 
 afford the luxury of feeling quite sure tliat, by the agency of 
 this wizard, the demons who trouble them are completely 
 subjugated. The residence of this wizard is called Chen- 
 
388 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 jen fu. In giving him the title Ghin-jin, the meaning is 
 that he is regarded as having attained perfect power and 
 virtue. He is the ideal man. Men under the domination 
 of the passions are not called CMn-jSn. The Tauist dis- 
 cipline gives a man the rule over himself and over nature. 
 He who possesses this is called a " True man." The word 
 cMuy " true," cannot be fully translated into English in 
 such cases as this without embracing the ideas "real," 
 " perfect/' " ideal," and " most elevated." It is higher than 
 sie7i, " immortal," but not so high as she7ig, " holy." 
 
 The present chief wizard is like his predecessors. His 
 wife belongs to a Kiang-si family. Tauism in the persons 
 of its wizards retains marriage. Buddhism introduced the 
 disuse of marriage. Tauism, being anterior to that much 
 more ascetic and self-denying system, knew nothing of 
 celibacy. 
 
 It may be asked, from whence came the wizards and 
 their charms, and their supposed power to subdue the bad 
 influences of demons in disturbing neighbourhoods by 
 apparitions and uncanny noises, and in causing sickness and 
 death ? It may be answered, that before the introduction 
 of Buddhism, but especially in the Han dynasty, this folly 
 was rife in the popular belief, and has continued so till 
 now. There were wizards in the Shang dynasty, but no 
 details remain of what they did. In the Han dynasty, the 
 wizards stand out in their completeness. They were 
 greatly honoured by prince and people, and have continued 
 to be so in the person of the Chang T'ien-shi till the 
 present day. 
 
 This personage assumes a state which mimics the im- 
 perial regime. He confers buttons like the emperor. He 
 has about thirty persons constituting his courtiers and 
 high officers. Tauists come to him from various cities 
 and temples to receive promotion. He invests them with 
 certain titles, and gives seals of office to those Tauists 
 who are invested. They have similar powers to his, and 
 can, for example like him, subdue demons by pasting 
 
 
 I 
 
TA UIST CHIEF MAGICIAN. 389 
 
 charms on doors, which prevent them from entering. The 
 Chang T'ien-shi, in his capacity as a sort of spiritual em- 
 peror, addresses memorials to Yli-ti in heaven. His position 
 will be understood from this circumstance. He is chief 
 official on earth of Yu-hwang-ti in heaven, and as such 
 is in the habit of addressing to him " memorials " called 
 fiau. His duty is defined as the driving away and expul- 
 sion of demons by charms, and their destruction by the 
 magic sword. 
 
 In all parts of China, the charms seen pasted on the 
 doors of houses testify to the dominant idea of popular 
 Tauism, and to the universal fear of demons, which Tauism 
 encourages. Certainly it is not Confucianism that main- 
 tains in rigour this absurd dread of evil spirits wandering 
 through the air, disturbing the public tranquillity, occasion- 
 ing alarms which sometimes spread like an epidemic from 
 city to city, and leading the uninstructed populace to 
 trace fevers, madness, ague, drowning, accidental death of 
 travellers, suicide, and any sort of unaccountable discom- 
 fort, to the imaginary agency of invisible and malevolent 
 beings. To subdue them is the office of the Tauist 
 magician. The person honoured with the credit of having 
 invented the charm is Chang Tau-ling. It was called fu, 
 because written on bamboo tallies such as were anciently 
 used by officers of government, and which are made to 
 fit in shape one with another as a security against impos- 
 ture, in accordance with the meaning of the verb fu. 
 They are to be seen pasted on door lintels, the occupants 
 of the house believing that the sight of the magical char- 
 acters written on the charm will prevent evil spirits from 
 entering. 
 
 The magicians were in the Han dynasty called — not 
 withoat a touch of sarcasm — the "Feathered scholars" ( Yu- 
 sM), as being able to fly. The legend of Chang Tau-ling, 
 ancestor of the Chang T'ien-shi, head of the Tauist hier- 
 archy at the present time, is sometimes stated as follows : 
 — In the latter part of the second century, this Pope of 
 
390 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 the Tauists, if he may be so called, was engaged in the 
 province now called Si-ch*wen in the Ho-ming shan (Moun- 
 tain where the crane sien-ho calls), in manipulating the 
 " elixir of the dragon and tiger," lung-hu-tan. He met a 
 spirit who said, "In the Pe-sung mountain is a stone 
 house where may be found writings of the three emperors 
 and a liturgical book. By getting these you may ascend 
 to heaven, if you pass through the course of discipline 
 which they enjoin." He dug and found them. By means 
 of them he was able to fly, to hear distant sounds, and to 
 leave his body. Lau-kiiin then came down to him on the 
 night of the feast of lanterns, and ordered him to subdue 
 the demons of the " Shu country " (S'i-ch'wen), in order to 
 confer blessings on humanity. Lau-kitin gave him a 
 powerful and secret "charm" (lu), a "liturgy" (king), a 
 " composition in verse or measured prose " (kme), a " sword" 
 (kien), and a " seal " (ym). After going through a thou- 
 sand days of discipline, and receiving instructions from 
 a certain goddess called Yu-nii, who taught him to walk 
 about among the stars, he proceeded to fight with the king 
 of the demons, to divide mountains and seas, and to com- 
 mand the wind and thunder to come and go. All the 
 demons fled before him, leaving not a trace behind of 
 their retreating footsteps. On account of the prodigious 
 slaughter of demons by this hero, the wind and thunder 
 were reduced to subjection, and various divinities came 
 with eager haste to acknowledge their faults. In nine 
 years he gained the power to ascend to heaven and pros- 
 trate himself before the first in rank of the Three Pure 
 Ones. A temple in Ch'eng-tu is said to have been the 
 place where Lau-kiiin discoursed to Chang Tau-ling. He 
 afterwards went eastward, and settled his residence on the 
 mountain Lung-hu shan, where his descendants have ever 
 since resided in possession of great honour and emolument, 
 as his hereditary representatives. The present occupant 
 of the patriarchate had to fly at the time of the T'ai-p'ing 
 rebellion, and the temple where he resides was partially 
 
YU-HWANG SHANGTL 391 
 
 destroyed. Tlie repairs of the buildings are now nearly 
 completed. 
 
 The popular divinity, Yli-hwang shang-ti, is an ancient 
 magician, exalted to this dignity probably by the Tauist 
 writers of the T'ang dynasty.^ In the Pen-hing-king of 
 the Tauist collection it is said, that a magician of the 
 Chang family was the son of a king in a former kalpa, 
 who, instead of succeeding his father, became a hermit, 
 and after eight hundred kalpas, and much patient endur- 
 ance of injuries, attained to the rank of the " Golden 
 immortals" (Kin-sien), and at the same time a Buddha 
 with a special title, Tsing-tsing-ts'i-jan-chio-ju-lai, " The 
 pure, calm, and spontaneously perceiving Ju-lai." After a 
 million more kalpas he became Yu-ti, or Yu-hwang ta-ti, 
 " Emperor of all the immortals." In the same way, Ts'i-wei 
 ta-ti, " God of the stars round the north pole," is the 
 emperor who rules over the presiding gods of all the stars, 
 according to the one account. The magician Chang and 
 the magician Liu mounted dragons and rode up through 
 the sky towards heaven, and Chang gained in the race. 
 
 In the Tsin dynasty, A.D. 300, Cheu Hing is reported 
 to have died and risen again. He is said to have related 
 what he saw when dead. He saw T'ien-ti, the " Heavenly 
 emperor," enter the chief hall of his palace. Clouds, 
 purple in colour, dense and dark, obstructed the view 
 above him. His face was a square foot in size. Cheu 
 Hing was told by those on his right and left, " This is 
 the heavenly emperor Chang." His palace is the Yu-ts'ing 
 kung, which is represented in temples by a building be- 
 neath the abode of the Three Pure Ones. It is the heaven 
 to which the soul flies when Tauist prayers are supposed 
 to help the dead to reach the Tauist heaven. The expres- 
 
 1 The title Yu-ti occurs in Tauist ptoses, and a former life, borrowed 
 
 books earlier than the T'ang dynasty, from India, I asked the Tauist patri- 
 
 but not the full title with four char- arch when in Shanghai, how long it 
 
 acters. This belongs evidently to the was since Chang T'ien-ti first received 
 
 T'ang dynasty, the age of Buddhist in- his title. He only replied, "From 
 
 fiaence, and to the belief in metamor- the beginning of the universe." 
 
392 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 sions are — Hwun-fei ch'ung-siau, " The soul flies to the 
 high firmament ; " Ling-t'eng t'ien-kung, " The soul ascends 
 to the heavenly palace," These passages are the earliest I 
 have yet found giving the family name Chang to Yil-ti. 
 This magician or god Chang is to be distinguished from 
 Chang Tau-ling as already described, ancestor of the pre- 
 sent Chang T'ien-shi, and from the medical divinity Chang 
 Sien, who was, in fact, a distinguished physician of the 
 Sung dynasty. The personage called Chang Sien, in 
 common Chinese paintings, with bow and arrow shooting 
 at the moon, is this physician who lived about seven 
 hundred years ago. 
 
 In the tail-cutting delusion, which died out in 1879, 
 after spreading over the country like an epidemic, we see 
 an example of Tauist ideas. The fairy that cuts off hair 
 is checked and prevented by a charm. A written charm 
 curled up in the plaited queue at the back of the head is 
 a protective shield against all the assaults of witchcraft. 
 Tauism attempts to soothe the fears of the people by this 
 artifice. In Peking lately I myself heard that a writer of 
 charms hired men to go along the streets shouting to people 
 that for safety they should place charms in their hair, and 
 detailing cases of the loss of queues in the night, or 
 while men were sleeping in the day-time. These hired 
 men brought to the writers of charms a great increase of 
 custom. Every one wished to buy one. There must be 
 something in it, for every one talked of it. We must, 
 they said to themselves, buy a charm. The charm used 
 in Peking against the danger of waking without a queue, 
 consists of four mysterious characters, which are all found 
 in Kang-hi's dictionary. They were, we are there told, 
 used ajzainst a similar delusion in the Ming dynasty. 
 
 The Tauism of to-day meets us with this special charac- 
 teristic. Yet it is but one part of the popular Tauism, 
 which in great part consists of a monastic institute for 
 reading liturgical books after the Buddhist fasliion. 
 
 Dr. Yates says, in his lecture on Ancestral Worship and 
 
TAVIST PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD. 393 
 
 Fuug-shui, that Buddhism borrowed from Tauism. But, in 
 fact, it is rather the other way in the main. Buddhism 
 indeed borrowed from Tauism the worship of Kwan-ti, as 
 it has borrowed from Confucianism the use of ancestral 
 tablets for the worship of the priests of a monastery. But 
 tliere is no room for doubt, that the general programme of 
 the arrangements of a Tauist monastery, with the occupa- 
 tions of the inmates, is Buddhistic. The whole scheme of 
 prayers for the dead is so. As to prayers for rain, they 
 are essential in China in every religion. For popular and 
 for state reasons it is necessary to have them, the reason 
 being the same in all Buddhist countries. When therefore 
 the Hindoos and other Buddhists came to China, and found 
 prayers for rain already existing in the Confucian, the 
 imperial, and the popular worship, they would in offering 
 prayers for the same object, be only doing what they were 
 accustomed to do in their own country. They can scarcely 
 be said to be borrowed by any religion. The popular 
 character of the prayers of the Tauists for the dead is 
 different in some respects from the Buddhist, but in the 
 chief features it is evidently imitated. The old classical 
 word Wiaxi, for example, is not used in describing the ser- 
 vices of the Tauists for the dead. The phrase pai-cli'an 
 is used. One is called Ch'au-t'ien-ch'an, or " Prayer of 
 looking toward heaven;" another is Yii-hwang-ch'an, 
 "Prayer of Yii-hwang." This word ch'an is Buddhist. 
 The object of reciting these books is to save the souls of 
 the dead by affording them a speedy ascent to the palace 
 of Yu-hwang. The hell of the Buddhists is repeated by 
 the Tauists in their descriptions of the future state. The 
 variety of torments and punishments to be inflicted on 
 criminals in the next world may be seen with all the 
 harrowing details in the temples of Tung-yo ta-ti, " The 
 god of Tai-shan" a mountain god who is supposed to rule 
 the under world. He corresponds in attributes somewhat 
 to Ti-tsang-ioang p'lc-sa^ the Buddhist deliverer from hell. 
 like this Buddhist god, he rules only as a saviour and 
 
394 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 shares his authority with a large group of inferior divi- 
 nities, whose oiB&ces as ministers of punishment to those 
 who deserve chastisement, are illustrated on the walls by 
 rough paintings, or by clay images, moulded and painted 
 in the Chinese method, in the temples of Tung-yo ta-ti. 
 Among statements which I made years ago and have 
 now to correct as imperfect or erroneous is this, that the 
 Tauists have no hell, but only a heaven. In fact they 
 have both, for the rough wall drawings and clay mould- 
 ings found in the east and west buildings of the temples 
 of Tung-yo prove it. These are not, however, many cen- 
 turies old, and they form a part of the mass of legend and 
 myth which they have unscrupulously borrowed from the 
 Buddhists. Yama, " God of Death " in India, the Yen-lo- 
 wang of China, with the ten courts of judgment which 
 rule over the guilty, sentences them to punishment and 
 has it administered after death. This forms the basis of 
 the Tauist hell. 
 
 Modern Chinese art is very much pervaded with Tauist 
 ideas. The eight genii meet us everywhere. The manu- 
 facturers of procelain, bronze, and carved bamboo orna- 
 ments are never weary of representing these eight person- 
 ages. They belong to the class of hermits. The love of 
 external nature was very much developed in the T'ang 
 dynasty. Poetry was the favourite occupation of the 
 literati. They gave attention to no severe studies. Every 
 beautiful spot among lakes, waterfalls, and mountains was 
 selected for a hermitage or a monastery. Buddhism and 
 Tauism received a wonderful expansion. It was just 
 the era for the legends of the eight genii to spring into 
 existence. It was an age of sentimental feeHng. The great 
 national poets flourished in the same dynasty as the eight 
 Tauist hermits. Li T*ai-pe and Tu Fu gained their fame 
 at the same time that the sixteen, and afterwards eighteen, 
 Lo-hans became popular. These Lo-hans are the Buddhist 
 equivalents of the fairies and hermits of Tauism. The 
 sixteen were Hindoos, while the two added names were 
 
TA VIST DEL USIONS DANGEROUS. 39s 
 
 those of Chinese Buddhists. All the eight genii were 
 Tanists of the T'ang dynasty. 
 
 We see the effect of Buddhist and Tauist teaching in 
 the present race of Chinese. The Tauist religion especially 
 is responsible for those superstitions which have a dan- 
 gerous character. The epidemic of the fairy powder 
 was fatal to the peace of communities. The absurd 
 charges brought against the martyred Sisters of Mercy in 
 Tientsin were based on ideas which, although usually 
 represented as popular, and as the native growth of the 
 Chinese mind, are in fact correctly placed to the account 
 of Tauism. It is dangerous to the state that religious 
 teachings should be encouraged which tend to foster and 
 originate popular delusions entailing such frightful results. 
 Every man, whether a Christian or not, ought on moral 
 grounds, and on the greatest happiness principle itself, if 
 he thinks that is a safer basis, to desire the extinction of 
 a religious system which encourages dangerous and lying 
 delusions. Then there is the tail-cutting. The Tauists 
 accept and endorse the whole system of popular delusion 
 which originated the tail-cutting. They believe in the 
 existence of just such fairies as are said to cut off men's 
 queues. They make money by selling the charms which 
 are represented to be a protection against such demons. 
 Popular Tauism then is worthy of decided condemnation, 
 from every Christian and every enlightened lover of man- 
 kind, whatever be his belief. There are beliefs in the Tauist 
 religion which not only need to be attacked by books 
 written from the Christian standpoint of thought, but 
 which may very properly be condemned in the proclama- 
 tions of magistrates, on account of their tendency to produce 
 dangerous tumults and lamentable breaches of the peace. 
 What a field is here presented for the teaching of science, 
 and the spread of a practical system of improved educa- 
 tion in China ! Dense intellectual darkness clouds the 
 people's minds. There is pressing need for the extension 
 of a system of education which should strike at the root 
 
396 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 of superstition and enable the rising youth of the country 
 to avoid falling into the thrall of those delusive imagina- 
 tions which have grown up under the fostering care of the 
 Tauists during the last two hundred years. 
 
 It is a great misfortune for a nation to have an exten- 
 sive sacerdotal caste, whose interest it is to continue, gene- 
 ration after generation, the belief in deceptive fancies 
 which check the free growth of true ideas and all healthy 
 habits of thought. Their livelihood depends on the people 
 continuing to beKeve in demons, fairies, and charms. The 
 missionary and the schoolmaster, the magazine and the 
 newspaper, are all needed to check these bad influences, 
 and replace dangerous and injurious popular notions, by 
 healthy and useful knowledge, to be gathered from God's 
 two books, that of Kature and that of Revelation. Then 
 as to the effects of Buddhism, it may be said to have been 
 good in some respects. It bears a consistent testimony to 
 the vanity of the world, and the essential and immense 
 superiority of soul purity to earthly grandeur. But in 
 founding on this a monastic institute, it has followed a 
 wrong plan, and failed to attain the purity desired. It 
 teaches the need of a personal redeemer to rescue from 
 the moral evils attendant on our present existence. But 
 this redeemer is a Buddha or a Bodhisattwa, a man or beins 
 possessing none of the powers attributed to him. Among 
 the prominent and most pernicious evils for which the 
 popular Buddhism of the present day is responsible is 
 idolatry. It is an enormous evil that Buddhism has 
 placed the Buddhas and Bodhisattwas in the position in 
 the reverence of the people, that ought to be held only by 
 the Creator and Father of the world. Idolatry puts fiction 
 in the stead of truth, and, as we every day see in China, 
 renders the mind indifferent to truth. This, too, is a vast 
 evil. Confucianism makes everything of morality ; and the 
 worship of Buddhist images, wlien it is complied with, 
 becomes a moral duty on the part of the emperor or the 
 magistrate, only because it is li (ceremonial duty), not 
 
ASS A UL T OF CHRISTIANITY. 397 
 
 because the Buddhist religion itself can have any just 
 claim to it. But Buddhism, by putting forward the image, 
 debases and misleads the national mind, by drawing it 
 away from the proper object of human worship. Our great 
 contest as Christian missionaries is with Confucianism. 
 There is found the intellect, the thought, the literature, 
 the heart of the nation. But we have also a preliminary 
 struggle with Buddhism and Tauism. These constitute 
 three mighty fortresses, erected by human skill and effort, 
 to impede the progress of Christianity. Confucianism is 
 the citadel of the enemy raising its battlements high into 
 the clouds, and manned by multitudes who are animated by 
 a belief in their superiority and their invincible strength. 
 The taking of this fortress is the conclusion of the war. 
 But Buddhism and Tauism each represents a fortress which 
 must also be captured and destroyed. So far as argument 
 and intellect are concerned, these fortresses are weakly 
 manned. But think of the numbers, the millions on 
 millions, who are deceived by these superstitious, and 
 held fast by chains of spiritual darkness. Let the Chris- 
 tian host of soldiers press on, and detail its battalions, first 
 to overthrow these strongholds of rebellion against God ; 
 and when they are destroyed, let another earnest effort be 
 made to destroy the last and strongest of the towers of the 
 enemy. Then, w^hen all these three fortresses are over- 
 thrown, and China becomes a subject kingdom under the 
 Messiah's peaceful reign, it will be the greatest triumph 
 ever achieved for Christianity since the time when the 
 emperor Constantine became a Christian, and the Eoman 
 religion and power, and the Greek philosophy were dragged 
 as captives behind the car of the victorious Eedeemer. 
 
( 398 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ON THE USE OF SANSCRIT BY THE CHINESE BUDDHISTS. 
 
 Changes in Chinese sounds since the time of the Buddhist translitera- 
 tion of Indian words — Examples of Sanscrit words in old and new 
 Chinese — The importance of translations made in a.d. 6o to a.d. 
 76 for reading the Four Books — The Hindoo translators did not 
 speak pure Sanscrit — Sanscrit was the language of the books — 
 No Pali books in China — The translators spoke Pracrit — The 
 term po-li, " glass " — Use of Sanscrit words in magic — Dharani 
 — Inscription in six languages at Kii-yung kwan. 
 
 The Chinese characters have been written in the same 
 foi-m and with the same sort of pencils since the time of 
 Wang Hi-chi, a.d. 350. 
 
 During these fifteen centuries, while the writing taught in 
 all schools has been unchanged, the sounds attached to the 
 characters have been in a state of slow and constant flux. 
 
 Thus, the translator Kumarajiva wrote his name with 
 four Chinese characters then called Ku-ma-la-zhip. They 
 are now Kieu- (or CJiieu) mo-lo-sh'i. 
 
 All sonant initials, such as g, d, h, z, zh, j, have changed 
 in the interval to surds, viz., k, t, p, s, sh, ch. In words 
 pronounced with the tone called hia-ping, the aspirates 
 k\ f , p\ ch' come in place of k, t, p, ch, which occur in words 
 pronounced with the tones hia-ping, hia-ch'u, and hia-ju. 
 
 Final m has changed to final n. Finals k, t, p have been 
 dropped ; also the vowels have all changed their values, 
 a to 0, ya to e, i^ to yeu, &c. 
 
 The compilers of Kang-hi's dictionary have provided 
 tables of the old sounds, with characters chosen to repre- 
 
EXAMPLES OE SANSCRIT WORDS. 399 
 
 sent the pronunciation as it formerly was. They are to be 
 read with the powers of the letters of the Sanscrit alphabet. 
 Natives not knowing the Sanscrit letters cannot escape 
 from the confusion in which they are involved by the dif- 
 ference between the old and new pronunciations. The 
 foreign student will find that the principle here laid down 
 is a key to unlock the difficulties of the subject. 
 
 The following examples will help to familiarise the 
 learner with the method : — 
 
 Sanscrit. Old Chinese. New Chinese. 
 
 Buddha But Fo 
 
 Amogha Vajra A-mo-ga had-ja-ra 0-mo-k'ia po-che-lo 
 
 Up^saka U-pa-sa-ka Yeu-po-8o-kia 
 
 Viharapala Bi-ha-la-pa-la Pi-ho-lo-po-lo 
 
 Bodhiruchi Bo-di-lu-chi P'u-t'i-lieu-clil 
 
 Paraniiti Pat-la-mit-ti ^ Po-le-mi-ti 
 
 Mahfishwara Ma-hi-shu-la Mo-hi-sheu-lo 
 
 Shanaishchara Sha-iiai-shat-chat-la Sbe-na-yi-shl'-che-lo 
 
 Praseuajit Pat-la-si-na-ji-ta Po-lo-sX-na-shX-to 
 
 Mabapadma Ma-ha-pa-dema 2 Mo-ho-po-t'e-mo 
 
 Udy&na U-dyung-na U-chang-na 
 
 Sangadeva Seng-ffa-de-ha Seng-k*ia-t'i-p'o 
 
 Acharya A-cha-li-ya 0-che-li-ye 
 
 Shakradeva Iiidra Shak-ka-la-de-ba ShI-kia-lo-t'i-p*o Yin- 
 
 In-da-la t*o-lo 
 
 Dharani Da-la-ni To-lo-ni 
 
 The admission of the principle that the Chinese pronun- 
 ciation has changed, and that the recognised Mandarin 
 orthography is nothing more than that of a modern dialect, 
 will be found to throw a light much needed on the use of 
 Sanscrit by the Chinese Buddhists. 
 
 It is also necessary to recognise the principle, that the 
 Hindoo Buddhists in China were men who spoke the 
 dialects of Central India, Northern India, &c. 
 
 ^ S. Julien is wrong in making the literated kat-ma, the t being heard 
 
 first of these four characters end in n. as r. 
 
 It is pat in old Chinese ; but pat was '^ The character de should be trans- 
 
 often par. See p. 201 of my Intro- literated dek. That the k was then 
 
 duction to the Study of the Chinese lost is shown by its use in this case. 
 
 Characters. Tlius the famous word The loss of k final was beginning. 
 karma, "cause," "fate," was trans- 
 
400 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 M. Stanislas Julien's M^thode pour D^chifrer et Trans- 
 crire les noms Sanscrits makes no allusion to these subjects. 
 The consequence is that all his immense industry has 
 failed to make a window that would have illuminated this 
 dark room. Yet that does not hinder his work from being 
 indispensable to the student on this subject. It gives the 
 Sanscrit words. It gives the modern Chinese pronunciation. 
 These two factors are tabulated alphabetically. The stu- 
 dent can with this help proceed rapidly. But if he wish 
 to understand why such and such Chinese characters were 
 chosen, and not prosecute his researches mechanically, he 
 must allow for the influence of dialects and the incessant 
 change of language on both sides of the Himalayas. 
 
 It is necessary to take the finals of the Southern Chinese 
 dialects, and the initials of the dialects spoken in Central 
 China at the present time, as our sign-posts, pointing out 
 to us what was the pronunciation of the T'ang dynasty and 
 of the previous age ; and this must be done with the addi- 
 tion of aid from the Japanese and Corean transliteration 
 of Chinese sounds, through the spread of Buddhism many 
 centuries ago. 
 
 It was about three hundred and forty years after the 
 death of Mencius, and five hundred and fifty after the 
 death of Confucius, that the translations from Sanscrit 
 were made. By learning the powers of the Chinese sylla- 
 bary with the help of the transliterations then made, we 
 can come quite near to the classical age of Chinese litera- 
 ture, and approximate to the actual pronunciation of the 
 great Chinese sages. For the method and proofs, I may 
 here refer the reader to my Introduction to the Study of the 
 Chinese Characters. 
 
 Particularly is the " Sutra of Forty-two Sections " worthy 
 of attention, on account of its being the translation of 
 Kashiapmadanga and his friend Chu-fa-lan. It is highly 
 important for fixing tlie pronunciation of the Chinese, at 
 the time when they taught Buddhism at Lo-yang, in the 
 reign of Ming-ti, a.d. 58 to a.d. "^6. From their use of 
 
IMPORTANCE OF TRANSLATIONS, 401 
 
 cliaracters it is clear, tliat at that time the modern Fo was 
 But; 0-lo-han "Ndi^ A-la-han ; cton, " contemplation," was 
 dian or dan ; Nie-p'an, " Nirvana," was Nit-han or Nir- 
 ban; Kia-she, the name of *' Kashiapa" Buddha, was Ka- 
 nhap or Ka-shiap ; P'tc-t'i, the word Bodhi, " knowledge," 
 was Bo-di. Sha-meii, the ' Shramana," was Slia-men, hav- 
 ing about the same sound as now. Pi-kieu or Fi-ch'ieu, 
 the " Bikshii," was Bi-k'u. ChHau-ch'en-ju, for " Godinia," 
 was Go-din-nia. O-tm-han, a certain grade in disciplesliip, 
 was A-7ia-gam, agreeing with the Sanscrit " Anagama." 
 Fi-chi, for the Sanscrit " Pratyeka," was F'ak-tie, the Pali 
 being Fatiekan. So it was probably not Pali that Kashiap- 
 madanga spoke, though he was a native of Central India. 
 Sii-t'o-hwan, for " Srotapanna," another grade of disciple- 
 ship, was So-da-han or Su-da-wan. The last of these is the 
 more likely, for the character is the same as that used in 
 writing " Nirvana." The Pali is Sotapan ; so that the 
 translator did not speak Pali. 
 
 The greatest initiator of change in the choice of char- 
 acters was Hiuen-tsang, about a.d. 645. He altered the 
 characters according to his opinion of what the selected 
 symbols ought to be. His selection of characters is a 
 gauge of the pronunciation of his time. His translations, 
 however, have not become popular. The older usage of 
 words has kept its place. 
 
 The language in which the Buddhist sacred writings 
 were first compiled may have been Pali; but that from 
 which they were translated into Chinese was Sanscrit. 
 The Pali books were a separate set of originals. The 
 Sanscrit originals alone are known to the Chinese. The 
 manuscripts, the inscriptions, the charms cut on cop- 
 per mirrors, the lucky sentences under eaves and over 
 doors in monasteries, are in Sanscrit; and in polyglot 
 books printed at Peking, Sanscrit is the language em- 
 ployed. 
 
 Koeppen, page 186, in saying that the Chinese also 
 have a number of Pali texts, has been misled by Gutzlaff. 
 
 2 c 
 
402 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 This missionary had lived in Siam, where Pali is the sacred 
 language, and was there accustomed to the idea that Pali 
 was the original language of Buddhism. This view he 
 brought with him to China, and when he saw Sanscrit 
 inscriptions in the island of P'u-to, he took them to be 
 Pali. From him the opinion spread, but it is an error. 
 The Buddhists of Birmah, Siam, and Ceylon have never 
 spread their religion in China or Japan, or introduced their 
 sacred books into those countries. 
 
 The Nepaul Buddhists preserve the sacred books in San- 
 scrit, and not in Pali. But Burnouf also found certain 
 portions of the Nepaulese books written in Pracrit. The 
 groundwork was Sanscrit. The language occasionally used 
 was Pracrit. The language known by the Chinese as the 
 Fan language was shown to be undoubtedly Sanscrit, by 
 Julien's version of the works of Hiuen-tsang, the traveller 
 who visited India, and who has described the Sanscrit 
 language in his autobiography. It is the language of 
 " Brahma " {Fan ; old sound. Bam). 
 
 Brahmanical ideas form a strong element in Buddhism. 
 Sanscrit words and Sanscrit writing are peculiarly sacred 
 in the view of the Brahmans. This idea has been borrowed 
 by the Buddhists. They preferred to use the words and 
 writing which were most sacred. With this Shakyamuni 
 would naturally have nothing to do. His instructions 
 were oral. He was a great moral teacher and metaphy- 
 sical logician. It was his disciples in the centuries that 
 followed him that introduced Sanscrit writing, as the chief 
 medium of recording his instructions. It is they that are 
 responsible also for the charms, and for the faith in magic 
 which stimulated their use. 
 
 So many Brahmans announced themselves believers in 
 Shakyamuni's doctrines, that Sanscrit became at once a 
 favourite medium for the embodiment of his teaching by 
 writing, even though Shakyamuni himself spoke Pali or 
 Pracrit, as he probably did. 
 
 In the same way it may be said that Pali was then so 
 
HINDOO TRANSLATORS. 403 
 
 extensively spoken, that it was inevitable that it should, 
 in the region watered by the Lower Ganges, become also a 
 medium for the preservation of the sacred books. 
 
 This double form of the sacred books had much to do 
 with the separation that sprang up between the Northern 
 and Southern schools of Buddhism. The peculiarities of 
 the Chinese transcription deserve to be considered. 
 
 The Pracrit of the early Chinese translators was, for 
 example, nearer to Sanscrit than to Pali in the sound of 
 p^ajna, " wisdom." The characters adopted are directed 
 to be pronounced pat-nia. The Pali is pannya. 
 
 There was also in the Pracrit of the early Chinese trans- 
 lators a very clear pronunciation of h for the Sanscrit 
 and Pali v. This is shown by the constant selection of 
 Chinese characters sounded with h or ^, according to the 
 old pronunciation. For example, the city " Vaishali," near 
 the modern Patna, is spelt Bai-sha-li. The Pali sound 
 is Vesali. Dr. E. J. Eitel, in his Hand-look of Chinese 
 Buddhism, page 27, has said, that " Chinese texts consider 
 Pali as the ancient and Sanskrit as the modern form even 
 as regards the system of sounds." If he will direct his 
 attention to these facts, he will perhaps admit that not 
 the Pali, but a certain Pracrit form or forms of the Hindoo 
 language, prevalent at the time in Central and Northern 
 India, was or were at the basis of the Chinese old texta 
 The Hindoo translators in China would have Sanscrit texts 
 chiefly before them, and Pracrit texts occasionally. Their 
 pronunciation was not pure Sanscrit, but was modified by 
 Pracrit peculiarities. 
 
 In the flourishing period of Buddhism, in the region 
 watered by the Ganges, at the time of the Greek invasion, 
 and afterwards, the art of writing lately introduced was 
 put to extensive use in the Buddhist monasteries. Those 
 institutions fostered education, which was then very much 
 in Buddhist hands. While the people spoke Pali and 
 Pracrit, Sanscrit was the language of education, and hence 
 the fondness shown for it by the Buddhists. 
 
404 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 Bumouf held that there was a double text, a Pracrit 
 text for the laity and a Sanscrit for the literati. 
 
 King Kanishka in Cashmere called a council, the fourth ; 
 and in the writings edited by this assembly, Sanscrit was 
 the language. 
 
 The language of Magadha in the time of the emperor 
 Ashoka was a Pracrit. This was probably much used by 
 the Hindoo Buddhists who came to China. 
 
 An argument against Pali is to be found in the careful 
 selection of Cbinese words commencing with sh, to repre- 
 sent the Sanscrit .s^ ; but sh is not a letter known to the 
 Pali, just as it was wanting in the ancient Greek and 
 Latin. The original text of the early Chinese translations 
 before the days of Hiuen-tsang must have had sh fully 
 developed. It probably dropped ra in sharira, " a relic," 
 and sti in Shravasti, name of the capital of an ancient 
 kingdom called Kosala, and lying near Kapilavastu. 
 
 I place here some remarks on po-li, " glass," a favourite 
 word. In Buddhist glossaries, the Chinese jpo4i is derived 
 from the Sanscrit word spatika, " crystal." Many of the 
 Hindoo Buddhists who came to China — perhaps all — spoke 
 dialects of Sanscrit, but not the Sanscrit itself. The s was 
 dropped, and the final ka. The t in ti became /, as in the 
 Turkish hdur. 
 
 The rock crystal of China comes from Turkestan, and 
 would bring its own name with it from that countr}-. 
 Buddhist makers of glossaries would prefer to derive the 
 word from Sanscrit, as the mother of all knowledge. They 
 have passed over without remark the possibility that the 
 Chinese word may come from the Turkish. 
 
 The word po-li for " glass," formerly pronounced pa-li, 
 has been in common use in China since the Pang dynasty. 
 It came in with Buddhism and the international trade 
 with Turkestan. 
 
 I believe that the initial 5 in spatika might be an accre- 
 tion and not original, just as most probably smelt Ls later 
 than melt, and sneeze than iwse, and siannum than tin. 
 
USE OF SANSCRIT WORDS IN MAGIC. 405 
 
 Curioiisl}' we find in the Mongol vocabulary holor, 
 " crystal," " glass ; " holor daboso, " rock salt ; " bolo ck'UagoUy 
 " a polishing stone," a rolling stone used in smoothing 
 the clods of a ploughed field. Compare Turkish lileghi, 
 " whetstone." Let it be noticed that glass-dust is used by 
 polishers and grinders. 
 
 Whether the boli or hcdi is of Turanian origin and has 
 originated the Sanscrit spatika, it would be interesting to 
 know. Ballur is Arabic for " crystal ; " spashta is San- 
 scrit for " clear ; " berrak is Turkish for " clear," " limpid." 
 Probably here is the root ; but who shall decide ? 
 
 In Buddhist magic there has been extensive use of the 
 Sanscrit characters. The doctrine of magic has been 
 developed by the Buddhists very systematically, and to an 
 almost unexampled extent. It arose from the same ten- 
 dency in the Hindoo mind, which produced those vast 
 fictions in the description of the universe, and in the nar- 
 rative of the past, that distinguish the native literature of 
 that country. The love of the wonderful led the Hindoo 
 authors to forsake, at the same time, the fair bounds of 
 history and the sober reality of nature. Here it is easy to 
 perceive a similarity to the Arabians. There is, in their 
 fictions, the same fondness for splendid scenes and striking 
 supernatural efi'ects. This would be poetry were it not 
 very much overdone. The same circumstances of gaudy 
 magnificence are again and again repeated, and the reader 
 is wearied with the unending recital of marvellous events, 
 invented after one model, and whose one object is to excite 
 an undistinguishing admiration of the power displayed. 
 
 By magic is here meant the supernatural power attri- 
 buted to the Buddhas and Bodhisattwas, or claimed by the 
 ordinary priests, and which is exercised by charms, mystic 
 formulae, incantations, finger-postures, and such-like means. 
 
 It is not the power of God acting through nature that is 
 here intended, but the power of the priest, through his 
 charms, virtues, and superior knowledge. The magical 
 result is effected by the never-erring retributive fate which 
 
4o6 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 is the cause of everything that occurs, and which is respon- 
 sive in the most complete manner to Buddhist wisdom and 
 goodness. 
 
 The use of the Devanagari writing for the purposes of 
 magic is an instructive instance of the power of super- 
 stition to delude the human mind. The words used by 
 the magician for the most part have no meaning. They 
 are senseless clatter. The sounds are Sanscrit, but the 
 words usually not so. These absurd compositions of 
 unmeaning sounds are of various lengths. They occur 
 frequently in the books of the Great Development. They 
 are engraved on stone monuments on the way side, on 
 imperial roads, and at places of resort for Buddhist pil- 
 grims. They also form a chief part of the liturgies in use 
 in the monasteries and at funerals. 
 
 Om-mani-padme-hwn is one of the most common. 
 Padme is " lotus ; " mani is a " precious stone ; " oni is a 
 sacred " Hindoo symbol." It is written in Sanscrit charac- 
 ters under the eaves of all the lama temples in Peking. 
 In these temples it meets the eye everywhere. 
 
 The Thibetan character is based on the Sanscrit. It is 
 also found cut on monuments, both for charms and for 
 intelligible inscriptions. It is the chief language for litur- 
 gical use among the Thibetans and Mongol lamas in 
 Peking, except in two instances. In the Mahakala miau^ 
 the Mongol sacred books are read. In a temple, Fa-hai si, 
 near the hunting park, the Manchu is read. The Chinese 
 lamas in Peking read Thibetan prayers, while the Chinese 
 priests of the old Chinese Buddhism read, of course, in 
 Chinese. 
 
 In all these forms, the syllables of the charms are the 
 same. They are written in Sanscrit, or in the other 
 languages mentioned. 
 
 At the pass called Kii-yung kwan, near Peking, there 
 is a stone monument containing a charm in six languages, 
 viz., Sanscrit, Chinese, Thibetan, Nu-chih, Ouighour, and 
 Mongol. It was cut in the time of the Mongol emperors. 
 
 \ 
 
SANSCRIT INSCRIPTIONS. 407 
 
 It contains the same charm written with the characters 
 employed for all these languages. It was intended as 
 a protection to the emperor in going to and coming from 
 the summer palace, at that time beyond Tu-shi* k'eu, and 
 also to all travellers on this much frequented road between 
 China and Mongolia. 
 
 There are also some monuments inscribed with Sanscrit 
 charms in Peking at the present time, which date from 
 about seven hundred years ago. They are stone octagonal 
 pillars. One is at the monastery called Hwa-yen si", near 
 the park of the Altar of Heaven and the city gate known 
 as Kiang-cha men. These octagonal pillars are called sJii- 
 chwang, and they are placed in the courts of temples. 
 There is one kept on the premises of the London Mis- 
 sionary Society in Peking. 
 
 Sanscrit inscriptions are supposed, like pagodas and 
 monasteries, to have a lucky effect on the neighbourhood 
 where they are found, and on those who erect them by 
 their benefactions and goodwill. 
 
 A muttered charm is called " dharani," or, in Chinese, 
 cheu. 
 
( 4o8 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 BOOKS AND PAPERS THAT MAY BE CONSULTED FOR THE 
 STUDY OF CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 FoS kouS hi, by Remusat — Works of Julien — Interesting passage 
 from Fa-hien — Translations by Beal — Schott, Uher den Bud- 
 dhaismus in Hoch Asien und in China — Writings of Palladius — 
 Eitel's Hand-booh for the Student of Chinese Buddhism — Watters* 
 account of Chinese Buddhism — Eitel's Three Lectures^ and article 
 on Nirvana. 
 
 Among these works may be mentioned the translation of 
 Fot kov^ hi, or " Relation of the Buddhist Kingdoms," by 
 Abel Remusat.^ This work is very fully annotated by 
 Eemusat, Klaproth, and Landresse. 
 
 The same interesting book of Chinese travels has been 
 rendered into English by the Rev. S. Beal,^ and also by 
 Mr. H. A. Giles.3 These two translations have not the 
 advantage of abundant annotations. 
 
 The works of Professor Stanislas Julien on Chinese 
 Buddhism are — (i) Histoire de la Vie de Riouen-thmng 
 et de ses Voyages dans VInde, depuis Van 629 jusqu'en 645 ; 
 (2) M6moires sur les ContrSes Occidentales, Traduits du San- 
 scrit en Chinois, en Fan 648, par ffiouen-thsang, et du 
 Chinois en Frangais par S. Julien, 2 vols., royal 8vo; (3) 
 Les Avadanas, Conies, et Apologues Indiens, &c. 
 
 These works are characterised by the thorough and exact 
 
 ^ Fo^ kou^ hi, ou Relation des Roy- yun, Buddhist Pilgrims, from China 
 aumrs Bouddh iqufs : pn r Chy Fa-hia n . to In dia. 
 2 Travels of Fa-hian and Sung- • Records of Buddhistic Kingdoms. 
 
INTERESTING PASSAGE FROM FA -HI EN 409 
 
 scholarship of the author. They form a most valuable 
 addition to our knowledge of India and other Asiatic 
 countries in the seventh century, and in the Sung period 
 before that time, during which Buddhism had still the 
 vigour of its youth. 
 
 Both Fa-hien and Hiuen-tsang will be admitted by 
 every candid reader to deserve the reputation for patience 
 in observation, perseverance in travel, and earnestness in 
 religious faith which they have gained by the journals and 
 translations they left behind them. 
 
 Fa-hien says, near the end of his narrative, that he 
 sailed from Java in a ship on board of which were about 
 two hundred men. They had provisions for fifty days, 
 and were bound for Canton. After a month, a tempest 
 and violent rain almost overwhelmed them. The passen- 
 gers were all in alarm. Fa-hien prayed to Kwan-yin, and 
 all the believers in China, to implore of the gods to give 
 them aid and quell the storm. When it became calm, 
 the Brahmans on board said that this Samanean, meaning 
 Fa-hien, ought to be put ashore on an island, because it 
 was he that had brought on them this hurricane. " Why 
 should we all be exposed to danger for the sake of one 
 man ? " 
 
 A friend of Fa-hien said, " If you put this Samanean 
 on shore, put me ashore also, or else kill me. If you put 
 this Samanean ashore, on arriving at the land of Han I 
 will denounce you to the king. The king of the land of 
 Han is very much attached to the doctrine of Buddha 
 and honours the monks." 
 
 The merchants were in doubt what to do, and did not 
 venture on severe measures. The sky continued thickly 
 overcast, and the embarrassment of the mariners in- 
 creased. 
 
 They were seventy days on the voyage. Provisions and 
 water began to fail. The cooks took sea water to use in 
 cooking food, the good water they kept for drinking. Two 
 pints were assigned to each. As the water came near its 
 
4IO CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 end, the merchants consulted together, and said that the 
 voyage to Canton ought not to have been more than fifty 
 days. They were long past this time, and ought now to 
 change their course to the north-west,and make for the coast. 
 
 In twelve days and nights they reached Lau-shan,^ on 
 the south shore of the Shan-tung promontory, and found 
 there good water and beans. After so dangerous a voyage, 
 with such fatigues and so many fears, they arrived at last 
 at this unknown shore. On seeing a plant called Li-ho- 
 ts'ai, they were convinced that they were indeed in China. 
 This plant was a proof of it, although they met no men 
 nor any traces of men. Some thought they were all near 
 Canton. Others thought Canton was long passed. No 
 one knew what part of the coast they had reached. 
 
 Going ashore in a boat they met two hunters, and Fa- 
 hien was employed to interpret. From them they found 
 that they were in Ts'ing-cheu in the province now known 
 as Shan-tung, and on the north side of the promontory in 
 the Gulf of Pe-chi-li. From this point the merchants 
 found their way to Yang-cheu, and Fa-hien to the capital, 
 Ch'ang-an. This was in the year A.D. 414. 
 
 The student has also at his command — A Catena of 
 Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese, by Samuel Beal; 
 and The Romantic Legend of Sdhja Buddha, by the same. 
 
 The work of Schott, Uher den Buddhaismus in Hoch 
 Asien und in China, contains much valuable information 
 on the contents of Chinese Buddhist books. Written in 
 1846, it was anterior to the clear drawing of the boun- 
 dary between Northern and Southern Buddhism by 
 Burnouf, and also preceded by several years the publica- 
 tion of Spence Hardy's works on Singhalese Buddhism, 
 viz., Eastern Monachism (1840), and Manual of Buddhism, 
 
 (1843)- 
 
 He says of Nirvana that it is the emptiness which every 
 intellectual object will include in itself when liberated. 
 
 ^ Lau-shan is near Kian-cheu, latitude •^'3'', east longitude s" 25'. The port 
 of Kiaucbeu exports folt lititH, umbrellus, fruit, aud cabbages to Shanghai. 
 
 I 
 
WRITINGS OF PA LLA DIUS. 41 1 
 
 In so far the Nirvslna is like the original being, before 
 each creative act ; but it differs from the original essence 
 in this, that all forms of life and matter come out of the 
 original essence, but cannot come from the Nirvana ; be- 
 cause nothing can come from it, and it is incapable of 
 having in it any individuality, mental or material. 
 
 To the genuine disciple of the Buddhist teaching, to 
 put himself under the mystic and heaven-sent guide to 
 the Nirvana, is the al'pha and omega of his efforts. Just 
 so to the genuine follower of Confucius, to hold office, to 
 serve the emperor, and become a cabinet minister or 
 censor, constitute his great earthly aim. 
 
 Our author points out, with great correctness, the rela- 
 tion of Tauism to Buddhism. Buddhism has borrowed 
 nothing from Tauism, while Tauism has borrowed much 
 from Buddhism. 
 
 After his description of Chinese Buddhism, Schott has 
 added a translation of a work of the school of the Tsing- 
 tu or " Peaceful land." This work is also illustrated fully 
 with not^s by the translator. It is a well-selected example 
 of current Buddhist teaching in China. 
 
 The reader of the Tsing-tu-wen (that is the name of the 
 book translated) is informed by the native author, that he 
 is not to expect advantage only in the future life from his 
 study of the books of the school of the Peaceful land. 
 They are adapted to benefit him in the present life by 
 transforming him into what the book represents as a good 
 Buddhist. 
 
 The late learned archimandrite Palladius, resident for 
 many years in Peking as a member of the Kussian Eccle- 
 siastical Mission, was a profound student of Chinese 
 Buddhism. The result of his very extensive reading was 
 embodied in two papers printed in the " Researches of 
 the Members of the Russian Mission in Peking." One is 
 a " Life of Buddha ; " the other describes the subsequent 
 philosophical development of Buddhism, These "Re- 
 searches " have been translated into German. 
 
412 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 The Hand-hook for tJie Student of Chinese Buddhism, by 
 Dt, E. J. Eitel/ is a dictionary of proper names, dogmas, 
 and Buddhist terms generally, arranged alphabetically. 
 The student of Buddhism obtains in this work an impor- 
 tant help to his studies. The author has devoted great 
 attention to this subject, and has, in addition to his own 
 investigations, here placed within reach of his readers, 
 many contributions from the immense learning in this 
 department, of Julie n, Burnouf, and Koeppen. 
 
 Buddhism is not so powerful in China as to cause alarm 
 to the Christian missionary, in view of the coming struggle 
 which he anticipates. But the history of its introduction, 
 and the nature and extent of the influence it has produced 
 on the Chinese mind and literature, are extremely interest- 
 ing subjects. The Hindoo missionaries tried hard to bring 
 the Chinese to accept the mythology and religious doctrines 
 of their country at the time when it was Buddhist. Their 
 translations abound in Sanscrit words, which it was hoped 
 the Chinese would learn, but this they failed to do. Names 
 of things as well as names of persons, words expressive of 
 doctrines, abstract names, classes of mythological beings, 
 adjectives, arithmetical and astronomical expressions, and 
 many long compound terms are imported in full into the 
 Chinese text. To explain them glossaries were prepared. 
 But they expected more zeal and perseverance in their 
 Chinese neophytes than they have shown, and the conse- 
 quence is that the glossaries are not looked at, and the 
 Sanscrit names are passed over by the reader of the 
 Chinese texts as an abracadabra which he is glad to miss. 
 
 Buddha's heart is, for example, spoken of as Aunt- 
 tara samyak sambSdhi, pronounced in the era of the 
 Hindoo translations, A-no-ta-la sam-mo sam-ho-di. An is 
 the negative, uttara is " superior ; " sam means " perfect," 
 "good," "same;" samyak is given in the Sanscrit dic- 
 tionary, " all," " wholly," " fitly." BSdhi is " intelligence," 
 
 1 This acconnt of Dr. Eitel'g book is reprinted from the Chinese Recorder, 
 where it api>eai-ed in 1871 as a review. 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
HAND-BOOK OF CHINESE BUDDHISM. 413 
 
 " the intellect," " the holy fig-tree," " knowledge of Grod," 
 and as an adjective, "wise;" etymologically it is "that 
 which distinguishes ; " that is, " the intellect," and hence 
 " that which is distinguished," " doctrine," " the object of 
 the highest study." From this has come the title Buddha 
 the " perceiver," " the sage." 
 
 Whoever will study Buddhism, must know what these 
 and other such words mean; and Dr. Eitel's object has 
 been to provide a handbook in which a mass of informa- 
 tion has been collected, adapted to aid the inquirer. In 
 this instance he must look under the words Anuitara and 
 Bddhi. If he is reading a Chinese Buddhist production, 
 he must first consult the Chinese index at the end of the 
 volume. This mode of using the Sanscrit- Chinese Dic- 
 tionary is a little cumbrous, but perhaps it is preferable 
 to the perpetuation in a work of this kind of the Mandarin 
 pronunciation, as given in Morrison, Wade, and other 
 authors. Sanscrit books having been translated fourteen 
 centuries ago, the powers of the Chinese characters which 
 represented Hindoo words have changed in the mean- 
 time. As Dr. Eitel justly remarks : " To the language 
 then spoken in China no modern Chinese dialect comes 
 nearer in sound than the very Sanskrit or Pali forms 
 themselves." 
 
 The difficulty might be met, if we had a dictionary of 
 Chinese words with the ancient and modern pronuncia- 
 tions arranged in succession, as in K*ang-hi, but in a more 
 complete form than in that work. For example, if in 
 Morrison's Syllabic Dictionary, under the syllable Fuh, 
 between the character and the meanings were inserted 
 "old sound. But; Amoy, Put; Nanking, Fuh ; Peking, 
 Fo ; " every one would thus be in a position to know what 
 the old sounds of the characters are. It would then 
 be feasible to compile a Chinese- Sanscrit, instead of a 
 Sanscrit-Chinese, dictionary. 
 
 But as the student of Chinese must also learn to consult 
 works arranged according to the radicals, like Kang-hi 
 
414 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 itself, Dr. Eitel's arrangement of the dictionary forms no 
 bar to its usefulness. 
 
 Among the longer and more valuable articles in this 
 work are those on Kwan-yin or " Avalokites'vara," 
 Buddha or " S'akyamuni," " Samadhi," " Sanskrita/' " Na- 
 ga," " Mandjus'ri," " Amitabha," " Dhyana," " Nagar- 
 djuna," " Naraka," " Triratna," " Nirvana," and " Trikaya." 
 The spelling here given is that of an author who, some- 
 what oddly, has followed the French orthography in writing 
 the Sanscrit sounds ch, sh, and J. 
 
 The best key to the understanding of Buddhism is to 
 be found in the study of the life of its founder. In 
 Shakyamuni himself humanity is first seen, then divinity. 
 A young prince, handsome, strong, heroic, surrounded by 
 pleasures, and tempted by the most brilliant worldly 
 prospects, is deeply affected by observing the miseries of 
 human life. He becomes a changed man, forsakes his 
 father's palace for a hermit's cell, practises and then 
 teaches a rigid asceticism, and dies at eighty, after a long 
 career occupied partly with the instruction of a numerous 
 band of disciples, and partly with extatic contempla- 
 tion. He is deified at the moment of death ; that is, his 
 disciples elevate him to the summit of humanity, honour 
 him as the best of teachers, and announce that he is for 
 ever rescued from the revolutions of life and death. He 
 has entered the Nirvana, and when his body has been 
 burned, the sharira, or small reddish residuum, is honoured 
 as a sacred relic possessing marvellous powers, and over 
 it a pagoda must be erected. 
 
 Such a phenomenon — a great and disinterested mind, 
 founding the monastic institute, and teaching multitudes 
 of both sexes and every caste the escape from sorrow to 
 the eternal rest of the Nirvana — was sufficient in the con- 
 dition of Hindoo society, as it was two centuries before 
 the expedition of Alexander, to account for the early 
 history of Buddhism. In his account of Kwan-yin 
 (Aval6kitesh*vara) our author has gone too far, when he 
 
KWAN-SHI'YIN. 415 
 
 supposes there was a Chinese divinity of this name before 
 the introduction of the Mahayana into China. Nothing 
 is easier than to attach to the imaginary former lives of 
 the great Bodhisattwas, any incidents of old biography in 
 any age or country, of a marvellous kind, and adapted to 
 be, in the Buddhist sense, edifying. Such incidents were 
 ascribed by the Chinese Buddhists to the presence of 
 Kwan-yin, nearly as in the Earl of Beaconsfield's Lothair 
 the opportune arrival of a Koman shopkeeper's wife, 
 who shows a benevolent interest in the welfare of that 
 hero, is believed by the pope and his cardinal to be an 
 appearance of the Virgin Mary. Hence the author of that 
 romance sarcastically describes Lothair as being for a 
 time, in the opinion of every one in Kome, high and low, 
 "the most favoured man in this century;" yet the net 
 failed to entrap him through his want of faith. 
 
 Kwan-yin " looks on " Qcwan) " the region " {shi) of suf- 
 ferers whose " voices " {yin) of many tones, all acknow- 
 ledging misery and asking salvation, touch the heart or^ 
 the pitiful Bodhisattwa. She looks with a thousand 
 eyes that she may see them all, and stretches out a 
 thousand arms that she may save them all. 
 
 Kumarajiva himself adopted the name Kivan-sh'i-yin. 
 The translators of the T'ang period, two centuries later, 
 brought to view the true etymology as given by our 
 author, but they did not succeed in changing the course 
 of the legend or the name of the divinity. Kumarajiva 
 preferred the more popular and edifying designation. The 
 two meanings, Kwan-tsi-tsai and Kwan-shi-yin, doubtless 
 existed together in Kumarajiva's country, Cashmere, just 
 as afterwards in China. The Mahayana doctrine had 
 prevailed there already for nearly two hundred years, 
 from the time of Nagarjuna, given in the Hand-hook, a.d. 
 194. 
 
 The remarkable extension of the Mahayana literature 
 {Hwa-y en-king, Fa-hwa-king, &c.) in Cashmere, Kashgar, 
 Balkh, and what is now Cabul, aided by the conversion 
 
4i6 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 to Buddhism of the Indian Getse, the Yuer-ii of Chinese 
 history, renders the dialects there spoken early in the 
 Christian era important for the determination of the 
 language employed by the first Hindoo missionaries in 
 China. 
 
 Our author says the Pali was first used, and afterwards 
 the Sanscrit. It would be more correct to say that the 
 Magadha dialect was first used, then the dialect of Northern 
 India, such as was spoken in Cashmere, and afterwards 
 the Sanscrit. In the Han dynasty, under Ming-ti, Kashiap- 
 madanga, who came from Magadha, the modern Bahar, 
 used the dialect of that country, which differed from the 
 Pali among other things in retaining from Sanscrit the 
 letter sh} If Kashiapmadanga, the most ancient of 
 the translators, had chosen Chinese words whose initial 
 was s to write the Sanscrit Shramana and Kashiapa, it 
 mij^rht be said that he used the Pali.^ In the " Sutra 
 of Forty-two Sections" he used Sha-men, and thus ori- 
 ginated that name, to be used ever after as the designation 
 of the members of the Buddhist community in China. 
 For Kashiapa he wrote Ka-shiap. 
 
 The second era of translators, a.d. 400, was that of 
 Kumarajiva of Cashmere. There can be no doubt that 
 he made use of sh and s as separate letters, for he never 
 confounds them in his choice of Chinese characters. The 
 Chinese words already introduced by his predecessors lie 
 did not alter, and in introducing new terms required in 
 the translation of the Mahay ana literature (Ta-ch'eng), 
 or " Greater Development," he uses sh for sh, and usually 
 b for V. Thus the city " Shravasti " was in Pali Savatthi, 
 and in Chinese Sha-ba-ti. Probably Kumarajiva himself, 
 speaking in the Cashmere dialect of Sanscrit, called it 
 SJmhati. 
 
 Two centuries later, the fashion of close adherence to 
 Sanscrit came into use under the leadership of Hiuen- 
 
 ^ See Burnouf and Lassen's Essai nur It Pali. 
 ' The Pali forms are Samana, Kassapa. 
 
 \ 
 
samAdhi—paramita. 417 
 
 tsang. For example, instead of Bi-k'u, which is like the 
 Pali Bhikkhu (probably also found in the Magadha lan- 
 guage), Bit-ch'u was written, evidently with the intention 
 of restoring the Sanscrit sh. Our author gives a different 
 reason. 
 
 The great value of such a guide as this Hand-hook in the 
 study of Chinese Buddhism will be understood by the 
 student, when he finds that almost all the important words 
 in doctrine and biography are here traced to their Sanscrit 
 originals, and explained with the aid of recent European 
 criticism. Thus Ho-shang, the most popular term for 
 " Priest," is Upadhydya, the president of an " assembly," 
 or sangha. The " Three Precious Ones " are Buddha, the 
 personal teacher; Dharma, the Law or body of doctrine ; and 
 Sangha, the Priesthood. The term sam-mei is explained 
 as the " samadhi " of the original Sanscrit. " Samadhi 
 signifies the highest pitch of abstract ecstatic meditation, 
 a state of absolute indifference to all influences from 
 within or without, a state of torpor of both the material 
 and spiritual forces of vitality, a sort of terrestrial Nir- 
 vana consistently culminating in total destruction of life. 
 ' He consumed his body by Agni (the fire of) Samadhi ' 
 is a common phrase." 
 
 The expression Tau-pi-an, "Arrival at that shore," is 
 explained as the Chinese equivalent of Paramita, embrac- 
 ing the six means of passing to the Nirvana. These are — 
 I. " Charity " (or giving), Ddna; 2. " Morality," Shila (good 
 conduct); 3. "Patience," Kshdnti ; 4. "Energy," Virya; 
 5. " Contemplation," i^Ay^Tia ; 6. " Wisdom," Pra/na. 
 
 In the account of Nirvana, Dr. Eitel touches on a sub- 
 ject of great interest, namely, the expectation of immor- 
 tality asserting itself in Buddhism, in spite of the over- 
 whelming influence of a metaphysical system adverse alike 
 to the belief in God and to that in immortality. Shakya- 
 muni said in his last moments, "The spiritual body is 
 immortal." But he said just before, " All you Bikshus, do 
 
 2 D 
 
4i8 CHINESE BUDDHISM. 
 
 not be sad. If I lived in the world for a kalpa, on arriv- 
 ing at the time I must still be annihilated. Not to leave 
 you when the hour has arrived is impossible. In gaining 
 benefit one's-self, others are benefited. The system of 
 doctrine is already perfect. Should I live longer, it would 
 be of no benefit to you. All that were to be saved, whether 
 in the paradises of the Devas, or in the world of mankind, 
 have already been saved. As to those who have not been 
 saved, the causes which will ultimately lead to their salva- 
 tion have already been put in operation. From this time 
 forward I exhort you, my disciples, to expand, explain, 
 and propagate my doctrine, and thus " (here follows our 
 author's quotation) " the ' spiritual body ' (fa-shen) of 
 Ju-lai will be constantly present, and will not be anni- 
 hilated at all." 
 
 Much cannot be built on this passage from the " Sutra 
 of the dying instructions of Buddha," but Dr. Eitel is 
 quite right in arguing the continued existence of the 
 Buddhas from their occasional reappearance after death 
 for the salvation of living beings, and also from the dogma 
 of the " Western Paradise." 
 
 AVhy, in his article on Dhyana, the author has omitted 
 any reference to the Ch'an-men does not appear. He has, 
 however, given an account of the twenty-eight patriarchs, 
 the last of whom, Bodhidharma, introduced into China 
 the Buddhist sect called the Ch'an-men, which has played 
 in some respects the same part in China that the Jainas 
 did in India. It has almost supplanted the original Bud- 
 dhism, and has always made much of the esoteric deposit 
 of doctrine and its transmission along with the robe and 
 rice bowl from patriarch to patriarch. The meaning of 
 the names, however, differs. Jaina means " the conqueror," 
 while dhydna, the Indian prototype of the Chinese dan, 
 later ch'an, signifies " meditation." 
 
 In the notice of the nagas there are some interesting 
 references to " serpent " worship, that very widespread 
 
WATTERS ON CHINESE BUDDHISM. 419 
 
 and ancient superstition, which seems to have originated 
 in the first ages, and to have spread from the Babylonian 
 region to the most widely separated countries. The stones 
 of Avebury in Wiltshire, not far from Stonehenge, retain 
 the serpentine shape in which the Druids, or the prede- 
 cessors of the Druids, arranged them. The Hebrew nahash, 
 Gaelic narar, and English " snake," are word-forms which 
 preserve the old idea ; and the account of the temptation 
 in Genesis furnishes us with a probable origin for the 
 traditions of serpent worship among various nations. 
 
 In Eastern Asia the nagas were looked on as well 
 disposed. Hence the Birmese confound them with the 
 devaTis, while the Chinese regard them as good and power- 
 ful and call them lurig, the Greek drakon, and the German 
 schlange. 
 
 On the six paths of transmigration the reader will 
 find information under the heads Gdti, FrStas, A sura, 
 AmSgha, &c. 
 
 But it is time to stop. Buddhism is a subject which 
 easily ramifies into so many directions, that it is necessary 
 to limit these remarks. 
 
 Mr. Watters' papers on Chinese Buddhism have been 
 already referred to, in the sketch of the history of Chinese 
 Buddhism in an early part of this volume. They contain 
 a historical summary of Chinese Buddhism, an account of 
 the Buddhas, and a sketch of the Confucianist opposition. 
 
 Dr. Eitel's valuable Three Lectures on Buddhism, and 
 an article by him on the " Nirvana of Chinese Buddhism," 
 in the Chinese Recorder, June 1 870, should be consulted by 
 the student. 
 
 In " Buddhism in China," by Rev. S. Beal, the reader 
 will find much to interest. Mr. Beal believed in the 
 Persian influence which produced the legend of Amitabha, 
 and in the Sabean origin of Sukhavati (Socotra), the island 
 of the blessed. In this he is right. 
 
 The works of Sir Monier WilUams and Dr. Ehys Davids 
 on Buddhism generally are the productions of writers of 
 
420 
 
 CHINESE BUDDHISM, 
 
 great erudition and long experience. They naturally tlirow 
 valuable light on Chinese Buddhism from the Indian side. 
 Sir Edwin Arnold's " Light of Asia " is a charming poem, 
 which has made Buddhist thought familiar to many readers 
 who knew nothing of it before. Some works from Pali 
 have been translated in the " Sacred Books of the East." 
 Such is the number of new publications on the subject of 
 Buddhism, that it is evident the reader has it in his power 
 to obtain a thorough knowledge of this religion. He can 
 test for himself how^ far it softens manners and teaches 
 kindness, encourages faith in the supernatural, and testifies 
 to the vanity of the world ; at the same time he will learn 
 that for the revelation of moral evil and its remedy, of God 
 and of immortality, Buddhism makes no effort that can for 
 a moment compare with the work whicli Christianity has 
 done for mankind. 
 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF PROPER NAMES 
 AND SUBJECTS. 
 
 A-CHA-iii-TA, 399. See Achdrya, A-je- 
 
 /t, and 0-che-li-ye. 
 Ach4rya (A-che-li), 35, 399- See A-jc- 
 
 li, A-cka-li-ya, and 0-che-li-ye. 
 Ach'obhya, 234, 236, 279, 281. 
 Adam, 14. 
 Adam's Peak, 38, 
 J^Inesidemus, 312. 
 Afghanistan, 21, 60, 61, 91, 117, 135, 
 
 322, See Oeke. 
 Agama period, 51. 
 Age of Wise men, 222. See Hien 
 
 kalpa, and Mahahtuidra-kalpa. 
 Ajatashatru, 15, 31, 52, 64, 215. 
 Ajeli, 133. 
 A-je-li, 291, 292. See Achdrya, 
 
 A-cha-li-ya, and 0-che-li-ye. 
 Akanit'a, 224. 
 Alabaster, Mr. H., 249. 
 A-la-lian, 311, 401, see Arhan, 
 
 Arhans, Lo-han, and Lo-hans. 
 Aleni, Julius, 121. See Ngai Ju-lio. 
 Alexander the Great, 67, 249, 322, 
 
 342, 414. 
 Alexius Comnenus, 117. 
 Aliyin, 145. 
 Alopen, 117. 
 Altai mountains, 214. 
 Amida Buddha, 171-174, 208. See 
 
 Amitabha Buddha. 
 Amitabha Buddha, 198, 208, 209, 233, 
 
 234, 236, 246, 261, 262, 273, 279, 
 
 281, 414. See Amida Buddha. 
 Amitabha Paradise, 233, 235. 
 A-mi-toFo, 171, ^QQ Amida Buddha. 
 A-mo-ga bad-ja-ra, 399. See Amogha 
 
 and 0-mo-k'ia po-che-lo. 
 
 Amogha, 125, 133, 399, 419 ; algo 
 called Amogha Vajra. See 0-mo- 
 kHa po-che-lo and A-mo-ga bad- 
 ja-ra. 
 
 Amoy (dialect), 413. 
 
 Amravati, 287. 
 
 Anagam, 182, 311, 401. See Ana- 
 gamin. 
 
 Anagamin, 69, 311. See Anagam. 
 
 Anagamins, 225. 
 
 Ananda, 13, 36, 37, 42-45, 49, 52-54, 
 57, 64-66, 68, 70, 71, 106, 168, 232, 
 241, 243, 248, 276, 291-3CXJ. See 
 0-nan. 
 
 Andthapindada, 296. See Andtha- 
 pindika. 
 
 Anithapindika, 295, 296. See And- 
 thapindada. 
 
 Anaxagoras, 342. 
 
 Anaximander, 342, 
 
 Anaximenes, 341. 
 
 An-fu (Palace of darkness), 353, 357. 
 See Naraka. 
 
 An-hwei, 139. 
 
 An-lo-yen-sheu-tang, 254. 
 
 An-shi-kau, 280. 
 
 An-si, 108, 150, 280, See Arsce. 
 
 Antony, 257, 
 
 An-tsien (Secret arrow), 338. 
 
 Anuruddha, 53, 56, 57. 
 
 Apsaras, 216. 
 
 Arabic language, 335, 405. 
 
 Arabians — Arabs, 117, 405. See 
 Ta-shih. 
 
 Aranya, 20. See Aranynka. 
 
 Aranyaka, 231. See Aranya. 
 
 Arara, 24. 
 
422 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Aratan, 92. 
 
 Arhan, 28, 29, 32, 53, 58, 66, 69, 79-81, 
 
 182, 184, 264, 276, 290, 311. See 
 
 A-la-han and Lo-han. 
 Arhans, 28, 31, 58, 64, 65, 68, 76, 
 
 138, 184, 185, 214, 241-245, 248, 
 
 263, 264, 291, 297, 304, 311. See 
 
 A-la-han and Lo-hans. 
 Aristotle, 342. 
 Arsse, 108. See An-si. 
 Aryan personification, 355. 
 Asengha, 132, 169, 278, 279. See 
 
 Wu-cho. 
 Ashdka, 13, 22, 31, 58, 59, 69, 83, 
 
 104-107, 215, 273, 277, 278, 282, 
 
 283, 404. See A-yo. 
 Ashwagosha, 74, 278. See Ma-ming. 
 Asia, 3, 28, 356. 
 Asiatic countrieg, 90, 409 ; fetishism, 
 
 41; monkish establishments, no; 
 
 speculator, 166; world, 60. 
 Asita, 71. 
 Asura, 115, 419. See Sieu-lo {Su- 
 
 la). 
 Asuras, 77^ 156, 195, 206, 214, 215, 
 
 217, 220, 310. 
 Augustus, 257; of the East, 118. 
 Avalokite, 262. See Avaldkitish- 
 
 wara. 
 Avalokiteshwara, 139, 208, 262, 266, 
 
 414. See Avalokite and Kwan- 
 
 yin. 
 Avatars, 156. 
 Avebury, 419. 
 Avichi naraka, 45, 196, 225. See 0- 
 
 •pi ti-yii. 
 A-yo, 104, 105, 107. See Aih6ka. 
 
 Babylon, 339, 363, 364. 
 
 Babylonia, 211. 
 
 Babylonian region, 418 ; view of 
 
 nature, 341. 
 Bactria, 343. 
 Baga, 192. 
 
 Ba-ga-vam, 120. See Bhagavat. 
 Bahar, 19, 31, 137, 215, 289, 416, See 
 
 Mofjadha. 
 Bai-sha-li, 403. See Vaishali. 
 Baishevu, 14. 
 
 Ba-la -men, 102. See Brahman. 
 Balkh, 415. 
 
 Banban, 104. 
 
 Baschpa, 147. See Pa-ho-si-pa. 
 
 Basel Mission, 366, 369. 
 
 Basiasita, 85, 156. 
 
 Baur, 166. 
 
 Beal, Rev. S., 3, 33, 107, 283, 287, 408, 
 
 410. 
 Benares, 4, 22, 24-28, 30, 42, 51, 75, 
 
 94. See Paranai. 
 Bengal, Bay of, 145. 
 Bengali, 362. 
 Berar, 42. See Kosala. 
 Bhadra, 109. 
 Bhadra-kalpa, 71. See Kalpa of the 
 
 Sages. 
 Bhagavat, 120, See Ba-ga-vam. 
 Bha,ishajyaguru Buddha, 208, 235. 
 
 See Yo-shi Fo. 
 Bha,ishajyarS,ja, 210. See Yo-wang 
 
 p^u-sa. 
 Bharhut, 287. 
 
 Bhikkhu, 417. See Bikshu. 
 Biba Buddha, 14. 
 Bi-ch'u, 120. See Bikshu and Bi- 
 
 k'u. 
 Bigandet, Bishop, 202. 
 Bi-ha-la-pa-la, 399. See Viharapalu 
 
 and Pi-ho-lo-po-lo. 
 Bikshu, 4, 17, 18, 35, 276, 315, 401. 
 
 See Bi-ch'u and Bi-k^u. 
 Bikshuni, 35. 
 Bikshus, 20, 21, 28, 30, 36, 45, 51, 54, 
 
 81, 214, 276, 277, 290, 292, 297, 307, 
 
 314, 417- 
 Bi-k'u, 120, 401, 417. See Bi-ch^u 
 
 and Bikshu. 
 Bimbasala, 31. See Vimba^dra. 
 Bimbisara, 15. See Vijnbasdra. 
 Bindnpala, 106. 
 B'ing-!in, 263, 
 Birmah, 171, 200-202, 2ti, 228, 370, 
 
 402. 
 Birmese, 202, 217, 419; chronology, 
 
 15 ; peninsula, 104, 145. 
 Bit-ch'u, 417. See Bikshu. 
 Black river, 255. 
 Black warrior, 337. 
 Blue dragon, 337. 
 Bod, 202. 
 Bodhi, 21, 37, 52, 53, 64, 401, 412, 
 
 413 ; tree, 14, 20, 22, 33, 104. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 423 
 
 Bodhidharma, 85, 86, 99, lOo, 102, 
 103, 105, 116, 129, 130, 140, 142, 
 152, 155-160, 170, 179, 198, 209, 247, 
 263, 373, 418. See Ta-mo. 
 
 Bodhirucbi, 131, 280, 399. See Bo-di- 
 lu-cki and P'u-Ci-lieu-chi. 
 
 Bodhisattwa, 7, 12, 22, 23, 39, 51, 97, 
 128, 132, 182, 183, 195, 196, 208- 
 210, 226, 227, 229, 233, 235, 236, 
 241-243, 246, 247, 263, 264, 279, 
 287, 310, 364, 396, 415. See Bosat 
 and P'a-sa. 
 
 Bodliisattwas, 19-22, 25, 36, 39, 43. 
 51, 128, 132, 135, 138, 139, 162, 169, 
 172, 186, 193, 197, 206-208, 211, 214, 
 223, 229-232, 234, 236, 237, 241, 
 244, 248, 254, 258, 261, 264, 265, 
 282, 290, 291, 384, 396, 40s, 415. 
 
 Bo-di, 401. See Bodhi. 
 
 Bo-di-lu-chi, 399. See Bodhiruchi 
 and P^u-tH-lieU'Chl. 
 
 Bokharia, 322. 
 
 Bonpa deities, 63. 
 
 Bosat, 5-7. See Bodhisattwa and 
 P^u-sa. 
 
 Bowring, Sir John, 107. 
 
 Brahma, 24, 36,55, 185, 215-217, 224, 
 243, 248, 285, 292, 293, 402. See 
 Fan-Vicn and Fan-tHen-wang. 
 
 Brahma heaven, 71, 79, 221, 264, 340. 
 See Brahma-Ioka. 
 
 BrahmachSji, 32, 53. 
 
 Brahnia-loka, 217. See Brahma hea- 
 ven. 
 
 Brahman, 27, 62, 78, 79, 85, 285, 286, 
 303 ; caste, 145, 225, 226 ; family, 
 61 ; maiden, 17, 225-227. 
 
 Brahmanical arithmetic, 123 ; books, 
 289; ideas, 402; literature, 118; 
 mythology, 21 ; persecution, 99 ; 
 rules of purity, 32 ; use of a word, 
 216; wisdom, 232. 
 
 Brahmanism, 84, 132, 145, 315. 
 
 Brahmans, 2, 17, 31, 73, yj, 86, 88, 
 190, 213, 285, 355, 402, 409 ; of pure 
 life, 83. See Fan-hing. 
 
 Brahmns, 215, 217, 220, 224. 
 
 Brass Buddha, 374-376. 
 
 Bread sect, 378. See Man-Veu-kiau. 
 
 Brilliant vapour, 347. See YaukH. 
 
 Brown, Dr., 313. 
 
 Budanandi, iii. 
 
 Buddha of wisdom unmoved, 231. 
 
 Buddhamitra, 71-74. 
 
 Buddhanandi, 71-73. 
 
 Buddha's bone, 58, 127, 135 ; chair, 
 118; father, 44; footstep, 135,256; 
 hair, 104, 135 ; heart, 412 ; image, 
 256 ; law, 39, 43, 48, 103 ; mou- 
 staches, 59 ; nature, 48 ; Northern 
 biographers, 38 ; power, 385 ; statue, 
 118; teaching, 47, 65, 79; tooth, 
 58, 135, 250, 256 ; true words, 41. 
 
 Buddhas of the ten regions, 37. 
 
 Buddhayasha, no. 
 
 Buddhistic character of embassies, 
 147; classics, 114; doctrine, 97; in- 
 scriptions, 265 ; system, 2; thought, 
 204 ; views, 356. 
 
 Buddojanga, 89, 108, 168. See Fo- 
 Vu-cheng. 
 
 Bunam, 104. See Siam. 
 
 Burger, Dr., 167. 
 
 Burnouf, Eugene, 2, 3, 12, 99, 100, 
 106, 107, 214, 229, 277, 278, 283, 
 315, 402, 404, 410, 412, 416. 
 
 But, 120, 399, 401, 413. See Fo. 
 
 Byzantine emperor, 116, 117. 
 
 Cabul, 42, 277, 322, 415. See Cophen 
 
 and Kipin. 
 Cadmus, 114. 
 Cambodia, 145. 
 Candahar, 67, 83-85, 100. See Oet<e 
 
 and Kipin. 
 Canton, 100, 114, 150, 289, 367, 409, 
 
 410 ; province, 126. 
 Cashmere, 72, 73, 83, 144, 256, 277, 
 
 290, 404, 415, 416. See Ka-shi-mi-lo. 
 Caspian Sea, 91. 
 Caucasus, 20. 
 Central Asia, 91, 190, 337 ; China, 
 
 400; India, 4, 44, 63, 70, 82, 84, 85, 
 
 88, 91, 195, 280, 289, 399, 401, 403; 
 
 kingdom, 44 ; philosophy, 184. See 
 
 Madhyamika. 
 Ceylon, 15, 36, 38, 39, 88, 91, 94, m, 
 
 132, 171, 189, 211, 228, 244, 248, 
 
 249, 277, 287, 402. See Lenga 
 
 Island. 
 Chai-tang, 328. 
 Ghai-wang, 269. See Prince of Fuel. 
 
424 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ch*a-kiau, 378. See Wti-wei-kiau. 
 
 Chakravarti, 22. See Whtd king. 
 
 Chaldeans, 332. 
 
 Ch'an, 129, 156, 401, 418. 
 
 Chandaka, 54. 
 
 Chandra, 214. 
 
 Chandragupta, io6, 256, 282. See 
 
 Yue-hu. 
 Chang K'ien, 88. 
 Chang Kung-kung, 374. 
 Chang Sien, 392. 
 Chang Tau-ling, 387-392 ; also called 
 
 Chang THen-shi. 
 
 Chang T'ien-ti, 391, 392. See Chang 
 
 Yi, Yii-hwang, Yii-hwang shang-ti, 
 
 Yii-hwang ta-tif Yii-kwang-ti, and 
 
 Yii-ti. 
 
 Chang Yi, 360. See Chang T'ien-ti. 
 
 Ch'aug-an, 89-91, 108, 109, 117, 119, 
 
 131, 410. See Si-anfu. 
 Chang-king si', 125. 
 Chang-pi-mo- wang, 159. 
 Ch'ang-ts'ien monastery, 105. 
 Ch'an-hio, 102. See Ch'an-men. 
 Ch*an-men, 102, 179, 418. See Ch'an- 
 hio. 
 
 Ch'an-shi, 129. 
 
 Ch'au kingdom, 89, 90. See Pe-chi- 
 li and Shan-si. 
 
 Chau-cheu, 126. 
 
 Chau-chivin, 255. 
 
 Che-kiang, 137, 178, 255, 275, 371. 
 
 Chen-cheu, 165, See Chen-ting fu. 
 
 Ch'en dynasty, 156, 179. 
 
 Chendaras, 291-293. 
 
 Ch'eng Ming-tau, 142, 360. 
 
 Ch'eng Yi-chwen, 142, 360. 
 
 Cheng-fa-yen-tsang, 63, 142. 
 
 Cheng-te period, 373, 377. 
 
 Ch'eng-tu, 390. 
 
 Ch'eng-hwang miau, 359, 361. 
 
 Ch'eng-hwang-ye, 358. 
 
 Cii6n-j6u fu, 388. 
 
 Chen-sing (planet Saturn), 211. 
 
 Ch'en-sing (planet Mercury), 211. 
 
 Chen-tan (China), 21, 92, 93. 
 
 Chen-ting fu, 165. See Chen cheu. 
 
 Chen-tsung, 136. 
 
 Cheu, 407. See Dharani. 
 
 Cheu dynasty, 16 ; emperors, 93, 129 
 family, 133 ; kingdom, 107. 
 
 Cheu Hiug, 391. 
 
 Cheu Kung, 322, 324. 
 
 Chi Fa-ling, no. 
 
 Ch'iau-ch'eu-ju, 401. See Godinia. 
 
 Chi-che, 172, 209. See Chl-k'ai. 
 
 Ch*i-cheu fu, 139. 
 
 Ch'ih-ch'eng (a hill), 175. 
 
 Chi'-hiii, 190. 
 
 Chi-k'ai, 41, 140, 156, 160, 170, 176- 
 
 182, 184, 186, 187. See Chl-che. 
 Chi-kian, 280. 
 Chi-kio, 171. 
 Chi-kung-ming, 108. 
 Chi-kwan system, 140, 172, 179, 181. 
 
 See THen-t'ai-kiau. 
 Ch*i-kwo, 239. See Dhritarashtra 
 
 and TH-to-lo-to. 
 Chi-li, 165. See Pe-cki-li. 
 Chi-lu-ka-ts*an, 280. 
 Chi-meng, 109. 
 Ch'in dynasty, 107. 
 China Branch of the Royal Asiatic 
 
 Society, 107, 120. 
 Ch'ing-ch'ia, 121. ^qq Ganges, Gang- 
 
 pa, and Heng. 
 Chi-p'an, 58, 72, 73, 85, 157, 160. 
 Chitsin, 108. 
 Ch'i-tun, 168. 
 Chi-yau, 280. 
 Chosroes I., 116, 117. See K'u-sa-ha 
 
 and Nushirvan.—Il. ,117. See Jen- 
 
 ki. 
 Chu Fo, 261. See Kwan-yin. 
 Chu fu-tsi, 38, 325, 361. See Chu Hi. 
 Chu Hi, 152, 288, 360-362. See C/iU 
 
 fu-tsi. 
 Chu Si-hing, 109. 
 Chu-dharma-lan, 280. 
 Chu-dharmaraksha, 280. 
 Chufahu, 109. 
 
 Chu-falan, 107, 168, 280, 400. 
 Chu-hung, 171. 
 Chu-liii-yen, 280. 
 Chiimen (a moving star), 346. 
 Chunda, 50. 
 
 Chung-tsung (emperor), 275. 
 Chun-ti, 208. 
 
 Church Missionary Society, 377. 
 Chuaan, 139 ; archipelago, 267. 
 Chwang Cheu, 381. 
 Colebrooke, H. T., 2, 308-310, 313. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 425 
 
 Comte, 141. 
 
 Confucian, 97, 98; classics, 112; 
 doctrine, 194, 319, 323 ; element of 
 feng-shui, 339, 345 ; historian, 99, 
 105, III, 129; mandarins, 125, 130, 
 131 ; memorialists, 151 ; preju- 
 dices, 136 ; reasoning, 98 ; religion, 
 152 ; system, 200, 325 ; worship, 
 
 393- 
 Confucianism, 201, 203, 320, 386, 
 
 389. 393i 396, 397. 
 
 Confucianist, 200, 202, 326, 351, 352, 
 35S> 357 ; commentary, 125 ; criti- 
 cism, 20X ; historian, 148 ; moun- 
 tain, 159 ; opposition, 419 ; view, 
 200. 
 
 Confucianists, 95, 116, 122, 127, 194, 
 202, 203, 288, 321, 325, 345, 355, 
 
 360, 370, 379, 381. 
 
 Confucius, 37, 55, 96, 98, 114, 131, 
 
 i43» 153, 200, 202, 258, 269, 270, 
 
 318-320, 323-325, 333, 350-352, 
 
 361, 4CX), 411. 
 
 Conqueror of the Dragon, 171. See 
 
 Lung-sheng and Nagarjuna. 
 Constans II., 117. See Pa-ta-Hk. 
 Constantine, 397. 
 Constantinople, 116. 
 Cophen, 42, no, 150, 280. See 
 
 Cabul and Klpin. 
 Corea, 114, 132, 146, 178, 357. 
 Corean letters, 115; river, 357; 
 
 transliteration, 400. 
 Coreans, 114. 
 Council of Cashmere, 229, 274 ; 
 
 fourth do. , 404 ; Pataliputra, 273, 
 
 282. 
 Cousin, M., 312, 315. 
 Csoma Korosi, 230. 
 Cyrus, 31. 
 
 Dabadaka, 280. 
 
 Dahse {Dai-he), 88, 89. See Ta-hia. 
 
 Dalai Lama, 266. 
 
 Daluchi, 123. 
 
 Da-la-ni, 132. See Dharani and To- 
 
 lo-ni. 
 Dan, 129, 155, 401, 418. SeeDhyana, 
 D&na (Charity), 417. 
 Dardu, 256. 
 Daiaratha, 287. 
 
 Daughter of the Dragon king, 242. 
 
 See Lnng-nu. 
 Deer garden, 51. See Lu-ye-yaen 
 
 and Mrigadava. 
 De Guignes, J., 117. 
 Demon, 75, 76, 115, 217, 226, 347, 356. 
 Demons, 39, 52, 53, 93, 206, 217, 219, 
 
 227, 228, 255, 270, 310, 335, 338, 
 
 343, 350, 355-357, 377, 382, 383, 
 
 387-390, 395, 396. 
 Deva, 17, 23, 53, 77, 115, 190, 192, 
 
 206, 207, 214, 225, 240, 279, 362. 
 
 See THen — paradises, 18, 21. 
 Deva-loka (Deva world), 362. 
 Devanagari, 137, 406. 
 Devaus, 419. 
 Devas, 24, 25, 28, 39, 40, 56, 58, 70, 
 
 77, 115, 158, 172, 190, 194, 197. 206- 
 
 208, 214-217, 220, 223, 225, 343, 
 244, 248, 285, 310. 
 
 Devatas, 216. 
 
 Dharani, 53, 100, 132, 142, 399, 
 
 407. See Cheu, Da-la-ni, and To- 
 
 lo-ni. 
 Dharma, 28, 54, 56, 58, 64, 65, 69-73, 
 
 77, 81, 85, 86, 189, 260, 267, 377, 
 
 417. See Fa and Law. 
 Dharmaguptas, 118. See Fa-mipu. 
 Dharmakakala, 108. 
 Dharmanandi, no. 
 Dharmapara, 279. See Hu-fa. 
 Dharmaraksha, 109, no, 280. 
 Dharmaslioka, 282, 283. 
 Dharmati, 280. 
 Dharmayagama, no. 
 Dhritar&shtra, 216, 239, 285. See 
 
 Ch"i-kwo and TH-to-lo-to. 
 Dhyana, 129, 156, 414, 417, 418. See 
 
 Ch'an, Dan, Dian, and Djan. 
 Dhyana Buddhas, 132. 
 Dian, 401. See Dhyana. 
 Dipankara, 12, 210. See Jan-teng. 
 Discipline, 108, 109, n8, 147, 190, 
 
 209, 281, 287, See Lii and Vinaya. 
 Disraeli, B., 415. 
 
 Djan, 129. See Dhyana. 
 Do-nothing sect, 372. See Wu-wei- 
 
 kiau. 
 Dragon, 76, 133, 216, 263, 323, 328, 
 
 329, 333-335, 343, 347-349, 390- 
 See Lung and Naga. 
 
426 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Dragon kings, 58, 215 ; palace, 230, 
 
 279 ; tower, 347. See Lung-leu. 
 Dragon-horse, 323. 
 Dragon-king, 207. See Imng-wang 
 
 and Naga-raja. 
 Dragon-tree, 170, 210, See Lung-shu 
 
 and Nagarjuna. 
 Dragons, 39, 40, 216, 218, 261, 373, 
 
 391. See Nagas. 
 Dravida country, 279, 
 Drikata, 70, 71. 
 Druids, 419. 
 Dudgeon, Dr., 252, 272. 
 Duk'a, 27. 
 Dura, 256. 
 Durga, 220. 
 
 Dzin dynasty, 93, See Ts^iti dynasty. 
 Dzin-ba-da, 159. 
 Dzinlon, 108. 
 
 Eastern Asia, 419 ; Asiatics, 341 ; 
 Buddhas, 281; continent,2i6; India, 
 82, 85, 144 ; paradise, 279 ; Persia, 
 90, 108 ; provinces, 371 ; Thibet, 
 109; Ts'in, 89-91; Turkestan, 35. 
 
 Egypt, 339, 363, 364- 
 
 Eight faced Kwan-yin, 262. 
 
 Eitel, Dr. E. J., 6, 20, 31, 35, 39, 
 71-73. 125, 143, 160, 169, 170, 266, 
 278, 403, 412-414, 417-419- 
 
 Elburz mountain, 20. See Sumeru. 
 
 English critic, 313; language, 336, 
 355, 383, 388, 408, 419- 
 
 Ephesus, 341. 
 
 Esoteric branch, 158, 373 ; Buddhism, 
 142, 159 ; Buddhists, 231 ; deposit, 
 418; doctrine, 43, 63; element, 
 158; school, 141, 155, 160, 166; 
 system, 162 ; tradition, 161. See 
 Tsung-men. 
 
 Europe, 3, 123, 211, 325, 330, 340, 356. 
 
 European accounts, 355 ; astrono- 
 mers, 348 ; mticism, 417 ; fashion, 
 253 ; governments, 201 ; kings, 
 131 ; moralists, 193 ; schoohnen, 
 184; speculation, 166. 
 
 Europeans, 3, 117. 
 
 Exoteric branch, 373 ; Buddhism, 
 142, 168 ; Buddhists, 168 ; doctrine, 
 43 ; school, 141, 170 ; sects, 167 ; 
 teaching, 25. See Kiau-men. 
 
 Fa, 377. See Dharma and Law. 
 
 Fa-chi, 187. 
 
 Fa-hai si, 406. 
 
 Fa-hien, 16, 90, 91, 107, 109, 121, 
 
 150, 280, 287, 409, 410. 
 Fa-kii, 280. 
 Fa-lin, 16. 
 Fa-ling, 109. 
 
 Fa-mi-pu, 118. See Dharmagvptat. 
 Fan language, 402. See Sanscrit. 
 Fang-kwang monastery, 177. 
 Fan-hing, 83. See Brahmans of pure 
 
 life. 
 Fan-t'ien, 243. See Brahma. 
 Fan-t'ien, 217. See Brahma-Ioka. 
 Fan-t'ien-wang, 215, 217. See King 
 
 of the Brahma heaven and Maha' 
 
 brahma. 
 Fa- shun, 170. 
 Fa-siang-tsung, 170. 
 Fa-sing-tsung, 170. 
 Fa-t'ien-pen, 137. 
 Fa-tsang, 233. See Treasure of the 
 
 Law. 
 Fa-yen school, i6i. 
 Feng-shui, 135, 250, 251, 327, 329, 
 
 330, 332, 333» 338, 339» 343-345. 
 
 349-352, 393- 
 Feng-shui sien-sheng, 331. Sec Geo- 
 
 mancer. 
 Feng-tu ta-ti, 361. 
 Ferghana, 83. 
 Feringi, 117. 
 Fichte, J. T., 166. 
 Fo, 24, 383, 385, 399, 401, 413. See 
 
 But. 
 Fo-ku-piau, 126, 354. See Memorial 
 
 on the hone of Buddha. 
 Fo-ting shan, 264. 
 
 Fo-t*u-cheng, 168. See Buddojanga. 
 Foochow, 136. 
 Four great kings of Devas, 25, 44, 57, 
 
 207, 216, 223, 239, 241-245. See 
 
 Dhritardshtra, Vaishramana, Vi- 
 
 rudhaka, and Virupaksha, 
 FuYi, 115. 
 
 Fu-kien province, 114, 159. 
 Fu-lung feng, 177. 
 Fu-lung monastery, 180. 
 Full, 413. See Fo. 
 Fuh-hi, 374. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 437 
 
 Fuh-p»u, 374. 
 
 Fnlim, 116, 117. Sep Ferintjii. 
 
 Fung-siang fu, 126, 133. 
 
 French orthography, 414 ; philoso- 
 pher, 313 ; revolution, 236 ; ginolo- 
 gues, 6; translator, 215; writers, 4. 
 
 Gaelic language, 419. 
 
 Ga-lam, 245. See K'ia-lan. 
 
 Galle, 42, 248. 
 
 Gandhara, 278. 
 
 Gandharvas, 214-217. 
 
 Ganges, 4, 13, 15, 82, 117, iiS, 121, 
 
 i73> 234, 235, 291, 293, 403. See 
 
 ChHng-ch'ia, Gang-pa, and Heng. 
 Gang-ga, 121. See ChHng-ch^iat and 
 
 Ganges. 
 Garuda, 248. 
 Garudas, 215, 217. 
 Gatakana, 42. 
 Giti, 419. 
 
 Gaudama Prajnaluti, 303. 
 Gaudamara, 122, 
 Gaudamsenghadeva, 280. 
 Gaudarasiddha, 123, 21 r. 
 Gautama, 22, 120, 157, 207, 211, 228, 
 
 354. See Shaky amuni. 
 Gaya, 43- 
 Geomaucer, 328-337, 345, 347, 349. 
 
 See Feng-shui sien-»he7ig. 
 Geomancers, 346, 350. See Lung-kia. 
 Geomancy, 327, 329, 332, 343, 344, 
 
 35O1 352. See Feng-shui. 
 German language, 100, 411, 419. 
 Germany, 236. 
 Getae, 61, 75, 86, 88, 108, 109, 150. 
 
 See YiL€-ti and Afghanistan. 
 Gibhon, E., ii6-ii8-. 
 Gi-ja-ku-ta, 276. See Gridhrakuta. 
 Giles, H. A, 408. 
 
 Godam, 120, 248. See Gautama. 
 Goddess of Mercy, 209, 383. See 
 
 Kwan-yi7i. 
 Godinia, 27, 28, 42, 52, 53, 401. See 
 
 Ch^iau-eh^en-ju and Go-din-nia. 
 Go-din-nia, 401. See Ch^iau-ch'en-ju 
 
 and Godinia. 
 Gogerly, Rev. Mr., 287, 317. 
 Golden Mother, 377, 379. See Kin- 
 
 mu. 
 Grand c&nal» 165. 
 
 Great boar, 347, 350. See Pe-teu. 
 
 Great Bosat, 6. See Ma-ha-sat. 
 
 Great Development, 230, 277, 281, 
 283 ; books, 278, 406 ; class, 214, 
 230, 281 ; classics, 100 ; course, 
 109; school, 51, no, 118, 190, 281 ; 
 sutras, 99, 236, 279 ; system, 209. 
 See Mahayana and Ta-ch'eng. 
 
 Great Extreme, 320-322. See T'ai- 
 ki. 
 
 Great Vehicle, 279. See Great De- 
 velopment, Mahayana, and Ta- 
 ch^eng. 
 
 Greater Development, 19, 25, 38, 277, 
 289, 416. 8ee Great Development. 
 
 Greece, 3, 40, 202, 269, 339, 363. 
 
 Greek dates, 13; doctrine, 339, 340; 
 domination, 343 ; dragon, 333 ; 
 genius, 322 ; gods, 364 ; historian, 
 257 ; influence, 363 ; invasion, 403 ; 
 kingdom, 184; kings, 343; lan- 
 guage, 419 ; mind, 363 ; philoso- 
 phy, 343, 344, 397; race, 336; 
 sculpture, 249; view of nature, 
 341 ; word, 356. 
 
 Greeks, 267, 322. 
 
 Gridhrakuta, 57, 214, 276. See Gi' 
 ja-kv-ta. 
 
 Gulf of Pe-chi-li, 410. 
 
 Gunabadara, 280. 
 
 Gunabidi, 286. 
 
 Gutzlaff, Dr. K., 401. 
 
 Haklkna, 83, 84, 86. 
 
 Hamilton, Dr., 156. 
 
 Han dynasty, 16, 88, 113, 126, 171, 
 
 319, 321-324, 337, 339, 344, 350, 
 
 351, 382, 387-389, 416. 
 Han Wen-kung, 126, 127, 151, 319. 
 
 See Han Yii. 
 Han Yu, 126, 354. See Han Wen- 
 
 kung. 
 Hang-cheu, 143, 151, 171, i75, 249, 
 
 256, 27s, 358. 
 Hardy, Rev. Spence, 106, 169, 189, 
 
 217, 230, 244, 277, 317, 410. 
 Heavenly emperor, 391 . See T'ien-ti. 
 Hebrew language, 335, 419; name, 
 
 216. 
 Hei-lung-t'an, 335. 
 Heng, xai. See Gangei, 
 
428 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Heng, 240. See Hevg-ho-er-tsiang. 
 
 Heng-cheu, 159. 
 
 Heng-ho-er-tsiang, 240. See ffcng 
 and Ro. 
 
 Heng-shan, 159. 
 
 Heraclitus, 341, 342. 
 
 Hia dynasty, 16, 159. 
 
 Hiau-feng, 358. 
 
 Hiau Wu (emperor), 89. 
 
 Hien kalpa, 222. See Makabhadra- 
 kalpa. 
 
 Hien-sheu, 170, 171, 209. 
 
 Hien-tsung (emperor), 126, 127. 
 
 Hieou-thou, 88. 
 
 High Asia, 171. 
 
 Hi-k*iau, 160. 
 
 Himala (forest), 217. 
 
 Himalayas, 3, 18, 20, 92, 99, 193, 264, 
 400. 
 
 Hinayana, 38, 63, 277. See Siau- 
 ch'eng and Smaller Development. 
 
 Hindoo, 7, no, 169-171, 341 ; archi- 
 tecture, 363 ; arithmetic, 363 ; arts, 
 202 ; astronomy, 319, 363 ; author, 
 303 ; authors, 405 ; books, 364 ; 
 Buddhists, no, 112, 146, 209, 212, 
 
 282, 344, 404; cosmogony, 218, 282; 
 deities, 197 ; divinities, 215 ; gods, 
 197, 216, 220, 242, 264 ; hells, 363 ; 
 idea, 362 ; influence, 344 ; Jains, 
 157 ; king of death, 196 ; language, 
 403 ; Lo-hans, 249 ; mind, 9, 202, 
 364, 405 ; minds, 28 ; missionaries, 
 
 283, 412, 416 ; monastic societies, 
 19 ; mythology, 186, 198, 206, 207, 
 312, 214, 218-220, 223 ; name, 93, 
 218, 262, 363 ; nakshatras, 344 ; 
 nation, 228; nomenclature, 336; 
 notion, 363 ; notions, 197, 339 ; 
 origin, 353; original, 211; pan- 
 theon, i86; patriarch, 179 ; philo- 
 sopher, 313 ; philosophy, 323, 339, 
 341, 342, 363 ; phrases, 354, 362 ; 
 physics, 339 ; popular account, 194; 
 practice, 138 ; Pretas, 268 ; race, 3, 
 20, 202 ; religion, 202 ; sages, 14 ; 
 sects, 227 ; shape, 364 ; society, 
 414 ; symbol, 406 ; thought, 344 ; 
 translations, 412; translators, in, 
 374, 403; uniTcrse, 229 ; riew, 220 ; 
 words, 413; world, 3; worship, 320. 
 
 Hindoo Kush, 117. 
 
 Hindoos, 6, 13, 93, 99, 115, 122. 124, 
 
 146, 156, 172, 191, 213, 216, 217, 
 222, 229, 260, 268, 279, 309, 322, 
 
 339, 341, 342, 393, 394. 
 Hindostan, 3, 21, 213. 
 Hing-si, 160. 
 
 Hing-si-fang-fei-chi-ngo (school), 169. 
 Hippolytus, 332. 
 Hiuen-tsang, 40, 107, 116-121, 136, 
 
 147, 170, 171, 256, 262, 274, 275, 
 380, 289, 292, 296, 354, 401, 402, 
 404, 409, 416. 
 
 Hiuen-tsung (emperor), 132. 
 
 Hiung-er (mountain), 103, 
 
 Hiung-nu, 83, 255. 
 
 Ho, 240. See Heng-ho-er-tsiang. 
 
 Hodgson, Brian, H., 2. 
 
 Homer, 363, 364. 
 
 Ho-ming shan, 390. 
 
 Ho-nan province, 303. 
 
 Ho-nan fa, 99, 103, 109, 303. See 
 
 Lo-yang. 
 Hongkong, 120. 
 Hordern, Mr. P., 3oo, 202. 
 Hormouz, 117. See Shi-li. 
 Ho-shang, 35, 143, 269, 272, 315, 355, 
 
 417. See Upadhydya. 
 Hu T'o, 16. 
 Hue, Abbe, 139, 242. 
 Hu-fa, 279. See Dharmapara. 
 Hu-fa-wei-to, 240. See Veda and 
 
 Wei-to. 
 Hume, David, 312. 
 Hu-nan province, 159, 180. 
 Hung-fa-t'ang (temple), 263. 
 Hungry ghosts, 81, 125, 126, 132, 195, 
 
 196, 210, 218, 233, 268, 310. See 
 
 Yii-lan-p'en. 
 Hu-to (river), 165. 
 Hwai An-tsi, 350. 
 Hwai-jang, 160. 
 Hwai-nan-tsli, 321. 
 Hwai-neng, 160-162. 
 Hwa-kwang, 207, 347. 
 H\va-lo, 223. See jVanala paradise. 
 Hwa-shi, 74, 109. See Pataliputra. 
 Hwa-shie, 143. See Ho-shang. 
 Hwa-ting (mountain), 178. 
 Hwa-tsang universe, 265. 
 Hwa-yen (Bodhisattwa), 210. 
 
 I 
 
INDEX. 
 
 429 
 
 Hwa-yen doctrine, 19, 20, 26, 51, 281. 
 Hwa-yen ai (monastery), 407. 
 Hwang-cheu, 343. 
 Hwei-hwei word, 211. See Persian 
 
 fniigunffe. 
 Hwei-niang (school), 161. 
 Hwei sheng, 100. 
 Hwei-BJ, 170, 172. 
 Hwei-tsung (emperor), 142, 360, 
 Hwei-wen, 160, 171, 184. 
 Hwei-yuen, X71, 209. 
 
 I-DZi-zi, 117. See Yezdegerd. 
 
 Independent Tartary, 88. 
 
 India, 3, 9, 15, 20, 27, 29, 30, 32, 35, 
 40, 60, 77, 82, 83, 86-94, 100, lOI, 
 103 ,108, 109, 114, Ii6-ii8, 121, 129, 
 131. 137, 144, 145, 150. 156, 157, 
 
 166, 190, 207, 211, 212, 215, 220, 
 222, 230, 231, 239, 249, 250, 275, 
 277, 279, 280, 287, 289, 292, 313, 
 
 322, 339, 342, 344, 350, 354, 360, 
 363, 370, 391, 394, 402, 409, 418. 
 
 Indian, 89, 90, 109, 145; Buddhism, 
 144, 382 ; Buddhist, 89 ; Buddhists, 
 167 ; dialect, 120; geographers, 139 ; 
 geography, 139; Getae, 83,416; ideas, 
 344; kalpas, 342; king, 106; king- 
 doms, 35 ; kings, 40, 58 ; literature, 
 106 ; models, 134; monarch, 93; my- 
 thology, 1 1 : name, 92 ; numerals, 
 123; Ocean, 266 ; philosophers, 312; 
 philosophy, 319, 339, 344; Pluto, 
 21 ; priests, a, 108, 126 ; prototype, 
 418 ; race, 4 ; religion, i, 319 ; 
 sage, 89, 102 ; shastras, 323 ; spell- 
 ing, 319 ; statement, 86 ; states, 
 42; strangers, 113; titles, 142; 
 year, 212. 
 
 Indians, 2, 88, 92, 99, 145. 
 
 Indo-Chinese peninsula, 4, 202. 
 
 Indo-European mind, 322. 
 
 Indra Shakra, 20-22, 24, 45, 48, 49, 
 56, 58, 190, 195, 2IO, 214, 215, 243. 
 See Ti-shi. 
 
 Indus, 91, 117, 266, 267. 
 
 Ionian philosophers, 341 ; philosophy, 
 342. 
 
 lonians, 343. 
 
 Ishwara, 23, 214-216, 219, 234. 
 
 I-t'a-chi, 117, 
 
 I-tsnng (emperor), 130. 
 
 Jaina, 129, 156, 418. 
 
 Jainas, 418. 
 
 Jainism, 158. 
 
 Jains, 31, 156, 157. See Swaracs. 
 
 Jambu continent, 55, 93, 122, 225, 
 
 226. See Jambudvipa. 
 Jarabudvipa, 49, 56, 59, 216, 222. 
 Jam-ma-la-ja, 218. See Yama and 
 
 Yen-lo-wang. 
 Jam-ma-raja, 218. See Yama and 
 
 Yen-lo-wang. 
 Jan-teng, 12, 210, 241, 243. See 
 
 Dipankara. 
 Japan, 132, 146, 147, 163, 167, 214, 
 
 360, 386, 402. 
 Japanese, 4, 133 ; intercourse, 146 ; 
 
 narrative, 157 ; term, 355 ; trans- 
 literation, 400. 
 Java, 214, 239, 409. 
 Jaxartes, 116. 
 Jayata, 82. 
 Jebabada, 93. 
 Jehol, 266. 
 
 Jen-ki, 117. See Chosroes II. 
 Jen-tsung (emperor), 137, 138. 
 Jen-wang, 41. 
 Jesuit, 355. 
 
 Jeta, s, ax, 31, 45, 290, 292, 295-297. 
 Jetavana, 31, 49. 
 Jewish light, 37 ; scriptures, 14. 
 Ji-kwang-pien-chau, 235. 
 Jonah, 284. 
 Judaism, 37. 
 Judaea, 117, 202. 
 Ju-kiau, 382. 
 Julai, 4, 6-8, 12, 18, 34, 50, 51, 54, 
 
 75, 139, 207, 245, 293, 391, 418. 
 
 See Tathdgata. 
 Julien, Stanislas, 3, 93, 117, 289, 292, 
 
 399, 400, 402, 408, 412. 
 Jupiter (planet), 211. See Sui-sing. 
 Jyotishprabha (a Brahma), 215. 
 
 K*AI-FENG FU, 246. See Pien-ch'eng 
 
 and Pien-liang. 
 Kalashdka, 283. 
 Kalavingka, 290, 292. 
 Kalpa, II, 12, 14, 51, 71, 167, 196, 208, 
 
 2IO, 221, 222, 233, 261, 391, 417. 
 
430 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Kalpa of the Sages, 71. 
 
 Kalpas, II, 12, 71, 173, 195, 196, 221, 
 
 222, 227, 233, 234, 340, 342, 391. 
 Kalutanasi, 149. 
 Kanade, 310. 
 Kanadeva, 77-79. 
 Kan-do (country), 89. 
 K'ang-hi, 4, 152, 222, 261, 413. 
 K'ang-ku, 280. See Thxhtt. 
 K'ang-meng-ts'iang, 280. 
 K'anj^-seng-liwei, 280. 
 K'ang-seng-k'ai, 280. 
 Kanishka, 72, 257, 277, 283, 404. 
 Kan-lu, 132. 
 Kan-mu-lu, 149. 
 Kan-su province, 90, 93. 
 K'an-yii, 337. 
 Kapila (country), 78. 
 Kapila (a philosopher), 306, 312-314. 
 Kapilavastu, 15, 42, 94, 404. See 
 
 Kapili. 
 Kapili, 94. See Kapilavastu. 
 Kapimara, 76. 
 
 Karma (fate), 197, 203, 204, 27a, 332. 
 Kasha (priest's robe), 28, 31, 103, 249. 
 
 See Kashaya. 
 Ka-shap, 401. See Kashiapa. 
 Kashaya, 354. See Kasha. 
 Kashgar, 93, 143, 415. 
 Ka-shiap, 401, 416. See Kashiapa. 
 Kashiapa, 14, 21, 30, 31, 43, 55, 57, 
 
 58, 63-65, 81, 156, 241, 243, 248, 
 
 276, 277, 291, 293, 401, 416. See 
 
 Kia-she. 
 Kashiapmadanga, 16, 88, 107, 168, 
 
 280, 400, 401, 416. 
 Ka-shi-mi-lo, 144. See Cashmei'e. 
 Kftshyaplyas, 118. See Kia-she-pi- 
 
 ye-pu. 
 Kassapa, 416. See Kashiaj>a. 
 Kau Hwei-wen, 156, 160. 
 Kau-ch'aug (country), 109, 146. 
 Kau -ming monastery, 137, 176, 177. 
 Kaushambi (country), 49. 
 Kau-tsung (emperor), 143. 
 Ketu, 212, 344. See Kitu. 
 Khodin, 109. See Khoten and Uditi. 
 Khoten, 35, 109, 143. See Udin and 
 
 Yu-tian. 
 Ki (name of a star), 348. 
 Kia-hing, 275. 
 
 Kia-k'ing, 263. 
 K'ia-lan, 245. See Ga-lam. 
 Kia-pi-lo, 313. See Kapila. 
 Kia-sha, 354. See Kashaya. 
 Kia-she, 277, 401. See Kashiajxi. 
 Kia-she-pi-ye-pu, ii8. See KCtshya' 
 
 ptyas. 
 Kia-tsing, 151. 
 Kiai-hien, 169, 170. 
 Kiai-lii, 108. See Discipline and 
 
 Vinaya. 
 Kiai-t'an (altar), 35, 253. 
 Kiang T'ai-kung, 338. 
 Kiang-nan province, 109, 371. 
 Kiang-si province, 159, i6o, 264, 387, 
 
 388. 
 Kiau-cheu, 410. 
 Kiau-men, 72, 73, 141, 158, 167, r68. 
 
 See Exoteric branch. 
 Kie (emperor), 16. 
 Kie-tan, 114. 
 Kieu-hwa, 139, 247, 265. 
 Kieu-kiang, 264. 
 Kieu-lung-tien (hall), 261. 
 Kieu-mo-lo-shi, 168, 398, See Ku- 
 
 marajiva. 
 Ki-k'ing, 263 
 Ki-lo-shi'-kiai, 235. See Paradise of 
 
 Amitabha. 
 Kin dynasty, 137. See NU-chih 
 
 dynasty. 
 Kin-kang-chi, 169. See Vajramati. 
 Kin-kang-gat-wu, 169, See Vajra- 
 
 sattwa. 
 Kin-mu, 377, 378. See Golden 
 
 Mother, 
 Kinuaras, 207, 215, 216. 
 King, 41, 104, 108, 133, 168, 182, 275, 
 
 276, 279, 281, 377. See Sutra. 
 King of tbe Brahma heaven, 214. 
 
 See Fan-t*ien-vxitng. 
 Kipin, 67, 84, no, 150. See Canc/a* 
 
 har and Cophen. 
 Kitchen god, 207, 368. 
 Ki-tu, 212. See Ketu. 
 K'iung, 88. 
 
 Klaprotb, Julei, 12, 190, 191,200,408. 
 Koeppen, Fried., 15, 64, 256, 257, 
 
 401, 412. 
 Kosala, 31, 42, 404. See Berar and 
 
 Oude. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 431 
 
 Krishna, 197, 220. 
 
 Kshatrya, 85, 231, 291, 293. 
 
 Kshatry.is, 23 x, 292. 
 
 Kubaudas, 216. 
 
 Kublai khan, 147-149. 
 
 Kucha (country), 42, 
 
 Kiih Yuen, 318, 
 
 Kui-tsi (country), 90, 150. 
 
 Kulu (country), 42. 
 
 Kulusan (a Buddha), 14. 
 
 Ku-ma-la-zhip, 398. See Kumara- 
 
 jiva. 
 Kumarada, 81, 82. 
 Kumarajiva, 40, 41, 89-91, 108-110, 
 
 119, 120, 168, 171, 215, 262, 280, 
 
 283, 287, 398, 415, 416. 
 Kunashemuui (a Buddha), 14. 
 K'u-sa-ha, 117. See Chosroes I. and 
 
 Nushii'van. 
 Ku-shan, 16. 
 Kushinagara, 50, 52, 62, See Kuah- 
 
 inara. 
 Kuahinara, 42. See Kushinagara. 
 Kustana, 143. See Khoten. 
 Kii-yung kwan, 406. 
 Kwan-fu-tsi, 240. See Kwan-ti. 
 Kwang-fu-si (monastery), 241. 
 Kwang-ming, 171. 
 Kwaug-mu, 239. See Fi-lieu-pa-cha 
 
 and Virupakiha. 
 Kwang-ngo-tu-ri, 159. 
 Kwang-yin-t'ien, 340. See The fieaven 
 
 of brightness and sound. 
 Kwan-ahi-yin, ia8, 139, 150, 208, 214, 
 
 234, 262, 382, 415. See Kwan- 
 
 pin. 
 Kwan-ti, 207, 245, 247, 338, 393. 
 
 See Kwan-fu-tsi. 
 Kwan-tBi-tsai, 262, 415. See Ava- 
 
 lukitishwara and Kwan-yin. 
 Kwan-yin, 128, 163, 171, 208, 209, 
 
 236, 241, 242, 245, 246, 249, 250, 
 
 255., 258, 259, 261-367, 273. 370, 
 
 382-384^, 386. 409, 414, 415. See 
 
 AvalCkiteshtoara, 
 Kwan-yin-tien (hall), 245. 
 Kwei-ki, 170. 
 Kwo-hai Kwan-yin, 262, 
 Kwo-ts'iug monastery, 137, 176, 177, 
 
 180. 
 Kwun-lun (mountaina), 336. 
 
 Lahan, s. See Arhan and Lo-han. 
 La-hu, 344. See Lo-heu and Rahu. 
 Lai-cheu fu, 373. 
 Lama, 237, 259 ; monasteries, 266 ; 
 
 temples, 406. 
 Lamas, 152, 260, 262, 263, 270. 
 Lamaseries, 212. 
 Lamasery, 256. 
 Lan-chin, 132. 
 Land of Han, 409. 
 Landresse, C, 408, 
 Larger Development, 280. See Cheat 
 
 Development. 
 Lassen, Ch., 416. 
 Later Sung dynasty, 360. 
 Later T'ang dynasty, 133, 
 Later Tsin dynasty, 133. 
 Latin language, 362. 
 Latins, 40. 
 
 Lau-kiiin, 372, 381, 390. See Lau-tst. 
 Lau-shan, 410. 
 
 Lau-tsi, 5S, 168, 372. See Lau-kiun. 
 Law, 30, 35, 81, 93, 173, 190, 226, 233, 
 
 240, 260, 377, 417. See Dharma 
 
 and Fa. 
 Lay Buddhists, 272. See Updsaka. 
 Legge, Dr. J., 216. 
 Lenga Island, 38, 39. See Ceylon. 
 Lenga (a priest), 131. 
 Leng-yen monasteiy, 275 ; fan, 253. 
 Lesser Conveyance, 77. See Lessee* 
 
 Development. 
 Lesser Development, 51, 277, 280, 
 
 281. See Hinayana and Hiau' 
 
 ch*eng. 
 Lhassa, 266. 
 
 Li Hwei-si, 156, 160. See Hwei-ai. 
 Li Lau-tan, 55. See Lau-kiiin and 
 
 Lau-tsi. 
 Li T'ai-pe, 394. 
 Liang dynasty, 98, 99, loi, 102, 104, 
 
 107, 112-115, 126, 127. 
 Liang-cheu, 108, ii6, 
 Liang-shan, 270. 
 Lien-cheng (a star), 347 
 Lien-si-ta-shi, 198. 
 Lieu-tsung, 170. See Tsing-tu, 
 Lieu Hing-si, 160. 
 Lieu Pei, 270. 
 Lieu Te-wei, 16. 
 Liu Ling-en, 142. 
 
432 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Lin-tsi school, i6i, 163-166, 260. 
 Lion kingdom, 94. See Shxttx-kwo. 
 Liu (a magician), 391. 
 Lo Hwei-neug, 371. See Lo-t&u. 
 LO'han, 5, 32, 138, 256. See Arhan 
 
 and 0-Io-kan. 
 Lo-hans, 50, 177, 178, 184, 225, 241, 
 
 242, 249, 254, 263, 394. 
 Lo-heu, 212, 344. See Rahu. 
 Lokadjyesht'a, 6. See Shi-tsun. 
 Lokeshwararaja, 6, See Shi-tsun and 
 
 World's Honoured One. 
 London Missionary Society, 407. 
 Loo-choo, 146. 
 Lo-tsu, 371, 373, 374, 377, 378. See 
 
 Lo Hwei-neng. 
 Lower Ganges, 403. 
 Lo-yang, 88, 99, 102, 108, 109, 118, 
 
 134, 142, 168, 303, 400. 
 Hi, 168, 182, 275, 281. ^e Discipline 
 
 and Vinam. 
 Lii Ch'un-yang, 382. 
 Lun, 108, 133, 182, 275, 281. See 
 
 Shastra. 
 Lung, 216, 333, 419. See Dragon 
 
 and Naga. 
 Lung-hu shan, 390. 
 Lung-hu-tan, 390. 
 Lung-hwa, 241. 
 
 Lung-kia, 346. See Oeomancers. 
 Lung-leu, 347. See Dragon tower. 
 Lung-nii, 242. See Daughter of the 
 
 Dragon king. 
 Lung-sheng, 171. See Conqueror of 
 
 the Dragon. 
 Lung-«hu, 77, 170, 172, 184, 210, 230, 
 
 278, 279, 302, 303, 311-317. See 
 
 Dragon-tree. 
 Lung-wang, 207, 247. See Dragon- 
 
 king and Naga-raja. 
 Luther, Martin, 325. 
 Lu-tsun (a star), 346. 
 Lu-ye-yuen, 28. See Deer garden 
 
 and Mrigadava. 
 
 Ma Twan-lin, 12, no. 
 Madhyamika, 160, 184, 230. 
 Madhyantika, 73, 256. 
 Madura, 68. 
 
 Magadha, 15, 20, 30, 31, 42, 52, 63, 
 137, 215, 231, 289, 404, 416, 417. 
 
 Magian worship, 31. 
 
 Mahabhadra-kalpa, 222. See Age of 
 Wise men and Hien kalna. 
 
 Mahabrahma, 217, 221, 224, 285, See 
 Fan-t'ien-wang. 
 
 Maha Ishwara, i8i, 224. See MahS- 
 shwara and Ta-tsi-tsai-tHen. 
 
 Mahakala miau, 406. 
 
 Maha Kashiapa, 51, 62. 
 
 Maha Kuhila, 290. 
 
 Maha Maudgalyayana, 290. See 
 Maudgalyayana, 
 
 Ma-ha-pa-de-ma, 399. See Maha- 
 padma and Mo-ho-po-Ve-mo. 
 
 IVIahapadma, 399. See Ma-ha-pa-de- 
 nia and Mo-ho-po-Ve-mo. 
 
 Ma-ha-pa-ja-pa-ti, 214. See Mahd- 
 prajdpatt. 
 
 MahS,prajS,pati, 49, 214. See Ma-ha- 
 pa-ja-pa-ti. 
 
 Ma-ha-sat, 6. See Great Bomt. 
 
 Mahashasaka school, 169. 
 
 Mahayana, 38, 47, 63, 64, 100, 415 ; 
 books, 273, 277, 278 ; doctrine, 
 415 ; literature, 415, 416 ; philoso- 
 phy, 132 ; school, 77, 160 ; sutras, 
 238, 244, 279 ; system, 169, 230. 
 See Great Development 
 
 Mahfeshwara, 214, 224, 399. See Ma- 
 ha Ishwara and Ta-tsl-tsai-tHen. 
 
 Mahlshftshakas, n8. See Mahasha- 
 saka school and Mi-sha-se-pu. 
 
 Ma-hi-shu-la, 399. See Mahishwara 
 and Ta-tn-tsai-Vien. 
 
 Mahoragas, 217. 
 
 Maitreya, 43, 80, 122, 170, 208, 240, 
 244, 254, 256, 263, 279. See Mi-U. 
 
 Malach'a, 280. 
 
 Malays, 370. 
 
 Maleya (kingdom), 123. 
 
 Ma-ming, 74-76, 278. See Ashwago^ 
 sha. 
 
 Man, 63. See Svastika and Wan. 
 
 Manchu, 271 ; emperors, 152, a6o, 
 335 ; language, 406. 
 
 Manchurian mountains, 334. 
 
 Manda mountain, 66. 
 
 Mandarin language, 6, 90, 114, 121, 
 
 399, 413- 
 Mafidjus'rl, 414. See Manjusiri. 
 Mandu-kalpa, 222. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 433 
 
 Manes, 146. 
 
 Maujusiri, 20, 21, 36, 48, 52, 53, 128, 
 139, 159, 162, 186, 208, 214, 227, 
 231, 236-238, 264, 265, 284, 291, 
 292, 300, 384. See Wat-ihu. 
 Man-t'eu-kiau, 378. 
 Manura, 82-84. 
 Mara, 115, 159, 218, 225, 355. 
 Maras, 22, 23, 30, 53, 218, 220, 355. 
 
 See Mo-kwti. 
 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, 108. 
 Marga (the path of reformation), 27. 
 Mars (planet), 211. See Yung-hwo. 
 Marshman, Dr. J., 200. 
 Martin, Sir James, 339. 
 Massagetae, 280. See Ta-yue-chi. 
 Matenga, 36, 37, 291-293, 295. 
 Ma-tsu, 129, 160. 
 Maudgalyayana, 14, 31, 34, 35, 42, 
 
 49, 68, 241. 
 ^lax Miiller, Professor, 200, 282. 
 Maya, 15, 21, 30, 57, 364. 
 Medhurst, Dr. W. H., 358. 
 Megasthenes, 257. 
 Meh Ti, 318. 
 Memorial on the bone of Buddha 
 
 126. See Fo-ku-piau. 
 Mencius, 203, 318, 324, 325, 382, 400 
 Men-ju-si-li, 128. See Manjtisiri tend 
 
 Wen-shu. 
 Mercury (planet), 211. See Ch'en-sing. 
 Metempsychosis, 23, 115, 163, 166, 
 167, 183, 191, 196, 197, 200, 202- 
 204, 228, 243, 244, 268, 279, 296, 
 332, 357, 360, 364, 378, 385. 
 Miau-feng shan, 271. 
 Michaka, 71-73. See Mikkaka and 
 
 Misuchaka. 
 Migashakya, 290. 
 Mih-li-i-ling kai-sa, 117. 
 Mikkaka, 72. See Michaka. 
 Miletus, 341, 342. 
 Mi-li, 208, 240. See Maitreya. 
 Milton, John, 340. 
 Min (kingdom), 135. 
 Min-kung, 247. 
 Min-tsi, 247. 
 
 Ming dynasty, 151, 161, 253, 274, 282, 
 293» 335, 355, 361, 373, 378, 392 ; 
 emperor, 151, 265, 335; tombs, 
 329, 334, 335. 
 
 ]\Iing-cheu, 105. See Ningpo. 
 Ming-ti (emperor), 16, 87, 108, 400, 
 
 416. 
 Mi-sha-se-pu, 118. See MaJiishusha- 
 
 kas. 
 Misuchaka, 72. See Michaka. 
 Mitarani, 290, 
 Mithras, 211. 
 
 ]\Iogallana, 248. See Maudgalyayana. 
 Moginlin, 126. 
 Mohammedan sages, 14. 
 Mohammedanism, no. 
 Mohammedans, 151. 
 Mo-hi-sheu-lo, 399. See MahSshwara. 
 Mo-ho-po-t'e-mo, 399. See Maha- 
 
 padma. 
 Mo-kwei, 30, 115, 218, 225, 353, 356, 
 
 377. See Maras. 
 Mongol account, 236 ; emperor, 147 ; 
 
 emperors, 149, 150, 406 ; lamas, 
 
 406 ; language, 237 ; sacred books, 
 
 406; vocabulary, 405. 
 Mongolia, 20, 36, 152, 212, 259, 266, 
 
 270. 
 Mongolian Buddhism, 149, 366; dy- 
 nasty, 260 ; emperors, 150. 
 Mongolians, 150. 
 
 Mongols, 4, 41, 147, 148, 171, 335. 
 Morrison, Dr. K., 4, 413. 
 Mount Uda, 69. 
 
 Mo-wang (king of the Maras), 218. 
 Mrigadava, 28. See Deer garden and 
 
 Lu-ye-yueji. 
 Muh-kien-lien, 247. 
 
 Naga, 24, 67, 414. See Dragon and 
 Lung. 
 
 Naga-raja, 207, 215. See Dragon- 
 king and Lung-wang. 
 
 N^^rdjuna, 414. See Nagarjuna. 
 
 Nagarjuna, 40, 43, 77, 78, 156, 160, 
 170, 184, 210, 230, 237, 238, 278, 
 283, 415. See Dragon-tree, and 
 Lxing-shu. 
 
 Nagas, 24, 39, 40, 50, 58, 59, 66, 216 
 217, 418, 419. See Dragons. 
 
 Nairanjana (river), 22, 30. 
 
 Nakshatras, 344. 
 
 Nalana, 24. 
 
 Nalanda, 118, 170, 289. 
 
 Namo (a monk), 147. 
 
 2 E 
 
434 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Nanda (a king of the Nagas), 59. 
 
 Nau-haip*u-to, 139. ^ee F^u-to of the 
 Southei-n sea. 
 
 Naiiking, 89, loi, 105, no, 169, 179, 
 247, 260, 265, 274, 275, 413. 
 
 Nan-ngo school, 156, 159, 160, 170. 
 
 Nan-shan school, 169. 
 
 Naraka, 195, 225, 310, 357, 414. 
 
 Narakas, 217. 
 
 Na-t'o (a prince), 159. 
 
 Nats, 217. 
 
 Neander, 166. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar's image, 256. 
 
 Negroes, 370. 
 
 Nepaul, 2, 15, 88, icx), 132, 309, 315, 
 402. 
 
 Nepaulese books, 402 ; Sanscrit, 120, 
 214, 238. 
 
 Nestorian missionaries, 354; monks, 
 355 ; priests, 355. 
 
 Nestorians, 146, 148, 354. 
 
 Neumann, Professor C. F., 100. 
 
 Ngai Ju-lio, 121, 
 
 Ngan-hwei, 371. 
 
 Ngo-kwei, 115, 126. See Hungry/ 
 ghosts. 
 
 Nicephorus Bataniares, 117. 
 
 Nie-p'an, 401. See Nirvdna. 
 
 Nifwan, 7. See Nirvdna. 
 
 Nikan, 73. See Nirgrantha. 
 
 Ni-ku, 35, 355. 
 
 Nilgherries, 266. 
 
 Nimala paradise, 223. See Hwa-lo. 
 
 NingiJO, 85, 105, 107, 136, 137, 191, 
 371 > 377- See Ming-cheu. 
 
 Nirban, 401. See Nij'vdna. 
 
 Nirbana, 7. See Nirvdna. 
 
 Nirgrantha, 73, 74. See Nikan. 
 
 Niroda, 27. 
 
 Nirvana, 15, 19, 22, 24, 30, 45-57, 62- 
 64, 66, 68, 70, 71, 79, 81, 86, 93, 97, 
 135, 163, 168, 171, 174, 185, 197- 
 199, 208, 214, 224, 225, 228, 248, 
 263, 264, 276, 279, 281, 293, 305, 
 311, 360, 373, 384, 386, 387, 401, 
 410, 411, 414, 417, 419. See 
 Nie-i>*an. 
 
 Nirwana, 7. See Nirvdna. 
 
 Ni-seng, 355. See Ni-ku. 
 
 Nit-ban, 401. See Nirvdna. 
 
 No, 269. See Yang-ko. 
 
 North China, 89, 160, 236, 250, 384. 
 
 Northern Buddhism, 36, 55, 208, 233, 
 235, 410 ; Buddhists, 13, 21, 38, 42, 
 46, 99, 107, 128 ; China, 121, 171, 
 179 ; collection, 275 ; India, 71, 
 82, 109, no, 145, 229, 277, 399, 
 403, 416 ; school, 13, 65, 403 ; sea, 
 241 ; Siberia, 190 ; Ts'i, 170. 
 
 North-western India, 184, 343. 
 
 Nii-chih alphabet, 114; dynasty, 
 360 ; language, 406. 
 
 Nushirvan, 117. See Chosroes I. and 
 K'u-sa-ha. 
 
 0-CHE-Li-YE, 399. See A-cha-li-ya 
 
 and Achdrya. 
 0-lo-han, 401. See A-la-han and 
 
 Arhan. 
 Olympus, 364. 
 O-mi-to Fo, 208, 233, 245, 246, 258, 
 
 386. See Amida Buddha. 
 0-mo-k'ia po-che-lo, 399. See 
 
 Amogha Vajra. 
 Om-mani-padme-hum, 139, 406. 
 0-ua-han, 401. See Anagam. 
 0-nan, 276. See Ananda. 
 0-pi ti-yii, 196. See Avichi naraka. 
 Origen, 332. 
 
 Oude, 19, 42, 290. See Kosala. 
 Ouighour characters, 149 ; country, 
 
 146 ; language, 406 ; writing, 149. 
 Ouighours, 91. 
 Oujein, 280. 
 Oxus, 116. 
 
 Pa-ho-si-PA, 147. See Baschpa. 
 
 P'ak-tie, 401. See Pratyeka. 
 
 Palats'anga, 91. 
 
 Paley, Dr., 194. 
 
 Pali, books, 401 ; Buddbistical an* 
 nals, 12 ; history, 106 ; inscriptions, 
 402 ; language, 13, 401-404, 413, 
 416,417; originals, 120; tongue, 100. 
 
 Pa-li-chwang pagoda, 251, 
 
 Palinput, 106. See Pataliputi a. 
 
 Palladius, Archimandrite, 411. 
 
 Pa-nan Kwan-yin, 246. 
 
 Pan-cheu, 171. 
 
 P'ang-kii-shi, 247. 
 
 Paiiflya, 403. See Prajna. 
 
 Fau-shi, 178. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 435 
 
 Paradise of Amitabha, 235 ; of Indra 
 Sbakra, 195, 223, 224 ; of the West- 
 eru heaven, 167, 170, 172, 174, 
 198, 208, 234, 246, 261, 262, 273, 
 360, 365, 386, 387, 418. 
 
 Paramita, 417. 
 
 Paramitas, 40. 
 
 Paramiti, 289, 399. See Pat-to-?nt<-<i. 
 
 Paramoda, 280. 
 
 Paianai, 42. See Benares. 
 
 Paranimita, 223. See T^a-hwa-tsi-Uai. 
 
 Paranirvana, 56. 
 
 Parshva, 74. 
 
 Parthia, 343. 
 
 Parthians, 75. 
 
 Pa-ta-lik, 116, 117, See Constans II. 
 
 Pataliputra, 74, 75, 106, 109, 257, 
 273i 283. See Hwa-shi and Palin- 
 put. 
 
 Patiekan, 401. See Pratyeka. 
 
 Pat-la-mit-ti, 399. See Paramiti. 
 
 Pat-la-si-na-ji-ta, 399. See Proien- 
 ajit. 
 
 Patna, 13, 289, 403. 
 
 Pat-nia, 403. See Prajna. 
 
 Patriarchs— 
 
 
 
 I. Indian. 
 
 See Maha Kashiapa. 
 
 2- „ 
 
 
 Ananda. 
 
 3. „ 
 
 
 Shxmgnavasu. 
 
 4- 
 
 
 Upagupta. 
 
 5- ,, 
 
 
 DHkata. 
 
 6. 
 
 
 Michaka. 
 
 7. 
 
 
 Vasumitra. 
 
 8. 
 
 
 Buddhanandi. 
 
 9- 
 
 
 Bitddhamitra. 
 
 10. „ 
 
 
 Parshva. 
 
 11. ,, 
 
 
 Punayadja. 
 
 12. „ 
 
 
 Aahwagosha. 
 
 13. 
 
 
 Kapimara. 
 
 14. „ 
 
 
 Nagarjuna. 
 
 i^. „ 
 
 
 Kanadeva. 
 
 16. 
 
 
 Rahulata. 
 
 17. .> 
 
 
 Sanghanaridi. 
 
 i2. „ 
 
 
 Sangkayasheta. 
 
 19- M 
 
 
 Kumarada. 
 
 20. „ 
 
 
 Jayata. 
 
 21. ,, 
 
 
 Vasubandu. 
 
 22. „ 
 
 
 Manura. 
 
 23. 
 
 
 Haklena. 
 
 24. 
 
 
 Singhalaputra. 
 
 25. 
 
 n 
 
 Batianta. 
 
 Patriarchs — continued. 
 
 26. Indian. See Puiaomita. 
 
 27. ,, ,, Pradjnatara. 
 
 28. ,, ,, Bodhidharma. 
 
 29. Chinese. See Hwei-k^o. 
 
 30. „ ,, Seng-tsan. 
 
 31. ,, ,, TaU'Sin. 
 
 32. ,, „ Hung-jin. 
 
 33. „ „ Htoai-neiig. 
 Pattala, 267. See Tatta. 
 
 Pau Cheng, 358. 
 
 Pau Po-tsi, 350. 
 
 Pau-chi, 168. 
 
 Pe-chang, 209. 
 
 Pe-chi-li province, 90, 128. 
 
 Peguans, 12. 
 
 Peh-yen, 280. 
 
 Peking, 128, 137, 150, 152, 165, 211, 
 
 249-252, 254-256, 259, 260, 262, 
 
 266, 268, 370-272, 274, 275, 329, 
 
 334, 335, 337, 33^, 353, 392, 401, 
 
 406, 407, 411, 413. 
 Pe-ma si (temple), 168. See White 
 
 horse temple. 
 Persia, 31, 93, no, 116, 117, 150, 214, 
 
 249, 343- 
 Persian, 145 ; language, 211 ; priests, 
 
 146. 
 Peruvians, 63. 
 Peshawur, 256. 
 Pe-sung (mountain), 390. 
 Pe-teu, 347, See Great Bear. 
 Pe-ts'i dynasty, 171. 
 Philing, 117. kee Fulim. 
 Pi-chi, 401. See Pratyeka Buddha. 
 Pi-ch'ieu, 401. See Bikshu. 
 Pien-ch'eng, 246. See K'ai-feng fu. 
 Pien-liang, 270. See K'ai-fenrj fa. 
 Pi-hia yueu-chiiin (a divinity), 271. 
 Pi-ho-lo-po-lo, 399. See Viharapala. 
 Pi-k'ieu, 276, 4QI. See Bikshu, 
 Pi-lan-na-shi-li, 149, 
 Pi-leu-le-cha, 239. See Tseng-chang 
 
 and Virudhaka. 
 Pi-leu-pa-cha, 239. See Kwang-mu 
 
 and Virupaksha. 
 Pi-lu-si, 117. 
 Pishabarma (a king), 92. 
 Piah^cha demons, 285. 
 Pi-sha-men, 239. See To-xcen and 
 
 Vai^ramana. 
 
436 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Pitaka, 230. See San-Wang. 
 
 P'it-ti, 290, See Pratytka Buddha. 
 
 P*it-ti-ka-la, 290. See Pratytka. 
 
 Piyadasi, 278. See Ashdkct,. 
 
 Pi-yiin si (temple), 254. 
 
 Plato, 38, 342. 
 
 Platonic dialogues, 38. 
 
 Pluto, 363, 364. 
 
 Po-je, 281. See Prajna, 
 
 P6-kiun (a star), 348. 
 
 Pole star, 336. 
 
 Po-le-mi-ti, 399. See Paramiti. 
 
 Po-lo-si-na-shi-to, 399. See Prasena- 
 
 jit. 
 Polynesians, 370. 
 
 Portuguese, 253 , 355. See Si-yang-jen . 
 Poseidon, 364. 
 Po-siiin, 218, See Mo-wang. 
 Potala, 139, 266. See Potaraka. 
 Potaraka, 139. See Potala. 
 Pracrit, 309, 402-404. 
 Pradjfiatara, 85. 
 Prajna, 19, 40, 41, 51, 181, 281, 403, 
 
 417. See Po-je. 
 Prasenajit, 31, 41, 45, 49» 291. 292, 
 399. See Po-lo-s'i-na-shi-to. 
 
 Pratyeka Buddha, 66, 80, 135, 183, 
 254, 290, 401. See Pi-chi and 
 Ytien-kioh. 
 
 Pratyekas, 290. 
 
 Priesthood, 30, 35, 81, 93, 190, 226, 
 233, 240, 417. See Sanga. 
 
 Prince of fuel, 269, See Chai-wang. 
 
 Protestants, 354. 
 
 Ptolemy, 93. 
 
 P'u-hien, 20, 21, 128, 139, 163, 187, 
 208, 241, 243, 255, 265, 384, 385. 
 See Samantabhadra. 
 
 Pu-k*ung, 125, 132, 169. SeeAinogha. 
 
 Pu-lu-sha, 144. See Purusfia. 
 
 Punayadja, 74. 
 
 Punjab, 83, 256, 278, 322, 343. 
 
 Parana Kashiapa, 52. 
 
 Puruna, 290, 
 
 Purusha, 278, See Pu-lu-sha. 
 
 P'u-sa, S, 24, 39, 206, 247, 266, 365, 
 370> 383, 385. See Bodhisattwa. 
 
 Put, 413. See Fo. 
 
 Putaloka, 262. See Potaraka. 
 
 P'u-ta-lo-kia, 139. See Potaraka. 
 
 Putanai, 216. 
 
 P'u-t'i, 401. See Bodhi. 
 P'u-t'i-lieu-cln, 399. See Bodhirtichi. 
 Putnomita, 85. 
 P'u-to, 128, 137, 139, 259, 262, 265-267, 
 
 402. 
 P*u-to of the Southern sea, 139. See 
 
 Nan-hai p^u-to. 
 Pythagoras, 337, 342. 
 
 Rahu, 212, 344. See La-hu and Lo- 
 heu. 
 
 Rahula, 14, 32-34, 248. 
 
 Rahulata, 78, 79. 
 
 Rajagriha, 5, 31, 64, 66, 214, 273. See 
 Wang -she. 
 
 Raksha, 58. 
 
 Rakshas, 156, 206. 
 
 Rakshasas, 216, 217. 
 
 Rama, 220, 287. 
 
 Ras Algethi (a star), 348. See Ti-tso. 
 
 Ratnaprabha, 214. 
 
 Red bird, 337. 
 
 Remusat, J. A., 2, 6, 62, 88, 91, 109, 
 114, 207, 408. 
 
 Rhode, H., 156. 
 
 Ricci, Matteo, 151, 152, 171, 355. 
 
 Rishi, 71, 173. See Sien-jen. 
 
 Roman Catholic missionaries, 151, 355. 
 
 Roman Catholics, 354, 355. 
 
 Roman emperor, 108 ; empire, 86, 
 117, 211, 222; merchant, 108; re- 
 ligion, 397 ; sculpture, 249 ; shop- 
 keeper's wife, 415. 
 
 Romans, 117. 
 
 Rome, 86, 202, 269, 415. 
 
 Ruli, 45. 
 
 Russell, Bishop, 377. 
 
 Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, 411. 
 
 Saba (a world), 209, 214. See Saha. 
 Sabikaras (a heretical sect), 292, 293. 
 Sagardagam, 311. See Sidagam. 
 Sage of the house of Shakya, 1 1. See 
 
 Shakyamuni. 
 Saha, 209, 214, 222. See Saha. 
 S'&kyamuni, 414. See Shakyamuni. 
 Salaribhu, 52, 53. 
 Samadhi, 21, 24, 52, 62, 66-68, 76, 
 
 77, 186, 187, 296, 384, 414, 417. 
 Samaua, 416. See Shramana. 
 Samanean, 409. See Shramana. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Ay? 
 
 Sftmanta, 144. 
 
 Samantabhadra, 20, 139, 308. See 
 P^u-hien. 
 
 Samantagandha, 214. 
 
 Samarcaud, 93. 
 
 Samidhi, 308. 
 
 Sam-mei, 417. 
 
 Sammitiyas, 118. See San-mi-ti-pu. 
 
 Samudaya, 27. 
 
 Sanchi topes, 287. 
 
 Sandracottus, 106. 2aj'5/3a/corros, 257. 
 See Chandrayupia. 
 
 Sandy desert, 150. 
 
 San-fo-tB'i, 145. 
 
 Sanga, 28, 29, 189, 354, 417. See 
 Priesthood. 
 
 Sangadeva, no, 399. See Seng-k'ia- 
 t'i-p'o. 
 
 Sangarama, 29, 168, 245. 
 
 Sanghanandi, 79, 80. 
 
 Sangkayasheta, 80, 81. 
 
 Saug-mun, 89. See Shamen. 
 
 Sankhya philosophy, 314; school, 
 312. 
 
 San-kung, 346. 
 
 San-kwan, 247. 
 
 San-mi-ti-pu, 118. See Sammitiyas. 
 
 Sanscrit alphabet, 112, 113, 399 ; 
 books, 116, 118, 136, 144, 413 ; 
 character, 137; characters, 131, 
 132, 137, 249, 405, 406; charm, 
 407 ; Chinese dictionary, 413 ; copy, 
 109 ; dialect, 404 ; dictionary, 412 ; 
 equivalent, 93; form, n8, 222; 
 forms, 413; grammar, 6, 118, 302; 
 inscriptions, 137, 402, 407 ; lan- 
 guage, 2, 5, 6, 13, 20, 63, 67, 90, 
 100, 107, 118, 119, 123, 132, 13s, 
 137, 140, 149, 173, 192, 213, 222, 
 225, 231, 260, 262, 274, 282, 283, 
 287, 290, 309, 3^1. 354, 399, 40o- 
 406, 416, 417 ; letters, 115, 169, 399 ; 
 literature, 137, 228; manuscript, 
 176 ; manuscripts, 2, 144, 146 : 
 metres, 303; mode, 114; name, 
 94, 210, 240 ; names, 214, 239, 412 ; 
 originals, 117, 401, 417; professor, 
 107 ; pronunciation, 121 ; scholar, 
 238 ; scholars, 107 ; sentences, 137, 
 40t ; sounds, 406, 414 ; sutras, 107 ; 
 syllable, 120 ; term, 7» 129, 302 ; 
 
 termination, 35; text, 215, 403, 
 404 ; translations, 107 ; version, 13 ; 
 word, 4, 12, 100, 107, 115, 168, 354, 
 357, 362, 401, 404, 405, 416 ; words, 
 4, 6, 222, 400, 402, 412 ; works, 
 107 ; writing, 149, 363, 402. 
 
 Sanskrita, 414. See Sanscrit lan- 
 guage. 
 
 San-t'ai (three constellations), 348. 
 
 San-tsang, 230, 283. See Tripitaka. 
 
 San-tsang-fa-shi, 129. 
 
 SarvAstiv&das, 118. See Shang-tso- 
 pu and Shico-i-tsie-yeu-pu. 
 
 Sarvavainasicas, 309. 
 
 Saturn (planet), 211. See Chen-sing, 
 
 Savatthi, 416. See Shravasti. 
 
 Scandinavian inscriptions, 63. 
 
 Schlegel, A. W., 106. 
 
 Schmidt, I. J., 166. 
 
 Schott, "W., 171, 410, 411. 
 
 Scinde, 88. See Shin-do. 
 
 SeleucuB Nicator, 106, 257. 
 
 Semite, 341. 
 
 Semitic origin of Sanscrit, 363. 
 
 Seng-chau, 109. 
 
 Seng-ga-de-ba, 399. See Sangadeva. 
 
 Seng-k'ia-t*i-p'o, 399. See Sanga- 
 deva. 
 
 Serampore, 200. 
 
 Sha-ba-ti, 416. See Shravasti. 
 
 Shak-de-wan-yin, 214. See Shakra- 
 deva Indra. 
 
 Shak-ka-la-de-ba In-da-la, 399. See 
 Shakradeva Indra. 
 
 Shakradeva Indra, 399. See Shak-de- 
 wan-yin. 
 
 Shakya, 12, 25, 28, 31, 96, 100, 102, 
 104, io6, 145, 208, 261. See Shak- 
 yamuni. 
 
 Shakya clan, 43, 45 ; family, 17. 
 
 Shakyamuni, 4, 9, 11, 13-15, 19, 23, 
 26, 29-32, 35, 38, 40-42, 45, 47, 50- 
 52, 62, 64, 70, 71, 94, 99, 106, 119, 
 126, 141, 154, 157, 159, 167, 168, 
 171, 180, 192, 207, 208, 210, 213- 
 215, 217, 218, 222, 227, 228, 232, 
 241-244, 246-250, 253, 255, 256, 
 258, 259, 261, 264-266, 276, 277, 
 279, 282-284, 287, 302, 344, 355, 
 380, 384, 386, 402, 414, 417. See 
 Shakya. 
 
438 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Sha-la, 150, 
 
 Shameu, 65, 89, T92, 315, 401, 416. 
 
 See Shramana. 
 Shami, 65, 66. See Shramanera. 
 Sha-nai-shat-cliat-la, 399. See Sha- 
 
 naishchara. 
 Shanaishchara, 399. See Ska-nai- 
 
 shat-chat-fa. 
 Shang dynasty, 388. 
 Shanghai, 107, 119, 120, 134, 241, 328, 
 
 366, 371, 379. 391, 410. 
 Shangnavasu, 62, 66-69, 73' 
 Shang-tso-pu, xi8. See Sarvdstivd- 
 
 das. 
 Shan-hwei, 168. 
 Shan-si province, 90, 116, 128, 139, 
 
 146, 165, 166, 171, 259, 265, 384. 
 Shan-ts'ai, 21, 159, 242. 
 Shan-tung province, 163, 246, 270, 
 
 272, 371, 373, 378, 410- 
 Shariputra, 14, 21, 31, 35, 49, 159, 
 
 241, 248, 290. 
 Shastra, 76, 160, 169, 170, 279, 288, 
 
 304, 306, 313. See Lun. 
 Shastras, 68, 77, 108, no, 120, 133, 
 
 147, 149, 210, 232, 277, 279, 302, 
 303. 
 
 Sha-wei, 4, 5, See Shravasti. 
 
 Shen Yo, 113. 
 
 She-na-yi-shi-che-lo, 399. See Sha- 
 naishchara. 
 
 Sheng-t'ien, 279. 
 
 Sheng-wen, 243, 248, 304, 306, 310. 
 See Shrdvaka. 
 
 Shen-kung, 112. 
 
 Shen-si province, 88, 90, 93, 103, 126, 
 
 133. 
 Shen-tsung (emperor), 142. 
 Sheu-leug-yen Rajah, 296. 
 Shi-chi, 14, 163, 241, 246, 249. 
 Shi-chwang, 407. 
 Shi-hwang, 326. 
 Shi-kia Fo, 258. See Shakya. 
 Shi-kia-lo-t'i-p'a Yin-t*o-lo, 399. See 
 
 Shakradeva Indra. 
 Shikldn (a Brahma), 215. 
 Shila (morality), 417. 
 Shi-li, 117. See Hormouz. 
 Shin-do, 88. See India. 
 Shin-sieu, 160, 162. 
 Shipara discipline, 54. 
 
 Shira, 226. 
 
 Shi-t'eu, 160. 
 
 Shi-tsi, 84. See Singhalaputra. 
 
 Shi-tsi-kwo, 94. See Ceylon. 
 
 Shi-tsun, 6. See Julai and World's 
 
 Honoured One. 
 Shiva, 63, 150, 215, 216, 220. 
 Shivaism, 132. 
 Shramana, 65, 79, 192, 401, 416. See 
 
 Shamen. 
 Shramanas, 28, 89. 
 Shramanera, 65. See Shami. 
 Shr4vaka, 304. See Sheng-wen. 
 Shr4vaka», 19, 310. 
 Shravasti, 4, 14, 31, 36, 41, 42, 49, 
 
 79, 119, 290, 292, 296, 297, 404, 
 
 416. See Sha-wei. 
 Shu country, 390. See Si-ch'vjen. 
 Shun-chi, 91, 152. 
 Shwo-i-tsie-yeu-pu, ii8. See Sar- 
 
 vdstivddas. 
 Siam, 36, 104, 171, 211, 246, 249, 
 
 402. 
 Siamese, 12 ; chronology, 15 ; prince, 
 
 265. 
 Si-an fu, 89, 146. See Ch'aitg-an. 
 Siang-pe mountain, 67. 
 Siau ij, 115, 116. 
 Siau-ch'eng, 277, 280, 281. See Hin- 
 
 ay ana and Smaller Development. 
 S'i-ch'wen province, 128, 139, 265, 270, 
 
 384, 390, See Shu country. 
 Sidagam, 182, 311. 
 Siddharta, 15, 18. See Shakyamuni. 
 Sien-jen, 173. See Eishi. 
 Sieu-lo (Su-la), 115. See Asura. 
 Si-fan, 149. See Thibet, 
 Si-hien, no. 
 Si-ma Chien, 350. 
 Si-ma Wen-kung, 143. 
 Sin-an (district), 366. 
 Sin-chang (town), 256. 
 Singhalaputra, 84. See Shitsi. 
 Singhalese, 4, 12, 94, 249, 277; Bud- 
 dhists, 282 ; dates, 13 ; priest, 125 ; 
 
 temples, 42. 
 Sinhala, 94, See Shi-tsi-kwo. 
 Sinim, 93. 
 
 Sin-la, 132. See Corea, 
 Sin-siu (sect), 360. 
 Siaters of Mercy, 395. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 439 
 
 B"i-ta-t'ien.wang, 239. Sc« Four 
 
 Great Kinf}S ofDevas. 
 Si-tso, 179. 
 Siuen-ho, 382. 
 Siuen-tsung (emperor), 128. 
 Siuen-waug. 203. 
 Siiiu King, 318. 
 
 Si-yaug-jen, 253. See Portuguese. 
 Si-yii si", 272. 
 Small Development school, 20. See 
 
 Lesser Development. 
 Smaller Development course, 1 10 ; 
 
 school, 281 ; sutras, 38. See Hin- 
 
 ayana. 
 Smith, Dr. "W., 342. 
 Socrates, 38, 342. 
 Soda-ban, 401. See Srotapanna. 
 Sotapan, 401. See Srotapanna. 
 South China, 355 ; India, 77, 279. 
 Southern Bahar, 15 ; Buddhism, 36, 
 
 410; Buddhist traditions, iii ; 
 
 Buddhists, 12, 13, 15, 42, 211, 273, 
 
 277; China, loi, 330; Chinese 
 
 dialects, 400 ; collection, 275 ; 
 
 continent, 206; India, 21, 76, 77, 
 
 85, 86, 100, 156, 280 ; ocean, 222, 
 
 schools, 403 ; sea, 139, 241, 242. 
 Southey, R., 197. 
 Srotapanna, 68, 311, 401. See So-da- 
 
 ban. 
 St. Hilaire, B., 2. 
 Stoics, 342. 
 Stonehenge, 419. 
 Sii Fa, 283. 
 Su Kien, 343. 
 Sii Ki-yii, 357. 
 Sii Kwang-k'i, 152. 
 Su Yeu, 16. 
 Subhadra, 53. 
 
 Subhdti, 5-7, 159, 290, 291, 293. 
 Sudatta, 292, 296. 
 Su-da-wan, 48, 182, 311, 401. See 
 
 Srotapanna. 
 Suddhodana, 15. See Tsing-fan. 
 Sui dynasty, iii, 117, 176, 206, 250, 
 Sui-sing (planet), 211. See Jupiter. 
 Sumeru mountain, 20, 21, 32, 44, 59, 
 
 93, 222, 223, 233, 234, 239, 336, 344. 
 Sun K'iuen (a prince), 108. 
 Sun Tsiau, 129. 
 Sung dynasty, 47, 58, 133, 134, 139, 
 
 142, 152, 270, 281, 322, 323, 32s, 
 356, 358, 359, 361, 365, 383, 392; 
 (Earlier), 91, 93, 94, 98, 409 ; Ju, 
 
 318, 319, 326; philosophers, 318, 
 
 319, 321-326, 359 ; philosophy, 344. 
 Sung-kiang, 119. 
 
 Sung-tsi Kwau-yin, 262, 383. 
 
 Sung-yiin, 100, 103. 
 
 Susima, 106. 
 
 Sii-t'o-hwan, 68, 401. See Srota- 
 panna. 
 
 Sutra, 21, 41, 42, 44, 55, 88, 109, 119, 
 120, 149, 150, 182, 215, 218, 230, 
 27s, 279, 293, 307, 308. 
 
 Sutras, 17, 38, 41-44, 51, 54, 68, 70, 
 100, 106-109, 118, 128, 131, 133, 
 146, 147, 149, 168, 186, 214, 219, 
 230, 232, 234, 236, 302, 305, 307, 
 308, 311, 312, 314-316. 
 
 Su-tsung (emperor), 124. 
 
 Svastika, 63. See Wan. 
 
 Swaracs, 156. 
 
 Sykes, Colonel, 213. 
 
 Syria, 106. 
 
 Syriac, 148. 
 
 Syrian Christians, 117, 354; inscrip- 
 tion, 117, 353, 357, 363. 
 
 Ta-ch'eng, 99, 100, no, 209, 230, 
 277, 278, 281, 416. See Great De- 
 velopment and Mahayana. 
 
 Ta-hia, 88. See Dahce. 
 
 T'a-hwa-tsi-tsai, 223. See Parani- 
 mita. 
 
 T'ai-cheu, 175. 
 
 T*ai-ki, 323. See Great Extreme. 
 
 T'ai-pe (planet), 211. See Venus. 
 
 T'ai-ping rebellion, 169, 275, 390. 
 
 T'ai-shan, 246, 338, 374, 393. 
 
 T*ai-tsi-t*a, 265. 
 
 T'ai-tsu (emperor), 134. 
 
 T'ai-tsung (T'ang emperor), 16, 117, 
 124, 171 ; (Sung emperor), 134. 
 
 Tai-wei (constellation), 16. 
 
 T'ai-yuen fu, 128. 
 
 Ta-kio-kin-sien, 142. See SkaJcya- 
 muni. 
 
 Tamil, 82. 
 
 Ta-ming f u, 165. 
 
 Ta-mo, 99, 102, 103, 209, 247. Sea 
 Bodhidlioitna. 
 
UO 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Tan Chi, 360. 
 
 Tan-cho si (temple), 252. 
 
 T'ang dynasty, 66, 103, 107, 115, 116, 
 122, 124, 127, 131, 134, 135, 146, 
 158, 163, 207, 209, 211, 238, 249, 
 250, 275, 351, 354, 356, 383, 391, 
 
 394, 395, 400, 404, 415. 
 T'ang (emperor), 333. 
 T'ang Shang-shu, 374. 
 Tantra, 269 ; scliool, 125, 169. 
 Tartar chief, 92 ; family, 91. 
 Tartary, 91, 145, 255, 336, 360. 
 Ta-shi-chi, 209, 234, 255, 262. 
 Ta-shih, 117. See Arabs. 
 Tath&gata, 6, 34, 47, 51, 158, 172, 
 
 207, 290, 292-297. See Julai. 
 Ta-ts'in, 86, 117. See Roman empire. 
 Ta-tsi-tsai-t*ien, 214. See Mahish- 
 
 wara. 
 Tatta, 267. See Patta^a, 
 Tau, 98, 164. 
 Tau-an, 108, 168. 
 Tauisra, 107, 130, 142, 147, 247, 320, 
 
 323, 373, 381, 382, 387-389, 392- 
 
 395, 397, 411. 
 
 Tauist, 121, 321, 324, 382 ; authors, 
 372 ; books, 364, 369, 391 ; collec- 
 tion, 391 ; discipline, 388 ; divi- 
 nity, 210, 246 ; doctrine, 319 ; ele- 
 ments, 339 ; expression, 373 ; genii, 
 142 ; heaven, 391 ; hierarchy, 389 ; 
 hell, 394 ; hermits, 394 ; ideas, 392 ; 
 idols, 247 ; image», 361 ; literatui-e, 
 358 ; magic, 319 ; magician, 387, 
 389 ; mind, 381 ; monastery, 393 ; 
 notions, 378 ; part, 345 ; patriarch, 
 391 ; personage, 271 ; philosophers, 
 319 ; physical system, 325 ; prayers, 
 391 ; priests, 107, 220, 387 ; publi- 
 cations, 369 ; recluses, 175 ; reli- 
 gion, 395; school, 361 ; sects, in ; 
 superstition, 207 ; teaching, 395 ; 
 temple, 153 ; tone, 319 ; wizard, 
 387 ; writers, 391. 
 
 Tauists, 220, 321, 324, 325, 350, 365, 
 372, 381, 387, 388, 393-396. 
 
 Tau-kwang, 263. 
 
 Tau-li heaven, 20, 48, 93, 218, 223. 
 
 Tau-lio, 287. 
 
 Tau-siuen, 209. 
 
 Tau-wu, 150. 
 
 Tau-yuen, 144. 
 
 Ta-yue-chi, 280. See Massageta. 
 
 Teda (king), 83. 
 
 Te-shau, 178. 
 
 Te-ts*ing, 293, 296. 
 
 Teu-shwai si (temple), 250. 
 
 Thales, 341, 342. 
 
 The guiding Buddha, 246, 386, See 
 Tsie-yin Fo. 
 
 The heaven of brightness and sound, 
 340. See Kwang-yin-Vien, 
 
 The pure calm and spontaneously- 
 perceiving Ju-lai, 391. See Tsing- 
 tsing-tsi'jan- chio-ju-lai. 
 
 The secret teaching of Yoga, 169. 
 See Yo-ga-mi-kiau. 
 
 Thibet, 63, 66, 90, 145, 149, 152, 170, 
 184, 230, 242, 259, 261, 266, 280, 
 336. See Si-fan. 
 
 Thibetan, 147 ; architecture, 266 ; 
 Buddhism, 149 ; Buddhists, 150 ; 
 character, 406 ; image, 261 ; in- 
 cense, 251 ; inscriptions, 139, 255, 
 260, 263 ; language, 149, 406 ; 
 letters, 115, 169; prayer, 251; 
 prayers, 406 ; priest, 150 ; priests, 
 262; route, in; word, 117. 
 
 Thibetans, 4, 114, 171, 202, 230, 406. 
 
 Thinae, 93. 
 
 Thor, 63. 
 
 Thousand-handed Kwan-yin, 262. 
 
 Three Precious Ones, 417. See Fo, 
 Fa, and Sanga. 
 
 Three Pure Ones, 390, 391. 
 
 Three Sages, 209, 246, 262. 
 
 T*ien, 28, 40, 115, 172, 229, 310, 362. 
 See Deva. 
 
 T'ien-feng (mountain), 178. 
 
 T'ien-mu shan (mountain), 178, 358. 
 
 T'ien-ning si (temple), 250. 
 
 T'ien-t'ai, 41, 136-140, 146, 156, 171, 
 172, 175, 179, 180, 259 ; kiau, 140, 
 184, 187 ; school, 186, 209, 230, 231; 
 system, 184. 
 
 T'ien-t'ai shan (mountain), 170. 
 
 T'ien-ti, 391. See Heavenly emperor. 
 
 Tientsin, 328, 395. 
 
 T'ien-ts'in p'u-sa, 159, 169, 278. See 
 Vasuhandu. 
 
 T'ien-t'uug, 191. 
 
 T'in-do, 89. See India. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 441 
 
 Ting-kwang Fo, 65. 
 
 Tirthancaras, 156, 
 
 Ti-shi, 210, 243. See Indra Skakra. 
 
 T"i-to-lo-to, 239. See Dbritar&shtra. 
 
 Ti-tsang, 139, 195, 209, 227, 242, 245- 
 247, 254, 255, 263, 265, 364, 393. 
 
 Ti-tso (constellation), 348. See Itas 
 Algethi. 
 
 To-lo-ni, 399. See Dharani. 
 
 To-wen, 239. See Vaishramana. 
 
 Treasure of the Law, 233, See Fa- 
 tsang. 
 
 Tripitaka, 64, 169, 180, 277, 283. See 
 San-tsan{/. 
 
 Ts'ai-shen, 247. 
 
 Tsai-sheu, 227. 
 
 Ts'au-k'i, 159. 
 
 Tsau-kiiin, 207. 
 
 Ts'au-tung (school), 161, 260. 
 
 Tseng-chang, 239. See Virudhaka. 
 
 Tai (state), 203. 
 
 Ts'i dynasty, 95, 107. 
 
 Tsi Liang, 95. 
 
 Tsie-yin Fo, 246, 386. See The guid- 
 ing Buddka. 
 
 Ts'i-hang, 266, 353. See Vessel of 
 Mercy. 
 
 Tsi-hwang shang-ti, 361, 364. 
 
 Tsi-pe ta-shi, 275. 
 
 Tsin dynasty (Western), 171, 391. 
 
 Tsln dynasty, 93, 326. See Dzin 
 dynasty. 
 
 TsHng-cheu, 410. 
 
 Tsing-fan, 15. See Suddhodana. 
 
 Tsing-tsing-tsi-jan-chio - ju - lai, 391. 
 See The pure, calm, and spontane- 
 ously-perceiving Ju-lai. 
 
 Tsing-tu, 262 ; school, 170, 198, 209, 
 234, 411; sect, 172. 
 
 Ts'ing-yuen school, 159, i6o. 
 
 Ts'iuen-cheu, 159. 
 
 Tsi-wei ta-ti, 391. 
 
 Tso-fu (a star), 348. 
 
 Tso-tsi, 269. 
 
 Ts'ung-ling mountains, 90, 131, 144. 
 
 Tsung-men, 141, 158, i6o, 247, 260. 
 See Esoteric branch. 
 
 Tu Fu, 394- 
 
 Tu Hwai-jang, i6o. 
 
 T'u-ha-la, 117. 
 
 Tu-kiuc. 117. See Western Turks. 
 
 Tung-ngo ti-kiiin, 246. 
 
 T'ung-tae monastery, 105. 
 
 Tung-yo temple, 359, 393, 394- 
 
 Tun-hwang, 170. 
 
 Turanian language, 405. 
 
 Turkestan, 35, 61, 404. 
 
 Turkish language, 404, 405. 
 
 Turks, 116. 
 
 Tumour, G., 12, 13, 15, 106. 
 
 Tu-shi k'eu, 407. 
 
 Tushita heaven, 12, 21, 30, 57, 170, 
 
 223, 225, 244, 256, 
 Tushito, 12. See Tushita. 
 T'u-ti miau, 359. 
 
 U-CHANG-NA, 399. See Udyana. 
 
 Udaya, 32. 
 
 Udayana (king), 49. 
 
 Udin, 109, no, 143,280. See Khoten. 
 
 Udyana, too, 290, 399. See U-chang-na. 
 
 U-dyung-na, 399. See Udyana. 
 
 U-lam, 126, 210. See Yil-lan-hwei 
 
 and Yii-lan-p'en. 
 Uluka, 306, 313. See Yeu-leu-kia. 
 Uluvilva Kashiapa, 30. 
 Ulysses, 363. 
 United States, 357. 
 Upadhy&ya, 143, 417. See Ho-shang. 
 Upagupta, 67-70. 
 Upakutta, 58. 
 
 Updli, 168, 277. See Yeu-po-li. 
 Upanishata, 290. 
 Up^aka, 29, 35, so, 143, 399. See 
 
 Yeu-po-sokia. 
 
 Vais^shikas, 310. 
 
 Vaishajas, 216. 
 
 Vaishali, 42, 45. 284, 403. See 
 
 Vesali. 
 Vaishramana, 216, 239. See To-wen. 
 Vajramati, 169. See Kin-kang-cht. 
 Vajrasattwa, 169. See Kin-kang- 
 
 sat-VM. 
 Varanasi, 28. See Benares. 
 Vasubandu, 159, 278. See T'ien-ts'in 
 
 p^u-sa. 
 Vasumitra, 72, 73, 277, 283. 
 Veda, 207. See Wei-to. 
 Vedas, 27, 213, 363. 
 Ve-nu Deva, 219. See Vishnu. 
 Venus (planet), 211. See T^ai-pe. 
 
442 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Vcsali, 403. See Vaishali. 
 Ve-shi-nu, 219. See Vishnu. 
 Vessel of Mercy, 266, 353. See Ts'i- 
 
 hang. 
 Viharapala, 399. See Bi-ha-lapa-la. 
 Vimakita, 163, 284. See Wei-mo-kie. 
 Vimbasara, 31. See Biinhisara. 
 Vinaya, 108, no, 168, 182, 253, 275- 
 
 277, 281, 287, 290. See I/il. 
 Virga (Energy), 417. 
 Virgin Mary, 242, 415. 
 Virudhaka, 216, 239. See Tseng- 
 
 chang. 
 Virupaksha, 216,239. &eeKwang-mu. 
 Vishnu, 63, 215, 216, 219, 220, 248. 
 
 See Ve-nu Deva. 
 Vishvakarma, 39. 
 
 Wade, Sir T. F., 4» 4i3- 
 
 Waidfihi, 215. 
 
 Wan, 63. See Man and Svastika. 
 
 Wang (royal name), 135. 
 
 Wang Hi-chi", 398. 
 
 Wang-she, 214. See Rajagriha. 
 
 Wan-nien monastery, 179. 
 
 Ward, W., 14. 
 
 Waiters, T., in, 127, 134, 143, 419. 
 
 Wei dynasty, 91, 92, 98-100, 102, no, 
 129. 
 
 Wei Kwo-kung, 374. 
 
 Wei Pe-yang, 321, 324, 350. 
 
 Wei Yuen, 357. 
 
 Wei-ma, 159. See Wei-mo-kie. 
 
 Wei-mo, 163. See Wei-mo-kk. 
 
 Wei-mo-kie, 284. See Vimakita. 
 
 Wei-shi-siang-kiau, 169. 
 
 Wei-to, 207, 240, 244, 245. See Veda. 
 
 Wen Wang (king), 324, 333, 362. 
 
 Wen-ch'ang ti-kiiin, 367, 369. 
 
 Wen-chii (a star), 346. 
 
 Wenger, Dr., 216. 
 
 Wen-shn, 21, 128, 139, 208, 231, 236, 
 241, 243, 255, 284, 384, 385. See 
 ManjusiH. 
 
 Wen-ti (emperor), 92, 94. 
 
 Western Asia, 117, 350 ; authors, 282; 
 Buddhas, 281 ; China, 145 ; coun- 
 tries, 119, 144, 364; heaven, 158; 
 hills, 249, 252 ; India, 82, 83, 144, 
 280; origin, 363 ; races, 363 ; tribu- 
 taries, 260; Turks, 117. 
 
 Wheel king, 22, 278 ; kings, 54, 80, 
 185; of a thousand spokes, 58 ; of 
 Buddhist preaching, 28; of cease- 
 less revolution, 294; of doctrine, 
 22, 27, 28, 246; of the Buddhist 
 law, 28 ; of the holy doctrine, 278 ; 
 of the honoured law, 93 ; of the law, 
 237, 266, 375 ; of the metempsy- 
 chosis, 243 ; of the wonderful law, 
 75- 
 
 White horse temple, 168, See Pe- 
 ma si. 
 
 White tiger, 337. 
 
 Wight, O. W., 312. 
 
 Williams, M., 302. 
 
 WiUiams, S. W., 62. 
 
 Wilson, Professor H. H., io6, 107, 
 ^37, 308, 313. 
 
 Wiltshire, 419, 
 
 Wo-mei shan (mountain), 139, 384. 
 
 Woo-wei mountain, 265. 
 
 World's Honoured One, 6, 50, 57, 63, 
 297, 307, 308. See Shi'tsun, 
 
 Wu (empress), 122. 
 
 Wu state, 108, 
 
 Wu-cho, 169, 279. See Asengka. 
 
 Wu-chii (a star), 347. 
 
 Wu-kien ti-yii, 195, 225. See Avichi 
 naraka. 
 
 Wu-leu, 132. 
 
 Wu-liang-sheu, 234. See Amita^ha 
 Buddha. 
 
 Wu-t'ai (mountain), 128, 133, 139, 
 146, 236-238, 259, 374, 384. 
 
 Wu-ti (Ch'in emperor), 107; (Han), 
 88; (Liang), 98, loi, 104, 113-115, 
 126, 127 ; (Ts'i), 95. 
 
 Wu-tsung (emperor), 128. 
 
 Wu-wei, 311, 372, 373, 376 ; kiau, 371, 
 372, 378. 379 ; religion, 375 ; sect, 
 373 ; tau-jen, 375. 
 
 Wu-yen-tso-wang, 159. 
 
 Wu-yeu-wang, 107. 
 
 Wylie, Mr. A., 211. 
 
 Xenophon, 38. 
 
 Yaja, 82, 83. 
 
 Yaksha, 39. 
 
 Yakshas, 39, 216, 217, 223. 
 
 Yame, 21, 196, 214, 217-219, 240, 946, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 443 
 
 359. 394; naraka, 225; paradise, 
 
 223. 
 Yang(Choo), 361. 
 Yang-cheu(kiugdom), 93 ; (province), 
 
 109, 410. 
 Yangimara, 159. 
 Yang-ko, 269. See No. 
 Yang-tsze keang, 102, 264. 
 Yarkand, 88. 
 Yashaita, iii. 
 Yashodara, 17, 32, 33. 
 Yates, Dr. M. T., 334, 392- 
 Yau-chu heftven, 377, 379. 
 Yau-k'i, 347. See Brilliant vapour. 
 Yau-tsu, 377. 
 Yellow river, 303. 
 Yem-ma, 218. See Yama. 
 Yen Hwei, 55. 
 Yen-cheu, 128. See Peking. 
 Yen-lo, 196, 218. See Yama. 
 Yen-lo-wang, 219, 242, 394. See 
 
 Yama. 
 Yen-ma, 218. See Yavm. 
 Yen-mo-lo-she, 218. See Yama. 
 Yen-tsung (endperor), 122. 
 Yetili, 226. 
 
 Yeu-leu-kia, 313. See XTluTca. 
 Yeu-pi {a star), 348. 
 Yeu-po-li, 168. See Updli. 
 Yeu-po-so-kia, 399. See Updsaka. 
 Yezdegerd, 117. See I-dzi-zL 
 Yih-hing, 123. 
 Ying-tsn, 377. 
 Yi-tsing, 211. 
 Yoga school, 132, 169, 170. See 
 
 Yogachara school. 
 Yogachara school, 125, 132, 169. See 
 
 Yoga school. 
 Yo-ga-mi-kiau, 169. 5fee The secret 
 
 teaching 0/ Fogra. 
 Yogatchara, 169. See Yogachara 
 
 school. 
 
 Yo-shi Fo, 208, 235, 236, 24s, 346. 
 
 See BhdisJiajtjagnru. 
 Yo-tsang p'u-sa, 246. 
 Yo-wang p'u-sa, 210, 246. See Bhdi- 
 
 shajyardja. 
 Yo-wang shan (mountain), 105. 
 Yii (emperor), 159, 323. 
 Yii Chau-shi, 125. 
 Yue-hu, 106. See Chandragupta. 
 Yue-kwang-pien-chau, 235. 
 Yuen dynasty, 139, 146, 149-151, 281. 
 Yuen Wei dynasty, 303. See Wei 
 
 dynast 7/. 
 Yuen-kioh 290, 304, 306, 310. See 
 
 Pratyeka. 
 Yuen-ming-yuen, 335. 
 Yue-ti, 86, 416. See Getoe. 
 Yii-hwang, 264, 393. See Yii-htoang 
 
 shang-ii. 
 Yii-hwang shang-ti, 391. See Yii- 
 hwang ta-ti. 
 YU-hwang ta-ti, 360, 361, 364, 391. 
 
 See Yii-htoang shang-ti. 
 Yii-hwang-ti, 389. See Yii-hwang 
 
 shang-ti. 
 Yii-lan-hwci, 268. See U-lam. 
 Yii-lan-p'en, 210. See Yu-lan-hwei. 
 Yung-ho-kung, 256. 
 Yung-h wo (planet >, 211. See Jfefar*. 
 Yung-lo, 274, 275, 329, 334. 
 Yung-pi, 289. 
 Yiin-men (school), 161. 
 Yiin-ts'i monastery, 171 ; school, 
 
 198. 
 Yii-nti, 390, 
 Yu-ti, 210, 247, 389, 391, 392. See 
 
 Yii-hwang shang-ti. 
 Yu-tian, 143. See Khoten. 
 Yu-ts'ing kong, 391, 
 
 Zeno, 342. 
 
 Zoroastrian fire worship, 37, 
 
ALPHABETICAL INDEX 
 
 OP 
 
 TITLES OF BOOKS MENTIONED IN THIS WORK. 
 
 A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese, 3, 283, 410. 
 
 Abhidharma Kosha, 1 20. 
 
 Abhidharina-lun, no. See Shastra of MetapliT/sics. 
 
 Abhinishkramana Sutra, 287. See Fo-'pen-hing-tsi-hing. 
 
 Account of Buddhist Kingdoms, 91, 121. See Fo-kwo-ki. 
 
 Additional Agama Sutra, no. 
 
 Agama Sutras, 20, 51. 
 
 Amida Sutra, 171. See Amitabha Sittra and A-mi-ta-king. 
 
 Amitabha Sutra, 198, 233, 234, 236. See Amida Sutra, A-mi-ta- 
 king, and Wu-liang-sheu king. 
 
 A-mi-ta-king, 180. See Amida Sutra. 
 
 An Account of Astronomy by the Brahman Gigarishi, 1 23. See 
 £a-la-men-gih-ga-sien-jen-tHen-wen-shwo. 
 
 Asangkhyea Vinaya, 109. See Seng-ki-lii. 
 
 Ba-la-men-gih-ga-sien-jen-t'ien-weu-shwo, 123. See An Account 
 
 of Astronomy by the Brahman Oigarishi. 
 Ba-la-men-s wan-fa, 123. 
 Ba-la-uien-swan-king, 123. 
 Ba-la-men-yin-yang-swan-li, 1 24. 
 
 Book for shaking the Dragon, 339. See Han-lung-king. 
 Book of a Hundred Parables, 286. See Pe-yii-king. 
 Book of a Thousand Characters, 281. See Tsien-tii-iven. 
 Book of Changes, 324, 378. See Yi-king. 
 Book of Forty-two Sections, 20, 188, 283. 
 Book of History, 159. 
 
 Book of Kwan-yin, 367. See Kwan-yin-king. 
 Book of Miscellaneous Parables, 287. See Tsa-yii-king, 
 Book of Odes, 362. 
 Book of Reason and Virtue, 372. See Tau-te-king. 
 
446 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Book of the Dharma in Sentences, 286. See Fa-ku-king, 
 Book of the Nirvana, 178. See Nirvana Sutra. 
 Brahmajala, 287. See Fan-ivang-hing. 
 Brahmanical Astronomy, 123. ^qq P^o-lo-men-t^ien-wen, 
 Bright Sutra, 109. See Ming-king. 
 
 Central Agama Sutra, 215. 
 
 Central Shastra, 171, 219, 230. See Chung-lun. 
 
 Ceylon Friend, 287. 
 
 Ch'ang-a-han-king, 1 10. See Longer Agama Sutra. 
 
 Chan-tsi-king, 287. See Sdma Jutaka. 
 
 Ch'eng-shih Sutra, 109. See Complete Sutra. 
 
 Cheng-sin-kiuen, 374. 
 
 Ch*eug-wei-shi-lun, 278, 279. 
 
 Cheu-li, 270. 
 
 Cheu-shu-yi-ki, 16. 
 
 Chih-faii g-wai-ki, 121. 
 
 Chinese Recorder, 127, 211, 412, 419. 
 
 Chinese Repository, 167. 
 
 Ching-tsz-t'ung, 6. 
 
 Chi-tu-lun, 41. See Shastra of the Measure of Wisdom. 
 
 Chi-yue-luh, 103, 1 59-161, 277. 
 
 Chung-lun, 170, 171, 184, 230, 278. See Central Shastra and 
 
 Medial Shastra. 
 Chung-sheng-tien-ki, 16. 
 Chung-yin-tu-na-lan-to-ta-tau-ch*ang-king, 289. See Tlie Sutra 
 
 of Nalanda, the great seat of worship in Central Indiay and 
 
 Leng -yen-king. 
 
 Chwang-tsi, 321, 372. 
 Chwen-ts'ai-king, 387. 
 Complete Sutra, 109. 
 Curse of Kehama, 197. 
 
 See Liturgy for turning the coffin. 
 See CWeng-^ih Sutra. 
 
 Daily Prayers, 119. 
 
 Description of Western Countries, 121. See MSmoires sur Us 
 
 Contrees Occidentales. 
 Dharmapitaka Sutra, 86. 
 Diamond Classic, 4, 41. See Diamond Sutra. 
 Diamond Sutra, 8, 97. See Kin-kang-king. 
 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 342. 
 Discipline of the Four Divisions, no, 169. See Si-fun-lii. 
 Discipline of the Ten Chants, 1 10. See Shih-sung-lu. 
 
 Eastern Monachism, 106, 169, 244, 277, 317, 410. 
 
INDEX, 447 
 
 Essai siir le Pali, 416. 
 Essay on Buddhism, 3 1 7. 
 
 Fa-hwa Sutra, 47, 108, 109. See Fa-hwa-king. 
 
 Fa-hwa-hwei-i, 186, 231. 
 
 Fa-hwa-king, 38, 43, 100, 172, 180, 184, 208, 209, 214, 231, 235, 
 
 269, 283, 415. See Lotus of the Good Law and Saddharma 
 
 piuidarika. 
 Fa-kii-king, 286. See Book of the Dharma in Sentences. 
 Faug-kwang-pat-nia-king, 109. See Light-emitting Prajna Sutra. 
 Fan-waug-king, 51, 190, 287. See Brahmajala. 
 Fan-wang Sutra, 216. See Fan-wang-king, 
 Fan-yi-ming-i, 35. 
 
 Fa-yuen-chu-lin, 86, 106, 135, 158, 215, 218, 340. 
 Foe koue ki, 88, 91, 207, 408. 
 Fo-ki-siang-king, 137. See Sutra of Good Fortune. 
 Fo-kwo-ki, 91. See FoSkouSki^ Travels of Fa-hian and Sung- 
 
 yiin, and Records of Buddhistic Kingdoms. 
 Fo-pen-hing-tsi-king, 287. See Ahhinishkramana Sutra and The 
 
 Romantic Legend of Sdkya Buddha. 
 Fo-tsu-t'ung-ki, 15, 32, 41, 42, 56, 72, 73, 82, 85, 86, 156. 
 
 Gatha of One Shloka, 306. See 71ie Shastra of One Shloha. 
 
 Golden Light Sutra, 109. See Kin-kwang-king. 
 
 Great cloud Sutra, 122. See Ta-yiin-king. 
 
 Great Lotus of the Good Law, 43. See Lotus of the Good Law. 
 
 Great Prajna, 116. See Ma-ha-pat-nia. 
 
 Hai-kwo-t'u-chi, 357. 
 
 Han-luug-king, 339, 345. See Book for shaking the Dragon. 
 
 Han-wei-ta'ung-shu, 91. 
 
 Handbook for the Student of Chinese Buddhism, 6, 31, 35. 39, 
 
 403.412,415,417. 
 Heai-t Classic, 387. See Sin-king. 
 Hing-kio-kiuen, 374. 
 
 Histoire de la Vie de Hiouen-thsang, 117, 292, 408. 
 History of Modem Philosophy, 312. 
 History of the Northern Wei dynasty, 106, 107. 
 History of the Sui dynasty, 112, 123. 
 History of the Sung dynasty, 94, 96. 
 History of the T'ang dynasty, 116. 
 History of the Wei dynasty, 16, 1 1 1. 
 History of T*ien-t*ai-shan, 137. 
 Hundred Discourses, 210. 
 
448 INDEX. 
 
 Hwa-yen Sutra, 20, no, 131, 170. See Hwa-y en-king. 
 Hwa-yen-king, 18, 21, 24, 109, 139, 180, 230, 231, 237, 238, 265, 
 278,279,415. ^ee Hiva-yen Sutra. 
 
 lufluence of Tropical Cliinatea on Europeans, 339. 
 
 In-ming-lun, 120. 
 
 In-ming-shu-kiai, 120. 
 
 Institutes of Manu, 302. See Laws of Manu. 
 
 Introduction a I'Histoire du Buddhisme Indien, 106, 229. 
 
 Introduction to the Study of the Chinese Characters, 112, 399, 400, 
 
 Japanese Encyclopaedia, 62. 
 
 Jen-wang-king, 124. See Sutra of the Benevolent king. 
 
 K'ai-yuen-chan-king, 123. 
 
 K'ai-yuen-shi-kiau-lu, 278, 280. 
 
 K*ang-hi's Dictionary, 392, 398. 
 
 Kan-ying-p4en, 367. 
 
 Kik-yu, 325. 
 
 Kiau-ch*eng-fa-shu, 189, 190. 
 
 Kieu-chi-li, 211. See Kieu-chi-shti, 
 
 Kieu-chX-shu, 123. See Kieu-chz-li. 
 
 Kin-kang-king, 8, 21, 153, 180, 269. See Diamond Sutra. 
 
 Kin-kang-pat-nia-pa-la-mi-ta-king, 119. See Vctjra-chedika- 
 
 prajna-paramita Sutra. 
 Kin-kwang-king, 109. See Golden Light Sutra. 
 Kin-kwang-ming-king, 206, 240. See The Bright Sutra of Golden 
 
 Light. 
 Kin-shi-t'u-shu-pu, 117. 
 
 K'i-sin-lun, 278. See Shastrafor awakenijig Faith. 
 Kung-ch'io-kiug, 211. See Peacock Sutra. 
 Kwang-tse-li, 122. See The Calendar of the Bright house. 
 Kwan-wu-liang-sheu-king, 234. 
 Kwan-yin-king, 387. See Book of Kwan-yin. 
 
 Laws of Manu, 93, 363. See Institutes of Manu. 
 
 Ijenga Sutra, 39, 51, 103, 130. 
 
 Leng-yen-king, 19, 20, 36, 37, 149, 153, 253, 269, 288, 289. 
 
 Lea Avadanas, 3, 408. 
 
 Liang History, 104, 108, 113. 
 
 Life of Buddha, 143, 192. 
 
 Light-emitting Prajna Sutra, 109. See Fang-kwang-pat-nia- 
 
 king. 
 Li-ki, 351. 
 
INDEX. 449 
 
 Li-men-lun, 120. 
 
 Liturgy for turning the coffin, 387. See Chwen-ts^ai-hing. 
 Longer Agama Sutra, no. See Ch^ang-a-han-king. 
 Lothair, 415. 
 
 Lo-tsu-ch'u-shi-t'ui-fan-ping-pau-kiuen, 373. 
 Lotus of the Good Law, 2, 19, 38, 46, 47, 89, 100, 108, 180, 214, 
 269, 283. See Fa-hua-king. 
 
 Ma-ha-pat-nia, 116. See Great Prajna. 
 
 Maha Prajna paramita, 275, 281. See Ta-poh-je-king. 
 
 Mahavanso, 106. 
 
 Manual of Buddhism, 189, 217, 230, 410. 
 
 Manual of Buddhist Eegulations and Festivals, 205, 210. See 
 Pe-chang-ts'ing-kivei. 
 
 Medial Shastra,i84. See Central Shastra and Chung-lun. 
 
 Melanges Asiatiques, 6. 
 
 M^moires sur les Gentries Occidentales, 292, 408. See Descrip- 
 tion of Western Countries. 
 
 M6thode pour D6chifrer et Transcrire les noms Sanscrits, 93, 400. 
 
 Miau-fa-lien-hwa-king, 3, 100, 180. See Fa-hwa-king. 
 
 Ming-king, 109. 
 
 Mirror of History, in. See TSing-kien-kang-mu. 
 
 Mythology of the Hindoos, 14. 
 
 Narrative of Buddha pacifying and subduing Samidhi, 308. See 
 
 Tiau-fuhsan-mih-tH-king. 
 Neng-twan-kin-kang-pat-nia-pa-la-mi-ta-king, 119. See Vajra- 
 
 chedika-prajna-paramita Sutra. 
 New Testament, 275. 
 
 Nirv&na Sutra, 53, 108, 109, 114, 180. See Book of the Ni/t-vdna. 
 Ni-wan-king, 109. See Nirvdna Sutra. 
 Notions of the Chinese concerning God and spirits, 216. 
 
 Olanggi sodar, 237. See Hwa-yen-king, 
 Old Testament, 333. 
 0-mi-to-king-su-ts'au, 198. 
 
 Pat-no-pa-la-mit-ta, 40. See Prajna paramita. 
 
 Pau-tsih Sutra, 131. 
 
 Pau-ying-lu, 367. 
 
 Peacock Sutra, 211. See Kung-chHo-king. 
 
 Pe-chang-ts*ing-kwei, 205, 209, 210. See Manual of Buddhist 
 
 Regulations and Festivals, 
 Pei-hwa-king, 236. 
 
 2 F 
 
4';o 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Pei-tsang-mu-lu, 275. 
 Pen-hing-king, 391. 
 Pen-ting-lii, 109, no. 
 Pe-ye-kie-la-nan, 120. 
 
 Pe-yii-king, 286. See Book of a Hundred Parables. 
 Ping-shu-pi-t'an, 382. 
 
 P'i-shih-shX-chu-wang, 152. See The Errors of the Buddhists Ex- 
 posed. 
 P'o-lo-men-t'ien-wen, 123. See Brahmanical Astronomy. 
 P'o-sie-kiuen, 374. 
 
 Pradimoksha Sutra, 55. See Pratimohska. 
 Prajna paramita, 20, 40, 42, 47, 119, 184, 266, 279. 
 
 rajna-teng- lun, 278. 
 Pratimoksha, 288. See Pradimoksha Sutra. 
 
 Records of Buddhistic kingdoms, 408. 
 
 Religiose Bildung, u. s. w. der Hindus, 156. 
 
 Researches of the Members of the Russian Mission in Peking, 411. 
 
 Sacred Edict, 152, 379. 
 
 Saddharma pundarika, 43, 108, 214. See Fa-hwa-hing. 
 
 S§,ma J&taka, 287. See Chan-tst-king. 
 
 Sankhya Karika, 313. 
 
 San-kiau-yi-su, 13, 72, 73, 157, 160. See Supplementary Account 
 
 of the Three Religions. 
 San-mei-king, 104. 
 Seng-ga Sutra, 104. 
 
 Seng-ki-lU, 109. See Asangkhyea Viruvya. 
 Shanghai Almanac, 124. 
 
 Shastra for awakening faith, 278. See K^i-sin-lun. 
 Shastra of fixed position, 1 10. See Ti-ch%-lun. 
 Shastra of Metaphysics, no. See Ahhidharma-lun. 
 Shastra of the Measure of Wisdom, 40. See Chi-tu-lun. 
 Shastra of the Method of Great Wisdom, 77. See Ta^ch'i-iu-lun. 
 Shastra of the Non-ego, 76. See Sutra of the Not-me. 
 Shastra of the ten positions, no. See Shi-ii-lun. 
 Sheng-t'ien-shih-kiai-king, 189. See The book of birth in hsaven 
 
 through keeping the ten prohibitions. 
 Sheu-shan-ko-ts*ung-8hu, n9. 
 Sh3t-er-men-lun, 278. 
 
 Shih-sung-lU, no. See Discipline of the Ten Chants. 
 Shih-tsien, 51. See Tallies of the Shakya communities. 
 Shing-ming-lun, 120. 
 Shi-ti-lun, no. See Shastra of the Ten Positions. 
 
INDEX, 4Si 
 
 Shui-hu, 270. 
 
 Shu-king, 321. 
 
 Shwo-fu, 91. 
 
 Siang-cheng-ki, 16. 
 
 SX-fun-lii, 1 10. See Discipline of the Foui Divisions. 
 
 Sing-king, 322. See Star classic. 
 
 Sin-king, 387. See Heart classic. 
 
 Si-pu-lii, 168. 
 
 Si-yeu-chen-t8*euen, I2i. See Si-yeu-hi. 
 
 Si-yeu-ki, 121. See Si-yeu-chen-ts'euen. 
 
 Star classic, 322. See Sing-king. 
 
 Sung History, 144-146. 
 
 Supplement to Wen-hien-t*ung-k'au, 132, 149. 
 
 Supplementary account of the three religions, 13. See Sa7i-kiau- 
 
 yi-su. 
 Sutra of Boundless Age, 137. See Wu-liang-sheu-king. 
 Sutra of Forty-two Sections, 19, 88, 120, 400, 416. 
 Sutra of Good Fortune, 137. See Fo-hi-siang-king. 
 Sutra of Pure name, 177. See Tsing-ming-king. 
 Sutra of the Benevolent King, 124. See Jen-wang-king. 
 Sutra of the Diamond, 21. See Diamond Sutra. 
 Sutra of the dying instructions of Buddha, 418. 
 Sutra of the Lotus of the Good Law, 43. See Fa-hwa-king. 
 Sutra of the Not-me, 83. 
 Sutra of the ten points of rest, 108. 
 Sutra of Tombs in connection with sympathetically operating 
 
 causes, 55. See Tsung-mu-yin-yuen-king. 
 Syllabic Dictionary, 413. 
 
 Ta-chi-tu-lun, 77, 160, 278. See Shastra of the Method of Cheat 
 
 Wisdom. 
 T'ai-shan-kiuen, 374. 
 
 Tallies of the Shakya communities, 51. See Shih-tsiefi, 
 T'ang-yiin, 146. 
 T'an-shl-kiuen, 374. 
 Ta-pei-ch*an, 269. 
 Ta-pei-t8*an, 140, 187. 
 
 Ta-poh-je-king, 275. See Maha Prajna-paramita. 
 Ta-t*ang-si-yii-ki, 119. See MSmoires sur les Gontrees Occidentales. 
 Ta-tsi-king, 39. 
 
 Tau-te-king, 168, 372. See Book of Reason and Virtue. 
 Ta-yiin-king, 122. See Great Clovd SiUra. 
 The book of birth in heaven through keeping the ten prohibitions, 
 
 189. See Sheng-t^itn-sJiih-kiai-king. 
 
45* 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 The Bright Sutra of Golden Light, 206. See Kin-kwang-mmg- 
 king. 
 
 The calendar of the bright house, 122. See Kwang4se-U. 
 
 The Errors of the Buddhists exposed, 152. See F'i-shih-shi-chu- 
 wang. 
 
 The magical formula of the Bodhisattwa Kwan-shi-yin, who 
 has a thousand hands and eyes and a merciful heart, 
 132. See Ts^ien-shm-tsHen-yen-kwan-shi-yin-p^u-sa-ta-pei-sin- 
 to-lo-ni. 
 
 The Bromantic Legend of Sakya Buddha, 3, 33, 410. 
 
 The Shastra of One Shloka, 302, 303, 308, 316. See Ytli-shu-lu- 
 kia-lun. 
 
 The Sutra of Nalanda the great seat of worship in Central India, 
 289. See Chung-yin-tu-na-lan-to-ta-tau-ch^ang-king. 
 
 Thousand Character Classic, 281. See Tsien-tsi-wen. 
 
 Three Lectures on Buddhism, 419. 
 
 Tiau-fuh-san-mih-t'i-king, 308. See Narrative of Buddha pacify- 
 ing and subduing Samidhi. 
 
 Ti-chl-lun, no. See Shastra of fixed position. 
 
 T'ien-t'ai-shan-chl, 177. See History of T^ien-t^ai-ehan. 
 
 Ti-tsang Sutra, 218, 225. See Ti-tsang-king. 
 
 Ti-tsang-king, 195, 269. See Tirtsang Sutra. 
 
 Transactions of the Second Oriental Congress, 107, 287. 
 
 Travels of Fa-hian and Sung-yun, 408. 
 
 Treatise on the four tones, 113. 
 
 Ts'an-t'ung-ki, 321, 322. 
 
 Tsa-yii-king, 287. See Book of Miscellaneous Parables. 
 
 T8*ien-8heu-ts'ien-yen-kwan-8hli-yin-p'u-sa-ta-pei-sin-to-lo-ni,i32. 
 See The magical formula of the Bodhisattwa Kwan-shi-yin^ 
 who has a thousand hands and eyes and a merciful heart. 
 
 Tsien-tsi-wen, 281. See Book of a Thousand Characters. 
 
 Ts'in history, 90. 
 
 Tsing-ming-king, 177. See Sutra of Pure Name. 
 
 Ts*ing-t8ing-kiuen, 374. 
 
 Tsing-tu-sheng-hien-luh, 278. 
 
 Tsing-tu-shi, 174. 
 
 Tsing-tu-wen, 411. 
 
 Tso-chwen, 16. 
 
 Tsung-mu-yin-yuen-king, 55. See Sutra of iombs in connection 
 vrlth sympathetically -operating causes. 
 
 T*ung-kien-kang-mu, 89, 100, 105, 11 1. See Mirror of History. 
 
 Twan-tsi-sin-yau, 163. 
 
 tjber den Buddhaismus in Hoch Asien und in China, 410. 
 
INDEX. 4S3 
 
 Vajra chedika prajna paramita Sutra, 119. See Kin-kang-pat' 
 
 nia'pa-la-mi-ta-Jdng. 
 Vibhasha-lun, 278. See Vibhasha Shastra. 
 Vibhasha Shastra, 83. See Vibhasha-lun. i 
 Vie de Gaudama, 202. 
 Vishnu Purana, 106. 
 
 Wan-kwo-kung-pau, 366. 
 
 Wei-ma Sutra, 108, 109, 284. 
 
 Wei-shl-lun, 169. 
 
 Wu-liang-sheu kiug, 137, 171, 233, 234. See Amitabha Sutra. 
 
 Yih-shu-lu-kia-lun, 302, 303. See The Shastra of One Shloka. 
 
 Yi-king, 320, 322, 325, 339. See Book of Changes. 
 
 Yin-chi-wen, 367. 
 
 Ying-hwan-chMio, 357. 
 
 Yi-sho-lo-ka-lun, 306. See The Shastra of One Shloka. 
 
 Yi-ts'ie-king-yin-i, 222, 231. 
 
 Yo-shi-king, 235. 
 
 Yo-8l-lieu-li-kwang-ju-lai-kung-te-king, 1 20. 
 
 Yuen History, 148. 
 
 Yu-k*ia-yen-k*eu, 132, 137. 
 
 Yii-lan-p'en Sutra, 210. 
 
 Yu-li, 358, 360, 365. 
 
 Yii-li-ch'au-chwen, 367. 
 
 YU-plen, 112, 146. 
 
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