Part 5

The great _Hondo_ or hall of the _Hongwanji_ temples in Kyōto is a thing of exquisite beauty. How different are these great altars, these exquisite paintings, this cave of splendour, with its dim lights and its fragrant incense, from the simple rock-hewn shrines of Ceylon and their barbaric frescoes, and from the sunny courtyards and massed images of a Burmese pagoda! Very different, too, is the worship of this devout crowd of Japanese men and women, prostrating themselves before the high altar or joining in antiphonal praises of Amitābha (_Amida Nyorai_), the lord of the Western Paradise. The influence of the solemn chanting, the deep notes of gongs, the incense rising in clouds, the dim lights, the burnished gold and lacquer work of screen and altar--all this is almost hypnotic, and the congregation is borne along on a tide of sombre feeling shot through with gleams of joy and otherworldly enthusiasm. The student who has steeped himself in the simple pithy sayings of the _Dhammapada_, or of the Amitābha Books, and then passes on to study the elaborate apocalypses of the Lotus Scripture, will understand what has taken place in this transition from the simple ethical reform movement of early Buddhism to the elaborate pietism and cultus of the _Mahāyāna_. The historical Sākyamuni has almost disappeared, and in his place there are the eternal or semi-eternal Buddhas, and the great Bodhisattvas. Let us study the figures in this great Kyōto temple. The central position is given to the Japanese monk Shinran, a Luther or Wesley who in the twelfth century popularised in Japan the Way of Salvation by Faith; to the left of him are the figures of Amida Nyorai, the chief object of worship in this sect, Honen, the predecessor of Shinran and his teacher in the way of mystic faith, and Shōtoku, the great layman who as Regent of Japan espoused Buddhism in the seventh century A.D., and laid the foundations of Japanese civilisation. He is the patron saint of the arts and crafts of Japan and is given a prominent place in _Shin Shu_ Buddhism (to which three-quarters of Japanese Buddhists belong) because it claims to be a religion for lay-people and not only for monks. There is a delightful story of Shinran and of the lady who led him to realise this truth. Going up to his monastery on the Hiei San Shinran met a charming princess, who took from her long silken sleeve a burning glass; "See how this little crystal gathers to a point the scattered rays of the sun," she cried. "Cannot you do this for our religion?" He replied that it took twenty years to train a monk in the old _Tendai_ sect to which he belonged, and she reminded him that women were not allowed to go up to its temples. He went away and meditating upon the essential teachings of Buddhism came to the conclusion that the real heart of the matter was this, that it is faith in the eternal Buddha and gratitude to him which are to be the motives of true living, that as the Lotus Scripture teaches, all may become Buddhas, and that the priests of Amida should be free to become fathers after the pattern of the Heavenly Father. Marrying the charming princess this Japanese Luther founded a new sect, and to-day one sees the hereditary abbot, splendid in purple and scarlet, accompanied by his son, a boy of seventeen, proudly conscious of his destiny as the next head of the great hierarchy, and taking his place in the elaborate ritual of the service. Behind them are the choir in robes of old gold and the priests in black. "_Namu Amida Butsu_"[13] intone the priests, and alternating with this act of faith they sing to a kind of Gregorian chant such words as these:

"Eternal Life, Eternal Light! Hail to Thee, wisdom infinite. Hail to Thee, mercy shining clear, And limitless as is the air. Thou givest sight unto the blind, Thou sheddest mercy on mankind, Hail, gladdening Light, Hail, generous Might, Whose peace is round us like the sea, And bathes us in infinity."

Or it may be some patriarch who is being hymned, such as Honen himself:

"What though great teachers lead the way,-- Genshin and Zendo of Cathay,-- Did Honen not the truth declare How should we far-off sinners fare In this degenerate, evil day?"

Occasionally a hymn, like the excellent preaching of some of the priests, strikes a note of moral living whose motive is gratitude to Amida:

"Eternal Father on whose breast We sinful children find our rest, Thy mind in us is perfected When on all men thy love we shed; So we in faith repeat thy praise, And gratefully live out our days."[14]

The Japanese, in whom gratitude is a very strong motive, find in the teachings of Shinran a Buddhism which is very Christian, and the words attributed to him as he was nearing his journey's end, are a confession of sin which is only worthy of a saint. That the mass of his followers fall far behind him in this respect is unfortunately true, as it is true of most of us who call ourselves by a greater name.

Other founders of Buddhism are commemorated on the altars and in the hymns of this sect, especially Nāgārjuna, the Indian philosopher of about the second century A.D., and Donran, a Chinese, who carried still further the evolution of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

A Revival of Buddhism.

The _Shin Shu_ is one of the sects of Japanese Buddhism in which a great revival seems to be at work. Upwards of five hundred young priests are being trained in its schools in Kyōto, and it claims to have one hundred and fifty thousand children in its Sunday Schools, an organisation in which it has wisely imitated the missionary methods of the Christian Church.

This Buddhist revival in Japan is well worthy of study. As in Ceylon and Burma nationalism has much to do with it. The Japanese have been reminded by Lafcadio Hearn and Fenollosa and by their own native scholars trained by Max Müller at Oxford, or in other Western universities, how great is the debt which they owe to Buddhism; "There is scarcely one interesting or beautiful thing produced in the country," wrote Lafcadio Hearn, "for which the nation is not in some sort indebted to Buddhism," and the Japanese, in whom gratitude is a strong motive, are saying, "Thank you." Moreover, in the present restless seeking after truth the nation is finding, in its old religions, things which it is refusing lightly to cast away, and in its resentment against some of the nations of Christendom, and its conviction that our Christianity does not go very deep, it reminds itself that after all Buddhism was a great international force which helped to establish peace for a thousand years in Asia.

The present revival manifests itself in many ways, not least in the new intellectual activity which has brought into existence Buddhist universities, chairs of religious education, and a very vigorous output of literature; and each of the great sects has some outstanding scholar trained in the scientific methods of Western scholarship, but proud to call himself a Buddhist. There are ample signs, too, of a quickened interest in social service, of movements for children and young people, such as the Y.M.B.A., which is now active in all Buddhist countries.

Old temples are being repaired and new ones built and there are said to be over a hundred thousand of these in Japan devoted to Buddhism alone. Amongst the more recent is one in Kyōto which cost nearly a million pounds sterling; for the transport of its massive timbers hundreds of thousands of women sacrificed their hair. It is interesting and amusing to see Buddhist priests in bowler hats and gorgeous robes directing the removal of some ancient shrine to a new site and to note the modern American methods of engineering employed. All this is symptomatic of a new Japan which is yet tenaciously loyal to its old past.

Another symptom is a vigorous attempt at moral reform about which the "Mahāyānist," a Buddhist periodical, said, "Whilst formerly the moral sickness was allowed to go on unchecked, now the coverings are cast aside and the disease laid bare which is the first thing to do if the patient is to be cured." One hears a good deal about misappropriation of temple funds, and moral laxity in matters of sex. It is not for a visitor to comment on these things. Personally I believe that Buddhism is really a power for good: and I am inclined to think that the beautiful courtesy and kindliness one meets everywhere largely spring from it, and are one of its many noble fruits. We in the West have made more of commercial honesty and less of courtesy and forbearance than Jesus was wont to do: and there is no more odious type than the self-righteous visitor from Western lands who comes to the East armed with a narrow and negative moral code and a critical spirit. Certainly Buddhism is teaching "morals" to its children, and in a thousand ways its influence is felt in that very attractive character so truly described by Lafcadio Hearn as peculiar to the Japanese, of which the essence is a genuine kindness of heart that is essentially Buddhist. Another proof that the chief sects are now filled with vigorous life is to be found in their missionary activities. The first Buddhist missionary from Japan to China was sent out by the eastern branch of the _Hongwanji_ in 1876, a spiritual return for the early Chinese missions of twelve hundred years ago. Missions have also been established in Honolulu in 1897 and they are numerous on the Pacific Coast of North America. Home missionary work, too, is being attempted, owing largely to the influence of a layman; the _Shin Shu_ priests are working in jails, seeking to arouse a sense of sin in the inmates; and in Tokio one may visit a training school where some sixty students are trained in charity organisation and lodging houses for the poor.

Christian Influence.

All this is very largely the outcome of Christian activities in Japan and it is very noteworthy that while the Christian Church is numerically small its leadership in liberal politics and in philanthropy is acknowledged all over the Empire and its pervasive influence upon the thought of modern Japan is obvious on all sides. St. Francis of Assisi and Tolstoy are perhaps the Christian leaders most admired by the Japanese. They belong to the same spiritual company as the great Sākyamuni, who, like them, embraced poverty and was filled with a tender love and a sane yet passionate enthusiasm of humanity. Japan is looking for a great spiritual and moral leader. Will he be a Buddhist like the great Nichiren who in the thirteenth century came like a strong sea-breeze to revive the soul of his people and preached a religion which was to be a moral guide in national affairs and in the daily life of his people? Or will he be a Christian leader who, counting all things as dung compared with the Gospel of Jesus, shall answer the cry of the Japanese patriot who believes that his people are hungry for truth? There is a wealth of liberalism in young Japan and there are idealists everywhere waiting to rally around a great religious leader. But he will need to know and understand her past and to launch his appeal to that wonderful patriotism which is the essence of the Japanese character.

Can Buddhism produce this moral leadership? Let us hear what a Japanese Christian of great learning and insight has to say. "To Buddhism Japan owes a great debt for certain elements of her faith which would scarcely have developed without its aid; but those germinal elements have taken on a form and colouring, a personal vitality not gained elsewhere. Important as are those elements of faith, they still lack the final necessary reality. Buddhism is incomplete in the god whom it presents as an object of worship. In place of the Supreme Being, spiritual and personal, Buddhism offers a reality of which nothing can be affirmed, or, at best, a Great Buddha among many. Buddhism is incomplete in the consciousness of sin which it awakens within the soul of man. Instead of the sense of having violated an eternal law of righteous love by personal antagonism, Buddhism deepens the consciousness of human misery by an unbreakable bond of suffering; and the salvation, therefore, which Buddhism offers is deliverance from misery, not from the power of personal sin. In its idea of self-sacrifice, Buddhism affords an element of faith much more nearly allied to that of the Christian believer. In both the offering of self is for the sake of the multitude, the world-brotherhood; but in the one pity, often acquiescent and helpless, predominates, whereas in the other loyalty to a divine ideal finds expression in the obligation to active service."

And yet let us note that Buddhism has undoubtedly nerved men of action, and inspired saints, and that its call to meditation and to quiet strength is one that our age needs to regard. Not far from the great Pietist temples of _Hongwanji_, I found a veritable haven of peace--the courtyard and simple buildings of a _Zenshu_ sect.

How different from the Buddhism of the Amida sects is that of _Zenshu_! Seated in his exquisite retreat one may visit an abbot or teacher of this school. The orderliness and quiet of his temple courts, the stillness of his posture, the repose of his face--all alike tell one of spiritual calm. Perhaps one begins to ask him the secret of it. "Ah," he may say, "that is not easy. You should go and study one of the simpler sects." Then, if his questioner is persistent, he will suddenly present him with one of the _Koans_, or dark sayings which have come down for many centuries: "Listen," he will say, "to the sound of a single hand." Puzzled and disturbed the mind may refuse to deal with this enigma, or it may learn the great lesson which is intended to be learned, that intuition is a surer guide to truth than the discursive reason, or as we should say in our psychological jargon, the sub-conscious has gifts for us if we will give it a chance. The essence, in fact, of this sect is a quiet sense of the presence of eternal truths. The Buddha is not to be found in images or books, but in the heart or mind, and in scores of Buddhist monasteries I have found the spirit of Wordsworth with its serene sense of a pervasive presence,

"Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns."

[11] A. K. Reischauer, _Studies in Japanese Buddhism_.

[12] See _Buddhism as a Religion_, by H. Hackmann, and my _Epochs of Buddhist History_. (To be published later.)

[13] Praise to Amida Buddha.

[14] See "Buddhist Hymns," tr. by S. Yamabe and L. Adams Beck.

II. BUDDHISM IN CHINA

The followers of this meditative school are to be found throughout the monasteries of China and Korea where they are known as the _Chan_ sect; but here more than in Japan their quietism is mingled with the devotion to Amitābha or Omito-Fo, and though in many places such as the exquisite island of Putoshan they are faithful in the practice of meditation, they seem to have carried it to a far less perfect pitch than the more scholarly followers of the Japanese school.

A Chinese Temple.

Let us get a glimpse of Chinese Buddhism in one of these great monasteries. The day is a round of worship[15] and the worship is divided amongst many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Here some rich layman is making an offering for masses for his dead; Buddhism in China has indeed become largely a matter of such masses, and the filial Chinese spend yearly scores of millions upon them.[16] The priests have turned out in force, and the abbot is reciting the praises now of Omito-Fo, now of Pilochana, the great sun-Buddha, now of the merciful Kwanyin whose ears are ever open to human prayer, and now of Titsang, guardian of the dead. Beautiful figures these, and especially that of this strong conqueror of death so popular amongst the Japanese as the guardian of the little ones who have gone into the dark under-world. Innumerable figures of him adorned with baby garments tell their own pathetic tale, and he is unimaginative indeed who cannot find here in these ideal figures traces of the Spirit of God at work in human hearts.

It is harder to sympathise with and to admire the Lama Buddhism which has penetrated China from Tibet, but even here there are some beautiful figures such as the _Tāras_, and amongst the mummery and moral corruption of a Lama temple one may find some sparks of the divine spirit, even if one fails to meet the Lama of Kim!

Buddhism in China, decadent though it is in many places, is reviving itself; there is great building activity at certain centres such as Ningpo and Hangchow; there are probably nearly half a million monks, and at one ordination in 1920 a thousand candidates were ordained in Changchow. Many men, indeed, disillusioned at the failure of the revolution, are seeking the quiet otherworldly retreats of Buddhism, and others of scholarly bent delight in the classical scriptures which the early missionaries from India translated into Chinese, and which are still models of beauty.

Among laymen also there is an increasing interest in the Buddhist scriptures. Turn into this bookstore at Peking and you will find over a thousand copies of different texts and commentaries, and there are publishing-houses in most of the great cities. Two notable works are the reprint of the whole of the Scriptures and a new dictionary of Buddhist terms, containing over three thousand pages. At Ningpo one will find a small group of young enthusiasts working for a "neo-Buddhism." Antipathetic to Christianity, and especially to the aggressions of "Christian" nations, these men, like some of the propagandists in Ceylon, use weapons which are two-edged and dangerous to all religion, not only to Christianity; they seem to feed upon the publications of the rationalist press, and must not be taken too seriously. Yet we can sympathise with their resentment of Western aggression, which is a large factor in these Buddhist movements everywhere. "Buddhism: the Religion of Asia" often accompanies and reinforces another cry, "Asia for the Asiatics."

Of great significance are these Pan-Buddhist movements attempting to unite the Buddhist peoples in a strong Eastern civilisation such as that which welded them together for a thousand years in the Golden Age of the past. One such movement originates in Ceylon with the vigorous layman Dharmapala, in whom resentment against the West blends with a real enthusiasm for Buddhism. In 1893 he visited China, and stirred up some of the Chinese monks, calling upon them to go to India as missionaries; in Japan he attacked some of the great abbots as wine-drinkers and corrupt, and every where he is a pungent and provocative influence. In 1918 a Pan-Buddhist Association was started in Tokyo and in the following year a rival one was founded in Peking. It is, in fact, rather pathetic to find Buddhism being promoted by the Japanese in Korea as a part of their propaganda to Japanise the Koreans, and at the same time claiming in China to be _the_ religion for democratic nations.

In justification of such claims, however, Buddhism is doing some good work in social service, and in education, and takes its part in famine relief, prison visitation, and the beneficent work of the Red Cross.

The Chinese are a religious people, whatever critics may say. Vast armies of monks and innumerable temples and shrines witness to this other-worldly strain, and though much of their religion is superstitious, and almost all of it needs moralising, the sympathetic observer will find on every hand the evidences that these are not a "secular-minded" people.

In almost every house are not only ancestor-tablets, but images of Kwanyin and other Buddhist deities, and pilgrimages play in China as elsewhere in Asia a great part in the national life.

Follow this merry throng as it climbs the slopes of some great mountain; note the groves and the poetical inscriptions on the rocks; enter this noble group of temples with them and watch their acts of worship.

Here before Kwanyin a young apprentice bows: carelessly he tosses the bamboo strips which will tell him if his prayer is to be answered, and defiantly he tosses his head as he turns away with a refusal from the goddess: but here is an old widow, with sorrowful persistence importuning the Compassionate One, and in even the most careless is a belief that Heaven rules in the affairs of men and that Heaven is just.

Here prayers are offered for rain and harvest, for children and wealth, for release from suffering and demons.

As in many Christian nations the bridge between natural religion and the essential truths of Christian Theism is a very shaky one--so here in China and Japan, whilst there is a widespread belief in Karma and in Heaven's laws, this is but vaguely connected with the polytheistic cults of the masses. And as in some other Christian lands, the worship of the saints and local gods--even of the great Kwanyin--is not always moralised. Habitual sinners--opium fiends who, it may be, are ruining scores of lives, prostitutes and murderers--will pay their daily court to the family or local god: not conscious of any demand from the Compassionate that they should show compassion, or from the Righteous that they should be righteous. Buddhism has indeed lost its early salt of morality. It is for these and other reasons that China and Japan urgently need the Gospel of Jesus and of His Kingdom. In their own religious development is a noble preparation for this New Order: and in the Jesus of History they are finding a Norm and a Vision of God which makes their old ideals real and vital, and which purifies their idea of God. In this faith the Church is at work in these wonderful lands, believing that they have rich gifts for the Kingdom of God, and that it will greatly enrich them and carry to its fulfilment their noble civilisations whilst it emancipates their masses from fear and superstition. With all its achievements Buddhism has failed because it has had no power to cast out fear, and its Confucian critics even accuse it of playing upon the superstition of the people and of letting loose more demons to plague them. Yet it has done much for China, not only ennobling her art and culture but giving a new value to the individual, a new respect for women, a new love of nature, and many noble objects of worship to hungry human hearts.

Whilst then the Gospel wins its way slowly but surely in Asia, leavening and giving new and abundant life, there are those in Christendom who hold that it is played out, and that Buddhism is destined to supersede it as the religion of the intelligent!

The student should investigate their activities in London, Breslau, and other Western cities; and he may find Appendix I a finger-post to guide him in his quest.

Appendix II is offered as a similar guide to a course of reading.

[15] The chief services are at 2 a.m. and at 4 p.m.

[16] During the war many such masses were said for the fallen, whether friend or foe.

APPENDIX I[17]

SOME EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN BUDDHISTS

In the year 1881 Dr. Rhys Davids said, "There is not the slightest danger of any European ever entering the Buddhist Order."[18] Yet a recent writer was told by a Buddhist in Ceylon that his religion was making its converts "chiefly amongst the Tamils and Germans," and in each of the Buddhist countries there is to-day a small but active group of converts from the European nations to Buddhism.

It would be difficult to say whether these groups are the product or the cause of the undoubted revival which is taking place in the Buddhist world: probably they are part product and part cause. Buddhism is certainly in ferment. As Dr. Suzuki has said, "It is in a stage of transition from a mediæval dogmatic and conservative spirit to one of progress, enlightenment, and liberalism,"[19] and in other ways, especially in Japan, it is approximating to a liberal Christianity.