Buddhism and Buddhists in China
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Lewis Hodus >> Buddhism and Buddhists in China
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_5. Buddhism an. Inclusive Religion._
Upon this, confused jumble of spiritism, superstition, loyalty to
ancestors and submission to a divine hierarchy Buddhism was
superimposed. It quickly dominated all because of its superior
excellence. The form of Buddhism which became established in China was
not, to be sure, like the Buddhism preached by Gautama and his
disciples, or like that form of Buddhism which had taken root in Burma
or Ceylon. Except in name, the Buddhism of Southern Asia and the
Buddhism which developed in China were virtually two distinct types of
religion. The Buddhism of Burma and Ceylon was of the conservative
Hinayana ("Little Vehicle" of salvation) school, while that of China was
of the progressive Mahayana ("Great Vehicle" of salvation) school. Their
differences are so marked as to be worthy of a careful statement.
The Hinayana, which is today the type of Buddhism in Ceylon, Burma and
Siam, has always clung closely to tradition as expressed in the original
Buddhist scriptures. Its basic ideas were that life is on the whole a
time of suffering, that the cause of this sorrow is desire or ignorance,
and that there is a possible deliverance from it. This deliverance or
salvation is to be attained by following the eightfold path, namely,
right knowledge, aspiration, speech, conduct, means of livelihood,
endeavor, mindfulness and meditation. To the beatific state to be
ultimately attained Gautama gave the name Nirvana, explained by his
followers variously either as an utter extinction of personality or as a
passionless peace, a general state of well-being free from all evil
desire or clinging to life and released from the chain of
transmigration. Hinayana Buddhism appeals to the individual as affording
a way of escape from evil desire and its consequences by acquiring
knowledge, by constant discipline, and by a devotedness of the life to
religious ends through membership in the monastic order which Buddha
established. It encourages, however, a personal salvation worked out by
the individual alone.
The Mahayana school of Buddhists accept the general ideas of the
Hinayana regarding life and salvation, but so change the spirit and
objectives as to make Buddhism into what is virtually another religion.
It does not confine salvation to the few who can retire from the world
and give themselves wholly to good works, but opens Buddhahood to all.
The "saint" of Hinayana Buddhism is the _arhat_ who is intent on
saving himself. The saint of Mahayana Buddhism is the candidate for
Buddhahood (Bodhisattva) who defers his entrance into the bliss of
deliverance in order to save others. Mahayana Buddhism is progressive.
It encourages missionary enterprise and was a secret of the remarkable
spread of Buddhism over Asia. Moreover, while the Hinayana school
recognizes no god or being to whom worship is given, the Mahayana came
to regard Gautama himself as a god and salvation as life in a heavenly
world of pure souls. Thus the Mahayana type of thinking constitutes a
bridge between Hinayana Buddhism and Christianity. In fact, a recent
writer has declared that Hinayana Buddhists are verging toward these
more spiritual conceptions. [Footnote: See Saunders, _Buddhism and
Buddhists in Southern Asia,_ pp. 10, 20.]
After the death of Sakyamuni [Footnote: Sakyamuni is the name by which
Gautama, the Buddha, is familiarly known in China.] Buddhism broke up
into a number of sects usually said to be eighteen in number. When
Buddhism came to China some of these sects were introduced, but they
assumed new forms in their Chinese environment. Besides the sects
brought, from India the Chinese developed several strong sects of their
own. Usually they speak of ten sects although the number is far larger,
if the various subdivisions are included.
To indicate the manifold differences between these groups in Buddhism
would take us far afield and would not be profitable. It will be of
interest, however, to consider some of the chief sects. One of the sects
introduced from India is the Pure Land or the Ching T'u which holds
before the believer the "Western Paradise" gained through faith in
Amitabha. Any one, no matter what his life may have been, may enter the
Western Paradise by repeating the name of Amitabha. This sect is
widespread in China. In Japan there are two branches of it known as the
Nishi-Hongwanji and the Higashi-Hongwanji with their head monasteries in
Kyoto. They are the most progressive sects in Japan and are carrying on
missionary work in China, the Hawaiian Islands and in the United States.
Another strong sect is the Meditative sect or the Ch'an Men (Zen in
Japan). This was introduced by Bodhidharma, or Tamo, who arrived in the
capital of China in the year 520 A.D. On his arrival the emperor Wu Ti
tried to impress the sage with his greatness saying: "We have built
temples, multiplied the Scriptures, encouraged many to join the Order:
is not there much merit in all this?" "None," was the blunt reply. "But
what say the holy books? Do they not promise rewards for such deeds?"
"There is nothing holy." "But you, yourself, are you not one of the holy
ones?" "I don't know." "Who are you?" "I don't know." Thus introduced,
the great man proceeded to open his missionary-labors by sitting down
opposite a wall arid gazing at it for the next nine years. From this he
has been called the "wall-gazer." He and his successors promulgated the
doctrine that neither the scriptures, the ritual nor the organization,
in fact nothing outward had any value in the attainment of
enlightenment. They held that the heart of the universe is Buddha and
that apart from the heart or the thought all is unreal. They thought
themselves back into the universal Buddha and then found the Buddha
heart in all nature. Thus they awakened the spirit which permeated
nature, art and literature and made the whole world kin with the spirit
of the Buddha.
"The golden light upon the sunkist peaks,
The water murmuring in the pebbly creeks,
Are Buddha. In the stillness, hark, he speaks!"
[Footnote: K. J. Saunders in _Epochs of Buddhist History._]
Such pantheism and quietism often lead to a confusion in moral
relations, but these mystics were quite correct in their morals because
they checked up their mysticism with the moral system of the Buddha.
Still another important sect originated in the sixth century A. D. on
Chinese soil, namely, the T'ien T'ai (Japanese Tendai), so called
because it started in a monastery situated on the beautiful T'ien T'ai
mountains south of Ningpo. Chih K'ai, the founder, realized that
Buddhism contained a great mass of contradictory teachings and practice,
all attributed to the Buddha. He sought for a harmonizing principle and
found it in the arbitrary theory that these teachings were given to
different people on five different occasions and hence the
discrepancies. The practical message of this sect has been that all
beings have the Buddha heart and that the Buddha loves all beings, so
that all beings may attain salvation, which consists in the full
realization of the Buddha heart latent in them.
There was a time when these sects were very active and flourishing in
China. At the present time the various tendencies for which they stood
have been adopted by Buddhism as a whole and the various sectaries,
though still keeping the name of the sect, live peacefully in the same
monastery. All the monasteries practice meditation, believe in the
paradise of Amitabha, and are enjoying the ironic calm advocated by the
T'ien T'ai. While the struggle among the sects of China has been
followed by a calm which resembles stagnation, those in Japan are very
active and the reader is referred to the volume of this series on
Japanese Buddhism for further treatment of the subject.
When Buddhism entered China it brought with it a new world. It was new
_practical_ and new spiritually. It brought a knowledge unknown
before regarding the heavenly bodies, regarding nature and regarding
medicine, and a practice vastly above the realm of magical arts. In
addition to these practical benefits, Buddhism proclaimed a new
spiritual universe far more real and extensive than any of which the
Chinese had dreamed, and peopled with spiritual beings having
characteristics entirely novel. In comparison with this new universe or
series of universes which Indian imagination had created, the Chinese
universe was wooden and geometric. Since it was an organized system and
a greater rather than a different one, the Chinese people readily
accepted it and made it their own.
Buddhism not only enlarged the universe and gave the individual a range
of opportunity hitherto unsuspected, but it introduced a scheme of
religious practice, or rather several of them, enabling the individual
devotee to attain a place in this spiritual universe through his own
efforts. These "ways" of salvation were quite in harmony with Chinese
ideas. They resembled what had already been a part of the national
practice and so were readily adopted and adapted by the Chinese.
Buddhism rendered a great service to the Chinese through its new
estimate of the individual. Ancient China scarcely recognized the
individual. He was merged in the family and the clan. Taoists, to be
sure, talked of "immortals" and Confucianism exhibited its typical
personality, or "princely man," but these were thought of as supermen,
as ideals. The classics of China had very little to say about the common
people. The great common crowd was submerged. Buddhism, on the other
hand, gave every individual a distinct place in the great wheel
_dharma,_ the law, and made it possible for him to reach the very
highest goal of salvation. This introduced a genuinely new element into
the social and family life of the Chinese people.
Buddhism was so markedly superior to any one of the four other methods
of expressing the religious life, that it quickly won practical
recognition as the real religion of China. Confucianism may be called
the doctrine of the learned classes. It formulates their principles of
life, but it is in no strict sense a popular religion. It is rather a
state ritual, or a scheme of personal and social ethics. Taoism
recognizes the immediate influence of the spirit world, but it ministers
only to local ideals and needs. In the usages of family and community
life, ancestor worship has a definite place, but an occasional one.
Buddhism was able to leave untouched each of these expressions of
Chinese personal and social life, and yet it went far beyond them in
ministering to religious development. Its ideas of being, of moral
responsibility and of religious relationships furnished a new psychology
which with all its imperfections far surpassed that of the Chinese.
Buddhism's organization was so satisfying and adaptable that not only
was it taken over readily by the Chinese, but it has also persisted in
China without marked changes since its introduction. Most of all it
stressed personal salvation and promised an escape from the impersonal
world of distress and hunger which surrounds the average Chinese into a
heaven ruled by Amitabha [Footnote: Amitabha, meaning "infinite light,"
is the Sanskrit name of one of the Buddhas moat highly revered in China.
The usual Chinese equivalent is Omi-To-Fo.] the Merciful. The
obligations of Buddhism are very definite and universally recognized. It
enforces high standards of living, but has added significance because it
draws each devotee into a sort of fellowship with the divine, and mates
not this life alone, but this life plus a future life, the end of human
activity. Buddhism, therefore, really expresses the deepest religious
life of the people of China.
It will be worth while to note some illustrations of the conviction of
the Chinese people that there are three religions to which they owe
allegiance and yet that these are essentially one. They often say, "The
three teachings are the whole teaching." An old scholar is reported to
have remarked, "The three roads are different, but they lead to the same
source." A common story reports that Confucius was asked in the other
world about drinking wine, which Buddhists forbid but Taoists permit.
Confucius replied: "If I do not drink I become a Buddha. If I drink I
become an Immortal. Well, if there is wine, I shall drink; if there is
none, I shall abstain." This expresses characteristically the Chinese
habit of adaptation. Such a decision sounds quite up to date.
The Ethical Culture Society of Peking, recently organized, has upon its
walls pictures of Buddha, Lao Tzu, Confucius and Christ. Its members
claim to worship Shang Ti as the god of all religions. An offshoot of
this society, the T'ung Shan She, associates the three founders very
closely with Christ. It claims to have a deeper revelation of Christ
than the Christians themselves. A new organization, the Tao Yuan, plans
to harmonize the three old religions with Mohammedanism and
Christianity.
Buddhism has consistently and continually striven to bring about a unity
of religion in China by interpenetrating Confucianism and Taoism. Quite
early the Buddhists invented the story that the Bodhisattva Ju T'ung was
really Confucius incarnate. There was at one time a Buddhist temple to
Confucius in the province of Shantung. The Buddhists also gave out the
story that Bodhisattva Kas'yapa was the incarnation of Lao Tzu, the
founder of Taoism. An artist painted Lao Tzu transformed into a Buddha,
seated in a lotus bud with a halo about his head. In front of the Buddha
was Confucius doing reverence. A Chinese scholar, asked for his opinion
about the picture, said: "Buddha should be seated; Lao Tzu should be
standing at the side looking askance at Buddha; and Confucius should be
grovelling on the floor."
A monument dating from 543 A. D., illustrates this tendency of Buddhism
to represent its own superiority in Chinese religious life. At the top
of the monument is Brahma, lower down is Sakyamuni with his disciples,
Ananda and Kas'yapa on one face, and on the other Sakyamuni again,
conversing with Buddha Prabhutaratna and worshipped by monks and
Bodhisattvas. On the pedestal are Confucian and Taoist deities, ten in
number. Thus Buddhism sought to rank itself clearly above the other two
religions. From the early days Buddhism regarded itself as their
superior and began the processes of interpenetration and absorption. In
consequence the values originally inherent in Buddhism have come to be
regarded as the natural possession of the Chinese. It does express their
religious life, especially in South China, where outward manifestations
of religion are perhaps more marked than in the north.
IV
BUDDHISM AND THE PEASANT
In order that, one may realize the place that Buddhism holds in the
religious life of the Chinese people as a whole, he must turn to the
organizations through which it functions. It is sometimes difficult to
estimate the place of Buddhism in China, because it so interpenetrates
the whole cultural and social life of the people. It becomes their
"way." To see how it touches the life of the average man or woman in
various ways will, therefore, be illuminating. The most outstanding
evidence of devotion are the many monasteries which dot the land in all
Buddhist countries. China is less dominated by them than other lands,
yet they form a very important reason for the persistence and strength
of Buddhism there. One of the famous old shrines will represent them as
a class and give evidence of their importance.
_1. The Monastery of Kushan_
Kushan Monastery, located about four hours' ride by sedan-chair from
Foochow, is a famous shrine of South China. It occupies a large
amphitheater about fifteen hundred feet above the plain, part way up
Kushan, the "Drum Mountain," some three thousand feet high. From the top
of the mountain on clear days with the help of a glass the blue shores
of Formosa may be seen on the eastern horizon. The spacious monastery
buildings are surrounded by a grove of noble trees, in which squirrels,
pheasants, chipmunks and snakes enjoy an undisturbed life.
The ascent to the monastery begins on the bank of the Min River. At the
foot of the mountain in a large temple the traveler may obtain mountain
chairs carried by two or more coolies. The road, paved with granite
slabs cut from the mountain side, consists of a series of stone stairs,
which zig-zag up the mountain under the shadow of ancient pine trees.
Every turn brings to view a bit of landscape carpeted with rice, or a
distant view where mountains and sky meet. A brook rushes by the side of
the road. Here it breaks into a beautiful waterfall. There it gurgles'
in a deep ravine. The sides of the road are covered with large granite
blocks which, loosened from the mountain side by earthquakes, have
disposed themselves promiscuously. Their blackened, weather-beaten sides
are incised with Chinese characters. One of them bears the words: "We
put our trust in Amitabha." Another immortalizes the sentiments of some
great official who has made the pilgrimage to the mountain. Near the
monastery stand the sombre dagobas where repose the ashes of former
abbots and monastery officials. Not far away on the other side of the
road, hidden by trees, is the crematory where the last remains of the
brethren are consumed by the flames.
As one approaches the monastery he hears the regular sounds of a bell
tolled by a water-wheel, reminding the faithful of Buddha's law. He sees
monks strolling leisurely about and lay brethren carrying wood,
cultivating the gardens, or tending the animals released by pious
devotees to heap up merit for themselves in the next world. Just inside
the main gate is a large fish pond, where goldfish of great size
struggle with one another, and with the lazy turtles, for the round hard
cakes purchased from the monks by the merit-seeking devotee.
The monastery itself consists of a large group of buildings erected
about stone-paved courts, rising in terraces on the mountain side. The
large court at the entrance leads to the "Hall of the Four Kings." As
one enters the spacious door, he _is_ faced by a jolly, almost
naked image of the "Laughing Buddha." This is Maitreya, the Mea siah of
the Buddhists, who will return to the world five thousand years after
the departure of Sakyamuni. In the northern monasteries Maitreya is
often represented as reaching a height when standing of seventy feet or
more, which indicates the stature to which man will attain when he
returns to earth. On each side of the visitor are two immense images of
the Deva kings. In Brahman cosmogony they were the guardians of the
world. In this entrance hall of the Buddhist monastery they stand as
guardians of the Buddhist faith. In the same hall looking toward the
open court beyond is Wei To, another guardian deity of Buddhism.
Somewhere near by is Kuan Ti, the god worshipped by the soldiers and
merchants. Although a Confucian god, he was early adopted by Buddhist
monks into their pantheon and made the guardian of their Order.
Beyond this entrance hall is a large stone-paved court. On the right
side is a bell-tower whose bell is tolled by a monk who has kept the vow
of silence for fourteen years. On the left is a drum-tower. On the right
one finds a series of small shrines. A passage way leads to the library
where numerous Buddhist writings repose in lacquered cases, some of them
written in their own blood by devout monks. On the same side are guest
halls, the dining room for three hundred monks, and the spacious, well
equipped kitchen with running water piped from a reservoir in the hills
above. A store where books, images and the simple requirements of the
monks can be obtained is just above the dining room. On the left side of
the court are large buildings used as dormitories far the monks,
storerooms, and for housing the great printing establishment with its
thousands of wooden blocks on which are carved passages from the
Buddhist scriptures. Here also are kept the coffins in which the monks
are to be burned.
On a terrace above the north side of the court rises the main hall,
called the "Hall of the Triratna," the Buddhist Trinity, where three
gilded images are seated on a lotus flower with halos covering their
backs and heads. The center image is that of Sakyamuni, the Buddha. On
his right is Yao Shih, the Buddha of medicine, and on the left,
Amitabha. Quite often these images are said to represent the Buddha, the
Law and the Community of Monks. On the altar are candlesticks and a fine
incense burner from which curls of smoke arise. An immense lamp hangs
from the ceiling. In the rear are banners with praises to Buddha given
by pious devotees. The floor is tiled and covered with round mats made
of palm fiber on which the monks kneel during worship. Before the mats
are low stands for books. On each side of this main hall are the images
of nine Buddhist saints (_arhats_), eighteen in all. Behind this
large temple opens another court and on a terrace above it stands the
hall of the Law with the images of Kuan Yin, the goddess of Mercy, and
the twenty-four devas. Here also are small images of viceroys and
patrons of the monastery.
The hillsides are dotted with numerous temples and shrines. There is one
to Chu-Hsi, the great philosopher of the Sung dynasty, who was born in
Fukien. In it are preserved a few characters indited by his hand. On the
west side of the monastery are large buildings for the housing of
animals released by merit-seeking devotees. Here cows, hogs, goats,
chickens, geese and ducks spend their old age without fear of beginning
their transmigration by forming the main portion of a Chinese feast.
The monastery is governed by an abbot, usually a man of good business
ability, elected by the monks. Under him are the officers of the two
wings or groups of attendants. One set looks after the spiritual
interests, of the monks; the-other takes care of their material needs:
The monks have worship about two o'clock in the morning and again at
about four in the afternoon. The rest of the long day they spend in
meditation, or study, in strolling about the mountain side or in sleep.
Their life is separated from all stirring contact with the life of the
world.
_2. Monasteries Control Feng-shui_
This monastery with its appointments is a good type of the monasteries
all over China. It was founded at the request of the inhabitants of the
neighborhood, because the dragons of the region used to cause much
damage to the crops in the surrounding country. A holy monk came,
founded the monastery, and by his good influence so curbed the dragons
that the country-side has enjoyed peace ever since and the monastery has
prospered. Since the fourth century of our era records show that by the
building of monasteries in strategic place's holy monks brought rains
and prosperity to various regions, or prevented floods and calamities
from damaging the villages. In other words the monasteries are regarded
as the controllers of _feng-shui_ (wind and water). According to
the Chinese philosophy winds and water are spiritual forces and may be
so controlled by other spiritual forces that instead of bringing harm
they will confer benefit upon the people. Floods and dry seasons are so
frequent in China that any institution holding out the promise of
regulating them would become firmly established in the affection of the
people. The monasteries have taken this place.
One of the picturesque features of a Chinese landscape is the pagoda.
These structures were introduced in the early stages of Buddhism to
enshrine the relics of Buddha. It was said that Buddha's body consisted
of eighty thousand parts, hence numerous pagodas were erected to shelter
these relics. Inasmuch as a pagoda contained the relics of Buddha, it
possessed magic power and so came to play a great part in the control of
the winds and the rains. The pagoda in China has an odd number of
stories varying from three to thirteen. The odd numbers belong to the
positive principle in nature which is superior to the negative
principle. The pagoda plays quite a part in the festivals of the people.
On certain occasions the stories are hung with lanterns and the pagodas
are visited by numerous throngs.
_3. Prayer for Rain_
Prayers for rain afford such a common illustration of the relation of
Buddhism to the life of the peasant that a detailed presentation of such
a service may be of seal value.
During a prolonged drought in some district of China, when the heat
opens gaping cracks in the fields and the grain is drying up, the
populace may visit their highest official and apprise him of the dire
situation. He often forbids the slaughter of all animals for three days
and, in case rain has not thereby come, he goes in person or sends a
deputy to the nearest monastery to direct the monks to pray for rain.
_(a) The Altar._--On such an occasion the great hall of the Law may
be used for the ceremony. Quite often a special altar is erected in an
enclosure near the monastery on a platform one foot high and twenty-five
feet on each side, overspread by a tent of green cloth. In the center
seats are arranged for the presiding monk and his assistants. On each of
the four sides of the altar is placed an image of the Dragon King who is
supposed to control the rain. If an image is not obtainable a piece of
paper inscribed with the name of the dragon may be used. Flowers, fruits
and incense are spread before the images. On the doors of the tent are
painted dragons with clouds. The tent and altar are green and the monks
wear green garments, because green belongs to the spring and suggests
rain. For this ceremony the monks prepare themselves by abstinence and
cleansing. The presiding monk is one of high moral character and
religious fervor. While some monks recite appropriate sutras, two others
look after the offerings, the incense, and the sprinkling of water
during the ceremony to suggest the coming of rain. The services continue
day and night, being conducted by groups of monks in succession.
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