Buddhism and Buddhists in China

L >> Lewis Hodus >> Buddhism and Buddhists in China

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"Those who believe this book and propagate its teachings
will not encounter the ten sorrows of the age: war,
fire, no peace day and night, separation of man and wife,
the scattering of the sons and daughters, evil men spread
over the country, dead bones unburied, clothing with no
one to wear it, rice with no one to eat it, and the difficulty
of ever seeing a peaceful year. Sakyamuni foreseeing this
final age sent down this volume in Shantung. The Goddess
of Mercy saw the sorrows of all living beings.
Maitreya commanded the two runners of T'ai Shan, the
god of the Eastern Mountain, to investigate the conduct
of men and as a first punishment to increase the price of
rice, and then besides the ten sorrows already mentioned
above, to inflict the punishments of flood, fire, wind,
thunder, tigers, snakes, sword, disease, famine and cold.
The rule of Sakyamuni which has lasted twelve thousand
years is now fulfilled, and Maitreya succeeds to his place."

These sorrows may be escaped by reciting this sutra whose substance we
find above. If it is repeated three times the person will escape the
calamity of fire and water. If one man passes it on to ten men and ten
men pass it on to a hundred, they will escape the calamities of sword,
disease and imprisonment, and receive blessings which cannot be
measured. He who in addition to repeating the sutra practices abstinence
will insure peace for himself. He who presents one hundred copies to
others will insure his personal peace. He who presents a thousand copies
will insure the peace of his family. He who is attacked by disease, may
escape it by taking five cash of the reign of Shun Chih (1644-1661 A.
D.), the first emperor of the Ch'ing dynasty, one mace of the seed of
cypress, one mace of the bark of mulberry, boil in one bowl of water
until only eight-tenths of the water remain, drink and he will become
well.

In this way the five Buddhist commandments for the laity not to kill any
living creature, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to lie, and
not to use intoxicating liquor are propagated and made real to the
common man. The method is quite efficient. Whole provinces have been put
into a panic by such prophecies.

_2. Effect of Ideals of Mercy and Universal Love_

The command not to kill any living being has had considerable influence
in China. There are volumes of stories telling of the punishments which
will be visited upon those who disobey and of the rewards of those who
release living animals. Every monastery has a special place for animals
thus released by pious devotees.

There is a popular story about a fishmonger of the T'ang dynasty who was
taken sick and during his illness dreamed that he was taken to
purgatory. His body was aflame with fire and pained him as though he
were being roasted. Flying fiery chariots with darting flames swept
around him and burned his body. Ten thousand fish strove with one
another to get a bite of his flesh. The ruler of the lower regions
accused him of killing many fish and hence his punishment. For a number
of days he was hanging between life and death. His relatives were urged
to perform some works of penance. They had his fishing implements
burned. With reverent hearts they made two images of Kuan Yin, presented
offerings and repented. The whole family performed abstinence, stopped
killing living things, printed and gave away over a hundred copies of
the Diamond Sutra, and ferried over a large number of souls through
purgatory. As a result of their efforts the sick man became well.

The following comment was made on the above story by a scholar. If its
premises are granted, the conclusion is inevitable:

"If the fiery chariots are seal, why does not man see them? If they are
false, how is it that man feels the pain? But where do the fiery
chariots come from? They come from the heart and head of the one who
kills fish. The fire in the heart (heart belongs to the element fire)
causes destruction. The chariot fire also causes destruction."

This attitude of mercy has been extended to human beings. There are
numerous tracts against the drowning of little girls in those regions
where this custom is prevalent. One tells the following story:

In the province of Kwangtung there lived a Mrs. Chang who daily burned
incense and repeated Buddha's name. One day she and her husband died.
Much to their surprise and consternation Yama (the potentate of hell)
decided that Mr. Chang must become a pig and Mrs. Chang a dog. Mrs.
Chang accordingly went to Yama and said, "During life we honored Buddha
and so why should we become animals after death?" Yama said, "What use
is it to honor Buddha? During life you drowned three girls whom I sent
into life. People with the face of a man and the heart of a beast,
should they not be punished?" The husband accordingly took on a pig's
skin and the wife a dog's. Then by a dream they revealed to their
brother Chang number two that, although they repeated Buddha's name,
they were not permitted to be reborn as men, because they had drowned
little girls.

Perhaps the extent of this spirit, of mercy and its possibilities may be
illustrated by the reverence for the ox. While there is a great deal of
cruelty in China to animals and men, it is rarely that one sees an ox
abused. Up to the advent of the foreigner an ox was not killed for meat.
In many places in China today the slaughter of an ox would bring the
punishments of the law upon the butcher. No doubt this reverence is due
to the great Indian reverence for the cow. The law of kindness has been
extended to other animals, taking the rather spectacular form of
releasing a few decrepit animals and allowing them to spend their last
days in a monastery compound. There are many kindly things done in
China. The dead are buried, the sick are provided with medicine. Every
year numerous wadded garments are given away to poor people. Various
groups carrying on a humble ministry of helpfulness have found a real
inspiration in the ideals held before them in Buddhism, the rewards
promised and punishments threatened.

_3. Relation to Confucian Ideals_

Why have not these ideals exercised a larger influence in China? The
answer is quite simple. The activities of the monks have been
strenuously opposed by the Confucian state system. The philosopher,
Chang Nan-hsiian, a contemporary of Chu-Hsi, states concisely for us the
differences betwen Confucianism and Buddhism in his comment on a passage
in the _Book of Records._

"Strong drink is a thing intended to be-used in offering sacrifices and
entertaining guests,--such employment of it is what Heaven has
prescribed. But men by their abuse of such drink come to lose their
virtue and destroy their persons--such employment of it is what Heaven
has annexed its terrors to. The Buddhists, hating the use of things
where Heaven sends down its terrors, put away as well the use of them
which Heaven has prescribed.

"For instance, in the use of meats and drinks, there is such a thing as
wildly abusing and destroying the creatures of Heaven. The Buddhists,
disliking this, confine themselves to a vegetable diet, while we only
abjure wild abuse and destruction. In the use of clothes, again, there
is such a thing as wasteful extravagance. The Buddhists, disliking this,
will have no clothes but those of a dark and sad color, while we only
condemn extravagance. They, further, through dislike of criminal
connection between the sexes, would abolish the relation between husband
and wife, while we denounce only the criminal connection.

"The Buddhists, disliking the excesses to which the evil desires of men
lead, would put away, along with them, the actions which are in
accordance with the justice of heavenly principles, while we, the
orthodox, put away the evil desires of men, whereupon what are called
heavenly principles are the more brightly seen. Suppose the case of a
stream of water. The Buddhists, through dislike of its being foul with
mud, proceed to dam it up with earth. They do not consider that when the
earth has dammed up the stream, the supply of water will be cut off. It
is not so with us, the orthodox. We seek only to cleanse away the mud
and sand, so that the pure water may be available for use. This is the
difference between the Buddhists and the Learned School." [Footnote:
_Shu King,_ Pt. V, Bk. X, p. 122.]

This statement reveals at once the opposition of the sect of the Learned
and the influence which Buddhism exerted upon its members.

Buddhism while enjoying occasional favor from the state was often
zealously persecuted. In 819 Han Yii issued his celebrated act of
accusation. In 845 the emperor Wu Tsung issued his decree of
secularization. At that time 4600 monasteries and 40,000 smaller
establishments were pulled down and 265,000 monks and nuns were sent
back to lay life. Their rich lands were confiscated. Under the Ming
dynasty, as well as under the Ch'ing dynasty, Buddhism enjoyed a
precarious existence. Whether Buddhism would have improved the moral
conditions of the Chinese; if it had been given a free hand, is
difficult to affirm. Still its failure is at least partly due to the
opposition of Confucian orthodoxy.

_4. The Embodiment of Buddhist Ideals in the Vegetarian sects_

The state persecutions of Buddhism forced it to leave temporarily its
institutional life and trust itself to the people. These persecutions
were usually followed by a revival of piety and religion among the
people. The Buddhist teachers gathered about themselves a large number
of lay devotees who formed societies which practice religious rites in
secret. These sects have preserved the genuine Buddhist piety, not only
in times of persecution, but at times when the Buddhist organization
under imperial favor was departing from its simplicity.

A number of these sects have continued under different names for several
centuries. For example, the Tsai Li, a society now enjoying a quiet
existence in North China, is successor to the White Lotus society. The
latter started in the fifth century. Its members sought salvation in the
Pure Land of Amitabha. In the eleventh century it enjoyed imperial
favor. During the Mongol dynasty it fought against the throne with
rebels and placed one of its leaders, Chu Yuean-chang, a monk, on the
throne, who became the founder of the Ming dynasty. The sect was soon
proscribed and its members persecuted by the government. During the
Ch'ing dynasty it took part in a rebellion and was ruthlessly
exterminated. At present it goes under the name of _Tsai Li,_ i.e.,
within the Li or principles of the three religions. It is a mediator
among the three religions.

There are thirty-one organizations of this sect in Peking and branches
throughout North China. The society forbids the use of wine and opium,
though it does not forbid the use of meat. It usually has a Buddhist
image, Kuan Yin or some other. It uses Buddhist prayers and
incantations. The outstanding doctrines held during its long history
have been the hope of salvation in the Western Heaven of Amitabha, the
early coming of Maitreya, the Buddhist Messiah, and the large use of
magic formulas and incantations.

Another sect which embodies Buddhist ideals is the Chin Tan, the sect of
the philosopher's stone or pill of immortality. Its founder was the
writer of the Nestorian tablet and so the sect is related to
Christianity. It exalts the teaching of universal love. This is one of
several examples of a supposed contact between Buddhism and
Christianity.

These sects of which the two above are examples are present in all parts
of China. They obey the five Buddhist commandments for laymen. The
members spend much time in fasting and prayer, and in the repetition of
Buddhist books. Their lives as a rule are simple and sincere. They are
preparing for rebirth in the land of Amitabha, or are expecting the
early coming of the Buddhist Messiah to set this world right. In the
meantime, by means of incantations, personal regimen and cooperative
action they are doing all they can to usher in a better state.

_5. Pilgrimages_

Pilgrimages are very popular in China. The famous Buddhist shrines are
Wu T'ai Shan in Shansi, Puto on the coast of Chekiang, Chiu Hua Shan in
Anhwei, and Omei Shan in Szechuan. These, one on each side of China,
represent the four elements of Buddhist science, wind, water, fire and
earth. They are also the centers of the worship of the four great
Bodhisattvas, Wenshu, Kuan Yin, Titsang and Puhsien. Besides these large
centers there are many others to which pilgrims direct their footsteps.

In the spring of the year, when the god of spring covers the earth with
a green mantle, when the sky and winds call, many start on their
pilgrimage. Many go singly and laboriously, kneeling and bowing every
few steps. Others go in happy companies, chaperoned by a pious, village
dame, who has organized the group. Some go because their turn has come.
They are members of a guild which has a fund devoted to pilgrimages by
its members. Some go for the performance of a vow made to Kuan Yin, when
the father was sick unto death and the goddess prolonged his life. To
others it is the culmination of a pious life. All go for the joy which
travel in the spring gives.

Puto, an island off the coast of Chekiang, is the goal of many pilgrims
from all parts of China. In, the monasteries on the island are about two
thousand monks. In the pilgrim season this number is increased to ten
thousand monks and thousands of lay pilgrims.

A group of pilgrims was going along merrily. The sun was bright,
lighting up the white caps on the deep blue sea. Spring was rioting all
about. One member was an abbot from Hangchow. A small, humble-looking
man with a few straggling long hairs where the mustache usually grows,
was a lay Buddhist from Wuchang. One was a bright young monk from
Tientsin. Last, but almost omnipresent and always bubbling over, was a
servant of the abbot from Hangchow. He was in the presence of divinity
and his whole life was heightened for the time being. "Why did you
come!" they were asked. "We came to worship the holy mother, Kuan Yin."
When they entered a shrine each purchased three sticks, of incense and
two candles and reverently placed them before the image of the goddess,
kneeling and bowing. Then they sat and partook of the tea offered by the
attendant. After paying a small gratuity, they went on to the next
shrine.

On the way a large black snake as thick as an arm lazily crossed over
the road. They stood, reverent and awestruck, until he disappeared in
the grass, remarking that this was a good omen. When crossing a sand
dune piled up by the winds the abbot from Hangchow remarked that this
was called the flying sand, wafted there by the goddess who took pity on
some travelers who had been compelled to cross a narrow strait in order
to come to a cave. This cave, called Fan Yin Tung, is one of the rifts
made by an earthquake and washed out by wind and waves. Below it rushes
the tide; from above the sun sends down a few rays. Each pilgrim after
offering incense looks into the darkness to see whether he can behold in
the dark cavern an image of some Buddha. One sees Kuan Yin and is
acclaimed as having had a good vision. Another sees the Laughing Buddha.
All exclaim that he has been the most fortunate of all, for this Buddha
is the Messiah to come and he who beholds him will be blessed. So from
place to place they wander, chatting and seeing the sights of the
island. Thus thousands are doing in various parts of China, and in this
way strengthening the hold of Buddhism upon themselves and their
communities.

VII

BUDDHISM AND THE FUTURE LIFE

Before the advent of Buddhism the Chinese had only a vague idea
regarding life after death. The Land and Water Classic mentions the Tu
Shuo mountain in the Eastern Sea, under which spirits of the dead live,
the entrance guarded by two spirits, Shen Tu and Yue Lei, who are in
general control of the demons. In some parts of China the names or
pictures, of these spirits are placed on the doors of a house to guard
it. The Taoists early developed the idea of a western paradise presided
over by the Queen of the West, located at first in the K'un Lun
mountains and later in the islands of the Eastern Sea. This heaven,
however, was limited to Taoist hermits and mystics. Buddhism made a
complete purgatory and heaven known to every one in China.

_1. The Buddhist Purgatory_

This is really Buddhism's most noteworthy addition to China's religious
equipment; Buddhism lays much stress upon the experiences of a soul
immediately after death. Its punishments are well known to every
individual. The temple of the City Guardian found in every walled city
has a replica of the court in purgatory over which he presides. In the
temples of T'ai Shan there is an elaborate exhibit of the tortures
inflicted on culprits in purgatory. Every funeral service conducted by
Buddhists or Taoists is intended to conduct the soul of the dead through
purgatory and pictures vividly the progressive experiences from the
first seventh day to the seventh seventh day. On the the seventh month,
on the fifteenth day [about August] a special service is held for the
souls of the dead in purgatory. Furthermore, every community has a
general service [about October] for the souls of those who died a
violent death or who have no one to look after them. During the war many
services were thus held for those who died on the battlefields of
Europe. At such services the scenes in purgatory are vividly portrayed
by pictures and figures. The temples distribute tracts with pictures of
purgatory so that women may see them and understand. On the stage are
often acted powerful plays whose scenes are laid in Hades. This
propaganda is perhaps the most efficient of its kind.

Purgatory is depicted as consisting of ten courts each surrounded by
small hells, where the soul undergoes punishment and cleansing. The
fifth court, which may be taken as an example of the other courts, is in
charge of Yen Lo or Yama. Yama was once in charge of the first court,
but his tender heart pitied the souls who came before him and sent them
back to earth. Because of this leniency he was placed in charge of the
fifth court.

When a soul has passed through the first four courts and it has been
discovered that there is no good conduct to its credit, it is led to the
fifth court and examined every seven days regarding past conduct. In
order to get back to the world of men, it eagerly promises to complete
various unfinished vows, such as to repair monasteries, schools,
bridges, or roads, to clean wells, to deepen rivers, to distribute good
books, to release animals, to take care of aged parents, or to bury them
suitably. But it is plainly told that the gods know its artifices, and
that now these unfinished tasks can never be completed. The gods have
reached the unanimous opinion that no injustice is being done.
Accordingly there is no appeal, but each soul is led by attendants with
bulls' heads and horses' faces to a tower whence they may see their
native village. Its front is in the shape of a bow with a perimeter of
twenty-seven miles; its height is four hundred and ninety feet. It is
guarded by walls of sword trees.

Good men, whose deeds of omission are balanced by the good they have
done, return to life. Only souls judged to be evil see their village
from this tower. These can see their own families moving about, and can
hear their conversation. They realize how they disobeyed the teachings
of their elders. They see that the earthly goods for which they have
struggled are of no value. Their plottings rise up with lurid reality.
They see how they planned a new marriage although already married, how
they appropriated fields, state property, and falsified accounts,
putting the blame on persons who were dead. While they observe their
village they behold their erstwhile friends touch their coffin and
inwardly rejoice. They hear themselves called selfish and insincere. But
their punishment does not stop here. They behold their children punished
by magistrates, their women afflicted with strange diseases, their
daughters ravished, their sons led astray, their property taken away,
the ancestral house burned and their business ruined. From this tower
all passes before them as a lurid dream and they are stricken in heart.

About the fifth court are sixteen small hells where the soul is
punished. In each one are stakes buried in the ground and fierce
animals. The hands and feet of the guilty one are bound to a stake, his
body is opened with small knives, and his heart and intestines quickly
devoured.

In each of these sixteen hells is a certain type of sinner: (1) Those
who do not reverence the gods and demons and who doubt the existence of
rewards and punishments; (2) those who hurt and kill living beings; (3)
those who break their vows to do good; (4) those who resort to heterodox
practices and vainly hope to attain eternal life; (5) those who upbraid
good men, fear the wicked and hate men because they do not die speedily;
(6) those who strive with other people and then put the blame upon them;
(7) men who force women; and women who seduce young men, and all who
have libidinous desires; (8) those who gain profit for themselves by
injuring others; (9) the stingy and those who absolutely disregard
others, whether alive or dead, giving them no help in dire need, when
they can do so without injury to themselves; (10) those who steal and
put the crime upon others; (11) those who requite favors with hate; (12)
those whose hearts are perverse and poisonous, who instigate others to
do wrong even if they may not have carried out their suggestion; (13)
those who tempt others by deceit; (14) those who involve others in their
squabbles and in gambling and then themselves win out; (15) those who
stubbornly persist in their false ideas, do not repent, and slander
others; (16) those who hate good and virtuous men.

Besides these sixteen sorts of sinners the fifth court deals with other
types of wicked people; those who do not believe in rewards and
punishments after death, who hinder good causes, who burn incense
without a sincere heart, speak of the sins of others, who burn books
that urge men to be good and worship the Great Dipper, but persist in
eating meat; those who hate men; who repeat sutras and incantations, and
take part in religious ceremonies, but do not fast beforehand; who
slander the Buddhist and Taoist religions; who know how to read, but
refuse to read the ancient and modern exhortations regarding rewards and
punishments; who dig into graves and destroy their marks, who purposely
set fire to trees and underbrush, or are careless with fire in their own
houses; who shoot arrows at animals with the intent, to kill; who urge
and tempt the sick and weak to enter into contests of any kind with
themselves; who throw tiles and stones over neighboring walls, poison
fish in the river, fire guns, or make nets or traps for birds; who sow
salt on the ground, who do not bury dead eats and snakes very deep and
thus cause death to those who dig; who cause men to dig the frozen
ground in winter or spring (the vapors of earth chill such diggers to
death); who tear down adjoining walls and compel their neighbors to move
the kitchen stove; who appropriate public highways, lands, close wells
and stop gutters.

Those who have committed any of the above sins are taken, to the tower
whence they can see their own village and then are consigned to the
great crying hell, Raurava, that is, the fourth of the Buddhist hot
hells. [Footnote: Buddhism distinguishes hot and cold hells. In a
country like India severe cold is a serious torture.] Thence they go to
their respective small hells. When their time has expired, they are
examined in order to see whether they have any other sins which need
punishment.

Those who have committed any of the above sins may not only escape
punishment, but may have their punishment in the sixth court lessened,
if they fast regularly on the eighth day of the first month and take a
vow not to commit these sins. Some sins, however, cannot be arranged for
in such a way, such as the killing of living beings and hurting them;
the associating with heretics; committing fornication with women and
then poisoning them; committing adultery, violence, envy, or injuring
the good name of others; stealing, requiting favors with hatred, and
hearing exhortation but not repenting. These are major sins.

_2. Its Social Value_

The social value of purgatory is quite plain from the description of the
fifth court and of the sinners who are punished therein. Purgatory is
the social mirror of China, wherein the consequences of all unsocial
acts are pictured in such a vivid way as to deter the individual from
committing them. It is effective in China, not only because of the
realistic presentation, but because the opinion of the community is
against such acts and in favor of repressing them on every occasion.

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