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OUTLINES
OF
MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
BY
DAISETZ TEITARO SUZUKI
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
GIFT OF
Lt. Col. George White
Add to
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
K.
J.
BRILL, PRINTERS, LEYDEN,
HOLLAND.
OUTLINES
OF
MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
BY
DAISETZ TEITARO SUZUKI
LONDON
LUZAC AND COMPANY
(OPPOSITE THE BRITISH MUSEUM)
PUBLISHERS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO.
1907.
PREFACE.
The
object of this
book
is
twofold: (i)
To
refute
many wrong opinions which are entertained by
Western critics concerning the fundamental teachings
the
of
Mahayana Buddhism
scholars
of the
by
;
(2)
To awake
of
comparative religion
religious sentiment and
interest
in the
among
development
faith as exemplified
the growth of one of the most powerful spiritual
forces
in
the
world.
popular and scholarly.
The book
It
is
therefore at once
is
popular
in the
sense that
expose the fallacy of the general attitude
assumed by other religionists towards Mahayanism.
it
It
tries to
aims to be scholarly, on the other hand, when
endeavors
to
expound some
of
features of the doctrine, historically
In
attempting
object,
however,
the
most
it
salient
and systematically.
accomplishment of this latter
the author makes no great claim,
the
impossible to present within this prescribed space all the data that are available for a
comprehensive and systematic elucidation of the
because
it
is
whose history began in the
and ran through
a period of more than two thousand years before it
assumed the form in which it is at present taught
Mahayana
Buddhism,
sixth century before the Christian era
in the Orient.
During
this long period, the
928
Mahayana
VI
doctrine was elaborated by the best minds that India,
Tibet,
China,
wonder then
and Japan
that
so
ever
produced.
It
is
no
diverse and apparently
many
comprised under the
general name of Mahayana Buddhism. To expound
all these theories even tentatively would be altogether
contradictory
are
teachings
outside the scope of such a
could
or
work
as this. All that
essential topics of
this a sort of introduction to a
of
exposition
the
I
do was to discuss a few of the
to
hoped
most general and most
making
all
Mahayanism,
more
detailed
system as a whole as well as
in
particular.
To
have gone occasionally
within which I had properly to
attain the first object,
outside
the
sphere
I
confine the work. But this deviation
reason
the
for
some
that
seemed imperative
critics are
so prejudiced
that even seemingly self-evident truths are not
prehended by them.
I
may be
way, but very frequently
pletely
I
com-
my own
how comcan be made
prejudiced in
have wondered
and how wretchedly some people
the prey of self-delusion.
The
very
doctrinal
little
history
known
to
of Mahayana
Occidental
Buddhism
scholars.
This
is
is
mainly due to the inaccessibility of material which is
largely written in the Chinese tongue, one of the
most
difficult of
languages for foreigners to master.
In this age of liberal culture, it is a great pity that
so few of the precious stones contained in the religion
of
Buddha
nature
is
are obtainable
essentially
the
by Western people. Human
same the world over, and
VII
whenever and
same
the
wherever
phenomena; and
spiritual
strengthens our faith
the
in
ultimate
conditions
in
reign
of
lovingkindness.
and to share
In
say
my
concluding
that
with a
this
full
which he
findings with
this
little
prelude,
book
knowledge of
will
not
my
fail
to
is
my
It
is
my
intellectual attain-
be allowed to pursue
shall
I
this fact ever
the universality of truth and
sincere desire that in so far as
ment permits
mature we see
my
study
fellow- beings.
the author wishes to
presented to the public
many defects, to revise
make use of every oppor-
its
tunity offered him.
DAISETZ T. SUZUKI.
CONTENTS.
PREFACE
.
v
.
INTRODUCTION
(1)
Two
I
The Mahayana and Htnayana Buddhism. Why the
Doctrines? -- The Original Meaning of Mahay-
An
ana.
Older Classification of Buddhists.
Mahay-
ana Buddhism defined
I
Is the Mahayana Buddhism the genuine teaching
Buddha
? No Life Without Growth
Mahayanism a
of
(2)
1 1
Living Religion
Some Misstatements about the Mahayanism. Why
Done to Buddhism.
Examples of Injustice.
16
Beal.
Waddell
Monier Monier- Williams.
(3)
Injustice
.
(4)
-
.
The Significance of Religion. No Revealed Religion.
The
Intellect and Imagination.
The Mystery.
Contents of Faith vary
CHAPTER
i.
24
A GENERAL CHARACTERISATION OF BUDDHISM
32
No God and No
NonKarma.
Soul.
Avidya.
DharmaThe Non-atmanness of Things.
atman.
kaya.
CHAPTER
Nirvana.
n.
Intellectual
HISTORICAL
Tendency
CHARACTERISATION
of Buddhism.
OF MAHA-
60
YANISM
Principal
--
Seven
Conception of Mahayanism.
Features of Mahayanism. - - Ten Essential
Sthiramati's
Features of Mahayanism.
SPECULATIVE MAHAYANISM.
CHAPTER
in.
PRACTICE AND SPECULATION
Relation of Feeling and Intellect.
-
.
-
77
Buddhism and
.
.
.
Religion arid Metaphysics.
Speculation.
CHAPTER iv. CLASSIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE.
87
Illusion.
Relative
Three Forms of Knowledge.
-- Absolute
World-Views
Knowledge.
Knowledge.
founded on the three Forms of Knowledge.
Trans.
.
cendental Truth and Relative Understanding.
BHUTATATHATA (SUCHNESS)
The "Thundrous Silence."
Indefinability.
CHAPTER
v.
ness Conditioned.
Theory
CHAPTER
The
Questions Defying Solution.
of Ignorance.
vi.
99
Such-
Dualism and Moral
Evil.
THE TATHAGATA-GARBHA AND THE ALAYA-
VIJNANA
125
The Alaya-vijnana and
The Garbha and Ignorance.
The Manas. The Samkhya Philosophy
its Evolution.
and Mahayanism.
CHAPTER
THEORY OF NON- ATMAN OR NON-EGO 140
The
Buddha's First Line of Inquiry.
vn. THF.
Atman.
--
-
-
Skandha. --
Ananda's
King Milinda and Nagasena.
Atman and the "Old
Attempts to Locate the Soul.
The Vedantic Conception.
Man."
Nagarjunaonthe
The
Svabhava.
Non-atman-ness of Things.
Soul.
Real Significance of Emptiness.
CHAPTER vm.
Definition.
KARMA
The Working
--An
Individualistic
Karma and Determinism.
Stock and the
tality..
.181
Karma and
View of Karma.
The Maturing of Good
ImmorAccumulation of Good Merits.
Social injustice.
-
of Karma.
XI
PRACTICAL MAHAYANISM.
CHAPTER
THE DHARMAKAYA
ix.
Object.
Dharmakaya.
Dharmakaya as Religious
More Detailed Characterisation.
The
-
Dharmakaya and
The Dharmakaya
Individual Beings.
Later Mahayanists' View of the Dharmakaya.
as Love.
The Freedom
-
217
--
God.
of the Dharmakaya. --
The
Will of
the Dharmakaya.
CHAPTER
x.
THE DOCTRINE OF TRIKAYA.
The Human and
.
.
242
the Super-human Buddha. --
Who was Buddha
Historical View.
.
An
The Trikaya
?
Revelation in
as Explained in the Suvarna-Prabha.
-The
of
Culture.
Sambhogakaya.
Stages
All
A
-
Mere Subjective Existence.
Mahayanists.
CHAPTER
xi.
THE BODHISATTVA
The Three Yanas.
Buddhism.
We
dha's
-
Life.
Meaning
-
of
Modern
Recapitulation.
Doctrine of Parivarta.
Karuna.
Attitude of
are
The
277
Strict Individualism.
-
all
Bodhisattva
Bodhisattvas.
Bodhisattva
in
The
"Primitive"
The BudThe
Love and
and Love.
Bodhi and Bodhicitta.
Nagarjuna and Sthiramati on Bodhicitta.
The Awakening
of the Bodhicitta.
The Bodhi-
sattva' s Pranidhana.
CHAPTER xn.
TEN STAGES OF BODHISATTVAHOOD .311
Gradation in our Spiritual Life. -- Pramudita.
Vimala. -- Prabhakari. -- Arcismati.
Sudurjana.
Bhimukhi. - - Durangama. - - Acala.
Sadhumati.
Dharmamegha.
-
-
XII
NIRVANA
CHAPTER xiu.
Nihilistic
Positive.
331
Nirvana not the First Object.
Nirvana
The Mahayanistic Conception
of Nirvana.
is
- Nirvana as the Dharmakaya.
Nirvana in its Fourth
Nirvana and Samsara are One. - The Middle
Sense.
Course.
How
Intelligence.
to Realise Nirvana.
-- Conclusion
APPENDIX, HYMNS OF MAHAYANA FAITH.
INDEX
Love Awakens
.
.
.
375
409
INTRODUCTION.
i.
THE MAHAY ANA AND THE HINAYANA
BUDDHISM.
HPHE
terms "Mahayana" and "Hinayana" may
sound unfamiliar to most of our readers, perhaps even to those who have devoted some time to
the study of Buddhism. They have hitherto been
"*
induced
to
Buddhism,
believe
that
there
is
but one form of
and that there exists no such distinction
Mahayanism and Hinayanism. But, as a matter of
fact, there are diverse schools in Buddhism just as
as
in 'other
religious
systems.
It is
said that, within a
few hundred years after the demise of Buddha, there
were more- than twenty different schools, t all claiming
1
According to Vasumitra's Treatise on the Points of Conby the Different Schools of Buddhism, of which there
are three Chinese translations, the earliest being one by
Kumarajiva (who came to China in A. D. 401), the first
great schism seems to have broken out about one hundred
years after the Buddha. The leader of the dissenters was
Mahadeva, and his school was known as the Mahasangika
(Great Council), while the orthodox was called the school
of Sthaviras (Elders). Since then the two schools subdivided
themselves into a number of minor sections, twenty of which
are mentioned by Vasumitra. The book is highly interesting
as throwing light on the early pages of the history of Buddhism in India.
tention
i
INTRODUCTION
2
be the orthodox teaching of their master. These,
however, seem to have vanished into insignificance
to
one
after
quite
different
predecessors,
cance
as
when
another,
in
its
but
far
there arose a
general
tially,
its
more important in its signifinew school or
made
itself
so prominent in the mean-
time as to stand distinctly alone from
which
it
school
from
a religious movement. This
rather system
schools,
new
constitution
latter
taught
became
everything
all
the other
by itself. Essenwas considered to
a class
that
it was very comprehensive in its
and
method
and scope. And, by reason of
principle
Buddhism
was
now split into two great systems,
this,
be Buddhistic, but
Mahayanism and Hinayanism, the
latter indiscriminately
the minor schools which preceded
including
all
hayanism
in their
Ma-
formal establishment.
Broadly speaking, the difference between Mahayanism
and Hinayanism is this
Mahayanism is more liberal
and progressive, but in many respects too metaphysical and full of speculative thoughts that frequently
:
reach a dazzling eminence Hinayanism, on the other
hand, is somewhat conservative and may be considered
:
in
many
points
to be a rationalistic ethical system
simply.
literally means "great vehicle" and Hinaor
inferior vehicle," that is, of salvation.
"small
yana
Mahayana
This
of
distinction
recognised only by the followers
because it was by them that the
is
Mahayanism,
unwelcome title of Hinayanism was given to their
rival brethren,
thinking that they were more pro-
INTRODUCTION
gressive
the
of
and had a more assimilating energy than
The
latter.
course,
genuine teaching of Buddha, and insisted
not be any other Buddhism than
could
there
their
to
own,
was a
adherents of Hmayanism, as a matter
sanction the Mahayanist doc-
refused to
trine as the
that
3
them naturally the Mahayana system
sort of heresy.
Geographically, the progressive school of Buddhism
found
supporters in Nepal, Tibet, China, Corea,
its
and Japan, while the conservative school established
1
itself in Ceylon,
Siam, and Burma. Hence the Mahayana and the Hinayana are also known respectively
Northern and Southern Buddhism.
passant, let me remark that this distinction,
however, is not quite correct, for we have some
En
The Anagarika Dharmapala of Ceylon objects to this
geographical distinction. He does not see any reason why
the Buddhism of Ceylon should be regarded as Hinayanism,
when it teaches a realisation of the Highest Perfect Knowledge (Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi) and also of the six Virtues
1
these two features, among some
others, being considered to be characteristic of Mahayanism.
when the so-called Mahayanism gained
It is possible that
of Perfection (Paramita),
over Central India in the times of Nagarjuna
also found its advocates in the Isle of Lion,
or at least the followers of Buddha there might have been
influenced to such an extent as to modify their conservative
great
power
all
and Aryadeva,
At the present stage of the study of Buddhism, how-
views
ever,
When
it
it
is
not yet perfectly clear to see
how
this
took place.
thorough comparative review of Pali, Singhalese,
Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Chinese Buddhist documents is effected,
we shall be able to understand the history and development
of
a
Buddhism
to its
full
extent.
INTRODUCTION
4
and Japan, whose equivalent or
counterpart cannot be found in the so-called Northern
schools
China
in
Buddhism, that is, Buddhism flourishing in Northern
India. For instance, we do not have in Nepal or in
Tibet anything like the Sukhavati sects of Japan or
China. Of course, the general essential ideas of the
Sukhavati philosophy are found in the sutra literature
as well as in the writings of such authors as Agvaghosa, Asanga, and Nagarjuna. But those ideas were
not developed and made into a new sect as they
were
in the East.
divide
to
Therefore,
Buddhism
it
may be more proper
into three, instead of two, geo-
graphical sections: Southern, Northern, and Eastern.
the two Doctrines?
Why
two schools, Hinayanism and Mahayanism, are no more than two main
issues of one original source, which was first discovIn spite of this distinction, the
ered by (Jakyamuni
find
of
many common traits which are essential to both
The spirit that animated the innermost
of
Buddha
Northern
in
them
not
is
some.
ing
we
them.
heart
as
and, as a matter of course,
;
It
of
is
schools
radical
religious
the
of
hand,
preserve
The
or
difference between
qualitative
as imagined
by
due, on the one hand, to a general unfold-
the
broadening
other
perceptible in Southern as well
is
Buddhism.
the
to
consciousness
with
efforts to literally
conservative
monastic
started
rules
the
a constant
horizon, and, on the
intellectual
the
and
and
same
traditions.
spirit,
Both
pursuing the
INTRODUCTION
same course. But
5
one did not
after a while
feel
necessity for broadening the spirit of the master
any
and
adhered to
his
the
actuated by a liberal and comprehensive
other,
sources, in
were vigorous and
that
diverse
inclinations
led
available
all
order to unfold the germs in the original
system
rally
as literally as possible; whilst
drawn nourishments from
has
spirit,
words
the
to
These
generative.
primitive Buddhists natu-
among
dissension af Mahayanism and Hi-
nayanism.
We
as
to
in
the
cannot here enter into any detailed accounts
what external and internal forces were acting
body of Buddhism
system,
or as to
as to absorb
that
came
answer
in
how
to produce the
gradually
and assimilate
in contact
general
quently asked
with
all
it.
it
Mah^yana
unfolded
itself
so
the discordant thoughts
Suffice
it
to state
terms the question which
is
and
fre-
by
"Why
Buddhism ever allow itself to be differentiated into
two systems, which are apparently in contradiction
the
did one
uninitiated:
more than one point with each other?" In other
words, "How can there be two Buddhisms equally
in
representing the true doctrine of the founder?"
The reason is plain enough. The teachings of a
great
religious
founder
are
as a rule very general,
comprehensive, and many-sided
are great possibilities in
interpretations
by
his
them
:
and, therefore, there
to allow various liberal
disciples.
And
it
is
on
this
very account of comprehensiveness that enables followers of diverse needs, characters, and trainings to
O
INTRODUCTION
and severally
satisfy their spiritual appetite universally
with the teachings of their master. This comprehensiveness, however, is not due to the intentional use by the
leader of ambiguous terms, nor
and confusion of
scurity
conceptions.
movement, spiritual
no time to think out
has
lectual,
own
his
due to the ob-
it
a
of
initiator
is
The
as well as intelall
its
possible
and consequences. When the principle of the
movement is understood by the contemporaries and
details
of
foundation
the
part
as initiator
can safely be
take up
will
is
over to his successors.
left
the
particulars, while
down, his own
and
the remainder
accomplished;
solidly laid
is
it
work and
making
all
carry
it
role
to be played
rily indefinite
sophy,
by the
has
its
originator
Therefore,
is
necessa-
and comprehensive.
for instance, as
Kant,
latter
all
necessary alterations and
ameliorations according to circumstances.
the
The
out in
become the
promoter of German
philo-
father of such diverse philo-
systems as Jacobi's Fichte's, Hegel's, Schopenhauer's, etc., while each of them endeavored to
sophical
develop some points indefinitely or covertly or indirectly stated by Kant himself. Jesus of Nazareth,
as
instigator
Judaism,
did
of
a
not
doctrines, such as
doctors.
The
parent that
ples
a
disciples
sort
it
have
were established
indefiniteness of his
dissension,
cherished
a
against
any stereotyped theological
caused even
of
movement
revolutionary
by Christian
views was so aplater
among
his personal disci-
while
a majority of his
visionary hope for the advent
INTRODUCTION.
7
divine kingdom on earth. But those externaliwhich are doomed to pass, do not prevent the
movement once awakened by a great
spirit of the
a
of
ties
more powerful and
leader from growing
The same
of that
spirit
as
thing can be said of the teachings of the
What he
Buddha.
Buddhism.
special
needs
was the
inspired in his followers
religious system which
Guided by this spirit,
severally developed
to the
noble.
is
now known
his
followers
his teachings as required
and circumstances,
distinction of
by
their
finally giving birth
Mahayanism and Hinayanism.
The Original Meaning of Mahayana.
The term Mahayana was
first
used to designate
the highest principle, or being, or knowledge, of which
the universe with all its sentient and non-sentient
beings
is
a
manifestation,
and through which only
can attain
final salvation (moksa or nirvana).
the name given to any religious
was
not
Mahayana
doctrine, nor had it anything to do with doctrinal
they
controversy,
though
later
it
was so
utilised
by the
progressive party.
Agvaghosa, the first Mahayana expounder known to
used the
us,
living about the time of Christ,
term
on
in his
religio-philosophical
book
called Discourse
'
Awakening of Faith in the Makdydna as
2
synonymous with Bhutatathata, or Dharmakaya, the
the
1
Translated into English by the author, 1900. The Open
Court Pub. Co. Chicago.
2
These terms are explained elsewhere.
INTRODUCTION
8
recognition
and
of,
He
of Mahayanism.
principle
highest
faith
in,
likened
the
being and
this highest
conveyance which will carry us safely
tempestuous ocean of birth and death
principle into a
across
the
(samsara) to the eternal shore of Nirvana.
Soon
after him, however, the controversy
two
the
schools
of
Buddhism,
between
conservatives
and
as we might call them, became more
and more pronounced and when it reached its climax
which was most probably in the times of Nagarjuna
progressionists
;
and Aryadeva,
i.
e.,
a few centnries after Acvaghosa,
progressive party ingeniously invented the term
Hmayana in contrast to Mahayana, the latter having
the
been
adopted
by them
as
the watchword of their
The Hinayanists and the Tirthakas * then
were sweepingly condemned by the Mahayanists as
own
school.
inadequate to achieve a universal salvation of sentient
beings.
An
Older Classification of Buddhists,
Before the distinction of Mahayanists and Hinayanists
definite, that is to say, at the time of Nagar-
became
juna
or
even before
it,
those Buddhists
more progressive and broader view
three yanas
among
who
held a
tried to distinguish
the followers of the Buddha,
viz.,
Bodhisattva-yana, Pratyekabuddha-yana, and (Jravaka-
yana; yana being another name for
1
Followers
The term
is
class.
of any religious sects other than Buddhism.
sometimes used in a contemptuous sense, like
heathen by Christians.
INTRODUCTION
The Bodhisattva
that
is
9
of Buddhists who,
class
believing in the Bodhi (intelligence or wisdom), which
is a reflection of the
Dharmakaya in the human soul,
direct
toward realising and
their spiritual energy
all
for the sake of their fellow-creatures.
it
developing
The Pratyekabuddha
a "solitary thinker'' or a
is
who, retiring into solitude and calmly
contemplating on the evanescence of worldly pleasures,
philosopher,
endeavors
to
attain
own
his
salvation, but remains
unconcerned with the sufferings of
Religiously
impassive, egotistic,
of
estimate
u
hearer"
for
he
enables
him
to think independently
by himself the way
however,
a
pious heart, he
to observe faithfully
and
rests
inferior in
and to find out
to final salvation. Being endowed,
to the instructions of the
him,
is
Mahayanists even to the Pratyekadoes not possess any intellect that
buddha,
with
fellow-beings.
Pratyekabuddha is cold,
and lacks love for all mankind.
The Qravaka which means
the
his
a
considered,
all
fully
is
willing to listen
Buddha, to believe
in
him,
the moral precepts given
contented
within
the
by
narrow
horizon of his mediocre intellect.
To
a
further
elucidation
of Bodhisattvahood and
important bearings in the Mahayana Buddhism, we
devote a special chapter below. For Mahayanism is
its
no
more than the Buddhism
of Bodhisattvas, while
the Prayekabuddhas and the (Jravakas are considered
by Mahayanists to be adherents of Hinayanism.
I
INTRODUCTION
o
The Mahayana Buddhism Defined.
We
to
can
now form
a
somewhat
what the Mahayana Buddhism
is.
definite notion as
It is
the
Buddhism
which, inspired by a progressive spirit, broadened its
as it did not contradict the
original scope, so far
inner significance of the teachings of the Buddha,
and
liefs
which assimilated other religio-philosophical bewithin itself, whenever it felt that, by so doing,
people of more widely different characters and
lectual endowments could be saved. Let us be
intel-
we
enter
fied
at
into
a
with
present
more
detailed
peculiarities in the
It
may
that
the
this
statement, until
exposition
of
satis-
doctrinal
its
pages that follow.
not be out of place, while passing, to remark
term
Mahayanism
is
used
in
this
work
form of Buddhism,
merely
which is flourishing in Ceylon and Burma and other
central Asiatic nations, and whose literature is principally written in the language called Pali, which comes
in contradistinction to that
from the same stock as Sanskrit. The term "Mahayana"
does not imply, as it is used here, any sense of
superiority
aspect
of
over
the
Hinayana.
Mahayanism
develop that
its
treated,
its
it
the historical
may
naturally
controversial and dogmat-
phase at the sacrifice of
must not think that
its
true spirit
;
but the
work has anything
do with those complications. In fact, Mahayanism
reader
to
When
over-zealous and one-sided devotees
unnecessarily emphasised
ical
is
this
professes to be a boundless ocean in which
all
form
INTRODUCTION
I I
of thought and faith can find its congenial and welcome
home; why then should we make it militate against
own
its
2.
fellow -doctrine,
Hinayanism?
THE MAHAYANA BUDDHISM THE GENUINE TEACHING OF THE BUDDHA
IS
?
What
by
the
is
as
scriptures
known
generally
name
Western nations
to the
Buddhism
of
is
Hinayanism,
above stated are written
this
language
that
and
in Pali
studied mostly in Ceylon, Burma, and Siam.
through
whose
was
It
knowledge of
Orientalists; and nat-
the
first
Buddhism was acquired by
urally they came to regard Hinayanism or Southern
Buddhism
Buddha.
sist,
edge
as
the
They
only
insisted,
genuine
teachings
and some of them
of the
still
in-
an adequate and thorough knowlBuddhism, they must confine themselves
that to have
of
solely to the study of
the Pali,
that whatever
may
be learned from other sources, i. e., from the Sanskrit, Tibetan, or Chinese documents should be con-
on the
sidered as throwing only a side-light
information
obtained from the
the knowledge
certain cases
rated
form
derived
Pali,
from the
reliable
and further that
former should
in
be discarded as accounts of a degeneof Buddhism.
Owing to these unfortu-
nate hypotheses,
the
significance
of
Mahayanism
as
a living religion has been entirely ignored; and even
who are regarded as best authorities on the
those
subject appear greatly misinformed and, what
altogether prejudiced.
is
worse,
1
INTRODUCTION
2
No
This
Life Without Growth,
very unfair on the part of the
is
cause what religion
that has not
is
mankind
ever, that has
there
is
vitality
be-
the whole history of
the
same,
course?
like the granite,
Let us ask whether
any religion which has shown some signs of
and yet retained its primitive form intact
and unmodified
ness,
entire
critics,
made any development what-
remained
its
throughout
there in
that
is,
in
every respect.
susceptibility
to
not changeableirritation the most
Is
of
essential
vitality? Every organism grows,
sign
which means a change in some way or other. There
is
no form of life to be found anywhere on earth,
that does not grow or change, or that has not any
inherent power of adjusting
the surrounding
itself to
conditions.
Take,
for
example, Christianity.
Is
Protestantism
the
genuine teaching of Jesus of Nazareth? or does
Catholicism represent his true spirit? Jesus himself
did not have any definite notion of Trinity doctrine,
nor
did
he
propose
to
the
and
his
any
suggestion
for
ritualism.
Synoptics,
appears to have
cherished a rather immature conception of the kingdom of God than a purely ideal one as conceived
According
he
who were
just
as illiterate philosophically as the master himself
were
by
Paul,
anxiously
realisation
tants,
in
waiting
personal
disciples
in all probability for its
mundane
But what Christians, Catholics or Protesdays of enlightenment, would dare
these
INTRODUCTION
13
give a literal explanation to this material conception
of the coming kingdom ?
Again, think of Jesus's view on marriage and social
Is it not an established fact that he
highly advocated celibacy and in the case of married people
life.
strict
continence,
and also
that he greatly favored
pious poverty and asceticism
respects,
monks
the
these
In
in general?
of the Medieval
Ages and the
Catholic priests of the present day (though
I
cannot
say they are ascetic and poor in their living) must
be said to be in more accord with the teaching of
the master than their Protestant brethren.
Protestants
would seriously
venture
to
But what
defend
all
those views of Jesus, in spite of their avowed declaration
that they are sincerely following in the steps
of their Lord
?
Taking all in all, these contradictions
do not prevent them, Protestants as well as Catholics, from calling themselves Christians and even good,
pious,
devoted
sciously
spirit,
or
that
Christians,
as long as they are con-
animated
unconsciously
was burning
in the
by the same
son of the carpenter
of Nazareth, an obscure village of Galilee, about two
thousand years ago.
The same mode
of
reasoning
case of Mahayanism, and
it
would be absurd to
on the genuineness of Hinayanism
the former.
Take
for
other
what of
it?
at the
insist
expense
of
the
that
Mahayana
some elements absorbed
granted
school of Buddhism contains
from
holds good in the
Indian religio-philosophical systems; but
Is
not
Christianity
also
an amalgama-
INTRODUCTION.
14
of Jewish, Greek,
tion, so to speak,
Roman, Babylo-
nian, Egyptian, and other pagan thoughts? In fact
every healthy and energetic religion is historical, in
the sense that,
in
the
has adapted
and has assimilated
which appeared
istence.
course of
the
itself to
its
development,
it
ever-changing environment,
itself various elements
within
at first
even threatening
own
its
ex-
In Christianity, this process of assimilation,
adaptation, and modification has been going on from
its very
beginning. As the result, we see in the
of
Christianity
that
metamor-
original type so
its
concernoutward appearance
nobody would now take it for a faithful
phosed, so
ed,
to-day
far as its
is
copy of the prototype.
Mahayanism a Living
Whatever changes
So with Mahayanism.
made
during
its
central ideas are
historical
all
Faith.
evolution,
those of
its
its
founder.
it
has
spirit
and
The
ques-
genuine, entirely depends on
our interpretation of the term "genuine." If we take
tion whether or not
to
it
we
mean
the
it
is
lifeless
preservation of the original,
should say that Mahayanism
teaching
of the Buddha, and
is
not the genuine
we may add
that
Ma-
hayanists would be proud of the fact, because being
a
living religious force
it
would never condescend to
be the corpse of a by-gone
ever
faithfully preserved, are
ganic substances from which
The
faith.
fossils,
how-
nothing but rigid inorlife
is
forever departed.
INTRODUCTION
Mahayanism is
faith and ready
far
from
in all
this
;
1
it
is
5
an ever-growing
times to cast off
its
old gar-
ments as soon as they are worn out. But its spirit
originally inspired by the "Teacher of Men and Gods"
($dstadevamanusyanam) is most jealously guarded
against pollution and degeneration. Therefore, as far
as
its
doubt
a
is
spirit
its
genuineness
complete
survey
significane of
It
concerned, there
;
no room
left
to
Buddhism cannot ignore the
of
Mahay an ism.
naught but an
is
idle talk to question the histo-
value of an organism, which
rical
is
and those who desire to have
is
now
of vital-
full
ity
and
like
an archeological object, dug out from the depths
of the
active
earth,
in all
its
functions,
and to
ity
is
it
or like a piece of bric-a-brac, discov-
ered in the ruins of an ancient royal palace.
nism
treat
Mahay a-
not an object of historical curiosity. Its vitalin our daily life. It is a
and activity concern us
great
organism its moral and 'religious forexercising an enormous power over mil-
spiritual
ces are
still
lions of souls;
;
and
its
further development
is
sure to
be a very valuable contribution to the world-progress
of the religious consciousness. What does it matter,
then,
whether or
not
Mahayanism
is
the genuine
teaching of the Buddha ?
Here is an instance of most flagrant contradictions
present in our minds, but of which we are not
conscious
on
account
of our
preconceived
ideas.
Christian critics vigorously insist on the genuineness
of their own religion, which is no more than a
1
6
INTRODUCTION.
but they want to condemn
denegerated, because it went
hybrid, at least outwardly
their
rival
through
It
is
sical
of
as
religion
various
;
of
stages
development
like theirs.
of no practical use to trouble with this nonsenthe question of the genuineness
question,
Mahay anism, which by the way is frequently
raised
by outsiders as well
as
by some unenlightened
Buddhists themselves.
3.
SOME MISSTATEMENTS ABOUT THE
MAHAYANA DOCTRINES.
Before
this
entering fully into the subject proper of
work, let us glance over some erroneous opinions
the Mahayana doctrines, which are held by
some Western scholars, and naturally by all uninitiated readers, who are like the blind led by the
blind. It may not be altogether a superfluous work
them a passing review in this chapter and
to. give
to show broadly what Mahayanism is not.
about
Why
Injustice is done to
Buddhism.
The people who have had their thoughts and sentrained by one particular set of
timents habitually
religious
those
them.
dogmas,
thoughts
We
frequently
that
may
are
call
moral
sentiments
training goes
point
of
;
view,
but,
they
this class
as
the value of
strange and unfamiliar to
of people bigots or
They may have
religious enthusiasts.
and
misjudge
far as their
fine religious
own
when examined from
are
to
religious
a broader
a great extent vitiated
INTRODUCTION.
with
prejudices,
17
and
superstitions,
which, since childhood, have been
fanatical beliefs,
pumped
into their
receptive minds, before they were sufficiently developed and could form independent judgments. This
so
fact
miserably spoils their purityof sentiment and
obscures their transparency of
that they are
intellect,
perceive and appreciate whatever is
disqualified
good and true and beautiful in the so-called heathen
to
This
religions.
is
the main reason
why
those Chris-
tian missionaries are incapable of rightly understand-
ing
the
of religion
spirit
missionaries
who come
I
generally
mean, those
to the East to substitute one
set of superstitions for another.
This strong general indictment against the Christian
missionaries, however,
is
by no means prompted by
any partisan spirit. My desire, on the contrary, is
to do justice to those thoughts and sentiments that
have
been
working consciously or unconsciously in
the human mind from time immemorial and shall
work on
till
the day of the last judgment,
ever be such a day.
sentiments
are,
To
which,
kernel of every religion,
tance
throw off
cherish,
though
all
of time.
by the way, constitute the
we must without any reluc-
we
unknowingly;
most essential
are liable
and
to
keeping
in the religious
we must not confound it with its
which are doomed to die in the course
consciousness,
accessories,
is
there
see what these thoughts and
the prejudices
quite
always in view what
if
1
INTRODUCTION.
8
Examples of
Injustice.
As specimen of injustice done to the Mahayana
Buddhism by Christian critics, we quote the following
Wadpassages from Monier- William's Buddhism
,
Buddhism
dell's
in China,
and Samuel Deal's Buddhism
of which are representative works each
all
own
in its
in Tibet,
field.
Monier Monier- Williams.
Monier-Williams
Monier
on Sanskrit
ment
and
literature,
a well- known authority
is
his
works
in this depart-
long remain as a valuable contribution to
human knowledge. But, unfortunately, as soon as
will
he attempts to enter the domain of religious controversy, his intellect becomes pitiously obscured by his
He
preconceived ideas.
thinks, for instance, that
of
principal feature
Mahayanism
number of Bodhisattvas, who
amplifying the
with their
tented, according to his view,
residence
in
the
desires
off
all
(P.
190.)
This remark
are con-
"perpetual
and quite willing to put
Buddhahood and Parinirvana."
heavens,
for
is
the
consists merely in
so absurd
that
it
will at
once be
rejected by any one who has a first-hand knowledge
of the Mahayana system, as even unworthy of refutation,
but
Monier-Williams
takes
give to his characterisation of the
a show of rational
he,
"men
explanation.
instinctively recoiled
special
pains to
Mahayana doctrine
"Of course," says
from utter
self-annihi-
INTRODUCTION.
1
and so the Buddha's followers ended
lation,
ging the true idea of Nirvana
a condition
beatitude
of
in
non-existence
celestial regions
a
into
(!),
chan-
in
and converting
state
9
it
from
of
lazy
while they encour-
men
whether monks or laymen
to make
a sense of dreamy bliss in Heaven (!), and not total
aged
all
extinction
(P.
of
the
life,
end
of
all
their
efforts."
156.)
This view
of
the
Buddhist heaven as interpreted
by Monier- Williams is nothing but the conception
of the Christian heaven colored with paganism. Nothing is more foreign to Buddhists than this distinSankritist's
guished
of celestial exist-
interpretation
The life of devas
much subject to the law
of men on earth. What
ence.
(celestial beings)
of birth
is
just as
and death as that
consolation would there be
Mahayanists striving after the highest principle of existence, only to find themselves transmifor the
grated to a celestial abode,
rows and sufferings
of
their
desire
selves.
?
that
is
also full of sor-
Always working
fellow-creatures,
the
for the welfare
Bodhisattvas
never
for
them-
any earthly or heavenly happiness
Whatever
merits,
according
to
the
law of
karma, there be stored up for their good work, they
do not have any wish to enjoy them by themselves,
they will have all these merits turned over
but
(parivarta) to the interests of their fellow-beings.
This is the ideal of Bodhisattvas, i.e., of the followers
of Mahayanism.
2O
INTRODUCTION.
Beat.
Samuel Deal who
to be an authority
considered by Western scholars
is
on Chinese Buddhism, refering to
*
Mahayana conception of Dharmakaya,
says in
Buddhism in China (p. 156): "We can have little
the
his
doubt, then, that from early days worship was offered
by Buddhists
presence
at
several
consecrated
spots,
to an
of the Teacher,
invisible
by the
presence.
This presence was formulated by the later Buddhists
under the phrase, 'the Body of the Law', Dhar-
makaya."
Then,
alluding
Buddha's instruction that says
to
after his Parinirvana
Law
the
given by him
should
be regarded as himself, Beal proceeds to say "Here
was the germ from which proceeded the idea or
formula of an invisible presence teaching and power
:
:
of the
or
fit
Law (Dharma)
Law-Body
represented
Dharmakaya
for reverence."
To
interpret
Dharmakaya
as the
quite inadequate and misleading.
is
the
of Buddha, present with the order, and
nists,
there
is
nothing
beside
Body of
To
the
Law
the Hinaya-
the Tripitaka as the
object of reverence, and, therefore, the notion of the
Body
1
of the
Law
has no meaning to them.
The conception of Dharmakaya
constitutes
The
the
idea
central
and the right compreThe Body of the Law,
English, is not exact and leads
point in the system of Mahayanism,
hension of it is ot vital importance.
as
it
is
commonly rendered
in
frequently to a misconception of the entire system.
is fully discussed below.
The
point
INTRODUCTION.
is
Mahay^nistic,
distinctly
formed about
tation, as
"law",
I
Beal
The
judge,
lies
in his
modes disappear,"
the transient
understood by
dkarma by
rendering
sists," or "that which maintains
or "substance."
not well in-
chief reason of his misinterpre-
dharma here means
while
is
real significance as
its
the Buddhists.
but
21
"that which sub-
itself
in
even when
short,
all
"being,"
Dharmakaya, therefore, would be a
sort of the Absolute, or
Essence-Body of
all
things.
This notion plays such an important r61e in Mahayanism that an adequate knowledge of it is indispensable to understand the constitution of Mahayanism
as a religious system.
Waddell.
Let
us
one more case of misrepresentation
state
by Western scholars of the Mahayana Buddhism.
author of
Waddell,
to
the
Buddhism
in Tibet,
referring
between the so-called
of
point
divergence
Northern Buddhism and the Southern, says (pp. 10
u): "It was the theistic Mahayana doctrine which
morality
agnostic idealism and
Buddha, a speculative theistic
the
for
substituted,
of
with a mysticism
of sophistic nihilism in
simple
system
the back-
ground."
And
"This
MaMyana [meaning NagSirjuna's
MadhyatnikajschooJ] was essentially a sophistic rnnltism, or rather Parinirvana, while ceasing to be exagain
tinction of
:
life,
was converted a mystic
admitted of no definition."
state
which
INTRODUCTION.
22
may
It
not be wrong to
call
Mahayanism a specu-
wide sense, but it must
system
be asked on what ground Waddell thinks that it has
"
in its background "a mysticism of sophistic nihilism
in a
theistic
lative
system be called sophistry when
Could a
religious
makes a
close inquiry
in order to
show how
it
the science of dialectics,
into
futile
it
to seek salvation
is
through the intellect alone? Could a religious system
be called a nihilism when it endeavors to reach the
which
highest reality
of concrete
be
individual
transcends
when
called nihilistic
the phenomenality
existences
it
Could a doctrine
?
the
defines
absolute as
neither void (gunya) nor not-void (a$unya)
?
some more passages from other BudWest and show how far Mahayanism has been made by them a subject of misrepresentation. But since this work is not a polemic,
I
could cull
dhist scholars of the
but devoted to a positive exposition of its basic docSuffice it to state
trines, I refrain from so doing.
that one of the
main causes of the
Buddhism by the Christian
of
preconceptions,
but which all the
which
more
critics
they
injustice
comes from
may
vitiate
done
to
their
not be aware,
their
"impartial"
judgments.
4.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RELIGION.
Those misconceptions about Buddhism
stated induce
and
to
say
me
as above
to digress in this introductory part
a few words concerning the distinction
INTRODUCTION.
between the form and the
spirit
23
of religion.
A
clear
knowledge of this distinction will greatly facilitate the
formation of a correct notion about Mahayanism and
also
will
us duly to appreciate
help
its
significance
as a living religious faith.
By
the
spirit
which
of
I
religion
mean
that element in
remains
unchanged throughout its
successive stages of development and transformation
while the form of it is the external shell which is
religion
:
subject to any modification required
No Revealed
It
else
and
Religion.
admits of no doubt that
under the sun,
that,
religion, as
everything
subject to the laws of evolution,
is
there
therefore,
by circumstances.
is
no
such
thing
as a
revealed religion, whose teachings are supposed to
have been delivered to us direct from the hands of
an anthropomorphic or anthropopsychic supernatural
being, and which- like an inorganic substance, remains
forever the same, without changing, without growing,
without modifying itself in accord with the surrounding
conditions. Unless people are so blinded by a belief
in
this
kind of religion as to
have suffered
its
absolutely
"revelation," they
headed person the
elements
in
distinguished
dogmas
must recognise
like
every clear-
some ephemeral
which must carefully be
fact that there are
every religion,
from
insist that its
change whatever since
no
its
quintessence
which
remains
eternally the same.
When
this discrimination is
not observed, prejudice
24
INTRODUCTION.
at
will
once assert
itself,
inducing them to imagine
were brought up with
that the religion in which they
its
all
religion
and superstitions is the only orthodox
the world, and all the other religions are
truths
in
nothing else than heathenism, idolatry, atheism, apostasy,
and the
like.
This attitude of such
religionists,
own narrowness
insight. No one who
however, serves only to betray their
of mind and dimness of spiritual
desires
to
penetrate
into the innermost recesses of
heart and who longs to feel the fullest
of
should foster in himself in the least
life,
meaning
a
disposition of bigotry.
degree
the
human
The Mystery.
the
is
Religion
inmost voice of the human heart
under the yoke of a seemingly finite existence
groans and travails in pain. Mankind, from their first
that
appearance on earth, have never been
the
and impermanency of
finiteness
satisfied with
life.
They have
always been yearning after something that will liberate
them from the slavery of this mortal coil, or from
the
cursed
.thinkers
account
bondage
express
of
separation
its
and
it.
metempsychosis, as Hindu
This something, however, on
of
transcending
all
the
principles
of
individuation, which characterise the
this mundane existence, has always
remained as something indefinite, inadequate, chaotic,
and full of mystery. And, according to different
phenomena of
degrees
and
of intellectual development in different ages
nations,
people
have endeavored to invest
this
INTRODUCTION.
mysterious something with
and
all
25
sorts of
Most of modern
intelligence.
human
feelings
scientists are
now
with the hypothesis that the mystery is
unfathomable by the human mind, which is conditioned
by the law of relativity, and that our business here,
content
moral as well as
this doctrine is called agnosticism.
of mystery;
But
the
with this ever-haunting problem
ourselves
troubling
can be executed without
intellectual,
hypothesis can in no wise be considered
sentence passed on the mystery. From the
this
final
point of view, the
scientific
maxim
of agnosticism
is
excellent, as science does not pretend to venture into
the
realm
presents
of non-relativity. Dissatisfaction, however,
when we attempt to silence by
demand of the human heart.
itself,
this
hypothesis the last
and Imagination.
Intellect
The human
When
the
the
heart
heart
intellect
still
is
displays
and
aches
something
beyond. The
clare that
has at
it
not
an
intellectual crystal.
in its full glory,
itself
struggles
intellect
last laid its
to get hold of
may sometimes
hand on what
is
de-
demanded
by the heart. Time passes on, and the mystery is
examined from the other points that escaped consideration
the
before,
heart,
wanting.
the
The
never gets
to the great disappointment of
supposed solution is found to be
and,
intellect
tired
satisfaction
ever
considered
a
of
is
its
more
baffled.
But the human heart
yearnings
pressingly.
and demands a
Should they
mere nightmare of imagination
?
be
Surely
INTRODUCTION.
26
not,
herein
for
the
lies
where
field
religion claims
supreme authority, and its claim is perfectly right.
But religion cannot fabricate whatever it pleases;
it must work in perfect accord with the intellect. As
or
in intellect,
man does
of
the essential nature
not consist solely
or feeling, but in the coordination
will,
of these psychical elements, religion must guard her-
of imagination.
Most of the superstitions fondly cherished by a pious
heart are due to the disregard of the intellectual element
self
in
unrestrained
the
against
flight
religion.
The
imagination creates the intellect discriminates.
Creation without discrimination is wild discrimination
:
:
without
creation
Religion and science,
with mutual understanding,
barren
is
when they do not work
are sure
be
to
normal growth
finally
enemy
energy, are, in
my
activities
as
sympathy
well
with
arrogant in
its
examination
men
must claim
alone
as
either
those
of
who
see
it
with
of science
:
for
their
all
and distorted
think that
field
of nature.
them
a natural
who
whole
the
I
of soul-
am
not in
is
just as
one
claim as the other. Without a careful
of both sides
of
a shield,
to give a correct opinion
competent
But the imagination
of religion, nor
is
of the entire system.
opinion, as purblind
in their view, as those
science
balance, and
its
denounce
and
makes an ab-
soul
religious enthusiasts
science
in
The
one point, loses
to a collapse
up
given
Those pious
one-sided
at
is
is
we
upon
are
not
it.
not the exclusive possession
discrimination
or ratiocination the
INTRODUCTION.
monopoly of
science.
plementary
one
:
The
other.
difference
tional,
and
the
religion
and probability.
certitude
and
finite.
phenomenon by some
a
The
When
is
of particular facts, the
and any further attempt to
done,
i.
this,
explains a given
it
fixed laws which are in turn
generalisation
task of science
go beyond
science
solely concerned with things condi-
is
relative,
nothing but
without
anything
rather in their respective fields of acti-
is
Science
vity.
com-
are reciprocal and
do
difference between
not that between
is
They
cannot
2?
to
e.,
make an
inquiry into the
whence, whither, and why of things, is beyond
its
realm.
But the human soul does not remain
satisfied here,
so-called
all
lying
Science
asks for the ultimate principle under-
it
is
laws
scientific
mechanical explanation of them appeases
tual curiosity.
But
mount importance,
but
a
is
of para-
one of the most fundamental
or
does
outside
religion
if there is something
manifold laws and theories
not care
its
;
which does
anything corresponding to
fails
a
and a
Science, again,
beyond
teleology
religion
is
:
its intellec-
system which does not give any
conception on this point is no religion.
problems,
definite
in
it
hypotheses.
teleology of things
the
to
indifferent
and
it,
not
possess
a
God
ceases to be so, for
to give consolation to the
human
or
it
heart
The Contents of Faith vary.
The
fall
solution of religious problems,
within the sphere of relative
as far as they
experience,
is
large-
INTRODUCTION.
28
a
ly
matter
of
determined by
personal conviction,
one's intellectual development, external circumstances,
education, disposition, etc.
thus
formulated
are
The conceptions of
naturally
infinitely
faith
diversified;
even among the followers of a certain definite set of
dogmas, each will understand them in his own way,
owing to individual
their conceptions
of
faith
chemist does his materials,
we
If
peculiarities.
to a strict
we
could subject
analysis as a
should detect in them
the possible forms of differentiation. But all these
things belong to the exterior of religion and have
all
nothing to do with the essentials which underlie them.
The abiding elements of religion come from within,
and consist mainly
lies
and
hidden
in the
in
the mysterious sentiment that
deepest depths of the
when awakened, shakes
that,
of personality
revolution,
and brings
which
results
one's world-conception.
about
in
a
When
human
heart,
the whole structure
a
great
spiritual
complete change of
this
mysterious sen-
timent finds expression and formulates its conceptions
in the terms of intellect, it becomes a definite system
which is popularly called religion, but
should
which
properly be termed dogmatism, that is,
an intellectualised form of religion. On the other
of beliefs,
hand, the outward forms of religion consist of those
changing elements that are mainly determined by the
intellectual
and
well as
individual esthetical feelings.
True
by
moral
and
development
of the times as
enlightened Buddhists may,
therefore, find their point of agreement in the recogChristians
INTRODUCTION.
29
of the inmost religious sentiment
nition
that consti-
tutes the basis of our being, though
this agreement
does by no means prevent them from retaining their
individuality in the conceptions and expressions of
My
faith.
Christ
conviction
is
their
changed
If
:
Gautama might have been
Jewish
propounding the doctrine
and Dharmakaya.
However
great a
an echo of the
places
of
birth,
a Christ rising against the
and Jesus
traditionalism,
Buddha and the
the
accidental
of
a Buddha, perhaps
non-ego and Nirvana
man may
be, he cannot but
spirit of the times.
He
be
never stands,
supposed by some, so aloof and towering above
the masses as to be practically by himself. On the
as
is
contrary, "he," as
Emerson
river of the thoughts
ideas
says, "finds himself in the
and events, forced onward by the
his contemporaries." So it was
and necessities of
with the Buddha, and so with the Christ.
They were
nothing but the concrete representatives of the ideas
and feelings that were struggling in those times against
the established institutions, which were degenerating
fast and menaced the progress of humanity. But at
the
same time those
outburst
of the
ideas
Eternal
and
Soul,
sentiments were the
which
makes a solemn announcement of
its
occasionally
will,
through
great historical figures or through great worldevents.
Believing
sition
as
that
a bit
of religio-philosophical expowill prepare the minds of
above indulged
INTRODUCTION.
3O
my
Christian readers sincerely to
of a religious
proceed
to
system
a
yana Buddhism,
Far East.
take up the study
other than their own,
systematical elucidation of the
as
it
is
I
now
Maha-
believed at present in the
CHAPTER
I.
A GENERAL CHARACTERISATION OF BUDDHISM,
No God and no
OUDDHISM
considered by some to be a religion
without a God and without a soul. The state-
*^
ment
we
Soul.
is
true
is
and untrue according to what meaning
give to those terms.
Buddhism does not recognise the existence of a
being, who stands aloof from his ''creations," and
who meddles
human
occasionally with
affairs
when
will pleases him.
This conception of
a supreme being is very offensive to Buddhists They
are unable to perceive any truth in the hypotheses,
his capricious
that a being like ourselves created the
of nothing and
first
it
universe out
with a pair of sentient
peopled
beings
owing to a crime commited by them,
which, however, could have been avoided if the cre;
ator
so
that,
desired,
eternal
damnation
feeling
pity
remorse for
only beloved
;
were
for the cursed,
his
condemned by him to
meantime
that the creator in the
or suffering the bite of
somewhat rash deed, despatched
son
to
the
earth
for
his
the purpose of
mankind from universal misery, etc., etc.
Buddhism is called atheism on account of its
rescuing
If
they
CHAPTER
32
refusal
take
to
I.
poetry for actual
fact,
followers
its
would have no objection to the designation.
if
Next,
we understand by
secretly hiding itself behind
them
all
soul
mental
atman,
which,
activities, direct
an organist striking different
notes as he pleases, Buddhists outspokenly deny the
existence of such a fabulous being. To postulate an
after the fashion of
independent atman outside a combination of the five
1
of which an individual being is supposed
Skandhas
,
by Buddhists to
with
egoism
consist,
its
all
distinguishes
emphatically
from
non-atman
of
postulate
most of
to unreservedly
pernicious corollaries.
Buddhism
of
is
all
most
other religions
us
let
these
Buddhism
Dharmakaya,
common
points
as
property
notion
general
will also
Karma, Atman, Avidya, Nirvana,
of these doctrines being the
of the two schools of Buddhism,
here
about
will furnish
the constitution of Buddhism,
Mahayana doctrine which
(5)
follows.
form or materiality (rupa} (2) sensation
deeds (samkard),
consciousness (vijndna). These terms are explained
They are:
(i)
(vedana), (3) conception (samjna), (4) action or
and
comprehen-
brief,
our readers with a
prepare them to pursue a further specific
exposition of the
1
general way,
such principal
Some
etc.
exposition
Buddhism
soul.
in a
clearer
Hinayanism and Mahayanism, their
and
the doctrine
non-ego, exactly opposite to the
a soul-substance which is cherished by
briefly treat in this chapter of
tenets of
sive
is
and
or
religious enthusiasts. In this sense,
To make
And what
characteristically
undoubtedly a religion without the
is
welcome
elsewhere.
}
CHAPTER
33
I.
Karma.
One
of the most fundamental doctrines established
by Buddha
that
is
in
nothing
world
this
comes
from a single cause, that the existence of a universe
is
the result of a combination of several causes
and conditions
(hetu)
same time an
duction
of
active
an effect
(pratyaya),
and
is
at
the
force contributing to the proin
As
the future.
far as
phe-
nomenal existences are concerned, this law of cause
and effect holds universally valid. Nothing, even God,
can interfere with the course of things thus regulated,
materially
as well as morally. If a
God
really exists
and has some concern about our worldly affairs, he
must first conform himself to the law of causation.
Because the principle of karma, which is the Buddhist
term for causation morally conceived, holds supreme
everywhere and all the time.
The conception
role in
ciple
Buddhist
of the
of karma plays the most important
ethics.
universe.
Karma
is
the formative prin-
determines the course of
It
events and the destiny of our existence.
The reason
why we cannot change our present state of things
as we may will, is that it has already been determined
by the karma
that
was performed
in
our previous
lives,
only individually but collectively. But, for
this same reason, we shall be able to work out our
not
destiny in the future, which
is
nothing but the resultant
of several factors that are working
worked by ourselves
in this
and that are being
life.
3
CHAPTER
34
Buddha
Therefore, says
I.
:
"By self alone is evil done,
By self is one disgraced;
By self is evil left undone,
By self alone is he purified;
Purity and impurity belong to
No one can purify another." 1
self:
Again,
"Not
in the
sky
Nor in the midst of the sea,
Nor entering a cleft of the mountains,
Is
found that realm on earth
Where one may stand and be
From an evil deed absolved." 2
This
doctrine
karma may be regarded
of
as an
application in our ethical realm of the theory of the
conservation of energy. Everything done is done once
for all; its footprints on the sand of our moral and
social evolution are forever left
they
are
further
generative,
development
good or
under
;
more than
nay,
evil,
left,
and waiting
favorable
for
conditions. In
the physical world, even the slightest possible movement
of our limbs cannot but affect the general cosmic
motion of the earth, however infinitesimal it be; and
if we
had a proper instrument, we could surely
measure
with
with
1
precise
our deeds.
its
leaving
2
its
A
extent
of effect.
So
is
deed
it
even
once performed, together
subjective motives, can never vanish without
some impressions either on the individual
The Dhammapada,
The Dhammapada,
v.
165. Tr.
v.
127.
by A.
J.
Edmunds.
CHAPTER
or on
consciousness
I.
35
the supra-individual,
i.
social
e.,
consciousness.
We
need not further
karma
in
our
In
its
state that the conception of
general aspect
and material
moral
relativity rules
is
scientifically verified
life,
where the law of
supreme, the doctrine of
karma must
be considered thoroughly valid. And as long as its
validity is admitted in this field, we can live our
without resorting to the hypothesis of
as declared by Lamarck when his
phenomenal
life
a
God,
personal
significant
work
on
evolution
was presented to
Emperor Napoleon.
But
nate
it
will
do
injustice
to
Buddhism
if
we
desig-
agnosticism or naturalism, denying or ignoring
the existence of the ultimate, unifying principle, in
which all contradictions are obliterated. Dharmakaya
it
name
given by Buddhists to this highest principle, viewed not only from the philosophical but also
is
the
from the religious standpoint.
In
the
Dharmakaya,
Buddhists find the ultimate significance of life, which,
when seen from its phenomenal aspect, cannot escape
the bondage of
karma and
its
irrefragable laws.
Avidyd.
What
claims our attention next,
is the problem of
most
of
the
essential features
is
one
which
nescience,
of Buddhism.
Buddhists think, nescience (in Sans-
avidya) is the subjective aspect of karma, involvRebirth, considered
ing us in a series of rebirths.
by itself, is no moral evil, but rather a necessary
krit
CHAPTER
36
I.
condition of progress toward perfection,
ever be attainable
is
the
here.
It
an
is
outcome of ignorance,
evil
if
perfection
when
only
it
ignorance as to the
meaning of our earthly existence.
true
Ignorant are they who do not recognise the evanescence of wordly things and who tenaciously cleave
them
to
as
shun the misery
who
realities
final
savagely
the
to
struggle
about by their own
brought
cling
who madly
;
self
the
against
to
folly
will
;
of
who take particulars
God, as Christians would say
as final existences and ignore one pervading reality
which underlies them all
who build up an adaman;
;
tine wall
between the mine and thine
ignorant are those
no such thing
is
idual existences
makaya.
in a
:
who do not understand
as
an ego-soul,
are
unified in
Buddhism,
word,
that there
and that
all
indiv-
the system of Dhar-
therefore,
most
emphatically
maintains that to attain the bliss of Nirvana
we must
radically dispel this illusion, this ignorance, this root
of
all
The
evil
and suffering
in this
life.
dotrine of nescience or ignorance
is
technically
expressed
following formula, which is commonly called the Twelve Nidanas or Pratyayasamutthe
in
pada, that
(
(2)
is
There
to say Chains of
Dependence:
Ignorance (avidya) in the beginning
from Ignorance Action (sanskara) comes forth
i
)
is
;
;
comes forth
(3) from Action Consciousness (vijndna)
(4) from Consciousness Name-and-Form (namarupa)
comes forth; (5) from Name-and-Form the Six Organs
;
(sadayatana) come forth
;
(6)
from
the
Six Organs
CHAPTER
Touch
comes
(sparga)
comes
tion (vedana)
comes
I.
forth;
forth
(7)
(8)
;
37
from Touch Sensa-
from Sensation Desire
from Desire Clinging (upacomes
from
forth; (10)
dana]
Clinging Being (bhdva)
comes forth; (11) from Being Birth (jati) comes
forth; and (12) from Birth Pain (duhkhd) comes
(trsna)
forth
(9)
;
forth.
According to
formula
is
previous
we
Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakoga, the
Being ignorant in our
as to the significance of our existence,
explained as follows
life
:
our desires and act wantonly. Owing
to this karma, we are destined in the present life to
be endowed with consciousness (yijndna), name-andlet
loose
form (namarupd), the six organs of sense (sadayatand), and sensation (vedana).
By the exercise of
these faculties,
to,
we now
desire for, hanker after, cling
these illusive existences
reality
whatever.
Live"
we
karma
that
which
have no ultimate
of this
In
consequence
potentially accumulate or
will
"Will to
make up
the
us to further metempsychosis
lead
of birth and death.
The formula
exhaustive,
but
is
by no means
logical,
fundamental
notion
the
nor
is
that
it
life
started in ignorance or blind will remains veritable.
Non-Atman.
The problem
doctrine usually
of nescience
known
naturally
as that of
non-ego, to which allusion
leads to the
non-Atman,
was made
i.
e.,
at the beginning
CHAPTER
38
This
of this chapter.
Its thesis
Christian scholars.
as
thing
And
is
this is the
of
runs
Buddhism
much
criticism
There
:
one
is
is
by
no such
according to the vulgar
agent of our mental activities.
which,
ego-soul,
interpretation,
doctrine
have caused
that
of the subjects
I.
the
reason
why Buddhism
is
sometimes
called a religion without the soul, as aforesaid.
This Buddhist negation of the ego-soul
startling to the people,
who,
is
perhaps
no speculative
having
power, blindly accept the traditional, materialistic
view of the soul. They think, they are very spiritual
in endorsing the dualism of soul and flesh, and in
making the soul something like a corporeal entity,
though far more ethereal than an ordinary object of
the senses.
in the
form
an
of
of the soul as being more
angel, when they teach that it
think
They
ascends to heaven immediately after
the material imprisonment.
They
in
the
liberty, not being able
The immortality
after the
from
the
its
body, groans in pain for its
to bear its mundane limitaof the soul
is
a continuation
dismemberment of material elements of this
ethereal, astral, ghost-like entity,
bling
release
further imagine that the soul, because of
imprisonment
tions.
its
Samkhyan Lingham
very
much resem-
or the Vedantic su-
will
not a whit
ksama-fartra.
suffer in its continued activity, as it is the essential
function of the soul.
Brothers and sisters, parents
Self-consciousness
and sons and daughters, wives aud husbands, all
transfigured and sublimated, will meet again in the
CHAPTER
39
I.
abode, and perpetuate their
celestial
manner of
after the
much
People who
home
their earthly one.
life
and
its immortality must
disappointment or even resentment, when
they are asked to recognise the Buddhist theory of
non-atman.
take this view of the soul
feel a great
The
absurdity
of
astral existence taught
to the confusion of the
ponding to
it.
The
by some theosophists
name and the object
soul,
according to the vulgar
given to a certain
to the soul a sort of
ascribing
or
notion,
coordination
what
is
the
ego,
is
due
corres-
tantamount
a
is
name
of mental activities.
Abstract names are invented by us to economise our
intellectual labors, and of course have no correspondas
ing realities
objective
history
world.
of
the
particular presences
in the
concrete
Vulgar minds have forgotten the
formation of abstract names. Being
accustomed always to find certain objective
or concrete
individuals
those
realities
answering to certain names,
imagine that all names,
irrespective of their nature, must have their concrete
Their
individual equivalents in the sensual world.
they
idealism
na'ive
realists
or spiritualism, so called,
form of materialism,
is
in spite of their
for the latter as atheistic
in fact a gross
unfounded
and even immoral
;
fear
curse
of ignorance!
The non-atman theory does not deny
that there
is
a coordination or unification of various mental operations.
Buddhism
vijnana, not atman.
calls
this
Vijnana
system of coordination
is
consciousness, while
CHAPTER
4O
atman
the
is
I.
ego conceived as a concrete entity,
a hypostatic agent which, abiding in the deepest recess
of the mind, directs
to
its
own
all
subjective activities according
This view
discretion.
is
radically rejected
by Buddhism.
A
familiar analogy illustrating the doctrine of non-
atrnan
Wheel
is
is
the notion
of a wheel or that of a house.
name given
the
to a combination in a fixed
form of the spokes, axle, tire, hub, rim,
is that
given to a combination of roofs,
dows,
walls,
floors,
for a certain
to
be found?
House
a
certain
designating
Now,
where
take
house
win-
model and
these
parts
the house or the wheel
is
merely the name
which parts are sys-
or wheel
form
all
;
pillars,
after a certain
etc.,
purpose.
independently, and
etc.
in
is
What an absurdtematically and definitely disposed.
on
the independent
it
must
be
to
insist
ity, then,
existence of the wheel or of the house as an agent
behind the combination of certain parts thus
ly
definite-
arranged
is wonderful that Buddhism clearly anticipated the
!
It
outcome of modern psychological researches at the
time when all other religious and philosophical systems were eagerly
concerning
the
cherishing dogmatic superstitions
nature of the ego.
The refusal of
modern psychology
to have soul
than the sum-total of
all
mean anything more
mental experiences, such as
sensations, ideas, feelings, decisions, etc.,
precisely
the Buddhist doctrine of non-atman.
a
rehearsal
It
does not deny that there
of
is
is
a unity of consciousness,
CHAPTER
for to
but
deny
this is to
refuses
it
to
and
unconditioned,
doubt our everyday experiences,
assert that this unity
independent.
phase of existence,
phenomenal
41
I
is
is
absolute,
Everything in this
a combination of
and conditions (pratyaya) brought
together according to the principle of karma; and
everything that is compound is finite and subject to
certain causes (hetu)
dissolution, and, therefore, always limited
else.
Even the
goes,
is
the
to
is
of
as far as
soul-life,
no exception to
its
by something
phenomenality
this universal law.
To
maintain
existence of a soul-substance which
is supposed
hidden behind the phenomena of consciousness,
not only misleading, but harmful and productive
lie
some morally dangerous
that there
is
makes us
result
conclusions.
something where there
The
is
supposition
really nothing,
cling to this chimerical form, with
no other
subjecting ourselves to an eternal series
than
of sufferings. So
we read
in the
Lankavatara Sutra,
"A flower in the air, or a hare with
Or a pregnant maid of stone:
To take what is not for what is,
Tis called a judgment false.
"In a combination of causes,
The vulgar seek the reality of
As truth they understand
From
III
:
horns,
self.
not,
birth to birth they transmigrate."
The Non-Atman-ness of Things.
Mahayanism has gone a step
yamsm
in the
atman,
for
it
further
than
Hina-
development of the doctrine of nonexpressly
disavows,
besides the denial
CHAPTER
42
existence
of the
the
of
conception of things,
i.
e.,
I.
ego-substance, a noumenal
the conception of particu-
having something absolute in them.
lars as
Hinaya-
nism, indeed, also disfavors this conception of thinginess, but it does so only implicitly. It is Mahayanism
that definitely insists
on the non-existence of a personal
(pudgala) as well as a thingish
(dharma) ego.
According to the vulgar view, particular existences
are real, they have permanent substantial entities,
forever
remaining
as
such.
that organic matter
remains
much
matter
as
inorganic
are
as they
essentially
They
therefore,
remains inorganic
;
that,
no mutual
different, there is
The human
between them.
transformation
think,
forever organic just as
soul
is
from that of the lower animals and sentient
different
beings from non-sentient beings the difference being
well-defined and permanent, there is no bridge over
;
We
which one can cross to the other.
may
call this
view naturalistic egoism.
Mahayanism, against
world, extends
\ lying outside
ducible
its
us.
reality
conception of the
theory of non-atman to the realm
It
in
this egoistic
maintains
that there
existences,
particular
they are combinations of several causes
tions
brought
together
by
the
is
that
as
made
dissolve,
ditions
its
force
is
principle of karma.
by karma.
exhausted, the conditions
their existence possible lose efficience
and
in
their places
and existences.
irre-
and condi-
are here because they are sustained
Things
As soon
no
so long as
will
Therefore,
and
follow other con-
what
is
organic
CHAPTER
to-day,
may be
43
I.
inorganic to-morrow, and vice versa.
which is stored within the earth
Carbon,
appears in the form of coal or graphite or diamond
but that which exists on its surface is found somefor instance,
;
times combined with other
elements in the form of
an animal or a vegetable, sometimes in its free elementary state. It is the same carbon everywhere
;
becomes inorganic or
karma, it has no atman
it
transformation
by
transformation
is
its
organic,
in itself
according
its
which directs
own self-determining
everywhere
to
there
observable;
its
Mutual
will.
is
a
constant shifting of forces, an eternal transmigration
of the elements,
all
of which tend to show the
and non-atman-ness of individual ex-
transitoriness
The
istences.
nothing
in
it
universe
is
moving
like a whirl-wind,
proving to be stationary,
rigidly adhering to
its
own form
nothing in
it
of existence.
Suppose, on the other hand, there were an atman
behind every particular being; suppose, too, it were
absolute and permanent and self-acting
and this
;
phenomenal world would then come to a standstill,
and life be forever gone. For is not changeability
the most essential feature
and condition of
also the strongest evidence
The
recognise this universal fact of
servation
of energy
and
and
and
for the non-existence of
individual things as realities?
in its positive aspect
life,
call
of
physical
sciences
mutual transformation
it
the law of the con-
matter.
Mahay anism,
recognising its negative side, proposes the doctrine
of the non-atman-ness of things, that is to say, the
CHAPTER
44
I.
impermanency of all particular existences. Therefore,
it is said, "Sarvam anityam, sarvam gunyam, sarvam
\
anatman"
is
(All
is
all
transitory,
void,
with-
all is
out ego.)
Mahayanists condemn the vulgar view that denies
the consubstantiality and reciprocal transformation of
all
beings, not only because
but
able,
mainly
because,
is
it
scientifically
unten-
and religiously
ethically
considered,
fraught with extremely dangerous
ideas which finally may lead a "brother to
ideas,
is
it
the
brother to death and the father the
deliver
up
child,"
and, again,
it
may
constrain "the children to
rise
up against
their parents
put
to
Why?
death."
and cause them to be
Because
this
born of
view,
would dry up the well of human love and
sympathy, and transform us into creatures of bestial
egoism,
selfishness
;
because
this
view
is
not capable of inspiring
of mutuality and commiseration
and of making us disinterestedly feel for our fellowbeings. Then, all fine religious and humane sentiments
us
with
the
sense
would depart from our
less
than
blood
rigid,
running.
and we should be nothing
corpses, no pulse beating, no
hearts,
lifeless
And how many
victims are offered
day on this altar of egoism They are not
necessarily immoral by nature, but blindly led by the
false conception of life and the world, they have been
every
!
rendered incapable of seeing their
in their neighbors. Being ever
sensual
nature,
impulses,
they
own
controlled
sin against
and against themselves.
spiritual
doubles
by
their
humanity, against
CHAPTER
We
read
(Nanjo, no.
the
in
196)
Mahayana-abhisamaya Sutra
:
"Empty and calm and devoid
Is
45
I.
the nature of
all
of ego
things
no individual being
There is
That in reality
:
exists.
"Nor end nor beginning having
Nor any middle course,
All is a sham, here's no reality whatever:
It is like unto a vision and a dream.
unto clouds and lightning,
unto gossamer or bubbles floating
like unto fiery revolving wheel,
"It is like
It is like
It is
It is like
unto water-splashing.
"Because of causes and conditions things are here:
them there's no self-nature [i. e., atman]
All things that move and work,
In
:
Know them
as such.
"Ignorance and thirsty desire,
The source of birth and death they are:
Right contemplation and discipline by heart,
Desire and ignorance obliterate.
"All beings in the world,
Beyond words they are and expressions:
Their ultimate nature, pure and true,
Is like unto vacuity of space." l
The Dharmakaya.
The Dharmakaya, which
system
of
being,"
is,
literally
means "body or
according to the Mahayanists,
1
This last passage should not be understood in the sense
of a total abnegation of existence. It means simply the transcendentality of the highest principle.
CHAPTER
46
I.
the ultimate reality that underlies
nomena;
universe;
the
is
it
individuals
that
possible
is
it
course
;
the
which
norm of
is
d'etre of the
being, which regulates
events and thoughts.
of
of Dharmakaya
particular phe-
raison
the
is
it
all
makes the existence of
peculiarly
The conception
for the
Mahayanistic,
Hinayana school did not go so
far as to formulate
the ultimate principle of the universe;
its
adherents
stopped short at a positivistic interpretation of Buddhism. The Dharmakaya remained for them to be the
Body
of
embodied
Law, or the Buddha's personality
the
as
taught by him.
The Dharmakaya may be compared in one sense
to the God of Christianity and in another sense to
the
in the truth
Brahman or Paramatman of Vedantism.
It
is
different, however, from the former in that it does
not stand transcendentally above the universe, which,
according to the Christian view, was created by God,
but which is, according to Mahayanism, a manifestation of the
Dharmakaya
from Brahman in that it
nor is it a mere being.
contrary,
is
himself.
It
is
also different
not absolutely impersonal,
is
The Dharmakaya, on
the
capable of willing and reflecting, or, to
phraseology, it is Karuna (love) and
Bodhi (intelligence), and not the mere state of being.
use
Buddhist
This pantheistic
Dharmakaya
sentient
of the
is
and
the
same time
entheistic
every sentient being, for
nothing but a self-manifestation
working
beings are
at
Dharmakaya.
existences, as imagined
in
Individuals
are
by most people.
not
isolated
If isolated,
CHAPTER
are
they
they are so
after another
nothing,
which vanish
47
I.
one
many
soap-bubbles
the
in
vacuity of
space. All particular existences acquire their
only
when they
are
The
the Dharmakaya.
ignorance
perceiving
more
all
a reflection of the
so
is
subjective
or intellect,
Dharmakaya
enlightened,
fully
we no
build the artificial barrier of egoism before our
is
eye
;
the distinction between the
obliterated,
;
you recognise yourself
"What
What
Who
From
This
spiritual
state
is
is
me
in
tvam
tat
;
asi.
Or,
here, that is there;
there, that is here
:
of the
and love
A
ego.
now spontaneously
or,
ego,
which
flow
'
may be
of enlightenment
ideal annihilation of the
of sympathy
recognise myself in you and
I
sees duality here,
death to death goes he."
expansion
meum and
no dualism throws the nets of
entanglement over us
will
e.,
when our Bodhi
one. But
by the way
human mind,
spiritual
teum
i.
temporally throw an obstacle to our
the
universal light of Dharmakaya, in
is
in the
of Maya,
may
which we are
which
veil
meaning
of in their oneness in
thought
is
called
the
negatively,
the
never-drying stream
of religion
of the fountain-
the
out
life
head of Dharmakaya.
The
no
doctrine of non-ego
reality in individual
teaches us that there
existences,
that
is
we do not
have any transcendental entity called ego-substance.
7he Kathopanisad,
IV. 10.
t-
CHAPTER
48
The
of
doctrine
Dharmakaya, to
all
are one
we
us that
teaches
Being
and
shows
us
supplement
this,
the
System of
such are immortal.
The one
as
only
the
I.
of clinging
folly
in
to
individual exist-
ences and of coveting the immortality of the egosoul; the other convinces us of the truth that we
are saved
The
by
the
into
living
unity
of non-atrnan
doctrine
of Dharmakaya.
us
liberates
from the
shackle of unfounded egoism but as mere liberation
does not mean anything positive and may perchance
;
us
lead
to
we apply
asceticism,
the
energy
thus
released to the execution of the will of Dharmakaya.
The
questions
:
bors as ourselves?
"Why
Why
have we to love our neighhave we to do to others all
things whatsoever we would that they should do to
us?" are answered thus by Buddhists: "It is because
we
are
one
all
Dharmakaya, because when the
in the
clouds of ignorance and egoism are totally dispersed,
the light of universal love and intelligence cannot
but
help
shine in
we do
this glory,
we
all
its
And, enveloped
glory.
in
any enemy, nor neighbor,
we are one in
not. see
are not even conscious of whether
the Dharmakaya.
There
is
no
but
will' here,
'my
only 'thy will,' the will of Dharmakaya, in which
and move and have our being."
The Apostle Paul says "For as
we
live
in
Adam
be made
alive."
:
even
so
in
Buddhists
his
egoism
tree of
Christ
shall all
would answer, "because
in
giving
knowledge
is
himself
in truth
up
Adam
all
die,
Why
?
asserted
to ignorance, (the
the tree of ignorance,
CHAPTER
from
for
it
49
I.
comes the duality of me and
thee)
while
;
Christ on the contrary surrendered his egoistic assertion to the intelligence of the universal
That
why we
is
die
the
in
Dharmakaya.
former and
are
made
alive in the latter."
Nirvana.
The meaning
been variously interpreted by non-Buddhist students from the philological and the historical standpoint
but it matters little
of Nirvana has
;
what conclusions they have reached, as we are not
nor do they at all
going to recapitulate them here
;
our presentation of the Buddhists' own view as
below. For it is the latter that concerns us here most
affect
and constitutes the all-important part of the problem
We have had too much of non-Buddhist speculation
on the question
while claiming
The majority
at issue.
to
be
fair
and
of the
impartial,
critics,
have,
by
some preconceived
ideas,
which
acceptable to intelligent Buddhists.
is
not at
all
Further, the fact has
literature
of the
escaped
from which they
mation on the
many
subject
sects
of the Master and
been led to a conclusion,
that
their notice that Pali
chiefly
represents
derive their infor-
the views of one
arose soon after the demise
were constantly branching
off at
time of King Agoka. The probability
Buddha himself did not have any stereotyped
conception of Nirvana, and, as most great minds do,
and
is,
after the
that
expressed his ideas outright as formed under various
circumstances
though of course they could not be
;
4
CHAPTER
5O
in contradiction
I.
with his central
beliefs,
which must
have remained the same throughout the course of his
religious life. Therefore, to understand a problem in
all
its
apparently
contradictory
aspects,
it
is
very
necessary to grasp at the start the spirit of the
author of the problem, and when this is done the
rest will be understood comparatively much easier.
Non-Buddhist
ification
therefore,
;
themselves
most important qual-
critics lack in this
are
it
no wonder
is
always
reluctant
Buddhists
that
to accede to their
interpretations.
for apology.
Nirvana, according to Budannihilation of consciousdoes
not
an
dhists,
signify
ness nor a temporal or permanent suppression of
Enough
mentation
as
',
imagined
by some; but
it
is
the
1
Guyau, a French sociologist, refers to the Buddhist conI
take
ception of Nirvana in his Non-Religion of the Future
his interpretation as typical of those non-Buddhist critics
who are very little acquainted with the subject but pretend
know much. (English translation, pp 472 474.)
to
"Granted the wretchedness of
mists
is
propose
the
new
Buddhists are to make fashionable.
of Nirvana. To sever all the ties
external world
the
life,
.
remedy
that pessi-
modern
The conception is that
salvation that
religious
.
which attach you to the
to prune away all the young offshoots of
recognise that to be rid of them is a deliverance ;
;
desire, and
to practise a sort of complete psychial circumcision; to recoil
upon yourself and to believe that by so doing you enter
into the society of the great totality of
would say, of God); to create an inner
things
(the
mystic
vacuum, and to
feel
dizzy in the void and, nevertheless, to believe that the void
is plenitude
supreme, pleroma, these have always constituted
Mankind has been tempted to
temptations to mankind.
meddle with them, as it has been tempted to creep up to
of the notion of ego-substance and of
the desires that arise from this erroneous concep-
annihilation
all
tion.
But
doctrine,
this
and
negative side of the
the
represents
its
positive
side consists in universal
love or
sympathy (karund) for all beings.
These two aspects of Nirvana, i. e., negatively,
the destruction of evil passions, and,
positively,
the
of sympathy, are complementary to each
when we have one we have the other.
and
other;
Because, as soon as the heart is freed from the
practice
cangue of egoism, the same heart, hitherto so cold
and hard, undergoes a complete change, shows animation, and, joyously escaping from self -imprisonment,
finds its
this
freedom
latter
sense,
Dharmakaya,
earth as
it
that
is
in
in
the
bosom of Dharmakaya.
Nirvana
is
to
is
say,
heaven."
In
the "humanisation" of
"God's
If
will
done
we make use of
in
the
the verge of dizzy precipices and look over . . . Nirvana leads,
in fact, to the annihilation of the individual and of the race,
and to the logical absurdity that the vanquished are the vic"
and miseries of life
author recites the case of one of his acquaintances, who made a practical experiment of Nirvana, rejecting
variety in his diet, giving up meat, wine, every kind of ragout,
every form of condiment, and reducing to its lowest possible
terms the desire that is most fundamental in every living
being the desire of food, and substituting a certain number
of cups of pure milk. "Having thus blunted his sense of
tors over the trials
Then, the
and the grosser of his appetites, having abandoned all
physical activity, he thought to find a recompense in the pleasure of abstract meditation and of esthetic contemplation.
He entered to a state which was not that of dreamland, but
neither was it that of real life, with its definite details."
taste
CHAPTER
$2
I.
terms, subjective and objective. Nirvana
is
the former,
and the Dharmakaya is the latter, phase of one and
the same principle. Again, psychologically, Nirvana
enlightenment, the actualisation of the Bodhicitta*
(Heart of Intelligence).
is
The
may
gospel of love and the doctrine of Nirvana
appear to some to contradict each other, for
they think that the
former
and
the latter
while
activity,
ascetic quietism.
tional
aspect
the source of energy
a lifeless, inhuman,
is
is
But the truth
and Nirvana the
That Nirvana
plainly
shown
To
is
is
the emo-
intellectual aspect
the inmost religious consciousness
the essence of the Buddhist life.
is
love
is,
of
which constitutes
the destruction of selfish desires
in this stanza
:
the giver merit is increased;
the senses are controlled anger arises not.
wise forsake evil,
When
The
By the
A man
The
destruction of desire, sin, and infatuation,
attains to Nirvana.'"
following which
was breathed
forth
by Buddha
when
against a certain class of monks, testifies that
Nirvana
is
understood in
the sense of quietism or
pessimism, he vigorously repudiated
it:
"Fearing an endless chain of birth and death,
And the misery of transmigration,
Their heart is filled with worry,
Bnt they desire their safety only.
1
*
For detailed explanation of
The
Strong
Udana, Ch. VIII,
p.
this
118.
term see Chapter XL
Translation by General
CHAPTER
I.
53
"Quietly sitting and reckoning the breaths,They're bent on the Anapanam. *
They contemplate on
the filthiness of the body,
Thinking how impure
it
is!
-They shun the dust of the
And
triple world,
in ascetic practise their
safety they
seek:
Incapable of love and sympathy are they,
For on Nirvana abides their thought." *
Against
Buddha
this
ascetic
sets forth
the Buddhist
"Arouse thy
life
will,
some monks, the
practise of
what might be
called the ideal of
:
supreme and
great,
Practise love and sympathy, give joy and protection
Thy love like unto space,
Be
;
without discrimination, without limitation.
it
Merits establish, not for thy
But for charity universal
Save and deliver all beings,
own
sake,
;
Let them attain the wisdom of the Great Way."
apparent that the ethical application of the
doctrine of Nirvana is naught else than the Golden
It
1
is
a peculiarly Indian religious practice, which concounting one's exhaling and inhaling breaths. When a
This
sists in
is
man is intensely bent on the practise, he gradually passes to
a state of trance, forgetting everything that is going on around and
within himself. The practise may have the merit of alleviating
nervousness and giving to the mind the bliss of relaxation,
but it oftentimes leads the mind to a self-hypnotic state.
2
Here Nirvana is evidently understood to mean self-abnegation or world-flight or quietism, which is not in accord with
the true Buddhist interpretation of the term.
CHAPTER
54
Rule,
1
I.
The Golden Rule, however, does
why we should so act, it is a
so called.
not give any reason
mere command whose authority
tain
This
superhuman being.
intellectually disposed
is
ascribed to a cer-
does
not
satisfy
an
mind, which refuses to accept
anything on mere authority, for it wants to go to
the bottom of things and see on what ground they
Buddhism has solved
are standing.
this
problem by
oneness of things in Dharmakaya, from
which flows the eternal stream of love and symAs we have seen before, when the cursed
pathy.
barrier of egoism is broken down, there remains
finding
the
nothing that can prevent
us
from loving others as
ourselves.
Those who wish
to see nothing but an utter bar-
renness of heart after the annihilation of egoism, are
much mistaken in their estimation of human nature.
For they think
and that
all
animation comes from selfishness,
its
forms of activity
simply by the desire
They,
therefore,
teaches that
that
there
1
our
life
to preserve self
naturally
are propelled
and the
race.
shrink from the doctrine
worldly are empty, and
no such thing as ego -substance whose
that
is
in
all
things
The sentiment of
the Golden Rule is not the monopoly of
has been expressed by most of the leaders
of thought, thus, for instance
''Requite hatred with virtue"
"Do
(Lao-tze). "Hate is only appeased by love" (Buddha).
not do to others what ye would not have done to you by
others" (Confucius). "One must neither return evil, nor do
Christianity
;
it
:
an*
evil to
from them"
any one among men, not even
(Plato, Crito, 49).
if
one has to
suffer
CHAPTER
is
immortality
the truth
idea of
so
much coveted by most
the
is,
but in
self,
55
I.
people. But
spring of love does not lie in the
its removal. For the human heart,
being a reflection of the Dharmakaya which is love
and intelligence, recovers its intrinsic power and good-
when the veil of ignorance and egoism is
The animation, energy, strenuousness,
which were shown by a self-centered will, and which
ness, only
cast
aside.
therefore were utterly desplicable, will not surely die
out with the removal of their odious atmosphere in
egoism had enveloped them. But they will
an
ever nobler interpretation, ever more elevating
gain
and satisfying significance; for they have gone through
a baptism of fire, by which the last trace of egoism
which
has been thoroughly consumed The old evil master
servants are still
is eternally buried, but the willing
here and ever ready
efficiently,
to
new
for their
do
their service,
now more
legitimate and more autho-
ritative lord.
Destruction
is
in
common
parlance
closely associ-
ated with nothingness, hence Nirvana, the destruction
of egoism, is ordinarily understood as a synonym of
But the removal of darkness does not bring
desolation, but means enlightenment and order and
nihilism.
peace.
left
It
is
there as
goblins
the
it
was
same chamber,
before.
walked wild;
in
the furniture
is
In darkness chaos reigned,
enlightenment everything is
did we not state plainly that
proper place. And
Nirvana was enlightenment?
in its
all
CHAPTER
56
The
One
Tendency of Buddhism.
thing which in this connection
I
wish to refer
what makes Buddhism appear somehow cold
is
to,
Intellectual
I.
and impassive. By
The
this
I
mean
fact is that anything
savors of philosophy.
its
intellectuality.
coming from India greatly
In ancient India
everybody of
the higher castes seems to have indulged in intellectual
and speculative exercises. Being rich in natural
and thus the struggle for existence being
resources
reduced to a minimum, the Brahmans and the Ksatriyas
gathered themselves under most luxuriously growing
mountain-grottoes undisturbed
the world, and there they
by
hurly-burly
devoted all their leisure hours to metaphysical specu-
trees, or retired to the
of
the
and discussions. Buddhism, as a product of
these people, is naturally deeply imbued with intellations
lectualism.
Further, in India there was no distinction between
religion
was
at
and philosophy. Every philosophical system
same time a religion, and vice versa.
the
Philosophy
with the Hindus was not an idle display
of logical subtlety which generally ends in entangling
itself in the meshes of sophistry. Their aim of philos-
ophising
was to have an
significance of existence
They
did
intellectual insight into the
and the destiny of humanity.
not believe in anything blindly nor accept
anything on mere
tradition.
Buddha most
character-
echoes this sentiment when he says, 'Follow
teachings not as taught by a Buddha, but as
'
istically
my
CHAPTER
I.
57
being in accord with truth." This
and
self-
became
salvation later
Even when Buddha was
still
spirit of self-reliance
singularly Buddhistic.
merely an enthusiastic
aspirant for Nirvana, he seems to have been strongly
of this
possessed
declared
the
the
to
spirit,
in response
of
his
father's
persuation
ministers,
who wanted him
be settled
to
to
come home with them: "The
whether there
doubt
for
most emphatically
he
famous passage,
following
pathetic
for
exists anything or not,
me by
will
It
it.
not
another's words. Arriving at
the truth either by mortification or
I
is
by
tranquilisation,
grasp myself whatever is ascertainable about
is not mine to receive a view which is full of
uncertainties,
conflicts,
and
contradictions.
men would go by
enlightened
other's
faith?
What
The
multitudes are like the blind led in the darkness by
the blind."
*
To
say simply, "Love your enemy," was not satisfactory to the Hindu mind, it wanted to see the reason
why.
And
that
before
into
a
people were convinced
intellectually, they went even so far as to defend the
faith with their lives. It was not an uncommon event
as
a
soon as
party
the
of Hindu philosophers entered
discussion they
made an agreement
that the
penalty of defeats should be the sacrifice of the life.
They were, above all, a people of intellect, though
of course not lacking in religious sentiment.
It
is no wonder, then, that Buddha did not
the
1
first
make
proclamation of his message by "Repent, for
The Buddhacarita,
Book
IX, 63-64.
CHAPTER
58
1.
the kingdom of heaven is at hand," but by the establishment of the Four Noble Truths. 1 One appeals
the
to
feeling,
and the other to the
which appeals to the
less
passionate,
but the truth
seems to be
feeling without the
is,
support of intellect leads to fanaticism and
The
doctrine of Nirvana
is
always
doubtless more intellec-
tual than the Christian gospel of love.
human
nises the wretchedness of
our daily experiences;
is
bigotry and superstition.
itself to
ready to yield
That
intellect.
intellect naturally
then finds
it
It
as
life
its
first
is
recog-
proved by
cause in our
subjective ignorance as to the true meaning of existence,
our
and
our egocentric desires which, obscuring
in
spiritual
insight,
chimerical
things
;
it
make
then
us
tenaciously cling to
annihilation of egoism, the root of
subjectively,
of
tranquillity
objectively, the
the
complete
all
evil,
by which,
is
restored,
proposes
heart
and,
becomes
realisation of universal love
Buddhism, thus, proceeds most logically in
the development of its doctrine of Nirvana and unipossible.
versal love.
Says Victor
reduction
Hugo (Les
Miserables^ vol.
II):
of the universe to a single being, the ex-
pansion of a single being even to God, this
When
a
"The
man
clings to the self
is
love."
and does not want
1
According to one Northern Buddhist tradition, Buddha is
recorded to have exclaimed at the time of his supreme spiritual beatitude
"Wonderful All sentient beings are univerwith the intelligence and virtue of the
sally endowed
:
Tathagata!"
!
CHAPTER
59
I.
to identify himself with other fellow-selves, he cannot
expand his being to God. When he shuts himself in
narrow shell of ego and keeps all the world
outside, he cannot reduce the universe to his innermost
the
self.
To
The
love, therefore,
truth
through
the
disposition
some
are
others to
one must
first
enter Nirvana.
everywhere the same and is attained
removal of ignorance. But as individual
is
according to the previous karma,
more prone to intellectualism, while the
differs
sentimentality (in
its
psychological sense).
Let us then follow our own inclination conscientiously
and not speak evil of ombse.- Tto^U called the
Doctrine of Middle Path.
^s
CHAPTER
II.
HISTORICAL CHARACTERISATION OF
MAHAYANISM
"\ It
7E
are
now
in a position to
exposition of the
enter into a specific
Mahayana
doctrine. But, before
will be well for us first
to consider the
doing so, it
views that were held by the Hindu Buddhist thinkers
concerning its characteristic features in other words,
to make an historical survey of its peculiarities.
;
As
stated in the Introduction, the term
was invented
in the times of
Mahayana
Nagarjuna and Aryadeva
(about the third or fourth century after Christ),
when
doctrinal struggles between the Qravaka and the Bo-
dhisattva
classes
Hindu Buddhists,
features
of their
reached a climax.
progressive
announce the
desiring to
doctrine,
The
did
so
essential
naturally at the
expense of their rival and by pointing out why theirs
was greater than, or superior to, Hinayanism. Their
views were thus necessarily vitiated by a partisan
spirit,
rating
and instead of impartially and
the
principal
characteristics
critically
enume-
of Mahayanism,
they placed rather too much stress upon those points
that do not in these latter days appear to be very
essential, but that were then considered by them to
be
of paramount
importance.
These
points, never-
CHAPTER
throw some
theless,
Buddhism as
on the nature of Mahayana
distinguished from its consan-
light
historically
and fellow-doctrine.
rival
guineous
61
II.
Stkiramati' s Conception of Mahayanism.
1
Sthiramati
states
that
his
in
Mahayanism
who
Bodhisattvas,
other two classes,
The
buddhas.
consists
that
the
to be distinguished
are
viz,
belief
Mahayanism
to
a special doctrine for the
is
from the
the Qravakas and the Pratyekadifference
essential
the
in
are merely
Indroduction
that
of
objects
the
doctrine
of the
senses
phenomenal and have no absolute reality,
Dharmakaya which is all-per-
indestructible
vading constitutes the norm of existence,, that all
Bodhisattvas 2 are incarnations of the Dharmakaya, who
karma previously accumulated, but
boundless love for all mankind, assume
not by their
their
by
1
evil
not known, but judging from the contents of
which we have at present two or three among
the Chinese Tripitaka, it seems that he lived later than
His date
is
his works, of
Agvaghosa, but prior
to,
or simultaneously with, Nagarjuna.
book occupies a very important position in the
development of Mahayanism in India. Next to Agvaghosa's
Awakening of Faith, the work must be carefully studied by
scholars who want to grasp every phase of the history of
This
little
Mahayana school
as
far
as
it
can be learned through the
Chinese documents.
1
Be
it
remarked here that a Bodhisattva
is
not a particu-
man in the sense of chosen people or elect.
are all in a way Bodhisattvas, that is, when we recognise
truth that we are equally in possession of the Samyak-
larly favored
We
the
sambodhi, Highest True Intelligence, and through which everybody without exception can attain final enlightenment.
CHAPTER
62
II.
corporeal existences, and that persons who thus appear in the flesh, as avatars of the Buddha supreme,
themselves with the masses in
associate
social
them
relations,
possible
to a state of enlightenment.
While
this
Mahayana
is
a
its
summary statement of the
more elaborate and extended
very
doctrine,
enumeration of
a
peculiar features in contradistinc-
tion to those of Hinayanism,
on
lanea
Stages of
4
Mahayana
is
made
in the
Metaphysics,
the Yogdcara,
2
An
Miscel-
The Spiritual
l
Exposition of the Holy
A Comprehensive Treatise on Mahay aand others. Let us first explain the "Seven
Doctrine,
nism,
all
order that they might thus lead
in
3
General Characteristics" as described
in the first three
works here mentioned.
Seven Principal Features of Mahayanism.
According to Asanga, who lived a
Nagarjuna, that
is,
at the
little
further divided into the Yogacarya and the
mika
later
than
time when Mahayanism was
school, the seven features peculiar to
Madhya-
Mahayanism
as distinguished from Hinayanism, are as follows:
(i) Its Comprehensiveness. Mah^nism does not
confine itself to the teachings of one
1
No.
Mahayana-abhidharma-sangiti-fastra,
by
Buddha alone;
Asanga. Nanjo,
1199.
*
Yogacarya-bhumi-f&stra, Nanjo, No. u7o. The work is supposed to have been dictated to Asanga by a mythical Bodhisattva.
8
4
By Asanga. Nanjo,
1177.
Mahayana-samparigraha-fastra, by Asanga. Nanjo, 1183.
CHAPTER
63
II.
but wherever and whenever truth
is
found, even under
of most absurd superstitions,
it makes
no hesitation to winnow the grain from the husk and
the
disguise
assimilate
it
in its
own
system.
Buddhas
laws
*
of
Innumerable good
ages and localities
taught by
taken up in the coherent body of Mahayanism.
Universal
love for All Sentient Beings. Hinaya(2)
nism confines itself to the salvation of individuals
are
all
all
only
;
it
does not extend
person must achieve his
on
the
other
its
own
aims
hand,
bliss universally, as
deliverance.
at
general
each
Mahayanism,
salvation;
it
endeavors to save us not only individually, but univerthe
All
sally.
Bodhisattvas
motives,
pivot
efforts,
on the
and actions of the
furtherance of universal
welfare.
Greatness
Its
(3)
in
Intellectual
Comprehension.
Mahayanism maintains the theory of non-atman not
only
in
regard
to
sentient beings but in regard to
things in general. While it denies the hypothesis of
a metaphysical agent directing our mental operations,
it also
rejects the .view that insists on the noumenal
or
thingish
reality
of
existences as they appear to
our senses.
(4) Its
Marvelous Spiritual Energy. The Bodhisattvas
never become tired of working for universal salvation,
T
Perceiving an incarnation of the Dharmakaya in every
leader regardless of his nationality and professed
spiritual
creed, Mahayanists recognise a Buddha in Socrates, Mohammed, Jesus, Francis of Assisi, Confucius, Laotze, and many
others.
CHAPTER
64
II.
nor do they despair because of the long time required
to
attain
momentous
this
accomplish
To
object.
try
to
in the shortest possible
period
without paying any attention
the welfare of the masses, is not the teaching of
enlightenment
and to be
to
self-sufficient
Mahayanism.
Its
(5)
Greatness
The term upaya
Exercise of the
the
literally
sympathetic
fatherly
great
in
Up aya.
means expediency. The
heart of the Bodhisattva
has inexhaustible resources at his
command
in
order
that he might lead the masses to final enlightenment,
according to his disposition and environment.
Mahayanism does not ask its followers to escape the
metempsychosis of birth and death for the sake of
each
entering
for
in
the
into
lethargic
metempsychosis
its
coma
is
tranquillity of Nirvana;
in itself is
no
evil,
and Nirvana
not productive of any good.
And
as
long as there are souls groaning in pain, the Bodhisattva cannot
rest
unselfish
his
until
he leads
so
all his
of Buddhahood.
rable
in
heart,
To
Nirvana; there is no rest for
of love and sympathy,
full
fellow-beings to the eternal bliss
reach this end he employs innume-
means (upaya) suggested by
disinterested
his
lovingkindness.
(6) Its
the
Higher Spiritual Attainment.
highest
bliss
Arhatship which
of
Mahayanism
its
spiritual
(7)
Its
is
attainable
does
ascetic saintliness.
attain
In
Hinayanism
not
go beyond
But the followers
even to Buddhahood with
powers.
Greater Activity.
When
the
all
Bodhisattva
CHAPTER
65
II.
reaches the stage of Buddhahood, he is able to manifest
himself everywhere in the ten quarters of the universe *
and to minister to the
spiritual
needs of
all
sentient
beings.
These
seven
reasons
the
why
of
to be
the doctrine defended by the pro-
gressive Buddhists
doctrine
enumerated
are
peculiarities
is
to be called
vehicle,
great
Mahayanism, or the
contradistinction
in
to
vehicle. In each
Hmayanism, the doctrine of small
case, therefore, Asanga takes pains to draw the line
of demarcation
of
distinctly
the two schools
between
Buddhism and not between Buddhism and
other
doctrines
religious
which existed
all
at his time.
The Ten Essential Features of Buddhism.
The
tures of
following
statement of the ten essential feaas presented in the Comprehen-
Mahayanism
sive Treatise on
Mahayanism,
rent
from
is
made from
the
a diffefor
it is
preceding one,
the pronunciamento of the Yogacara school of Asanga
1
standpoint
Ancient Hindu Buddhists,
believed
in
the
existence
with their fellow-philosophers,
of spiritually transfigured beings,
who, not hampered by the limitations of space and time, can
manifest themselves everywhere for the benefit of all sentient
beings. We notice some mysterious figures in almost all Mahayana
sutras, who are very often described as shedding innumerable
rays of light from the forehead and illuminating all the three
thousand worlds simultaneously. This may merely be a poetic
exaggeration. But this Sambhogakaya or Body of Bliss (see
Acvaghosa's Awakening of Faith,
us to
comprehend
as
it
is
p. 101)
literally
is
very
described.
difficult for
For a
treatment see the chapter on "Trikaya."
5
fuller
66
CHAPTER
and Vasubandhu
II.
than
rather
of
that
Mahayanism
generally. This school together with the Madhyamika
school
of Nagarjuna
the two divisions of
constitute
Hindu Mahayanism. 4
The points enumerated by Asanga and Vasubandhu
as most essential in their system are ten.
(i) It teaches
an immanent existence of
all
things
Alayavijnana or All-Conserving Soul. The
conception of an All-Conserving Soul, it is claimed,
the
in
was suggested by Buddha in the so-called Hinayana
sutras
but on account of its deep meaning and of
;
the liability of
conception,
in
their
its
he
but
sutras;
Mahayana
being confounded with the ego-soul
not disclose its full significance
did
made
it
known only
in
the
sutras.
According to the Yogacara school, the Alaya is
not an universal, but an individual mind or soul,
whatever we
all
things
world
may term
exist
in
it,
their
does not
in reality
in
which the "germs" of
2
ideality.
The
objective
exist, but by dint of sub-
Though I am very much tempted to digress and to enter
into a specific treatment concerning these two Hindu Mahayana doctrines, I reluctantly refrain from so doing, as it
1
requires a somewhat lengthy treatment and does not entirely
fall within the scope of the present work.
2
That Agvaghosa's conception of the Alaya varies with the
view here presented may be familiar to readers of his Awakening of Faith. This is one of the most abstruse problems
in the philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism, and there are
several
divergent
activities, etc.
theories
In a
work
concerning
like this,
it
its
is
nature, attributes,
impossible to give
even a general statement of those controversies, however
CHAPTER
these
all
67
created by ignorance, we pro"germs" in the Alayavijnana to the
jective illusion that
ject
II.
is
outside world, and imagine that they are there really
as they are while the
Manovijnana (ego-consciousness)
;
which
too a product of illusion, tenaciously clinto
the
ging
Alayavijfiana as the real self, never aban-
dons
is
its
ferent
The
egoism.
Alayavijnana, however,
and irresponsible
to,
the part of the Manovijnana.
(2)
of
The Yogacara
knowledge:
I.
for,
all
is
indif-
these errors on
*
school distinguishes three kinds
Illusion (parikalpita),
2.
Discrimi-
native
or
Perfect
Knowledge (parinispanna).
distinction may best be illustrated by the wellanalogy of a rope and a snake. Deceived by
The
known
a
Relative
in
similarity
Knowledge (paratantra), and
appearance,
men
3.
frequently take a
rope lying on the ground for a poisonous snake and
interesting they
tual
may be
development
to students of the history of intellec-
in India.
The Alayavijnana, to use the phraseology of Samkhya philosophy, is a composition, so to speak, of the Soul (purusa)
and Primordial Matter (prakrti). It is the Soul, so far as it
and
all those phenomenal manifestaas well as without us. It is
within
on
going
Primordial Matter, inasmuch as it is the reservoir of everything,
whose lid being lifted by the hands of Ignorance, there instantly springs up this universe of limitation and relativity.
is
neutral
indifferent to
tions, that are
Enlightenment or Nirvana, therefore, consists in recognising
the error of Ignorance and not in clinging to the products
of imagination.
1
For a more detailed explanation of the ideal philosophy
my article on the subject in Le Muse'on,
of the Yogacara, see
1905-
68
CHAPTER
are terribly shocked
on that accoun t. But when they
II.
approach and carefully examine it, they become at
once convinced of the groundlessness of this apprehenwhich was the natural sequence of illusion. This
considered to correspond to what Kant calls
be
may
Schein
sion,
.
Most
their
people,
in
are contented with the sensual,
They
inquiry.
do not go any further
however,
empirical
knowledge of an object with which they
come
contact.
in
When
understand that the
they
a snake was really nothing
thing they
but a yard of innocent rope, they think their knowl-
mistook
for
edge of the object
with
themselves
whether
the
not
is
stop
merely
philosophical
just
to reflect that their
for
relative,
is
real existence in itself.
any
moment
a
investigation as to
which to them
rope
appears to be, has
complete, and do not trouble
is
a
what
it
They do
knowledge
does not go beyond the
it
phenomenal significance of the things they perceive.
But is an object in reality such as it appears to
be to our senses? Are particular phenomena as such
really
actual?
What
the value of our knowledge
is
concerning those so-called realities?
an
investigation
into
Yogacara school says,
only
relative
and
has
such
we
When we make
problems
as
these, the
find that their existence is
no absolute value whatever
independent of the perceiving subject. They are the
"ejection" of our ideas into the outside world, which
are
centred
which are
and conserved
awakened
into
in
our Alayavijnana and
activity
by
subjective
CHAPTER
69
II.
ignorance. This clear insight into the nature of things,
i.e., into their non-realness as atman, constitutes perfect
knowledge.
(3)
When we
the
recognise
of the universe. There
ideality
such thing as an objective world, which
is
is
no
really
an
manifestation of the mind called Alayavijnana,
illusive
even
But
we
attain to the perfect knowledge,
this
is
Alayavijnana
supposedly
a
real
existence
of the
product of particularisation called
by the ignorant Manovijnana. The Manovijnana,
or empirical ego, as it might be called, having no
forth
knowledge as to the true nature of the
adequate
Alaya, takes the latter for a metaphysical agent, that
like the master of a puppet-show manages all mental
operations according to
itself
imprisons
its
humour. As the silkworm
the cacoon created
in
Manovijnana, entangling
takes its own
fusion,
by
itself,
the
ignorance and con-
itself in
illusory
creations
for
real
realities.
(4)
For the regulation of moral
life,
the Yogacara
with the other Mahayana schools, proposes the practising
the
of
which are
3.
I
:
.
Paramitas
(giving),
Ksanti (meekness),
6.
(meditation),
way
to
six
Dana
of
4.
Prajna
(virtues
2.
of perfection),
ftla (moral precept),
Virya (energy),
5.
Dhyana
(knowledge or wisdom). In
says Asanga: "By not clinging
pleasures (i), by not cherishing any
explanation,
wealth
or
thoughts
to
violate the precepts (2),
dejected
in
the face of evils
(3),
by not
feeling
by not awakening
any thought of indolence while practising goodness
(4),
CHAPTER
7O
II.
by maintaining serenity of mind in the midst of
disturbance and confusion of this world (5), and finally
f
and by truthfully
by always practising ekacitta
comprehending the nature of things
(6),
the Bodhisat-
tvas recognise the truth of vijnanamatra,
that there
nothing that
is
is
the truth
not of ideal or subjective
creation.
Mahayanism teaches
(5)
stages of Bodhisattvahood,
Durangama,
2
gha
.
By
another,
8.
Pramudita,
2.
Vimala,
6.
Abhimukhi,
Acala, 9. Sadhumati, 10.
Dharmame-
3 Prabhakari, 4. Arcismati,
7.
that there are ten spiritual
viz., I.
5.
Sudurjaya,
all
passing through
are believed to
we
these stages one after
reach
the oneness of
Dharmakaya.
(6)
The
Yogacarists claim that the precepts that
by the followers of Mahayanism are far
are practised
superior
to those of Hinayanists.
The
latter
tend to
externalism and formalism, and do not go deep into
our spiritual,
subjective motives. Now, there are
physical, verbal,
neglecting
than the
tion
1
and
spiritual
precepts observed by
The Hinayanists observe the first two
the last which is by far more important
Buddha.
the
rest.
of the
For
ten
instance, the (Jravaka's interpretaiksas
3
is
literal
and not
spiritual;
-'One mind" or "one heart" meaning the mental attitude
is in harmony with the monistic view of nature in its
which
broadest sense.
2
These ten stages of spiritual development are somewhat
minutely explained below. See Chapter XII.
8
The ten moral precepts of the Buddha are: (i) Kill no
living being; (2) Take nothing that is not given; (3) Keep
CHAPTER
II.
71
further, they follow these precepts
to
Nirvana for their
attain
others'.
The
own
because they wish
sake, and not for
Bodhisattva, on the other hand, does not
wish to be bound within the narrow circle of moral
restriction.
mankind,
if
at an universal emancipation of
ventures even violating the ten c.iksas,
Aiming
he
The
necessary.
first giksa,
for instance, forbids the
killing of any living being; but the Bodhisattva does
not hesitate to go to war, in case the cause he espouses
and beneficient to humanity at large.
As Mahayanism insists on the purification of
is
right
(7)
inner
the
outward,
teaching applies not to things
principles are not of the ascetic and
its
life,
its
exclusive
The Mahay anists do not shun
kind.
to
commingle themselves with the "dust of worldliness"
they aim at the realisation of the Bodhi; they are
;
not
of
afraid
thrown into the whirlpool of
they endeavor to impart spiritual
being
metempsychosis;
benefits
to
all
whether
their attitude,
having immovable faith
never become contaminated
themselves
they
worldly
be
in
trine
beings without regard to
hostile or friendly, towards
sentient
;
pleasures
touch
;
with
in the
Mahayana,
by vanity and
which they may constantly
they have a clear insight into the doc-
of non-atman
live
faults, they
Suchness and
;
being
in perfect
discharge
free
from
all
spiritual
accord with the laws of
their
duties
without
the
matrimonial sanctity; (4) Do not lie; (5) Do not slander;
(6) Do not insult; (7) Do not chatter; (8) Be not greedy;
(9) Bear no malice; (10) Harbor no scepticism.
CHAPTER
72
conceit or self-assertion
least
life
:
in a
The
intellectual superiority of the Bodhisattva
shown by
his possession of
ticularisation (andndrtka).
phically considered,
is
1
knowledge of non-par-
This knowledge, philoso-
the knowledge of the absolute,
or the knowledge of the universal.
mind
word, their inner
a realisation of the Dharmakaya.
is
(8)
is
II.
The
Bodhisattva's
from the dualism of samsara (birth-anddeath) and nirvana, of positivism and negativism, of
being and non-being, of object and subject, of ego
is
free
and non-ego.
the
limits
realm
His
of
final
of the
in
knowledge,
realities,
short,
soaring
transcends
high
the
to
and the abode of non-par-
absolute
ticurality.
(g)
the
In
consequence
Bodhisattva
in the
intellectual elevation,
perceives the working of birth and
nirvana in the transmigration
death in nirvana, and
of birth and death.
many"
of this
He
the "ever-changing
and the "neverone,"
"never-changing
sees
Mahayanism recognises two "entrances" through which a
comprehensive knowledge of the universe is obtained. One
is called the "entrance of sameness" (samatd) and the other
1
the
"entrance
of
diversity"
(nandtva).
The
first
entrance
universality of things and suggests a
pantheistic interpretation of existence. The second leads us
to the particularity of things culminating in monotheism or
introduces
us
to
the
polytheism, as it is viewed from different standpoints. The
Buddhists declare that neither entrance alone can lead us to
the sanctum sanctorum of existence and in order to obtain
;
a sound, well-balanced
knowledge of things
in general,
must go through both the entrances of universality and
cularity.
we
parti-
CHAPTER
1
changing one'
inward life is
II.
73
"ever-changing many." His
accord at once with the laws of
the
in
in
phenomena and with those of transcenden-
transitory
According to the former, he does not
recoil as ascetics do when he comes in contact with
Suchness.
tal
the world of the senses
the
that the flesh
ills
the
he never
latter,
inmost
he
;
heir to;
is
according to
but,
to things evanescent, his
clings
consciousness
not afraid of suffering
is
forever dwells in the serenity
of eternal Suchness.
The
(10)
final
distinctly
Mahayanistic
There
it
is,
is
the
is
doctrine
of Trikaya.
the highest being which
asserted,
cause
the ultimate
to be mentioned as
characteristic
of the universe and in which
is
all
existences find their essential origin and significance.
This
is
called
however,
Dharmakaya,
luteness,
effect.
a devil,
an
it
by the Mahay anists Dharmakaya. The
does not remain
reveals itself
in its
abso-
the realm of cause and
in
then takes a particular form. It becomes
or a god, or a deva, or a human being, or
It
animal
of
lower grade,
to
itself
adapting
the
degrees of the intellectual development of the people.
For it is the people's inner needs which necessitate
the
special forms of
Nirmanakaya,
that
is,
This
manifestation.
the
is
called
body of transformation.
The Buddha who manifested
himself in the person
of Gautama, the son of King of (^uddhodana about two
thousand five hundred years ago on the Ganges, is
a
form
of
Nirmanakaya.
Sambhogakaya,
or
body of
The
bliss.
third
one
This
is
is
called
the spiri-
CHAPTER
74
II.
body of a Buddha, invested with all possible
grandeur in form and in possession of all imaginable
tual
The conception
psychic powers.
is
full of wild
of
Sambhogakaya
imaginations which are not easy of
modern minds.
by
comprehension
enumerated at seven or ten
characteristics
These
!
are what
as peculiarly Mahayanistic
dhist philosophers of the
or
fifth
to be
sixth
the
essential
what they thought
the Hindu Bud-
down
century
to the
of the Christian era thought
century
most
first
points
entitled
of
their faith
and
to be called the "Great
it
Vehicle" (Mahay ana) of salvation, in contradistinction
to the faith embraced by their conservative brethren.
we view them now,
But, as
the points here specified
are to a great extent saturated with a partisan spirit,
and besides
they
more
are
or
scattered and
less
unconnected statements of the so-called
Nor do they
of Mahayanism.
tures
information
the
concerning
nature
salient fea-
furnish
of
much
Mahayanism
system of religious teachings. They
a
but
general and somewhat obscure delineation
give
of it, and that in opposition to Hinayanism. In point
as a coherent
of
Mahayanism
fact,
has
many
of the
latter,
Buddhism
1
characteristics
The
is
and as
concerned
school of Buddhism and
a
common
in
Indeed, the spirit of
nism.
in the
is
the former
with Hinayais
also that
the general trend of
there is no need of em-
far
as
doctrine ol Trikaya will be given further elucidation
chapter bearing the same title.
CHAPTER
phasising
other.
a
the
On
significance
75
II.
of one
the following pages
more comprehensive and
I
school
over the
shall try to present
impartial
exposition of
the Buddhism, which has been persistently designated
by its followers as Mahayanism.
SPECULATIVE MAHAYANISM.
CHAPTER
III.
PRACTISE AND SPECULATION.
TV
*
/TAHAvANISM
*
main
tures in
perhaps can best be treated
divisions, as
its
it
doctrinal
Buddhist
solely
in
The
first
two
has distinctly two principal fea-
development.
I
the speculative phase of Mahayanism
practical.
in
essentially
a
where the mind
is
part
metaphysics,
ratiocination
may
and
is
call
one
and the other
abstraction.
sort
of
engaged
Here the
plays a very prominent part, and some of
most abstruse problems of philosophy are freely
discussed.
Speculative followers of Buddhism have
intellect
the
taken great interest in the discussion of them and
have written many volumes on various subjects.
'
1
No efforts have yet been made systematically to trace
the history of the development of the Mahayana thoughts in
India as well as in China and Japan.
have enough ma-
We
course
it has taken, as
Chinese and Tibetan collections of Tripitaka are
concerned. When a thorough comparison by impartial, unprejudiced scholars of these documents has been made with
the Pali and Sanskrit literature, then we shall be able to
terial at least to follow
the
general
far as the
write a comprehensive
history
of the
human thoughts
that
CHAPTER
The second
with
such
or practical phase of
that
beliefs
religious
and essence of the system.
reasoned
but the faith
itself
sentiment which
and
to
wrongfully
practical
77
III.
the
is
life
Mahayanists might have
outburst of the religious
inherent
can be
it
the
explain their practical faith,
human
in
by
is
therefore,
part,
in fact
is
Mahayanism deals
constitute
far
nature.
This
more important,
said that the speculative part
merely a preparatory step toward it. Inasmuch as
Mahayanism is a religion and not a philosophical system, it must be practical, that is, it must directly
is
appeal to the inmost
life
and
Relation of Feeling
So much has been
so
firmly
Intellect in Religion.
that
by them
the
between
and there are many scholars
;
believe
in
the
identity
either with superstitions or with
tion,
heart.
said about the relation
philosophy and religion
who
human
of the
of
religion
supernatural revela-
denial of this assertion
is
considered
practically to be the disavowal of all religions.
no midway
For, according to them, there
is
A
and yet practical
religion
religion.
which
is
rational
Now, Buddhism
is
in religion.
is
no
neither a vagary of imagi-
nation nor a revelation from above, and on this account
it
has
The
been
title
declared
by some
to be a philosophy.
"Speculative Mahayanism" thus,
is
apt to
have governed the Oriental people during the last two thousand years. When this is done, the result can further be
compared with the history of other religious systems, thus
of humanity
throwing much light on the general evolution
CHAPTER
78
III.
be taken as a confirmation of such opinion. To remove
all the misconceptions,
therefore, which might be
entertained concerning the religious nature of Mahaya-
nism
and
deemed
relation
There
tical;
The
attitude
its
it
toward intellectualism,
between feeling and intellect
is no doubt that religion is
does
it
latter,
have
I
wise here to say a few words about the
not
essentially prac-
theorisation.
require
necessarily
properly
in religion.
is
speaking,
business
the
of
If religion was a product of the intellect
could
not give satisfaction to the needs of
solely,
man's whole being. Reason constitutes but a part of
philosophy.
it
the organised totality of an individual being. Abstraction
however
high,
and speculation however deep, do
the inmost yearings of the human
not as such satisfy
heart. But this they
one's inner
tion
life
and constitution that
;
becomes a concrete
fact
principle in one's existence
becomes
do when they enter into
can
;
is,
when
abstrac-
and speculation a
in short,
living
when philosophy
religion.
Philosophy as such, therefore, is generally distinguished from religion. But we must not suppose that
religion as the deepest expression of a
can
eliminate
element.
altogether
from
The most predominant
it
the
human being
intellectual
role in religion
may
be played by the imagination and feeling, but ratiocination must not fail to assert its legitimate right in
the co-ordination of beliefs.
religion
becomes
When this
right
is
denied,
fanaticism, superstition, fata morgana,
and even a menace
to the progress of humanity.
CHAPTER
The
79
III.
intellect is critical, objective,
and always
to stand apart from the things that are taken
examination.
from
This
concrete
alienation
facts
tries
up
for
or keeping itself aloof
on the part of the
intellect,
constantly tends to disregard the real significance of
of which it is also a manifestation. Therefore,
life,
the conflict between feeling and reason, religion and
instinct
science,
and knowledge, has been going on
since the awakening of consciousness.
this
Seeing
intellectual people
fact,
are generally
condemn religion as barring the freedom
prone
and obstructing the progress of scientific investigato
true that religion went frequently to the
tions.
It
other
extreme and
of
is
reason;
with
case
tried to
true
is
it
Christianity,
that
suppress the just claim
this was especially the
whose history abounds with
regretable incidents resulting from
its
violent encroach-
ments upon the domain of reason. It is also true
the feeling and the intellect are sometimes at
that
variance,
that
what the
feeling esteems as the
most
crushed by
the reason, while the feeling looks with utmost contempt at the results that have been reached by the
valuable
treasure
intellect
after
flict
at times relentlessly
is
much
no better than the
is
between the head and the
is
cut in twain
We
cannot
forever;
a
;
it
live
But
lucubration.
fight
tail
this fatal
con-
which takes place
of a hydra
when
it
always results in self-destruction.
under such a miserable condition
when we know
that
myopia on the part of
it
is
altogether due to
our understanding.
The
8O
CHAPTER
truth
that
is
and
feeling
III.
"cannot do with-
reason
one another, and must work together
out
the
in
rably
insepa-
human development,
of
process
since
reason without feeling could have nothing to act for
and would be impotent to act, while feeling without
that
would act tyrannically and blindly
to say, if either could exist and act at all with-
reason
is
out
the other;
reason,
which
cording
as
for
acts, but
he
end
in the
feels
is
it
and
it
the
is
not feeling nor
man who
reasons".
acts ac-
Maudsley's
(H.
Natural Causes and Supernatural Seemings, p. vn).
If it is thus admitted that
feeling and reason must
co-ordinate
and co-operate
man*
religion,
of
ideals,
emotional
the
in the realisation of
though essentially a phenomenon
cannot be indifferent to the
life,
significance of the intellect. Indeed, religion, as
as philosophy, has ever been speculating
blems that are of the most
man
ried
to
In
life.
much
on the pro-
importance to huChristianity speculation has been carvital
on under the name of theology, though
be
hu-
fundamentally
a
religion
of
claims
In India,
faith.
however, as mentioned elsewhere, there
it
was no
ding line between philosophy and religion
;
divi-
and every
teaching, every system, and every doctrine, however
abstract and speculative it might appear to the Western
mind,
was
at
bottom
religious
at the deliverance of the soul.
ophical
system
that
did not
and always aimed
There was no
philos-
have some practical
purpose.
Indian
thinkers
could
not
separate religion from
CHAPTER
philosophy,
practice
flowed
of
out
the
from
81
III.
Their philosophy
theory.
human
very spring of the
heart
was not a mere display of fine intellectuation.
their thinking were not in the right direction
and
If
and led to a
fallacy
which made
life
more
miserable,
were ever
ready to surrender themselves to a
as soon as it was discovered. But
doctrine
superior
they
when they thought they were
not
did
hesitate
to
they
Their philosophy had as
much
Buddhism and
Owing
is
full
in
sacrifice
the
right track,
their
for
it.
as religion.
fire
Speculation.
Buddhism as much
to this fact,
life
as
Hinduism
of abstract speculations and philosophical reflec-
tions so
inclined
much
to
so
deny the
that
some
Christian
religiosity of
critics
are
Buddhism. But no
of the science of comparative religion would
indorse such a view nowadays. Buddhism, in spite of
student
its
predominant intellectualism,
system. There is no doubt that
is
really a religious
it emphasises the raelement of religion more than any other religious
teachings, but on that account we cannot say that
tional
it
altogether
disregards
the
importance of the part
to be played
phical
by the feeling. Its speculative, philosophase is really a preparation for fully appre-
ciating
the
religion
is
subjective
ultimately
significance
of
subjective, that
religion,
is
for
to say, the
essence of religion is love and faith, or, to use Buddhist
phraseology, it is the expression of the Bodhi which
6
82
CHAPTER
consists
karuna
in
or wisdom) and
Mere
compassion).
knowledge (not
or
(love
love
guided by
l
prajna
prajna) has very
III.
(intelligence
human
value in
little
and
faith,
life.
When not
readily turns out to be
it
the most obedient servant of egoism and sensualism.
What
Tennyson
says
Buddhism
perfectly true with
"Who
the
in
loves not
following
is
:
knowledge
Against her beauty?
verses
May
With men and prosper!
Her pillars? Let her work
Who
?
shall rail
she mix
Who
shall fix
prevail.
"But on her forehead sits a fire
She sets her forward countenance
;
And
leaps into the future chance,
Submitting
things to desire.
all
"Half grown as yet, a child, and vain
She cannot fight the fear of death.
What is she, cut from love and faith,
But some wild Pallas from the brain
"Of demons
?
fiery-hot to burst
her onward race
For power. Let her know her place;
She is the second, not the first.
All barriers in
"A
higher hand must make her mild,
be not in vain, and guide
If all
Her footsteps, moving side by side
With Wisdom, like the younger child."
1
Prajna, bodhi, buddhi, vidy& and jha or jnana are all synin many cases interchangeable. But they allow
onymous and
a finer discrimination.
reason, bodhi
Speaking
wisdom or
buddht
way, prajn&
is
enlightenment,
and jna or jnana intellect. Of
and bodhi are essentially Buddhistic
indya ideality or knowledge,
these five terms, prajna
in a general
intelligence,
CHAPTER
But
it
ignores
the
83
III.
must be remembered that Buddhism never
the
part which
purification
of
is
faith.
played by the intellect in
For
exercise of the intellect, that
and prejudices are
all
it
is
by the judicious
religious superstitions
finally destroyed.
The intellect is so far of great consequence, and
we must respect it as the thunderbolt of Vajrapani,
which crushes everything that is mere sham and false.
But at the same time we must also remember that
quintessence of religion like the house built on
the solid rock never suffers on account of this destructhe
tion.
Its
foundation
lies
too deeply buried in
human
and have acquired technical meaning. In this work both
prajna and bodhi are mostly translated by intelligence, for
their extent of meaning closely overlaps each other. But
this is rather vague, and wherever I thought the term intelligence alone to be misleading, I either left the originals unTo be more
translated, or inserted them in parentheses.
exact, prajna in many cases can safely be rendered by faith,
not a belief in revealed truths, but a sort of immediate
knowledge gained by intuitive intelligence. Prajna corresponds in some respects to wisdom, meaning the foundation
of all reasonings and experiences. It may also be considered
an equivalent for Greek sophia. Bodhi, on the other hand,
has a decidedly religious and moral significance. Besides
being prajna
itself,
it
is
also
love (karuna)
\
for,
according
Buddhism, these two, prajna and karuna, constitute the
essence of Bodhi. May Bodhi be considered in some respects
synonymous with the divine wisdom as understood by Christian dogmatists? But there is something in the Buddhist
notion of Bodhi that cannot properly be expressed by wisdom
or intelligence. This seems to be due to the difference of
philosophical interpretation by Buddhists and Christians of
to
the conception of God.
farther.
It
will
become
clearer as
we proceed
CHAPTER
84
heart
damaged by knowledge or science. So
is a human heart warm with blood and
be
to
long as there
burning
with
powerful
will
III.
the
of
fire
life,
Indeed, the more severely the
under foot
religious sentiment
and illuminating becomes
The true
it
more
crucible of the intellect, the
tested in the
rious
the intellect however
never be able to trample
religion
its
is
glo-
intrinsic virtue.
therefore, never reluctant to appear
is,
before the tribunal of scientific investigation. In fact
by ignoring the ultimate
consciousness,
what
significance of the religious
digging its own grave. For
purpose has science other than the unravelling
science
of the
mysteries
meaning
is
nature
of
of existence?
And
and
is
this
reading into the
not what consti-
tutes
the foundation of religion? Science cannot be
final,
it
must
find
reason in religion as a mere
it
is not worthy of our serious
its
exercise
intellectual
;
consideration.
Religion
and Metaphysics.
The French
sociologist, M. Guyau, says in his
the
Future (English translation p. 10)
of
Irreligion
:
"Every positive and historical religion presents
three distinctive and essential elements: (i) An attempt
a
at
mythical and
non-scientific explanation
of natural phenomena (divine intervention,
miracles,
efficacious prayers, etc.), or of historical facts (incar-
nation
so
of
of Jesus Christ or of Buddha, revelation, and
forth)
;
(2)
symbolic
A
system of dogmas, that
ideas,
of
imaginative
is
beliefs,
to say,
forcibly
CHAPTER
imposed upon one's
III.
85
though they
even
faith as absolute verities,
no
are susceptible of
scientific
stration or philosophical justification; (3)
A
demon-
cult
and
system of rites, that is to say, of more or less
immutable practices regarded as possessing a mar-
a
velous
upon the course of
efficacy
things, a propi-
tiatory virtue.
A religion without myth, without dogma,
without
without
cult,
rite,
somewhat bastard product,
is
is
more than
no
'natural religion,'
that
which
resolvable to a system of metaphysical hypotheses."
M
in
Guyau seems to think that what will be left
religion, when severed from its superstitions and
imaginary beliefs and mysterious rites, is a system
of metaphysical speculations, and that, therefore, it
is
not a religion. But in my opinion the French soshares
ciologist
among
the
the
scientific
error
men
that
is
of to-day.
right in trying to strip religion of
very
prevalent
He
perfectly
all
is
its
ephemeral
elements and external integuments, but he is entirely
wrong when he does this at the expense of its very
essence, which consists of the inmost yearings of
the
human
heart.
And
this
essence has no affinity
which grow round it like
excrescences as the results of insufficient or abnormal
with
the
superstitions
nourishment.
philosophising
Nor does
and
it
concern
metaphysical problems.
cry from the abysmal
from
and
identifies
itself
with
it.
depths of the
that can never be silenced, until
it,
with mere
hypotheses
constructing
Far
itself
about
Religion
human
finds that
is
a
heart,
something
which reveals the teleoit
CHAPTER
86
logical significance of life
has
something
a
III.
and the universe. But
value
subjective
makes Faust exclaim, "Feeling
for
it
I
tively
have none."
or
Because
Why?
be
intellectually
is
only,
all
it
in
as
this
Goethe
name
all,
cannot objecin the
demonstrated, as
case with those laws which govern phenomenal existhe proper objects of the discursive
tences,
And
understanding.
what makes
If
religion
subjectivity
human
of religion
is
righteousnesses as filthy garments."
deprived of its dogmas and cults is to
"all
be considered,
system
this
M. Guyau
as
of metaphysics,
subjective significance or
indeed constitutes
thinks,
nothing but a
we
utterly lose sight of its
its
emotional element, which
raison d'etre.
its
*
*
*
Having this in view we proceed to see first on
what metaphysical hypothesis speculative Mahayana
Buddhism
built
is
that this phase of
to
its
more
under the
up
;
but the reader must remember
is merely a preliminary
which we expound later
Mahayanism
essential part,
heading
of
"Practical
Mahayanism,"
contradistinction to "Speculative Mahayanism."
in
CHAPTER
CLASSIFICATION OF
IV.
KNOWLEDGE
Three Forms of Knowledge.
JV/T
AHAYANISM
generally distinguishes two or three
forms of knowledge. This
of epistemology, inasmuch as
it
classification is
a sort
proposes to ascertain
the extent and nature of human knowledge, from a religious point of view. Its object is to see
human knowledge
is
most
reliable
what kind of
and valuable for the
annihilation of ignorance and the attainment of enlightenment. The Mahayana school which has given most
attention to this division of Buddhist philosophy is
the Yogacara of Asanga and Vasubandhu. The Lankavatara and the Sandhinirmocana and some other
on which the school claims
Sutras,
foundation,
sutra
into
teach
literature,
any
three
forms
however,
as
to have its doctrinal
knowledge. The
a rule does not enter
of
detailed exposition of the subject
;
it
merely
knowledge and points out what form of
knowledge is most desirable by the Buddhists. To
obtain a fuller and more discursive elucidation, we
classifies
must come to the Abhidharma Pitaka of that
school.
Of
of the
the
text books
most generally studied
CHAPTER
88
IV.
Yogacara, we may mention Vasubandhu's Vijnanamatra
with its commentaries and Asanga's Comprehensive
Treatise on
The
Mahdydnism
following statements
are abstracted mainly from these documents.
The
three forms of knowledge as classified by the
Yogacara are: (i) Illusion (parikalpita), (2) Relative
Knowledge (paratantra), and
(parinispanna)
(3)
Absolute Knowledge
.
Illusion.
(parikalpita), to use Kantian phraseology,
Illusion
is
a sense-perception not co-ordinated
of the
that
understanding;
is
by the categories
to say,
a purely
is
it
subjective elaboration, not verified by objective reality
and
judgment. So long as we make no practical
it will harbor no danger; there is
it,
critical
application
of
no
it,
is
evil
a
in
psychical
straight rod
the
at least religiously. Perceptual illusion
in
refraction
the limb after
fact,
and
such
as
is justified.
it
A
water appears crooked on account of
of
it
light
a sensation
;
is
often
felt
in
has been amputated, for the nervous
system has not yet adjusted itself to the new condition.
They are all illusions, however. They are doubtless
the
in
correct
of
interpretation
question,
but
sense-impressions
they
are
whose
the sense-impressions
not confirmed by other
coordination
to establish an objective reality.
in
this
is
:
all
is
necessary
The moral
involved
sound inferences and correct behavior
must be based on
illusory premises.
critical
knowledge and
not on
CHAPTER
Reasoning
in
this
wise,
that the egoism fostered
IV.
89
the
Mahayanists declare
by vulgar minds belongs
to
this class of
knowledge, though of a different order,
and that those who tenaciously cling to egoism as
their final stronghold are believers
fata
an intellectual
in
morgana, and are like the thirsty deer that madly
water in the desert, or like the
after the visionary
crafty
monkey
in the water.
that tries to catch the lunar reflection
Because the belief
existence of
in the
a metaphysical agent behind our mental phenomena
is not confirmed by experience and sound judgment,
it
being merely a product of unenlightened subjectivity.
Besides this ethical and philosophical egoism, all
forms of world-conception which
sandy basis of subjective
idolatry,
the
like,
illusion,
is
founded on the
such
as fetichism,
anthropomorphism, anthropopsychism, and
must be classed under the parikalpita-laksana
as doctrines having illusionary premises.
Relative Knowledge.
Next comes the paratantra-laksana
schauung based upon
relative
,
knowledge,
a
or
welt-anbetter,
upon the knowledge of the law of relativity. According to this view, everything in the world has a
relative
claim
and
an
conditional
absolute
This closely
existence,
reality
free
and nothing can
from
all
limitations.
corresponds to the theory advanced by
most of modern
scientists,
whose agnosticism denies
our intellectual capability of transcending the law of
relativity.
CHAPTER
QO
^
The paratantra-laksana,
knowledge derived
the outward world.
we
stractions
riences.
says
It
The
:
can
is
IV.
It
consists in the
therefore,
from our
deals
daily intercourse with
the
with
highest ab-
make out of our sensuous expe-
positivistic
in
strictest sense.
its
It
universe has only a relative existence, and
our knowledge is necessarily limited. Even the highest
generalisation cannot go beyond the law of relativity.
It
is
impossible
for
us to
know
the
first
cause and
nor have we any
ultimate end of existence
need to go thus beyond the sphere of existence, which
would inevitably involve us in the maze of mystic
the
;
imagination.
The paratantra-laksana,
or
therefore,
empiricism
Yogacara Buddhists do not use
agnosticism,
a positivism,
is
in its spirit.
these
all
Though the
modern phi-
losophical terms, the interpretation here given
is
really
mean by the second form of
world-conception based on this view,
what they intended to
A
knowledge.
it
declared
is
as our
perceptual
does not
exhaust
knowledge
is
is
sound as
concerned
the entire field of
;
human
far
but
it
experi-
does not take into account our spiritual
and our inmost consciousness. There is some-
ence, for
life
by the Mahayanists,
it
thing in the
human
heart that refuses to be satisfied
merely systematising under the so-called laws
of nature those multitudinous impressions which we
There is a singular
receive from the outside world.
with
feeling, or sentiment, or yearning,
call
it,
in
whatever we
may
our inmost heart, which defies any plainer
CHAPTER
description
than
seems despite
91
mere suggestion or an indirect
somewhat mystic consciousness
a
This
statement.
IV.
obscureness to contain the meaning
its
of our existence as well as that of the universe.
intellect
may
persuade us with
to
try
all
its
The
subtle
reasonings to subdue this disquieting feeling and to
remain contented with the systematising of natural
But
laws, so called.
because
and so
it
the
it is
intellect
is
deceiving itself by so doing;
but a servant to the heart,
not forced to self-contradiction,
must accommodate itself to the needs of the heart.
That
is
far
as
is
it
we must
to say,
transcend the narrow limits
of conditionality and see what indispensable postulates
are underlying our
nition
life
and experiences.
of these indispensable
stitutes the
The
postulates of
recogcon-
life
Yogacara's third form of knowledge called
parinispanna-laksana.
Absolute Knowledge.
Parinispanna-laksana literally means the worldview founded on the most perfect knowledge. According
to
this
pantheistic
view,
system.
the
While
universe
is
a monistico-
phenomenal existences
natural laws characterised
by conditionality and individuation, they by no means exhaust
all
our experiences which are stored in our inmost
are regulated
by
consciousness.
the absolute
late
There must be something,
demand of humanity,
of experience,
be
it
which, underlying and animating
this is
the ultimate postu-
Will, or Intelligence,
all
existences, forms
CHAPTER
92
IV.
of cosmic, ethical, and religious life. This
highest Will, or Intelligence, or both may be termed God, but the Mahayanists call it religiously Dharthe
basis
makaya, ontologically Bhutatathata, and psychologAnd they think it must
ically Bodhi or Sambodhi.
be immanent
all
places
and times
petual creation
This
of
in
principle of morality.
how do we come
presence? The Buddhists
being so,
its
itself
manifesting
must be the cause of per-
it
;
must be the
it
;
universe
the
in
to the recognition
say that
when our
minds are clear of illusions, prejudices, and egotistic
assumptions, they become transparent and reflect
the
truth
thus
a
like
in
gained
dust-free
mirror.
The
consciousness
our
so-called parinispanna^ the
that leads to Nirvana, final
illumination
constitutes
the
most perfect knowledge,
salvation, and eternal bliss.
World-views Founded on the Three
Fronts of Knowledge.
The
why
es
reason
the
will
Yogacara
be
obvious
school
of world-conception
to
the
reader
distinguishes three class-
founded on the three kinds
The parikalpita-laksana is most
knowledge.
most
and
primitive
puerile. However, in these days
of enlightenment, what is believed by the masses is
of
naught else than a parikalpita conception of the world.
The material existence as it appears to our senses
is
to
shake
them
in
all.
They seem
to be unable to
yoke of egoistic illusion and naive
Their God must be transcendent and anthro-
off
realism.
all
the
CHAPTER
93
IV.
and always willing to meddle with worldly
popathic,
whim
affairs as his
How
pleases.
different the world
which the multitudes of unreflecting minds are
is,
living, from that which is conceived by Buddhas and
in
Hartmann, a German thinker, is right,
when he says that the masses are at least a century
Bodhisattvas
behind
!
the
in
thing
strange
their ignorance
culture.
intellectual
their
in
world
is
and superstitious
But
the most
that, in spite of all
beliefs, the
universal transformation are ever carrying
waves of
them onward
to a destination, of which, perhaps, they have not the
slightest suspicion.
The paratantra-laksana advances
but the fundamental error involved
tent self-contradictory
consciousness
a step further,
it
is its
persis-
disregard for what our inmost
constantly revealing to us.
The
intellect
by no means unravel the mystery of our
can
alone
is
in
entire existence. In order to reach the highest truth,
we must
boldly plunge with our whole being into a
light of
region where absolute darkness defying the
supposed to prevail. This region which is.
no more nor less than the field of religious consciousintellect is
ness
is
shunned by most of the
intellectual
people
on the plea that the intellect by its very nature is
unable to fathom it. But the only way that leads us
to
go
the
final pacification
beyond
the
horizons
of the heart-yearnings
of limiting
resort to the faith that has
is
to
reason and to
been planted
in the heart
qua non of its own existence and vitality.
And by faith I mean Prajna (wisdom), transcendental
as the sine
CHAPTER
94
IV.
knowledge, that comes direct from the intelligenceessence of the Dharmakaya. A mind, so tired in
vainly searching after truth and bliss in the verbiage
of philosophy and the nonsense of ritualism, finds
itself here completely rested bathing in the rays of
divine
whence
effulgence,
question, being so
which alone
from
felt.
this
is,
does
it
not
with supramundane blessings
Buddhism calls this exalted
Moksa; and parinispannaa world-conception which naturally follows
state Nirvana or
spiritual
laksana
are
filled
is
this
subjective
,
ideal enlightenment.
*
Two Forms of Knowledge.
The
school
three,
other
Hindu Mahayanism,
conclusion.
the
Madhyamika
Nagarjuna, distinguishes two, instead of
of knowledge, but practically the
orders
of
Yogacara and the
1
the
Madhyamika come
to the
same
2
For detailed exposition of the three forms of knowledge,
reader
is
requested
to
peruse
Asanga's Comprehensive
Mahayanism (Nanjo's Catalogue, No. 1183), Vasubandhu's work on Mahayana idealism ( Vijnanamatra
astra,
Treatise on
Nanjo, No. 1215), the Sutra on the Mystery of Deliverance
(Sandhinirmocana-sutra, Nanjo. Nos. 246 aud 247), etc
2
When the eminent representatives of both parties, such
as Dharmapala and Bhavaviveka, were at the height of their
literary activity in India about the fifth or sixth century after
Christ, their partisan spirit incited them bitterly to denounce
each other, forgetting the common ground on which their
principles were laid down. Their disagreement in fact on
which they put an undue emphasis was of a very trifling
nature. It was merely a quarrel over phraseology, for one
insisted on using certain words just in the sense which the
other negated.
CHAPTER
The two kinds
IV.
95
of knowledge or truth distinguished
by the Madhyamika philosophy are Samvrtti-satya
and Paramartha-satya, that is, conditional truth
and transcendental truth. We read in Nagarjuna's
Madhyamika fdstra
pp.
(Buddhist Text Society edition,
180, 181):
"On two
The holy
truths
founded
is
doctrine of Buddhas:
Truth conditional,
And
truth transcendental.
"Those who
The
verily know not
distinction of the two truths.
Know
not the essence
Of Buddhism which
The
is
l
meaningful."
conditional truth includes illusion and relative
knowledge of the
Yogacara
school, while
the tran-
scendental truth corresponds to the absolute knowledge.
In explaining these two truths, the Madhyamika
philosophers have
made
a constant use of the terms,
gunya and agunya, void and not-void, which unfor-
became a cause of the misunderstanding
tunately
by
scholars
Christian
philosophy.
nature,
for
Absolute
it
individual that
But
this
some
1
of Nagarjuna's transcendental
truth
contains
makes
must not
superficial
it
be
is
void
in
its
ultimate
concrete or real or
nothing
an object of particularisation.
understood,
critics,
in
the
as
sense
is
done by
of
absolute
Dve satye samupa9ritya buddhanam dharde^ana
Lokasamvrttisatyafi ca satyafi ca paramarthatah.
Ye ca anayor na jananti vibhagam satyayor dvayoh,
Te tatvam na
vijananti
gambhirabuddhagasane."
CHAPTER
96
IV.
The Madhyamika philosophers make the
satya (transcendental truth) empty when contrasted
nothingness.
with the realness of phenomenal existences. Because
it
is
not real in the sense a particular being is
real; but it is empty since it transcends the prinof
ciple
individuation.
When
considered absolutely,
can neither be empty nor not-empty, neither gunya
nor agunya, neither asti nor ndsti, neither abhdva
it
nor
bhava,
neither
imply
relation
Satya
is
in
is
object
better,
it
it
Paramdrtha
unifies all con-
absolute oneness.
its
at
particularising.
of intellectuation
It
or
all
may
of the true nature
understanding
edge.
them,
even to designate
naming
while the
contrast,
and antitheses
trasts
fore,
and
above
nor unreal. All these terms
real
It
is
There-
lead to the mis-
of the Satya, for
not,
as
such,
an
or of demonstrative knowl-
underlies everything conditional and pheno-
menal, and does not permit
itself to
be a particular
object of discrimination.
Transcendental Truth and Relative
Understanding
One may
an
abstract
standing,
say:
If
nature,
transcendental truth
is
of such
beyond the reach of the underever hope to attain it and
how can we
enjoy its blessings? But Nagarjuna says that it is
not absolutely out of the ken of the understanding;
on the
through the understanding
that we become acquainted with the quarter towards
it
is,
which our
contrary,
spiritual
efforts should
be directed, only
CHAPTER
us
let
the
not
final
reality.
97
means by which we grasp
to
the
A
finger
cling
IV.
needed to point
is
at
but when we have recognised the moon,
us no more trouble ourselves with the finger. The
the moon,
let
fisherman
a
carries
what need
but
when the contents
we
long as
edge
or
to
take the fish home,
he to worry about the basket
are safely on the table? Only so
are not yet aware of the
way
to enlight-
us not ignore the value of relative knowl-
let
enment,
basket
has
conditional
Nagarjuna terms
truth
or lokasamvrttisatya
as
it.
not by worldly knowledge,
truth is not understood;
When the truth is not approached,
"If
The
Nirvana
From
discourages
is
it
this,
the
beliefs.
religious
science that
and that
it
is
not attained."
to
*
be infered that Buddhism never
scientific,
For
it
critical
is
investigation
of
one of the functions of
should purify the contents of a belief
should point out in which direction our
spiritual truth and consolation have to be sought.
final
Science
it
alone
which
is
built
on
relative
knowledge
our religious cravings, but
it is
certainly able to direct us to the path of enlightenment. When this path is at last revealed, we shall
is
not
able to satisfy
know how
to
avail
all
ourselves
then Prajfia (or Sambodhi, or
1
of the discovery, as
Wisdom) becomes
the
Vyavaharam anagritya paramartho na degyate,
Paramartham anagamya nirvanam na adhigamyata.
The Madhyamika, p. 181.
7
CHAPTER
98
guide of
life.
Here we enter
unknowable. The
demonstrable,
into the region of the
spiritual facts
for
that the uninitiated
glimpse of them.
IV.
we experience
are not
they are so direct and immediate
are altogether at a loss to get a
CHAPTER
BHUTATATHATA
V.
(SUCHNESS).
1HROM the ontological point of view, Paramartha-satya
or
Parinispanna
(transcendental truth)
is
called
means "suchness of existAs Buddhism does not separate being from
Bhutatathata, which literally
ence."
thought nor thought from being, what
the
objective
subjective
world,
is
suchness in
transcendental truth in the
is
world, and vice versa
Bhutatathata, then,
Godhead of Buddhism and it marks the consummation of all our mental efforts to reach the
is
the
,
highest principle, which unifies
tions
all
possible contradic-
and spontaneously directs the course of world-
events. In short,
it
is
the ultimate postulate of exist-
ence. Like Paramartha-satya, as above stated,
it
does
not belong to the domain of demonstrative knowledge
it
or sensuous experience
is
unknowable by the
;
ordinary processes of intellectuation, which the natural
sciences use in the formulation of general laws; and
grasped, declare the Buddhists, only by the
minds that are capable of exercising what might be
it
is
called religious intuition.
Agvaghosa argues, in his Awakening of Faith for
the indefinability of this first principle. When we say
it
is
c.unya or empty, on account of
its
being indepen-
CHAPTER
IOO
dent of
all
V.
we
the thinkable qualities, which
attribute
and conditional, people would take
the nothingness of absolute void But when we
to things relative
for
it
define
it
a
as
real
as
reality,
stands above the
'it
evanescence of phenomena, they would imagine that
there
of
pale
we
is
something individual and existing outside the
universe, which, though as concrete as
this
ourselves
are,
lives
an
eternal
life.
It
is
like
describing to the blind what an elephant looks like;
each one of them gets but a very indistinct and
imperfect conception of the huge creature, yet every
one of them thinks he has a true and most comprehen-
Agvaghosa, thus, wishes to eschew all
definite statements concerning the ultimate nature of
sive idea of
l
it.
being, but as language
we
mortals
them
to
is
the only
mode with which
can express our ideas and communicate
he thinks the best expression that
others,
can be given to
it
is
Bhutatathata,
i.
"suchness of
e.,
existence," or simply, "suchness."
Bhutatathata (suchness), thus absolutely viewed, does
not fall under the category of being and non-being;
and minds which are kept within the narrow circle
of contrasts, must be said to be incapable of grasping
it
as
it
truly
is.
Says Nagarjuna
in his (Jastra (Ch.
XV.)
"Between thisness (svabhava) and thatness (parabhdva),
Between being and non-being,
Who
The
1
1
Cf.
discriminates,
truth of Buddhism he perceives not."
*
The Udana, chapter VI.
Svabhavam parabhavanca, bhavancabhavameva ca,
Ye pagyanti, na pac.yante tatvam hi buddhagasane.
:
CHAPTER
IOI
V.
Or,
"To think
To
'it is', is eternalism,
think 'it
is
not', is nihilism:
Being and non-being,
The wise cling not to either/*
1
Again,
*
"The dualism of to be and not
The dualism of pure and not-pure
Such dualism having abandoned,
'
'
quote,
5859):
(pp.
has
that
sation,
"In
its
to
nothing
conditional:
from
again,
it
free
is
such as exist
'
in the middle." 9
The wise stand not even
To
to be,
:
the
Awakening of Faith
metaphysical origin, Bhatata-
do with things
from
in
all
defiled, i.e.,
signs of individuali-
phenomenal objects:
it is
independent of an unreal, particularising consciousness."
Indefinabitity.
Absolute Suchness from
all
definitions.
We
very nature thus defies
its
even say that it is, for
presupposes that which is not:
cannot
everything that is
existence and non-existence
much
and
as
that,
1
subject
are
terms as
relative
and object, mind and matter,
this
one and other: one cannot be conceived
Astiti ca^vatagraho, nastltyucchedadarcanam:
Tasmadastitvanastitve nacriyet* vicaksanmh
1 Astiti n&stiti ubhe
pi anti
'
uddhi aguddhiti ime 'pi anti;
Tasmadubhe anta vivarjayitva
Madhye
'
pi
.
syanam na karoti pa^ditmh.
IO2
CHAPTBft V.
without the other. "It
may be
the only
can express
not so (na &*) 1 ," therefore,
our imperfect human tongue
is
way
So the Mahayanists
it.
nate absolute Suchness as
But when
be more
to
most
this
fully
generally desigor
void.
unyata
word, cunyata,
significant
we would
interpreted,
Ac.vaghosa that "Suchness
existence nor that which
neither that which
is
is
is
say with
is
non-existence; neither
once existence and non-existence,
not at once existence and nonis
which
nor that
which
that
it
existence;
which
and
and
1
at
is
is
neither that which
is
plurality; neither that which
is
nor that which
plurality,
is
unity nor that
once unity
not at once unity
is
at
*
plurality.'*
This
is
the famous phrase in the Brhadaranyaka Upamsat
IV, 2, 4 IV
III, 9, 26
(II, 3, 6
occurring in several places
;
;
;
22; IV, 5, 5). The Atman or Brahman, it says, "is tc
be described by No, No! He is incomprehensible, for h<
cannot be comprehended; he is imperishable, for he cannot
perish; he is unattached, for he does not attach himself
4,
he does not suffer, he does not fail. Him (whc
knows), these two do not overcome, whether he says that foi
some reason he has done evil, or for some reason he has don<
good he overcomes both, and neither what he has done, noi
unfettered,
what he has omitted to do,
* The
Awakening of Faith,
of Dionysius the
in
his
Varieties
cause of
all
affects him."
p. 59. Cf. this
Areopagite,
with the utterances
as quoted by Prof.
of Religious Experience^ pp.
things
is
W.
41641?
:
Jaraei
Th<
neither soul nor intellect; nor ha*
imagination, opinion, or reason, or intelligence; nor is
spoken or thought It is neither number, nor order, noi
magnitude, nor littleness, nor equality, nor inequality, noi
It neither stands, nor moves
similarity, nor dissimilarity.
nor rests..*. It is neither essence, nor eternity, nor time
it
il
CHAPTER
V.
IO3
famous doctrine of "The Middle Path
Nagarjana's
of Eight No's" breathes the
same
spirit,
which declares
:
no death, no birth, no destruction, no persistence,
No oneness, no manyness, no coming, no departing,
"There
is
l
Elsewhere, he expresses the same idea in a some-
what paradoxical manner, making the historical Buddha
a real concrete manifestation of Suchness
:
deem not
"After his passing,
'
The Buddha
thus:
'
still
is
here,
He is above all contrasts,
To be and not to be.
"While
c
living,
The Buddha
deem not thus:
now here.
'
is
He is above all contrasts,
To be and not to be." *
view of Suchness as no-ness abounds
This
the
of
literature
Dhyana
in the
To
school of Mahayanism.
When Bodhi-Dharma
3
the founder
cite
one instance
Even
does not belong to it. It is neither
nor truth. It is not even royalty nor wisdom not
not unity not divinity or goodness nor even spirit as
:
,
intellectual contact
science
one
;
;
;
;
we know
T
ad libitum.
it.".
Anirodham anutpadam anucchedam ac.ac_vatam,
Anekartham ananartham anagamam anirgamam.
.
.
.
(Madhyamika fdstra,
2
first
stanza.)
Param nirodhadbhagavan bhavatityeva nohyate,
Na bhavatyubhayam ceti nobhayam ceti nohyate
Atisthamano
Na
:
'
pi bhagavan bhavatityeva nohyate,
bhavatyubhayam ceti nobhayam ceti nohyate.
(Madhyamika,
p.
199).
He was
the third son of king of Kac.i<?) in southern India.
He came to China A. D. 527 and after a vain attempt to conto his own view, he retired to a monastery,
vert Emperor
3
Wu
where,
it
is
reported, he spent
all
day
in
gazing at the wall
CHAPTER
IO4
of the
Dhyana
(A D. 502
V.
saw Emperor Wu of Liang dynasty
he was asked what the first principle
sect,
556),
of the Holy Doctrine was, he did not give any lengthy,
periphrastic statement- after the manner of a philosopher,
but laconically replied, "Vast emptiness and nothing
The Emperor was bewildered and did not know
holy.
how
to take the
words of
his holy adviser. Naturally,
he did not expect such an abrupt answer, and, being
ventured another question:
disappointed,
greatly
"Who
is
he, then, that stands before
me?" By
this
he meant to repudiate the doctrine of absolute SuchIf there is
ness. His line of argument being this
:
nothing
in the ultimate
nature of things
that distin-
guishes between holiness and sinfulness, why this
world of contrasts, where some are revered as holy,
for
instance,
moment
Bodhi-Dharma who
in
front of
is
at
this
standing
of propagating the holy teachings of Buddha
Dharma, however, was a mystic and was
vinced
express
of the insufficiency of the
the
highest
truth
very
him with the mission
which
?
Bodhi-
fully
con-
human tongue
is
to
revealed only
without making any further venture to propagate his mysticism.
But finally he found a most devoted disciple in the person
of Shen Kuang, who was once a Confucian, and through whom
Dhyana school became one of the most powerful Mahayana
the
in China as well as in Japan. Dharma died in the year
Besides
the one here mentioned, he had another audience
535.
with the Emperor. At that time, the Emperor said to Dharma:
"I have dedicated so many monasteries, copied so many
sect
sacred books, and converted so many bhiksus and bhiksunis
what do you think my merits are or ought to be?" To this,
however, Dharma replied curtly, "No merit whatever."
:
CHAPTER
the
to
intuitively
V.
IO5
His con-
consciousness.
religious
answer was, "I do not know" 4
This "I do not know" is not to be understood
clusive
the
in
of
spirit
agnosticism, "but
"God when understood
is
in
no God,"
sense of
the
for in se est
per se conceptur. This way of describing Suchness
by negative terms only, excluding all differences of
name and form (namarupa) to reach a higher kind
et
of affirmation,
seems
one, inasmuch as the
to
be
many
much
misinterpretation even
;
most appropriate
human understanding
in so
respects
the
but, nevertheless,
it
is
limited
has caused
among Buddhists them-
mention those Christian Buddhist schol-
selves, not to
who sometimes appear almost
ars of to-day,
wilfully
to misconstrue the significance of the gunyata philo-
was
It
sophy.
to
avoid these unfortunate misinter-
made
the
Suchness
is
that the Mahayanists frequently
pretations
paradoxical
assertion
that
absolute
empty and not empty, cunya and agunya, being and
non-being, sat and asat, one and many, this and that.
The "Thundrous Silence."
There yet
absolute
most
remains
another
mode
of explaining
Suchness, which though most practical and
effective
may prove
for
very
the
religiously disposed minds,
inadequate to a sceptical intellect.
Another interesting utterance by a Chinese Buddhist, who,
for
earnestly pondering over the absoluteness of Suchness
several years, understood it one day all of a sudden, is:
"The very instant you say it is something (or a nothing),
1
you miss the mark."
CHAPTER
IO6
It
V.
the "thundrous silence" of Vimalakirti in response
is
inquiry concerning the nature of Suchness or
to an
"Dharma
the
of
Non-duality/'
as
is
it
termed
in
*
the Sutra
Bodhisattva Vimalakirti j>nce asked a host of Bodhisattvas
by Manjugri, who came
led
to
visit
him,
how to enter into the
Dharma of Non-duality. Some replied, "Birth and
death are two, but the Dharma itself was never born
and will never die. Those who understand this are
said to enter into the Dharma of Non-duality." Some
to
said,
T
there
are
"
am'
'I
thus
and 'mine' are two. Because
shall
we
reflecting
Some
But
two.
called
things
where
duality."
views as to
their
express
look
enter
into
think
'I
But as there
'mine.'
we
I
am'
is
for things 'mine'?
the
Dharma
of
no
By
Non-
"Samsara and Nirvana are
replied,
when we understand the
ultimate nature
of Samsara, Samsara vanishes from our consciousness,
and there
birth
the
nor
neither
is
death.
Dharma
By
bondage
thus
nor release,
reflecting
we
neither
enter into
of Non-duality." Others said, "Ignorance
and enlightenment are two. No ignorance, no enlightenment, and there is no dualism. Why? Because
those
who have entered
a meditation in which there
no sense-impression, no cogitation, are free from
ignorance as well as from enlightenment. This holds
is
true
with
who
enter
*
all
the
thus
other
into
The Vtmalaktrii Sutra,
Chapter
5.
dualistic
the
thought
categories.
Those
of sameness are
Kumarajiva's translation, Part
II,
CHAPTER
Dharma
said to enter into the
others
answered,
"To
of
are
worldliness
V.
lO/
of Non-duality."
Still
long for Nirvana and to shun
Long not for Nirvana,
dualism.
shun not worldliness, and we are free from dualism.
Why? Because bondage and release are relative terms,
and when there
no bondage from the beginning,
who wishes to be released ? No bondage, no release,
is
and therefore no longing, no shunning
the entering into the
Dharma
Many more answers
from
give
of Non-duality."
of similar nature
Vimalakirti
Manjugri.
own
his
"What
this is called
came
forth
the Bodhisattvas in the assembly except the
all
leader
:
I
now requested him
to
view, and to this Manjugri responded,
may be
think
stated thus: That which
is
in all beings wordless, speechless, shows no signs,
is not possible of cognisance, and is above all questo know this is said to
tionings and answerings,
enter into the
Dharma
of Non-duality."
Finally, the host Vimalakirti himself was demanded
by Manjucri to express his idea of Non- duality, but
he
kept
completely
Thereupon,
done, well
above
silent
admiringly
Manjugri
done
letters
!
and uttered not a word.
exclaimed,
The Dharma of Non-duality
and words!"
"Well
is
truly
1
Deussen relates, in his address delivered before the Bombay
Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1893, a similar attitude
of a Vedantist mystic in regard to the highest Brahma. 'The
1
Bhava, therefore, when asked by the king Vaksalin, to explain the
Brahman, kept silence. And when the king repeated his request
it you,
again and again, the rishi broke out into the answer 'I tell
but you don't understand it f&nto 'yam dtmd, this atmais silence !"
:
;
CHAPTER
IO8
V.
Now, of this Suchness, the Mahayanists distinguish
two aspects, as it is comprehended by our consciousand non-conditional, or
the phenomenal world of causality and the transcenwhich are conditional
ness,
realm
dental
corresponds
of
to
relative truth
1
It is
absolute
that,
in
freedom.
the
field
and transcendental
This distinction
of knowledge, of
truth.
d
a well-known fact that the Vedanta philosophy, too,
similar distinction between Brahman as sagunam
makes a
and Brahman as nirgunam (unqualified). The former
phenomenal, and has characteristics of its own;
but the latter is absolute, having no qualification whatever
(qualified)
is
relative,
to speak
of, it is
absolute
Suchness. (See Max Mueller's The
p. 220 et seq.)
Six Systems of Indian Philosophy,
Here, a very interesting question suggests itself: Which
the original and which is the copy, Mahayanism or Vedantism ? Most of European Sanskrit scholars would fain wish to
is
dispose of it at once by declaring that Buddhism must be
the borrower. But I am strongly inclined to the opposite
view, for there is reliable evidence in favor of it. In a writing
of Acvaghosa, who dates much earlier than Qankara or
Badarayana we notice this distinction of absolute Suchness
and relative Suchness. He writes in his Awakening of Faith
et seq.) that though Suchness is free from all modes
(p- 55
of limitation and conditionality, and therefore it cannot be
thought of by our finite consciousness, yet on account of
Avidya inherent in the human mind absolute Suchness manifests itself in the
phenomenal world, thereby subjecting itself
law of causality and relativity and proceeds to say
that there is a twofold aspect in Suchness from the point
of view of its explicability. The first aspect is trueness as
negation (funyata) in the sense that it is completely set
to
the
apart
from the attributes of all things unreal, that it is a
The second aspect is trueness as affirmation
veritable reality
(afunyata), in the sense that it contains infinite merits, that
it is self-existent. Considering the fact that Acvaghosa comes
CHAPTER
V.
IO9
Suchness Conditioned.
Absolute transcendental Suchness defying all means
of characterisation does not, as long as it so remains,
have any direct significance in the phenomenal world
and human
life.
When
it
does,
it
must become condi-
Suchness as Gesetzmassigkeit in nature and as
ethical order in our practical life. Suchness as absolute
tional
is
too
remote,
too
abstract,
metaphysical
seems not to
affect us in
as
limited
Its
transcendental.
is
it
consciousness,
conscious
activities,
to
and may have only a
existence
value.
non-existence
or
our daily social life, inasmuch
In order to enter into our*
to
become the norm of our
regulate
course
the
of the
evolutionary tide in nature, Suchness must surrender
its
"splendid isolation," must abandon
When
seat
Suchness thus comes
the
in
realm
of
unthinkability,
universe unfolded before our eyes in
and magnificence. Twinkling
sky;
the
planet
absoluteness.
its
down from
its
sovereign-
we have
its
all
this
diversity
stars inlaid in the vaulted
elaborately decorated with verdant
meadows, towering mountains, and rolling waves the
the beasts
birds cheerfully singing in the woods
;
;
wildly running through the thickets; the summer
heavens ornamented with white fleecy clouds and on
any Vedanta philosophers, it stands to reason to
latter might have borrowed the idea of distinthe two aspects of Brahma from their Buddhist
earlier than
say that the
guishing
predecessors.
ankara also makes a distinction between saguna and mrguna
vidya, whose parallel we find in the Mahayanist samvrtti and
paramartha
satya.
CHAPTER
IIO
earth
and leaves growing
branches
all
V.
the winter prairie destitute of
abundant
in
all
animation,
luxury;
only with naked trees here and there trembling in
the dreary north winds; all these manifestations, not
a
varying
mathematical,
of
astronomical,
are
laws,
biological
breadth
hair's
else
their
and
chemical,
physical,
naught
from
deviation
than the work of
conditional Suchness in nature.
When we
the
human
turn to
work of
of activity
as
tions,
intellectual
efforts,
makes the man
the
for
frolic;
causes
us
when we
to
etc.
It
to drink
imagina-
makes us
when
in all
desire
thirsty;
it
woman, and the woman
children in merriment and
men and women bravely to carry
life.
When we are oppressed, it
"Let
cry,
us
have
are treated with injustice,
murder and
to
keeps
it
braces
burden of
the
we have
long for the
man;
it
history,
passions, aspirations,
when hungry, and
eat
and
conditional Suchness manifested
forms
to
life
fire
or
liberty
it
die"
;
leads us even
and revolution; when our noble
sentiments are aroused to the highest pitch, it makes
us ready to sacrifice all that is most dear to us. In
the kaleidoscopic changes of this phenomenal
world, subjective as well as objective, come from the
brief, all
hands
playing
constitutes
of
the
conditional
goodness and
Suchness.
It
blessings
the sins, crimes, and misery which the flesh
1
a
While passing,
polemic
critics
in
this
stubbornly
I
cannot
footnote.
refuse
to
of
is
not only
life,
but
heir to.
1
help digressing and entering on
The
fact is, Western Buddhist
understand correctly what is
CHAPTER
Ill
V.
Ac.vaghosa in his Awakening of Faith speaks of
the Heart (krdaya) of Suchness and of the Heart
of
Birth-and-Death.
By
the
Heart
of Suchness he
means the absolute and by the Heart of Birth-andDeath a manifestation of the absolute in this world
of particulars.
says
he,
but
"They
they
are
are
not
separate,"
one,
for
the
however,
Heart of
by Buddhists themselves. Even scholars who are supposed to be well informed about the subject, go astray and
make false charges against Buddhism. Max Mueller, for example, declares in his Six Systems of Indian Philosophy (p. 242)
that "An important distinction between Buddhists and Vedantists is that the former holds the world to have arisen from
what is not, the latter from what is, the Sat or Brahman."
The reader who has carefully followed my exposition above
will at once detect in this Max Mueller's conclusion an incorrect statement of Buddhist doctrine As I have repeatedly
insisted
Suchness, though described in negative terms, is not a
of nothingness, but the highest possible synthesis that
the human intellect can reach. The world did not come from
said,
state
the void of Suchness, but from its fulness of reality. If it were
not so, to where does Buddhism want us to go after deliver-
ance from the evanescence and nothingness of the phenomenal
world ?
Max Mueller in another place (op. cit. p. 210) speaks of the
Vedantists' assertion of the reality of the objective world for
practical purposes (vyavaharartham) and of their antagonistic
attitude
toward "the nihilism of the Buddhists." "The Budseems to refer to the followers of the Madhyamika
dhists" this
school,
but
a
careful
what they denied
perusal of their texts will reveal that
as a
was not the realness of the world
manifestation of conditional
Suchness,
realness and our attachment to
it
but
as such.
its
independent
The Madhyamika
was not in any sense a nihilistic system. True, its
advocates used many negative terms, but what they meant by
them was obvious enough to any careful reader.
school
112
CHAPTER
Suchness
of Birth-and-Death.
our limited
of
we have
Heart
the
is
account
world
a
of
V.
senses and
finite
It
mind
particulars, which, as
it
is
on
that
is,
is
no more than a fragment of the absoulte Bhutatathata.
And
yet
that
we
nature
is
it
through
this
fragmentary manifestation
are finally enabled to reach the fundamental
of
in its entirety.
Says Agvaghosa,
on
the
"Depending
Tathagata-garbha, there evolves
the Heart of Birth-and-Death. What is immortal and
what
mortal
are harmoniously blended, for they
nor
are they separate
Herein all
one,
is
not
are
being
things are organised.
The
above
is
Hereby
from
the
all
things are created."
standpoint.
ontological
When
is
viewed psychologically, the Heart of Suchness
enlightenment, for Buddhism makes no distinction
between being and
thought,
ultimate nature of the two
one.
world and mind. The
considered to be absolutely
speaking of the nature of enlightenment,
"It is like the emptiness of space
says
Now,
is
Agvaghosa
and the brightness of the mirror
:
and
real,
It
things.
and
is
in that
it
the world. Nothing goes out of
into
one
defile
of
in
the
reflected
nothing
it,
is
its
is
eternal
It
it.
is
every
phase
life
it,
and activity
nothing enters
annihilated, nothing
soul,
is
immaculate
the
destroyed.
no forms of defilement can
virtues
hearts of
perfumes
Heart of Suchness, which
it,
of
the essence of intelligence.
numerous
it
true,
It
in
It
is
completes and perfects all
free from the condition of destructibility.
great.
In
is
it
is
all
By
reason
which inhere
beings." Thus,
enlightenment and
CHAPTER
the
essence
of
V.
I
works
constantly
intelligence,
13
in
and through the hearts of all human beings, that is,
in and through our finite minds. In this sense, Buddhism declares that truth
highly
abstract
of our
phenomena
not
is
philosophical
sleeping, etc.
dressing, walking,
and does not abstract;
not "dissect to murder."
sought in
but in the
such
life
everyday
acts
be
to
formulae,
it
The Heart
as
eating,
of Suchness
and does
synthesises
Questions Defying Solution.
of
Speaking
we
Suchness,
world
the
as
manifestation
a
the most puzzling
are here beset with
minds ever since
questions that have baffled the best
the
dawn
ever
of intellect.
leave
They
abode
its
are
the
in
:
of
Why
did Suchness
mysterious
realm
of
and descend on earth where every
transcendentality
form of misery greets us on all sides ? What inherent
necessity was there for it to mingle in the dust of
worldliness
of
bliss
did
while
its
own
it
could
ever
Suchness
absolute
enjoy
absoluteness?
To dispose of
human interests
-In
the
unspeakable
other words,
become
why
conditional
Suchness ?
these questions as not con-
cerning
is
the creed of agnosticism
and positivism but the fact is, they are not questions
whimsically framed by the human mind when it was
;
in the
of the
the
mood
most
of playing with
vital
significance
of
itself.
importance
life
They
ever
are queries
put to us, and
entirely hangs
on our
inter-
pretation of them.
8
I
CHAPTER
14
V.
Buddhism confesses that the mystery
the
human mind,
by
beyond the region of
purely
for
absolutely
and the power
intellect
finite
unsolvable
is
is
it
of a logical demonstrability. The mystery can only
solved in a practical way when we attain the
be
highest
which
of
enlightenment
spiritual
Bodhi
the
with
Buddhahood,
in
its
unimpeded supernatural
light directly looks into the
very abyss of Suchness.
The
Bodhi
kernel
of
or
our being,
When
of Suchness.
expands
vessel
Intelligence
in the
poured
is
this
Body
constitutes
the
realisation in us
partial
intelligence
is
merged and
of Suchness, as the water in a
the
into
a
which
waters
of
boundless
the
once perceives and realises its nature,
ocean,
its destiny, and its significance in life.
Buddhism is a religion and leaves many topics
it
at
of
metaphysics unsolved, at least logically. Though
more intellectual and philosophical than any
other religion, it does not pretend to build a complete
it
is
system
of
concerned,
As
speculation.
Buddhism
is
far
theorisation
as
and
dogmatic
is
assumes
without revealing their dialectical
But
processes.
they are all necessary and fundamental
many
propositions
hypotheses
of the
the ultimate
demands of the human
religious consciousness
no positive obligation to prove
its
soul.
they are
Religion has
;
propositions after
the fashion of the natural sciences.
It
is
enough
for
religion to state the facts as they are, and the intellect,
though hampered by limitations inherent in it, has to
try her best to put
them together
in a
coherent system.
CHAPTER
The
stated
115
by Buddhism of those queries
solution, then,
above cannot be said -to be very
from
free
V.
serves
all
serious
required
dufficulties,
and
purposes
By
discipline.
religious
but
this
I
logical
and
practically
conducive
is
mean
it
to
the Buddhist
theory of Nescience or Ignorance (avidya).
Theory of Ignorance.
The theory of nescience
or ignorance (avidya) is
an attempt by Buddhists to solve the relation between
the one and the many, between absolute Suchness
and conditional Suchness, between Dharmakaya and
Sarvasattva, between wisdom (bodhi) and sin (klega)^
between
Nirvana and
Samsara. But Buddhism does
not give us any systematic exposition of the doctrine.
it
says is categorical and dogmatic. "This
What
universe
is
really the
Dharmadhatu
*
it
;
is
character-
by sameness (samata) there is no differentiation
(visama) in it it is even emptiness itself (funyata)
ised
;
;
;
all
things
no pudgala
have
(self).
nescience, there are four or six
skandha
five
(senses),
All
these
cience
"The
or
mahdbhuta (elements),
six
(or eight)
niddna (chains of
ignorance."
of Suchness
Heart
ultimate
Or,
;
it
is
nature
the
does
vijndna
causation).
names and forms (ndmarupa)
Dharmadhatu
The
(aggregates),
and twelve
But, because of
are of nes-
according to Acvaghosa,
is the vast All of one
essence
not
of
all
perish,
doctrines.
nor does
it
Dharmadhatu is the world as seen by an enlightened mind,
where all forms of particularity do not contradict one another,
but make one harmonious whole.
1
*
I 1
6
CHAPTER
All
decay.
V.
objects exist because of con
particular
-
i
fused subjectivity (smrti).
Independent of confused
is no outside world to be perceived
there
subjectivity,
and
discriminated."
the
law
of birth
and
ignorance
found
are
rature;
negative
in
the
to
find
One
principle
of
the
of ignorance
and
the
is
as
these
the Buddhist
lite-
how and why
this
came
Suchness, we
however,
thing,
in
question
an authoritative
Ignorance
creates
everywhere
to
as
body
Such statements
karma."
almost
but
"Everything that is subject to
and death exists only because of
to assert itself
are at a loss where
definite
certain,
answer to
which
is
it.
this
:
(avidyd) is principium individium, that
multitudinousness of phenomena in the
absolute oneness of being, that tosses up the roaring
billows of existence in the eternal ocean of Suchness,
that
wheel
breaks
of
veiling the
reflection
the
silence
of
Nirvana
metempsychosis perpetually
and
starts the
rolling,
that,
transpicuous mirror of Bodhi, affects the
of Suchness
therein,
that
transforms the
sameness (samata) of Suchness to the duality of
and thatness and leads many confused
thisness
minds to egoism with all its pernicious corollaries.
Perhaps,
ignorance
the
is
best
way
to attack the
to understand that
problem of
is a tha
Buddhism
roughly idealistic doctrine as every true religion
should be, and that psychologically, and not ontologic-
*The word literally means recollection or memory. Acvaghosa uses it as a synonym of ignorance, and so do many
other Buddhist philosophers.
CHAPTER
V.
117
should Suchness be conceived, and further, that
is inherent in Suchness,
though only hypo-
ally,
nescience
apparently, and not really in any
thetically, illusively,
sense.
According to Brahmanism, there was in the beginning only one being and this being willed to be two
;
;
which naturally resulted in the differentiation of subject and object, mind and nature. In Buddhism, howSuchness
ever,
any desire to
is
not explicitly stated as having had
be other than itself, at least when it
is
purely metaphysically conceived.
But as Buddhism
interprets this world of particularisation as a manifestation
of Suchness
ignorance,
conditioned
and when Suchness, by
affirmed
will,
by permitting
is,
principle
as
is
and
its
be
to
itself
of ignorance
or
itself,
conditioned
individuation.
that
by the
The
latter,
expressly stated everywhere in Buddhist sutras
and a
c.astras, is no more than an illusion
negative
This
quantity,
chimerical
essential
rrakes
this:
world
of
of
absoluteness
the
merely the
is
it
nature
monism
roughly consistent.
is
being of Suchness;
transcendental freedom of
did so by negating
it
itself,
have potentially or
in the
existed
negatively
principle of
must be considered, however
ignorance
illusory in its ultimate nature, to
rather
by the
is
of
Maya.
ignorance preserves the
the first principle and
Mahayana doctrine tho-
of the
What
veil
to be noted here, however,
Buddhism does not necessarily regard
of particulars
dream-like.
When
as
altogether
ignorance
alone
evanescent
is
this
and
taken notice
CHAPTER
Il8
V.
of and the presence of Suchness in
of
dinousness
things
positively
declared
lightened
mind
midst
of the
an
assumes
is
denied,
be
to
all
this
existence
But when
void.
Suchness
perceives
this multitu-
an en-
even
the
in
darkness of ignorance, this
utter
new
entirely
aspect,
is
life
and we come to
realise the illusiveness of all evils.
To
return
defined
is
ness
1
the subject, ignorance or nescience
to
shades
different
speak,
this,
ignorance
of Suchness.
is
It
of consciousness
Ignorance
sciousness
the
implies
eternal
absolute
so
that
latter possible,
illusive
emanation
then evident that the awakening
first
step toward the
from the abyss of the
For the unfolding
of
self-
con-
of the perceiving
visayin and the visaya, of
the separation
the
perceived,
subject and object,
point where
an
is,
is
marks the
of Suchness.
identity
The
meaning.
in turn
is
universe
of this
rising
of
the raison d'etre of consciousness,
while ignorance itself
in
According to
makes the appearance of the
which
and
from the unfathom-
consciousness are interchangeable terms, though
with
to
a spark of conscious-
that spontaneously flashes
able depths of Suchness.
and
as
by Acvaghosa
mind and
abyss
nature.
of Suchness, so called,
is
the
subjectivity and objectivity are merged
oneness.
It
is
the time, though strictly
1
Smrti or citta or vijnana. They are all used by Ac. vaghosa
and other Buddhist authors as synonymous. Smrti literally
means memory; citta, thought or mentation; and vijnana is
generally rendered by consciousness, though not very accurately.
CHAPTER
V.
119
speaking chronology does not apply here, when all
"the ten thousand things" of the world have not
yet been differentiated and even when the God
who
made
"created
heaven and
the
To
debut.
his
has not yet
earth"
use psychological terms,
it
is
a state of transcendental or transmarginal consciousness,
where
vanish,
all
and conceptual images
sense-perceptions
where we are
and
a state of absolute
in
unconsciousness. This sounds mystical but
fact
that in the field of our
established
;
there
activities
an
is
it
is
an
mental
where consciousness
abyss
suddenly disappears. This region beyond
sometimes
the threshold of awaredness, though often a trysting
place for psychical abnormalities, has a great religious
which
significance,
cannot be ignored by superficial
arguments. Here is the region where the
consciousness of subject and object is completely
scientific
we do
here
but
annihilated,
and darkness of a grave, nor
nothingness.
The
not
conscious
it
touch
merely
of
lost in the
here
embrace the world-all
to
but
is
a state of absolute
it
indescribable, or better,
of something
as
self
have the silence
not
is
of
any
feels
celestial
within
presence
expands so
itself,
and
is
egoistic elation or arrogance
the
joy
it
of
fulness
that
reality
and
;
a
cannot be imparted to
by anything human. The most convincing
from
spiritual insight into the nature of being comes
others
this
source.
Buddhists
to
Enlightenment
the
actual
is
the
gaining
Bodhi or Prajna or intelligence
is
name given by
of
this
insight.
the term for the
I2O
CHAPTER
V.
power that brings about this enlightenment
the mind emerges from this state of sameness,
spiritual
When
consciousness spontaneously comes back as
before,
retaining
the
memory
it
vanished
of the experience so
unique and now confronting the world of contrasts
and mutual dependence, in which our empirical ego
moves. The transition from one state to the other
of lightning scintilating from behind
clouds; though the two, the subliminal and the
like
is
the
a
flash
superficial consciousness,
seem
to
be one continuous
form of
activity, permitting no hiatus between them.
At any rate, this awakening of subjectivity and the
leaving behind of transmarginal consciousness marks
the
of
start
ignorance.
Therefore,
psychologically
speaking, ignorance must be considered synonymous
with
the
awakening of consciousness
in a sentient
being.
Here we have the most mysterious
fact that baffles
our intellectual efforts to unravel, which is: How
and why has ignorance, or what is tantamount, con-
all
sciousness,
ever been awakened
calmness
from
the
absolute
How
and why have the
(gdnti)
waves of mentation ever been stirred up in the ocean
of
of being?
eternal
tranquillity
?
Acvaghosa
simply
says,
"spontaneously." This by no means explains anything,
or at least it is not in the line with our so-called
nor does it give us any reason
why. Nevertheless, religiously and practically viewed,
"spontaneous" is the most graphic and vigorous
scientific interpretations,
term there
is
for describing the actual state of things
CHAPTER
as
they
is
always
our mental eye. In
before
pass
121
V.
something vague and
psychological
fact,
indefinite in
With whatever
experiences.
there
all
our
scientific
accuracy, with whatever objective precision we may
describe the phenomena that take place in the mind,
there is always something that eludes our scrutiny,
too slippery, as
is
after
compelled
shall
in
leave
to
so that
our
we
expositions,
much
are
still
to the imagination of the
he
happens to be lacking in the
which we have endeavored to describe
case
In
experience
we
;
our strenuous intellectual efforts to be exact
all
and perspicuous
reader.
were, to take hold of
it
vainly
with
impression
the
awaken
o
hope
same
in
him the
said
of intensity and
degree
realness
It
is
for
this
reason
that
Agvaghosa and other
Mahayanists declare that the rising of consciousness
out of the abysmal depths of Suchness is felt by
Buddhas and other enlightened minds only that have
actually
through the experience. The why of
nobody can explain as much as the why
gone
ignorance
of Suchness
spiritual fact,
But when we personally experience this
we no more feel the need of harboring
any doubt about how or why Everything becomes
transparent, and the rays of supernatural enlightenment
shine like a halo round our spiritual personality.
move
the behest of Suchness,
as dictated by
by the Dharmakaya, and
and
satisfaction.
unique
in
which we
in the life of
e.,
feel infinite bliss
This religious experience
phenomenon
We
i.
is
the most
a sentient being.
CHAPTER
122
V.
Dualism and Moral
As we cannot
Evil.
think that the essence of the external
be other than that of our own mind, that
to say, as we cannot think subject and object to
world
is
be
to
is
naturally
our conclusion
in their ultimate nature,
different
the
that
same
of
principle
which gathers the clouds of subjectivity,
of
multitudinousness
Suchness
of
The
up the
the world-mind
in
phenomena
universe
in
Ignorance
its
calls
entirety
is
an
ginal
mind, and our limited mind with its transmarconsciousness is a microcosm. What the finite
mind
feels in its
infinite
inmost
self,
must
also
be what the
cosmic mind feels, nay, we can go one step further,
and say that when the human mind enters the region
lying beyond the border of subjectivity and objectivity,
communion with
in
is
it
whose
are
secrets
the heart of the universe,
revealed
here
without
reserve.
between
Buddhism does not make any distinction
knowing and being, enlightenment and
Suchness.
When
no more
clings to things particular,
Therefore,
in
the
mind
is
free
from ignorance and
it is said to be
harmony and even one with Suchness.
must, however, remember that ignorance
We
the
principle
of
individuation
expression of Suchness,
is
and
no moral
a
evil.
as
spontaneous
The awa-
kening of subjectivity or the dawn of consciousness
forms part of the necessary cosmic process. The
separation
of
of
subject and object, or the appearance
a phenomenal
world,
is
nothing but a realisation
CHAPTER
the
as
an
cannot
as
function
essential
world-totality.
well
in
help
and forming
and willing.
123
mind (Dharmakaya). As such Ignorance
of the cosmic
performs
V.
all
Ignorance
an
conceptions
do not
the evolution of
in
inherent in Buddhas
sentient beings.
perceiving
We
is
Every one of us
external
world (visaya)
and reasoning and feeling
see any moral fault here.
there is really anything morally wrong, then we
cannot do anything with it, we are utterly helpless
before it, for it is not our fault, but that of the
If
cosmic
soul
from which and
in
which we have our
being.
has produced everywhere a state of
and reciprocal dependence. Birth is insepar-
Ignorance
relativity
ably linked with death, congregation with segregation,
evolution with involution, attraction with repulsion,
the centripetal with the centrifugal force, the spring
with the
God
fall,
with
Devadatta,
evil,
Adam
Satan,
etc.,
with
Eve,
Buddha with
ad
infinitum. These are necesof existence; and if existence is an
ect.,
conditions
sary
the
the tide with the ebb, joy with sorrow,
they must be abolished, and with their abolition
very reason of existence is abolished, which
an impossibility as
means absolute nothingness,
of
work
as
The
exist.
we
ignorance in the world
long
of conditional
dhists
not
Suchness
is
quite innocent, and Bud-
do not recognise any
contaminated by
who speak
conceive
fault in its existence, if
confused
subjectivity.
Those
of the curse of existence, or those
Nirvana
to
who
be the abode of non-existence
CHAPTER
124
V.
and the happiness of absolute annihilation, are considered by Buddhists to be unable to understand the
significance of Ignorance.
there then no fault to be found with Ignorance
Is
Not
to
in
Ignorance
that
it,
is
It
object
take
are ignorant ot Ignorance.
cling to the dualism of subject
to
final
and act accordingly.
work of ignorance
the
?
but in our defiled attachment
when we
is,
wrong
as
itself,
forget the foundation on which
as
It is
wrong
ultimate and
stands.
it
and
It is
to
to
wrong,
thinking that the awakening of consciousness reveals
the whole world, to ignore the existence of unseen
follow
our
realities.
In
when we
try to realise the conclusions of ignorance
short,
evils
quickly
steps
without
knowing its true relation to Suchness.
Egoism is the most fundamental of all errors and evils.
When we
hindering the
light of intelligence from penetrating to the bottom
of reality, we usually understand the term ignorance
speak
of
as
ignorance
not in the philosophical sense of principium individuum,
but
in
sense
the
conceives
the
culminating
in
of
confused
work of Ignorance
egoism. So,
the principle of Ignorance
its
is
subjectivity,
unenlightened
as the
we might
is
which
final reality
say that while
philosophically justified,
actualisation
in
our practical
life
altogether unwarranted and brings on us a series
of dire calamities.
CHAPTER
VI.
THE TATHAGATA-GARBHA AND THE
ALAYA-VIJNANA.
CUCHNESS
existence,
as
manifestation.
as
is
viewed
is
it
(Bkutatathdtd), the ultimate principle of
known by so many different names,
in so many different phases of its
Suchness
constitutes
it
Dharma, when
the
existence
it
;
intelligence
of
Buddhahood
considered
is
it
the Bodhi
is
when
Nirvana,
;
the Essence of Buddhas,
is
reason
the
when
it
it
egoism and
Prajna (wisdom), when
it
of
considered
religiously
and wisdom
it
is
the
nature;
;
as
the source of
brings eternal peace
to a heart troubled with
course
its vile
intelligently
the Bodhicitta (intelligence-heart),
forms
;
when viewed
as transcending
summum bonum
the
ethical
all
(kugalam)^
the
is
;
the
it
is
fountain-head of love
the awakener of religious consciousness
(vacuity),
passions
directs
Dharmakaya, when
the
is
norm of
the
is
it
;
;
when
QunyatH
particular
when
its
Highest Truth
emphasised;
phase
(paramattha), when its epistemological feature is put
forward; the Middle Path (madhyamarga), when it
is
of
considered above the onesidedness and limitation
individual
(bhutakoti),
existences;
when
its
the
Essence
ontological aspect
is
of
Being
taken into
CHAPTER
126
account
;
VI.
Womb
the Tathagata- garbha (the
gata),
when
earth,
where
where
all
is
it
all
of Tatha-
thought of in analogy to mother
the germs of life are stored, and
'
precious stones and metals are concealed
under the cover of
Suchness
of
some
And
filth.
that
I
here
it
is
of this last aspect
to
propose
consider
at
length.
The Tathagata-Garbha and Ignorance.
Tathagata-Garbha
or treasure
or
literally
womb d
which the essence of Ta-
in
store,
means Tathagata's
thagatahood remains concealed under the veil of IgnoIt
rance.
may rightly be called the womb of uni-
from which issues forth the multitudinousness
verse,
of things, mental as well as physical.
The Tathagata-Garbha,
therefore,
may be
explained
ontologically as a state of Suchness quickened
by Ignorance and ready to be realised in the world of particulars, that is, when it is about to transform itself
to the duality of subject and object, though there is
yet no perceptible manifestation of motility in any
form. Psychologically,
man
just
is
it
the transcendental soul of
coming under the bondage of the law of
Though pure and free in its nature
karmaic causation
as the
1
expression of Suchness in man, the transcen-
Cf. tt&
Bhagavad&ta
"The Brahman
From
that,
O
is
a
(S.
womb
descendant
B
E. Vol. VIII, chap. XIV, p. 107):
me, in which I cast the seed.
is
the birth of all
of Bharata
for
all
!
Of the bodies,
son of Kunti which are born from
wombs, the main womb is the great Brahman, and I am
things.
the father, the giver of the seed."
!
CHAPTER
VI.
127
dental soul or pure intelligence
is
now
influenced
by
the principle of birth- and-death and subjects itself to
As
determinations.
organic
and
differentiation
actualised
is
a
in
It
desire,
will
then,
absoffirc^
own
is
laws
unfold
;
it
pheno-
particularisation.
essence of Tathagatahood, however,
whenever
are able to feel
its
the
it
hunger,
material
Garbha
works under the constraint of
intact, and,
will
its
its
its
\
phase
all
considered, since the
menal
is
a
long for liberation,
then no more of the
freedom of Suchness, as long as
/
alone
is
to
beginning
Here
jtruggle inwardly.
there
however, as soon as
and even be annoyed by
strive,
Xlapndfew and
that
form,
special
yet devoid of
is
save
will,
particularities subject to their
it
is,
limitation,
bare possibility of them
it
it
is
is
The
here preserved
possible, our finite
minds
presence and power. Hypothetic-
Garbha
always in association
with passions and desires that are of Ignorance.
read in the frimdld-Sutra : "With the storage
therefore,
ally,
is
We
we find the Tathagata-Garbha,
"The Dharmakaya of the Tath^gata not detached
of passions attached
or,
from the storage of passions is called TathagataGarbha." In Buddhism, passion or desire or sin (kief a)
is generally used in contrast to intelligence or Bodhi
or
Nirvana.
represents
a
As
the
particular
latter,
religiously
manifestation
considered,
in the
human
mind of the Dharmakaya or Bhutatathata, so the former
a reflection of universal Ignorance in the microcosm.
Therefore, the human soul in which, according to
is
Buddhism, intelligence and desire are merged, should
128
CHAPTER
regarded as an
Garbha. And it is
in this capacity that the
individuation of the Tathagata-
be
is
VI.
Garbha
called Alayavijndna.
The Alayavijndna and
As we have
Soul
is
of the
seen, the Alayavijnana or All-Conserving
a particularised expression in the
It
Tathagata-Garbha.
reflex of the cosmic Garbha.
the Alaya
as
Evolution.
its
is
It is
human mind
an individual, ideal
this
"psychic germ,"
often designated, that stores
is
which are set
^1
the
motion oy the
possibilities,
impetus of an external world, which works on the
mental
in
Alaya through the six senses (vijndna).
Mahayanism
make
and
is
idealistic
essentially
and does not
a radical, qualitative distinction between subject
object,
thought
and
mind and
being,
nature,
consciousness and energy. Therefore, the being and
activity of the Alaya are essentially those of the
Garbha; and again,
as
the
Garbha
the joint cre-
is
and Suchness, so is the
Alaya the product of desire (klega} and wisdom (bodki).
The Garbha and the Alaya, however, are each in
ation of universal Ignorance
itself
innocent
state
existing
and absolutely irresponsible for the
of affairs.
And let it be remarked
here that Buddhism does not
condemn
this life
and
some
reli-
universe for their wickedness as was done by
gious teachers and philosophers.
edness
is
The
not radical in nature and
superficial.
It
is
the
and when they are
so-called wickis
merely
work of ignorance and
desire,
life.
It
converted to do service for the
CHAPTER
they
Bodhi,
cease
129
wicked
be
to
VI.
or sinful or
evil.
Buddhists, therefore, strongly insist on the innate and
intrinsic
Says
75)
:
goodness of the Alaya and the Garbha
Agvaghosa in his Awakening of Faith
"In the All- Conserving Soul (Alaya}
(p.
Ignorance
and from non-enlightenment [thus produced]
that which sees, that which represents, that
obtains,
starts
which apprehends an objective world, and that which
constantly particularises." Here we have the evolution
of the Garbha in
other
words,
psychological manifestation; in
its
we
have
When
here
the
evolution
Alayavijnana.
under the influence of birth-and-death
no longer
(samatd)
(visayiri)
;
retains
its
but there
of the
Garbha or Alaya comes
the
(samsdra),
it
primeval indifference or sameness
come
to exist
and that which
is
that
which sees
seen (visaya),
and an objective world. From
these two forms of existence, we
the
a
mind
interaction
have
now
of
before
of the universe swiftly
our eyes the entire panorama
and noiselessly moving with its never-tiring steps
A most favorite simile with Buddhists to illustrate
incessant
these
is
to
activities
compare them
of the phenomenal world,
waves that are seen for-
to the
ever rolling in a boundless ocean, while the body of
waters which make up the ocean is compared to
up the waves to
the principle of birth-and-death or ignorance which
So we read in the Lankdvatdra
is the same thing
Suchness,
Sutra
:
and
the wind
that stirs
CHAPTER
I3O
VI.
"Like unto the ocean-waves,
Which by a raging storm maddened
Against the rugged precipice strike
Without interruption;
Even so
in the
Alaya-sea
Stirred by the objectivity-wind
All kinds of mentation-waves
1
Arise a-dancing, a-rolling."
But
all
the psychical activities
full
view, should not be conceived
the
Mind
(citta)
It
itself.
is
thus
brought into
from
as different
merely
in
the nature of
our understanding that we think of attributes apart
from their substance, the latter being imagined to
be in possession and control of the former. There
is,
however,
of
its
no substance per se, independent
and no attributes detached from that
in fact
attributes,
which unites them. And
tal
conceptions
in-itself
tions
etc.
this is
of Buddhism,
considered apart
from
one of the fundamenthat there
its
is
no
soul-
various manifesta-
such as imagination, sensation, intellectuation,
The innumerable ripples and waves and billows
of mentation
that
are
stirred in
the depths of the
Tathagata-Garbha, are not things foreign or external
to it, but they are all particular expressions of the
same essence, they are working out its immanent
destiny. So continues the Lankdvatdra Sutra
:
1
This
is
translated from
Sanskrit reads as follows
the Chinese of
Qksananda; the
:
"Taranga hi udadher yadvat pavanapratyaya irita,
Nrtyamanah pravartante vyucchedag ca na vidhyate
Alayodhyas tatha nityam visayapavana iritah,
Cittais tarangavijnanair nrtyamanah pravartate."
:
CHAPTER
VI.
131
"The saline crystal and its red-bluishness,
The milky sap and its sweetness,
Various flowers and their fruits,
The sun and the moon and their luminosity
These are neither separable nor inseparable.
:
As waves are stirred in the water,
Even so the seven modes of mentation
Are awakened in the Mind and united with
it.
When
We
the waters are troubled in the ocean,
have waves that roll each in its own way:
So with the Mind All-Conserving.
When
stirred, therein diverse mentations arise
Manas, and Manovijfiana.
Citta,
These we distinguish as attributes,
In substance they differ not from each other
:
;
For they are neither attributing nor attributed.
The sea-water and the waves,
One varies not from the other:
It is even so with the Mind and its activities
Between them difference nowhere obtains.
;
Citta
is
Manas
karma-accumulating,
an objective world,
reflects
is the faculty of judgment,
Vijnanas are the differentiating senses."
Manovijfiana
The
1
From
five
the Chinese.
The
Sanskrit reads as follows
tha lavane gankhe ksire ca carkare,
Kasayaih phalapuspadyaih kirana yatha bhaskare
No nyena ca nananyena taranga hi udadher mata
VijSanani tatha sapta, cittena saha samyukta.
"Nile rakte
*
:
:
:
'
;
Udadheh parinamo sau taranganam vicitrata,
Alayam hi tatha cittam vijnanakhyam pravartate;
Cittam manac ca vijfianam laksanartham prakalpyate
'
na laksya na ca laksana.
Udadhec. ca taranganam yatha nasti vigesana.
Vijnananam tatha citte parinamo na labhyate.
Cittena ciyate karmah, manasa ca viciyate,
Abhinna laksana
Vijnanena
hi astau
vijanati,
drcyam kalpeti pancabhih."
;
The Manas.
The
Alayavijfiana
which
sometimes, as
is
called
the
in
citta (mind),
is,
preceding quotations, simply
no more than a state of Suchness, allowing
as such,
itself to
death,
i.
be influenced by the principle of birth-andand there has in it taken
e., by Ignorance
;
place as yet
no "awakening" or
"stirring
is
up"
When
from which results a consciousness.
(vttti),
Manas
the
evolved, however, we have a sign of mentality there-
by
set in motion,
for
the Manas, according
to
Mahayanists, marks the dawn of consciousness
the
in the
universe.
The Manas, deriving
from the Citta or Alaya,
an
external
distinction
world,
between
be
itself,
self-reflecting,
reflects
me and
the
when
is
in
a
conscious
it
sense
center
and the Alaya
this
nothing but an unfoldment
said really to
discriminates between sub-
not yet conscious
is
latter
comes
The Alaya
to
the
of self-consciousness.
(or Citta) are not
two
to realise
perhaps to
Kantian "ego of
transcendental apperception"; while the
actual
of the
But since
Manas must be
the state of self-awareness.
compared
as well as on
it
not- me.
If the Alaya
ject and object.
of itself, the Manas is, as the
be
on
and becomes
not-I or external world
of the Alaya
reason of consciousness
its
is
Manas
is
the
But the Manas
different things in
the sense that
one emanates from the other or that
one
by the
is
created
other.
It
is
better to under-
CHAPTER
VI.
133
stand the Manas as a state or condition of the Citta
in its evolution.
Manas
Now, the
of
capable
the
to
of
and
awakens the desire
to cling
harbors
egoism,
it
individuation,
wills
it
;
contemplative, but
and creates
principle of birth-and-death,
forever
Therefore,
departed.
marks the beginning of concrete,
really
:
for
there
is
and the absolute identity of Suchness
in its full force,
here
It
prejudice
the
Ignorance,
is
not only
volition.
state
passion,
is
the
Manas
particularising
consciousness-waves in the eternal ocean of the All-
Conserving Mind. The mind which was hitherto
indifferent and neutral here acquires a full consciousness
;
ego and non-ego; feels pain
and pleasure clings to that which is agreeable and
shrinks from that which is disagreeable urges activities
between
discriminates
;
;
according to judgments, false or truthful; memorises
in
what has been experienced, and stores it all:
mentation come into play
with the awakening of the Manas.
According to Agvaghosa, with the evolution of
Manas
the
modes
the
all
short,
there
of
arise
five
activities
which characterise
are
motility
( i )
:
karma;
to
(5)
the
(2)
respond
;
,
that
power
(4)
the
is
important psychical
human mind. They
the capability of
to perceive;
power
Through
Manas is
individuality.
the
to
(3)
creating
the
discriminate
power
;
and
the exercise of these five
able
to
create
functions,
the
to
to be a perceiving subject, to respond to
its
will,
according
the stimuli of an external world, to deliver judgments
CHAPTER
134
over
what
retain
to
it
all
VI.
and what
likes
it
and to mature them
the
for
and
dislikes,
own "karma-seeds"
its
in
finally
the
past
according
future,
to
circumstances.
With the advent of the Manas, the
the Citta
tion
The
is
complete. Practically,
it
is
evolution of
the
of mentality, for self-consciousness
will
and the
can affirm
its
is
ripe
now.
ego-centric, dualistic activities,
can exercise
intellect
consumma-
its
discriminating, rea-
soning, and image-retaining faculties. The Manas now
becomes the center of psychic coordination. It receiv-
messages from the six senses and pronounces
over the impressions whatever judgments, intellectual
or volitional, which are needed at the time for its
es
own
and,
conservation.
It
also reflects
there
perceiving
to
the
on
its
presence
own sanctum,
of
the
Alaya,
the conclusion that herein
lies
wrongfully jumps
the real, ultimate ego-soul, from which it derives the
notions of authority, unity, and permanency.
As is evident, the Manas is a double-edged sword.
It
may
destroy
conception, or
itself
it
by
clinging to the error of ego-
may, by a judicious exercise of
its
reasoning faculty, destroy all the misconceptions that
arise from a wrong interpretation of the principle of
The Manas destroys itself by being overwhelmed by the dualism of ego and alter, by taking
them for final, irreducible realities, and by thus fosIgnorance.
tering absolute ego-centric thoughts
making
religiously
and
desires,
and by
a willing prey of an indomitable egoism,
and morally. On the other hand, when it
itself
CHAPTER
VI.
135
sees an error in the conception of the absolute reality
when
of individuals,
in the
dualism of
raison
the
i.
perceives a play of Ignorance
not-me, when
existence
in
e.,
Alaya which
the
that
of
d'etre
Tathagatahood,
it
me and
recognises
essence of
when
Suchness,
is
it
the
in
the
cosmic
realises
mistaken for the ego
more than an innocent and irreproachable
of
it
Garbha,
once
at
it
is
no
reflection
transcends the
sphere of particularity and becomes the very harbinger
of eternal enlightenment.
Buddhists, therefore,
in the evolution
in
faulty
the
do not see any error or
evil
of the Mind (dlaya). There is nothing
awakening of consciousness, in the
dualism of subject and object, in the individualising
operation of birth-and-death (samsdra), only so long
our
as
Manas keeps aloof from the contamination
The
of false egoism.
ates every fiber
and
gravest error, however, permeof our mind with all its wickedness
soon as the nature
irrationality, as
ution of the Alaya
of the evol-
wrongfully interpreted by
abuse of the functions of the Manas. *
is
the
A little digression here. It has frequently been affirmed
of the ethics of Mahayanism that as it has a nihilistic tendency
its morality turns towards asceticism ignoring the significance
1
of the sentiment
and
instinct
It
is
killed,
nor
is
they do not understand
is
true
when
perfectly agrees with Vedantism
"If the killer thinks that he kills,
if
;
Wu
Mahayanism
:
the killed thinks that he
for this
that one killed." (The Katopanishad,
in non-action (Laotzean
that
the latter declares
one does not kill,
19.) This belief
II
Wei} apparently denies the ex-
istence of a world of relativity, but he will be a superficial
critic who will stop short at this absolute aspect of Mahayana
CHAPTER
136
VI.
Though Mahayanism most emphatically
denies the
existence of a personal ego which is imagined to be
lodging within the body and to be the spiritual master
of
does not necessarily follow that it denies the
unity of consciousness or personality or individuality.
it,
it
In fact, the
most
a
assumption of Manovijnana by Buddhists
conclusively proves that they have an ego in
sense,
the
denial of
whose empirical existence
tantamount to the denial of the most concrete
of our
daily experiences.
negated by them
final,
more
to
ultimate
fully
is
is
most
facts
persistently
not the existence of ego, but
But
reality.
we have
What
to
discuss
is
this
its
subject
chapter below devoted
a special
"Atman."
The Samkhya Philosophy and Mahayanism
If
we draw
philosophy
a
and
between the Samkhya
comparison
Mahayanism,
the Alayavijnana
may
philosophy and refuses to consider its practical side. As we
have seen above, Buddhists do not conceive the evolution of
the Manovijnana as a fault on the part of the cosmic mind,
nor do they think the assertion of Ignorance altogether wrong
and morally evil. Therefore, Mahayanism does not deny the
claim of reality to the world of the senses, though of course
relatively, and not absolutely.
Again, "Tat tvam asi" (thou art it) or "I am the Buddha"
this assertion, though arrogant it may seem to some, is
perfectly justifiable in the realm of absolute identity, where
the serene light of Suchness alone pervades. But when we
descend on earth and commingle in the hurly-burly of our
dualistic life, we cannot help suffering from its
practical,
mundane
limitations.
loss of the dearest,
We
we
hunger,
feel
we
thirst,
we
grieve at the
remorse over errors committed.
CHAPTER
be
an
considered
VI.
137
unification of Soul
(purusa)
and
Nature (prakrti\ and the Manovijnana a combination
of
Buddhi
Ahankara
(intellect)
or
Mahat
According to the Sdmkhyakarika
(ego).
the essential nature of Prakrti
or,
(great element) with
is
to use Buddhist phraseology,
while
of
that
Purusa
is
(i i),
the power of creation,
it
is
witnessing
blind activity;
(saksitvd) and
(The Kdrika, 19.) A modern
say, Purusa is intelligence and
perceiving (drastttva).
philosopher
Prakrti
the
blended
Geist
in
would
will
and when they are combined and
make Hartmann's Unbewusste
;
one, they
(unconscious
The All-Conserving Mind
spirit).
(Alaya) in a certain sense resembles the Unconscious,
as
the manifestation of Suchness, the principle
is
it
of enlightenment, in its evolutionary aspect as conditioned
by Ignorance; and Ignorance apparently
Mahayanism does not teach the annihilation of those human
passions and feelings.
There was once a recluse-philosopher, who was considered
by the
villagers
desires and
to
human
have completely vanquished all natural
ambitions
They almost worshipped him
and thought him to be superhuman. One day early in Winter,
a devotee approached him and reverentially inquired after his
health.
The sage at once responded in verse
:
"A hermit truly I am, world-renounced
Yet when the ground is white with snow,
;
A
A
so
false
many
them
into
chill
goes through
me and
I
shiver."
conception of religious saintliness as cherished by
pious-hearted, but withal ignorant, minds, has led
some of the grossest
superstitions,
whose curse
is
Our earthly life has so many
lingering even among us.
The ills that the flesh is heir to
limitations and tribulations.
still
must be relieved by some material,
scientific
methods.
CHAPTER
138
the
to
corresponds
The
activity.
VI.
the
as
will
Samkhya
philosophy
an
is
blind
of
principle
avowed
and permits the existence of two principles
dualism
independent of each other. Mahayanism is fundamentally monistic and .makes Ignorance merely a condition
necessary
*
to the unfolding of Suchness
what the Samkhya
splits into two,
together in one.
So is the parallelism
between
and Buddi and Ahankara.
Buddhi,
Therefore,
Mahayanism puts
the
Manovijnana,
is
intellect,
de-
adhyavasdya (Kdrika, 23), while Ahankara
interpreted as abhimanas (Kdrika, 24), which is
fined
is
as
evidently self-consciousness.
of adhyavasdya,
"ascertainment,"
clear
is
divergence
"judgment,"
of
to the exact
;
it
dawn of
meaning
of opinion
"determination,"
the
English
But the inner signification
enough
indicates the
:
"ap-
equivalents
of Buddhi
awakening of knowl-
shedding of
on the dark recesses of unconsciousness so the
edge, the
light
As
a
is
some
are
prehension"
chosen for it.
there
rationality,
the
first
;
commentators give as the synonyms mati (understandthe
jndnam, prajnd, etc
or
intelliwhich
mean
these,
knowledge
gence, being also technical terms of Mahayanism. And,
as we have seen above, these senses are what the
ing),
last
khydti
(cognition),
,
two of
Buddhists
give
to
their
Manovijnana, save that the
That the Buddhist Ignorance corresponds to the Samkhya
Prakrti can be seen also from the fact that some Samkhya
commentators give to Prakrti as its synonyms such terms as
fdktt (energy) which reminds of karma or sankara, tamas
(darkness), mayd, and even the very word avidya (ignorance)
1
CHAPTER
latter
has
addition
in
139
VI.
the faculty
of discriminating
between teum and meum, while in the Samkhya this
is reserved for Ahankara.
Thus, here, too, in place
of the
Samkhya
Another
we have the Buddhist unity.
we have to take notice here in
dualism,
point
comparing the two great Hindu religio-philosophical
systems,
the
that
is
Samkhya philosophy
pluralises
the Soul (purusa, Kdrika, 18), while Buddhism postulates one universal Citta or Alaya.
According to
the followers of Kapila,
many
souls
as
there
therefore,
are
there must be as
and
individuals,
at
every
must be
departure or advent of an individual there
assumed a corresponding soul passing away or coming
into existence, though we do not know its whence
and whither. Buddhism, on the other hand, denies the
existence of any individual mind apart from the AllConserving Mind (Alaya] which
The
universal. Individu-
appears
awakening of the Manovijnana.
quintessence of the Mind is Suchness and is not
subject to the limitations
as the law of causation.
itself
itself
in
the
world
of time and space as well
But as
soon
as
of particularisation,
becoming
and,
thereby,
to individual souls
1
is
at the
ality first
specialised,
it
it
asserts
negates
gives rise
'
This view of the
oneness of the Alaya or Citta (mind)
not be acceptable to some Mahayanists, particularly to
those who advocate the Yogacara philosophy but the present
may
;
author
typical
here trying to expound a more orthodox and more
and therefore more widely-recognised doctrine of
is
Mahayanism,
i.
e..
that of Acvaghosa.
CHAPTER
VII.
THE THEORY OF NON-ATMAN OR NON-EGO.
TF
I
am
of
requested to formulate the ground-principles
of
the philosophy
indeed, of
all
Mahayana Buddhism, and,
the schools of Buddhism,
gest the following
(1) All is
I
would sug-
:
momentary (sarvam ksanikam),
(2) All
is
empty (sarvam $unyam).
(3) All
is
All
is
without self (sarvam andtmam).
such as it is (sarvam tathdtvam).
(4)
These four
tenets, as
related that, stand
one and the same
or
it
fall,
were, are so closely interinevitably share
all
they
Whatever
fate together.
views the various schools of Buddhism
points of minor importance, they
all
different
hold on
may
concur at least
on these four principal propositions.
Of these
four
the
propositions,
first,
the second,
and the fourth have been elucidated above, more or
If the existence of a relative world
less explicitly.
work of ignorance and
reality, it must be considered
is
as
the
though
account
it
does
our
life
not
is
illusory
necessarily
not worth
such has no
follow
living.
final
and empty
on this
;
that
We
must not
CHAPTER
confuse
moral
the
VII.
141
of existence with the on-
value
problem of its phenomenality. It all depends
on our subjective attitude whether or not our world
and life become full of significance
When the illu-
tological
siveness or phenomenality of individual existences
is
and we
use the world accordingly, that is,
granted
"as not abusing it," we escape the error and curse
of egoism and take things as they are presented to
us, as
more
forms
to
cling
Dharma
the
reflecting
of
of Suchness.
particularity
as
We
no
something
ultimate and absolutely real and as that in which lies
the essence of our
they are, and
We
life.
recognise
take
lies
and do not go any
not hidden behind
further.
them,
for such as
reality only in so far
their
as they are considered a partial
ness,
them
realisation of
Such-
Suchness, indeed,
but exists immanently
Things are empty and illusory so long as
they are particular things and are not thought of in
reference to the All that is Suchness and Reality.
in them.
From
it
this,
of relativity
all is
logically
follows that in this world
momentary, that nothing is permanent,
so far as isolated, particular existences are concerned.'
Even independently
of the statement
the doctrine of universal impermanency
self-evident
not
require
validity.
any
The
opment of the
has
is
an almost
truth experienced everywhere, and does
special demonstration to prove
desire
for
conspicuous and persistent
desire
made above,
immortality
which
so
in all the stages of devel-
religious consciousness that the
been thought
is
its
to
very
be the essence of all
CHAPTER
142
on
things
becoming,
and
in
be
this
a
in
naturally
Why
changeable?
a
as
granted
we
experience,
constant
of
fact
flux
of
"Why
so
fleeting?
everyday
are things so
What
is
it
mutable and transitory?" To
things
the Buddhist's answer is: Because the universe
this,
a
are
so
resultant
product of
efficient forces that
many
the
according to different karmas
those forces being that no one force or
one set of forces can constantly be predominant
acting
destiny
no
over
all
;
of
when one has exhausted
the others, but that
karma,
potential
has
been steadily
Hence the
it
is
replaced by another that
coming forward
cadence
in the
there
attraction,
centripetal
force,
Because
it
is
moment
of birth
neck
of
rhythmic
life.
is
the
The
of
repulsion;
there
law
the
birth
is
of
Where
where
the
there
there
is
centrifugal
karma
that
is
the
force.
at the very
arms of death are around the
universe
manifestation
to
meantime.
and death,
of the tide and the ebb,
universal
of the spring and the fall,
of integration and disintegration.
in
our
ask:
life
is
makes
that
its
are
that there is nothing permanent or
our individual existences; if otherwise,
would never have sought for immortality.
people
is
the most conclusive proof that
earth
this
stationary
If
is.
systems,
religious
VII.
of
is
nothing but a grand
certain
forces
working
their
conformity
predetermined laws; or, to
use Buddhist terminology, this lokadhdtu (material
world) consists in a concatenation of hetus (causes)
and pratyayas (conditions) regulated by
their
karma.
CHAPTER
were not
this
If
VII.
143
would be either a certain
so, there
which perfect equilibrium
things
would be maintained, or an inexpressible confusion
of things of which no knowledge or experience
fixed
of
state
would
have
in
be possible.
the
In
former case,
latter
case,
nothing but absolute chaos.
we have the world before
be
cannot
the
Now,
is
non-ego
relations
Therefore, so long as
us, in which all the
otherwise
than
in a state of
and therefore of universal
vicissitudes
Buddhist
this
If
:
obtaining
sometimes
act
should
of particularisation are manifested
varieties
possible
it
we
stagnation and eternal death; in the
there would be no universe, no life,
universal
in
argument
transitoriness.
the
for
individual existences
between diverse
unison
with
constant
theory of
are due to
which
forces,
sometimes
and
in
opposition to one another as predetermined by their
karma, they cannot be said to have any transcendental
agency behind them, which is a permanent unity
and absolute dictator. In other words, there is no
atman
no
or
ego-soul behind our mental activities, and
thing-in-itself
(svabhdva),
so
to
speak,
behind
each particular form of existence. This is called the
Buddhist theory of non-atman or non-ego.
Atman
Buddhists
first,
1
use the term "atman"
in the sense of personal ego,
Pudgala or pudgalasamjna
yanists as a
synonym
is
of atman.
!
in
two senses
and secondly,
:
in
sometimes used by Maha-
The Buddhist atman
in the
CHAPTER
144
of
that
use
with a slight modifiaccepted meaning. Let us
thing-in-itself, perhaps,
of
cation
VII.
commonly
its
"atman
term
the
to
equivalent
"
here
bhutalman,
in
for
its
we
treat of the doctrine of non-ego,
first
sense
are going
and
first
as
to
later of that of
no-thing-in-itself.
Atman
and
usually translated "life," "ego," or "soul,"
is
and
philosophers
the
at
the
used
is
does
that they
When
later one,
which
self
not
is
in its
used
both
But we
Buddhists.
beginning
the same sense.
cially
term
technical
a
is
'
by Vedanta
have
to note
do not use the term
in
the Vedanta philosophy, espe-
speaks of atman as our inmost
identical with the universal
Brahma, it
most abstract metaphysical sense and
mean
the
soul whatever, as the
latter is
sense of ego-substratum may be considered to correspond to
the Vedantist Jivatman, which is used in contradistinction to
Paramatman, the supreme being or Brahma.
1
Mahayana Buddhists generally understand the essential
atman to consist in freedom, and by freedom
characteristic of
they
mean
absolute unity, and supreme authority.
transitory is not free, as it is conditioned by
and therefore it has no atman.
being that
eternality,
A
is
is
an aggregate
being that
other beings,
A
of elemental
matter or
forms of energy
is
not absolute, for it is a state of mutual relationship, and
therefore it has no atman. Again, a being that has no authoritative command over itself and other beings, is not free, for
be subjected to a power other than itself, and therehas no atman. Now, take anything that we come
across in this world of particulars
and does it not possess
one or all of these three qualities transitoriness, compositeness, and helplessness or dependence ? Therefore, all concrete
individual existences not excepting human beings have no
atman, have no ego, that is eternal, absolute, and supreme.
it
will
fore
it
;
:
CHAPTER
commonly understood by
hand,
Buddhists
VII.
145
vulgar minds.
understand
On
by atman
the other
this vulgar,
conception of the soul (bkutdtman] and
denies
its
existence as such. If we, for
positively
convenience' sake, distinguish between phenomenal
materialistic
and noumenal
in
our
atman of Buddhism
or
soul, the
the phenomenal ego, namely,
supposed to do the acting,
is
concrete agent that
a
of ego
notion
is
and feeling; while the atman of Vedantists
thinking,
noumenal ego as the raison d' etre of our
psychical life. The one is in fact material, however
the
is
ethereal
might be conceived. The other
it
conception
metaphysical
human
discursive
knowledge.
Paramatman
Jivatman.
The
is
a universal soul from which,
Vedantism, emanates
and in a certain sense
this
to
according
phenomena,
it
people
mental
is
as
the ego-soul as
an
it is
independent
activities.
It
is
this
world
may be
of
said
Buddhism.
to correspond to the Tathagata-garbha of
Jivatman
be
may
latter
Paramatman and the former with
with
identified
a highly
reach of
is
transcending the
conceived by ignorant
entity
latter
all
the
that
was
directing
atman
found to be void by Buddha when he arose from his
long meditation, declaring
"Many a life to
Long quest, no
:
transmigrate,
rest,
hath been
my
fate,
!
Tent-designer inquisitive for :
Painful birth from state to state.
Tent-designer is a figurative term for the ego-soul. Following the prevalent error, the Buddha at first made an
1
10
CHAPTER
146
know
I
"Tent-designer!
VII.
Never again to build
thee now;
art
thou
:
Quite out are all thy joyful fires,
Rafter broken and roof-tree gone,
dead
Gain eternity
desires."
l
Buddha's First Line of Inquiry.
\
Buddhism
the
in
finds the source of
material
vulgar
and concentrates
all
evils
conception
entire
and sufferings
of the ego-soul,
upon the
destruction of the ego-centric notions and desires.
The Buddha seems, since the beginning of his wanits
ethical
force
dering life, to have conceived the idea that the way
of salvation must lie somehow in the removal of
this
egoistic
liberated
for
prejudice,
from
its
we
curse
so
as
long
are liable to
prey of the three venomous passions
:
we
are not
become
the
covetousness,
and anger, and to suffer the misery of
birth and death and disease and old age. Thus, when
he received his first instructions from the Samkhya
infatuation,
philosopher,
Arada, he was not
not teach how
The Buddha argued:
did
ego-soul,
satisfied,
abandon
to
because he
this ego-soul itself.
"I consider that the
embodied
though freed from the evolvent-evolutes,
2
earnest search after the ego that was supposed to be snugly
sitting behind our mental experiences, and the result was
this utterance.
by A. J. Edmunds.
term of Samkhya
Prakrtivikrtayas.
philosophy and means the modes of Prakrti, as evolved from
See Satis Chandra Banarji,
it and as further evolving on.
1
The Dharmapada,
2
Samkhya-Phzlosophy,
vs.
p.
154. Tr.
153
This
a technical
is
XXXIII
et seq.
CHAPTER
is
still
the
to
subject
as
is
it
147
of
condition
the
birth
and has
The seed may remain
condition of a seed.
mant so long
VII.
dor-
deprived of the opportunity
of coming into contact with the requisite conditions
of quickening and being quickened, but since its
germinating power has not been destroyed, it will
all
develop
surely
brought
into
that
necessary
so
ego- soul
long
absolute
free
the
as
it
is
Even though
contact.
from entanglement
bondage of Prakrti] is declared to be
the
soon as
potentialities as
its
e.
[i.
from the
liberated, yet,
remains, there can be no
ego-soul
abandonment of
it,
there
abandonment of egoism."
The Buddha then proceeds
can be no real
1
to indicate the path
through which he reached his final conclusion and
declares: "There is no real separation of the qualities
and their subject for fire cannot be conceived apart
;
from
logically
and form."
heat
its
carried
it
out,
When
this
argument
nowhere but
leads
is
to the
non-atman,
says: The"-'
conceived
cannot
be
of an ego-soul
apart
Buddhist
existence
that
of
doctrine
from sensation, perception, imagination, intelligence,
volition, etc., and, therefore, it is absurd to think
that
there
is
an
To
imagine
from
its
that
there
that
qualities,
is
individual
independent
which makes our consciousness
an
soul-agent
its
object
workshop.
can be abstracted
not only logically but in reality,
some unknown quantity
that
is
in
1
The passages quoted here as well as one in the next paragraph are taken from A^vaghosa's Buddhacarita.
CHAPTER
148
whereby
(laksana)
and
such
of
possession
VII.
such
characteristic
makes
it
itself
marks
perceivable
by
our senses, says Buddhism, is wrong and unwarranted
by reason. Fire cannot be conceived apart from its
form and heat; waves cannot be conceived apart
from the water and its commotion the wheel cannot
;
exist outside of
made
are
thus,
and conditions,
is
impossible
soul
rim, spokes, axle, etc. All things,
its
and pratyayas, of causes
of qualities and attributes; and it
of hetus
our
for
pudgala
or atman or ego or
to be any exception to this universal condition
of things.
me
Let
in
connection
this
state
an
interesting
incident in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Hui-K'e,
the
second patriarch
was troubled with
He was
version.
Confucianism
of the
Dhyana
sect in China,
ego-problem before his confirst a
faithful Confucian, but
this
at
did not
satisfy
all
his spiritual wants.
was wavering between agnosticism and
scepticism, and consequently he felt an unspeakable
His
soul
anguish in his inmost heart. When he learned of
the arrival of Bodhidharma in his country, he hastened
to his monastery
spiritual
word,
tation.
advice.
and implored him to give him some
But Bodhidharma did not utter a
seemingly absorbed in his deep mediHui-K'e, however, was determined to obtain
being
from him some religious instructions at all hazards.
So it is reported that he was standing at the same
spot seven days and nights, when he at last cut off
left arm with the sword he was carrying (being
his
CHAPTER
a military officer) and placed
"This arm is a token of
VII.
149
before Dharma, saying
my sincere desire to be
it
:
Holy Doctrine. My soul is troubled
and annoyed; pray let your grace show me the way
to pacify it." Dharma quietly arose from his meditainstructed in the
"Where
and said:
tion
and
have
will
I
been searching
succeeded
in
exclaimed:
it
this,
across
is
your soul? Bring it here
pacified." Hui-K'e replied: "I have
it
for
all
it
a
laying
"There,
I
is
these years, but
hand on
it."
I
have never
Dharma then
have your soul pacified!" .At
said, a flash of spiritual enlightenment went
the
mind of Hui-K'e, and
pacified once for
his
"soul
M/
was
all.
The Skandhas.
When
the five skandhas are combined according to
karma and present a temporal existence
their previous
in the
form of a sentient being, vulgar minds imagine
that they have here an individual entity sustained
an
by
immortal
ego-substratum. In fact, the material
body (rupakaya) alone is not what makes the egosoul, nor the sensation (vedana), nor the deeds (sans-
nor the consciousness (vifndna), nor the conception (samjna) but only when they are all combined
kara),
;
in
this
a
form they make a sentient being. Yet
combination is not the work of a certain indecertain
pendent entity, which, according to its own will,
combines the five skandhas in one form and then
hides itself in
it.
The combination of
the constituent
CHAPTER
I5O
elements,
selves
Buddhism
declares,
karma.
their
after
VII.
achieved by themnumber of
is
When
a certain
atoms of hydrogen and of oxygen are brought together, they attract each other on their own accord
or
owing to
to
bring
own karma, and
their
The ego
water.
the
two elements and make
the
them. Even so
result
is
of water, so to speak, did not will
is
itself
out of
with the existence of a sentient
it
no need of hypostasising a fabulous ego-monster behind the combination of the five
being, and there
is
skandhas.
Skandha (khanda
or
in Pali) literally
is
it
exegetists,
is
an
*
according to the Chinese
called
so, because our personal
aggregate of the five constituent
and,
"aglomeration",
existence
means "aggregate'
elements of being, because it comes to take a definite
form when the skandhas are brought together
according to their previous karma. The first of the
individual
five
ity
aggregates
is
is
matter (rupa), whose essential qual-
thought to consist in resistance.
The
material
of our existence in the five sense-organs called
indryas: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and the body.
part
The second skandha
'
,
is
called
impression (vedand), which
sensation
results
or sense-
from the contact
of the six vijfianas (senses) with the visaya (external
world).
The
third
we
called
is
to our conception.
It
is
samjnd which corresponds
by which
the psychic power
are enabled to form the abstract images of par-
ticular objects.
The
fourth
is
sanskdra which may be
rendered action or deed. Our intelligent consciousness,
CHAPTER
VII.
151
responding to impressions received which are either
agreeable
or
or indifferent, acts accor-
disagreeable
dingly; and these
bear
acts
fruit
the
in
coming
generations.
Sanskara, the fourth constituent of being, comprises
two categories, mental
And
(caitta)
mental
the
prayukta).
fundamental (mahdbkumi),
evil
(klega),
and
and non-mental
is
good
(cittavi-
subdivided into six
:
(kugala], tormenting
tormenting minor (upaklega),
(aniyata). It may be interesting to
(aku$ala),
indefinite
enumerate what
all
these sankaras are, as they shed
light on the practical ethics of Buddhism.
There are ten fundamental sanskaras
to
belonging
I
category of mental or psychic activities
the
:
cetana
2.
sparga (contact), 3. chanda
mati (understanding), 5. smrti (recollec-
(mentation),
(desire),
tion),
6.
4.
manaskara
(concentration),
(unfettered intelligence),
good sanskaras are:
ten
.
8.
samadhi
I.
adhimoksa
7.
The
("meditation).
graddha
(faith),
2.
virya
4. hri (modesty),
3.
upeksa (complacency),
apatrapa (shame), 6 alobha (non-covetousness), 7.
advesa (freedom from hatred), 8. ahimsa (gentleness
of heart), 9. pragradbhi (mental repose), 10. apramada
(energy),
5.
(attentiveness).
The six tormenting sanskaras are as
moha (folly), 2. pramada (wantonness),
(indolence), 4. ac.raddhya (scepticism),
5.
follows
3.
:
I
.
kausidya
styana (sloth-
fulness), 6.
auddhatpa (unsteadiness).
The two minor evil sanskaras are
state
of
not
being
modest,
or
:
I
.
arrogance,
ahrtkata,
or self-
CHAPTER
152
and
assertiveness,
2.
VII.
anapatrapa, being lost to shame,
or to be without conscience.
The
ten minor tormenting sanskaras are
(anger),
2.
mraksa
liness),
4.
irsya
(envy),
vihimsa (noxiousness),
krodha
.
pradaga (uneasiness),
5.
upanaha
7.
I
:
matsarya (niggard-
(secretiveness), 3.
6.
may
(malignity), 8.
cathya (dishonesty), 10. mada (arrogance).
The eight indefinite sanskaras are: I kaukrtya (repent-
(trickiness), 9.
.
ance),
middha
2.
(investigation),
7.
5.
3 vitarka (inquiry), 4. vicara
(sleep),
.
raga (excitement),
6.
pratigha (wrath),
mana (self-reliance), 8. vicikitsS. (doubting).
The second grand category of sanskara which
is
not included under "mental" or "psychic," comprises
fourteen items as follows
I
prapti (attainment), 2.
.
:
aprapti
(non-attainment),
sabhagata (grouping), 4
3.
asanjfiika
(unconsciousness), 5. asanjfiisamapatti (unconscious absorption in religious meditation), 6. niro-
dhasamapatti (annihilation-trance of a heretic),
8. jati (birth),
(vitality),
(decadence),
(name),
n.
(existing),
anityata (transitoriness), 12.
padakaya
13.
sthiti
9.
14.
(phrase),
7. jivita
10. jara
namakaya
vyanjanakaya
(sentence).
Now,
skandha
return
to
to
called vijnana,
is
main problem. The
the
commonly rendered
fifth
consci-
not quite correct. The
ousness, which, however,
vijnana is intelligence or mentality, it is the psychic
is
power of
be
discrimination,
translated
Hinayanists,
by
six
sense.
and
in
There
many
are,
vijnanas or senses
olfactory, gustatory, tactual,
:
cases
it
according
can
to
visual, auditory,
and cogitative
;
according
CHAPTER
Mahayanism there are
to
VII.
153
eight vijnanas
the manovij-
:
nana and the alayavijn^na, being added to the above
This psychological phase of Mahayana philosophy
principally worked out by the Yogacara school,
six.
is
whose leading thinkers are Asanga and Vasubandhu.
King Milinda and Nagasena
Buddhist
literature,
Northern as well as Southern,
abounds with expositions of the doctrine of non-ego,
as it is one of the most important foundation-stones
on which the magnificent temple of Buddhism is built.
The dialogue * between King Milinda and Nagasena,
among many
reasons and
very interesting for various
of suggestive thoughts, and we have
others,
full
is
discussion of theirs concerning the
of
problem
ego abstracted from the Dialogue.
At their first meeting the King asks Nagasena,
the
following
"How
To
is
your Reverence known, and what is your name ?"
U
monk-philosopher replies: I am known
as Nagasena, and it is by that name that my brethren
in the faith address me. But although parents give
such
this the
a
name
as
Nagasena,
or Surasena, Virasena,
or Sihasena, yet this Nagasena and so on
generally understood term, a designation in
use.
For there
is
no permanent
is
only a
common
self involved in the
matter."
Being
1
Vol.
greatly
surprised
by
this
answer, the King
The Questions of King Milinda, Sacred Books of the East,
XXXV.
CHAPTER
154
VII.
upon Nagasena a series of questions as follows
there be no permanent self involved in the matter,
volleys
"If
who
:
is
you members of the
robes and food and lodging and neces-
Order your
when given?
things
gives to
Who
Who
sick?
the
for
saries
who
pray,
it,
is
it
is
it
who enjoys such
who lives a life of
Who is it who devotes
righteousness
Who
is it who attains to the
meditation?
himself to
?
goal of the
Way, to the Nirvana of Arhatship? And
who destroys living creatures? who is it
takes what is not his own? who is it who lives
an evil life of worldly lusts, who speaks lies, who
drinks strong drink, who in a word commits any one
Excellent
who
who
is
it
the
of
even
in
this
nor
merit
which
sins
five
life?
If
work out
dement;
be
that
there
that
were a
murder,
l
then
it
to
you
kill
there
is
neither
neither doer nor cause
is
of good or evil deeds; there
result of good or evil karma.
man
so,
their bitter fruit
neither fruit nor
is
If
we
there
are to think
would be no
follows that there are no real masters
or teachers in your Order, that your ordinations are
void.
You
me
tell
that your brethren in the
are in the habit of addressing
what
the hair
This
the
that
is
is
last
King
Nagasena?
you
as Nagasena.
Do you mean
Order
Now,
to say that
Nagasena?"
query being denied by the Buddhist sage,
asks:
"Or
is
it
the
nails,
the skin, the
flesh, the nerves, the bones, the marrow, the kidneys,
1
This reminds
us of the
the Katha-Upants had;
cf.
passage quoted elsewhere from
the footnote to
it.
CHAPTER
the
the
heart,
155
abdomen, the spleen, the
the
liver,
VII.
lungs, the larger intestines, the smaller intestines, the
faeces, the bile, the phlegm,
the
sweat,
mucus,
fat,
oil
that lubricates the joints, the urine,
the
or the brain or any or
"Is
it
all
or
the
all
Nagasena ?
Nagasena, or the
is
?"
Nagasena
these questions, the King, having received
uniform
a
is
is
ideas, or the confections (deeds),
or the consciousness, that
denial,
ask as
thus,
of these, that
the material form that
sensations,
To
the pus, the blood, the
the tears, the serum, the saliva, the
exclaims
a mere
Nagasena
is
Nagasena
that
1
may,
I
we
excitement
in
can
"Then,
no Nagasena.
discover
empty sound.
see before us
?
l
:
Who
then
It
a falsehood
is
the
is
Reverence has spoken, an untruth?"
Nagasena does not give any direct answer, but
that your
quietly proposes
Ascertaining that
philosopher,
he
some counter-questions to the King.
he came in a carriage to the Buddhist
asks
:
"Is
it
the
wheel,
or
the
framework, or the ropes, or the spokes of the wheels,
or the goad, that are the chariot?"
To
on
is
the king says, "No," and continues "It
account of its having all these things that it
this,
:
As cited elsewhere, Bodhi-Dharma of
when questioned in a similar way, replied,
Walt Whitman echoes the same sentiment
1
the
Dhyana
sect,
do not know."
"I
in
the lollowing
lines:
"A
what is the grass
hands
could I answer the child ?
child said,
full
How
it
to
me
?
fetching
I
do not know what
with
;
any more than he."
it
is,
CHAPTER
156
comes
under
designation
the
understood
generally
common
in
VII.
the
term,
use, of 'chariot.'"
"Very good," says Nagasena, "Your Majesty has
grasped the
rightly
even
so
it
on account
(constituent
of
'chariot.'
And
just
these things you
about the thirty-two kinds of organic
is
questioned me
matter in a human
the
meaning of
elements
all
and the
body,
of being)
generally-understood term,
use, of 'Nagasena.'"
five
that
I
the
skandhas
come under
designation
in
common
Then,
the
sage quotes in way of confirmation a
the Samyutta Nikdya
"Just as it is
passage
from
by the
condition
:
precedent
various parts that the
its
so
is
it
when
that
of the co-existence of
word
'chariot' is used, just
we
the skandhas are there
talk
of a 'being.'"
*
*
To
further illustrate the theory of
earlier
Buddhist
literature,
let
me
from the Jdtaka Tales (No. 244)
The Bodhisattva
a
drink
of
non-atman from
quote the following
:
said to a pilgrim. "Will
you have
Ganges-water fragrant with the scent of
the forest?"
The
is
pilgrim tried to catch
the Ganges
the
?
Is
Is
him
in his
the sand the Ganges
words "What
:
?
Is
the water
the hither bank the Ganges?
Ganges?
bank the Ganges?"
But the Bodhisattva retorted,
Is
the
further
"If
you except the
CHAPTER
water,
the
sand,
the
bank, where can you
this
Following
VII.
157
bank, and the further
hither
find
any Ganges?"
argument we might say, "Where
the ego-soul, except imagination, volition, intellec-
is
tion, desire, aspiration, etc.?"
Ananda's Attempts
Surangama Sutra
the
In
Locate the Soul.
to
*,
Buddha exposes the
absurdity of the hypothesis of an individual concrete
by subverting Andanda's seven succesattempts to determine its whereabouts. Most
soul-substance
sive
people
will
who firmly believe
how vague and
see
untenable
critically
is
notion
their
examined as
in personal immortality,
chimerical
of
the
and
soul,
logically
when
in the following case.
it
is
Ananda's
conception of the soul is somewhat puerile, but I
doubt whether even in our enlightened age the belief
There seem to be two Chinese translations of this Sutra,
one by Kumarajiva and the other by Paramartha, but appar1
ently they are different texts bearing the same title. Besides
these two, there is another text entirely in Chinese transliteration.
Owing to insufficiency of material at my disposal
I cannot say anything definite about the identity or
diversity of these documents. The following discussion that
is reported to have taken place between the Buddha and
here,
Ananda
fasciculi
is
an abstract prepared from the
of Paramartha's
(?)
Catena of Buddhist Scriptures
an English translation of the
Though
this
translation
points the reader
discussion which
itulated.
may
is
translation.
from
first
first
Beal
and the second
gives
in
the Chinese (pp. 2 86
his
-369)
four fasc. of thz Surangama.
not quite satisfactory in many
find there a detailed account of the
is
here only partially and roughly recap-
CHAPTER
158
by the multitude
entertained
When
Ananda
body.
Thereupon,
ligent
soul
is
that
it
see
Buddha
it
resides within the
says: "If your intel-
the windows are thrown open
that "we are able to see the outside garden
It
is
the
a
similar way,
considered
is
and woods.
are sitting in the hall
only and not to see the inside.
outside
in
Reasoning
that
who
us
for
impossible
see
to
his.
as to the locality
this lecture hall is the interior
first in
only when
is
it
asserts that
the
any better than
resides within your corporeal body, how
does not see your inside first ? To illustrate,
it
what we
and
is
Buddha
by the
questioned
of the soul,
VII.
to
be
why does
not the soul
body see the
the
within
internal organs first such as the stomach, heart, veins
etc.
it
however
If
?
it
does not see the inside, surely
cannot be said to reside within the body."
Ananda now proposes
to
locating the soul outside the body.
soul
within
the
the
therefore
He
problem by
says that the
candle-light placed without this hall.
a
like
is
Where
the
solve
light
room
here
shines
everything
is
visible,
but
there are no candles burning, and
prevails
nothing
but darkness. This
explains the incapacity of the soul to see the inside
of
the
body.
But the
Buddha argues
impossible for the soul to be outside.
soul
feels
may
not
be
felt
is
when you, Ananda,
If so,
"it
is
what the
by the body, and what
body feels may not be felt by the
no relationship between the two. The
the
that
soul, as there
fact,
however,
my hand thus stretched,
you are conscious that you have the perception of
is
that
see
CHAPTER
As
it.
far as there is a
and the body,
soul
VII.
159
correspondence between the
soul cannot be said to be
the
residing outside the body."
The
the
hypothesis assumed by Ananda
third
soul
hides
itself
man
a
is
that
behind the sense-organs.
just
put a pair of lenses over his eyes.
Suppose
Cannot he see the outside world through them? The
reason
why
it
cannot see the inside
that
is
it
resides
within the sense-organs.
But
we
eye,
outside world.
If
''When we have a
Buddha:
the
says
an
over
perceive
the soul
does
is
lens
this lens as well as the
hidden behind the sense-
not see the sense-organ itself?
organ, why
As it does not in fact, it cannot be residing in the
place
it
you mention."
Ananda proposes another
the
stomach,
many
is
heart,
liver,
orifices.
Where
we have
we have so
theory. "Within,
etc.
:
without,
the internal organs are, there
but where we have openings, there is
the
Close
eyes and the soul sees the darkness
darkness;
light.
inside.
the
Open
outside.
The Buddha
when the
see
you consider
your
eyes
What do you
soul,
it
sees
the brightness
say to this theory?"
says:
"If
eyes
are
this
and
you take the darkness you
closed for your inside, do
darkness as something confronting
or not? In the
prevails a darkness, that
first
case,
wherever there
must be thought to be your
interior organs. In the latter case, seeing
is
impossible,
for seeing presupposes the existence of subject and
object. Besides this, there is another difficulty. Grant-
l6o
CHAPTER
VII.
your supposition that the ejte could turn itself
inward or outward and see the darkness of the
ing
the
or
interior
brightness
of the external world,
it
could also see your own face when the eye is opened.
If it could not do so, it must be said to be incapable
of turning the sight inward."
The
the
soul
ence,
but
as
it
is
that
the essence of understanding or intellig-
is
which
middle,
soon
assumption as made by Ananda
fifth
not
is
which
within, nor without, nor in the
comes
confronts
the
actual
into
existence as
objective world, for
it
is
taught by the Buddha that the world exists on account
of the mind and the mind on account of the world.
To
this
argument,
comes
the
Buddha
soul
in contact
tact cannot
an
the
"According to your
replies:
must be
said to exist before
with the world
;
have any sense. The
it
otherwise, the consoul, then, exists as
individual presence, not after nor at the time of
a contact with the external world, but assuredly before
the contact. Granting this, we come back again to the
old
side,
of the
its
Does the soul come out of your inor does it come in from the outside? In case
difficulties
first
:
alternative, the soul
own face."
Ananda interrupts: "Seeing
must be able
is
done by the
to see
eyes,
and the soul has nothing to do with it."
The Buddha objects "If so, a dead man has eyes
l
He must be able
just as perfect as a living man.
:
Cf the following which is extracted from the Questions
of King Milinda (Sacred Books of the East, vol. XXXV,
1
CHAPTER
to see things, but
if
Well,
should
it
your
be
it
he sees at
if
all,
he cannot be dead.
intelligent soul has a concrete existence,
thought simple or compound
be thought of as
the
filling
in a particular spot
only
l6l
VII.
?
Should
?
body or being present
If it
is
a simple unit,
when
one
of your limbs is touched, all the four will at
once be conscious of the touch, which really means
no touch. If the soul is a compound body, how can
it
distinguish itself from another soul? If
the
all
body
it
is
filling
there will be no localisation of
over,
must be the case according to the first
of
a simple soul-unit. Finally, if it occusupposition
pies only a particular part of the body, you may exsensation, as
certain
perience
feelings
on that spot only, and
the other parts will remain perfectly anesthetic.
these
all
All
hypotheses are against the actual facts of our
experience and cannot be logically maintained."
For the sixth time, Ananda ventures to untie the
Gordian knot of the soul-problem. "As the soul cannot
located neither within nor without, it must be
be
somewhere
in the middle."
But the Buddha again
futes this, saying: "This'middle*
Should
it
be
located
where on the body
?
is
extremely
as a point in space or
If it is
re-
indefinite.
some-
on the surface of the body,
133): "If there be a soul [distinct
from the body] which does
of the eye were thrown down [if
the eye were plucked out] could it stretch out its head, as
it were, through the larger aperture and [with greater
range]
see forms much more clearly than before? Could one hear
all
this,
then
sounds better
if
the door
if
the ears were cut
tongue were pulled
destroyed?"
off,
or taste better
out, or feel touch better if the
if
the
body were
n
1
CHAPTER
62
not
is
it
it
the
middle;
then within.
is
how
space,
If
it
is
VII.
if
in
is
it
the
body,
occupy a point in
said to
should that point be indicated? Without
an indication, a point is no point; and if an indication is needed, it can be fixed anywhere arbitrarily,
and then there
Ananda
this
be no end of confusion."
will
interposes and says that he does not
kind of "middle."
The eye and
tioning each other, there
tion.
The eye has
comes
mean
the color condi-
to exist visual percep-
the faculty to discriminate, and
the color-world has no sensibility
;
takes place in their "middle," that
but the perception
is,
in their interac-
tion; and then it is said that there exists a soul.
Says the Buddha: "If the soul, as you say, exists
in the relation
between the sense-organs (indryd) and
respective sense-objects (visaya), should we
consider the soul as uniting and partaking the natures
their
of these two incongruous things, visaya and indrya?
If the soul partakes something of each, it has no
two natures,
the distinction between subject and object exists no
characteristics of
more.
'In
its
own.
the middle'
is
If it
unites the
an empty word; that
say, to conceive the soul as the relation
is
to
between the
indryas and the visayas is to make it an airy nothing."
The seventh and final hypothesis offered by Ananda
is that the soul is the state of non-attachment, and that,
therefore,
it
But
has
no particular
locality in
which
also mercilessly attacked
it
by the
"Attachment presupposes the
existence of beings to which a mind may be attached.
abides.
Buddha who
this
is
declares:
CHAPTER
Now, should we consider
the
as
not
world, space, land, water, birds, beasts, etc.
nothing to attach
world really
contact with
of
all
tion
?
If
the external world does
we cannot speak about non-attachment,
exist,
is
163
these things (dharmas} such
as existing or not existing
there
VII.
from the
as
the external
how can we manage not to come in
it ? When we say that
things are devoid
is,
characteristic marks,
that
first. If
they
it
amounts to the declara-
non-existent.
are
But they are not
non-existent, they must have certain
characteristics
Now, the external world
some
marks
(laksana) and it must by
certainly
be considered as existing. There then is
all means
no room for your theory of non-attachment."
At this, Ananda surrenders and the Buddha discloses
that distinguish themselves.
has
his
of Dharmakaya, which
theory
at some length
in the
we
shall
expound
chapter specially devoted to
it.
*
*
*
By way
of a
summary
of the above
,
let
me remark
that the Buddhists do not deny the existence of the
so-called
empirical
ego
noumenal ego, which
respond
to
the
in
latter
contradistinction
to
the
can be considered to cor-
Buddhist atman. Vasubandhu in his
on the Yogacara's idealistic philosophy declares
that the existence of atman and dharma is only hytreatise
and not in any sense
in modern terms,
this
To
ultimate.
and
real
express
the soul and the world, or subject and object, have
only relative existence, and no absolute reality can
pothetical, provisional, apparent,
1
CHAPTER
64
VII.
ascribed to them. Psychologically speaking, every
be
one of us has an ego or soul which means the unity
of consciousness; and physically, this world of phe-
nomena
is
real either as a manifestation of
one energy
as a composite of atoms or electrons, as
or
sidered
To
what
by
is
con-
physicists.
confine ourselves to the psychological question,
Buddhism most emphatically insists on is the
of
non-existence
soul-substance,
a
concrete,
individual,
whose immortality
is
so
irreducible
much coveted
by most unenlightened people. Individuation is only
not absolute. Buddhism knows how
relative and
the
far
principle
carried
out,
and
c6uld
some
religionists,
consistently
followers will not forget
its
stop and destroy the
to
and
safely
be
where
wall, almost adamantine to
individualism. Absolute indivi-
of
dualism, as the Buddhists understand
it,
incapacitates
us to follow the natural flow of sympathy; to bathe
the
in
eternal
of divinity which not only
sunshine
surrounds but penetrates us
individual
sought
life
to
immortality
after
its
;
which
by some people;
to escape the curse of
is
strangely
to trace this
fountainhead of which
it
drinks so freely,
to rise rejuvenated
yet quite unknowingly;
consuming fire of Kala (Chronos).
so much
mundane
To
from the
think that there
a mysterious something behind the empirical ego
and that this something comes out triumphantly after
is
the fashion of the immortal phoenix from the funeral
pyre of corporeality,
What
I
is
not Buddhistic.
would remark here
in
connection with this
CHAPTER
VTI.
165
problem of the soul, is its relation to that of Alayavijnana, of which it is said that the Buddha was very
reluctant to talk, on account of
its being easily conthe notion of the ego. The Alaya, as
founded with
was explained,
is
a sort of universal soul from which
our individual empirical souls are considered to have
evolved. The Manas which is the first offspring of
Alaya is endowed with the faculty of discrimination, and from the wrongful use of this faculty
the
there arises in the
as the ego,
Manas the conception of the Alaya
the real concrete soul-substratum.
The
Alaya, however, is not a particular phenomefor
it is a state of Suchnes's in its
non,
evolutionary
disposition
and has nothing
When
concrete individuality.
error
of
and
lifts
the Alaya,
it
in
yet to suggest
it
Manas
the
its
finds out its
the veil of Ignorance from the
body
soon becomes convinced of the
timate nature of the soul, so called. For the soul
ulis
not individual, but supra-individual.
Atman and
When
"Old Man."
the
"Put away your
exclaim
an
empty notion, a mere word
ego
without reality," some of our Christian readers may
Buddhists
the
egoism, for the
think
that
if
there
our
personality
will
become
:
is
or
clearer
is
no ego, what
individuality?
as
we
will
Though
proceed,
let
become of
this point
us remark
what Buddhism understands by ego or
atman may be considered to correspond in many
here
that
respects
to
the
Christian
notion
of
"flesh" or the
1
66
CHAPTER
which
"old
man,"
acts.
Says Paul
theless
live
I
and the
life
which
interpreted
hilated
m."
by
I,
all
our sinful
ii,
never-
;
but Christ liveth
now in
God, who
live
(Gal.
of
the flesh
loved
When
20.)
in
me and
this
me
live
I
:
by
gave
passage
is
the Buddhists, the "1" that was anni-
through
crucifixion,
an ego-soul (atman)
God
the grace of
source
crucified with Christ
not
1
Son of
the faith of the
himself for
am
yet
;
the
is
"I
:
VII.
;
is
is
our
false
and the "I" that
is
notion of
living
through
the Bodhi, a reflex in us of the
Dharmakaya.
When
contrast
not
Christians
and advise
put the spirit and the flesh in
us to "walk in the spirit" and
to "fulfil the lust of the flesh,"
that they understand
terial
by the
flesh
must be said
it
our concrete, ma-
existence whose characteristic
is
predominantly
and by the spirit, that which transcends
particularity and egoism; for "love, joy, peace, longindividual,
suffering, faith,
meekness, temperance," and suchlike
when our egocentric, atman-
virtues are possible only
made
desires are utterly abnegated.
intellectual
than
Buddhism
is
more
Christianity or Judaism and prefers
philosophical terms which are better understood than
popular language which leads often to confusion. Compared with the Buddhists' conception of tman, the
"flesh"
speak
lacks
of
its
in
perspicuity
dualistic
and exactitude, not to
tendency which
offensive to the Buddhists.
is
extremely
CHAPTER
VII.
167
The Vedantic Conception.
the doctrine of non-atman
Though
is pre-eminently
other
Hindu philosophers did not neglect
Buddhistic,
to
its
acknowledge
Having grown
importance
same
the
in
our religious
life.
under similar
cir-
in
soil
cumstances, the following passage which
the Yogavdsistha (which
Upagama
work,
Buddhistic
like
am
"I
free
art
unreal
ch.
P.,
supposed
to
LII, 31, 44)
is
sounds almost
am
I
the light of intelligence,
O
from the defilement of egoism.
am
I
!
taken from
be a Vedantic
:
absolute,
am
is
bound by
not
I
thou that
thee, the seed of
1
egoism."
The author
sider
body
like?
due
Where shall we conargues
so
to be residing in this
called,
ego-soul,
of flesh and bones? and what does it look
then
We
to
move our
the
vital
a
sciousness
is
(mahacitta).
We
the
to
:
the
body
imagine
to
flesh
one
is
but
limbs,
airs
(vdtd].
manifestation
the
We
of
movement
the
great
mind
cease to exist, but extinction belongs
Now, take apart what we
(kayo).
constitute
thing,
our
the
The
personal existence.
blood
on with mentation (bodha) and
is
another,
and so
vitality (spandd}.
ear hears, the tongue tastes, the eye sees, the
1
is
think, but con-
The
mind
Nirvikalpo 'smi ciddipo nirahankaravasanah
Tvaya ahankarabijena na sainbaddho
'smi
asanmaya
(31)
1
68
CHAPTER
thinks, but
what and where
Then comes
the
is
VII,
that
conclusion
:
which we
call
"ego"
"In reality, there
?
is
no such thing as the ego-soul, nor is there any
mine and thine, nor imagination. All this is nothing
but
the
manifestation of the universal soul which
the light of pure intelligence."
Ndgdrjuna on
In
conclusion, let
me
is
]
the Soul.
quote some passage bearing
on the subject from Nagarjuna's Discourse on the
Middle Path (chapter 9) 2 "Some say that there are
:
because there is something
seeing, hearing,
which exists even prior to those [manifestations]. Fpr
how could seeing, etc. come from that which does
feeling, etc.,
not
exist? Therefore,
must be admitted that that
it
being [i.e. soul] existed prior to those [manifestations].
"But [this hypothesis of the prior (purva} or inde-
pendent existence of the soul
could that being be known
seeing,
feeling, etc.
?
If
is
if
wrong, because] how
it
existed prior to
that being could exist without
seeing, etc.,
the latter too could surely exist without
that
But how could a thing which could not
be
being.
known by any
How
1
2
could
this
sign
exist
exist
before
it
without that, and
is known?
how could
Yatha bhutataya na ahammano na tvam na vasana
Atma guddhacidabhasah kevalo yam vijrbhate. (44)
The following is a somewhat free translation of the
ori-
ginal Chinese of Kumarajiva, which pretty closely agrees with
the Sanskrit text published by the Buddhist Text Society
of India.
CHAPTER
that
this} [Are not
without
exist
l69
VII.
all
things relative
and conditioning one another?]
"If that being called soul could not exist prior to
manifestations
all
such as seeing, etc., how could
them taken individually?
it
exist prior to each of
"If
is
it
the
same
soul that sees, hears, feels, etc.,
must be assumed
it
each
that
the
of these manifestations.
warranted
by
facts.
[Because
soul exists prior to
This, however,
in that
is
not
case one must
be able to hear with the eyes, see with the ears, as
one soul is considered to direct all these diverse
faculties at its will.]
on the other hand, the hearer is one, and the
seer
another, the feeler must be still another. Then,
there will be hearing, seeing, etc. simultaneously,
"If,
is
which leads to the assumption of a plurality of souls.
[This too
is
"Further,
l
against experience.]
the
soul
does not exist
in the
element
(bkuta) on which seeing, hearing, feeling, etc. depend.
use modern expression, the soul does not exist
[To
in the
nerves which respond to the external stimuli.]
seeing, hearing, feeling, etc. have
"If
prior to them, they too have
exists
no soul that
no existence as
For how could that exist without this, and this
without that} Subject and object are mutually consuch.
ditioned.
vidual
that
1
The
soul as
it
whatever.
is
has no independent, indi-
Therefore,
the
hypothesis
contends for the existence of an ego-soul prior
reality
The Sanskrit
text does not give this passage.
CHAPTER
170
VII.
to simultaneous with, or posterior to, seeing, etc.,
be abandoned as
is
to
fruitless, for the ego-soul existeth not."
Non-dtman-ness of Things.
The word "atman"
is
used by the Buddhists not
only psychologically in the sense of soul, self, or ego,
but also ontologically in the sense of substance or
thing-in-itself or thinginess
;
and
its
existence in this
capacity
strongly denied by them. For the
same reason that the existence of an individual egoalso
is
soul
is
the
such.
is
individuals,
which,
when
ceases
to
be
they
reject
the
hypothesis
of
permament existence of an individual object as
As there is no transcendent agent in our soul-
so there
life,
as
untenable,
real
no
real, eternal
existence of individuals
but a system of different attributes,
the
subsist.
torce
karma
of
Individual
is
exhausted,
existences
cannot
their inherent nature, but they are illu-
by
and will never remain permanent as such; for
they are constantly becoming, and have no selfhood
sory,
though they may so appear to our particularising senses on account of our subjective ignorance. They are
in
reality
cunya and anatman, they are empty and
void of atman.
Svabkdva,
The term "sabhava"
(self-essence or
noumenon)
is
sometimes used by the Mahayanists in place of atman,
and they would say that
all
dharmas have no
self-
CHAPTER
essence,
171
sarvam dharmam nihsvabhavam^ which
that
say,
VII.
all
to
things in their phenomenal aspect are
devoid of individual selves, that
ignorance that
is
we
it
is
only due to our
believe in the thinginess of things,
no such thing as svabhava or atman or
noumenon which resides in them. Svabhava and atman
whereas there
thus
are
is
used
habitually
by Buddhists as
quite
synonymous.
What do they exactly understand by "svabhava"
whose existence is denied in a particular object as
perceived by our senses
citly
defined
?
This has never been expli-
by the Mahayanists, but they
seem
to
by svabhava something concrete, indiviyet independent, unconditional, and not subject
understand
dual,
to the law of causation
(pratyayasamutpada}.
It,
there-
fore, stands in opposition to gunyata, emptiness, as
well as to conditionality. Inasmuch as all beings are
and empty in their inherent being, they
cannot logically be said to be in possession of self-
transient
essence which defies the law of causation. All things
are
mutually
from
and apart
they are non-existent and cannot
conditioning
their relativity
and
limiting,
be known by us. Therefore, says Nagarjuna, "If substance be different from attribute, it is then beyond
1
For "a jag is not to be known
comprehension."
independent of matter et cetera, and matter in turn
2
is not to be known independent of ether et cetera."
1
Laksyal laksanam anyac cet syat
8
Rupadi vyatirekena yatha kumbho na vidyate,
Vahyadi vyatirena tatha rupam na vidyate.
tal
laksyam alaksanam.
CHAPTER
As there
VII.
no subject without object, so there is no
for one is the condition
is
substance without attribute
;
for the other. Does self-essence then exist in causa"
whatever is subject to conditionality, is
tion? No,
by
its
very nature tranquil and empty." (Pratt ty a yad
bhavati^ tat tac
yad
owes
existence
its
conditions
is
gdntam svabhdvatak.) Whatever
tp a combination of causes and
without self-essence, and therefore
is
it
tranquil (gdnta\
empty,
it
is
it is
unreal (asat\ and
the ultimate nature of this universal emptiness
is
not
the sphere of intellectual demonstrability, for
within
the
human understanding
ing
its
not capable of transcend-
is
inherent limitations.
Says Pingalaka, a commentator of Nagarjuna "The
on account of the thread the matting is
:
cloth exists
;
on account of the
possible
rattan. If the thread
own fixed, unchangeable
made out of -the flax.
its
.be
fixed,
unchangeable
from
the
it
its
could not be
own
made
as in point of fact the cloth
comes from the thread and the thread from the
it
must be
had no
had
could not
the cloth had
If
self-essence,
But
thread.
self-essence,
it
flax,
said that the thread as well as the cloth
fixed,
unchangeable
self-essence.
It
is
just
between the burning
and the burned. They are brought together under
and thus there takes place a
certain
conditions,
like
the
relation
called
phenomenon
each
burned,
one
so
is
that
has
all
The burning and the
reality of its own. For when
burning.
no
absent the other
with
obtains
is
put out of existence.
things in this world, they are
all
It is
empty,
CHAPTER
without
self,
VII.
173
without absolute existence, they are like
the will-'o-the-wisp."
*
The Real Significance of Emptiness.
From
be apparent that the
emptiness of things (gunyata) does not mean nothingness, as is sometimes interpreted by some critics,
but
of
it
all
these statements
simply
means
will
it
conditionality or transitoriness
phenomenal existences,
it
is
a
synonym
for
or pratitya. Therefore, emptiness, according
the Buddhists, signifies, negatively, the absence of
particularity, the non-existence of individuals as such,
aniyata
to
and
positively, the ever-changing state of the
phenomenal world, a constant flux of becoming, an eternal
series of causes and effects. It must never be understood in the sense of annihilation or absolute nothing-*
ness, for nihilism
is
for all doctrinal controversies, but those
as a
remedy
who
in turn cling to
A
medicine
after
much condemned by Buddhism
"The Buddha proclaimed emptiness
as naive realism.
disease
as
is
emptiness are beyond treatment."
as
indispensable
to heal, but
it
long as there
turns poisonous
the restoration of perfect health.
point
completely
clear,
let
me
is
a
when applied
To make this
quote the following
from Nagarjuna's Mddhyamika fastra (Chap. XXIV).
[Some one may object to the Buddhist doctrine of
u
emptiness,
1
declaring:]
If
all
is
void
{gunya)
and
Abstracted from Pingalaka's Commentary on the Mddhyamika
Chapter VII. The Chinese translation is by Kumarajiva.
astra,
CHAPTER
there
neither creation nor destruction, then
is
concluded
be
does not
exist,
VII.
exist.
the
even the
that
must
it
Fourfold Noble Truth
the Fourfold Noble Truth does not
If
of Suffering, the stoppage of
attainment of Cessation, and the
recognition
the
Accumulation,
advancement of
all
Discipline,
must be
said to be
unrealisable. If they are altogether unrealisable, there
cannot
without
will
be any of the four states of saintliness and
these states there cannot be anybody who
;
then
is
Sangha
them.
for
aspire
(saddkatma)
Truth,
and
;
there are no wise men, the
Further, as there
impossible.
Noble
Fourfold
If
there
there
as
is
is
no
neither
is
no
Good Law
Good Law
nor Sangha, the existence of Buddha himself must
be an impossibility. Those who talk of emptiness,
must be
therefore,
(triratna)
law
the
said to negate the Triple Treasure
altogether.
of
retribution
causation
Emptiness not only destroys
and the general principle of
(pkalasadbhdvam), but utterly annihilates
the possibility of a phenomenal world."
"[To
"
this
it
is
to be
remarked that]
annoyed over such scepticism who
understands not the true significance and interpretation
Only he
is
of emptiness (gunyata).
"The Buddha
'
's
teaching rests on the discrimination
of two kinds of truth (satya)
absolute and relative.
Those who do not have any adequate knowledge
of them are unable to grasp the deep and subtle
:
meaning of Buddhism. [The essence of being, dharmata,
is
beyond verbal
definition
or
intellectual
compre-
CHAPTER
and
even
is
it
there
for
hension,
tionally,
if
not
it
tranquil,
relative
for
unattainable, and
The
Nirvana.
distances
discriminates not, nor
it
frivolities,
"But
is
it
unto
it,
nature of
fundamentally free from condi-
is
Suchness, tattva,
175
neither birth nor death in
is
like
VII.
when
phenomenal
all
is it
particularised].*
absolute
truth,
absolute truth
truth
is
not attained,
is
not to be gained.
"The dull-headed who do not perceive the truth
for they are like an
rightfully go to self-destruction,
Nirvana
is
awkward magician whose
like
trick entangles himself, or
an unskilled snake-catcher
The World-honored One knew
of the Doctrine which
is
who
gets himself hurt.
well the abstruseness
beyond the mental capacity
of the multitudes and was inclined not to disclose
it
before them.
"The objection
that
Buddhism onesidedly adheres
emptiness and thereby exposes itself to grave
for there are no
errors, entirely misses the mark
to
;
errors
in emptiness.
of emptiness
without
that
emptiness
Because
Why?
all
all
things are at
things
will
all
on account
possible,
come
Those who deny emptiness and find
like a horseman who forgets that he
"If
is
it
fault
is
and
to naught.
with
it,
are
on horseback.
they think that things exist because of their
(svabhava), [and not because of their
self-essence
emptiness,]
they thereby
causelessness
1
The passage
make
(ahetupratyaycC),
in
parentheses
is
things
they
come out
destroy
of
those
taken from Chandrakirti's
Commentary on Nagarjuna, pp. 180181.
CHAPTER
176
relations that exist
VII.
between the acting and the act and
the acted; and they also destroy the conditions that
make up
the law of birth and death.
"All
is
declared empty because there is nothing
not a product of universal causation (pratyayasamutpada). This law of causation, however, is merely
that
is
though herein
provisional,
"As thus there
is
is
lies
the middle path.
not an object (dharma) which
not conditioned (pratitya), so there is nothing that
is
not empty.
"If all
birth,
not empty, then there
is
is
no death nor
and withal disappears the Fourfold Noble Truth.
"How
could there be Suffering,
of causation?
Impermanence
is
if
not for the law
suffering.
But with
self-essence there will be no impermanence. [So long
as impermanence is the condition of life, self-essence
which
a causeless
is
out of question.]
self-existent, then it could not
existence,
Suppose Suffering is
come from Accumulation,
when emptiness
impossible
when
Suffering
is
is
which
is
in
turn becomes
not admitted.
Again,
then
there
be
could
self-existent,
no Cessation, for with the hypothesis of self-essence
Cessation becomes a meaningless term. Again, when
Suffering
is
self-existent, then there will
be no Path.
But as we can actually walk on the Path, the hypothesis
is to be abandoned.
of selfcessence
"If there
be
said
Suffering
is
that
is
"If there
neither Suffering nor Cessation,
the
Path
it
must
leading to the Cessation of
also non-existent.
is
really self-essence, Suffering could not
CHAPTER
VII.
177
be recognised now, as it had not been recognised,
for self-essence as such must remain forever the same.
to
is
[That
say,
enlightened
now
teaching of Buddha,
Suffering,
though they
they were
still
minds,
recognise the existence of
not recognise it when
did
uninitiated. If things
were
on account of their
self-determining state
the
through
a fixed,
all in
self-essence,
would be impossible for those enlightened men to
discover what they had never observed before. The
it
recognition
possible
when
constant
really
of
Fourfold Noble
the
this
phenomenal world
becoming,
that
is,
when
it
Truth
is
only
a state of
is
in
is
empty
as
it
is.]
"As
with the recognition of Suffering, so it is
with the stoppage of Accumulation, the attainment of
it
is
Cessation, the realisation of Path as well as with the
four states of saintliness.
"If,
on account of
self-essence, the four states of
were unattainable before, how could they
be realised now, still upholding the hypothesis of selfsaintliness
essence ? [But
we can
attain to saintliness as a matter of
many holy men who through their
have
spiritual discipline
emerged from their former life of
ignorance and darkness. If everything had its own
fact,
for there are
self-essence
which makes
it
impossible to transform
from one state to another, how could a person desire to
ascend, if he ever so desire, higher and higher on
the scale of existence?]
"If there were no four states of saintliness (catvdri
phaldm\ then
there
would be no aspirants
for
12
it.
CHAPTER
178
VII.
no eight wise men (purusapungala\ there could exist no Sangha,
"Again, when there could not be the Fourfold
And
were
there
if
Noble Truth, the Law would be impossible, and without the Sangha and the Law how could the Buddha
exist
You might
?
say
'A Buddha does not exist on
:
account of wisdom (Bodhi), nor does wisdom exist on
But if a man did not have
account of the Buddha.'
Bodhi] he could not hope
however
Buddhahood,
strenuously he might
Buddha-essence
to attain to
[that
is,
exert himself in the ways of Bodhisattva.
if all
"Further,
[i.
e.
all
if
ness],
how
is
not empty but has self-essence,
in a fixed,
is
unchangeable state of same-
could there be any doing ? How could there
evil ? If you maintain that there is an
be good and
effect (phala]
which does not come from a cause good
or
is
the practical conclusion of the hypoth-
of self-essence],
esis
is
[which
evil,
then
it
means
independent of our deed, good or
justified
"If
or
it
evil
by our experience?]
must then be admitted
becomes
must be
then
how
said to
could
that retribution
evil.
[But
that our deed
is
this
good
the cause of retribution, retribution
come from our deed, good or
we say there is no emptiness ?
evil
;
"When you
of universal
this
is
negate the doctrine of emptiness, the law
causation, you negate the possibility of
When the doctrine of emptiness
remains nothing that ought to be
thing is called done which is not yet
phenomenal world.
negated,
done;
and a
there
accomplished; and he
is
said to be a doer
who
has
CHAPTER
VII.
179
not done anything whatever. If there were such a thing
as self-essence, the multitudinousness of things must
be regarded as uncreated and imperishable and eternally
existing which is tantamount to eternal nothingness.
no emptiness there would be no
were
there
"If
would there
what has not yet been attained, nor
be the annihilation of pain, nor the
extinction of
all
attainment
of
the passions (sarvaklega).
taught by the Buddha that those
who recognise the law of universal causation, recognise the Buddha as well as Suffering, Accumulation,
"Therefore,
it
is
Cessation, and the Path."
*
*
The Mahayanistic
down to
transmitted
*
doctrines
thus
formulated and
the present days are: There
no such thing as the ego
;
mentation
is
is
produced by
the co-ordination of various vijnanas or senses.
Individual existences have no selfhood or self-essence
or
for they are but an aggregate of certain
sustained by efficient karma. The world of
reality,
qualities
particulars
Buddha
When
of
the work of Ignorance as declared by
Formula of Dependence (Twelve Nidanas).
is
in his
this veil of
Dharmakaya
dual
existences
Maya
shines in
then
is
uplifted, the universal light
all
its
magnificence. Indivi-
as such lose their significance
and become sublimated and ennobled
of
in the
oneness
Egoistic prejudices are forever van-
Dharmakaya.
quished, and the aim of our
lives is
no more the
/
CHAPTER
ISO
VII.
gratification
of
selfish cravings,
Dharma
as
it
of
works
its
but the glorification
own way through
the
multitudinousness of things. The self does not stand
any more in a state of isolation (which is an illusion),
it
is
absorbed
recognises
itself
inanimate,
and
reach
this
in the universal
in
all
body of Dharma,
it
other selves animate as well as
things are in Nirvana.
state of ideal enlightenment,
to have realised the Buddhist
life.
When we
we
are said
CHAPTER
VIII.
KARMA.
Definition.
TV^ARMA,
^^
or Sanskara which
synonym,
its
shade of meaning,
different
is
sometimes used as
though the latter gives a slightly
comes from the Sanskrit
root kr, "to do," "to make," "to perform," "to effect,"
"to
etc.
produce,"
concrete
as
Both terms mean
as in
well
its
activity in its
abstract sense, and form
an antithesis to intelligence, contemplation, or ideation
in general. When karma is used in its most abstract
becomes an equivalent to "beginningless
ignorance," which is universally inherent in nature,
sense,
it
and corresponds
Schopenhauer;
is
a
to
the
Will
or
negative
manifestation
blind
activity
of
we have seen above
for ignorance as
of Suchness
(Bkuta-
tathdta] and marks the beginning or unfolding of a
phenomenal world, whose existence is characterised
by incessant
karma.
actuated by the principle of
Goethe says in Faust, "In Anfang war
activities
When
die That," he uses the
karma
as
it
is
When karma
term "That"
in the
sense of
here understood.
is
used
in its
concrete sense,
it is
the
1
CHAPTER
82
principle
of
namarupas
in
activity
becomes
it
:
VIII
the
in
world of particulars or
the physical world the
principle of conservation of energy, in the biological
realm that of evolution and heredity etc., and in the
moral world that of immortality of deeds. Sanskara,
when used as an equivalent of karma, corresponds to
this
concrete
of
signification
it,
as
the case in
is
it
the Twelve Chains of Dependence (Nidanas, or Pra-
tyayasamutpdda).* Here
follows ignorance (avidyd)
it
and precedes consciousness (vijnana). Ignorance in
this case means simply privation of enlightenment,
and
does not
imply any sense of activity which is
expressed in Sanskara. It is only when it is coupled
with the latter that it becomes the principle of activity,
and creates as
In
mentality.
one,
their
logical
the
emphasises
first
difference
consciousness or
being
this
activity are
:
the former
epistemological phase and the latter
;
between the
offspring
ignorance and blind
or, we might
dynamical. If we
the ethical
other
its
fact,
first
four
say,
one
are
to
of
is
statical
and the
draw a comparison
the Twelve Nidanas and
the several processes of evolution that takes place in
the Tathagata-garbha as described above,
Ignorance
1
and the principle of blind
we can take
activity, san-
The Twelve Nidanas
(sanskara),
(3)
are: (i) Ignorance (avidyd), (2) action
Consciousness (vijnana), (4) Name-and-form
Six Sense-organs (ayatand), (6) Contact (spared),
(namarupd), (5)
Sensation (vedana), (8) Desire (trsna), (9) Attachment
(7)
(upddana), (10) Procreation (bhavd), (n) birth (jati\ (12) Old
Age, Death, etc. (jara, marana, fo&a, etc.)
CHAPTER
in
skara,
the
Twelve
VIII.
Chains
183
as
corresponding
to
the All-conserving Soul (dlayavi/ndna), and the Vijnana,
consciousness of the Twelve Chains, to the Manovijnana,
and
the
to this visible world, visaya, in
Namarupa
which the principle of karma works in its concrete form.
As we have a special chapter devoted to "Ignorance"
karma
equivalent of
an
as
in its abstract sense, let
us here treat of the Buddhist conception of
realm of names and forms,
the
concrete sense. But
i.
e.
of
karma
in
in its
shall restrict ourselves to the
of karmaic causation in the moral world, as
activity
we
we
karma
are not concerned with physics or biology.
The Working of Karma.
The Buddhist conception of karma briefly stated
this
Any act, good or evil, once committed and
is
:
conceived, never vanishes like a bubble in water, but
lives,
potentially or actively as the case
may
be, in
the world of minds and deeds. This mysterious moral
energy, so to speak,
every
is
it
mind.
act
is
and thought,
embodied
for
it
in
and emanates from
does not matter whether
actually performed, or merely conceived in the
When
the time comes,
and grow with
all
its
vitality.
it
is
sure to germinate
Says Buddha:
"Karma even after the lapse of a hundred kalpas,
Will not be lost nor destroyed;
As soon as all the necessary conditions are ready,
Its fruit is sure to ripe," J
1
From
a Chinese
Mahayana
sutra.
CHAPTER
184
VIII.
Again,
"Whatever a man does, the same he in himself will find,
The good man, good: and evil he that evil has designed;
And so our deeds are all like seeds, and bring forth fruit
1
in kind."
A
grain of wheat,
in
is
it
said,
which was accidentally
tomb more
good condition in a
preserved
thousand years old, did not lose
its
than a
germinating energy,
and, when planted with proper care, it actually started
to sprout. So with karma, it is endowed with an
enormous vitality, nay, it is even immortal. However
remote the time of their commission might have been,
the karma of our deeds never dies it must work
;
out
its
own
whatever
destiny at
by some counteracting
force.
cost,
The
if
not overcome
law of karma
is
irrefragable.
The
irrefragability of
karma means
that the law of
our moral sphere just as much
supreme
as in the physical, that life consists in a concatenation
causation
of
causes
karma,
a
in
is
and
that
nation
effects regulated
nothing
or
the
in
life
by the principle of
of an individual or
a race happens without due cause and
sufficient reason, that
is,
Buddhists,
do
therefore,
without previous karrna.
not
believe in
any
The
special
act of grace or revelation in our religious realm and
moral
life.
The
idea of deus ex machina
in
Buddhism. Whatever
in
our present
1
The
life
is
is
is
banned
suffered or enjoyed morally
due to the karma, accumulated
Pali Jataka, no. 222. Translation
by W. H. Rouse.
CHAPTER
since
beginning of
the
life
VIII.
on
185
earth.
Nothing sown,/
nothing reaped.
Whatever has been done leaves an ineffable
in the individual's life
and
mark
this
exhaustion
an
of
will
is
in that of the universe
counter-karma.
or
ical
own life- time,
who may be physevil that men do
not actualised during one's
will in that of one's successors,
it
;
never be erased save by sheer
karma or by the interruption of
In case the karma
the
overwhelming
of an act
and even
mark
spiritual.
Not only "the
them," but also the good, for it will not be
"interred with their bones," as vulgar minds imagine.
lives after
We
read in the
Samyukta
Nikdyfr,
III,
I
"Assailed by death, in life's last throes,
At quitting of this human state,
What is it one can call his own?
What with him take as he goes hence?
What is it follows after him,
And like a shadow ne'er departs?
"His good deeds and his wickedness,
Whate'er a mortal does while here;
Tis this that he can call his own,
This with him take as he goes hence.
This is what follows after him,
And
like a
shadow
ne'er departs.
"Let
A
all, then, noble deeds perform,
treasure-store for future weal;
For merit gained
this life within,
Will yield a blessing in the next."
1
Warren's Buddhism in Translations,
p. 214.
'
4
:
1
CHAPTER
86
accordance
In
with
VIII.
karmaic
this
preservation,
Buddhists do not expect to have their sins expatiated
by other innocent people so long as their own hearts
remain unsoftened as ever. But when the all-embracing
of Buddhas for
love
the
smallest
all sentient beings kindles even
of repentance and enlightenment
spark
and when
in the heart of a sinner,
this ever-vacillating
magnitude under propitious
conditions, the sinner gets fully awakened from the
evil karma of eons, and enters, free from all curses,
light
to
grows
-
full
its
into the eternity of Nirvana.
Karma and
Social Injustice.
w
The doctrine of karma is very frequently utilised
by some Buddhists to explain a state of things which
must be considered cases of
There are some
noble
social injustice.
people who
and destined
to
enjoy
all
are born rich and
forms
of earthly
happiness and all the advantages of social life, though
they have done nothing that justifies them in luxu-
such a fashion any more than their poor
These
people, however, are declared by
neighbors.
some pseudo-Buddhists to be merely harvesting the
in
riating
crops
of
former
good karma they had prepared
lives.
On
the
in their
other hand, the poor, needy,
and low that are struggling to eke out a mere existence in spite of their moral rectitude and honest
industry,
karma
previous
are
which
lives.
be
considered
to
had
accumulated
been
The law
suffering
the
during
of moral retribution
is
evil
their
never
CHAPTER
VIII.
IS/
suspended, as they reason, on account of the changes
which may take place in a mortal being. An act,
good or evil, once performed, will not be lost in the
eternal
succession
and interaction of incidents, but
due consequence,
will certainly find the sufferer of its
and
does not matter whether the actor has gone
through the vicissitudes of birth and death. For the
Buddhist conception of individual identity is not that
it
of personal
continuity,
but of karmaic conservation.
Whatever deeds we may commit,
bear their legitimate
death. Therefore,
sensual
future
births,
not
crops they have
the
themselves.
life,
The
invariably
the rich and noble neglect to
pleasures,
if
they
and follow us even after
abandon themselves
their duties or
of
if
fruit
then
they
in their
thus
to the
present
enjoyment
sure
are
do
life,
in their
to gather
unwittingly prepared for
poor, however hard their lot in this
can claim their rightful rewards,
if
they do not
despaired of their present sufferings and give
themselves up to temptations, but dutifully continue
get
do things good and meritorious. Because as
to
present
will
fate
is
their
the result of their former deeds, so
be their future fortune the
fruit
of their present
deeds.
us
This view as held by some pseudo-Buddhists gives
a wrong impression about the practical working
of the principle of karma in this world of namarupas,
for
it
tries
to
explain by karmaic theory the phe-
nomena which lie outside of the sphere of
cability. As I understand, what the theory
its
appli-
of
karma
I
\
CHAPTER
88
proposes to explain
and economic
is
not
VIII.
cases of social injustice
inequality, but facts of moral causation.
The overbearing
attitude of the rich
and the noble,
the unnecessary sufferings of the poor, the over-production of criminals, and suchlike social phenomena
from the imperfection of our present social organisation, which is based upon the doctrine of absoarise
People are allowed to amass
wealth unlimitedly for their own use and to bequeath
it to the successors who do not deserve it in any way.
lute private ownership.
And
they
do not pay regard to the
injuries this
the general welfare of the
incur
system may
upon
/ community to which they belong, and upon other
*
members individually. The rich might have slaughtered
economically and consequently politically and morally
millions of their brethren before they could reach
places of social eminence they
to
now occupy and enjoy
full extent. They might have sacrificed hundreds
thousands of victims on the altar of Mammon in
its
of
order to carry out their vast scheme of self-aggrandisement. And, what is worse, the wealth thus accu-
mulated by an individual is allowed by the law to be
handed down to his descendants, who are in a sense
the
parasitic
privileged
members of
to live
ers,
who know
who
are daily
the community.
They
are
upon the sweat and blood of othwhere to lay their heads, and
not
succumbing to the heavy burden, not
of their free choice, but forced upon them by society.
Let us here closely see into the facts. There is one
portion
of
society
that does almost nothing toward
CHAPTER
the
the general welfare, and there
of
promotion
189
VIII.
is
another portion that, besides carrying the burden not
of its own, is heroically struggling for bare existence.
These sad phenomena which, owing
of
tion
social
organisation,
we
us,
should
dual
karma and make
is
we
attribute
them
to the imperfec-
daily witness about
to diversity of indivi-
individuals responsible for
what
due to the faulty organisation of the comwhich they belong? No, the doctrine of
really
to
munity
karma
must not be understood
certainly
to explain
the cause of our social and economical imperfection.
The
where the law of karma
region
work supreme
made to extend
our
is
economic
not necessarily the consequence of
is
plenitude that of good acts.
ciple of
or needy
economy
is
to
world, and cannot be
moral
also over our
is
affluent
made
is
field.
evil
Poverty
deeds, nor
Whether a person is
mostly determined by the prin-
as far as our present social
system
concerned. Morality and economy are two different
realms of human activity. Honesty and moral recti-
is
tude do not necessarily guarantee well-being. Dishonesty and the violation of the moral law, on the conare
trary,
very
material prosperity.
conscientious
can
nay,
it
injustice
is
?
Shall
karma
understand
social
Do we
handmaids of
not thus see
many
good,
people around us who are wretchedly
poverty-stricken
curse of evil
utilised as
frequently
?
we
take them as suffering the
in their
previous
lives,
when we
the fact perfectly well as a case of
It
is
not necessary by any means,
even productive of
evil,
to establish a rela-
CHAPTER
between the two
tion
VIII.
things that in the nature of
have no causal dependence. Karma ought
not to be made accountable for economic inequality.
their being
A
man
virtuous
contented with his cleanliness
is
of conscience and purity of heart, Obscure as
present
and miserable
social position,
pecuniary
conditions, he has no
ward' and
find
there,
nor
his
mind
to look back-
the cause of his social insignificance
he anxious
is
is
as are his present
about
his
future earthly
fortune which might be awaiting him when his karmaic energy appears in a new garment. His heart is
altogether free from such vanities and anxieties. He
is
he
sufficent unto himself as
is
here and now. And,
as to his altruistic aspect of his moral deeds, he
conscious
that
their
karma would
everybody that gets inspired by
would largely contribute to the
ness on this earth.
Why,
a
karma
poor
theory
of
then,
as
is
is
well
spiritually benefit
it,
and
also that
it
realisation of good-
must we contrive such
maintained by some,
order that they might give him a spiritual solace
for his material misfortune?
in
Vulgar people are too eager to see everything and
every act they perform working for the accumulation
and the promotion of material
welfare. They would want to turn even moral deeds
which have no relation to the economic condition of
of
life
earthly
wealth
into the opportunities to attain things
They would
mundane
desire to have the law of karmaic causation
applied to a realm, where prevails an entirely different
set
of
laws.
In
point
of
fact,
what proceeds from
CHAPTER
meritorious deeds
of
IQI
spiritual bliss only,
contentment,
mind, meekness of heart, and immova-
tranquillity of
bility
is
VIII.
the heavenly treasures which
all
faith,
could
be corrupted by moth or rust. And what
more can the karma of good deeds bring to us ? And
what more would a man of pious heart desire to
not
from
gain
his
being
what ye
"Take no thought
good?
for
or what ye shall drink,
shall eat,
your life,
nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not
the life more than meat and the body more than
raiment?" Let us then do away with the worldly
of karma, which
interpretation
spirit
is
so contrary to the
of Buddhism.
As long
it
things,
we
as
is
live
under
present state of
the
impossible to escape the curse of social
injustice and economic inequality. Some people must
be born rich and noble and enjoying a superabundance
wealth, while others must be groaning
under the unbearable burden imposed upon them by
of material
cruel society. Unless we make a radical change in
our present social organisation, we cannot expect
every one of us to enjoy equal opportunity and fair
chance. Unless we have a certain form of socialism
installed
which
favored
than
phenomenon
to
the
the
liberal
is
and
must be some who
there
die
others.
of
worldly
away sooner
contrary,
But
is
Dharmakaya
this
state
of affairs
and
The law
is
manifested
in
is
a
doomed
of karma, on
an eternal ordinance of the
as
more
economically
institution
or later.
and systematic,
rational
are
this
will
world
of
of
I
CHAPTER
Q2
We
particulars.
of
human
VIII
must not confuse a transient accident
society with an absolute decree issued from
the world-authority.
An
There
Karma.
Individualistic View of
another popular misconception concerning
is
the doctrine of karma, which seriously mars the true
interpretation of Buddhism.
view
istic
the
of
deeds, good or
mean by
This
evil,
this
an individual-
view asserts that
committed by a person determine
own
fate, no other's being affected thereby
possible way, and that the reason why we
only his
in
I
doctrine.
any
should refrain from doing wrong
have
others,
to
conception
suffer
its
evil
karma which
of
I
is:
and not
for we,
consequences. This
call
individualistic,
presupposes the absolute reality of an individual soul
and its continuance as such in a new corporeal exist-
which
ence
is
Because an
made
by
possible
individual
soul
its
here
is
previous karma.
understood
as
an independent unit, which stands in no relation
to others, and which therefore neither does influence
nor
done by oneself
other
by them
influenced
is
people
is
have
in
suffered
anything
any wise.
All that
is
by oneself only and no
to
do with
it,
nor do
they suffer a whit thereby.
Buddhism, however, does not advocate this individualistic
\
in
interpretation
accord
that of
with
the
of karmaic law, for
it
is
not
theory of non-atman, nor with
Dharmakaya.
According
to
the
orthodox theory, karma simply
means the conservation or immortality of the inner
CHAPTER
deeds
of
force
VIII.
193
regardless of their author's physical
identity. Deeds once committed, good or evil, leave
permanent effects on the general system of sentient
of which
beings,
part
;
and
merely a component
not the actor himself only, but every-
is
it
actor
the
is
body constituting a grand psychic community called
"Dharmadhatu" (spiritual universe), that suffers or
enjoys the outcome of a moral deed.
Because the universe
sentient
is
not a theatre for one par-
only; on the contrary,
soul
ticular
beings,
each
forming
a
it
belongs to
all
psychic unit; and
these units are so intimately knitted together in blood
and soul that the effects of even apparently trifling
deeds committed by an individual are felt by others
just as much and just as surely as the doer himself.
Throw an
of
insignificant piece of stone into a vast
and
water,
it
will
certainly
create
an
expanse
almost
endless series of ripples, however imperceptible, that
never
till
stop
much
as
may seem
reach the furthest shore.
thus caused
tremulation
as
they
is
felt
by the sinking stone
the water disturbed.
crude
to
The
The
universe that
observers merely as a system
of crass physical forces
is
in reality a great spiritual
community, and every one of sentient beings forms
its
component part. This most complicated, most
subtle,
spiritual
most
and best organised mass of
transmits its current of moral elec-
sensitive,
atoms
tricity from one particle to another with utmost rapidity and surety. Because this community is at bottom
an expression of one Dharmakaya. However diversified
13
CHAPTER
194
and
dissimilar
aspect,
it
may appear
after
is
it
all
VIII.
in its material individual
no more than an evolution of
one pervading essence,
in
which the multitudinousness
of things finds its unity and identity. Therefore, it
for the interests of the community at large, and
is
own
not for their
welfare only, that sincere Buddhists
from transgressing moral laws and are encouraged to promote goodness. Those whose spiritual
insight thus penetrates deep into the inner unity and
refrain
interaction of
It
with
is
all
human
this
souls are called Bodhisattvas.
spirit,
let
me
do not wish to keep
Buddhists
repeat, that pious
for themselves
any
merits created by their acts of love and benevolence,
wish
but
liverance
to
of
turn
all
them over (farivarta)
sentient creatures from the darkness
of ignorance.
The most
any
treatise
religious
typical
I
significance
dint of this merit
And
to
I
make them soon
therefore, runs
:
of the three karmas as taught by
Buddha,
have thus completed elucidating
and logic:
By
of concluding
way
by Buddhists,
manner
generally in the following
"The deep
to the de-
in
accord with the Dharma
pray to deliver
all
sentient beings
attain to perfect enlightenment."
l
Or,
from this my exposition
abide and be universally distributed among all beings
may they ascend in the scale of existence and
increase in bliss and wisdom,
"All the merits arising
May
And
1
On the
;
Completion of Karma, by Vasubandhu. Nanjo, No. 1222.
CHAPTER
And soon
attain
an
to
195
enlightenment
and far-reaching."
great,
VIII.
supreme,
perfect,
l
The reason why
a moral deed performed by one
to the attainment by others
would
contribute
person
of supreme enlightenment, is that souls which are
ordinarily supposed to be individual
and independent
not so in fact, but are very closely
with
one another, so that a stir produced in
intermingled
one is sooner or later transmitted to another influencing
of others
are
The karmaic effect of my
own deed determines not only my own future, but
it
rightfully or wrongfully.
not
a
to
little
extent
invocations just quoted
dedicate
to
all
that of others; hence those
by pious Buddhists who
merits
the
can
they
desire
attain to the
general welfare of the masses.
The
and
ever-increasing tendency of humanity to widen
facilitate
communication
in
every possible
a phenomenon illustrative of the
human souls. Isolation kills, for it
death.
Every soul that
others,
to
be
in
lives
intrinsic
is
oneness of
another
name
for
and grows desires to embrace
communion with them*
plemented by them, and to expand
souls
way is
to be sup-
infinitely so that
are brought together and united
all
individual
in
the one soul. Under this condition only a man's
karma
is
merits
can be utilised for the promotion of general
enabled to influence other people, and his
enlightenment
The Distinguishing of the Mean, by Vasubandhu. Nanjo, 12 48.
CHAPTER
196
Karma and
If
the irrefragability of
mination of our moral
doctrine
accumulated
karma means the predetersome would reason, the
and simple.
is
karma preserves
chance whatever to escape
evil.
It
the
result
its
quite true
is
of
the
karma
vitality there is
no
consequences, good or
its
also true that as the
is
It
our previous existences, and that as
in
the
long as
life
present
Determinism.
life,
fatalism pure
is
our
that
VIII.
meanest sparrow
shall
on the ground without the knowledge of God,
and as the very hairs of our heads are all numbered
not
fall
by him, so even a
single blade of grass does not
quiver before the- evening breeze without the force of
karma.
It
is
near-sighted
into
it
of the
complexity
exists
also true that if our intellect
as
its
is,
we
could
conditions
reduce
were not
a possible
under which our
life
simplest terms, and thus predict with
mathematical precision the course of a life through
it
is destined to pass. If we could record all
which
our previous karma from time immemorial and all its
consequences both on ourselves and on those who
come
in
in
contact with us, there would be no difficulty
determining our future
The
human
life
with utmost certainty.
however,
as
it
happens, is
incapable of undertaking a work of such an enormous
magnitude, we cannot perceive the full significance of
intellect,
determinism; but, from the divine point of view,
determinism seems to be perfectly justified, for there
cannot
be
any short-sightedness
world-soul as to
on the part of a
the destiny of the universe, which
CHAPTER
is
197
VIII.
nothing but its own expression. It is only from the
point of view that we feel uncertain about our
human
and endeavor to explain existence now
final disposition
from a mechanical, now from a teleological standpoint,
and yet, strange enough, at the bottom of our soul we feel
that there
is
something mysterious here which makes us
"Let
cry, either in despair or in trustful resignation,
thy
be done." While
will
will" proves that
very confidence in "thy
our inmost consciousness
this
we have
in
and outside the pale of intellectual analysis a belief
in the supreme order, which is absolutely preordained
and which
not controllable by our finite, limited, fragmentary mind, yet the doctrine of karma must
not be understood in the strictest sense of fatalism.
As
at least is
far as a general
theory of determinism is concerned,
Buddhism has no objection
a
law
of
thought
that
causation,
leaves
of,
to
it.
Grant that there
is
every deed, actualised or
something behind, and that this
factor for our future
something becomes a determining
life;
how
then
"each of us
is
ous confidence
we escape the conclusion that
inevitable" as Whitman sings ? Religicould
in a divine will that is
supposed to give
fact no more than
us always the best of things, is in
a determinism. But if, in applying the doctrine to our
practical
life,
we
forget to endeavor to unfold
possibilities
kened only
after strenuous efforts, there will
might
lie in
all
the
us, but could be awa-
that
be no
moral characters, no personal responsibility, no noble
the mind will be nothing but a reflex
aspirations
;
nervous system and
life
a sheer machinery.
CHAPTER
198
karma
In fact
is
VIII.
not a machine which
pable of regeneration and
of mustard,
grain
of
full
being
contact
in
a
tree
the
vitality,
it
Karma
self-multiplication.
is
a wonderful organic power; it grows,
and even gives birth to a new karma. It
a
not inca-
is
of
least
grows
all
it
expands,
like unto
is
seeds,
as soon as
it
but,
comes
nourishing soil and becometh
so that the birds of the air come and lodge
with
the
branches
thereof. Its mystery is like that of
waves
that pass through all the hearts
sympathetic
which feel the great deeds of a hero or listen to the
the
in
story of a self-sacrificing mother. Karma,
is
contagious and sympathetic
rich crop.
for
good or evil,
Even
a most
work.
of goodness reaps an unexpectedly
act
insignificant
in its
Even
to the vilest rogue
comes a chance
repentance by dint of a single good karma ever
life, which has extended through many
effected in his
a kalpa.
tual
And
world
is
and Nirvana
the most wonderful thing in our spiri-
karma thus bringing repentance
the heart of the meanest awakens and
that the
to
rekindles a similar
hearts and leads
karma
potentially slumbering in other
them to the final abode of enlightenment.
Inasmuch as we confine ourselves to general, superview of the theory of karma, it leads to a form of
ficial
determinism, but
in
our practical
life
which
is
a product
of extremely complicated factors, the doctrine of karma
allows in us
kinds of possibilities and
all
of development.
ception of
life,
We
we
all
chances
thus escape the mechanical con-
are saved from the despair of pre-
determination, though this
is
true to a great extent
;
CHAPTER
we
and
assured
are
however remote
it
of
may
199
VIII.
the actualisation of hopes,
be.
Though
the curse of evil
karma may sometimes hang upon us very heavily,
there is no reason to bury our aspirations altogether
grave; on the contrary, let us bear it bravely
all the acts of goodness to destroy the
of evil and to mature the stock of
in the
and perform
last remnant
good karma.
The Maturing of Good Stock (kugalamula) and the
Accumulation of merits (punyaskandka).
One
well
of
of the most significant facts, which
ignore while treating of the doctrine
to
afford
is
karma,
we cannot
the
Buddhist
belief that
supreme Buddhahood only
(Jakyamuni
reached
his
practise
of the six virtues of perfection (paramitds)
many a rebirth. This belief constitutes the
through
very
foundation
of the ethics of
after a long
Buddhism and has
all-important bearings on the doctrine of karma.
The
doctrine of
Sentient
beings
karma
can
ethically considered
attain to perfection not
is
this:
by an
intervention from on high, but through long, steady,
unflinching
of ideals,
personal efforts towards the actualisation
or,
in other
words, towards the maturing
of good stock (kugalamula) and the accumulation of
of merits (punyaskandhd]. This can be accomplished
karma of good deeds untiringly
practised throughout many a generation. Each single
only
through
the
act of goodness
we perform to-day
is
recorded with
2OO
CHAPTER
strict
accuracy
and
so
is
On
much
in
the
VIII.
annals
human
of
evolution
the gain for the cause of righteousness.
the contrary, every deed of
ill-will,
every thought
of self-aggrandisement, every word of impurity, every
assertion of egoism, is a drawback to the perfection
of humanity. To speak concretely, the Buddha reprethe
sents
(Jakyamuni of
the good
all
innumerable
in
in
crystalisation
the
karma
historical
that
person of
was accumulated
previous to his birth.
kalpas
as legend has him,
was
And
if
really the
enemy
of the Buddha, he symbolises in him the evil
karma
Devadatta,
was
that
being
stored
up
with
the good deeds of
Buddhas. Later Buddhism has thus elaborated to
all
represent in these two historical figures the concrete
of good and evil karma, and tries to show
results
what direction
in
its
followers should exercise their
spiritual energy.
The
of
doctrine of
field.
As
karma
is,
therefore, really the theory
and
heredity as working in our moral
Walt Whitman fitly sings, in every one of
evolution
"converging objects of the universe" are perpetually flowing, through every one of us is "afflatus
us,
the current and index." And
surging and surging
these converging objects and this afflatus are no more
than our karma which is interwoven in our being
and which
being matured from the very beginning
of consciousness upon the earth. Each generation
is
either retards or furthers the maturing of
karma and
transmits to the succeeding one its stock either impaired
or augmented. Those who are blind enough not to
CHAPTER
2O I
VIII.
\
see the significance of
life,
and those
for the sole reality,
who take their ego
who ignore the spiritual
those
inheritance accumulated from time immemorial,
are
the most worthless, most ungrateful, and most irresponsible people of the world. Buddhism calls them
Mara engaged
the children of
in the
work of destruction.
Dr. G. R. Wilson of Scotland states a very pretty
u
story about a royal robe in his article on The Sense
of Danger" (The Monist,
how
cally illustrates
out of mind
is
consciousness
a
potential
karma stored from time
saturated in every fibre of our subliminal
or
might say. The
"An
1903, April), which graphi-
the
Alayavijnana, as Buddhists
story runs as follows:
in
was, whose beginning was in
prehistoric dynasty of which the hieroglyphics are
Oriental robe
undecipherable.
so
With
it
that pertinacity and durability
characteristic of the East, this royal
garment has
handed down, not through hundreds of years,
but through hundreds of generations, generations,
been
some of them, unconsciously long and
others short and quick and merry.
stale
and dreary
;
A garment of kings,
and of queens, a garment to which, as tradition
a
prescribed, each monarch added something of quality,
this,
jewel
of
price,
embroidery,
worked
and
a
patch of
each
with
gold,
a
hem
contribution
of
rich
a legend,
into the imperishable fibre, told the story of
Did something of the personality of these
kings and queens linger in the work of their hands?
If so, the robe was no dead thing, no mere covering
the
giver.
to be lightly
assumed or
lightly laid aside,
but a living
2O2
CHAPTER
VIII.
power, royal influence, and the wearer, all unwitting,
must have taken on something of the character of
the dead.
sensitive
of
It
a princess of the royal blood, perhaps,
is
and mystical, trembling on the apprehensive
monarchy, who dons the robe, and as she
verge
dons it, tingles to
blaze
upon
its
front are the souvenirs of bloody con-
As she
querors.
emotion
she
message. These great rubies that
its
fingers
them
idly,
she
is
thrilled
with an
not understand, for in her blood
does
something answers to the righting
they embody.
spirit
are for peace. That rope has been strung
Pearls
kings and queens who favored
by
and learning; and
as the girl's fingers stray towards them the inspiration
changes and her mind reverts to the purposes of
the
legacy
all
her
the
an
of
maiden
has
unfaithful
lifts
it
to
shame and
wrought
this
is
queen,
a
gaudy hem, the
steeped in intrigue
murder ended
her
until
life
learns with
Here
scholar.
civilised
art
examine
it
it;
more
and as
closely, she
blushes, yet not knowing what
change
in her, that,
deep down
in
her character, are mischievous possibilities, possibilities
of wickedness and disgrace that will dog the footsteps
of her reign. Suchlike are the suggestions which the
hidden parts of the mind bring forth, and in such
subtle
The
of
manner are they born."
doctrine of karma thus declares
love
and
good-will
not
for
the
appreciation
ancestors
your
and
selfish
of
that an act
you are performing here is
interests, but it simply means
the
works
of
your worthy
the discharge of your duties towards
CHAPTER
203
VIII.
humanity and your contribution to the world- treasury
of moral ideals. Mature good stock, accumulate merits,
all
evil
purify
cultivate
karma,
love
of Nirvana
for
all
remove the ego-hindrance, and
beings; and the heavenly gate
be opened not only to you, but to
will
the entire world.
We
of
can sing with Walt Whitman the immortality
karma and the
eternal progress of humanity, thus
:
"Did you guess anything lived only its moment?
so exist no part palpable or impal-
The world does not
pable so exist;
exists without being from some long
previous consummation and that from some other,
Without the farthest conceivable one coming a bit nearer
No consummation
the beginning than any."
*
Immortality
We
read in the Milinda-panha:
"Your Majesty,
is
it
as
if
a
man were
to ascend
the story of a house with a light, and eat there;
and the light in burning were to set fire to the thatch
to
;
and the thatch
and the house
lage
;
in
in
;
and the people of the
and
say,
The
fire
'Why,
and he were to
different
1
burning were to set fire to the house
burning were to set fire to the vil-
O
village
man, did you set
say,
did not set
'I
lamp by whose
one from the one which set
of
the
"Manhattan's Streets
quoted the whole poem,
I
were
fire
fire
to the village
?'
to the village.
light
fire
to seize him,
I
ate
was a
to the village'
;
Saunter'd, Pondering." I might have
not for limitation of space.
if
CHAPTER
2O4
VIII.
and they, quarreling, were to come to you. Whose
cause, Your Majesty, would you sustain?"
"That of the people of the village, Reverend Sir," etc.
"And why?"
man might
"Because, in spite of what the
"In exactly the
the
same way, Your Majesty, although
name and form which
ence
different
is
end
to
at
Therefore
is
and
is
is
its
Buddhist
the
karma.
When
velopment,
tains in
ditions
new
evil
notion
is
it.
deeds."
of individual
perhaps,
is
of
illustrating
this
growth and perpetuation of
in fact a
concrete expression of
a plant reaches a certain stage of de-
blooms and bears
fruit.
This
fruit
con-
a latent energy which under favorable congrows to a mature plant of its own kind. The
it
plant
cessors
sprung from
and upholds that of karma.
to follow the
it
is
conservation, which denies the immor-
The seed
seed.
it
one not freed from one's
Another good way,
doctrine
born into the next exist-
from the name and form which
tality of the ego-soul
the
is
death, nevertheless,
The above
identity
say, the
sprang from the former."
latter fire
now
repeats the processes which
went through,
of the plant
is
attained.
and an
The
life
its
prede-
eternal perpetuation
of an individual plant
cannot be permanent according to its inherent nature,
it is destined to be cut short some time in its course.
But
this is
not the case with the current of an ever-lasting
vitality that has been running in the plant ever since the
beginning
of the world. Because this current
individual in
its
nature and stands above the
is
not
vicissi-
CHAPTER
VIII.
tudes which take place in the
It
not be manifested in
may
but potentially
time,
of the
of particular plants.
life
its
kinetic form
all
the
ever present in the being
are
simply a matter of form,
Changes
seed.
and do not
is
it
interfere with the current of life in the
which
plant,
2O5
is
preserved in the universe as the energy
of vegetation.
This energy of vegetation is that which
ed in a mature plant, that which makes
in the springtime,
it
manifest-
blossom
that which goes to seed, that which
apparently dormant in the seeds, and that which
lies
resuscitates
them
to sprout
favorable surround-
among
This energy of vegetation, this mysterious force,
stated in Buddhist phraseology, is nothing else
ings.
when
than the
vegetative
expression
of karma, which in
the biological world constitutes the
the
or
is
other
transmission
law of heredity,
of acquired character, or
some
laws which might be discovered by the bioloit is when this force manifests itself in the
And
gist
moral realm of human
affairs that
karma obtains
its
proper significance as the law of moral causation.
Now, there are several forms of transmission, by
means of which the karma of a person or a people
or
a
nation
to eternity.
or
A
a
race
is
able
to perpetuate itself
few of them are described below.
One may be
called genealogical, or, perhaps, bioloare descendants of an illustrious
here
gical. Suppose
ancestors distinguished themof
whose
family, some
by bravery, or benevolence, or
other praiseworthy deeds or
some
by
selves
intelligence, or
faculties.
These
206
CHAPTER
VIII.
people are as a rule respected by their neighbors as
if
ancestral
their
generations and
spirits
were transmitted through
among their consanthem in the line might
still
lingering
guineous successors. Some of
have even been below the normal
and morals, but
intellect
level
in
their
does not altogether
this fact
the possibility and belief that others of their
nullify
some day develop
family might
the
dormant
the faculties possessed
as
by
they appear now,
through the inspiration they could get from the noble
forefathers,
examples of the past. The respect they are enjoying
and the possibility of inspiration they may have are
all
work of the karma generated by the ancestors.
or authors of the noble karma are all
the
The
author
bones have long returned to their
no more, their concrete
their
gone now,
elements, their ego-souls are
individual
personalities
karma
their
the day of
end
left
of
is
its
time.
still
things
of the past
a black record behind them, the evil
tenaciously
its
cling
vitality
it
;
but
was on
generation and will so remain till the
If some of them, on the other hand,
the descendants
as
are
here and as fresh as
to
the history
of the
karma
will
family,
and
have to suffer the curse as long
kept up, no matter how innocent
will
is
they themselves are.
Here one important thing I wish to note is the
mysterious way in which evil karma works. Evil does
not
turns
will
always
out
induce
generate evils only; it very frequently
to be a condition, if not a cause, which
a
moral
being to overcome
it
with his
CHAPTER
VIII.
2O7
His being conscious of the
very fact that his family history is somehow besmirched with dark spots, would rekindle in his heart a
utmost
spiritual
efforts.
flickering light of goodness. His stock of
good karma
would
finally being brought into maturity, his virtues
then
eclipse
the
page
before
him,
Everything in
of the past and turn a
evils
which
full
is
this world, thus,
of bliss
and
new
glory.
seems to turn to be
merely a means for the final realisation of Good.
Buddhists ascribe this spiritual phenomenon to the
upaya (expediency) of the Dharmakaya
or Amitabha Buddha. d
virtues of the
To
return
to
the
further illustration to
have
subject.
show
been said about the
that
It
does not need any
these things which
all
family are also true of
the race, the tribe, clan, nation, or any other form
of community. History of mankind in all its manifold
nothing but a grand drama
visualising the Buddhist doctrine of karmaic immortality.
It is like an immense ocean whose boundaries nobody
of
aspects
existence
is
knows and the waves of events now
surging,
in
all
now
times,
swelling and
whirling, now refluxing,
ebbing,
day and night, illustrate how the laws
now
we understand the following words of Tolstoi in the
karmaic
light which we gain from the Buddhist doctrine of
more
find
we
shall
meaning in them
perhaps
immortality,
than the author himself wished to impart: "My brother who
is dead acts upon me now more strongly than he did in life
he even penetrates my being and lifts me up towards him."
1
If
;
CHAPTER
2O8
of
karma are
provokes
and
ever
without
eternity
work
at
another
in
VIII.
this actual life.
a
that
third
the
losing
and
chain
One
act
on to
so
of karmaic
causation.
we come
Next,
be
called
form of karma which might
By this I mean that a man's
to a
historical.
karma can be immortalised by some
historical objects,
such as buildings, literary works, productions of art,
implements, or instruments. In fact, almost any object,
human
itself,
or
is
however
which,
natural,
associated with the
memory
insignificant
in
of a great man,
bears his karma, and transmits it to posterity.
Everybody is familiar with the facts that all literary
work embodies
and
in itself the author's soul
spirit,
and that posterity can feel his living presence in the
thoughts and sentiments expressed there, and that
reader draws his inspiration from the
whenever the
work and
actualises
though
reader,
it
in action, the
corporeally
must be said
different
times,
pulsation
of one and the
thing
is
separate
same
author and the
and
living
in
spiritually feeling the
heart.
true of productions of art.
And
the
same
When we
enter
a gallery decorated with the noble works of Graecean
or
Roman
right
in
we
artists,
the
midst
feel as if
of these
we were
art-loving
breathing
people and
in us the same impressions that
We forget, as they did, the
them.
were received by
reality of our particular existence, we are unconsciously
raised above it, and our imagination is filled with
seem
to
reawaken
things not earthly.
What
a mysterious power
it is
!
the
CHAPTER
2O9
VIII.
power by which those inanimate objects carry us
to a world of ideals
away
!
What
a mysterious power
that reawakens the spirits of
it
is
a
sheet
indeed
not
by-gone
artists
canvas or in a piece of marble
of
entirely
!
It
on
was
without truth that primitive or
ignorant people intuitively believed in the spiritual
power of idols. What they failed to grasp was the
between the subjective presence of a
distinction
and
its
objective
and not
feeling,
were
they
Buddhist
down
was concerned,
these facts unmistakably testify the
doctrine
of
the
immortality of karma.
A
force
in
is
their works,
bygone ages
and the vibration with
transmitted to the sympathetic souls
to the present day.
Architectural
karma with no
As
spirit
as their religious
perfectly justified in believing in idolatry.
vibrates
full
its
far
of .karma touched by mortals of
chord
still
As
their critical intellect,
in all,
all
Taking
reality.
the
would
creations
less force
bear
out
the
doctrine of
than works of art and literature.
uppermost bricks on an Egyptian pyramid
on the ground with the same amount of
fall
energy that
of Pharaohs
;
required to raise them up in the times
as a burning piece of coal in the furnace
was dug out from the heart of the earth emits
the same quantity of heat that it absorbed from the
that
sun some hundred thousand years ago even so every
insignificant bit of rock or brick or cement we may find
;
among
the ruins of Babylonian palaces, Indian topes,
Persian kiosks, Egyptian obelisks, or
is
fraught with the same
spirit
Roman
pantheons,
and soul that actuated
14
2IO
CHAPTER
VIII.
the ancient peoples to construct those gigantic architectural wonders. The spirit is here, not in its individual form, but in
karmaic presence. When we pick
unseemly pieces, our souls become
its
these insignificant,
to
responsive
singularly
inspirations
coming from
those of the past, and our mental eyes vividly perceive
the
splendor of the gods, glory of the kings, peace
nation, prosperity of the peoples, etc., etc.
of the
Because our
souls
of
those
visible
karma of those
theirs
are. linked
with the
old peoples
is still
breathing
its
immor-
those architectural productions and sending
sympathetic waves out to the beholders. When
in
tality
its
we come
thus
of
immortality
Christians,
where
is
"O
to
be convinced
karma,
where
death,
of the truth of the
we can
is
truly
exclaim with
thy sting?
O
grave,
thy victory?"
hardly necessary to give any further illustration
establish the doctrine of karma concerning its
It
to
and
causation through the medium of
remains of ancient days. Because the
karmaic
chain
is
apparatus and
instruments are an undying eye-witness of the genius
of the inventors. All industrial machines and agricultural
historical
All
significance.
implements most concretely
scientific
testify the immortality of
karma created by the constructors,
as
they
are
beneficial
progress of humanity.
to
the
in
exact proportion
general welfare and
or machines or
The instruments
implements may be superseded by later and better
ones, and possibly altogether forgotten by succeeding
generations, but this does not annul the fact that the
CHAPTER
211
VIII.
improved ones were only possible through the knowledge and experience which came from the use of
the older ones,
other words, that the ideas and
former inventors are still surviving
in
of the
thoughts
through those of their successors, just as much as in
the case of genealogical karma-transmission. Whatever
garb the karma of a person may wear
down to posterity, it is ever there where
tion
Even
felt.
is
in
an
article
of
in its
its
most
way
inspiratrivial
even in a piece of rag, or in a slip of
only let there be an association
significance,
time-worn paper,
with the
memory
of the deceased
imperceptibly
feeling
and
beholder;
if
creeps
the
and an unutterable
the
heart
of the
deceased were known for his
saintliness or righteousness, this
for
;
into
would be an opportunity
our inspiration and moral elevation according to
how our own karma at that moment is made up.
We now come to see more closely the spiritual
purport of karmaic
could
activity.
from what
infer
Any
been
has
intelligent
said
reader
above what
important bearing the Buddhist doctrine of karma has
on our moral and spiritual life. The following remarks,
however,
will greatly
help
him
to understand the
full
extent of the doctrine and to pass an impartial judgment
on
its
merits.
looms up most conspicuously the characteristic difference between Buddhism and Christianity as to their conception of
Here,
if
not anywhere
soul-activity.
conceives
Christianity,
our
else,
if
I
soul- phenomena
understand
as
the
it
rightly,
work of an
CHAPTER
212
VIII.
individual ego-entity, which keeps itself mysteriously
hidden somewhere within the body.
the
soul
a metaphysical being, and
is
To
Christians,
its
incarnation
imprisonment. It groans after emancicraves for the celestial abode, where, after
in the flesh is
it
pation,
can enjoy
it
bodily death,
naked existence.
It
the blessings due to
all
the
finds
its
nectar of immortality
up in Heaven and in the presence of God the father
and Christ the son, and not in the perpetuation of
karma
in
universe.
this
the other hand,
that
is
The
eternally
they have any
soul.
soul of the wicked, on
damned,
As soon
if it is
as
it
is
conceded
liberated
from the bodily incarceration, it is hurled into the
infernal fire, and is there consumed suffering unspeakable
agony.
believe
the
soul.
in
A
once
soul
returns
to
Heaven
or
Christianity,
transmigration
it;
it
is
departed
either
therefore,
does
or reincarnation
from
living
the
flesh
an eternal
not
of a
never
life
in
suffering an instant annihilation in Hell.
This is the necessary conclusion from their premises
of an individual concrete ego-soul.
Buddhism, however, does not teach the metaphysical
All our mental and spiritual
existence of the soul.
experiences,
karma which
it
due to the operations of
efficiency from its previous
declares, are
inherits its
"seeds of activity" (karmabtja), and which has brought
the five skandhas into the present state of co-ordination.
The
present karma,
turn the
conditions
while in
"seeds of activity"
grow
its
force, generates in
which under favorable
to maturity again. Therefore, as long
CHAPTER
as the force of
there
the
are
karma
is
213
thus successively generated,
skandhas constantly coming into
five
and working
existence
VIII.
as
co-ordinately
so
a
person.
to
Karma-reproduction,
speak, effected in this
manner, is the Buddhist conception of the transmigration of a soul.
A
Japanese national hero, General Kusunoki Masashige, who was an orthodox Buddhist, is said to have
uttered
the
battle-field
complete
House."
following
"I
:
will
discharging
And he
words when
he
in
fell
the
be reborn seven times yet and
did
my
duties
not
utter these
the
for
Imperial
words to no
purpose. Because even to-day, after the lapse of
than seven hundred years, his
spirit is still
alive
more
among
countrymen, and indeed his bronze statue on horseback is solemnly guarding the Japanese Imperial
his
palace.
He was
reborn more than seven times and
will
be reborn as long as the Japanese as a nation exist on
earth. This constant rebirth or reincarnation means
more nor
no
less
than
the immortality of karma.
Says Buddha: "Ye disciples, take after my death those
moral precepts and doctrines which were taught to
for
you
in
my own
person, for
I
live in
karma, and not as an ego-entity,
conception
them/'
is
To
live
the Buddhist
of immortality. Therefore, the Buddhists
agree with the sentiment expressed by
a noted modern poet in these lines
will perfectly
:
"We
live in
deeds, not years; in thoughts, not in breaths:
In feelings, not in figures
We
on a
dial,
should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best."
CHAPTER
214
Some may
to
like
VIII.
this
call
kind of immortality
and impetuously demand that the egoinstead
of
soul,
mysterious force of karma, should be
unsatisfactory,
made immortal,
as
it
more
is
tangible and better ap-
preciated by the masses. The Buddhist response to
such a demand would be; "If their intellectual and
not developed enough to see truth
we shall let them adhere
moral
insight
in the
theory of karma, why,
is
as long as they please to their crude, primitive faith
and rest contented with
not
make
children
Even the Buddha could
it."
find
in
pleasure
abstract meta-
physical problems, whatever truth and genuine spiritual
consolation there might be in them. What their hearts
are after are toys
motto
a
of
and
fairy- tales
Buddhism
is
:
and parables. Therefore,
"Minister to the patients
We cannot
according to their wants and conditions."
make a plant grow even an inch higher by
we have but to wait till
pulling its roots
;
it is
ready
development. Unless a child becomes a man,
for
must not expect of him
The
is
artificially
to put
away
we
childish things.
conclusion that could be drawn from the above
obvious
If
we
desire immortality, let there be the
good karma and the cleansing of the heart
from the contamination of evils. In good karma we
maturing of
are
made
to
live eternally,
but in
evil
one we are
doomed, not only ourselves but every one that follows
our steps on the path of evils. Karma is always generative
one
the
;
is
therefore,
eternal
appearance
good karma
curse. It was
of the
is
infinite bliss,
and
evil
for this reason that at
Buddha
in
the Jambudvipa
CHAPTER
VIII.
215
heaven and earth resounded with the joyous acclamation of gods and men. It was a signal triumph for
the cause of goodness. The ideal of moral perfection
found a concrete example in the person of (Jakyamuni.
It showed how the stock of good karma accumulated
and matured from the beginning of consciousness on
earth could be crystalised in one person and brought
to an actuality even in this world of woes. The
Buddha, therefore, was the culmination of
karma previously stored up by his
And he was at the same time the
the
fermentation
of
all
the
good
spiritual ancestors.
starting point for
new karma, because
his
moral
"seeds of activity" which were generated during his
lifetime have been scattered liberally wherever his
and teachings could be promulgated. That
karma-seeds have been sown in the souls of
virtues
is,
his
all
sentient
are
infinte
moral
to
bear
fruit,
Good karma
doers.
it.
number
in
will
become a new centre of
activity. In proportion
begins
while
Every one of these seeds which
beings.
it
protects itself
Therefore,
mortal,
is
but
immortality
it
is
it
how
destroys
strong
it
grows and
the seeds of evil
a combined shield and sword,
it
destroys
good karma
is
all
that
is
against
not only statically im-
dynamically so; that is to say, its
not a mere absence of birth and death,
is
but a constant positive increase in its moral efficiency.
Pious Buddhists believe that every time Buddha's
name is invoked with a heart free from evil thoughts,
he
enters
right
into
the soul and becomes integral
part of his being. This does not mean, however, that
2l6
CHAPTER
Buddha's
VIII.
ego-substratum which might have been
immortal spiritual bliss in the presence
its
enjoying
of an anthropomorphic
invocation
of his
God descends on
name and renders
earth at the
in that
capacity
whatever help the supplicant needs. It means, on the
other hand, that the Buddhist awakens in his personal
karma
which constituted Buddhahood
that
Buddha and nourishes
constitutes
it
Buddhahood
is
to
the
in
maturity. That which
not the personal ego of
the Buddha, but his karma. Every chemical element,
whenever occasioned
nation, never
fails
at the time of
to befree itself
to generate heat
from a combi-
which
it
absorbed
combination with other elements and
;
place no matter how remote the time of
combination was. It is even so with the karma-seed
this
takes
of Buddha.
It
might have been
in the
barren
soil
of
a sinful heart, and, being deeply buried there for many
a year, might have been forgotten altogether by the
owner. But, sooner or later, it will never fail to grow
under favorable conditions and generate what it gained
from the Buddha in the beginning of the world. And
this
regeneration
predominantly
will
not
biological
;
be merely chemical, but
the law which
it
is
for
conditions the immortality of karma.
PRACTICAL BUDDHISM.
CHAPTER
IX.
THE DHARMAKAYA.
have
considered
under
(Bhutatathata)
where
any
doctrine
the
Suchness
of
Buddhism,"
"Speculative
appeared altogether too abstract to be of
practical use to our earthly life. The theory as
such
it
did
on our
not seem to have any immediate bearings
religious consciousness. The fact is, it must
pass
through
some
fully
satisfies
our
concrete
spiritual
in
figure
of mathematical
needs.
world that
this
since
exactitude,
As
is
in
perfect
there
is
it
no
a perfect type
everything
must be perceived through our more or
physical organs
before
modification
practical
here
less distorted
even so with pure reason however
it must appear
to us more or less
:
;
itself,
modified while passing through our affective-intellectual
objectives. This modification of pure reason, however,
is
human
necessary from the
mere abstraction
value
for
religious
cravings
point of view
contentless, lifeless,
our practical
concepts lacking
We
is
will
life,
not
;
because
and has no
and again, because our
be
satisfied with
empty
vitality.
may sometimes
ignore
the claims of reason
CHAPTER
2l8
and
rest
IX.
though usually unconsciously,
which are conflicting when critically
examined, but we cannot disregard by any means
those of the religious sentiment, which finds satisfaction
satisfied,
with
assertions
only
in
some
the very fact of things.
contradictions
flagrant
was because
it
is
the
:
name
consciousness
of
first
and when
it
attains
consequence
to
it
whether or not
interpretation
is
fact,
of faith,
to
be
expense of reason. The truth
at the
religious
ever harbored
the
in
ever-pressing demands had
its
met with even
If it
that,
is
it
logically tenable. If
all
demands
not of
its
much
intellectual
on the other hand
logic be all-important and demand the first consideration
and the sentiment had to follow its trail without a
our
murmuring,
aspect,
turn
lose its savory
our existence would become
tasteless,
world would
the
void,
would surely
life
be
a
mere succession of
meaningless events, and what remains would be nothing
else than devastation, barreness, and universal misery.
The
the
truth
is,
in this life the will
predominates and
which explains the fact that
existing religions on the one hand display
logical inaccuracy and on the other hand a
intellect
while
subserves
;
all
some
mechanical explanation of the world
more and more,
part
everywhere
good
is
the
for
religion
in
is
still
is
gaining ground
playing an important
our practical
life.
Abstraction
is
when
it
the exercises of the intellect, but
question
of
life
and
death
something more
substantial and of
theorisation.
may
It
we must have
more
vitality
than
not be a mathematically exact
CHAPTER
and
certain
real
living,
but
proposition,
theory,
that
is,
219
IX.
it
it
must be a working,
must be a faith born
of the inmost consciousness of our being.
What practical transformations then has the doctrine
of Suchness, in order to meet the religious demands,
to suffer?
God.
is
Buddhism does not use the word God. The word
rather offensive to most of its followers, especially
when
the
of
it
intimately associated in vulgar minds with
is
caused
nothing,
who produced
creator
a
of
idea
downfall
the
the world out
of mankind, and,
touched by the pang of remorse, sent down his only
son to save the depraved. But, on account of this,
Buddhism must not be judged
endorses
the
an
universe.
agnostic,
Far
as an atheism
materialistic
from
it.
which
interpretation of
Buddhism outspokenly
acknowledges the presence in the world of a reality
which transcends the limitations of phenomenality,
but
which
manifests
live
is
nevertheless
itself
in
its
immanent everywhere and
full
glory,
and
and move and have our being.
or the religious object of Buddhism
God
which we
in
is
generally
Dharmakaya-Buddha and occasionally VairocanaBuddha or Vairocana-Dharmakaya-Buddha still another name for it is Amitabha-Buddha or Amitayurcalled
;
Buddha,
followers
the latter two being mostly used by the
of the Sukhavati sect of Japan and China.
22O
CHAPTER
IX.
Again, very frequently we find (Jakyamuni, the Buddha,
and the Tathagata stripped of his historical personality
and
identified
with
the
highest
truth
and
reality.
however, by no means exhaust a legion of
names invented by the fertile imagination of Buddhists
These,
for their object of reverence as called forth
by
their
various spiritual needs.
Dharmakaya.
Western scholars usually translate Dharmakaya by
"Body of the Law" meaning by the Law the doctrine
set
forth
by (Jakyamuni the Buddha.
It
is
said that
when Buddha was preparing himself to enter into
eternal Nirvana, he commanded his disciples to revere
the Dharma or religion taught by him as his own
man
person, because a
continues to live in the work,
deeds, and words left behind himself. So, Dharmakaya
came to be understood by Western scholars as
meaning
the
person
of
Buddha incarnated
in
his
This interpretation of the term is not very
accurate, however, and is productive of some very
serious misinterpretations concerning the fundamental
religion.
doctrines
of
Mahayanism.
Law
as
the
Historically, the Body of
Buddha incarnate might have been
the sense of Dharmakaya, as we can infer from the
occasional use of the term in some Hinayana texts.
the
But as
an
with
it
is
entirely
the
used by Eastern Buddhists,
new
significance,
body of
the Buddha.
it
has acquired
having nothing to do
religious teachings established
by
CHAPTER
This transformation
in the
221
IX.
conception of Dharmakaya
been effected by the different interpretation the
term Dharma came to receive from the hand of the
has
Dharma
Mahayanists.
word and
a very pregnant
is
wide range of meaning. It comes from the
dhr, which means "to hold," "to carry", "to
bear," and the primitive sense of dharma was "that
covers a
root
which
came
to
bears
or
carries
"that
signify
or
which forms
the course of things,"
regulates
and
supports,"
that
the
then
norm,
it
or
"law," "in-
is,
stitution," "rule," "doctrine," then, "duty," "justice,"
"virtue," "moral merit," "character," "attribute," "essential
quality," "substance," "that
"being/'
frequently
The
etc.
etc.,
used
for
go
may
but when
;
English
exists," "reality,"
equivalent
dharma by Oriental
law or doctrine. This
Pali texts
which
be
most
scholars
is
all
right as far as the
we wish
to apply this inter-
Mahayana terms, such as Dharmadhatu,
Dharmakaya, Dharmalaksa, Dharmaloka, etc., we are
placed in an awkward position and are at a loss
pretation to the
how
are
to
the meaning
at
get
passages
in
Mahayana
of those terms. There
literature
in
which the
whole significance of the text depends upon how we
understand the word dharma. And it may even be
said
that
students
one
of
of
the importance of
pretation
remarks
of
the
the
many
reasons
Buddhism so frequently
Mahayanism
of dharma.
Max
due to
Christian
to recognise
their misinter-
Mueller, therefore, rightly
in his introduction to
Vajracchedika
is
why
fail
Sutra,
an English translation
when he
says
:
"If
we
CHAPTER
222
IX.
were always to translate dharma by law, it seems to
me that the whole drift of our treatise would become
Not
unintelligible."
but
Mahayanism,
its
that
only
particular
entire literature
text
of
would become
utterly incomprehensible.
In
Mahayanism Dharma means
or
"substance,"
or
"being,"
in
many
cases "thing,"
"reality,"
both
in its
particular and in its general sense, though it is also
frequently used in the sense of law or doctrine. Kaya
may be
but
rendered "body," not
of system,
that
in
the
Dharmakaya,
in the
unity,
sense of personality,
and organised form.
combination of dharma and kaya,
thus means the organised totality of things or the
principle of cosmic unity, though not as a purely
philosophical concept, but as an object of the religious
consciousness
original
Throughout this work, however, the
Sanskrit form will be retained in preference
to any English equivalents that have been used
heretofore for Dharmakaya conveys to the minds of
;
Eastern Buddhists a peculiar religious
when
translated
by
either
God
flavor,
or the All or
which,
some
abstract philosophical terms, suffers considerably.
Dharmakaya as
As
Religious Object.
aforesaid, the
Dharmakaya is not a product of
reflection and is not exactly equivalent
philosophical
to Suchness
has a religious signification as the
object of the religious consciousness. The Dharmakaya
is a soul, a
willing and knowing being, one that is
;
it
CHAPTER IX
and
will
intelligence,
understood
by
the
223
thought and action.
Mahayanists, not an
metaphysical principle like Suchness, but
spirit, that manifests itself in nature as
It
as
is,
abstract
is
it
living
well as in
The universe as an expression of this spirit
not a meaningless display of blind forces, nor is it
an arena for the struggle of diverse mechanical powers.
thought.
is
Buddhists
Further,
ascribe
to
the
Dharmakaya
in-
numerable merits and virtues and an absolute perfect
intelligence, and makes it an inexhaustible fountain-head
and
compassion; and it is in this that the
Dharmakaya finally assumes a totally different aspect
from a mere metaphysical principle, cold and lifeless.
of
love
The Avatamsaka Sutra
gives
some comprehensive
statements concerning the nature of the Dharmakaya
as follows
:
"The Dharmakaya, though manifesting
world,
triple
is
free
from impurities and
itself in
the
desires.
It
unfolds itself here, there, and everywhere responding
to the call of karma. It is not an individual reality,
not a
false existence,
it
is
It
comes from nowhere,
not assert
is
forever
of
all
it
but
is
universal and pure.
goes to
nowhere
;
it
does
itself, nor is it subject to annihilation. It
serene and eternal. It is the One, devoid
determinations.
This Body of
Dharma
has no
boundary, no quarters, but is embodied in all bodies.
Its freedom or spontaneity is incomprehensible, its
spiritual
sible.
it
is
presence in things corporeal
is
incomprehen-
All forms of corporeality are involved therein,
able to create
all
things.
Assuming any concrete
CHAPTER
224
body as required by the nature and condition
material
of karma,
illuminates
it
of
treasure
There
not
Body
forever
contraries, yet
them
where
in the universe
universe
remains.
is
it
it is
the
working
this
Body
but this
free
is
It
Though
void of particularity.
is
it
The
prevail.
creations.
all
intelligence,
no place
is
does
and
IX.
becomes,
from all opposites
in all things to lead
to Nirvana."
More Detailed
The above
Characterisation.
gives us a general, concise view as to
what the Dharmakaya is, but let
ing more detailed description of
may more
clearly
me
it,
quote the followin order that we
and definitely see into the charac-
Buddhistic conception of the highest being. 1
The Tathagata 2 is not a
ye, sons of Buddha
teristically
"O
!
particular
nor has
it
dharma, nor a particular form of activity,
a particular body, nor does it abide in a
particular place, nor
is
its
to one particular people.
in
itself
bodies,
infinite
salvation of
"O
all
ye, sons of
in
that obtain
itself all
The Avatamsaka
1
involves
it
activities,
infinite
and universally works for the
Buddha!
contains
dra, fas.
the contrary,
infinite
things.
vacuums
1
On
dharmas,
infinite spaces,
work of salvation confined
It is
like
unto space. Space
material existences and
between them Again,
it
Sutra, Chinese translation by
all
s
the
establish-
Buddhabha-
XXXIV.
That is the Dharmakaya personified.
Hindu philosophy space is always conceived as an objective entity in which all things exist.
3
In
CHAPTER
es
225
in all possible quarters,
itself
say of
IX.
that
it
for space has
it
or
is
it
is
and yet we cannot
not in this particular spot,
no palpable form. Even so with the Dhar-
kaya of the Tathagata.
It
itself in all places,
presents
in all directions,
dharmas, and in all beings;
yet the Dharmakaya itself has not been thereby particularised. Because the Body of the Tathagata has
in
all
no particular body but manifests
anywhere
in
everywhere and
and condition of
itself
response to the nature
things.
"O
ye, sons of
Buddha!
It is like
boundless, comprehends in
is
itself
yet shows no trace of passion
so with the
Dharmakaya
unto space. Space
all existence, and
It
[partiality].
of the Tathagata.
is
It
even
illumi-
good works worldly as well as religious, but
betrays no passion or prejudice. Why ? Because the
nates
it
all
Dharmakaya
is
from
free
perfectly
all
passions and
l
prejudices.
U
ye, sons
O
The
of Buddha!
benefits conferred
by
It
is
like
unto the Sun.
the light of the sun
on earth are incalculable
e.
upon
by
nourishment
to
all
trees,
gives
dispelling
it vanquishes humidherbs, grains, plants, and grass
all
living
beings
darkness
:
g.
it
;
ity;
1
it
illuminates ether
whereby benefitting
This should be understood in the sense that
all
the
"God maketh
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth
rain on the just and on the unjust." The Dharmakaya is universal in its love, as space is in Its comprehensiveness Because
it is absolutely free from human desires and passions that are
his
the product of egoism and therefore tend always to be discriminative and exclusive.
'5
CHAPTER
226
living beings in air
whereby bringing
full
blossom;
forms
earth.
it
;
its
IX.
rays penetr ate into the waters
forth the beautiful lotus flowers into
impartially shines on
all
figures
and
and brings into completion all the works on
Why? Because from the sun emanate infinite
rays of life-giving light.
"O
ye, sons of
Buddha
It is
!
even so with the Sun-
the Tathagata which in innumerable ways
bestows benefits upon all beings That is, it benefits us by
Body of
destroying
evils, all
good things thus being quickened
to
growth; it benefits us with its universal illumination
which vanquishes t'he darkness of ignorance harbored in
all
beings
;
it
benefits us through
its
heart which saves and protects
great compassionate
all
beings
it
;
benefits
through its great loving heart which delivers all
beings from the misery of birth and death it benefits
us
;
by the establishment of a good
us
we
are
benefits
all
strengthened
us
by giving
which cleanses
by helping
whereby
our moral activities;
in
it
us a firm belief in the truth
our spiritual impurities
;
it
benefits
us to understand the doctrine by virtue
of which
we
causation
it
;
all
religion
are
not
led
to
disavow
the
benefits us with a divine vision
law of
which
enables us to observe the metempsychosis of all beings
;
by avoiding injurious deeds which may
destroy the stock of merits accumulated by all beings
it
benefits us with an intellectual light which unfolds
it
benefits us
;
the mind-flowers of
beings it benefits us with an
we are enlivened to practice all
all
aspiration whereby
that constitutes Buddhahood.
;
Why?
Because the Sun-
CHAPTER
Body of the Tathagata
IX.
227
universally emits the rays of
the Light of Intelligence.
U
O
the
sons
ye,
sun
rising
Buddha!
of
shines
first
When the day breaks,
on the peaks of all the
mountains, then on those of high mountains,
finally all over the plains and fields; but the
higher
and
shine
on
first
and
sunlight
there
is
fields.
make
not
the
all
ascending
gradually
plains
does
itself
sunlight
highest
this
I will
thought
mountains and then
:
higher and higher shine on the
The reason why one gets the
simply because
a gradation of height on the surface of the
earlier
another
than
is
earth.
"O
sons
ye,
Tathagata who
immeasurable
Buddha
of
It
!
is
even so with the
innumerable and
in possession of
is
suns
of universal intelligence.
The
in-
numerable rays of the Light of Intelligence, emanating
everlastingly from the spiritual Body of the Tathagata,
will
first
who
the
fall
on the Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas
are the highest peaks
then
Nidanabuddhas,
those
beings
as
character,
capacity
who
are
they
and
finally
on the (Jravakas, then on
endowed with
will
unhesitatingly
liverance,
among mankind, then on
definitely
good
according to his own
embrace the doctrine of de-
on
each
all
common
mortals whose
may be either indefinite or definitely bad,
providing them with those conditions which will prove
But the Light of
beneficial in their future births
character
Intelligence
make
this
emanating
thought:
'I
from the Tathagata does not
will first shine on the Bodhi-
CHAPTER
228
IX.
and then gradually pass over to all common
mortals, etc.' The Light is universal and illuminates
sattvas
everything without any prejudice, yet on account of
diversity that obtains among sentient beings as
the
the Light of
them.
diversely perceived by
Intelligence
"O ye, sons of Buddha When the sun rises above
their
to
character,
aspirations,
etc.,
is
!
the
those
horizon,
born
people
blind,
on account
their
defective sight, cannot see the light at
they
are
it
all,
but
nevertheless benefited by the sunlight, for
them just as much as to any other beings
gives
necessary for the maintenance of life: it
dispels dampness and coldness and makes them feel
agreeable, it destroys all the injurious germs that are
that
all
is
produced on account of the absence of sunshine,
and thus keeps the blind as well as the not-blind
comfortable and healthy.
"O
ye,
sons
of
Buddha
!
It
is
even so with the
Sun of
Intelligence of the Tathagata. All those beings
whose spiritual vision is blinded by false doctrine, or
Buddha's precepts, or by ignorance,
influences, never perceive the Light of
by the
violation of
or
evil
by
Intelligence;
because
they
are
are nevertheless benefited
they
disperses indiscriminately for
all
devoid of
faith.
by the Light
;
But
for
it
beings the sufferings
arising from the four elements, and gives them physical
comforts,
for
it
destroys
the
root of
all
passions,
prejudices, and pains for unbelievers as well as for believers.
the
.
.
By
virtue of this omnipresent Light of Intelligence,
Bodhisattvas
will
attain perfect purity
and the
CHAPTER
knowledge of
vakas
will
things, the
all
all
destroy
endowed and
poorly
Nidanabuddhas and
views
and those creatures
;
of existence
such
animal realm,
will
and
and believe
in the four
living in the evil paths
as hell, world of ghosts, and the
be freed from their
be born
will, after death,
in the
evils
and torture
human
or celes-
world ....
tial
"O
ye, sons of
like
is
(Jra-
passions and desires; mortals
those born blind will rid of
impurities, control the senses,
*
229
IX.
unto the
attributes: (i)
satellites
;
(2)
outdoes in
It
It
Buddha! The Light of Dharmakaya
moon which has four wondrous
full
shows
as observable in the
its
brilliance all stars
in its size increase
Jambudvipa
;
and
and decrease
(3) Its reflection is
seen in every drop or body of clear water
;
(4)
Whoever
endowed with
is
"O ye,
perfect sight, perceives it vis-a-vis.
sons of Buddha Even so with the Dharmakaya
!
of
theT athagata,
It
eclipses the stars of the Nidanabuddhas, (Jravakas,
etc.
;
to
shows
(2) It
which
is
whom
due to
it
that has four
wondrous attributes
:
(i)
in its earthly life a certain variation
the different natures of the beings
manifests
2
itself,
while the
Dharmakaya
The four views are: That the physical body is productive
of impurities that sensuality causes pain; that the individual soul
is not permanent; and that all things are devoid of the Atman.
2 That is to
say: The Dharmakaya, that assumes all forms
1
;
what class of being it is manifesting
sometimes conceived by the believers to be a shortlived god, sometimes an immortal spirit, sometimes a celestial
being of one hundred kalpas, and sometimes an existence of
only a moment. As there are so many different dispositions,
of existence according to
itself, is
CHAPTER
23O
itself
in
and shows no increase or decrease
eternal
is
(3) Its reflection
way;
any
IX.
seen
is
in
the Bodhi
(intelligence) of every pure-hearted sentient being; (4)
All
who understand
the
Dharma and
own mental
each according to his
they have really recognised
in
obtain deliverance,
calibre, think that
own way the
Dharmakaya itself
their
Tathagata face to face, while the
not a particular object of understanding, but univer-
is
Buddha-works
sally brings all
"O
into completion.
The Dharmakaya is like
ye,
unto the Great Brahmaraja who governs three thousand
chiliocosms. The Raja by a mysterious trick makes
sons of Buddha
seen
himself
realm
and
has
seen
has
never
by
universally
them
causes
him
face
to
divided
his
!
all
living beings in his
to think that each of
face;
but
them
the Raja himself
own person nor
is
he
in
possession of diverse features.
"O ye, sons of Buddha Even so with the Tathagata
he has never divided himself into many, nor has he ever
assumed diverse features. But all beings, each ac!
;
cording
to
recognise
his
the
and strength of faith,
of the Tathagata, while he has
understanding
Body
never made this thought that he will show himself to
such and such particular people and not to others
"O ye, sons of Buddha! The Dharmakaya is like
.
unto the maniratna
in
the
waters,
.
.
whose wondrous
characters, karmas, intellectual attainments, moral environments,
so there are 'as many Dharmakayas as subjectively
etc.,
represented
in
the
minds of sentient beings, though the
Dharmakaya, objectively considered,
is
absolutely one.
CHAPTER
transforms
light
with
to
it
become
there
a
scription,
231
comes
that
everything
own
purified.
is
"O
its
IX.
The eyes
color.
Wherever
its
illumination reaches,
of
sons
Buddha!
It
is
even so with the
rightly
be
the treasure of treasures, the thesaurus of
all
Dharmakaya of the Tathagata, which may
merits, and the mine of intelligence.
touch with
in
same
it
marvelous display of gems of every dewhich gives pleasure to all beings to see.
ye,
called
contact
in
that perceive
this
light,
is
all
Whoever comes
transformed into the
Whoever sees this
eye of Dharma. Whoever
color as that of the Buddha.
obtains the purest
light, all
comes
touch with
in
this light, rids of
suffering, attains wealth
poverty and
and eminence, enjoys the
bliss
of the incomparable Bodhi"
Dharmakaya and Individual
From
these
statements
it
is
Beings.
evident
that
the
Dharmakaya or the Body of the Tatha^gata, or the
Body of Intelligence, whatever it may be designated,
is not a mere philosophical abstraction, standing aloof
world of birth and death, of joy and sorrow,
but
calmly contemplates on the folly of mankind
that it is a spiritual existence which is "absolutely
from
this
;
one,
all
is
real
and
true,
beings, transcends
desires
and
all
struggles
and forms the raison d'etre of
modes of upaya,
[or
compulsion],
is
free
and stands
outside the pale of our finite understanding."
1
Asanga's
samparigrahd).
General
Treatise
on
from
Mahayanism.
1
It
is
(Mahay&na
CHAPTER
232
IX.
also evident that the
Dharmakaya, though itself free
from ignorance (avidya) and passion (klega] and
desire (trsna), is revealed in the finite and fragmental
consciousness of
human
being, so that
a sense that "this body of mine
though not absolutely
that "the
the
body of
Dharmakaya
in the latter
is
;
and
the
is
we can
say in
Dharmakaya"
also in a generalised
form
beings is the Dharmakaya, and
the body of all beings,"
though
all
only imperfectly and fractionally realised.
As we thus partake something in ourselves of the
Dharmakaya, we all are ultimately destined to attain
Buddhahood when the human intelligence, Bodhi, is
perfectly identified with, or absorbed
Dharmakaya, and when our earthly
realisation of the will of the
that of the
in,
life
becomes the
Dharmakaya.
The Dharmakaya as Love.
us
Here an important consideration forces itself upon
which is, that the Dharmakaya is not only an
intelligent
mind but a loving
a god of rigorism
who does
heart, that
it is
not only
not allow a hair's breadth
deviation from the law of karma, but also an incarnation
of
mercy that is constantly belaboring to develop the
most insignificant merit into a field yielding rich
harvests.
The Dharmakaya
relentlessly punishes the
wrong and does not permit the exhaustion of their
karma without sufficient reason and yet its hands
;
are always directing our
life
toward the actualisation
CHAPTER
IX.
233
of supreme goodness. "Pangs of nature, sins of will,
defects of doubt, and stains of blood,"
discouraging
and gloomy indeed
the Dharmakaya,
the
is
infinite
karma of
in
evil-doers
!
But
and goodness,
love
is
to bring this world-transaction
managing
happy terminus. Every good we do is absorbed
the universal stock of merits which is no more nor
incessantly
to a
in
less
we
than the Dharmakaya. Every act of lovingkindness
practice is conceived in the womb of Tathagata,
and therein nourished and matured,
out to this world of karma to bear
no
is
again brought
its fruit.
walks on earth with aimless feet
life
thrown into the
or
great
fire
no chaff
unquenchable. Every
insignificant,
is
Dharmakaya and
of the
;
Therefore,
a
as
reflection
is
existence,
of the glory
such worthy of
its
all-
love.
embracing
For further corroboration of
random from a Mahayana
at
this
view
let
us cite
1
sutra:
"With one great loving heart
The
thirsty desires of
refreshing
all
beings he quencheth with coolness
;
With compassion,
Which
like
of all doth he think,
space knows no bounds;
Over the world's all creation
With no thought of particularity he revieweth.
"With
a great heart compassionate and loving,
by him are embraced;
All sentient beings
With means
all
He doth
1
(upayd)
which are pure,
free
from
stain,
excellent,
save and deliver
The Avatamsaka
all
creatures innumerable.
Sutra, chap. 13,
"On
Merit."
and
CHAPTER
234
IX.
"With unfathomable love and with compassion
All creations caressed by him universally;
Yet
free
from attachment his heart
is.
compassion is great and is infinite,
on every being he confereth,
And himself showeth all over the universe;
"As
his
Bliss unearthly
He'll not rest
till
all
Buddhahood
Mahay dnists' view of
Later
truly attains."
the
Dharmakaya.
The above
has been quoted almost exclusively from
the so-called sutra literature of Mahayana Buddhism,
which
ical
distinguished from the other religio-philosoph-
is
treatises
of
school, because the sutras are
the
considered to be the accounts of Buddha himself as
recorded
see
by
his
immediate
1
disciples.
Let us now
by way of further elucidation what views were
held concerning the
Dharmakaya by such
writers as
Asanga, Vasubandhu, etc.
We read in the General Treatise on Mahay dnism
by Asanga and Vasubandhu the following statement
:
"When
how have
the Bodhisattvas think of the Dharmakaya,
they to picture
4
'Briefly stated, they
it
will
to themselves?
think of the
Dharmakaya
by picturing to themselves its seven characteristics,
which constitute the faultless virtues and essential
This is by no means the case, for some of the Mahayana
sutras are undoubtedly productions of much later writers than
the immediate followers of the Buddha, though of course it
1
is very likely that some
of the most important Mahayana
canonical books were compiled within a few hundred years
after the
Nirvana of the Master.
CHAPTER
functions
Kaya.
all
free,
unri-
Dharmakaya, which
Think of the eternality
beings
(2)
;
Dharmakaya
absolute freedom from
its
and
Think of the
(i)
perfect virtues in the
all
235
activity of the
manifested in
of
of
the
unimpeded
valed,
is
of
IX.
all
(3)
;
Think
prejudice, intellectual
(4) Think of those spontaneous activiuninterruptedly emanate from the will of the
affective
ties that
;
Think of the inexhaustible wealth,
Dharmakaya;
spiritual and
physical,
Dharma;
Think of
(6)
(5)
stored
has no stain of onesidedness
works achieved
in
the
Body
intellectual purity
its
(7)
;
of the
which
Think of the earthly
for the salvation of all beings
by the
who are reflexes of the Dharmakaya."
As regards the activity of the Dharmakaya, which
is shown in every Buddha's work of salvation, Asanga
enumerates five forms of operation: (i) It is shown
Tathagatas
power of removing
in
his
in
the
to
cure
such
(2)
as
is
It
over
course
all
of
evils
which
may
befall
us
though the Buddha is unable
which we may have,
life,
defects
any physical
blindness, deafness, mental abberration, etc.
shown
in his irresistible spiritual
evil-doers,
doing some good
the Buddha. (3)
who, base as they
if
It
are,
cannot help
presence of
shown in his power of destroying
they ever
is
come
domination
various unnatural and
irrational
in the
methods of salvation
which are practiced by followers of asceticism, hedonism, or Ishvaraism. (4)
those
diseased
permanency, and
in
the
It is
minds
shown
in his
believe
that
power of curing
in
the
reality,
indivisibility of the ego-soul, that
pudgalavada.
(5)
It
is
shown
is,
in his inspiring
CHAPTER
236
over
influence
IX.
those Bodhisattvas
who have not
yet
attained to the stage of immovability as well as over
those (Jravakas whose faith and character are
a state of vacillation.
The Freedom
Those
spiritual
of the
beings of the
enlightened mind of a
through the
which we have seen
are
Asanga,
to
According
powers
have
constrained
from
flow
from
no
immanent
and
human
spiritual
the-
Body
elaboration
necessity, or, as
any conscious, struggling
sentient
from
by
significance.
those
view,
of
stated
of
or
I
take
it,
The Dharmakaya does not make
free will.
its
as
but they are a spontaneous over-
effort,
its
above
emanating
trace
all
religious
Buddhist
the
everlastingly
Dharma
with
fraught
in
Dharmakdya.
over
influences
Dharmakaya
Buddha,
still
creatures
its
blessings. If there
efforts to
innumerable
were
in
it
shower upon
merits,
all
benefits,
any trace of elabora-
would mean a struggle within itself of divers
tendencies, one trying to gain ascendency over another.
tion,
that
And
apparent that any struggle and its necessary
compulsion, are incompatible with our conception
ally,
it
is
the highest religious reality. Absolute spontaneity
of
and perfect freedom is one of those necessary attributes
which our religious consciousness cannot help ascribing
to
its
ly
object of reverence. Buddhists therefore repeated-
affirm
perfectly
and
that
free
internal.
the
from
Its
activity
all
every
effort
of
the
Dharmakaya
is
and coercion, external
act of creation or salvation
CHAPTER
or love emanates from
its
IX.
own
in
standing
"free
mankind.
of
will"
limited,
is
such
a
which
called
This
free will
human and
evident
at best
its
seek any recompense for
that
is
divine,
own
much
very
l
As the Dharmakaya works of
is
which
by the Buddhists the Dharmakaya's
''Purvapranidhanabala."
does not
unhampered
contrast with our
striking
is
free will,
which characterises the
by any struggling exertion
doings
237
the
of
act
every
own accord
its
deed
;
and
Dharmakaya
it
it
is
always for the best welfare of its creatures, for they
are
its
need.
1
and
manifestations
We
it
do not have to ask
"Purvapranidhanabala"
is
must know what they
for
our "daily bread,"
frequently translated "the
power
original (or primitive) prayer." Literally, purva means
''former" or "original" or "primitive" and pranidhana, "desire"
or "vow or "prayer"; and bala, "power." So far as literary
of
;
rendering is concerned, "power of original prayer" seems to
be the sense of the original Sanskrit. But when we speak of
Dharmakaya or Tathagata, how shall
we understand it? Has prayer any sense in this connection?
The Dharmakaya can by its own free will manifest in any
form of existence and finish its work in whatever way it deems
primitive prayers of the
There is no need for it to utter any prayer in the agony of struggle to accomplish. There is in the universe no
force whatever which is working against it so powerfully
as to make it cry for help and there cannot be any struggle
or agony in the activity of the Dharmakaya. The term prayer
therefore is altogether misleading and inaccurate and implicates
us in a grave error which tends to contradict the general
Buddhist conception of Dharmakaya. We must dispense with
the term entirely in order to be in perfect harmony with the
fundamental doctrine of Buddhism. This point will receive
best.
;
further consideration later.
CHAPTER
238
IX.
nor have we to praise or eulogise its virtues to court
its special grace, nor is there any necessity for us to
or
offer
prayer
Consider the
and
spin,
1
shines in
the
Dharmakaya.
of the field which neither
add,
might
favoritism from above
Solomon
better than
to
supplication
lilies
;
which
ask
not
nor
toil
for
any
yet are they not arrayed even
in all his glory
?
The Dharmakaya
august magnificence everywhere there is
are all living
nay, even where there is death.
its
We
life,
in the
midst of
and
it
yet, strange to say, as "the fish
knows not
"the
as
the presence of water about itself," and also
mountaineers recognise not the mountains
among which they
we know not whence
is made manifest in us
hunt," even so
power comes whose .work
and whither it finally leadeth us. In
that
we
ignorance,
we
rest
all
this is
really feel that
we
profound
are here, and thereby
For we believe that
contented.
supremely
spite of this
wrought through the mysterious and miracu-
Dharmakaya, who does all excellent
works and seeks no recompense whatever.
lous will of the
The Will of
the
Dharmakaya.
Summarily speaking, the Dharmakaya assumes three
essential
aspects
sciousness:
it
is
first,
as
We
dhdnabala).
the declaration
is
it
love (karund)
reflected
;
intelligence (prajna)\ secondly,
and
know
that
our religious con-
in
thirdly,
that
the
it
it is
is
the will (prani-
intelligence
Dharmakaya
from
directs
course of the universe, not blindly but rationally ;
know again that it is love because it embraces
the
we
all
CHAPTER
IX.
beings with fatherly tenderness
assume that
down
has firmly set
be
shall
the
final
Without the
realised
lose
will
*
;
aim of
its
of
goal
and
finally
we must
because the Dharmakaya
will,
activity in that
all
and
love
will,
without
;
their
the
a
is
it
239
evil in
good
the universe.
intelligence will not
love, the will
and intelligence
without
be
will
and
love
impulse
intelligence,
be irrational. In fact, the three are co;
will
ordinates and constitute the oneness of the
Dharmakaya
;
and by oneness I mean the absolute, and not the numericunity of
al,
for
Dharmakaya,
are
these three things in the being of the
all
intelligence
and love and the
as such only in our
differentiated
human,
will
finite
consciousness.
Some
Buddhists
may
not agree entirely with the
view here expounded. They may declare "We conform
to your view when you say the Dharmakaya is intelligence and love, as this is expressly stated in the
:
and gastras
sutras
made
be
a
will.
;
but
we do not
see
how
it
could
Indeed, the Scriptures say that the
Dharmakaya is in possession of the Pranidhanabala,
but this bala or power is not necessarily the will, it
the power of prayers or intense vows.
is
makaya
actually
energy abiding
its
original
salvation of
It
1
"I
is
made solemn vows, and
in the
plan
all
world of particulars works out
and
makes possible the
universal
creatures."
quite true that the
am
The Dhar-
their spiritual
the father of
all
word pranidhanabala means
beings, and they are
(The Avatamsaka, the Pundarika,
etc.)
my children."
CHAPTER
24O
"the
literally
power of
IX.
But
prayers."
original
its
literary rendering totally ignores
this
inner significance
which the nature of the Dharmakaya would
become unintelligible. We admit that the Dharmakaya
without
knows no higher existence by which
nor
has
like
that
to
than
of
speak
it is
itself.
its
some Buddhists
hand, we
necessitated to appeal to something
It
is,
therefore, utterly nonsensical
prayer,
"original" or borrowed, as
will
all
done by
is
its
own
free
the determinations that might
from outside.
it
But
the other
are perfectly justified in saying that whatever
independent of
affect
On
are inclined to think.
done by the Dharmakaya
is
conditioned,
any fragmentary, limited consciousness
of human being, nor has it any intrinsic
it
want by which
other
it is
I
can presume the reason
why
they speak of
the prayers of the Dharmakaya instead of its will.
Here we have an instance of emotional outburst. The
fervency
of the
intense
frequently carries us
landing
dictions.
human
beyond the
us in a region
It
measure of
religious sentiment not in-
full
limits of the intellect,
of mysteries and contra-
anthroposises everything beyond the proper
intellection
and
ascribes
all
earthly
and passions to an object which the
mind well-balanced demands to be above all the
feelings
forms of human helplessness. The Buddhists, especid
ally those of the Sukhavati sect,
recognise the exist-
To get more fully acquainted with the significance of
the Sukhavati doctrine, the reader is advised to look up the
1
Sukhavati sutras
in the
Sacred Books of
the East, Vol.
XLIX.
CHAPTER
ence
an all-powerful
of
IX.
will,
241
all-embracing love, and
all-knowing intelligence in the Dharmakaya, but they
want to represent it more concretely and in a more
humanly fashion before the mental
followers.
intellectual
Dharmakaya
The
sufferings of birth
out
its
of
its
vision of the less
thus
in spite of its absoluteness
to himself to emancipate
addressed
result
prayers
inmost
all
is
that
made prayers
sentient beings from the
and death. But are not these
of the
nature
the
self-
Dharmakaya which sprang
exactly
what constitutes
will?
16
CHAPTER
X.
THE DOCTRINE OF TRIKAYA.
(BUDDHIST THEORY OF TRINITY.)
Human and
The
O NE
the
Super-human Buddha.
of the most remarkable differences between the
and the Sanskrit, that is, between the Hinayana and the Mahayana Buddhist literature, is in the manPali
ner of introducing the characters or persons who take
principal parts in the narratives. In the former, sermons
are
by the Buddha
delivered
natural
and plain
language
as
as to
a
rule in such a
make
the reader
the presence of the teacher, fatherly-hearted and
feel
philosophically
we
serene;
while
in the latter generally
a mysterious, transcendent figure, more
than human, surrounded and worshipped by
have
celestial
beings of
niac,
and
all
kinds,
human,
celestial,
and even demo-
this mystical central character
some supernatural feats which might
by an intensely poetical mind.
performing
well be narrated
In the Pali scriptures, the texts as a rule
the
formula,
"Thus
it
open with
was heard by me" (Evam me
if any, which induced the
sutam), then relate the events,
Buddha
to
the
to deliver them,
and
finally lead
the reader
main subjects which are generally written
in
CHAPTER X.
243
Their opening or introductory matter is
very simple, and we do not notice anything extraordinary in its further development. But with the Ma-
lucid
style.
hayana texts it is quite different. Here we have, as
soon as the curtain rises with the stereotyped formula,
"Evam maya
grutam," a majestic prologue dramatically or rather grotesquely represented, which prepares
the mind of the audience to the succeeding scenes,
some of
which
in
the
boldest
proclamations are brought forth.
religio-philosophical
The
perusal of this
introductory part alone will stupefy the reader by
rather monstrous grandeur, and he
may
without
its
much
ado declare that what follows must be extraordinary
and may be even nonsensical.
The following is an
manner of introducing
illustration
showing the typical
the characters in the
Mahayana
*
texts.
"Thus
was heard by me. Buddha was once stayRajagriha, on the Gridhrakuta mountain. He
it
ing
at
was
in the Hall of
of Chandana.
Ratnachandra
Ten years passed
in the
Double Tower
since his attainment of
Buddhahood. He was surrounded by a hundred thousand
Bhiksus and Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas numbering
sixty times as
them were
many
as the sands of the Ganges. All of
possession of the greatest spiritual energy
they had paid homage to thousands of hundred mil1
What
in
follows
;
is
selected from a short sutra called The
Mahavaipulva-Tathagatagarbha Sutra, translated into Chinese
by Buddhabhadra of the Eastern Tsin dynasty (A.D, 371-420).
Nanjo,
No
384.
CHAPTER X.
244
of niyutas
lions
i
of Buddhas; they were able to set
rolling the never-sliding-back
whoever heard
their
Wheel
names could
of
Dharma; and
establish themselves
Highest Perfect Knowledge. Their names
[Here about fifty Bodhisattvas are mentioned.]
firmly in the
were.
.
"All
many
.
.
Bodhisattvas numbering sixty times as
as the sands of the Ganges coming from innumethese
rable Buddha-countries
were accompanied by numberless
Devas, Nagas, Yaksas, Gandharvas, Aguras, Garudas,
*
This great assembly all
Kinnaras, and Mahoragas.
homage
to the
Bhagavat, the World-honored One.
"At this time the Bhagavat in the Double
Tower
joined
in
revering,
honoring, paying
of Chandana seated himself in the assigned seat, entered
upon a samadhi, and displayed a marvelous phenomenon.
There appeared innumerable lotus-flowers with thousand-fold petals and each flower as large as a carriage-
wheel.
They had
perfectly beautiful color
and fragrant
odour, but their petals containing celestial beings in
them were not yet unfolded. They all were raised
now by themselves
over
high up in the heavens and hung
Each one of
the earth like a canopy of pearls.
these lotus-flowers emitted innumerable rays of light
and simultaneously grew in size with wonderful vitality.
But through the divine power of Buddha they all of
but
Niyuta is an exceedingly large number,
considered to be equal to one billion.
1
generally
V
2
All
these
are
unhuman forms
demons, dragon-kings, winged beasts,
of existence, including
etc.
CHAPTER
X.
245
a sudden changed color and withered. All the celestial
Buddhas sitting cross-legged within the flowers now
came
hundred
into full view, shone with innumerable
thousand-fold rays of
light.
At
this
moment
the tran-
scendent glory of the spot was beyond description."
As is here thus clearly shown, the Buddha in the
.
Mahayana
walking
to
that
scriptures
in a
not an ordinary
;
is
.
human being
altogether dissimilar
who resigned the royal
the wilderness, and after six years'
son of Suddhodana,
wandered
life,
is
sensuous world he
.
in
profound meditation and penance discovered the Fourfold Noble Truth and the Twelve Chains of Dependence
;
and we cannot but think that the Mahayana Buddha
is the fictitious creation of an intensely poetic mind.
Let
it
be
"How
is,
so.
But the question which engages us now
did
human Buddha
the
come
Buddhists
to oblivion, as
it
to relegate the
were, and assign a
mysterious being in his place invested with
all
possible
or sometimes impossible majesty and supernaturality ?"
This question, which marks the rise of Mahayana
Buddhism, brings us to the doctrine of Trikaya,
which
sense corresponds to the Christian theory of trinity.
According to this doctrine, the Buddhists presume
in a
is, the Tathagata
conceived by them as manifesting himself in three
the Body of Transdifferent forms of existence
a triple existence of the Tathagata, that
is
:
formation, the
Though
all
Body
of Bliss, and the
Body
the manifestations of one Dharmakaya,
makaya
of
Dharma.
they are conceived as three, they are in fact
the Dhar-
that revealed itself in the historical (Jakyamuni
CHAPTER
246
Buddha
X.
a Body of Transformation, and in the
as a Body of Bliss. However differBuddha
Mahayana
ently they may appear from the human point of
as
view, they are nothing but the expression of one eternal
truth, in
which
all
things have their raison d'etre.
An
Historical View.
At present we are not in possession of any historical
documents that will throw light on the question as to
how
early this doctrine of Trikaya or Buddhist trinity
conception came to be firmly established among
Northern Buddhists and found its way in an alreadyfinished form as such into the Mahayana scriptures.
we know,
philosopher, who
As
far as
it
was
Ac. vaghosa, the first
Mahayana
conception in his
Discourse on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana
as early as the
as
the
incorporated
first
century before Christ. This work,
author declares,
Mahayana
this
is
a sort of synopsis of the
teachings, elucidating their principal features
taught by the Buddha in his various sutras. It is
not an original work which expounds the individual
as
views of Agvaghosa concerning Buddhism. He wrote
the book in a concise and comprehensive form, in
order
that the later generations
Buddha could not have the
by
his august presence,
tration
of
significance
Therefore,
mind and
of
many
in the
who remote from
the
privilege of being inspired
might peruse
synthetically
it
with concen-
grasp the whole
lengthy and voluminous
Awakening of Paith,
we
sutras.
are supposed
CHAPTER X.
247
any Mahayana doctrines that were not
already taught by the Buddha and incorporated in the
not
to
find
sutras. Everything Agvaghosa treats in his work must
be considered merely a recapitulation of the doctrines
which were not only formulated but firmly established
faith long before him.
as the
Mahayana
the work of a
the
recorder.
He
is
simply
scanned all
had existed prior to
scriptures that
Mahayana
carefully
His
his
time and faithfully collected
all the principal teachings
here
and
there
Mahayanism
scatteringly told in them.
His merit lies in compilation and systematisation.
of
This being the case, we must assume that all the
that are found in Agvaghosa and distinct
doctrines
from those usually held to be Hinayanistic are the
teachings elaborated by Buddhists from the time of
Buddha's death down to the time of Agvaghosa. But
as the latter apparently believes
Buddha's own and
all
these doctrines as
no doubt concerning their
they were so, we must assume
origin,
again that these doctrines were in a state of comeven
later
raises
if
pletion long before Agvaghosa's time. If our calculation
is
correct
that
he lived
Christ, the
Mahayana
formulated
at
age,
least
must be
said to have
been
two hundred years prior to
taking
this
presumably
as
for
the
formulation
and
required
century before
in the first
faith
the
time
his
that
is
dogmatical esta-
blishment of a doctrine. This calculation places the
development of the Mahayana
century
after
during this
the
Buddha,
time that so
faith
and,
many
during the
we know,
it
first
was
schools and divisions,
248
CHAPTER X.
among which we must
also find the so-called "primitive"
each
Buddhism of Ceylon, arose among the Buddhists,
be
to
claiming
the
authentic
only
of
transmission
the Buddha's teaching. Did Mahayanism come out of
this turmoil of contention? Did it boldly raise itself
from
and claim
chaos
this
have solved
to
all
the questions and doubts that agitated the minds of
Buddhists after the Nirvana? For certain
know
we do
not
of the
the
anything concerning
chronology
development of Buddhist philosophy and dogmas
India, at least before
Agvaghosa;
but, as
Chinese Buddhist literature records,
was most probably the
that this
To
our
readers
far as
in
our
we must conclude
case.
a
glimpse of the state of
things that were taking place in those early days of
give
Buddhism
in India,
will
I
Vasumitra's Discourse on
the
Different Schools
by
once refered to
two
principal
vana of the
in the
quote some passages from
the
Points of Controversy
of Buddhism,
the
beginning of this book.
work
The
schools that arose soon after the Nir-
Buddha were,
known, the
Elders and the Great Council, and though they were
further
and
that
divided
into
a
as
is
well
number of smaller
sections
their views became so complex and intermixed
some of the Elders shared similar views with the
Great
Council
School
and vice
versa,
yet
we can
fairly distinguish one from the other and describe the
the essential peculiarities of each school. These points
of difference, generally speaking, are as follows, confining ourselves to their conceptions about the Buddha
:
CHAPTER X.
(i)
According to the School of the Great Council,
the Buddha's personality
and
249
all
is
transcendental (lokottara),
the Tathagatas are free from the defilements
that might
come from the material existence (bhdvain the Buddha all evil passions hered-
For
!
dgrava).
and acquired were eternally uprooted, and his
presence on earth was absolutely spotless. (The
itary
Vibhasa, CLXXIII.) Contending this view, the Elders
held that the Buddha's personality was not free from
though his mind was fully enlightened.
His corporeal existence was the product of blind love
veiled with ignorance and tangled with attachment.
Bhavacrava,
this
If
were not
so,
the Buddha's feature would not
have awakened an impure affection in the heart of
a maiden, an ill-will in the heart of a highwayman,
stupidity in the mind of an ascetic, and arrogance in
that
J
of a
Agrava
haughty Brahman. These incidents which
literally
means "oozing," or "flowing out," and the
it by lou, dripping, or leaking.
Chinese translators rendered
Roughly speaking, it is a general name for evils, principally
material and sensuous. According to an Indian Buddhist scholar,
Acrava has threefold sense: (i) "keeping," for it retains all
sentient beings in the whirlpool of birth and death
(2)
"flowing," for it makes all sentient beings run in the stream
of birth and death; (3) "leaking," or "oozing," for it lets such
evils as avarice, anger, lust, etc., ooze out from the six
sense-organs after the fashion of an ulcer, which lets out
blood and filthy substance. The cause of Acrava is a blind
will, and its result is birth and death. Specifically, Bhavacrava
is one of the three Acravas, which are (i) kamacrava, (2)
vidyacrava, and (3) bhavacrava. The first is egotistic desires,
the second is ignorance, and the third is the material existence
which we have to suffer on account of our previous karma.
;
25O
CHAPTER
happened during the
life
his
X.
presence was
and to that extent
to
apt
corporeal
hearts,
Buddha evince
of the
it
that
agitate others'
was contaminated by
Bhavagrava.
The Great Council School
(2)
insists that
every
word uttered by a Tathagata has a religious, spiritual
meaning and purports to the edification of his fellowbeings
;
but
variously interpreted
own
disposition,
to his spiritual welfare; that every instruction
all
given
is
audience each according to his
his
by
that his one utterance
by the Buddha
out
is
rational
and
Against these views the Elders think that the
occasionally
with
the
for
the
perfect.
Buddha
uttered things which had nothing to do
enlightenment
of
others
that
;
even with
Buddha something was out of his attainment,
instance, he could not make every one of his
hearers
perfectly
understand
his
preachings
;
that
though the Buddha never taught anything irrational
and heretical, yet all his speeches were not perfect,
he said some things which had no concern with rationality or orthodoxy.
(3)
The
corporeal
has no limits (koti)
;
body (rupakdya) of the Buddha
his
majestic power has no limits
;
every Buddha's life is unlimited a Buddha knows
no fatigue^ knows not when to rest, always occupying
;
himself with the enlightenment of
and with the awakening
all
sentient beings
in their hearts of
pure
faith.
-^Against these tendencies of the Great Council School
to
deify
insist
the historical Buddha, the Elders generally
on the humanity of Buddhahood. Though the
CHAPTER
X.
251
Elders agree with the Great Council in that the body
assumed by the Buddha as the result of his untiring
accumulation of good karma through eons of his successive existences possesses a wonderful power, spir-
and
itual
beyond
material,
all
they
do not conceive
It to
be
limitations.
(4) The Great Council School says that with the
Buddha sleep is not necessary and he has no dreams.
The Elders admit that the Buddha never dreams,
but denies that he does not need any sleep.
(5)
As
the
Buddha
is
always
in the state of a deep,
not necessary for
exalted
spiritual
him
what to say when requested to answer
questions. Though he might appear to the
inquirers as
if
presented to
in
fact
he thoroughly cogitates over the problems
him for solution, the Buddha's response
immediate
Elders,
on
mental
calculation
as
is
to think
certain
is
meditation,
it
the
other
as
and without any
hand,
to
efforts.
The
presume the Buddha's
how
to express his ideas
best suited to the understanding of the audience.
Indeed, he does not cogitate over the problem
itself,
him everything is transparent, but he thinks
over the best method of presenting his ideas before
for with
his pupils.
1
!
Our thoughtful readers must have noticed here
that the
conceptions of the Buddha as entertained by the Mahasangika
School (Great Council) closely resemble those of the Mahayana
Buddhism. Though we are still unable to trace step by step
development of Mahayanism in India, the hypothesis
assumed by most of Japanese Buddhist scholars is that the
Mahasangika was Mahayanistic in tendency.
the
CHAPTER
252
Now
to return to the doctrine of
When we
Trikaya.
above
X.
consider
Dharmakaya and
these controversies as
it is apparent that
among many other
which
arose
soon
after
the
demise of the Budquestions
dha (Jakyamuni, there was one, which in all probability
stated,
most agitated the minds of
his disciples.
question of the personality of Buddha.
a
human being
I
Was
mean
the
he merely
Then, how could he
moral perfection ? Or was he
like ourselves?
reach such a height of
a divine being ? But Buddha himself did not communicate anything to his disciples concerning his divinity,
nor did he
of his
But
truth.
them
tell
for
eradicate
from
reverence
for
or
anecdotes,
ask
hearts
their
Dharma on account
could the disciples ever
the feeling of sacred
teacher, which
their
Whenever they
gathas
embodied
become so
how
that
all
engraved there?
spirit
to accept the
divine personality, but solely for the sake of
in
was so
indelibly
recalled the sermons,
of their master, the truth and
them and the author must have
closely associated that they could not but
themselves:
"What
the
in
Buddha caused him
to perceive and declare these solemn profound truths
What was
it
that
raised
and
of
religious
such
too
had
that
is
tions
that
formed
What was
character?
him
life ?
in
him such a noble majestic
mind of Buddha
there in the
to such
How
a perfection of intellectual
was
it
possible that, possessed
exalted moral and spiritual virtues,
to
succumb
the lot of
?
to the law of birth
common
mortals
?
Buddha
and death
Some such
ques-
must have been repeatedly asked before they
CHAPTER X.
253
answer them by the doctrines of Dharmakaya
could
and Trikaya.
Who was
The evidence
entrance
Master's
Buddha?
that these questions
minds of the
the
disturbing
the
into
were constantly
disciples ever since the
is
Parinirvana,
scatteringly
revealed throughout the Buddhist texts both Southern
and Northern. The regret of the immediate followers
that
earthly
Light
of
ask
the
the
Buddha
Buddha
told
to prolong his
them
of
the
Blessed
One,
"How
the
World has passed away!"
may
be considered the
showers
that he
he wished, and their lamentation over
if
remains
utterances
the
while
life,
could do so
the
not
did
they
doubt and
of
first
soon the
l
these
drops foreboding
speculation
as
his
to
personality.
2
According to the Suvarna Prabha Sutra, a Bodhisattva,
by the name of Ruciraketu, was greatly
annoyed by the doubt why (Jakyamuni Tathagata
had such a short life terminating only at eighty. He
1
The Mahaparimbbana
sutta.
1
There are three Chinese translations of this sutra the
first,
by Dharmaraksa during the first two decades of the
the second, by Paramartha of the Liang
fifth century A. D.
dynasty, who came to China A. D. 546 and died A. D. 569
and the third, by I-tsing of the Tang dynasty who came back
from his Indian pilgrimage in the year 695 and translated this
:
;
;
sutra A. D. 703. The last is the only complete Chinese translation of the Suvarna Prabhct. A part of the orginal Sanskrit
text recovered in Nepal was published by the Buddhist Text
Society of India in 1898. Nanjo, Nos. 126, 127, 130.
CHAPTER X.
254
taught
any
the
living
charity, in
ably
the
those
that
disciples
who
did not injure
beings, and those who generously practised
their former lives, could enjoy a consider-
long life on earth; why then was the life of
Blessed One himself cut so short, who practised
those virtues from time immemorial?
The
sutra
now
records that this doubt was dispelled by the declaration
who
of four Tathagatas
and
sceptic
the
ocean
vast
into
can
counted, but the age of
measure. Crush the mount
as fine as mustard seeds
particles
count
them,
none can measure
but
the
the
the
in
be
can
none
(Jakyamuni
Sumeru
we can
mysteriously appeared to the
him that "Every drop of water
told
age
of
and
(Jakyamuni
Buddha never entered
Good Dharma
never perish.
into
Parinirvana
He
showed an earthly death merely for the benefits
;
will
of sentient beings."
Here we have the conception of a spiritual Dharma-
kaya
germinating
(Jakyamuni.
1
out
of
the
corporeal
Here we have the bridge
death
of
that spans
men never die seems to be universal.
would never perish, because the ideas that
moved them and made them prominent in the history of
humanity are born of truth. And in this sense every person
who is possessed of worthy thoughts is immortal, while souls
that are made of trumpery are certainly doomed to annihilation. But the masses are not satisfied with this kind of
immortality. They must have something more tangible, more
sensual, and more individual. The notion of bodily resurrection
1
The notion
Spiritually
of Christ
that great
they
is
a fine illustration of this truth.
When
the followers
opened the master's grave, they did not find his
so
body,
says legend, and they at once conceived the idea
of Christ
CHAPTER X.
human
the wide gap between the
and the
255
spiritual existence
akyamuni Buddha
of the Dharmakaya.
The
Buddha did not
die after he partook of the food
His age was not eighty. His life
Chunda.
by
did not pass to an airy nothingness when his cine-
offered
were divided among kings and Brahmans.
His virtues and merits which were accumulated throughurns
rary
out
so
life
innumerable
abruptly.
could
not
constituted
the
kalpas,
What
and that of ours too
could
come
essence
not
the vicissitudes of the corporeal existence.
as a particular individual being
to
transformation
must abide
so
forever
is
to naught
of
his
with
perish
The Buddha
was certainly subject
every mortal, but his truth
His Dharmakaya
is
above birth
and death and even above Nirvana; but his Body of
Transformation comes out of the womb of Tathagata
as destined by karma and vanishes into it when the
karma exhausts
seated
to
all
among
at
its
force.
The Buddha who
is
still
the summit of the Gridhrakuta, delivering
beings the message of joy and bliss, and who
other precious teachings bequeathed to us
man as
common
resurrection now
of resurrection, for they reasoned that such a great
Jesus could not suffer the same fate that befalls
only. The story of his corporeal
took wing and went wild; some heard him speak to them,
some saw him break bread, and others even touched his
wounds. What a grossly materialistic conception early Christians
(and alas, even some of the twentieth century) cherished
about resurrection and immortality! It is no wonder, therefore,
that primitive Buddhists raised a serious question about the
mortals
personality of Buddha which culminated in the conception
of the Sambhogakaya, Body of Bliss, by Mahayanists
CHAPTER
256
X.
such sutras as the Avatamsaka, the Pundanka^ etc.,
is no more nor less than an expression of the eternal
Thus came the doctrine of Dharmakaya to be
by the Mahay anists, and from this the
to
that of Trikaya was but a natural sequence.
transition
spirit.
formulated
one without the
other could not give an
of
solution
the
problems above cited.
adequate
Because
The Trikaya as Explained in the Suvarna Prabha.
What
then
is
It
Tathagata?
Transformation
Bliss
;
and
we draw
(3)
is
the
(i)
Trikaya or
triple
Nirmana Kaya,
(2) Sambhoga Kaya,
Dharma Kaya, the Body
;
body of the
the
the
Body of
Body of
of Dharma. If
a parallelism between the Buddhist and the
Christian trinity, the
Body
of Transformation
may be
considered to correspond to Christ in the flesh, the
Body of Bliss either to Christ in glory or to Holy
Ghost, and Dharmakaya to Godhead.
Let us again quote from the Suvarna Prabha,
which
(I-tsing's
following
translation,
statements
chap.
concerning
III.)
we
the
doctrine
in
find the
of
Trikaya.
"The Tathagata, when he was yet
at the stage of
deeds of morality for the
sake of sentient beings. The practise finally attained
perfection, reached maturity, and by virtue of its
discipline, practised divers
merits he acquired a wonderful spiritual power.
The
power enabled him to respond to the thoughts, deeds,
and livings of sentient beings. He thoroughly understood them and never missed the right opportunity
CHAPTER
place and
right
257
He
revealed himself in
in the right
moment; he acted
respond to their needs].
[to
the
X.
rightly, assuming various bodily forms [in response
to the needs of mortal souls]. These bodily forms
are called the Nirmanakaya of the Tathagata.
"But when the Tathagatas, in order to make the
Bodhisattvas thoroughly conversant with the Dharma,
to instruct them in the highest reality, to let them
understand that birth-and-death (samsdra) and Nirvana
are of one taste, to destroy the thoughts of the ego,
individuality,
and the
fear [of transmigration],
promote happiness, to lay foundation
Buddha-dharmas,
for
and to
innumerable
to be truly in accord with Suchness,
the knowledge of Suchness, and the Spontaneous Will,
themselves to the Bodhisattvas
manifest
form
in a
is perfect with the thirty-two major and eighty
minor features of excellence and shining with the halo
around the head and the back, the Tathagatas are
which
said
have
to
assumed
the
Body
Sam-
of Bliss or
l
bhogakaya.
"When
[material,
all
possible
intellectual,
obstacles
arising
and emotional]
are
from
sins
perfectly
removed, and when all possible good dharmas are
preserved, there would remain nothing but Suchness and
this is the Dharmakaya.
the knowledge of Suchness,
"The first two forms of the Tathagata are provisional
[and
temporal]
reality,
1
wherein
Compare
existences
the
;
but
the
last
one
is
a
former two find the reason of
this to the transfigured Christ.
17
CHAPTER
258
their
Why?
existence.
X.
Because
when deprived
ot
Dharma
of Suchness and of knowledge of non-
particularity,
no Buddha-dharma can ever exist because
the
;
Suchness and Knowledge of Suchness that absorbs
within itself all possible forms of Buddha-wisdom and
it
is
renders possible a complete extinction of
and
sins [arising
from
all
passions
particularity]."
According to the above, the Dharmakaya which is
tantamount to Suchness or Knowledge of Suchness
is
absolute
in a
but like the
;
moon whose image
is
reflected
drop of water as well as in the boundless expanse
of the
waves, the Dharmakaya assumes on
itself all
possible aspects from the grossest material form to
the subtlest spiritual existence.
the
needs
of
the
When
Bodhisattvas
it
whose
responds to
spiritual life
on a much higher plane than that of ordinary
mortals, it takes on itself the Body of Bliss or
is
Sambhogakaya. This Body is a supernatural existence,
and almost all the Buddhas in the Mahayana scriptures
belong to this class of being. Acvaghosa (p. ioi)says:
"The Body has infinite forms. The form has infinite
attributes.
The
attribute has infinite excellences.
And
the accompanying fruition, that is, the region where
they are destined to be born [by their previous
karma], also
Manifesting
is
its
infinite,
activity]
has infinite merits and ornamentations.
itself
everywhere,
boundless,
which
limitless,
comes
the
Body
of Bliss
unintermittent
directly
[in
from the Mind
[Dharmakaya]."
But the Buddhas revealed to the eyes of
common
CHAPTER X.
mortals are not of this kind
259
They
are
themselves, and the earthly (Jakyamuni
womb
the
as
who came out of
away under the sala
eighty years was one of them. He
Dharmakaya, and
essentially a manifestation of the
we
such
mortals
of Mayadevi and passed
trees at the age of
was
common
ordinary people also partake something
of him. But the masses, unless favored by good karma
accumulated
of ignorance.
in
its
in the past,
They do not
are generally under the spell
see the glory of
Dharmakaya
perfect purity shining in the lilies of the field
and sung by the fowls of the
air.
They
are blindly
dark wilderness, they are vainly seeking,
groping
they are wildly knocking. To the needs of these people
in the
the Dharmakaya responds by assuming an earthly form
as a
human Buddha.
Revelation in All Stages of Culture.
En
let
passant,
that Christ
is
conceived by
festation of the
a
Buddha and
us remark that
it
is
in this sense
Buddhists also as a mani-
Dharmakaya
in a
human
form.
He
is
as such not essentially different from
akyamuni The Dharmakaya revealed itself as Qakyamuni to the Indian mind, because that was in harmony
its needs. The Dharmakaya appeared in the person
of Christ on the Semitic stage, because it suited their
with
The doctrine of Trikaya, however,
even
further
and
declares that demons, animal
goes
gods, ancestor- worship, nature-worship, and what not,
are all due to the activity and revelation of the Dhar-
taste best in this way.
makaya responding
to the spiritual needs of barbarous
26O
CHAPTER
X.
and half-cultured people. The Buddhists think that the
Dharmakaya never does things that are against the
spiritual
of
of
welfare
done by
is
it
revelation,
is
its
creatures, and that whatever
for their best interests at that
moment
no matter how they comprehend the
nature of the Dharmakaya.
The Great Lord
Dharma
he knows
of
never throws a pearl before the swine, for
animal's needs are for things more substantial.
He does not reveal himself in an exalted spiritual
the
form to the people whose hearts are not yet capable
of grasping anything beyond the grossly material. As
they understand animal gods better than a metaphysical
or highly abstracted being, let them have them and
derive
all
possible blessings and benefits through their
But as soon as they become dissatisfied
with the animal or human-fashioned gods, there must
worshiping.
not be a moment's hesitation to
what
1
I
them have exactly
their enlightened understanding can
Cf.
child,
let
I
I
Cor.
xm,
ii.
understood as a
became a man,
I
"When
child,
I
I
was a
comprehend.
child, I
thought as a
d
spake as a
child,
but when
put away childish things." This point of
our ever-ascending spiritual progress is well illustrated in the
Saddharma-pundarlka Siitra. See Chapters II, III, IV, V, and XI.
The following passage quoted from chap. II, p. 49 (Kern's
translation) will give a tolerably adequate view concerning
diversity of means and unity of purpose as here expounded:
"Those highest of men have, all of them, revealed most holy
laws by means of illustrations, reasons and arguments, with
many hundred proofs of skillfulness (updyakaufalya). And all
of them have manifested but one vehicle and introduced but
one on earth; by one vehicle have they led to full ripeness
inconceivably many thousands of kotis of beings." As was
CHAPTER
are thus
They
sciously on
of
real
the while being led, though uncon-
all
their part, to the higher
till
mystery,
and
26l
X.
come
they
meaning of the
and higher region
grasp the true
Dharmakaya in its absolute
fully to
purity, or, to use Christian terminology,
with
the
open
are
glory, even as
changed
by the
Spirit
the
that the reason
(Jakyamuni entered into Parinirvana
was thought by him
his
all,
same image from
of the Lord." (2 Cor HI. 18.)
into
The Mahayanists now argue
this
"we
face beholding as in a glass the glory of
Lord,
career
till
resignation
when
to be over
to the law of birth
why
his worldly
is
that
by
and death,
he wished to exemplify in him the impermanency of
worldly life and the folly of clinging to it as final
it
when
it
in
As
Dharmakaya, it has an eternal life,
was never born, and it would never perish; and
reality.
for his
needs of the Bodhisattvas,
will cast off the garb of absoluteness and preach
the form of a Sambhogakaya "never-ceasing sercalled
by the
mons which run
will
be
evident
to consider
all
spiritual
stream for ever and aye." It
from this that Buddhists are ready
like a
religious or
moral leaders of mankind,
whatever their nationality, as the Body of Transformation of the Dharmakaya. Translated into Christian
thoughts,
God
worthy of him.
reveals himself in every being that
He
is
reveals himself not only at a certain
elsewhere noted, this doctrine
is
sometimes known as the theory
Upaya is very difficult term to
literally means "way," "method," or
of Upaya.
translate into English
it
"strategy."
interpretation see p. 298, footnote.
For
;
fuller
CHAPTER X.
262
in
period
His
glory
history,
is
but everywhere and
perceived throughout
This manifestation,
all
all
the time.
the stages of
human
culture.
nature
of God, cannot be intermittent and sporadic
from
the very
imagined by some "orthodox Christians." The
following from St. Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians
as
is
(Chap.
almost
there
And
read
^i)7Hvhen
like a
are
in
Buddhist philosopher's utterance
of gifts, but the same
:
diversities
"Now
Spirit.
there are diversities of administrations, but the
same Lord. And there are
it
sounds
this connection,
the
is
diversities of operations, but
same God which worketh
manifestation of the Spirit
withal
profit
For
word of wisdom
by the same
Spirit
Spirit
;
;
to
one
is
;
the
in
But the
all.
man
to
given by the Spirit the
word of knowledge
to another the
Spirit
to
;
another faith by the same
another the gifts of healing by the same
working of miracles to another
to another the
prophecy
other
;
to
all
given to every
is
;
to another divers kinds of tongues
interpretation
worketh that one and
every man
of
tongues;
the selfsame
but
Spirit,
;
all
to an-
these
dividing
For as the body
is one and hath many members, and all the members
of that one body, being many, are one body so
to
severally as he
will.
:
For by one Spirit are we all baptised
into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether
we be bond or free and have been all made to
also
is
Christ.
;
drink into one Spirit."
CHAPTER
X.
263
The Sambhogakaya.
One
peculiar
point
the
in
doctrine
which modern minds find rather
is
hend,
of Trikaya,
difficult
to
compre-
the conception of the Sambhogakaya, or the
Body of Bliss. We can understand the
the Dharmakaya and Nirmanakaya,
similar to the notion of
God
relation
between
the latter being
incarnate or to that of
Avatara* Inasmuch as the Dharmakaya does not exist
outside the triple world but in it as the raison d'etre
existence, all beings must be considered a
manifestation
of it and in this sense Buddhists
partial
of
its
;
sometimes
of
themselves Bodhisattvas, that
call
intelligence,
psychological
because
aspect
intelligence
of the
is,
(Bodhi)
Dharmakaya
beings
is the
as realised
But the conception of Sambhogakaya
too mysterious to be fathomed by a
in sentient beings.
is
altogether
limited consciousness.
when we
is
Bliss,
the
fact
told that the
becomes more apparent
Sambhogakaya, Body of
same time
a corporeal existence and at the
the
filling
are
The
universe and that there are two forms of
Body of
Bliss,
one for self-enjoyment and the
other as a sort of religious object for the Bodhisattvas.
That the Body of Bliss is corporeal and yet infinite
has
already been shown
by the quotations from the
Suvarna Prabha and Acvaghosa on the preceding
pages. For further confirmation of this point no less
authority than Asanga and Vasubandhu will be here
refered to.
In
A
Comprehensive Treatise on the
Mahayana and
CHAPTER
264
X.
commentary, the author Asanga and the commentator Vastibandhu endeavor to prove why the
Body of Bliss cannot be the raison d'etre of the
in its
Dharmakaya, instead of vice
they argue that
five
the
(i)
Skandhas, that
is,
and in this connection
versa;
of Bliss consists of the
Body
of material form (rupa), sen-
sation (vedand), ideas (samjnd), deeds (sanskdra), and
consciousness
it
(vijndna}\ (2)
larisation; (3)
it
subject to particu-
is
reveals different virtues and characters
desires of Bodhisattvas (4) even
according
to the same individual it appears differently at different
the
to
times;
(5)
when
;
it
manifests
itself
simultaneously
before an assemblage of Bodhisattvas of divers characters
and
qualifications,
it
at
once assumes divers forms,
order to satisfy their infinitely diversified inclinations
(6) it is a creation of the Alayavijnana, All-conserving
in
;
Mind.
These
six
enumerated
of
the
Body of Bliss
make
and
Vasubandhu
by Asanga
peculiarities
as
it
on the Dharmakaya, but
indeed
entirely dependent
they do not place us in any better position to penetrate
into the
deep mystery of its nature. Its supernatural
incomprehensibility remains the same forever. In a
certain
sense,
however,
the
Body
of Bliss
may be
considered lo be corresponding to the Christian idea
of an angel. Supernaturalness and luminosity are the
two characters possessed by both, but angels are
merely messengers of
will
to
human
beings.
God communicating
When
to a specially favored person,
the latter's
they reveal themselves
it
is
not of their
own
CHAPTER X.
account.
When
name of
the
265
they speak to him at all, it is by the
being who sent them. They do not
represent him, they do not act his
On
selves.
master of
makaya.
the
its
It
who come
contrary,
own.
It
the
Body of
instructs
and benefits
acts according to
It
it.
these
In
altogether different
of angels. But will
it
will
by them-
Bliss is the
an expression of the Dhar-
to
and judgment.
is
is
own
the creatures
all
respects the
its
Body
own
will
of Bliss
from the Christian conception
be more appropriately compared
to Christ in glory?
Let us make another quotation from later authorities
than Asanga and his brother Vasubandhu, and let
more convincingly what complicated notions
are involved in the idea of the Body of Bliss. According
us
see
commentators on Vasubandhu's Vijndnamdtra
*
the
fdstra (a treatise on the Yoga philosophy),
of
Bliss
has
The
two
distinct
Body
body
aspects: (i)
to the
obtained
by the
by
The
Tathagata
for
his self-enjoyment,
of his religious discipline through eons
body which the Tathagata manifests to
dint
;
(2)
the
one of the most important philosophical works
Yogacara school. Vasubandhu wrote the text (Nanjo,
No. 1215) which consists only of thirty verses, but there
appeared many commentators after the death of the author,
who naturally entertained widely different views among themselves on the subject-matter, as it is too tersely treated in
the text. Hsuen Tsang made selections out of the ten noted
Hindu exegetists in A. D. 659 and translated them into the
Chinese language. The compilation consists of ten fascicles
and is known as Discourse on the Ideality of the Universe (a free
rendering of the Chinese title Chang wei shilun, Nanjo, No. 1197).
1
This
of the
is
266
CHAPTER X.
Pure Land (sukhavati}. This last body
is in possession of wonderful spiritual powers, reveals
the Wheel of Dharma, resolves all the religious doubts
Bodhisattvas
by the Bodhisattvas, and
Mahayana Dharma.
raised
bliss
in
A
plausible
sceptical
Mere Subjective Existence.
from
Judging
all
these characterisations, the most
conclusion
minds
is
that
intently bent
being able,
in
object
itself to
on reaching the highest
its
its
its
material being, which
is
own
mind, which
reality, but,
not
mind
fabricates
fashion into a spiritual-
logically a contradiction,
religiously an object deserving veneration
And
is
limitations, to grasp the
absoluteness, the finite
after
modern
Sambhogakaya must be a
intelligent, finite
on account of
ideals
its
suggests
that the
mere creation of an
all
them enjoy the
lets
of the
but
and worship.
no more than the Body of Bliss. 4
It lies half way between the pure
being of Dharmakaya
and the earthly form of Nirmanakaya, the Body of
this being
Transformation.
is
It
does not
partakes something of both.
*
.
May
tained
the
I
belong
It is
in
to
venture to say that the conception of
by most Christians
Dharmakaya
itself?
In
is
a
Body of
some respects
either,
but
a sense spiritual
God as
enter-
Bliss rather
their
God
than
is
quite
spiritual, but in others he is thought of as a concrete material
being like ourselves. It seems to me that the human soul is
ever struggling to free itself from this paradox, though without
any apparent success, while the masses are not so intellectual
and reflective enough as to become aware of this eternal
contradiction which is too deeply buried in their minds.
CHAPTER X.
Dharmakaya, and yet
the
like
material
for
limitations,
determinate.
When
the
it
human
cannot go beyond
a form, definite and
has
it
267
soul
is
thirsty after a
pure being or an absolute which cannot be comprehended in a palpable form, it creates a hybrid, an
or
imitation,
with
just
it,
a
reflection,
as
a
little
and
tries to
be
satisfied
has her innate and not
girl
developed maternity satisfied by tenderly
embracing and nursing the doll, an inanimate imitation
yet
fully
of a real living baby.
have made most of
And
the Mahayanists
childish
this
seem
to
humanness. They
produced as many sutras as
their spiritual yearnings
demanded, quite regardless
of historical
made
of
the
Body of
the
if
and
Tathagata the author
Bliss of the
these works. For
all
facts,
Dharmakaya
of the
Tathagata never entered into Parinirvana, why then
could he not deliver sermons and cite gathas as often
as beings of intelligence (Bodhisattvas)
The Suvarna Prabhd
needs
?
chap. 3) again echoes
2,
sentiment as follows:
this
4<
(fas.
felt their
To
does
illustrate
not
by analogy, the sun or the moon
make any conscious
does the water-mirror, nor the
from the body from which
discrimination,
light
nor
[conceived separate
emanates]. But when
all these three are
brought together, there is produced
an image [of the sun or the moon in the water]. So
it
is
it
with Suchness and Knowledge of Suchness. It
not possessed of any particular consciousness, but
is
of the
Spontaneous Will [inherent in the
nature of Suchness, or what is the same thing, in the
by
virtue
CHAPTER X.
268
Dharmakaya], the Body of Transformation or of Bliss
a
[as
shadow of the Dharmakaya]
reveals itself in
response to the spiritual needs of sentient beings.
"And,
reflects
expanding
of akasa
while
the
in
boundlessly
ways the images
different
all
medium
space) through the
(void
itself is
space
water-mirror
the
as
again,
void of
of light,
particular marks, so
all
reflects its images severally in the
minds
of
believers, and this by virtue of
receiving
Will.
The
Will creates the Body of
Spontaneous
Dharmakaya
Transformation
as
well
the
as
Body
of Bliss in
their possible aspects, while the original, the
kaya,
does
not
suffer
one
whit
a
all
Dharma-
change on
this
account."
According to this, it
spiritual needs become
evident that whenever our
is
sufficiently intense there is a
response from the Dharmakaya, and that this response
is
not always uniform as the recipient minds show
different
If
spiritually.
souls
and
we
the
purity
inspiration"
call this
;
communion between
an
Dharmakaya
of
and
out
flow
that
phenomena
reflect
of development, intellectually and
degrees
soul
of
should
inspiration,
fulness
be
in this sense the
their scriptures as
emanating
all
the
heart and
of
called
sentient
"works of
Mahayanists consider
from the foun-
directly
tainhead of the Dharmakaya.
Attitude of
Modern Mahayanists.
Modern Mahayanists
in
full
accordance with
this
interpretation ^of the Doctrine of Trik^ya do not place
CHAPTER X.
269
much importance on the objective aspects of the
Body of Bliss (Sambhogakdya]. They consider them
at best the fictitious
products of an imaginative mind
moment
they never
tarry
mysterious
Tathagatas
a
or
to think that
all
who
Bodhisattvas
;
these
are
sometimes too extravagantly and generally too tediously
described in the Mahayana texts are objective
the
that
Sukhavatis or Pure Lands
with such
worldly stuff as gold,
pearl, and other precious
eye,
these
on
ostentatiously
the
pedestals
innumerable
realities,
are decorated
emerald, cat's
silver,
would be transfered
Buddhists
!
that
stones,
pious
after their death to
ornamented heavens, be seated
lotus-flowers, surrounded by
of
Bodhisattvas
and
and would
Buddhas,
enjoy all the spiritual enjoyments that human mind
can conceive. On the contrary, modern Buddhists
look
with
conceptions
disdain
of
on these
egotistic
life.
to
religious
For,
materialistic
a
fully
en-
lightened soul, of what use could those worldly trea-
The reader must not think that
Land which is elaborately described
1
there
is
but one Pure
in the Sukhavati
Vyuha
Sutra as the abode of the Tathagata Amitabha, situated
innumerable leagues away in the West. On the contrary, the
Mahayana texts admit the existence of as innumerable pure
are Tathagatas arid Bodhisattvas, and every
one of these holy regions has no boundary and is coexistent with the universe, and, therefore, their spheres
necessarily intercrossing and overlapping one another. It would
look to every intelligent mind that those innumerable Buddhacountries existing in such a mysterious and incomprehensible manner cannot be anything else than our own subjective
lands
as there
single
creation.
CHAPTER X.
2/O
sures be
What
?
happiness, earthly or heavenly, does
such a soul dream
outside the bliss of embracing
the will of the Dharmakaya as his own?
of,
Recapitulation.
To sum
Buddha
up, the
in the
Pali scriptures
was
a human being, though occasionally he is credited to
have achieved things supernatural and superhuman.
His historical career began with the abandonment of
a royal life, then the wandering in the wilderness, and
a
earnest meditation on the great problems of
long
and
birth-and-death,
the
Bodhi
his
then
tree,
final
enlightenment
under
his fifty years' religious pere-
along the valleys of the Ganges, and the
establishment of a religious system known as Buddhism,
grination
and
entrance into the "Parinirvana
finally his eternal
leaves nothing
that
And
as
these
far
seem
as
to
behind"
(anupadhigesanirvana).
historical facts are concerned,
plain
exhaust
the
life
of
^akyamuni on
But the deep reverence which was felt by his
could not be satisfied with this prosaic
disciples
earth.
master and made him something
than a mortal soul. So even the Pali tradition
humanness of
more
gives
one.
their
him a supramundane
He
is
life
besides the earthly
to have been a Bodhisattva in
supposed
the Tusita heaven before his entrance into the
of
Mayadevi. The honor
acceded
to
self-sacrifice
him
on
which
innumerable past
of
account
were
of
praised
incarnations.
womb
Bodhisattvahood
his
deeds
throughout
was
of
his
While he was walk-
CHAPTER X.
us
among
ing
in
the
flesh,
he
271
was
glorified with
the thirty- two major and eighty minor excellent characteristics
Buddha
of a great man.
1
But he was not the
first
walked on earth to teach the Dharma,
were already seven Buddhas before him, nor
was he the last one that would appear among us, for
that
for there
1
pp.
For a description of these marks see the Dhqrmasangraha,
53
ff.
A
process of mystifying or deifying the person of
to have been going on immediately after the
Buddha seems
Master; and the Mahayanistic conception of
Nirmanakaya and Sambhogakaya is merely the consummation
of this process. Southern Buddhists who are sometimes supposed
to represent a more "primitive" form of Buddhism describe
just as much as Mahayanism the thirty-two major and eighty
minor exellent physical marks of a great man as having been
death of the
possessed by Qakyamuni, (for instance, see the Milindapanha,
S.B.E. Vol. XXXV. p. 116). But any person with common
sense will at once see the absurdity of representing any
human being with those physical peculiarities. And this
seems to have inspired more rational Mahayanists to abandon
way of portraying the human Buddha with
mysterious signs. They transfered them through the
doctrine of Trikaya to the characterisation of the Sambho-
the
traditional
those
gakaya Buddha, that is, to the Buddha enjoying in a celestial
abode the fruit of his virtuous earthly life. The Buddha who
walked in the flesh as the son of King Suddhodana was,
however, no more than an ordinary human being like ourselves,
e.
because he appeared to us in a form of Nirmanakaya,
as a Body of Transformation, devoid of any such physical
i.
peculiarities
known
as
thirty-two
or
eighty
laksanas.
Southern Buddhists, so called, seem, however, to have overlooked the, ridiculousness of attributing these fantastic signs to the
human Buddha; and this fact explains that as soon as the
memory of the personal disciples of Buddha about his person
vanished among the later followers, intense speculation and
resourceful imagination were constantly exercised until the
divers schools settled the question each in its own way.
CHAPTER
272
a
by the name of Maitreya
Bodhisattva
and making
heaven
Buddhahood
of
the
further
is
now
in
preparations for the attainment
time to come. But here stopped
writers, they did not venture to make any
Pali
Their
X.
in
on
speculation
the
yearnings
religious
nature
of
not
did
Buddhahood.
them
spur
to a
higher flight of the imagination. They recited simple
sutras or gathas, observed the cilas (moral precepts)
as
and
strictly
the
as they could,
literally
spirit of their
Master
still
and thought
alive in these instruc-
alone the personality of the Tathagata.
But there was at the same time another group of
tions
let
;
the disciples of the Buddha, whose religious and intellectual inclinations were not of the same type as their
fellow-believers
Buddha
the
and on that account a simple
;
faith in
as present in his teachings did not quite
satisfy them. They perhaps reasoned in this fashion
"If there were seven Buddhas before the advent of
:
Great
the
Muni of
more who
akya and there would be one
to
come, where, let us ask, did they
derive their authority and knowledge to preach ? How
is
it
that
is
there cannot be any
they do not come to us
human
beings
much
like ourselves,
more Buddhas,
oftener?
why
not
that
If
they were
we
ourselves
be Buddhas?" These questions, when logically carried
out, naturally led
that
all
the
them
to the theory of
Dharmakaya,
past Buddhas, and those to come, and
even we ordinary mortals made of clay and doomed
to die soon,
to
the
owe
the raison d'etre of their existence
Dharmakaya,
which alone
is
immortal
in
us
CHAPTER
have to make
of
is,
273
first
religious effort
we
therefore, to recognise this archetype
Buddhas and
all
The
Buddhas
as in
well
as
X.
all
beings. But the
Dharmakaya
too abstract for the average mind to become
so they
the object of its religious consciousness
personified or rather materialised it. In other words,
as such
is
;
they idealised Qakyamuni, endowed him not only with
the
physical
(laksas) of greatness as in the
but with those of celestial transfiguration,
signs
Pali scriptures,
him a Body of Bliss of the Tathagata while
the historical human Buddha was called a Body of
and
called
;
Transformation
that
is,
beings
and
of
sentient beings Bodhisattvas,
all
intelligence
destined
to
become
Buddhas.
This idealised Buddha,
or,
what
is
the same thing,
a personified Dharmakaya, according to the Mahayana
Buddhists, not only revealed himself in the particular
person of Siddhartha Gautama in Central Asia a few
thousand years ago, but is revealing himself in all
times
and
all
places.
There
is
no specially favored
spot on the earth where only the Buddha makes his
appearance from the zenith of Akanista heaven down
;
to the bottom of Naraka, he is manifesting uninterruptedly and unintermittently and is working out his ideas,
of which, however, our limited understanding
is
unable
have an adequate knowledge. The Avatamsaka
Sutra (Buddhabhadra's translation, fas. 45, chap. 34)
describes how the Buddha works out his scheme of
to
salvation in
all
possible ways. (See also the
Saddharma
18
CHAPTER
274
X.
pundarika, Kern's translation, chap.
and also pp. 413-411.)
"In
2,
p.
et seq.,
30
wise the Buddha teaches and delivers
this
sentient beings through his religious teachings
number
times
is
in
innumerable as atoms.
the
world
He may
reveal
all
whose
some-
of devas, sometimes in that of
Nagas, Yaksas, Gandharvas, Asuras, Garudas, Kinnaras,
Mahoragas, etc., sometimes in the world of Brahmans,
world of human beings, sometimes
the palace of Yamaraja (king of death), sometimes
the underworld of damned spirits, ghosts, and beasts.
sometimes
in
in
in the
His all-swaying compassion, intelligence, and will would
all
beings had been brought under his
not rest until
shelter through
all
possible
means of salvation. He may
achieve his work of redemption sometimes by means
of his name, sometimes by means of memory, sometimes
of voice, sometimes of perfect illumination, sometimes
of the
net
of illumination.
Whenever and wherever
conditions are ripe for his appearance, he would never
fail
to present himself before sentient beings
and
also
to manifest views of grandeur and splendor.
4
'The Buddha does not depart from his own region,
he does not depart from his seat in the tower; yet
he reveals himself in all the ten quarters of the globe.
He would sometimes emanate
from
his
own body
the
clouds of Nirmanakayas, or sometimes reveal himself
in
an
undivided
personality,
and
quarters would teach and deliver
He may assume sometimes
all
itinerating
in all
sentient beings.
the form of a (Jravaka,
sometimes that of a Brahmadeva, sometimes that of
CHAPTER X.
an
275
sometimes that of a good physician, some-
ascetic,
times that of a tradesman, sometimes that of a Bhiksu
honest worker], sometimes that of an artist, somethat of a deva. Again, he may reveal himself
[or
times
sometimes
in all the
forms of art and industry, sometimes
such as towns, cities,
in all the places of congregation,
etc.
villages,
may
And whatever
and whatever
be,
modate himself to
his
his surroundings he will
,
accom-
possible conditions and achieve
all
work of enlightenment and
The
is
his subjects for salvation
salvation"
*
....
practical sequence of this doctrine of Trikaya
has ever more broadened the spirit
it
apparent;
of tolerance
in Buddhists.
As
the
Dharmakaya
versally responds to the spiritual needs of
in all
times and in
all
places and
all
uni-
sentient
at
any stage
beings
of their spiritual development, Buddhists consider all
spiritual leaders,
the
as
nality,
whatever their nationality and persoexpressions of the one omnipotent
Dharmakaya. And as the Dharmakaya always manifests
itself for
the best intere<5ts of sentient creatures, even
those doctrines and their authors that are apparently
against the teachings of
Buddhism are
tolerated through
all moving according to the
Will
that
Spontaneous
pervades everywhere and works
the conviction that they are
all
the time. Though, superficially, they
as
evils, their central
and
final
aim
harmony which are destined by the
makaya to overcome this world of
1
Cf.
I
Cor.
xi.
19 et seq.
is
may
appear
goodness and
Will of the Dhartribulations
and
CHAPTER X.
276
contradictions.
The
general intellectual tendency of
Buddhism has done a great deal towards cultivating
a tolerant spirit in its believers, and we must say that
the doctrine of Trinity which appears sometimes too
radical in its pantheistic spirit has contributed
to this cause.
much
CHAPTER XL
THE BODHISATTVA.
EXT
to the conception of
Buddha, what
is
impor-
Mahayana Buddhism is that of Bodhisattva
(intelligence-being) and of that which constitutes its
essence, Bodhicitta, intelligence- heart. As stated above,
tant in
the
followers
of Mahayanism do not
call
themselves
ravakas or Pratyekabuddhas or Arhats as do those of
Hmayanism; but they
title
of
Bodhisattva.
distinguish themselves
What
this
means
will
by the
be the
subject-matter of this chapter.
Let us begin with a quotation from the Saddharmapundarika Sutra, in which a well-defined distinction
between the Qr^vakas and the Pratyekabuddhas and
the Bodhisattvas
is
!
given.
The Three Ydnas.
"Now,
have
Qariputra, the beings
who have become wise,
faith in the Tathagata, the father of the world,
and
consequently apply themselves to his commandments.
"Amongst them
follow
the
dictate
themselves to the
1
there
of
are
some who, wishing
to
an authoritative voice, apply
commandment
of the Tathagata to
Kern's English translation (S.B.E. Vol. XXI), Chap.
Ill,
p. 80.
CHAPTER
278
sake of their
the
for
knowledge of the Four Great Truths,
the
acquire
one may
XI.
own complete
Nirvana. These,
say, to be those who, seeking the vehicle
of the (Jravaka, fly from the triple world
"Other beings desirous of the unconditioned knowledge, of self-restraint
and
tranquillity, apply themselves
of the Tathagata to learn to
understand the Twelve Chains of Dependence, for the
commandment
the
to
own complete
sake of their
to
be
Nirvana. These, one
may
those
who, seeking the vehicle of the
Pratyekabuddha, fly from the triple world
"Other beings again desirous of omniscience, Buddha-
say,
knowledge, absolute knowledge, unconditioned knowledge, apply themselves to the commandment of the
Tathagata and to' learn to understand the knowledge,
powers, and conviction of the Tathagata, for the sake
of the common weal and happiness, out of compassion
to the world, for the benefit, weal and happiness_of
world
the
at
of both gods and men, for the
large,
complete Nirvana of all beings. These,
say, to be those who seeking the Great
Vehicle (Mahay ana) fly from the triple world. Therefore,
sake
of
the
one may
they are called Bodhisattva-mahasattvas."
This characterisation of the Bodhisattvas as distinct
from
the
ravakas and Pratyekabuddhas constitutes
one of the most
Buddhism.
Here
significant
the
himself in
religious
discipline
own
but
the
fit
weal,
of
all
his
for
sake
fellow-creatures.
of
features
Bodhisattva
for
does
the
Mahayana
not
exert
sake of his
of the spiritual beneIf
he
will,
he could,
CHAPTER
like
ravakas
the
and
XI.
279
Pratyekabuddhas, enter into
back he could enjoy
eternal Nirvana that never slides
;
the celestial bliss of undisturbed tranquillity in which
our worldly tribulations are forever buried he could
seclude himself from the hurly-burly of the world, and,
all
;
sitting cross-legged in a lonely cave, quietly contemplate
on the evanescence of human interests and the frivolity
of earthly affairs, and then self-contentedly await the
time
of
streams
final
and
rivers
the
into
absorption
absolute
All, as
run into one great ocean
finally
and become
of one taste. But r in spite of
self-sufficient
blessings,
the
Bodhisattva
all
these
would not
own
ease, but he would mingle himself in
the turmoil of worldly life and devote all his energy
to the salvation of the masses of people, who, on
seek
his
account of their ignorance and infatuation, are forever
transmigrating in the triple world, without making
any progress towards the
final
goal of humanity.
Along this Bodhisattvaic devotion, however, there
was another current of religious thought and practice
running
mean
among
the
followers
the attitude of the
buddhas.
Both of them
of Buddha.
By
this
I
ravakas and the Pratyekasought peace of mind in
asceticism and cold philosophical speculation. Both of
them were
intently inclined to gain Nirvana which
be likened unto an extinguished
to think of the common weal
therefore,
when they
from
earthly
pline
was
fire.
of
attained their
It
was not
all
may
theirs
beings, and,
own redemption
and passions, their religious discicompleted, and no further attempt was
sins
CHAPTER
28O
made by them
to
XI.
extend the
bliss of their
enlightenment to their fellow-creatures.
from
personal
They
recoiled
themselves among vulgar people lest
should get contaminated. They did not
confidence enough in their own power to help
mingling
their holy
have
'
life
the masses to break the iron yoke of ignorance and
misery.
Moreover, everybody was supposed to exert
6wn emancipation, however unbearable
himself for his
his
pain
was
for
others
could not do anything to
Sympathy was of no avail; because
his own karma good or evil could be
reward
of
the
alleviate
it.
by himself
suffered
even
1
It
by
the
doer
alone, nor could
himself.
it
be avoidable
Things done were done
should be noted here that the idea of universal salva-
was lacking altogether in the followers of Hinayanism.
But what distinguished it so markedly from Mahayanism is
that the former did not extend the idea wide enough, but
confined it to Buddhahood only. Buddha attained omniscience
tion
order that he might deliver the world, but we, ordinary
mortals, are too ignorant and too helpless to aspire for Buddhahood; let us be contented with paying homage to Buddha
in
faithfully observing his precepts as laid down by him for our
spiritual edification. Our knowledge and energy are too limit-
and
ed to cope with such a gigantic task as to achieve a univermankind; let a Buddha or Bodhisattva attempt
it while we may rest with a profound confidence in him and
in his work. Thoughts somewhat like these must have been
going about in the minds of the Hinayanists, when their
Mahayana brethren were making bold to strive after Buddhahood themselves. The difference between the two schools oi
Buddhism, when most concisely expressed, is this: While one
has a most submissive confidence in the Buddha, the other
endeavors to follow his example by placing himself in his
sal salvation of
position.
The
following
quotation
("the Story of
Sumedha,"
CHAPTER
once
for
all,
and
their
28l
XI.
karma made an
indelible
mark
on the pages of his destiny. Even Buddha who was
supposed to have attained that exalted position by
innumerable pious deeds
could not escape the fruit of
practising
lives,
in all his
evil
former
karma which
was quite unwittingly commited by him. This iron
arm of karma seizes everybody in person and does
not
allow
any substitute whatever. Those who wish
karma could do so
to give a halt to the working of
only by applying a counter-force to it, and this with
no other hand than his own. The Mahayanist conception of Bodhisattvahood
somewhat
may be
considered an effort
to mitigate this ruthless mechanical rigidity
of the law of karma.
tale, from Warren's Buddhism, p. 14) in which Sumedha, one of the Buddha's former incarnations, expresses
his resolve to be a Buddha, may just as well be considered
as that of a Mahayanist himself, while the Hinayanists would
a Jataka
not dare to
make
this
wish their own:
"Or why should I, valorous man,
The ocean seek to cross alone?
Omniscience first will I achieve,
And men and gods convey across.
"Since
now
I
make
this earnest wish,
In presence of this Best of
Omniscience sometime
And
t
Men,
achieve,
multitude convey across.
I'll
"I'll rebirth' circling stream arrest,
Destroy existence's three modes;
I'll
climb the sides of Doctrine's ship,
And men and gods convey
across."
282
CHAPTER
XI.
Strict Individualism.
The Buddhism
buddhas
of the (Jravakas and the Pratyeka-
the most unscrupulous application to our
is
of
life
ethico-religious
the
theory of
individualistic
karma. All things done are done by oneself
left
undone are
All
that
undone by
;
all
things
They would
is
"Your
salvation
say:
exclusively your own business,
and whatever sympathy I may have is of no avail.
left
can do toward helping you
I
see intellectually the
not
oneself.
follow
your folly.
even with
way
to let
to emancipation. If
you have but
it,
is
you
you do
to suffer the fruition of
am
I
my
helpless with all my enlightenment,
Nirvana, to emancipate you from the
misery of perpetual metempsychosis." But with the
Buddhism
of the
Mahayana Bodhisattvas the case
"entirely different. It
it
is
all-love.
is
is
it is
all-sympathy,
all-compassion,
Bodhisattva would not seclude himself
A
into the absolute tranquillity of Nirvana, simply because
he wishes to emancipate
the
his fellow-creatures also
from
bondage of .ignorance and infatuation. Whatever
rewards he
karma of
may
his
get
for
virtuous
self-enjoyment as
his
deeds,
the
he would turn them
over (parivarta) towards the uplifting of the suffering
masses. And this self-sacrifice, this unselfish devotion
to
the
welfare
of his
fellow-beings
essence of Bodhisattvahood.
therefore,
is
thought to
The
constitutes
the
ideal Bodhisattva,
be no more than an incarnation
of Intelligence and Love, of Prajna and Karuna.
The
irrefragability of
karma seems
to
be satisfactory
CHAPTER
from the
intellectual
and
XI.
283
individualistic standpoint, for
the intellect demands a thorough application of logic,
and individualism does not allow the transfering of
from one person to another. From this
viewpoint, therefore, a rigorous enforcement as demanded by Hinayanism of the principle of self-emancipation
responsibility
does not show any logical
be
suspended as
fault
curse
the
ignorance tenaciously clings
of
to
;
divine grace
must
karma produced by
our soul. But when
viewed from the religious side of the question,
this
more than poor mortals qan
endure. They want something more elastic and pliable
inflexibility of
karma
is
that yields to the supplication of the feeling.
When
individuals are considered nothing but isolated, discon-
nected atoms, between which there
which
the
is
feeling,
they
are
is
too
no unifying bond
weak
to resist
and overcome the ever-threatening force of evil, whose
reality as long as a world of particulars exists cannot be
our
contradicted.
This religious necessity
inmost consciousness
may explain
why Mahayana Buddhism proposed the
'
parivarta
(turning
over) founded
the
felt
in
reason
doctrine of
on the oneness of
Dharmakaya.
The Doctrine of Parivarta.
The doctrine of turning over (parivarta} of one's
own merits to others is a great departure from that
which seems to have been the teaching of "primitive
Buddhism." In fact, it is more than a departure, it
CHAPTER
284
is
even
XI.
some measure.
opposition to the latter in
in
Because while individualism
a predominant feature in
is
the religious practice of the (Jravakas and the Pratyekabuddhas, universalism or supra-individualism, if I am
allowed
to use these terms,
is
the principle advocated
by the Bodhisattvas. The
latter believe that all beings,
a
manifestation
of
the
being
Dharmakaya, are in their
essence of one nature
;
real so far as subjective
that individual existences are
ignorance
is
concerned and
;
that virtues and merits issuing directly from the Dhar-
makaya which
is
intelligence
produce
pation of
all
cannot
fail
to
what was thought impos-
ravakas and the Pratyekabuddhas, that
by the
the turning over of one's
is,
love,
beings. Thus, the religion of the Bodhi-
sattvas proposes to achieve
sible
and
universal benefit and to effect final emanci-
own
merits to the service
of others
is
It
in
Bodhisattvas conceive
this spirit that the
the seriousness of the significance of
that,
spirit
on
istence
of
life
pondering over the
earth,
they come
life
;
it is
in this
reason of their ex-
to the following
view
:
"All ignorant beings are daily and nightly perform-
ing
evil
deeds
in
innumerable
ways; and, on
account, their suffering beggars description.
not
recognise
the
Tathagata,
do
not
this
They do
listen to his
teachings, do not pay homage to the congregation of
holy men. And this evil karma will surely bring them
a heavy crop of misery. This reflection fills the heart
of a Bodhisattva with gloomy feelings, which in turn
CHAPTER
gives rise to the
will
carry
all
immovable
nor
all
es
285
resolution, that he himself
the burdens
help them to reach the
mably
XI.
for ignorant beings
final
goal of Nirvana. Inesti-
heavy as these burdens are, he will not swerve
yield
under
their weight.
He
will
not rest until
ignorant beings are freed from the entangling meshof
desire
and
sin,
until
they are uplifted above
the darkening veil of ignorance and infatuation
marvelous
this his
limitations
to
and
eternity
spiritual
;
and
energy defies the narrow
of time and space, and will extend even
when
the whole system of worlds
to a conclusion. Therefore,
torious deeds practised
all
comes
the innumerable meri-
by the Bodhisattvas are dedi-
cated to the emancipation of ignorant beings.
"The Bodhisattvas do not feel, however, that they
are being compelled
by any external force to devote
and uplifting of the mass-
their lives to the edification
es.
They do not
the
violation
recognise
of which
may
any outward authority,
react
upon them
in
the
form of a punishment. They have already passed bethis stage of world-conception which implies a
yond
they are on the contrary moving in a much
wider and higher sphere of thought. All that is done
dualism
;
by them springs from
spontaneous will, from the
free activity of the Bodhicitta, which constitutes their
reason of existence and thus there is nothing compulsotheir
;
ry in their thoughts and movements. [To use Laotzean ter-
minology, they are practising non-action, wu wei, and
whatever may appear to the ignorant and unenlightened
as a strenuous and restless life, is merely a natural
CHAPTER
286
XI.
overflow from the inexhaustible fount of energy called
P
,
Bodhicitta, heart of intelligence ]"
1
Bodhisattva in "Primitive" Buddhism.
The
notion of Bodhisattva was not entirely absent
Buddhism, only it did not have such a
signification. All Buddhas were Bodhisattvas in
in "primitive"
wide
former
their
The
lives.
Jataka stories minutely des-
self-sacrificing deeds were done by them
and how by the karma of these merits they finally
attained Buddhahood. Qakyamuni was not the only
what
cribe
Buddha, but there had already been seven or twentyfour Buddhas prior to him, and the coming Buddha
to be known as Maitreya is believed to be disciplining
himself in the Tusita heaven and going through the stages
of Bodhisattvahood. The one who is thus destined to
be the future Buddha must be extraordinarily gifted in
spiritual energy. He must pass through eons of self-disci-
must practise deeds of non-atman with unflinching
courage and fortitude through innumerable existences.
pline,
The
following quotation from the Jataka tales will
be sufficient to see what ponderous and exacting
conditions were conceived by the so-called Hfnayanists
to
be
fully
1
necessary
for
qualified Buddha.
This
is
a
human being
to
become a
2
summary of the doctrine that is known
expounded in the Avatamsaka Sutra, fas. 21-22
a very rough
as Parivarta and
where ten lorms
of
Parivarta are distinguished and explained
at length.
2
Warren's Buddhism in Translations, the "Story of Sumedha,"
pp. 14-15.
CHAPTER
"Of men
condition
by
who makes
a
and only
in a
a
will
Bo-tree,
can
who
is
a
;
same
only he
of a living
after the
death of
Of those
not be successful.
the wish in the presence of a
make
successfully
the world
in a fit
at a relic shrine, or at the
and only he who has
he
that
is
it
presence
that succeeds in his wish
of
is
a wish to be
condition
fit
the
in
Buddha a wish made
foot
who
he,
make
successfully
wish
the
who make
is
can
Of those
Buddha.
Buddha
he,
287
the attainment of saintship in that
that
existence,
a
is
it
XI.
it
from the world
retired
the
Buddha
and not one
wish,
Of those who have retired from
only he who is possessed of the Five
layman.
it
is
High Powers and
is
that can successfully
master of the Eight Attainments
make the wish, and no one can
do so who
is lacking in these excellences. Of those,
who possess these excellences, it is he, and
only he, who has such firm resolve that he is ready
even,
to sacrifice his
fully
make
possess
the
for the
wish,
but
Buddhas
resolve
it
is
he,
in striving for the qualities that
is
that can success-
no other. Of those who
and only he, who has
determination, strenuousness, and endeavor
this
great zeal,
life
successful.
The
make
Buddha
a
will
following comparisons
intensity of the zeal. If he
is
that
show the
such a one as to think
:
"The man who, it all within the rim of the world
were to become water, would be ready to swim
across it with his own arms and get further shore,
he
all
is
the one to attain the Buddhaship
within
the
rim
:
or,
in case
of the world were to become a
CHAPTER
288
trample
he
side,
a
to
all
his
is
;
within the rim of the world were to
become
Jirma of thick-set javelins, would be ready
tread on them and go afoot to the further side,
terra
he
all
would be ready to elbow and
way through it and get to the further
the one to attain the Buddhaship or, in
of bamboo,
jungle
case
XI.
the one to attain the Buddhaship
is
within the rim of the world were to
or, in
case
become
live
;
coals, would be ready to tread on them and so get
he is the one to attain the
to the further side,
he
if
Buddhaship,'
hard
deems not even one of these
himself but has such great zeal,
determination, strenuousness, and power of endeavor
feats
too
that he
for
would perform these
the Buddhaship,
wish succeed."
From
this
is
it
become a Buddha
that
aspiration
believe
in
the
not
but
then,
feats in order to attain
otherwise,
will
his
apparent that everybody could not
Buddhism the highest
cherished by him was to
in "primitive"
could
be
teachings
of
;
to follow the
Buddha,
Arhatship.
down by him, and to attain at most to
The idea of Arhatship, however, was
considered
by Mahayanists
precepts
laid
hard-hearted,
for
cold,
impassionate, and
the saint calmly reviews the sight
of the suffering masses; and therefore Arhatship
altogether
unsatisfactory
to
be
the
object
was
for the
Bodhisattvas of their high religious aspirations.
The Mahayanists wanted
to go even
attainment of Arhatship, however exalted
may
be.
They wanted
to
beyond the
its spirituality
make every humble
soul
CHAPTER
a
like
being
to
akyamuni,
the
distribute
remove
of
bliss
XI.
289
wanted
they
enlightenment
they wanted
;
the barriers that were supposed to
all
between Buddhahood and the
common
how
the iron handsjpf
when
could they do this
held
the
tight
to
lavishly
of each individual!
fate
lie
humanity. But
How
karma
was
it
for him to identify his being with the ideal
of mankind? Perhaps this serious problem could not
possible
very well be solved by Buddhists, when their
of
the
personality
majestic
vivid
before
easy
task
mental eyes.
their
for
them
to
memory
of (Jakyamuni was
It
still
was probably no
overcome the
feeling of
awe
and reverence which was so deeply engraved in their
hearts, and to raise themselves to such a height as
reached by their Master, even ideally. This was certainly
an act of sacrilege. But, as time advances, the personal
recollection of the Master
would naturally wane and
would not play so much influence as their own religious
consciousness which is ever fresh and active. Generally
speaking,
all
great historical characters that command
awe of posterity do so only when
the reverence and
their
words
secrets of the
or
human
and reverence and
much
or
acts
both
heart.
even
And
of
the
unravel
deepest
this feeling of
worship
is
awe
not due so
great characters themselves as to the
own
worshiper's
religious consciousness. History passes,
to
the
An individual called (Jakyamuni
in
the
course of time, but the sacred
be
may
forgotten
chord in the inmost heart struck by him reverberates
but the heart persists.
through
eternity.
So with the Mahayana Buddhists,
19
CHAPTER
29O
the religious sentiment
at.
last
XI.
asserted itself in spite
of the personal recollection and reverential feeling for
the
Master.
And
perhaps
in the following
by them
great problem of Buddhahood.
the reasoning then advanced
We
are all Bodhisatlvas.
As (Jakyamuni was a Bodhisattva
destined to become a Buddha,
lives
and
Bodhisattvas
way was
relative to the
even
Buddhas
in his
so
we
former
are
all
in a certain sense,
when we understand that all sentient beings, the
Buddha not excepted, are one in the Dharmakaya.
The Dharmakaya manifests in us as Bodhi which is
the
of Buddhas as well as of Bodhisattvas.
essence
This Bodhi can suffer no change whatever in quantity
even when the Bodhisattva attains finally to the highest
human perfection as (Jakyamuni Buddha. In this spirit,
therefore,
the
Buddha exclaimed when he obtained
enlightenment, "It is marvelous indeed that all beings
animate and inanimate universally partake of the nature
of Tathagatahood." The only difference between a
Buddha and the ignorant masses is that the latter
do not make manifest in them the glory of Bodhi.
JThey only are not Bodhisattvas who, enveloped
the
divine
sophically review the world of tribulations.
mortals
in
rays of light in a celestial abode, philo-
made
Even we
of dust are Bodhisattvas, incarnates ot
the Bodhi, capable of being united in the all-embracing
love of the
Dharmakaya and
also of obliterating the
CHAPTER
karma
individual curse of
XI.
2Q1
and absolute
in the eternal
intelligence of the Dharmakaya.
As soon
as
we come
to live in this love and intelligence, individual existences
no hindrance to the turning over (parivarta) of
are
one's spiritual merits (punyd) to the service of others.
Let us only have an insight into the spirituality of
our existence and
we
are
all
Bodhisattvas and Buddhas.
us abandon the selfish thought of entering into
Nirvana that is conceived to extinguish the fire of
Let
heart and leave only the cold ashes of intellect. Let
have
us
over
all
sympathy
for
all
suffering beings
and turn
our merits, however small, to their benefit
and happiness. For
Bodhisattvas.
in this
way we
are
all
made
the
!
The Buddha's Life.
This spirit of universal love prevails in all Mahayana
literature, and the Bodhisattvas are everywhere represented as exercising it with utmost energy. The
Mahayanists,
a.
therefore,
simple, prosaic,
1
It
could not rest satisfied with
and earthly account of Qakyamuni,
interesting to Christian readers to note in this
that modern Buddhists do not reject altogether
may be
connection
the idea of vicarious atonement, for their religious conviction
as seen here admits the parivarta of a Bodhisattva's merits
to
the spiritual welfare of his fellow-creatures. But they will
to the Christian interpretation that Jesus was sent
object
down on earth by his heavenly father for the special mission
to atone for the original sin through the shedding of his innocent
blood, for this is altogether too puerile and materialistic
CHAPTER
2Q2
they wanted to
"illustrating
make
it
XI.
as ideal
and poetic
as possible,
the gospel of love, as was conceived by
them, in every phase of the
The Mahayanists
first
of the Buddha.
life
the
placed
Tusita heaven before his birth, (as
made him
world below, made him
Hinayanists,)
Buddha
in
the
was done by the
feel pity for the distressed
resolve
to deliver
it
from
ocean of misery which throws up sickness as
foam, tossing with the waves of old age, and rush-
"the
its
ing
with
dreadful onflow
the
of
death," and after
they made him abide
Mount Vulture delivering
his Parinirvana,
forever on the
peak of the
the sermon of
immortality to a great assemblage of spiritual beings.
In
this
they explained the significance of the
wise,
akyamuni on
appearance of
earth,
which was noth-
ing but a practical demonstration of the "Great Loving Heart" (mahdkarundcitta).
The Bodhisattva and Love.
Nagarjuna
in his
work on the Bodhicitta
*
elucidates
the Mahayanist notion of Bodhisattvahood as follows
"Thus the
essential nature of
all
Bodhisattvas
great loving heart (mahdkarundcitta}, and
all
is
:
a
sentient
beings constitute the object of its love. Therefore,
all the Bodhisattvas do not cling to the blissful taste
1
The
full title
of the
work
is
A
Treatise on the
Transcen-
of Bodhicitta (Nanjo, No. 1304). It is a little book
consisting of seven or eight sheets in big Chinese type. It
dentality
was
translated
into
Chinese by Danapala (Shih Hu) during
the tenth century of the Christian Era.
CHAPTER
that
is
by the
produced
XI.
293
modes of mental
divers
(dkydna), do
their meritorious deeds, which
tranquilisation
covet the
not
may heighten
fruit
their
of
own
happiness.
"Their
behind them
is
higher
they do not leave
for
(Jravakas,
truism,
state
spiritual
[as
than that of the
all
sentient beings
the (Jravakas do]. They practise althe fruit of Buddha-knowledge
seek
they
[instead of (Jravaka-knowledge].
''With
a
of
sufferings
in
loving
great
all
heart
who
beings,
they look upon the
are diversely tortured
a hell
Avici Hell in consequence of their sins
whose
of misery
made
is
possible on account of
karma [committed by
sattvas
and where an endless round
limits are infinite
filled
with
sentient creatures]
and
pity
love
desire
all
sorts of
The Bodhito
suffer
themselves for the sake of those miserable beings.
"But they are well acquainted with the truth that
diverse sufferings causing diverse states of
misery are in one sense apparitional and unreal, while
all
those
in
another
that
those
sense
who
they are not so. They know also
have an intellectual insight into the
emptiness (cunyata) of
derstand
why
those
all
existences, thoroughly un-
rewards of karma are brought
forth in such and such
ways [through ignorance and
infatuation].
Bodhisattvas, in order to emancipate
from
sentient beings
misery, are inspired with great
spiritual energy and mingle themselves in the filth of
"Therefore,
all
birth and death.
Though thus they make themselves
,
CHAPTER
2Q4
to
subject
XI.
the laws of birth and death, their hearts
and attachments. They are like
unto those immaculate, undefiled lotus-flowers which
are
from
free
sins
grow out of mire, yet are not contaminated by
it.
"Their great hearts ot sympathy which constitute the
essence of their being never leave suffering creatures
behind [in their journey towards enlightenment]. Their
spiritual
insight
the
in
is
(cunyata) of
emptiness
things, but [their work of salvation]
"
the world of sins and sufferings
is
never outside
The Meaning of Bodhi and Bodhicitta.
What
It
is
word "Bodhisattva" ?
the meaning of the
a Sanskrit term consisting of two words, "Bodhi,"
is
and
"sattva."
budh
Bodhi which
"to
meaning
comes
wake/'
is
from the
generally
root
rendered
"knowledge" or "intelligence." Sattva(sat-tva) literally
means
or
"state of being"
which
"that
;
thus "existence," "creature,"
its
English equivalent.
"Bodhisattva" as one word means "a being of intelligence," or "a being whose essence is intelligence." Why
the Mahayanists
is,"
came
tinction to (Jravaka
is
being
to adopt this
word
easily understood,
in contradis-
when we
see
what special significance they attached to the conception
of Bodhi in their philosophy.
by
did
it
not
came
bear
Bodhi was used
of
it
any particular import. But as soon as
to express
conception
its
When
the (Jravakas in the simple sense of knowledge,
some metaphysical
Dharmakaya,
generally accepted sense.
it
relation to the
ceased to be used in
CHAPTER
XI.
295
Bodhi, according to the Mahayanists,
sion of the
in the
Dharmakaya
human
is
an expres-
consciousness.
Philosophically speaking, Suchness or Bhutatathata
an ontological term, and
or
Buddha bears a
Dharmakaya
religious
is
or Tathagata
significance
;
while
all
these three, Bodhi, Bhutatathata, and Dharmakaya, and
their
synonyms are nothing but different aspects of one
same reality refracting through the several
and the
defective lenses of a finite intellect.
though essentially an epistemological term,
psychological sense when it is used in
Bodhi,
assumes
a
with
conjunction
used
generally
texts, especially
above
its
gence-heart
is
sised
i.e.
citta,
or Bodhihrdaya which
heart or soul. Bodhicitta,
means the same
Bodhi singly
than
when
its
religious
thing,
in the
import
is
more
Mahayana
is
empha-
intellectual one. (Bodhicitta, viz. intelli^fr
,
'"
^
a
reflex
religious archetype, the
Bodhicitta
when
in
human
'
its
is,
is
called anuttara-
"intelligence-heart that
supreme and most perfect."
It will be easily understood now that what consti-
tutes the essence of the Bodhicitta
thing that
is
r....jLMi
heart of
Dharmakaya.
further amplified
samyak-sambodhicitta, that
is
the
nothing
is
the very
same
makes up the Dharmakaya. For the former
but
an
expression
of the
latter,
though
finitely, fragmentarily, imperfectly realised in us.
The
an image and the Dharmakaya the prototype,
one
is
yet
just as real as the other, only the two must not
be conceived dualistically. There is a Dharmakaya,
citta is
there
is
a
human
heart,
and the former
reflects itself
VttttLte
CHAPTER
the
in
latter
much
after
reflection in the water:
correct;
perfectly
of Buddhism
is
human
the former in the
same
the
the
fashion
of the lunar
to think in this wise
is
not
because the fundamental teaching
to view
the Dharmakaya,
XI.
all
these three conceptions,
heart,
and the
reflections of
latter, as different forms of
one and
activity.
Love and Karund.
The
the
Bodhicitta or Intelligence-heart, therefore, like
Dharmakaya
is
essentially love
to use Sanskrit terms,
or,
some may object
and
intelligence,
karund and prajnd. Here
to the use of the
term "love"
for
karuna, perhaps on the ground that karuna does not
exactly correspond to the Christian notion of love,
more of the sense of commiseration. But
savors
as
it
if
we understand by
love a sacrifice of the self for
the sake of others (and
it
cannot be more than
that),
then karuna can correctly be rendered love, even in
the Christian sense. Is not the Bodhisattva willing to
abandon
his
own
Nirvanic peace for the interests of
suffering creatures? Is he not willing to dedicate the
karma of his meritorious deeds performed in his suc-
cessive existences to the general welfare of his fellow-
beings ?
all
his
not his one fundamental motive that governs
activities in life directed towards a universal
Is
emancipation
of
all
sentient beings? Is he not per-
fectly willing to forsake
all
the thoughts and passions
egoism and to embrace the will of
the Dharmakaya? If this be the case, then there is
that
arise
from
CHAPTER
XI.
297
no reason why karun& should not be rendered by love.
Christians say that without love we are become
sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal; and Buddhists
would declare that without karuna we are like unto
a dead vine hanging over a frozen boulder, or like
unto the cold ashes left after a blazing fire.
Some may
say,
however, that the Buddhist symsomewhat betrays a sense of
pathy or commiseration
passive
evils.
contemplation
God
that
ojf-
When
Christians say
loves his creatures, the loyje implies activity
and shows God's willingness to do whatever for the
Yet
actual benefits of his subject -beings. Quite true.
when
the
Buddha
is
stated to have declared that
sentient beings in the triple world are his
or
ren
unless
that
he
will
not enter into his
own
final
all
child-
Nirvana
beings in the three thousand great chilionot a single soul excepted, are emancipated
all
cosms,
from the misery of birth and death,
his self-sacrificing
love must be considered to be all-comprehensive and
at
the same time
ever
objections
full
there
of energy and activity. Whatmay be, we do not see any
sufficient reason against speaking of the love-essence
of the
Dharmakaya and the
Bodhicitta.
Ndgdrjuna and Sthiramati on
Says Nagarjuna
dentahty
from all
in
the
in his
the Bodhicitta.
Discourse on the Transcen-
of the Bodhicitta: "The Bodhicitta is free
not included
is, it is
determinations, that
categories
of
the
five
skandhas, the twelve
ayatanas, and the eighteen dhatus.
It is
not a particular
CHAPTER
298
existence which
is
palpable.
and
uncreate
is
It
its
XI.
It is
non-atmanic, universal.
self-essence
is
void [funya,
immaterial, or transcendental].
"One who understands
sees
everything
the nature of the Bodhicitta
with a loving heart,, for love
is
the
t essence of the Bodhicitta.
"The Bodhicitta
"Therefore,
all
the highest essence.
Bodhisattvas find their raison d'etre
is
of existence in this great loving heart.
"The Bodhicitta, abiding in the heart of sameness
(samatd) creates individual means of salvation (upay a).
l
1
meaning "expedient," "stratagem," "device," or
a technical sense in Buddhism. It is used in
contrast to intelligence (prajna) and is synonymous with love
Upaya,
"craft,"
has
says in the sutra bearing his name
"Prajna is the mother of the Bodhisattva
and Upaya his father; there is no leader of humanity who is
not born of them." Intelligence (prajna) is the one, the univer(karuna).
So, Vimalakirti
(chap.
verses
8,
i
4):
representing the principle of sameness (samatd}. while
is the many, being the principle of manifoldness (ndndtva).
From the standpoint of pure intelligence, the Bodhisattvas
sal,
Upaya
do not see any particular
suffering existences, for there is
nothing that is not of the Dharmakaya: but when they see
the universe from the standpoint of their love-essence, they
everywhere the conditions of misery and sin that
from clinging to the forms of particularity.
^To remove
these, they devise all possible means that are directed towards
the attainment of the final aim of
is only
existencejJThere
one religion, religion of truth, but there are many ways, many
means, many upayas, all issuing from the all-embracing love
ot the Dharmakaya and equally efficient to lead the masses
to supreme enlightenment and universal good. Therefore,
ontologically speaking, this universe, the Buddhists would say,
recognise
arise
is nothing but a grand
display of Upayas by the Dharmakaya
that desires thereby to lead all sentient beings to the ultimate
CHAPTER
299
XI.
One who understands
this heart becomes emancipated
view of birth and death and performs
such acts as are beneficial both to oneself and to others.'*
from the
dualistic
Sthiramati advocates in his Discourse on the Mahay dna-
Dharmadhdtu
nature
of
*
the
the
same view
Bodhicitta,
on the
as Nagarjuna's
which
I
summarise here
:
"Nirvana, Dharmakaya, Tathagata, Tathagata-garbha,
Paramartha, Buddha, Bodhicitta, or Bhutatathata, all
these terms signify merely so many different aspects
one and
of
name
as
it
same
the
given to a
reality
;
and Bodhicitta
the
is
form of the Dharmakaya or Bhutatathata
manifests
itself
the
in
perfection, or negatively
its
human
liberation
heart]
from
all
and
egoistic
impurities, constitutes the state of Nirvana."
reflex of the
a
Being
practically the
is
same
its
r^
Dharmakaya, the Bodhicitta
as the original in
acteristics; so continues Sthiramati: "It
its
char-
free
from
all
is
compulsive activities it has no beginning, it has no
end it cannot be defiled by impurities, it cannot be
;
;
obscured
egoistic individualistic prejudices;
by
incorporeal,
realisation of
it
is
the
Buddhahood.
it
is
spiritual essence of Buddhas,
In
many
cases, thus,
it is
extremely
render upaya by
any of its English equivalents
and yet to retain its original technical sense unsuffered. This
is also the case with many other Buddhist terms, among which
difficult
to
we may mention
etc. The Chinese
Bodhi, Dharmakaya, Prajila, Citta, Parivarta,
translators have
fang
p'ien for
upaya which
means "means-accommodation."
Its full title is A Discourse on the Non-duality of the Mahay ana- Dharmadhdtu. It consists of less than a dozen pages
in ordinary Chinese large print. It was translated by Devaprajna and others in the year 691 A. D.
1
CHAPTER
3OO
it
the source of all virtues earthly as well as transcen-
is
it
dental;
"It
which
becoming,
constantly
its
yet
original
lost.
may be likened unto the ever-shining sunlight
may temporarily be hidden behind the clouds.
All the
may
is
never
is
purity
but
XI.
modes of passion and
sometimes
the
darken
from egoism
light of the Bodhicitta,
forever remains free from these
Citta itself
external impurities.
sin arising
It
the
may
again be likened unto
all-
comprehending space which remains eternally identical,
whatever happenings and changes may occur in things
enveloped
itself in
When
therein.
a relative world,
the
it
Bodhicitta
looks as
to constant becoming, but in reality
it
determinations,
is
above
the
if
it
manifests
being subject
transcends all
reach of birth and
death (samsdra).
"So long
as
it
remains buried under innumerable
arising from ignorance and egoism, it is productive of no earthly or heavenly benefit. Like the
sins
whose
lotus-flower
gold
that
is
petals are yet unfolded, like the
deeply
entombed under the debris of
dung and dirt, or like the light of the full moon
eclipsed by Acura; the Bodhicitta, when blindfolded
by the clouds of passion, avarice, ignorance, and folly,
does not reveal
"Destroy
its
intrinsic spiritual worth.
once
at
those entanglements
;
with your might and main all
then like the full-bloomed lotus-
and dust,
the sun in its
flower, like genuine gold purified from dirt
like the
full
moon
glory,
in a cloudless sky, like
like
mother earth producing
all
kinds of
CHAPTER
cereals, like the
the
eternal
XI.
3OI
ocean containing innumerable treasures,
of the Bodhicitta will be upon all
bliss
sentient beings. All sentient beings are then emanci-,
from the misery of ignorance and folly, their
hearts are filled with love and sympathy and free
pated
from the clinging to things worthless.
^"However defiled and obscured the Bodhicitta
find itself in profane hearts,
)j
is
essentially the
may
same
Buddhas.lTherefore, says the Muni of
akya: 'O
ariputra, the world of sentient beings is
not different from the Dharmakaya the Dharmakaya
as
that in
all
;
is
not
different
What
from
the
constitutes
sentient
beings;
sentient beings
"As
far
as
is
Dharmakaya
is
the world of
and what constitutes the world of
the Dharmakaya.'
the
concerned, there
the world of sentient beings.
is
Dharmakaya or the Bodhicitta
no
radical distinction to
between profane hearts and the Buddha's
when observed from
the
human
be
is
made
heart; yet
standpoint [that
is,
from the phenomenal side of existence] the following
general classification can be made:
The
"(i)
egoistic
heart hopelessly distorted
sins
by numberless
and condemned to an eternal transmi-
gration of birth and death which began in;the timeless
past,
"(2)
in
said to be in the state of profanity.
is
The
birth
heart that, loathing the misery of wandering
and death and taking
leave
of
all
sinful
and depraved conditions, seeks the Bodhi in the ten
virtues of perfection (pdramita) and 84.000 Buddhadharmas and
disciplines itself in all meritorious deeds,
CHAPTER
3O2
is
The
"(3)
from the
all
be the
to
said
has
of
is
essence
the
all
eternally
corruptions,
in
state of a Bodhisattva.
which the heart
obscuration
and
sins
abides
[spiritual]
state in
sufferings,
XI.
has
emancipated
passions, has distanced
the stain of
effaced
pure,
all
and purest,
purer,
of Dharma, has reached the
height from which the states of
surveyed,
is
the
attained
all
sentient beings are
consummation of
all
knowledges, has realised the highest type of manhood,
has gained the power of spiritual spontaneity which
one
frees
state
spiritual
attachment
and
that of the
fully,
from
is
this
hesitation,
perfectly, enlight-
ened Tathagata".
The Awakening of the Bodhicitta.
The
Bodhicitta
sentient beings.
and
active
ordinary
is
Only
with
mortals
present
in
Buddhas
the
it
immaculate
its
it
in
is
of
hearts
fully
virility,
all
awakened
while
in
dormant and miserably crippled
is
unenlightened intercourse with the world of
sensuality. One of the most favorite parables told by
the Mahayanists to illustrate this point is to compare
by
its
the Bodhicitta to the moonlight in the heavens. When
the moon shines with her silvery light in the clear,
cloudless
skies,
she
in
mass
of
every
is
reflected in every drop
water
dews on the quivering
on the
earth.
The
crystal
leaves reflect her like so
pearls hung on the branches. Every
little
and
many
water-pool;
probably formed temporarily by heavy showers in
the daytime, reflects her like so many stars descended
CHAPTER
on
XI.
3O3
Perhaps some of the pools are muddy and
filthy, but the moonlight does not refuse
her immaculate image in them. The image
earth.
others even
to reflect
is
as
just
perfect
there
as in a clear, undisturbed,
transparent lake, where cows quench their thirst and
swans bathe
the least trace of water, there
is
Bodhicitta:
seen a heavenly
goddess
night. Even so with the
where there exists a little warmth of the
there
heart,
is
of
of the
image
Wherever there
their taintless feathers.
it
unfailingly
glorifies itself in its best
'
as circumstances permit.
the
Now,
Bodhicitta
This
sense?
almost
recite
question
our
in
is
is
:
hearts
How
be
should this dormant
awakened to
answered more or
less
its
full
definitely in
Mahayana writings, and we may here
the words of Vasubandhu from his Discourse
all
the
on the Awakening of the Bodhicitta,
*
for
they give
somewhat systematic statement of those conditions which tend to awaken the Bodhicitta from its
us
a
lethargic inactivity. (Chap.
The
us
(i)
II.)
Bodhicitta or Intelligence-heart
is
by thinking of the Buddhas,
(2)
faults of material existence,
(3)
on the
awakened
in
by reflecting
by observing M
the deplorable state in which sentient beings are living,
and
are
finally
(4)
acquired
by aspiring
after those virtues
which
by a Tathagata in the highest enlight-
enment.
This work was translated by Kumarajiva into Chinese at
fifth century A. D. It is divided into two
fascicles, each consisting of about one score of Chinese pages.
1
the beginning of the
CHAPTER
3O4
XI.
To
describe these conditions
(1)
By thinking of
the
the present,
:
Buddhas. "All Buddhas
the
when
first
started
were not quite
enment,
finally
definitely
in
quarters, of the past, of the future, and of
ten
(kle$ a)
more
free
on
their
to enlight-
way
from passions and sins
any more than we are at present but they
succeeded in attaining the highest enlightenment
;
and became the noblest beings.
"All
the
spiritual
Buddhas, by strength of their inflexible
energy, were capable of attaining perfect
enlightenment.
why
should
we
If
enlightenment
not attain it?
is
attainable at
all,
"All
dom
the Buddhas, erecting high the torch of wisthrough the darkness of ignorance and keeping
awake an excellent
submitted themselves to
heart,
penance and mortification, and finally emancipated
themselves from the bondage of the triple world. Following their steps, we, too, could emancipate ourselves,
"All the Buddhas, the noblest type of mankind,
successfully crossed the great ocean of birth and death
and of passions and
sins
;
why, then, we, being crea-
tures of intelligence, could also cross the sea of trans-
migration.
"All the Buddhas manifesting
great spiritual power
sacrificed the possessions, body, and life, for the attain-
ment of omniscience (sarvajna); and we,
too, could
follow their noble examples."
The faults of the material existence. "This our
bodily existence consisting of the five skandhas and
(2)
the four mahats (elements)
is
a perpetuator of innu-
CHAPTER
merable
This
aside.
from
its
deeds
evil
XI.
3O5
and therefore
;
it
should be cast
our bodily existence constantly secretes
and impurities which are
and therefore it should be cast aside.
nine orifices
truly loathsome
;
filths
This our bodily existence, harboring within itself anger,
avarice, and infatuation, and other innumerable evil
passions,
consumes a good heart
;
and therefore
it
should be destroyed. This our bodily existence is like
a bubble, like a spatter, and is decaying every minute.
It
is an undesirable possession and should be aban-
doned. This our bodily existence engulfed
is
creating evil
karma
in ignorance
the time, which throws us
all
the whirlpool of transmigration through the six
into
gatis."
(3) The miserable conditions of sentient beings which
arouse the sympathy of the Bodhisattvas. "All sentient
beings are under the bondage of ignorance. Spell-bound
by folly and infatuation, they are suffering the severest
Not believing
pain
accumulating
ing
deeper
in
the law of karma, they are
going
evils;
righteousness, they
in
astray
from the path of
are following false doctrines
the
whirlpool
of
;
sink-
passions, they are
being drowned in the four waters of sin.
"They are being tortured with all sorts of pain.
They are needlessly haunted by the fear of birth and
death
and old age,
and
do
not
seek the path of
emancipation. Mortified with grief, anxiety, tribulation,
they do not refrain from committing further foul deeds.
Clinging to their beloved ones and being always
afraid of separation, they
do not understand that there
20
CHAPTER
3O6
is
no individual
pain, they cherish
to.
the Tathdgata. "All the Tatha-
virtue of their discipline, have acquired a
by
gatas,
Trying to shun enmity, hatred,
more hatred."
The virtues of
(4)
that individual existences are
reality,
not worth clinging
XI.
dignified mien which aspires every beholder
with the thought that dispels pain and woe. The Dharmakaya of all the Tathagatas is immortal and pure
noble,
and
from
free
attachments. All the Tathagatas
evil
are possessed of moral discipline, tranquillity,
intelli-
gence, and emancipation. They are not hampered by
intellectual prejudices and have become the sanctuary
/
of immaculate virtues.
They have
the ten balas (powers),
four abhayas (fearlessness), great compassion, and the
three smrtyupasthanas (contemplations). They are omniscient,
and
their love for suffering beings
bounds and brings
all
creatures back to the path of
who have gone
righteousness,
knows no
astray on account of
ignorance."
*
*
*
In short, the Intelligence-heart or Bodhicitta
kened
in us either
is
(which
when
innate in us)
is
awa-
love for suffering creatures
is
called forth, or
when our
aspires after the highest enlightenment, or
these two psychical activities are set astir under
intellect
when
some
favorable circumstances.
manifestation of the
scious mind,
it
As
Dharmakaya
the Bodhicitta
in
is
a
our limited con-
constantly longs for a unification with
CHAPTER
XI.
archetype, in spite of the curse of ignorance heavweighing upon it. When this unification is not ef-
its
ily
fected for any reason, the heart (citta) shows
satisfaction
may
in
some way or
The
its dis-
dissatisfaction
take sometimes a morbid course, and
may
result
misanthropy, or suicide, or asceticism,
in pessimism, or
some other kindred
or
other.
eccentric practices. But
if
pro-
perly guided and naturally developed, the more intense
the dissatisfaction, the more energetic will be the
spiritual activity of a Bodhisattva.
The Bodhisattva 's Pranidhdna.
Having awakened
his Bodhicitta
ous slumber, a Bodhisattva
from
its
unconsci-
now proceed
to
make
vows.
his
Let
a
will
me remark
here, however, that
"vow"
is
not
very appropriate term to express the meaning of
the Sanskrit pranidhdna. Pranidhana
aspiration,
prayer,
is
a strong wish,
or an inflexible determination to
even through an infinite series
of rebirths. Buddhists have such a supreme belief in
carry
the
out
one's
power of
will
will
limitations, the will
or spirit that, whatever material
is
sure to triumph over
them and
gain its final aim. So, every Bodhisattva is considered
to have his own particular pranidhanas in order to
perform his share in the work of universal salvation.
His corporeal shadow may vanish as its karma is exhausted, but his pranidhana survives and takes on a
new garment, which procedure being necessary to
CHAPTER
3O8
keep
XI.
ever effective. All that
it
dhisattva to do this
of his
carnation
is
own
to
make
for a
Bo-
aspirations, putting everything
and foreign under
external
needed
is
himself a perfect in-
their controlling spiritual
power Buddhists are so thoroughly idealistic and their
faith in ideas and ideals is so unshakable that they
come
more in-
firmly believe that whatever they aspire to will
out finally as real fact; and, therefore, the
and permanent and born of the inmost needs
of humanity, the more certain are our yearnings to
tense
be
(This belief, by the way, will help to ex-
satisfied.
the
plain
belief
popular
the Buddhists that
among
man will survive
any strong passion possessed by
him and take a form, animate or inanimate, which
a
will best
achieve
to
According
its
end.)
Vasubandhu whom we have quoted
several times, the Bodhisattvas generally are supposed
make
to
the following 'ten
from a great loving heart now awakened
rally spring
them:
in
"
(1)
pranidhanas, which natu-
*
Would
that
all
the merits
I
have accumulated
the past as well as in the present be distributed
in
among
all
sentient beings and
make them
all
aspire
supreme knowledge, and also that this my pranidhana be constantly growing in strength and sustain
after
me
throughout
(2)
1
"Would
The above
Chapter
III,
in
is
my
that,
rebirths.
through the merits of
my
work,
a liberal rendering of the first part of the
Vasubandhu's Bodhicitta.
CHAPTER
I
XI.
3O9
may, wherever I am born, come in the presence of
Buddhas and pay them homage.
(3) "Would that I be allowed all the time to be
all
near Buddhas like shadow following object, and never
to be away from them.
"Would
(4)
that
all
Buddhas
my
truths
as
finally
attain the five spiritual
best suited to
instruct
me
in religious
and
intelligence
let
me
powers of the Bodhi-
sattva.
(5)
"Would
scientific
religion
that
I
be thoroughly conversant with
knowledge as well as the first principle of
and gain an insight into the truth of the Good
Law.
(6)
"Would
truth to
all
that
and make them
(7)
"Would
Buddha,
ters
of
I
I
be able to preach untiringly the
beings, and gladden them, and benefit them,
intelligent.
through the divine power of the
be allowed to travel all over the ten quar-
the
that,
pay respect to
world,
all
the Buddhas,
listen to their instructions in the Doctrine,
sally benefit
all
and univer-
sentient beings.
"Would that, by causing the wheel of immacuDharma to revolve, all sentient beings in the ten
quarters of the universe who may listen to my teach(8)
late
ings or hear
awaken
(9)
tect
in
my
"Would
all
name, be freed from
them the
that
I
all
passions and
Bodhicitta.
all
accompany and proremove for them things
the time
sentient beings and
which are not beneficial to them and give them innumerable blessings, and also that through the sacrifice
CHAPTER
3IO
of
my
body,
life,
XI.
and possessions
I
embrace
all
crea-
tures and thereby practise the Right Doctrine.
"Would
(10)
in
person,
my
though practising the Doctrine
heart be free from the consciousness
that,
of compulsion and unnaturalness, as
all
tvas practise the Doctrine in such a
way
tising
made
it
yet leaving nothing unpractised
their
beings."
pranidhanas
the Bodhisat-
;
as not prac-
for they
for the sake of
all
have
sentient
CHAPTER
XII.
TEN STAGES OF BODHISATTVAHOOD
Gradation in our Spiritual Life.
'THEORETICALLY
above, the Bodhi or Bodhicitta
being, and
in this
sense he
is
we have
as
speaking,
is
in
seen
every sentient
a Bodhisattva. In profane
be found enveloped in ignorance and
can never be altogether annulled. For the
Bodhi, when viewed from its absolute aspect, transcends
hearts
may
it
egoism, but
the
realm
the
world
it
of birth and death (samsdra), is beyond
of toil and trouble and is not subject to
any form of defilement. But when it assumes a relative
existence and is only partially manifested under the
cover
of
ignorance,
there
appear various stages of
actualisation or of perfection. In
attain
a
some beings
more meaningful expression than
while there
may
who
be even those
it
may
in others,
apparently
fail
on
account of their accursed karma to show the evidence
of
its
presence. This latter class
is
usually called "Icchan-
is, people who are completely overwhelmed
passions. They are morally and religiously a
tika," that
by the
mere corpse which even a great
spiritual physician finds
almost impossible to resuscitate. But, philosophically
considered, the glory of the Bodhi must be admitted
it
CHAPTER
312
XII.
to be shining even in these dark, ignorant souls. Such
souls, perhaps, will have to go round many a cycle
.
of transmigration, before their karma loses its poignancy and becomes susceptible to a moral influence
may come
with which they
This
force of
accursed
in contact.
karma
is
not the same in
admits of all possible degrees of strength,
beings,
and causes some to suffer more intensely than others.
all
it
But there
free
this
no human heart or soul that
is
is
absolutely
from the shackle of karma and ignorance, because
very existence of a phenomenal world is a product
does not prove that
this life is evil. The only heart that transcends the
influence of karma and ignorance and is all-purity,
of ignorance,
all-love,
and
though
fact
all-intelligence, is the
Bodhi
absolute
this
itself.
The
life
Dharmakaya
or the
of a Bodhisattva and
indeed the end of our religious aspiration is to unfold,
realise, and identify ourselves with the love and intelligence of that ideal
The awakening
heart)
of
marks the
human
eral
life.
of
stages
perfection.
real
Dharmakaya.
of the Bodhicitta (or intelligencefirst
step towards the highest good
This awakening must pass through sevreligious
discipline
before
it
attains
These stages are generally estimated by the
Mahayanists
modern
and yet
at
ten.
sceptical
sequence, nor can
They
appear, however, to our
minds to be of no
we
significant con-
detect any very practical and
well-defined distinction between successive stages.
fail
to
We
understand what religious necessity impelled
the Hindu Buddhists to establish such apparently un-
CHAPTER
important
one
stages
XII.
313
another in our religious
after
We
can see, however, that the first awakening
of the Bodhicitta does not transform us all at once
life.
to
Buddhahood we have yet
to
;
uous
efforts
overcome with
karma and
the baneful influence of
norance which asserts
strenig-
too readily in our prac-
itself
But the marking of stages as
in the gradaour
Dagabhumi
spiritual progress seems
to be altogether too artificial. Nevertheless I here take
tical life.
tion of the
an
as
pains
in
historical
stages and to give
characteristic of
the
us
survey to enumerate the ten
some
features supposed to be
eachBhumi
(staged as
most
expounded
in
Avatamsaka
Sutra. ProDably they will help
understand what moral conceptions and what
to
religious aspirations
were working
in the
of the doctrine of Dagabhumi, for
it
establishment
elaborately de-
what was considered by the Mahayanists to be
the essential constituents of Bodhisattvahood, and also
scribes
shows what
spiritual routine a
Buddhist was expected
to pursue.
r
(
The
.,..
-.
ten stages are: (i) Pramudita, (2) Vimala, (3)
Prabhakari, (4) Arcismati,
Durangama,
(7)
(8)
(5)
Sudurjaya, (6) Abhimukhi,
Acala, (9) Sadhumati, (10) Dhar-
mamegha.
(i)
The Pramudita.
Pramudita means "delight" or "joy" and marks the
stage of Bodhisattvahood, at which the Buddhists
first
emerge from a
cold, self-sufficing,
and almost
nihilistic
contemplation of Nirvana as fostered by the Qravakas
CHAPTER
314
and
This
Pratyekabuddhas.
is
emancipation
intense
emergence and
accompanied by an
as that which is experienced
person when he unexpectedly
a
by
most
spiritual
psychologically
of joy,
feeling
XII.
recognises the
familiar face in a faraway land of strangers.
For
this reason the first stage is called "joy."
Even
midst of perfect tranquillity of Nirvana
passions are alleged to have died away
in the
in
which
as
declared
all
ascetics or solitary philosophers, the
by
voice in the heart of the Bodhisattva
moans
in a sort of dissatisfaction or uneasiness, which,
though
inmost
undefined and seemingly of no significance, yet refuses
to be eternally buried in the silent grave of annihilation.
He
vainly
gropes
in
the darkness
;
he vainly seeks
consolation in the samadhi of non-resistance or non-
he vainly finds eternal peace in the gospel
of self-negation his soul is still troubled, not exactly
knowing the reason why. But as soon as the Bodhicitta
activity
;
;
is awakened from its somnolence,
warmth of love (mahakaruna) pene-
(intelligence-heart)
as soon as the
trates
into the coldest cell of asceticism, as
soon as
the light of supreme enlightenment (mahdprajna) dawns
upon the darkest recesses of ignorance, the Bodhisattva
sees
at
seclusion
is
if
once
that
the
world
is
not
made
for self-
nor for self-negation, that the Dharmakaya
the source of "universal effulgence," that Nirvana
relatively viewed in contrast to birth-and-death is
nothing
but sham and just as unreal as any worldly
existence; and these insights finally lead him to feel
that he cannot rest quiet until
all
sentient beings are
I
CHAPTER
emancipated from the
same position
to the
(2)
XII.
315
snarl of ignorance
as
and elevated
now occupied by
himself.
The Vimald.
Vimala means "freedom from defilement,"
matively,
When
"purity."
the
Bodhisattva
through the spiritual insight gained
to
second
it
and
rectitude
is
puntyof
or, affir-
attains,
at the first stage,
heart,
he
the
reaches
His heart is now thoroughly spotless,
with tenderness, he fosters no anger, no
stage.
filled
He is free from all the thoughts of killing
animate
any
beings. Being contented with what belongs
to himself, he casts no covetous eyes on things not
malice.
his
own. Faithful to
his
own
thoughts on others.
harbor
any
always
true, faithful, kind,
evil
truth, honesty,
betrothed, he does not
and never
(3)
His words are
and considerate.
He
likes
flatters.
The Prabhdkari.
Prabhakart means "brightness," that is, of the intellect. This
predominantly characterises the spiritual
of
condition
the Bodhisattva at this stage.
Here he
gains the most penetrating insight into the nature of
things.
He
recognises that
all
things that are created
are not permanent, are conducive to misery, have
no
abiding selfhood (atmari], are destitute of purity, and
subject
to
final
subject
to
destruction,
He
recognises also that the
real nature of things, however, is neither created nor
selfsame
essence,
decay.
it
is
eternally abiding in the
and transcends the
limits of
time
/
CHAPTER
3l6
XII.
and space. Ignorant beings not seeing
this truth are
always worrying over things transient and worthless,
and constantly consuming their spiritual energy with
the
of
fire
avarice, anger,
and
infatuation,
which
in
turn accumulates for their future existences the ashes
of misery and suffering. This wretched condition of
sentient
the
beings further stimulates the loving heart of
Bodhisattva to seek the highest intelligence of
which, giving him great spiritual energy, enahim to prosecute the gigantic task of universal
Buddha,
bles
His desire for the Buddha-intelligence
and his faith in it are of such immense strength that
emancipation.
he would not
assured
of
even for a moment, if he is only
attainment of the priceless treasure,
falter
the
to plunge himself into the smeltering
(4)
Arcismati,
to
given
consumes
fire
of a volcano.
The Arcismati.
meaning
"inflammation,"
is
name
the
the fourth stage, at which the Bodhisattva
all
the sediments of ignorance and evil
passions in the fiery crucible of the purifying Bodhi.
He practises here most strenuously the thirty-seven
virtues
called Bodhipaksikas
which are conducive to
the perfection of the Bodhi. These virtues consist of
seven categories
:
(I) Four Contemplations (smrtyusthdna): I. On the
impurity of the body; 2 On the evils of sensuality;
3. On the evanescence of the wordly interests 4. On
;
the non-existence of atman
(II)
in things
composite.
Four Righteous Efforts (samyakprahdna)
:
i
To
CHAPTER
existing;
To
(III)
3.
317
2. To suppress evils already
To produce good not yet in existence;
prevent evils from arising
4.
XII.
;
preserve good already in existence.
Four Forces of the Will (tddhipdda):
determination
accomplish what
to
energy to concentrate the
is
willed;
mind on the object
The power of retaining the
The .intelligence that perceives
3.
object in
the
way
(IV) Five Powers (indrya), from which
is
4.
2.
i.
2.
in
The
The
view
memory
;
;
4.
to Nirvana.
all
moral good
Faith;
Circumspection;
Energy
Equilibrium, or tranquillity of mind 5 Intelligence.
*
(V) Five Functions (bala) Same as the above.
produced:
I.
;
3.
;
:
(VI) Seven Constituents of the Bodhi (bodkyanga)
I.
The
retentive
power;
4.
Contentment;
7.
Large-heartedness.
(VII)
Right
The
view;
5.
2.
Discrimination;
Modesty;
3.
Energy
:
;
The balanced mind;
6.
Eightfold
Noble
2.
resolve;
Path (aryamarga):
I.
Right speech; 4.
Right livelihood; 6 Right recollec-
Right
3.
Right conduct; 5.
8 Right tranquilisation, or contemplation.
tion
;
J
The distinction between the five indriyas and the five
balas seems to be rather redundant. But the Hindu philosophers
usually distinguish actor from action, agent from function or
operation. Thus the sense-organs are distinguished from sensations or sense-consciousnesses, and the manovijnana (mind)
from
its
functions
The atman has
thus
such as thinking, attention, memory, etc.
come to be considered the central agent
all the sensuous and intellectual activities. Though
Buddhists do not recognise this differentiation of actor
and action in reality, they sometimes loosely follow the
that controls
the
popular usage.
CHAPTER
3l8
(5)
XII.
The Sudurjaya.
Sudurjaya means "very difficult to conquer." The
Bodhisattva reaches this stage when he, completely
armed with the thirty-seven Bodhipaksikas and guided
the
by
beacon-light
of
Bodhi,
undauntedly breaks
through the column of evil passions. Provided with the
two spiritual provisions, love and wisdom, and being
by the
benefitted
spirits of all the
Buddhas of the
past,
present, and future, the Bodhisattva has developed an
power to penetrate deep
intellectual
He
existence.
into the
system of
perceives the Fourfold Noble Truth in
true light; he perceives the highest reality in the
its
he also perceives that the highest reality,
though absolutely one in its essence, manifests itself
in a world of particulars, that relative knowledge
Tathagata
;
and absolute knowledge (paramarthd) are
aspects of one and the same truth, that when
(samvrtti)
two
subjectivity
and
that
is
disturbed
when
is
it
there appears particularity,
not disturbed there shines only
the eternal light of Tathagatajna (Tathagata-knowledge).
(6)
The Abhimukhi.
Abhimukhi means "showing one's
the
presentation
of
face," that
is,
intelligence (prajHa) before the
Bodhisattva at this stage.
The Bodhisattva enters upon this stage by reflecting
on the essence of all dharmas which are throughout of
one
is
filled
When
he perceives the truth, his heart
with great love, he serenely contemplates on
nature.
CHAPTER
319
XII.
who are constantly going
evil temptations, clinging
themselves
to
astray yielding
to the false conception of egoism, and thus making
the
life
of ignorant beings
themselves
prey of eternal damnation.
the
proceeds
to
generally.
There
the
contemplate
development
ignorance, there
is
is
He
then
of evils
karma and
;
in
this fertile soil of blind activity the seeds of conscious-
ness are sown
;
the moisture of desire thoroughly soaks
them, to which the water of egoism or individuation
poured on. The bed
is
is
for
all
forms of particularity
well prepared, and the buds of
namarupas (name-
and-form) most vigorously thrive here. From these we
have the flowers of sense-organs, and which come in
contact with other existences and produce impressions,
feel
agreeable sensations, and tenaciously cling to them.
this clinging or the will to live as the principle
From
of individuation
or
as
the principle of bhava as
is
of the five
Twelve Nidanas, another body consisting
skandhas comes into existence, and, passing
all
the phases of transformation, dissolves and
called in the
through
disappears. All sentient beings are thus kept in a perpetual oscillation of combination and separation, of
pleasure
of
and
pain,
birth
and death. But the insight
gone deeply into the inmost
which forever remains the same and
the Bodhisattva has
essence of things,
which there is no production and dissolution.
in
(7)
The Durangamd.
Durangama means "going far away." The Bodhisattva enters upon this stage by attaining the so-called
CHAPTER
32O
Upayajna,
i
e.
the
XII.
knowledge that enables him to
produce
any means or
work of
salvation.
He
expediency suitable
for his
himself abides in the principles
of gunyata (transcendentality), animitta (non-individuality), and apranihita (desirelessness), but his loving-
him busily engaged among sentient
He knows that Buddhas are not creatures
kindness
keeps
beings.
and essentially different from himself, but he
does not stop tendering them due homage. He is alradically
ways contemplating on the nature of the Absolute,but he does not abandon the practice of accumulating
He
merits.
is
no more encumbered with worldly thoughts,
yet he does not disdain managing secular affairs.
keeps himself perfectly aloof from the consuming
of passsion, but he plans
all
possible
means
He
fire
for the
sake of sentient beings to quench the enraging flames
of avarice (lobka), anger (dvesa), and infatuation (moha).
He knows that all individual existences are like dream,
works and
he
but
the reflection of the
or
mirage,
toils
in the
moon
in the water,
world of particulars
and submits himself to the domination of karma.
is
aware of the transcendental nature of Pure
well
Land
(sukhdvati),
but he describes
it
with material
colors for the sake of unenlightened masses.
that
He
Dharmakaya of
the
all
He knows
the Buddhas
is
not a
material existence, but he does not refuse to dignify
himself
with
the thirty-two major and eighty minor
excellent features of a great
He knows
not
fall
man
that the language of
within the ken of
or
all
god (makdpurusa).
the Buddhas does
human comprehension, but
CHAPTER
he endeavors with
it
enough
intelligible
He knows
that
321
contrivances (upaya) to
make
to the understanding of people.
the
all
and future
sent,
all
XII.
Buddhas perceive the
past, pre-
an eye, but he
divers conditions of the material
in the twinkling of
adapts himself to
world and endeavors to help sentient beings to understand the significance of the Bodhi according to their
and
destinies
In short, the Bodhisattva
dispositions.
himself lives on a higher plane of spirituality far remov-
from the defilements of worldliness
ed
;
but he does
not withdraw himself to this serene, unmolested subjectivity
;
he boldly sets out
in the
world of particu-
and senses; and, placing himself on the level of
ignorant beings, he works like them, he toils like
lars
and
them,
these
and
the
ses,
suffers
like
them
;
and he never
fails
all
times to practise the gospel of loyingkindness
turn over (parivarta) all his merits towards
to
emancipation and spiritual edification of the masthat is, he never gets tired of practising the ten
virtues of perfection (paramita).
That
is
to
say,
(i)
virtue of charity (dana]
sentient creatures
by following
the
all
^^
the Bodhisattva practises the
by
away
freely giving
to
all
the merits that he has acquired
path of Buddhas.
(2)
He
practises
of good conduct (fila) by destroying all
the evil passions that disturb serenity of mind. (3)
He practises the virtue of patience (ksdnti), for he
the
virtue
never gets irritated or excited over what
him
by ignorant beings.
of strenuousuess
(vriya),
(4)
for
He
is
done to
practises the virtue
he never gets tired of
21
CHAPTER
322
XII.
accumulating merits and of promoting good-will among
fellow-creatures.
his
calmness
(dhyana),
steadily pursuing his
in
He
(5)
for his
the virtue of
practises
mind
way
to
is
never distracted
supreme knowledge.
(6)
He
for
he always restrains his thoughts from wandering
practises the virtue of intelligence (prajna),
away from the path of absolute
truth. (7)
He
practises
the virtue of tactfulness (updya), for he has an inex-
mine of expediencies ready at his command
the work of universal salvation. (8) He practises
haustible
for
the virtue of will-to-do (pranidhdnd)
by determinedly
following the dictates of the highest intelligence. (9)
He practises the virtue of strength (bala), for no evil
no
influences,
thoughts can ever frustrate
heretical
or slacken his efforts for the general welfare of peo-
he practises the virtue of knowledge,
(jndna), by truthfully comprehending and expounding
ple. (10)
Finally,
the ultimate nature of beings.
(8)
Acala,
''immovable,"
The Acald.
is
stage of Bodhisattvahood.
the
When
name
for the eighth
a Bodhisattva, tran-
forms of discursive or deliberate knowledge,
scending
acquires the highest, perfect knowledge called anutall
pattikadharmaksanti, he is said to have gone beyond the
seventh stage. Anutpattikadharmaksanti literally means
"not-created-being-forbearance"; and the Buddhists
use the term in the sense of keeping one's thoughts in
conformity
to
the views
that nothing in this world
CHAPTER
XII.
323
ever been created, that things are such as they
are, i e. they are Suchness itself. This knowledge is
has
also called non-conscious or non-deliberate
in contradistinction to relative
tutes
our
all
Strictly
logical
and demonstrative knowledge.
this
speaking,
knowledge
knowledge that consti-
so-called
knowledge
in its
knowledge
it
is
is
not
a sort of
ordinary signification,
unconscious or subconscious intelligence, or immediate
knowledge as some call it, in which not only willing
and acting, but also knowing and willing are one
single,
or
undivided
natural
altogether
and
is
will
light,
of activity,
exhibition
transition
from
one to
all
logical
the other being
Here indeed knowledge is will
action; "Let there be light," and there
and the light is good; it is the state of a
absent.
is
divine mind.
At
this stage of perfection, the Bodhisattva's spiri-
tual condition
is
compared
to that of a person
who,
attempting when in a dreamy state to cross deep waters,
musters all his energy, plans all schemes, and, while
at last at the point of starting
on the journey, sudden-
ly wakes up and finds all his elaborate preparations
to no purpose. The Bodhisattva hitherto showed untir-
ing spiritual efforts to attain the highest knowledge,
steadily practised
all
virtues tending to the acquirement
of Nirvana, and heroically endeavored to exterminate
all
evil passions,
exercises,
and
he enters
at the culmination of
all
all
these
of a sudden upon the stage
and finds the previous elaboration mysteriously vanished from his conscious mind. He cherishes
of
Acala
CHAPTER
324
XII.
now no desire for Buddhahood, Nirvana, or Bodhicitta,
much less after worldliness, egoism, or the satisfaction
of evil passions. The conscious striving that distinguished all his former course has now given way to a
of spontaneous
state
of saintly innocence,
wills and it is done.
activity,
and of divine playfulness. He
He aspires and it is actualised. He
for there
artificial
nature herself,
in his activity that betrays
any
lucubration, any voluntary or compulsory res-
This state
traint.
called
no trace
is
is
of perfect
which
esthetical,
ideal
freedom may be
characterises
the
work of a
genius. There is here no trace of consciously following some prescribed laws, no pains of elaborately
conforming to the formula.
inner
lilies
I
field
whose glory
in all his
human
remarks on
Kant's
and
put this poetically, the
of the Bodhisattva at this stage
life
of the
Solomon
To
will
is
like
is
the
greater than that of
magnificence.
this point are
very suggestive,
the following from his Kritik der
quote
Urteilskraft (Reclam edition, p.
173):
"Also muss die Zweckmassigkeit im Produkte der
schonen Kunst, ob sie zwar absichtlich ist, doch nicht
absichtlich scheinen
anzusehen
bewusst
der
sein
ist.
Kunst
,
Als
:
d.
i
,
schone Kunst muss
ob man sich ihrer zwar
als
als
Natur
Kunst
Natur aber erscheint ein Produkt
dadurch,
dass zwar a^le Piinktlichkeit in
der Uebereinkunst mit Regeln, nach denen allein das
Produkt das werden kann, was es soil sein, angetroffen
wird, aber ohne Peinlichkeit, d. i., ohne eine Spur
zu
zeigen,
dass die Regel
dem
Kiinstler vor
Augen
CHAPTER
325
XII.
geschwebt und seinen Gemiithskraften Fesseln angelegt
haben,"
J
The Sadhumati.
(9)
Sadhumati, meaning "good intelligence," is the name
given to the ninth stage of Bodhisattvahood. All the
Bodhisattvas
are
to
said
have
reached here, when
sentient beings are benefitted by the Bodhisattva's
attainment of the highest perfect knowledge, which
unfathomable by the ordinary human intelligence.
is
The knowledge
them
leads
to
the
Dharma
of the
deepest mystery, to the Samadhi of perfect spirituality,
to the Dharani of divine spontaneity, to Love of
absolute purity, to the Will of utmost freedom.
The Bodhisattva
Pratisamvids
(i)
acquire at this stage the four
(comprehensive knowledge), which are
Arthapratisamvid, (3) NirPratibhanapratisamvid. By the
Dharmapratisamvid,
uktipratisamvid,
(4)
Dharmapratisamvid,
1
will
In this connection
(2)
the Bodhisattvas understand the
it
is
very interesting also to note that
same sentiment about the greatness of
Hero Worship. "If I say that Shakspeare
Carlyle expresses the
Shakespeare
in his
greatest of Intellects, I have said all concerning him.
But there is more in Shakspeare's intellect than we have yet
seen It is what I call an unconscious intellect there is more
is
the
;
aware of. Novalis beautifully
remarks of him, that those dramas of his are Products ol
Nature too, as deep as Nature herself. I find a great truth in
this saying, Shakspeare's Art is not Artifice the noblest worth
of it is not there by plan or precontrivance. It grows from
virtue
in
it
that
he himself
is
;
the deeps of Nature, through this noble sincere soul,
voice of Nature."
who
is
a
CHAPTER
326
self- essence
(sv.abhava)
of
XII.
all
beings; by the Artha-
pratisamvid, their individual Attributes
;
by the Nirukti-
pratisamvid, their indestructibility by the Pratibhanapratisamvid, their eternal order. Again, by the first
;
intelligence they understand that
have
are
no absolute
all
reality
;
all
individual
by the second,
dharmas
that they
subject to the law of constant becoming;
by
they are no more than mere names
that
even mere names as such are of
the
fourth,
by
the
some
third, that
;
by the
value. Again,
prehend that
all
indestructible
first intelligence,
they com-
dharrnas are of one reality which
is
by the second, that this one reality
becomes subject to the law of
;
itself
differentiating
causation; by the third, that by virtue of a superior
understanding all Buddhas become the object of admiration and the haven of all sentient beings by the
fourth, that in the one body of truth all Buddhas
;
preach
infinite lights
(10)
of the
Dharma
The Dharmameghd.
name of
Bodhisattvahood. The
Dharmamegha, "clouds of dharma,"
the
tenth
and
final
Bodhisattvas have
accumulated
all
stage
now
of
practised
all
is
the
virtues of purity,
the constituents of Bodhi, are fortified
with great power and intelligence, universally practise
the principle of great love and sympathy, have deeply
penetrated into the mystery of individual existences,
fathomed
inmost depths of sentiency, followed
step by step the walk of all the Tathagatas. Every
thought cherished by the Bodhisattva now dwells in
the
CHAPTER
XII.
327
the Tathagatas' abode of eternal tranquillity, and
every deed practised by him is directed towards the
all
ten
balas
l
four
(power),
vaigaradyas (conviction),
2
3
and eighteen avenikas (unique characteristics), of the
Buddha. By these virtues the Bodhisattva has now
acquired
the
dwelling
in
and
knowledge of all things (sarvajna), is
sanctum sanctorum of all dharanis
the
samadhis,
have
arrived
at
summit of
the
all
activities.
'The ten powers of the Buddha are: (i) The mental power
which discriminates between right and wrong, (2) The knowledge of the retribution of karma, (3) The knowledge of all
the different stages of creation, (4) The knowledge of all the
different forms of deliverance, (5) The knowledge of all the
different dispositions of sentient beings, (6) The knowledge
of the final destination of all deeds, (7) The knowledge
of all the different practices of meditation, deliverance, and
tranquilisation, (8) The knowledge of former existences, (9)
The unlimited power of
complete subjection of
2
The
divination, (10)
The knowledge
of the
evil desires (a$ravd)
four convictions (vaif&radyas) of the
Buddha
are: (i)
That he has attained the highest enlightenment, (2) That he
has destroyed all evil desires, (3) That he has rightly described
the
(4)
obstacles
that
That he has
lie
in the
way
to a
truthfully taught the
of righteousness,
of salvation.
life
way
3
The eighteen unique characteristics which distinguish the
Buddha from the rest of mankind are: (i) He commits no
he has disciplined himself in
morality, meditation, intelligence, and lovingkindness, and as
the result his present life is without faults and free from all
errors. Since time out of mind,
evil thoughts. (2)
He
is
faultless in his speeches.
Whatever he
speaks comes from his transcendental, eloquence and leads
the audience to a higher conception of life. (3) His mind is
faultless. As he has trained himself in samadhi, he is always
calm, serene, and contented.
heart (samahztacitta), that is,
(4)
He
retains his sameness of
his love for sentient beings is
CHAPTER
328
The Bodhisattva
of love
fount
and
virtue
in
and
of his
at this stage is a personification
sympathy, which freely issue from the
inner
will.
wisdom,
manifold
XII.
figures;
in
He
gathers the clouds of
which he manifests himself
he
produces the lightnings of
Vaicaradyas and shaking the
Buddhi, Vidyas, and
whole world with the thunder of Dharma he crushes
;
all
the
evil
ones
;
and pouring forth the showers of
Good Law he quenches
universal
the burning flames of ignorance
and not discriminative.
(5)
His mind
is
free
from
thoughts of particularity (nanatvasamjna), that is, it is abiding
in truth transcendental, his thoughts are not distracted by
objects of the senses. (6) Resignation (upeksa). The Buddha
knows
everything, yet he is calmly resigned. (7) His aspiration
unfathomable, that is, his desire to save all beings from the
sufferings of ignorance knows no bounds. (8) His energy is
is
which he applies with utmost vigor to the salof benighted souls. (9) His mentation (smrti) is inexhaustible, that is, he is ever conscious of all the good docinexhaustible,
vation
taught by all the Buddhas of the past, present, and
future. (10) His intelligence (prajna) is inexhaustible, that is,
being in possession of all-intelligence which knows no limits,
trines
he preaches for the benefits of all beings, (u) His deliverance
(vimuktt) is permanent, that is, he has eternally distanced all
evil passions and sinful attachments. (12) His knowledge of
deliverance
insight
into
(vimuktijnand) is perfect, that is, his intellectual
all
states of deliverance is without a flaw. (13)
He possesses a wisdom which directs all his bodily movements
towards the benefit and enlightenment of sentient beings. (14)
He possesses a wisdom which directs all his speeches toward
the edification and conversion of his fellow-creatures. (15) He
possesses a wisdom which reflects in his clear mind all the
turbulent states of ignorant souls, from which he removes the
dark veil of nescience and folly. (16) He knows all the past.
(17)
He knows
all
the future. (18)
He knows
all
the present.
CHAPTER
and passion
consumed.
in
which
3 29
XII.
sentient creatures are being
all
*
#
*
The above
Bodhisattvahood
held
out
and
in
us
allows
the
to see
Dagabhumi
what
by
differs
it
respect
4
of
ideal life is
own eyes
the Mahayanists before their
what
from that of the
and Pratyekabuddhas as well as from that
(Jravakas
of other religious
tented
of
presentation
make
to
followers.
us
Mahayanism
mere transmitters
is
not con-
or "hearers"
of the teachings of the Buddha, it wants to inspire
with all the religious and ethical motives that stirred
the noblest heart of Qakyamuni to
It
and,
aspirations,
ties
of
holding
it
our
inmost depths.
the intrinsic worth of the
fully recognises
soul;
its
up
its
high
ideals
>
and
human
noble
endeavors to develop all the possibiliwhich by our strenuous efforts
soul-life,
and all-defying courage will one day be realised even
on this earth of impermanence. We as individual
existences are nothing but shadows which will vanish
as soon as the conditions disappear that
possible;
we
as mortal beings are
make them
no more than the
1
For an elaborate exposition of the Dacabhumi, see the
Avatamsaka (sixty volume edition, fas. 24-2?), the urangama,
Vasubandhu's Commentary on Asanga's Comprehensive Treat-
ise
(fas.
on
Mahayanism
etc., and
9),
(fas.
for
a
10
n),
special
the Vijnanamatra ^astra
treatment of the subject
consult the sutra bearing the name, which by the way exists
a Sanskrit version and whose brief sketch is given by
in
Rajendra Mitra
in his Nepalese
Buddhist Literature,
p. 81 et seq.
CHAPTER
33O
XII.
thousands of dusty particles that are haphazardly and
powerlessly scattered about before the cyclone of
karma; but when we are united in the love and
intelligence of the
Dharmakaya
which we have our
in
Bodhisattvas, and we can immovably
being,
stand against the tempest of birth and death, against
the overwhelming blast of ignorance. Then even an
we
are
apparently insignificant act of lovingkindness will lead
finally to the eternal abode of bliss, not the actor
alone, but the whole
Because
a
stream
community
to which he belongs.
of love spontaneously flows from
the lake of Intelligence-heart (Bodhicitta) which is fed
by the inexhaustible spring of the Dharmakaya, while
ignorance
leads
only
to
egoism,
disturbance, and universal misery.
hatred,
avarice,
CHAPTER
XIII.
NIRVANA.
according to Mahayana Buddhism, is
not understood in its nihilistic sense. Even with
,
the (Jravakas or Hinayanists, Nirvana in this sense
much
so
is
not
the object of their religious
as the recoglifg
of the Fourfold Noble Truth, or the practise
of the Eightfold Path, or emancipation from the yoke
v
nition
can see, to
non-Buddhist critics that the conception of Nirvana
has been selected among others as one of the most
of
fundamental
the
teachings
same time
human
mostly due, as
is
It
egoism.
to
consist
and
passions
of
far as
Buddha,
1
declaring
it
at
in the annihilation of all
aspirations,
noble
as
well
as
worthless.
In
Nirvana
fact,
be said that the entering into Nirvana
mount
to
and of
all
the
eternal
nature
Buddhism
the dead, but that
life,
of
it
tanta-
annihilation of the material existence
for they say that
for
is
the passions. Catholic Buddhists, however,
do not understand Nirvana
nor
means "extinction" or
of the five skandhas, and therefore
"dissolution"
may
literally
how
things,
to
gain
in the sense of emptiness,
is
not a religion of death
it
teaches
an
insight
how
to attain
into the real
and how to regulate our conduct
CHAPTER
332
accordance
in
with
Buddhism, when
its
it
the
XIII.
highest
truth.
understood
rightly
Therefore,
in the spirit of
something quite different from what
is commonly supposed to be by the general public.
I will endeavor in the
following pages to point out
is
founder,
Nirvana
that
human
sense of a total annihilation of
the
in
by no means the primary and sole
object of Buddhists, and then proceed to elucidate in
what signification it is understood in the Mahayana Budactivities, is
dhism and see what
relative position
Nirvana
in its
Mahayanistic sense occupies in the body of Buddhism.
Nirvana not
Nihilistic
order
In
the First Object.
to see the true signification of Nirvana,
necessary first to observe in what direction
himself ploughed the waves in his religious
cruise and upon what shore he finally debarked. This
it
is
Buddha
will
show us whether
which
dhism,
to
tees
directed.
If
sole
is
did
Nirvana as
nihilistic
every
spiritual
effort of its devo-
the attainment of negativistic Nirvana were the
aim of Buddhism, we should naturally expect
Buddha's
that
not
primary and sole object of Bud-
the
is
nothingness
or
farewell address to be chiefly dealing with
subject.
not
teach
In
his
his
sermon, however, Buddha
disciples to concentrate all their
last
moral efforts on the attainment of Nirvanic quietude
disregarding all the forms of activity that exhibit themselves
to
the
in life.
Far from
it.
Mahanibbdna sutta
He
told them, according
(the
Book
of the Great
CHAPTER
inherent in
E.
B.
S.
decease,
all
Vol.
is
recorded
translation,
!"
333
u4)
p.
that
"Decay
!
last
words
of
Buddha
Agvaghosa's Buddhacarita (Chinese
Chap. xxvi). They were
in
:
"Even
if I lived a kalpa longer,
Separation would be an inevitable end.
A body composed of various aggregates,
Its
nature
is
not to abide forever.
"Having finished benefiting oneself and others,
Why live I longer to no purpose ?
Of gods and men that should be saved,
Each and all had been delivered.
"O
ye,
my
disciples
!
Without interruption transmit the Good Dharma!
Know ye that things are destined to decay
Never again abandon yourselves to grief!
!
"But pursue the
And
Way with
Home of
arrive at the
diligence,
No-separation!
have lit the Lamp of Intelligence,
That shining dispels the darkness of the world.
I
"Know
ye that the world endureth not!
As ye should feel happy [when ye see]
The parents suffering a mortal disease
Are released by a treatment from pain;
"So with me, I now give up the vessel of misery,
Transcend the current of birth and death,
'
1
is
Work out your salThis exhortation of the strenuous
harmony with the
quite in
life
XL
component things
vation with diligence
as
XIII
Literally, "to
advance against."
CHAPTER
334
And am
eternally released
This too must be deemed
XIII.
from
pain and suffering.
all
blest.
"Ye should well guard yourselves!
Never give yourselves up to indulgence!
All that exists finally comes to an end!
now
I
In this
enter into Nirvana."
we
find
1
Buddha's characteristic admonition
disciples not to waste time but to work out
their salvation with diligence and rigor, but we fail
to find the gospel of annihilation, the supposedly fun-
to
his
damental teaching of Buddhism.
Did then Buddha
start in his religious discipline to
attain the absolute annihilation of
and
human aspirations
after a long meditation reach the conclusion that
contradicted his premises
?
Far from
it.
His
first
and
ambition was nothing else than the emancipation
last
of
all
all
from ignorance, misery, and suffering
enlightenment, knowledge, and truth. When
beings
through
Mara the
evil
one was exhausting
all
upon the destruction of the Buddha
his evil
powers
in the
beginning
of his career, the good gods in the heavens exclaimed
2
to the evil one
:
"Take not on
thyself,
O
Mara, this vain fatigue,
throw aside thy malevolence and retire to thy home.
This sage cannot be shaken by thee any more than
the mighty mountain Meru by the wind.
1
Cf.
Beal's
translation
in
306 307, vs- 20952101. Beal
Chinese original.
2
The Buddhacarita,
ILIX.
p.
145.
the
Vol XIX. pp.
misunderstands the
S. B. E.
utterly
Cowell's translation in the S. B. E. Vol.
CHAPTER
"Even
fire
earth
ity,
its
might lose
XIII.
335
hot nature, water
its
steadiness, but never
will
its fluid-
he abandon
who has acquired his merit by a long
course of actions through unnumbered eons.
"Such is the purpose of his, that heroic effort, that
his resolution,
glorious strength, that compassion for
all
beings,
un-
he attains the highest wisdom [or suchness, tattvd\>
will never rise from his seat, just as the sun does
til
he
not
without dispelling the darkness.
"Pitying the world lying distressed amidst diseases
rise
and passions,
hindered,
he, the great physician,
who undergoes
all
ought not to be
sake of
his labors for the
the remedy-knowledge.
"He, who, when he beholds the world drowned in
the great flood of existence and unable to reach the
further
shore, strives to bring
would any right-minded soul
"The
them
offer
safely across,
him wrong?
whose roots go deep in
and
whose
fibres
are
whose flowers
firmness,
patience,
are moral actions and whose branches are memory
tree of knowledge,
and which gives out the Dharma as its
surely when it is growing it should not be cut
and thought,
fruit,
down."
These words of the good gods
in the
heavens truth-
echo the motive that stirred (Jakyamuni to take
his
up
gigantic task of universal salvation, and we are
fully
unable
here
nihilistic
as
before to perceive a particle of the
speculation which
is
supposed to characterise
The Buddha from the very first of his relicourse
searched after the light that will illumigious
Nirvana.
CHAPTER
336
nate
XIII.
whole universe and dispel the darkness of
the
nescience.
What
his
first
he
is
enlightenment, then, did the Buddha, pursuing
object, finally gain
?
What
truth
said to have discovered under the
was
it
that
Bodhi tree
penance and deep meditation? As is
universally recognised, it was no more than the Fourfold Noble Truth and the Twelve Chains of Depen-
after
six years'
dence, which are acknowledged by the Mahayanists as
well as by the Hinayanists as the essentially original
What
then was his subjective state when he discovered these truths ? How did he
teachings of the Buddha.
inmost being after
feel in his
this intellectual
triumph
over egoistic thoughts and passions ? According to the
Southern tradition, the famous Hymn of Victory is
said
be
to
his
utterance on this occasion.
It
reads
(The Dharmapada, 153):
"Many a life to
Long quest, no
transmigrate,
rest,
hath been
my
fate,
Tent-designer inquisitive for;
Painful birth from state to state.
"Tent-designer,
I
know
Never again to build
thee now;
art thou;
Quite out are all thy joyful fires,
Rafter broken and roof-tree gone;
Into the vast my heart goes on,
Gains Eternity
In this
1
From
Hymn
A.
J.
dead desires."
!
of Victory, the "tent-designer" means
Edmunds's translation of Dhammapada.
CHAPTER
XIII.
337
.
supposed to be a subtle existence behind our mental experiences. As was pointed out else-
the ego that
is
where the negative
phase
of
Buddhism
consists in
the eradication of this ego-substratum or the "designer"
of eternal transmigration. The Buddha now finds out
is
a fantasmagoria and has no final
and with
this insight his ego-centric desires
that this ego-soul
existence
;
that troubled
him so long are
the breaking
up of their limitations
the
in
and
Eternal Vast, in which
suggests
we
No shadow
have our being.
that
eternally dead
of
anything
he
;
all
is
live
;
he
feels
absorbed i/
is
and move
perceptible here
an absolute
nothingness
supposed to be the attribute of Nirvana.
Before
Mahayana
tradition
further,
proceeding
tradition
varies
in
us
let
see
what the
says concerning this point. The
this case as in many others.
According to Beal's Romantic History of Buddha,
which is a translation of a Chinese version of the
Buddhacarita (Fo pen king ching),
to have exclaimed this
!
Buddha
is
reported
:
"Through ages past have I acquired continual merit,
That which my heart desired have I now attained,
How
quickly have 1 arrived at the ever-constant condition,
the very shore of Nirvana.
And landed on
The sorrows and opposition of the world,
The Lord of the Kamalokas, Mara Pisuna,
These are unable now to affect, they are wholly destroyed;
By the power of religious merit and of wisdom are they cast away.
1
P.
225.
would have
Beal's
is not always reliable, and I
Chinese original were at all accessible.
translation
my own if the
22
[/
CHAPTER
33^
Let a man but persevere with
And seek Supreme Wisdom, it
XIII.
unflinching resolution,
will not be hard to acquire
once obtained, then farewell to all sorrows,
sin and guilt are forever done away."
it;
When
All
*
Viewing the significance of Buddhism
evident that
is
it
in this light,
Buddha did not emphasise so much
the doctrine of Nirvana in the sense of a total abnegation
of human aspirations as the abandonment of egoism
and the
practical regulation of our daily life in accord-
ance with
noble
this view.
Nirvana
in
which
all
the passions
and base are supposed to have been "blown
out like a lamp" was not the most coveted object of
Buddhist life. On the contrary, Buddhism advises all
its
followers
spiritual
to
energy
exercise
to
most strenuously all their
freedom from the
attain perfect
bondage of ignorance and egoism because that is the
only way in which we can conquer the vanity of
worldliness and enjoy the bliss of eternal life. The
;
following verse from the
Visuddhi
Magga (XXI)
prac-
The gathas supposed to be the first utterance of the
Buddha alter his enlightenment, according to Rockhill's Life
of the Buddha (p. 33) compiled from Tibetan sources, give
1
an inkling of nihilism, though I am inclined to think that the
original Tibetan will allow a different interpretation when
examined by some one who is better acquainted with the
spirit
of
Buddhism than
Rockhill. Rockhill betrays in not a
few cases his insufficient knowledge of the subject he
His translation of the gathas is as follows:
"All the pleasures of the worldly joys,
AH which are known among the gods,
Compared with
Are not as
its
the joy of ending existence,
sixteenth part.
treats.
CHAPTER
XIII.
339
sums up the teaching of Buddhism as
negative and individual phase is concerned
far as
tically
its
"Behold
how empty
is
the world,
Mogharaja! In thoughtfulness
Let one remove belief in self,
And pass beyond the realm of death.
The king of death will never find
The man who thus the world beholds."
Nirvana
It is
not
problem
of
how
;
we
the
2
is Positive.
my intention here to investigate the
side of this question
:
historical
are not concerned with the
followers of
Buddha gradually
developed the positive aspect of Nirvana in connection
with the practical application of his moral and religious
he whose burden is heavy,
has cast it down;
When once he has cast off his burden,
He will seek to be burthened no more.
is
"Sorry
And happy he who
"When
When
When
all
all
all
existences are put away,
notions are at an end,
things are perfectly known,
Then no more
will
craving
come back."
II., 2, we have a stanza corresponding to the
gatha here cited, but the Udana does not say "the joy
of ending existence," but "the destruction of desire."
In the Udana,
first
According to the Lalita Vistara, the Buddha's utterance of
is (Rajendra Mitra's Edition p. 448):
"Cinna vartmopac.anta rajah guska ac,rava na punah c,ravanti. Chinne vartmani varttate duhkhasyaisonta ucyate."
victory
2
Warren's Buddhism in Translations,
p.
376.
CHAPTER
34O
XIII.
teachings nor are we engaged in tracing the process
of evolution through which Buddha's noble resolution
;
to save
was
all
sentient beings
brought
devotees.
What
conception
from ignorance and misery
most
out
conspicuously by his later
wish to state here about the positive
I
Nirvana and
of
its
The Mahayana Buddhism was
a
complete
annihilation
is
is
desires
Yoga
in
it
being, for they thought
evil is
misery, and the only
to destroy the root of existence,
than the total cessation of human
is
less
nothing
and
of
and
evil,
to escape misery
which
teach-
by other Hindu thinkers who saw
that existence
way
first religious
:
contradicted the doctrine of Nirvana
ing in India that
as conceived
the
this
is
development
activities in Nirvanic
unconsciousness
The
deep meditation the
separation of Purusa from
taught self-forget fulness in
;
Samkhya, the absolute
Prakrti, which means undisturbed self-contemplation
the Vedanta, absorption in the Brahma, which is the
;
total
of
suppression
all
particulars
;
and thus
them considered emancipation from human
and aspirations a
heavenly
bliss,
that
is,
all
of
desires
Nirvana.
Metaphysically speaking, they might have been correct
each in its own way, but, ethically considered, their
views
had
little
significance in our practical
showed a sad deficiency
in dealing
and
life
with problems of
morality.
The Buddha was keenly aware
their
doctrines.
does not consist
but in
He
taught,
in the
of this
therefore,
flaw
in
that Nirvana
complete stoppage of existence,
the practise of the Eightfold Path. This moral
CHAPTER
leads
practise
the
as
XIII.
341
the unalloyed joy of Nirvana, not
to
human aspirations, but as
human life. The word
of
tranquillisation
the fulfilment or unfolding of
Nirvana
prior
was
in the sense of annihilation
to
but
Buddha,
significance
by men
to
it
in
existence
was he who gave a new
it
and made
it
worthy of attainment
of moral character. All the doctrinal aspects
of Nirvana are later additions or rather development
made by Buddhist
arguments are
solidly
who
Nirvana
more
be,
the
developed
are
my
In the
conviction
positive
consistent
is
that
significance
with the
who emphasised
Udana we read (IV., 9):
founder than those
it.
their
based on some canonical passages.
Whatever the case may
those
whom
scholars, according to
spirit
of
of the
another aspect of
"He whom
life torments not,
sorrows not at the approach of death,
If such a one is resolute and has seen Nirvana,
In the midst of grief, he is griefless.
The tranquil-minded Bhikkhu, who has uprooted the
Who
thirst for existence,
By him the succession of
He is born no more."
births
is
ended,
!
According to the Mahayanistic conception Nirvana
not the annihilation of the world and the putting
is
an
end to
life;
but
it
is
to live in the whirlpool of
and death and yet to be above it. It is affirmation and fulfilment, and this is done not blindly
and egoistically, for Nirvana is enlightenment. Let
birth
us see
1
how
this
is.
General D. M. Strong
"s
translation, p. 64.
CHAPTER
342
XIII.
The Mahdydnistic Conception of Nirvana.
While the conception of Nirvana seems to have
remained indefinite and confused as far as Hinayanism
Mahayana Buddhists have attached
the
goes,
shades
definite
meaning
them some special,
give each of
When
sical
material
and
sin
a
case
distinctive character.
When we
the Dharmakaya.
existence,
in contrast to birth
eternal
several
tried to
most comprehensive metaphybecomes synonymous with Suchness
entrance into Nirvana,
's
and
in its
with
or
Buddha
of
it
sense,
(tattva}
of
used
is
it
to Nirvana
of
it
(klega),
i.
e.,
it
When
death.
speak
means the end
it
is
used
and death (samsdra) or to passion
signifies in the former case an
or a state of immortality, and in the latter
life
state
of consciousness that follows from the
presence of the Dharmakaya in
individual existences. Nirvana has thus become a very
of
recognition
the
comprehensive term, and this fact adds much to the
confusion and misunderstanding with which it has
been treated ever since Buddhism became known to
the
is
Occident.
not
The
altogether
so-called
"primitive
unfamiliar with
all
Buddhism"
these meanings
Nirvana, though in some cases they might
have been but faintly foreshadowed. Most of European
given
to
and scholars have ignored this fact and
wanted to see in Nirvana but one definite, stereotyped
missionaries
sense which will loosen or untie
connected
with
its
use,
One
all
the difficult knots
scholar would select a
certain passage in a certain sutra,
where the meaning
CHAPTER
is
tolerably
distinct,
endeavor to solve
all
XIII.
343
and taking this as the key
the rest while another scholar
;
would do the same thing with another passage from
the scriptures and refute other fellow-workers. The
majority of them, however, have found for missionary
purposes to be advantageous to hold one meaning
prominently above
possibly
all
may be
the others that
meaning of Nirvana
the
been made specially conspicuous
that has
considered
This one meaning
is its
negati-
vistic interpretation.
to
According
the
version Vol. X.), the
Vijnanamatra
four forms of Nirvana.
sible
its
embraces
it
spiritual
immortal
;
of the Dhar-
synonym
its
all
essence and
existences.
manifests itself in the world of defilement
it
relativity,
While
distinguish
:
is
constitutes
Though
are
eternally immaculate in
the truth and reality of
It
makaya.
and
They
Absolute Nirvana, as a
(i)
gastra (Chinese
Mahayana Buddhists
its
essence forever remains undefiled.
in itself
virtues,
it
innumerable incomprehenis
absolutely
perfect tranquillity
may
simple
and
be likened unto
which every conceivable motion is possible,
but which remains in itself the same. It is universally
space
in
beings whether animate or inanimate
and makes their existence real. In one respect it can
present
in all
1
be identified with them, that is, it can be pantheistibut in the other respect it is transcencally viewed
;
1
The
but this
text
is
does not expressly say "animate or inanimate",
own interpretation according to the
of Mahayanism.
the author's
general spirit
CHAPTER
344
dental, for every being as
XIII.
is
it
is
not Nirvana. This
however, beyond the ken of
spiritual
significance
ordinary
human understanding and can be grasped
is,
only by the highest intelligence of Buddha.
(2) Upadhigesa Nirvana, or Nirvana that has some
This
residue.
a state of enlightenment
is
which can
be attained by Buddhists in their lifetime. The Dharmakaya which was dormant in them is now awakened
and
from the "affective obstacles," 1 but they
are yet under the bondage of birth and death; and
thus they are not yet absolutely free from the misery
of
freed
life
them
(3)
:
something
still
remains
in
them
that
makes
suffer pain.
Anupadhigesa Nirvana, or Nirvana that has no
residue. This
is
attained
is
when
the Tathagata-essence
released from the pain of birth
Dharmakaya)
and death as well as from the curse of passion and
sin. This form of Nirvana seems to be what is
gene(the
understood by Occidental missionary-scholars as
the Nirvana of Buddhists. While in lifetime, they have
rally
been emancipated from the egoistic conception of the
soul, they have practised the Eightfold Path, and they
There are two obstacles to final emancipation: (1) affecand (2) intellectual. The former is our unenlightened affective or emotional or subjective life and the latter our intel1
tive,
lectual prejudice. Buddhists should not only be pure in heart
but be perfect in intelligence. Pious men are of course saved
from transmigration, but to attain perfect Buddhahood they
must have a
clear, penetrating intellectual insight into the
significance of life and existence and the destiny of the universe. This emphasising of the rational element in religion is
one of the most characteristic points of Buddhism.
CHAPTER
have
their
possible
the
all
destroyed
XIII.
roots
345
of
karma
that
makes
metempsychosis in the world of birth
and death (samsdra), though as the inevitable sequence
of their previous karma they have yet to suffer all
the
inherent
evils
in
the material existence. But at
they have had even this mortal coil dissolved away,
and have returned to the original Absolute from which
last
had come out and gone
cycle of births and deaths. This state of
virtue of ignorance they
by
through
a
supramundane
bliss
in the
Anupadigesa Nirvana,
that
realm of the Absolute
is,
is
Nirvana that has no
residue.
(4)
The Nirvana that has no abode.
In this, the
Buddha-essence has not only been freed from the curse
of passion and sin (kle$a}, but from the intellectual
prejudice, which
most tenaciously
The Buddha-essence
here in
its
or the
clings to the mind.
Dharmakaya
revealed
perfect purity. All-embracing love and
all-
He who
has
knowing
intelligence illuminate the path.
attained
to
this state of subjective
enlightenment
is
no abode, no dwelling place, that is to
no more subject to the transmigration of
said
to have
say,
he
is
is
and death (samsdra), nor does he cling to Nirvana as the abode of complete rest in short, he is
birth
;
above Samsara and Nirvana. His sole object in life is
to benefit all sentient beings to the end of time but
;
he proposes to do not by his human conscious
elaboration and striving Simply actuated by his allembracing love which is of the Dharmakaya, he wishes
this
to deliver
all
his fellow-creatures
from misery, he does
CHAPTER
346
not
seek his
life.
He
own emancipation from
the turmoil of
aware of the transitoriness of worldly
but on this account he desires not to shun
is
interests,
XIII.
fully
With
all-knowing intelligence he gains a
spiritual insight into the ultimate nature of things and
the final course of existence. He is one of those reli-
them.
gious
men
his
"that weep, as though they
rejoice as though they rejoiced not
they possessed not
it
;
he
;
world passes away." Nay,
one sense more than
this
;
positive activity, because his heart
ted to the leading of
and supreme
of spiritual
life,
he
is
his life is full of
and soul are devo-
beings to final emancipation
all
When
bliss.
;
that use this world, as not abusing
;
for the fashion of this
is in
wept not that
that buy, as though
man
a
be
said to
attains to this stage
in
the Nirvana that
has no abode.
A
commentator on the Vijndnamdtra fdstra adds
that of these four forms of Nirvana the
first
sessed by every sentient being, whether
it
is
is
pos-
actual-
human
perfection or lying dormant in posse
and miserably obscured by ignorance that the second
ised in
its
;
and third are attained by
tyekabuddhas,
possession of
while
all
it
the four forms of Nirvana.
Nirvana as
It
is
manifest
is
the (Jravakas and Praa Buddha alone that is in
all
from
the
the
Dharmakdya,
above statement that
Mahayanism Nirvana has acquired
in
several shades of
meaning psychological and ontological. This apparent
confusion, however, is due to the purely idealistic
CHAPTER
347
XIII.
Mahayanism, which ignores the distinction usually made between being and thought, object
and subject, the perceived and the perceiving. Nirvana
tendency
not
is
an
of
a subjective state of enlightenment but
only
power through whose operation this
becomes attainable. It does not simply
objective
state
beatific
mean
a total absorption in the Absolute or of emanci-
pation from earthly desires in lifetime as exemplified
the
in
life
Nirvana
of the
not only
Arhat.
Mahayanists
but also
this,
its
identity with the
Dharmakaya, or Suchness, and recognise
in
presence
spiritual
all
perceive in
its
universal
sentient beings.
When
that
:
v
Nagarjuna says in his Mddhyamika fdstra
"That is called Nirvana which is not wanting,
not acquired,
mittent, is not
is
is
not intermittent,
to
subject
is
not non-inter-
destruction,
and
created;" he evidently speaks of Nirvana as a
of Dharmakaya,
that
is,
that Nirvana
which
not
synonym
in its first sense as
described. Chandra Kirti, therefore, rightly
is
above
comments
2
sarva-kalpand-ksaya-riipam, i. e., that
transcends all the forms of determination,
is
This is one of the most important philosophical texts of
Mahayanism. Its original Sanskrit with the commentary of
Chandra Kirti has been edited by Satis Chandra Acharya
and published by the Buddhist Text Society of India. The
1
original lines run as follows (p. 193)
:
"Aprahinam, asampraptam, anucchinnam, acagvatam,
Aniruddham, anutpannam, evam nirvanam ucyate."
2
Literally, that
characterisation.
which
is
characterised by the absence of all
CHAPTER
348
Nirvana
an
is
absolute,
it
XIII.
above the
is
relativity of
existence (bkdva) and non-existence (abhdva).
Nirvana
attributes
sometimes spoken of as possessing four
is
(i)
;
from
eternal
(4)
blissful
pure
highest
reality
It
Dharmakaya.
is
(sukka),
Judging
Nirvana as its
(fUft).
qualities thus ascribed to
these
essential features, Nirvana
the
(2)
(nityd],
(dtman), and
self-acting
(3)
1
here again identified with
of Buddhism, that is, with the
is
eternal because
above
it
is
immaterial
blissful
because
it
is
self-acting
because
it
knows no compulsion;
is
pure because
1
it
is
all
sufferings
;
;
it
it
is
it
is
not defiled by passion and error.
a
from the Madhyamika:
"Bhaved abbavo bhavac ca nirvanam ubhayam katham:
Asamskrtam ca nirvanam bhavabhavai ca samskrtam."
"
Or, "Tasmanna bhavo nabhavo nirvanamiti yujyate
Cf. the following
*
In the
Visuddhi-Magga XXI. (Warren's translation, p.
376 et seq.), we read that there are three starting points of
deliverance arising from the consideration of the three predom-
inant
qualities
i. The consideof the constituents of being
and ends leads the thoughts to the
2. The insight into their miserableness agitates
:
ration of their beginnings
unconditioned
the
;
mind and leads the thoughts
consideration
ego leads the
to the desireless
;
3.
The
constituents of being as not having an
thoughts to the empty. And these three, we
of the
are told, constitute the three aspects of Nirvana as uncondiwe have an instance in
tioned, desireless, and empty. Here
the so-called Southern "primitive"
Nirvana
in the
Buddhism of viewing
Mahayanistic light which
I
have here explained
at length.
En passant, let us remark that as Buddha did not leave
any document himself embodying his whole system, there
sprang up soon after his departure several schools explaining
CHAPTER
Nirvana
No
of
when
is
it
the
in its Fourth Sense.
further elucidation
cation
for
Nirvana,
is
needed
for the first signifi-
we have
treated
it
already
explaining the nature of the Dharmakaya.
Nor
necessary for us to dwell upon the second and
third
phases
of
it.
scholars and Orientalists,
have
biased,
points
now
349
XIII.
to
missionary-
almost
from the
is
The Occidental
however one-sided and often
exhaustively investigated these
Pali sources. What remains for us
analyse
the
Mahayanistic
Nirvana which was stated above as
its
conception of
fourth signifi-
cation.
Nirvana, briefly speaking, is a realisation in this life
of the all-embracing love and all-knowing intelligence
of Dharmakaya. It is the unfolding of the reason of
existence,
more or
which
in the
less eclipsed
by
ordinary
human
life
remains
the shadow of ignorance and
in the mere observance
egoism.
of the moral precepts laid down by Buddha, nor in
the blind following of the Eightfold Path, nor in
It
does not consist
retirement from the world and absorption in abstract
The Mahayanistic Nirvana
is full of energy
issues
from
the
which
activity
all-embracittg love
of the Dharmakaya. There is no passivity in it, nor
meditation
and
a
keeping aloof from the hurly-burly of worldliness.
the Master's view in divers ways, each claiming the legitimate
interpretation; that in view of this fact it is illogical to
conclude that Southern Buddhism
tation par excellence of original
or the Northern
is
is
the authoritative represen-
Buddhism, while the Eastern
a mere degeneration.
CHAPTER
35O
He who
in
is
Nirvana does not seek a rest
this
the annihilation of
XIII.
human
aspirations, does not flinch
On
in the face of endless transmigration.
he
in
the contrary,
himself into the ever-rushing current of
plunges
Samsara and
sacrifices himself to save his fellow-crea-
tures from being eternally
drowned
in
it.
Mahayana Nirvana is realised only
Though
in the mire of passions and errors, it is never conthus the
taminated
that
is
by the
abiding
egoism and
filth
of ignorance. Therefore, he
in Nirvana,
even
darkness of
in the
all-seeing insight that penetrates
He is aware
He knows that this
nature of being.
things.
moment in
in the
whirlpool of
does not lose his
sin,
deep into the ultimate
of the transitoriness of
life
a mere passing
is
the eternal manifestation of the Dharmakaya,
whose work can be
and endless
realised only in boundless space
As he
fully awake to this knowledge,
he never gets engrossed in the world of sin. He lives
in the world like unto the lotus-flower, the emblem
of immaculacy, which grows out of the mire and
time.
yet shares not
bird
flying
behind
its
is
defilement.
in the air that
He
is
also like unto a
does not leave any trace
He may
again be likened unto the clouds
that spontaneously gather around the mountain peak,
and, soaring high as the wind blows, vanish away
to
it.
the
region
living in,
where nobody knows. In
short, he
is
and yet beyond, the realm of Samsara and
Nirvana.
We
read in the
"Vimalakirti
Vimalakirti Sutra (chap. VIII.)
asks
Manjucri: 'How
is
it
that
:
you
CHAPTER
declare
XIII.
351
[human] passions and errors are the seeds
all
of Buddhahood?'
k
"Manjugri
replies
:
O
son of good family
!
Those
who
cling
to
the
and
dwell
in
a state of eternal annihilation do not
view of non-activity [asamskrita\
them supremely perfect knowledge [anuttarasamyak-sambodhi\ Only the Bodhisattvas. who dwell
awaken
in
midst of passions and errors, and who, passing
in the
through the
[ten]
mate nature of
stages, rightly contemplate the ulti-
things, are able to
awaken and
attain
intelligence [prajnd].
*'
do not grow
'Just as the lotus-flowers
but
land,
in the
the dark-colored, waterly mire,
in
O
dry
son
even so [with intelligence (prajnd
or bodhi)\ In non-activity and eternal annihilation which
of good family,
it
is
by the Qravakas and the Pratyekabuddhas,
no opportunity for the seeds and sprouts of
are cherished
there
is
Buddhahood
grow. Intelligence can grow only in
the mire and dirt of passion and sin. It is by virtue of
to
passion and sin that the seeds and sprouts of Buddha-
hood are able
"
in
to grow.
'O son of good family
the
but in the
air,
there even luxuriously,
even
so [with
non-activity
of
the
Just as
!
filthy,
no seeds can grow
muddy soil, and
O
son of good family, it is
Bodhi]. It does not grow out of
eternal annihilation. It is only out
the
and
mountainous
masses
thoughts that Intelligence
of
egoistic,
selfish
awakened and grows
is
to
the incomprehensible wisdom of Buddha-seeds.
"
son of good family Just as we cannot obV
O
!
CHAPTER
352
tain
XIII.
we
pearls unless
priceless
dive into the depths
of the four great oceans, O son of good family, it is
even so '[with Intelligence] If we do not dive deep
mighty ocean of passion and sin, how could
gem of Buddha-essence ?
into the
we
get hold of the precious
Let
therefore
be understood
that the primordial
seeds of Intelligence draw their vitality from the midst
of passion" and sin.'
In a Pauline epistle we read,
it
'
"From
life
the
foulness
of the
And Emerson
grows."
soil,
sings
the beauty of
new
:
"Let me go where'er I will,
hear a sky-born music still.
'Tis not in the high stars alone,
Nor in the cup of budding flowers,
Nor in the redbreast's mellow tone,
I
Nor
But
bow that smiles
mud and scum of
in the
in the
in
showers,
things.
There always, always, something sings
Do we
"
not see here a most explicit statement of
the Mahayanistic sentiment?
Nirvana and Samsdra are One.
The most remarkable
conception
of Nirvana
"Yas klegas
What
birth
This
in
is
so
is
expressed in this formula
bodhi, yas samsaras tat nirvanam."
sin or passion, that
and death
the
feature in the Mahayanistic
is
:
is
Intelligence,
(or transmigration), that
is
what
is
Nirvana.
a rather bold and revolutionising proposition
dogmatic history of Buddhism. But it is no
more than the
natural development of the spirit that
was breathed by ks founder.
CHAPTER
Vigesacinta-brahma-pariprccha Sutra*
the
In
353
XIII.
is
it
said that (chap. II):
"Samsara
is
Nirvana, because there
when viewed
is,
from the ultimate nature of the Dharmakaya, nothing
out
going
nor
of,
coming
into, existence,
being only apparent]: Nirvana
coveted and adhered to.^
In another place (pp.
much
terms
plainer
in truth free
:
cit.)
is
samsara,
the idea
it
is
expressed in
is
"The essence of
from attachment,
[samsara
when
attributes,
all
things
is
and desires
;
they are pure, and, as they are pure, we
that what is the essence of birth and death
therefore,
know
that
is
the essence of Nirvana, and that what
of Nirvana that
essence
is
is
the
the essence of birth and
(samsara). In other words, Nirvana is not to
be sought outside of this world, which, though tran-
death
sient,
Because
there
in
is
is
reality
more than Nirvana
itself.
it is contrary to our reason to imagine that
Nirvana and there is birth and death (samsara,)
and that the one
lies
we have
we can
annihilated
and death.
subjectivity,
If
we
this
outside the pale of the other,
Nirvana only after
escaped the world of birth
are not hampered by our confused
and, therefore, that
Nirvana
no
our
attain
or
worldly
life
is
an activity of
itself."
Nagarjuna repeats the same sentiment
amika fdstra, when he says:
in his
Mddhy-
There are three Chinese translations of this Mahayana
by Dharmaraksa, Kumarajiva, and Bodhiruci, between
and
517 A. D.
265
1
text,
23
CHAPTER
354
"Samsara
Nirvana
XIII.
no way to be distinguished from Nirvana:
no way to be distinguished from Samsara."
in
is
is in
l
Or,
"The sphere of Nirvana is the sphere of Samsara:
Not the slightest distinction exists between them."
Asanga goes
that
the
all
a
and boldly declares
further
step
*
of which Nirvana or
Buddha-dharmas,
Dharmakaya forms the foundation, are characterised
with
He
the
and
passions, errors,
Mahaydna-Sangraha fdstra
says in
Tripitaka, Japanese edition of
"(i)
an
1
88 1,
(the Chinese
wang VIII.,
p. 84)
Buddha-dharmas are characterised
All
eternality, for the
"(2)
sins of vulgar minds.
Dharmakaya
is
:
with
eternal.
Buddha-dharmas are characterised with
All
extinguishing
power,
for they extinguish
all
the
obstacles for final emancipation.
"(3)
Buddha-dharmas are characterised with
All
regeneration, for the
Nirmanakaya [Body of Transfor-
mation] constantly regenerates.
"(4)
Buddha-dharmas are characterised with the
All
power of attainment,
for
by the attainment
they subjugate innumerable
by ignorant
"(5) All
desire
1
[of truth]
passions as cherished
beings.
Buddha-dharmas are characterised with the
gain,
ill
humor,
folly,
and
all
Samsarasya ca nirvanat kincid
Na
2
to
evil
asti vigesanam:
nirvanasya samsarat kincid asti vigesanam.
Nirvanasya ca ya kotih kotih samsarasya ca,
Vidyadanantaram
kincit
susuksnam vidyate.
the other
CHAPTER
passions of vulgar minds, for
XIII.
355
it is
through the Buddha's
love that those depraved souls are saved.
Buddha-dharmas are characterised with non-
"(6) All
attachment and
made
is
Suchness which
virtues cannot be defiled
powers
Buddha-dharmas are above attachment and
All
'(7)
by these
perfect
for
evil
by any
k
non-defilement,
defilement, for though
all
in the world, worldliness
Buddhas reveal themselves
cannot
defile
them."
l
Buddha-dharma means any thing, or any virtue, or
any faculty, that belongs to Buddhahood. Kon -attach-
ment
is
a Buddha-dharma, love
is
a Buddha-dharma,
Buddha dharma, and
a Buddha-dharma which is an
wisdom
is
a
is
in fact
anything
of the
attribute
One, not to mention the Dharmakaya or
Nirvana which constitutes the very essence of BuddhaPerfect
hood. Therefore, the conclusion which
from those
is
quoted
seven
this
transformation
errors
and
sins
propositions
Not only
:
is
is
to be
drawn
of Asanga as above
this
world of constant
as a
whole Nirvana, but
and
evils are also the various
its
apparent
phases
of the manifestation of Nirvana.
The above being
is
it
the
Mahay anistic view
evident that Nirvana
is
of Nirvana,
not something transcen-
dental or that which stands above this world of birth
1
the
is
Concerning the similarity in meaning of this statement to
one just preceding, a commentator says that the sixth
the statical view of Suchness (or Dharmakaya) and the
seventh
its
reality of
dynamical view. One explains what the highest
is and the other what it does or works.
Buddhism
CHAPTER
356
XIII.
and death, joy and sorrow, love and hate, peace and
struggle. Nirvana is not to be sought in the heavens
departure from this earthly life nor in
the annihilation of human passions and aspirations.
On the contrary, it must be sought in the midst of
nor
a
after
worldliness,
is
as
life
with
all
its
of pain and
thrills
no more than Nirvana
itself.
Extinguish
pleasure
your life and seek Nirvana in anchoretism, and your
Nirvana is forever lost. Consign your aspirations,
hopes, pleasures, and woes, and everything that makes
up a life to the eternal silence of the grave, and you
bury Nirvana never to be recovered. In asceticism,
or in meditation, or in ritualism, or even in meta-
more impetuously you pursue Nirvana, the
away it flies from you. It was the most
physics, the
further
mistake
serious
committed
ever
by any
thinkers to imagine that Nirvana which
satisfaction
by
is
religious
the complete
our religious feeling could be gained
of
human desires, ambitions, hopes,
and pleasures. Have your own Bodhi (intelli-
laying aside
pains,
all
gence) thoroughly enlightened through love and knowl-
and everything that was thought
edge,
filthy turns out to be of divine purity.
human
heart,
egoism,
now
formerly
the
It
the
and
same
fount of ignorance and
the abode of eternal beatitude
shining in its intrinsic
sinful
is
Nirvana
magnificence.
Suppose a torch light is taken into a dark cell,
which people had hitherto imagined to be the abode of
hideous, uncanny goblins, and which on that account
they
wanted to have
completely
destroyed to the
CHAPTER
The
ground.
bright
XIII.
357
now ushered
light
in
disperses
therein
perfectly illumined. Everything in
sumes
is
its
proper aspect.
be
and
uncanny
precious
And
horrible
are
stones
can be used
in
as-
some way for
The dark
great benefit of their fellow-creatures.
cell
is
human
heart before the enlightenment of
Nirvana, the torch light
warms and
now
nothing but huge
the
love
it
to their surprise people
and they further learn that every
stones,
one of those
the
once
which they formerly considered
find that those figures
to
at
darkness, and every nook and corner
the
is
love and intelligence.
When
intelligence brightens, the heart finds
every passion and
sinful desire that
was the cause of
unbearable anguish now turned into a divine aspiration.
The heart itself, however, remains the same just as
much as the cell, whose identity was never affected
^either
nicely
by darkness
the
illustrates
identity of
Nirvana
and Kleca, that
Therefore,
it
or
is,
is
by
brightness. This parable
Mahayanistic
doctrine
of the
and Samsara, and of the Bodhi
of intelligence and passion.
said:
"All sins transformed into the constituents of enlightenment!
The vicissitudes of Samsara transformed into the beatitude
of Nirvana!
All
come from
these
the
of the
exercise
great
religious
discipline (upaya)\
our understanding, indeed,
Buddhas."
Beyond
is
the
mystery of
all
1
1
The
Discourse on Buddha-essence by Vasubandhu.
Japanese Tripitaka edition of 1881,
stanza is quoted from the Sutra on
fas. II., p. 84,
The
where the
the Incomprehensible.
CHAPTER
358
XIII.
The Middle Course.
one sense the Buddha always showed an
In
conciliatory, synthetic spirit in his teachings.
eclectic,
He
refused
any extreme doctrine which elevates one
end too high at the expense of the other and culmito listen to
When the
nates in the collapse of the whole edifice.
Buddha
dhi
left his
seat of enlightenment under the Bo-
he made
tree,
it
his mission to avoid
both ex-
He proved
through-
tremes, asceticism and hedonism.
out his
life
person,
disciplined
acter,
-
-
to be a calm, dignified, thoughtful, well-
and
at
no time
in this latter respect
irritable in char-
being so different from
sage of Nazareth, who in anger cast out all the
tradesmen in the temple and overthrew the tables of
the
the money-changers, and
who cursed
which he could not
find
any
his hunger.
The
doctrine of the Middle Path
appease
(Madhyamdrga),
intellectually,
of
Buddha
teachings.
whatever
it
frjuit
His
well
fig
tree
on
but leaves unfit to
may mean
always characterised the
as
the
life
morally and
and doctrine
as the later
followers,
development of his
however different in their
individual views, professed as a rule to pursue steadily
the
Even
Middle Path as paved by the Master.
when Nagarjuna proclaimed
his celebrated doctrine
of Eight No's which seems to superficial critics nothing
but an absolute nihilism, he said that the Middle
Path could be found only in those eight no's.
1
This
is
expressed
in
the
fdstra, which runs as follows:
first
1
verse of the Madhyamika
CHAPTER
Mahayanism has
method of Buddha
ennobled
the
In
cation.
by
it
XIII.
certainly
to
its
359
applied
theory
its
this
synthetic
of Nirvana
and
immanent
signifideveloping
Discourse on Buddha-essence, Vasu-
fully
bandhu quotes the following passage from the frimala
Sutra, which plainly shows the path along which the
traveled
Mahayanists
conclusion
existence
of
the
only
before they reached their final
"Those, who
:
are
see only the transitoriness
called nihilists,
and those who see
eternality of Nirvana are called eternalists.
Both views are incorrect." Vasubandhu then proceeds
to say: "Therefore, the
from both extremes, and on that account it
When viewed
free
is
Dharmakaya of the Tathagata
called the Great Eternal Perfection.
is
from
Suchness, the logical
Nirvana and Samsara cannot in
this absolute standpoint of
distinction
reality
between
be maintained, and hereby we enter upon the
realm of non-duality." And this realm of non-duality
is
the Middle Path of Nirvana, not in its nihilistic,
but in
its
Mahayanistic, significance.
How
to
Realise Nirvana.
How can we attain the Middle Path of Nirvana?
How can we realise a life that is neither pessimistic
asceticism nor materialistic hedonism ? How can we
steer through the whirlpools of
Samsara without being
"Anirodham anutpadam anucchedam acacvatam
Anekartham ananartham anagamam anirgamam."
Literally translated these lines read:
"No
No
annihilation,
unity,
no
no production, no destruction, no persistence,
no coming in, no going out."
plurality,
CHAPTER
360
XIII.
up and yet braving their turbulent gyraThe answer to this can readily be given, when
swallowed
tion
?
we
understand, as repeatedly stated above, that this
life
is
the manifestation of the Dharmakaya, and that
the ideal of
human
possibilities
of
existence
conceive of the Dharmakaya.
be
to
to realise within the
is
mind and body
his
all-embracing
And
all
this
that he can
we have found
love and all-seeing intelligence.
Destroy then your ignorance at one blow and be
done with your egoism, and there springs forth an
eternal stream of love and wisdom.
Says Vasubandhu "By virtue of Prajna [intelligence
or wisdom], our egoistic thoughts are destroyed by
:
:
Karuna
virtue of
ed.
thoughts are cherish-
Prajna, the [affective] attachment
vulgar minds is abolished; by virtue of
of
virtue
By
[love], altruistic
inherent
in
Karuna,
the
[intellectual]
attachment
by the (Jravakas and Pratyekabuddhas
By
of
virtue
is
sense]
[with
its
Prajna,
Nirvana
[in its
as
possessed
is
abolished.
transcendental
not rejected; by virtue of Karuna, Samsara
changes and transmigrations] is not rejected.
By
virtue of Prajna the truth of
by
virtue of Karuna,
all
Buddhism
is
sentient beings are
attained
;
matured
[for salvation]."
The
practical
life
of a Buddhist runs in two opposite,
though not antagonistic, directions, one upward and
the other downward, and the two are synthesised in
the
Middle
Path
of Nirvana.
The upward
direction
points to the intellectual comprehension of the truth,
while the
downward one
to a realisation of all-embra-
CHAPTER
cing love
36l
his fellow-creatures.
among
mented by the
XIII.
When
other.
One
of tears
sufferings
of
alone
side
the
his
it.
it
will
superstitious,
the emotional
!
It
If it
does not turn
or foul, or even atrocious
in the history of religion
how
think
When
assume a hedonistic form.
under the beautiful name of
and mankind
whose
everything coming in
does not discriminate and
it
for spirituality.
out sentimentalism,
deeds
thinker,
colors
that
Because
sensuality
How many
too
dry and does not flow over the
fellow-beings.
tint
egoistic
takes
is
the emotional,
asserted to the extreme, love acquires
is
contact with
is
comple-
the intellectual side
much emphasised at the expense of
we have a Pratyekabuddha, a solitary
fountain
is
have been committed
God
when we
religion, or love of
makes the blood run cold
religious fanatics
burned
alive their rivals
or opponents at the stake, cruelly butchered thousands
human
brought desolation and
and all
ruin throughout the land of their enemies,
these works of the Devil executed for sheer love of
of
God
lives within a day,
Therefore,
!
says
Devala,
the
author
of
the
Discourse on the Makdpurusa (Great Man) "The wise
do not approve lovingkindness without intelligence,
nor do they approve intelligence without loving:
kindness
;
because one without the other prevents us
from reaching the highest path." Knowledge
love
how
attain
is
the eye,
the limb. Directed by the eye, the limb
is
knows
move; furnished with the limb, the eye can
what it perceives. Love alone is blind, knowl-
to
edge alone
is
lame.
It is
only
when one
is
supplement-
CHAPTER
362
XIII.
ed by the other that we have a perfect, complete man.
Buddha
In
as the ideal
human being we
recognise
the perfection of love and intelligence; for
it
was
in
him that the Dharmakaya found its perfect realisation
in the flesh. But as far as the Bodhisattvas are concerned,
and
their
their
endowments are so
temperament
is
the
some are more prone
while
diversified
so uneven that in
some the
elements are more predominant while in
emotional side is more pronounced, that
intellectual
others
natural
preferably look
toward
to
practicality others
intellectuaiism.
Thus,
as a
matter of course, some Bodhisattvas will be more of
philosophers than of religious seers. They may tend
in some cases to emphasise the intellectual side of
religion
more than
of
emotional side and uphold the
prajna (intelligence) above that of
its
importance
karuna (love). But the Middle Path of Nirvana
lies in
the true harmonisation of prajna and karuna, of bodhi
and
of knowledge and love, of intellect and
upaya,
feeling.
Love Awakens Intelligence
But if we have to choose between the two, let us
first have
all-embracing love, the Buddhists would say
;
for
to
it
is
love that awakens in us an intense desire
the
find
perpetual
intellect
will
of
the
it
of
emancipating the masses from
and eternal transmigration. The
now endeavor to realise its highest
sufferings
possibilities
When
way
is
;
the Bodhi will exhibit
found out that
Dharmakaya which
its fullest
this life is
is
strength.
an expression
one and
eternal, that
CHAPTER
individual
existences
svabhdva)
as
of
isation
we
subjective
ignorance, and, therefore, that
which
love
(atman or
selfhood
they are due to the particular
and
real
as one in the absolute
truth will
no
far as
true
are
have
363
XIII.
unfold
are conceived
Dharmakaya, the Bodhisattva's
him to search
caused
now
when we
only
its
after the highest
fullest significance.
This love, or faith in the Mahayana, as
times called,
felt
is
rather vaguely at the
it is
first
some-
awake-
ning of the religious consciousness, and agitates the
aspirant, whose life has hitherto been
mind of the
He no more
desire.
as
every form of egocentric thought and
finds an unalloyed satisfaction,
in
engrossed
the
(Jravakas
or the Pratyekabuddhas do, in his
emancipation from the curse of Samsara.
sweet the taste of release from the bond
individual
However
of ignoranee,
it
is
freedom perfectly
lacking something that
makes the
agreeable to the Bodhisattva
who
more of others than of himself; to be sweet
it must be highly savored with
thinks
as well as acceptable,
lovingkindness
as his
or
is
embraces
children.
the
Prayekabuddha
of
which
than
which
own
is
wanting
in
all
his fellow-beings
The emancipation
like
is
a
saline taste, for
of the (Jravaka
delicious food
it
is
no more
Love
go beyond his own
a dry, formal philosophical emancipation.
that which stimulates a
interests. It is the
sattvas.
The
renounce a
man
mother of
sacred
motive
to
all
Buddhas and Bodhi-
that
induces them to
of Nirvanic self-complacency, is nothbut
their
love for all beings. They do
boundless
ing
life
CHAPTER
364
not wish to rest
want to have
XIII.
in their individual
emancipation, they
sentient creatures without a single
all
exception emancipated and blest in paradisiacal happiness. Love, therefore, bestows on us two spiritual
benefits: (i)
awakens
The
It
saves
Buddha- intelligence
in us the
following
Devala's
beings from misery and (2)
all
passages
Mahdpurusa
will
quoted at random from
help our readers to under-
stand the true signification of Nirvana and the value
of love (karund) as estimated by the Mahayanists.
"Those who are
their
own
benefits
afraid of transmigration
and happiness
in final
and seek
emancipation,
comparable to those Bodhisattvas, who
when
rejoice
they come to assume a material existence
once again, for it affords them another opportunity to
are not at
all
benefit others.
their
own
Those who are only capable of feeling
selfish sufferings
may
not trouble themselves with
enter into Nirvana [and
the sufferings of other
themselves] but the Bodhisattva who
feels in himself all the sufferings of his fellow-beings
as his own, how can he bear the thought of leaving
creatures
like
;
others behind while he
is
on
his
and when he himself
pation,
quietude
Nirvana
?
way
is
to final emanci-
resting in Nirvanic
in truth consists in rejoicing
being made happy, and Samsara in not so
He who feels a universal love for his fellow-
at other's
feeling.
creatures will rejoice in distributing blessings
them and
1
Compare
find his Nirvana in so doing.
this
Buddhist
among
1
sentiment of universal love with
that of the Christian religion and
we
shall see the truth that
CHAPTER
XIII.
365
"Suffering really consists in pursuingjme's egotistic^
happiness^while Nirvana
found
is
in sacrificing one's
welfare for the sake of others. People generally think
that
no
own
their
finds
emancipation when they are released
pain, but a man with loving heart
an
is
it
from
from misery.
in rescuing others
it
"With people who are not kindhearted, there is
sin that will not be committed by them. They
are
the
called
softened
at
most wicked whose
the
of
sight
others,
hearts are not
misfortune
and
suffering.
"When
all
beings are tortured
and
by
avarice, passion,
and are constantly
threatened by the misery of birth and death, disease
and decay
how can the Bodhisattva live among
humor,
ill
infatuation,
them and not
"Of
most.
all
good
It
.
feel pity for
is
virtues,
folly,
them?
lovingkindness stands fore-
the source of
all
merit.
.
.
It
is
the
all
religions are one at the bottom. We read in Thomas a
Kempis's Imitation of Christ (ch. XIII): "My son, I descended
from heaven for thy salvation I took upon me thy sorrows,
not necessity but love drawing me thereto; that thou thyself
mightest learn patience and bear temporal sufferings without
repining For from the hour of my birth, even until my
death on the cross, I was not without suffering of grief."
This is exactly the sentiment that stimulates the Bodhisattvas
;
to
their
gigantic task of universal salvation.
Those who are
from sectarian biases will admit without hesitation that
there is but one true religion which may assume various
forms according to circumstances. "Many are the roads to
the summit, but when reached there we have but one universal
free
moonlight."
CHAPTER
366
mother of
"The
one
Buddhas.
all
refuge in the
Let us
When
sorts of pain."
all
another interesting passage from a
sutra.
Vimalakirti was asked
made
he
and
that
beings
my
am
of their
of
I ill.
is
my
When
all
of
As
all
'sentient
be 'healed
shall
I
full
there arises
illness.
illness,
Why? The
too.
illness,
cause
so
ill,
healed
are
did not feel
"From ignorance
:
the"
is
sentient beings are
why he
following reply, which
the
significance
religious
annoyed by
is
beings are constantly tortured and
all
quote
Mahayana
of
induces others to take
loving heart of a Bodhisattva
threatened by
desire
It
.
incomparable Bodhi.
thing, that
well,
.
XIII.
Bodhisattva suffers
and death because of sentient beings. As there
birth and death, so there is illness. When sentient
birth
is
are
delivered
suffer
no more
beings
will
a
good family
when he
with
is
is
the
too. When
Do you wish
again.
illness is?
The
they
to
illness
his all-embracing love
an only son
are
well
loves
When
are
in
feel sick too:
parents
He
children.
sick
When
they
Bodhisattva.
own
the Bodhisattvas
illness,
the
sick,
recovered
as his
beings
is
is
from
illness.
again.
So
it
sentient
all
they are sick, he
recovered,
know whence
he
is
well
this [sympathetic]
of the Bodhisattva comes from
(makakarund").
This gospel of universal love is the consummation
of all religious emotions whatever their origin. Without
this,
is
there
is
no
animated with
religion
life
and
that
spirit.
is,
For
no
it
religion that
is
in the fact
CHAPTER
and
of things
nature
mere
contemplation
religion may have
we are not moved by
mere philosophising. Every
that
or
its
367
XIII.
own way
of intellectually in-
fact, but the practical result remains
terpreting
the same everywhere, viz. that it cannot survive without the animating energy of love. Whatever sound
this
reasoning there may be in the doctrine of
r&vaka and the Pratyekabuddha, the force that
and
fine
the
is
destined
to
from misery
is
conquer the world and to deliver us
not intellection, but the
will,
i.
e.
the
purvapranidhana of the Dharmakaya
Conclusion.
We now conclude. What
we have seen above is that
not the annihilation of
it
not
is
the
aspirations
their
most evident from what
Mahayana Nirvana
the
but
life
its
is
enlightenment, that
human
of
nullification
but
is
passions and
and ennoblement.
purification
world of eternal transmigration is not a place
which should be shunned as the playground of evils,
This
should be regarded as the place of ever-present
opportunities given to us for the purpose of unfoldbut
ing
all
our
spiritual
possibilities
and powers for the
is no need for us
sake of the universal welfare. There
to shrink, like the snail into his cozy shelter, before
the
duties and burdens of
the
contrary,
births
of
evil
and
and
finds
deaths
solves
subjective ignorance.
life.
Nirvana
and
it
in
boldly
by
The
Bodhisattva, on
a
concatenation of
faces
the
problem
purifying the Bodhi from
CHAPTER
368
His rule of conduct
XIII.
is:
"Sabba papassa akaranam,
Kusalassa upasampada,
Sacitta pariyodapanam
;
Etam buddhanu sasanam."
'
His aspirations are solemnly expressed in this,
which we hear daily recited in the Mahayana Buddhist
temples and monasteries and seminaries
:
vow to save
vow to destroy;
however numberless, I take vow to study
"Sentient beings, however innumerable,
Evil passions, however inextinguishable,
I
take
I
take
;
The avenues of truth,
The way of the Enlightened, however unsurpassable, I take
vow
to attain."
And an
will
;
indefatigable pursuit of these noble aims
finally lead to the heaven of the Buddhists, Nirvana,
which
is
not
a
of eternal
state
quietude, but the
source of energy and intelligence.
By way of summary, and to avoid
tions,
let
me
repeat once
more
no negation of life, nor is
on the misery of existence.
consists
by no means
it
in the
all
misconcep-
that Nirvana
an
The
is
thus
idle
contemplation
life
of a Buddhist
monotonous
repetition
of reciting the sutras and going his rounds for meals.
Far from that. He enters into all the forms of lifeactivity, for
1
he does not believe that universal emanci-
The Dharmapada, XIV.
5.
Mr. A.
J.
Edmunds's
translation
"Ceasing to do all wrong,
Initiation into goodness,
Cleansing ,the heart:
This the religion of the Buddhas."
is,
CHAPTER
achieved
is
ipation
369
XIII.
by imprisoning himself
in
the
cloister.
Theoretically speaking, Nirvana
is
the dispersion of
the clouds of ignorance hovering around the light of
the suppression of egoism and
the awakening of love (karuna). Religiously, it is the
absolute surrender of the self to the will of the
Bodhi.
Morally,
Dharmakaya.
is
When
our
persing,
it
the clouds of ignorance are dishorizon gets clearer and
intellectual
we
perceive that our individual existences are
bubbles and lightnings, but that thay obtain
wider
like
;
oneness with the Body of Dharma.
This conviction compels us to eternally abandon our
reality
old
in
their
egoistic
conception
of
The ego
life.
finds its
significance only when it is conceived in relation to
the not-ego, that is, to the alter in other words, selflove has no meaning whatever unless it is purified
;
by love
for others.
But
remain blind and unenlightened,
with the
will of the
must not
this love for others
it
must be
Dharmakaya which
in
harmony
norm
the
is
of existence and the reason of being. The mission of
love is ennobled and fulfilled in its true sense when
we come to
Love without
the faith that says "thy will be done."
this resignation to the divine
ordinance
merely another form of egoism the root is already
rotten, how can its trunk, stems, leaves, and flowers
is
:
make
a veritable growth?
Let us then conclude with the following reflections
of the
Bodhisattva,
signification of
in
which
we read
the
whole
Buddhism.
24
CHAPTER
37O
XIII.
"Having practised all the six virtues of perfection
(pdramita) and innumerable other meritorious deeds,
the Bodhisattva reflects in this wise:
u 'All the
benefit of
good deeds practised by me are
fication [from sin].
I
pray that
all
innumerable
(parivarta)
all
beings
existences;
beings and
the merit of these good deeds
By
sentient beings be released from the
of
existence.
of
these
and
by them
suffered
sufferings
abodes
various
for the
sentient beings, for their ultimate puri-
all
deeds
the
By
I
their
turning over
would be a haven
them from
deliver
in
for
miserable
their
would be a great beacon-light to all
dispel the darkness of ignorance and make
I
the light of intelligence shine.'
"He
"
reflects again in this wise
sentient
'All
are
beings
:
karma
creating evil
in
innumerable ways, and by reason of this karma they
innumerable sufferings. They do not recognise
suffer
the
Tathagata,
do not
not
pay homage
All
these
listen to the
Good Law, do
to the congregration of holy
beings
carry
an
innumerable
men.
amount of
karma and are destined to suffer in innumerable ways. For their sake I will in the midst of
great evil
the three evil creations surfer
all
their sufferings
and
one of them. Painful as these sufferings
not retreat, I will not be frightened, I will
deliver every
are,
will
I
not be negligent,
Why?
that
Because
all
cipated.'
I
it
will
is
not forsake
the
will
my fellow-beings.
[of the
Dharmakaya]
eman-
sentient beings should be universally
CHAPTER
"He
"
XIII.
371
reflects again in this wise:
'My
conduct
will
be
like the
sun-god who with
his universal illumination seeks not
any reward, who
ceases not on account of one unrighteous person to
make
a
great display of his magnificent glory,
who
on account of one unrighteous person abandons not
the
salvation
(parivarta) of
of
my
of
all
all
beings.
my
merits
fellow-creatures
Avatamsaka Sutra,
fas
Through the dedication
would make every one
I
happy and
XIV).
"
joyous.'
(The
APPENDIX
HYMNS OF MAHAYANA
FAITH.
DHARMAKAYA (TATHAGATA).
In
all
With
1
beings there abideth the Dharmakaya;
all
virtues dissolved in it, it liveth in
eternal
calmness.
knoweth nor birth nor death, coming nor going;
Not one, not two not being, not becoming
Yet present everywhere in worlds of beings:
This is what is perceived by all Tathagatas.
All virtues, material and immaterial,
It
;
;
Dependent on the Dharmakaya, are
Like unto
the
makaya
sky
is
eternally pure in
the ultimate nature of the Dhar-
;
Far away from the six dusts,
Of no form and devoid of
it
all
is
defilement-free.
attributes
makaya,
In which are void both actor and action
The
it.
Dharmakaya
of
all
Buddhas,
thus
is
the Dhar-
:
beyond
com-
prehension,
Quells all the struggles of sophistry and dialectics,
Distances all the efforts of intellection,
Thoughts
all
are dead in
it,
and suchness alone abideth.
APPENDIX.
376
THE DHARMAKAYA OF TATHAGATA.
2
the worlds over the ten quarters,
ye, sentient creatures living there,
Behold the most venerable of men and gods,
In
all
O
Whose
spiritual
Dharma-body
As through the power
A
host of thoughts
is
is
immaculate and pure.
of one mind,
evolved
:
So from one Dharma-body of Tathagata,
Are produced all the Buddha-bodies.
In
Bodhi nothing dual there existeth,
Nor is any thought of self present:
The Dharma-body, undenled and non-dual,
In its full splendor manifesteth itself everywhere.
Its
Its
Its
is like unto the vastness of
space
manifested forms are like unto magic shows;
virtues excellent are inexhaustible,
ultimate reality
This, indeed, the spiritual state of
Buddhas
;
only.
Buddhas of the present, past, and future,
one of them is an issue of the Dharma-body
immaculate and pure
Responding to the needs of sentient creatures,
They manifest themselves everywhere, assuming corporeality which is beautiful.
All the
Each
;
They never made
the premeditation
That they would manifest in such and such forms.
Separated are they from all desire and anxiety.
And
free
and self-acting are their responses.
APPENDIX.
377
They do not negate the phenomenality of dharmas,
Nor do they affirm the world of individuals
:
But manifesting themselves in all forms,
They teach and convert all sentient creatures.
The Dharma-body
Neither
All
is
it
dharmas
is
not changeable,
unchangeable;
[in
essence] are without change,
But manifestations are changeable.
The Sambodhi knoweth no bounds,
Extending as
Its
far as the limits of the
depths are bottomless, and
Words and speeches
its
Dharmaloka
extent limitless
are powerless to describe
itself;
;
it.
Of all the ways that lead to Enlightenment
The Tathagata knoweth the true significance;
Wandering
freely
all
over the worlds,
Obstacles he encountereth nowhere.
THE TATHAGATA.
The Tathagata appeared not on
Nor did he enter into Nirvana;
By
He
3
(i)
earth,
the supreme power of his inmost
reveals himself freely as he wills.
will,
4
This fact is beyond comprehension,
Belongs not to the sphere of a limited consciousness,
Only an intelligence perfect and gone beyond
Is
able to have an insight into the realm of Buddhas.
APPENDIX
378
The
Nor
is not the Tathagata,
the sound
nor
is the voice,
not
is
Yet he
beyond the visible and the audible:
The Buddha has indeed a power miraculous.
material
body
:
People of little faith are unable to know
The inmost adytum of Buddhahood.
It is
by the perfecting of primordial karma-intelligence
That the realm of all Buddhas is revealed.
Buddhas come from nowhere,
for nowhere:
All
And depart
The Body
Is
of
Dharma
that
is
pure,
immaculate,
and
incomprehensible,
invested with a power miraculously free.
In infinity of worlds,
Revealing
itself in
the
body of Tathagata,
universally preaches the Law supremely excellent,
And in its heart no attachment lingers.
It
An
intellect that
knows no
Perceives no obstacles in
limits or
bounds
all
dharmas,
And penetrates into the depths of the Dharmaloka,
Revealing itself with a power miraculously divine.
All sentient beings
and
all
creatures,
understandeth thoroughly without difficulty
Its Bodies of Transformation are
innumerable,
It
And
universally revealed in
all
:
the worlds.
Those who seek
after All-knowledge
course
of
time attain perfect enlightenment;
May
Let them above all purify the heart
in
And complete
their discipline in Bodhisattvahood.
APPENDIX.
And
then they
will
379
see the Tathagata's
Immeasurable power that comes from his free will;
Devoid of all doubts they are, and accompanied
With sages whose
virtue
is
unsurpassable.
THE TATHAGATA
The Tathagata, in pure golden
And in person resplendent and
5
(2).
color,
majestic,
innumerable ages past,
All merits hath accumulated.
In
With
bliss
and wisdom
all
in perfection,
And the highest enlightenment attaining.
And with great loving heart animated,
He now appeareth in this world of endurance.
Men and
devas and the eight hosts of demons,
pay him homage most reverent,
Who, from his inmost self-being,
Preacheth the deepest spiritual Dharma.
All
Which is so unfathomably deep,
That Buddha alone can understand
it:
Multitudes of beings, ignorant and blind,
Listening to it, are unable to comprehend.
The Tathagata
is
With
is
skill
Guiding
all
that
the great leader of beings
excellent and marvellous,
those ignorant souls,
By degrees bringeth them
to Enlightenment.
;
APPENDIX.
380
The
And
heart of
It
replenished with
beings is miraculously bright,
in its being.
calm
eternally
Pure and immaculate and defilement-free,
Its
is
essence
Devoid of
Knoweth
And
is
all
all
like
merits.
all
unto the sky:
liminations,
neither birth nor death,
is neither coming nor departing.
there
Eternally abiding in the Dharma-essence,
It is immovable as the Mount Sumeru;
The oneness
Is
in
it
indeed beyond
of
all
finite
beings
knowledge.
Vulgar minds from time immemorial,
Blindly clinging to
Are thrown deep
And know
not
all
passions,
into the
how
The most profound
doctrine of Tathagata,
Full of meaning, spiritual
With
ocean of pain,
to escape.
and transcendental,
recipient intellects in all degrees,
In
harmony unfoldeth he the Law.
A
shower of one taste from above
Covering all the ten quarters,
Grasses and trees, woods and forests,
Roots and trunks, large and small,
Of all growing on this vast earth,
Nothing is there that thereby itself benefiteth
The Law
May
delivered by the Tathagata
even be likened unto it.
not.
APPENDIX.
With one voice which
is
381
wondrous,
He
giveth utterance to thoughts innumerable,
That are received by audience of all sort,
Each understanding them
In this wise
None
Such
is
among
in his
own way.
the assemblage,
there but that enters upon
Buddha-knowledge
Buddha's miraculous power,
called
Truly
"Incomprehensible."
is
REPENTANCE.
6
Those who repent as prescribed by the Dharma,
Altogether their earthly sins uproot;
As fire on doomsday the world will consume,
With
its
mountain peaks and
Repentance
Repentance
Repentance
Repentance
Repentance
Repentance
Repentance
Repentance
infinite seas.
burns up of earthly desires the
to
heaven the sinners
is
leading
fuel;
;
the bliss of the four
Dhyanas imparteth
brings showers of jewels and gems
;
;
a holy life renders firm as a diamond;
transports to the palace of bliss everlasting;
from the triple world's prison releases ;
makes blossom the bloom
of the Bodhi.
APPENDIX.
382
ALL BEINGS ARE MOTHERS AND FATHERS.
All senient beings in transmigration travel through the six gatis,
Like unto a wheel revolving without beginning and end,
Becoming in turn fathers and mothers, men and women:
Generations and generations, each owes something to others.
Ye should then regard all beings as fathers and mothers;
Though this truth is too hidden to be recognised without
the aid of
All
All
Holy Knowledge,
men are your fathers,
women are your mothers.
While not yet requiting
Why
their love received in
your prior
lives,
should ye, thinking otherwise, harbor enmity?
Ever thinking of love, endeavor ye to benefit one another
And provoke ye not hostility, quarreling and insulting.
THE TEN PARAMITAS.
O
ye, sons of
in
Buddha,
the Holy
Way
trained,
With the Heart of Highest
And
living in seclusion at
Intelligence awakened,
the Aranyaka,
Should practice the ten paramitas.
At
daily meal think ye first of almsgiving,
also distribute among beings the Treasure of
And
When
the three rings
Through
Law;
7
are pure, it is called true charity
this practice perfected are the merits of discipline.
;
;
APPENDIX.
Would ye understand
383
the merits of almsgiving?
Know
ye that it comes from the heart pure, and not from
the wealth given
;
A
Is
precious treasure with a heart unclean,
surpassed by a mite with a heart clean.
Wealth giving
a dana-paramita,
other dana-paramitas
one's life, wife, or children,
is
And there are
To give away
This
is
:
called blood-giving.
Should a man of good family come and ask for the
Let him have all the Mahayana sutras explained,
And awaken
This
is
in
Law
him the Heart of Highest Intelligence;
called a true paramita.
With sympathy and pure faith and conscience,
Embrace ye all beings and befree them from greed,
That they might attain to the highest intelligence of the
Tathagata
The
:
giving of wealth and of the
Law is the first paramita.
Firmly observing the three sets of the Bodhisattva-gilas,
O ye, evolve the Bodhi, distance birth-and-death,
Guard the
Repent
Law of Buddha and make
the
of the
violation
it
long live in the world,
and be always mindful
c,ilas,
of the true ones.
8
,
Subdue ye anger and hate and cultivate in your heart love
and sympathy;
Mindful of the karma past, harbor ye not evil thoughts
against offenders
Be not reluctant
This
is
;
for the sake of
all
beings to sacrifice
life
:
called the paramitii of meekness.
what is hard to practice, hesitate ye not awhile
With ever-increasing energy through three asankheya kalpas,
In practicing
Defile not yourselves, but always discipline the heart;
And for the sake of all creatures seek ye salvation.
;
APPENDIX.
384
Entering into and rising from the Samadhi, spiritual freedom
is obtained
:
Transforming yourselves and travelling in all the ten quarters,
Have for all beings the cause of evil desire removed,
And let them seek deliverance in the doctrine of Samadhi.
Would ye desire to attain to True Intelligence?
Friendly approach Bodhisattvas and Tathagatas
Gladly listening to the doctrine transcendental and sublime,
Attain ye the three disciplines 9 and remove the two obstacles 10
;
.
Recognising difference in the disposition of beings,
Apply the medicine proper for each disease
:
Love and sympathy, skill and expediency, each fitting the case,
Try the proper means for the benefit of the multitudes.
Would ye know the true meaning of existence?
The middle path lies in non-attachment, neither "yea"
nor "nay"
;
pure is unfathomable and unites in Suchness
mine
with thine, embracing the whole.
Identify
Intelligence
;
By the force of intellect, grasping the nature of beings,
Teach the masses each in accord with his capacity;
The
force of intellect penetrating through the heart of
all
beings,
Destroys the root of transmigration in birth and death.
Intelligently judging
between black and white,
Conscientiously take hold of one and put the other aside,
and let each rest in its place
Samsara and Nirvana are but one
Fulfilling the
;
in their
These ten deeds of excellence
Comprise all eighty-four thousand virtues
Each in its class excels all the others,
And
is
essence
;
meaning of existence, cherish ye not self-conceit.
;
called the Paramita of Bodhisattva.
APPENDIX.
385
Eighty-four thousand samadhis
Becalm the disturbant mind of
all beings;
Eighty-four thousand dharanis
Keep away all the prejudices and evil influences.
The Great Sage, King
Teacheth the
Law
of Dharma, with marvellous
in three
ways and converteth
all
skill,
beings
;
Casting the net of the Doctrine in the ocean of birth and death,
He draweth out men and gods to the abode of bliss.
THE
BODHI. "
All things are of the Bodhi,
The Bodhi is in all things
The Bodhi and all things are one:
;
Who
knoweth
this is called the
World- honored.
NIRVANA AND THE THREE EVILS.
v
Greed is Nirvana;
So is hate, and folly;
In these three passions
There dwells a Buddha-dharma inexpressible.
Who
xV
severalises, thinking,
There's greed, and hate, and
He
is
as far
'*
folly,
from Buddha,
As heaven from
The Bodhi and
earth.
greed,
They're one, not two
Out of one Dharma-gate cometh
Here's sameness, no diversity.
:
all;
25
APPENDIX.
386
This hearing, the vulgar stand aghast;
Far from the Buddha-path are they.
The
heart,
when innocent
Is
never troubled.
In
whose mind
And who
of greed,
self is lurking
ia
still,
imagines that something he has,
this
man
Greedy
is
And he
is
What
the true nature of greed,
the nature of Buddha-dharma
That
What
That
is
is
is
is
bound
called,
for hell.
;
the nature of Buddha-dharma,
the nature of greed. 13
These two are of one nature
That is, of no-nature;
Who knoweth this truth,
Would be
;
the world-leader.
NON-ATMAN AND PREJUDICE.
14
There once was an ignorant man
So afraid of the sky was he
That piteously crying he wandered away.
Of its sudden collapse he was fearful.
But the sky has no boundary,
And to nobody 't will be harmful.
It was due to his ignorance
That he trembled so fitfully.
With the Bhikshus and Brahmans
It is even so, who are prejudiced.
;
Learning that empty
is
the world,
Alarmed are they at heart;
And wrongly imagine that if empty were the nature of Atman
Nothingness would be the end of all work.
APPENDIX.
387
NON-ACTION.
As
the vacuity of sky,
Being so clear and free of cloud and fog,
the earth below,
Betrays no signs a shower to give:
So the enlightened
bpon
Betray no learning, no intelligence:
And we,
Can
sentient beings,
trace no efforts in their deliverance of the
Law.
16
SELF-E>ELUSION.
There
lived once a painter,
Who
such a monstrous Yaksha painted
That he himself was terrified
And
losing all his senses on the ground he
even so with vulgar minds;
Infatuated, self-deluded by the senses,
Of their own error they are unaware,
And go from birth to birth without an end.
fell:
'Tis
ALL
As
all
IN ONE.
the waters in the valley
in the ocean
Are emptied
Which
is of one and the same taste
So the enlightened,
Whatever
is
Good and
beneficial,
Turn over
And
In
to the
:
Bodhi
to that Reality
which
all
things
become
of
one and the same
taste.
APPENDIX.
388
NIHILISM.
The
How
But
vast vacuity of space,
limitless and measureless!
in
How
'Tis
The
The
And
the midst of the void
could a farmer sow his seeds?
even so with Nihilism:
past
is
gone forever,
future's not here yet,
in the
present no Buddha-seeds have they.
THE
NIHILIST.
A man who
suffers from a disease incurable,
excellent his treatment be,
Impossible he will find his health to gain,
However
For
'Tis
No
means of remedy.
even so with them who walk in the way of emptiness
matter whereso'er they be,
his defies all
How
Such
blindly they are clinging unto
I declare to be incurable.
it!
THE BUDDHA'S DHARMA
(i)
As in its oneness the element earth
Embraces diversities of objects,
And
Even
discriminates not this or that;
so is it with all the Buddha's Dharma.
As
in its oneness the element
Burns everything on earth,
And
discriminates not in
Even so
is
it
with
all
its
fire
nature
;
the Buddha's Dharma.
;
APPENDIX.
As waters
in the vast
389
ocean,
Absorbing hundreds of streams,
Are of the same taste forever;
Even so
is
it
with
all
the Buddha's Dharma.
As
the dragon-god with thunder and lightning
Brings showers on the earth all over,
And the rain-drops discriminate not;
Even
so
is
it
with
the Buddha's Dharma.
all
THE BUDDHA'S DHARMA.
As
in
(2)
her oneness mother earth
Creates diversities of seeds
And
in
E'en so
her inmost no discrimination knows;
is it with all the Buddha's Dharma.
As
in the cloudless sky the sun
O'er the ten quarters all illuminates,
And
in its brightness
E'en so
is
As high up
Beheld by
And
with
it
is
heavens is the moon
beings on earth,
it
nowhere her glory reaches not;
with all the Buddha's Dharma.
The Brahma-raja
In
shows no difference;
the Buddha's Dharma.
in the
all
there's
E'en so
all
great
thousands of worlds himself
And knows
E'en so
is
it
all
manifests
being no diversities;
with all the Buddha's Dharma.
in his
APPENDIX.
39O
THE PASSIONS AND WISDOM.
Only in the filthiness of soil,
Could the seed be sown and grow;
Even
so in the mire of passion
Cherished by all sentient beings
All over the world,
If by the sons of Buddha well attended
There
will
Just as in
The lotus
grow the seed
to,
of Buddha-dharma.
and mud
grows and blooms,
filth
Even so in a heart defiled with evil karma
The seeds of Buddha-dharma are growing.
IGNORANCE AND ENLIGHTENMENT,
A
(i)
mansion there was once which was a hundred thousand
years of age
occupant was there, nor doors nor windows;
Devas and men, all of a sudden,
There came and burned a lamp;
And the darkness that dwelt so long
;
No
Departed instantly without a word.
The inky darkness that the mansion
filled
Resisted not, "I've lived here for ages,
And I'll never be removed from here."
Even with karma-consciousness and the horde
of passions
in the heart,
The analogy holds true.
Though there abiding many hundred thousand
Their ultimate nature
When
is
not true nor real.
a traveler, day or night,
Enters upon the truthful path,
The lamp of wisdom burns in
its
full
splendor;
And
the horde of evil passions
Cannot tarry there, even for a
moment.
kalpas,
APPENDIX.
391
IGNORANCE AND ENLIGHTENMENT.
(2)
Bright shines the lamp,
the inky night is gone.
But with the darkness
And
The
quarters vanish not;
Yet
this illuminating lamp,
If
not in the dark, nowhere doth shine
For
light
:
and dark depend upon each other;
No
selfhood having, 16 they're empty.
'Tis even so with enlightenment.
In
comes enlightenment,
out goes ignorance of its own accord
But both are like unto the flowers in the air,
And
For neither by itself exists
is one alone, either
;
Impossible
to
keep or to forego.
THE BODHISATTVA AND ALL BEINGS
17
Great Mother Earth
All creatures
Provides and nourishes,
But from none of them
She seeks a favor special, nor
So is the Bodhisattva.
is
she to any partial:
Since his awakening of the Heart,
Until he gains the depths of the Law
And
He
realises the highest
toils to
save
all
knowledge,
creatures,
Himself no favor seeking, nor to others granting any;
Regardless of friend and enemy,
Embracing all with single heart,
He
fashions one and
all
*
for Bodhi.
*
*
APPENDIX
392
The element Water
All
permeating
Makes herbs and
trees
In luxury grow,
Yet any favor special it nor shows nor seeks;
So is the Bodhisattva;
With
a pure heart of love
All sentient beings equally embraces he;
All permeating gradually, universally,
The seeds immaculate he
nourishes,
Which, breaking down all evils powerful,
Obtain the fruit of Buddha-knowledge.
*
The element Fire
Matures and ripens
The tender shoots
Yet the element
*
*
all
of the cereals;
fire
From
those young plants
No favor seeks, nor any shows to them;
So is the Bodhisattva
:
With knowledge-fire
Matures he
all
The tender
shoots of creatures
;
Yet he from them
No
favor special seeks, nor shows he any.
*
*
*
The element
By reason
Pervades
of
Air,
its
virtue,
over Buddha-lands;
With the Bodhisattva
'Tis
Who
even
all
so,
with consummate
skill
'To Buddha's children
Preaches the Doctrine Holy.
APPENDIX.
393
THE BODHISATTVA.
*
His FIRMNESS.
As Mara, the evil one,
Commanding his four armies,
Even by the devas in the Kamaloka,
Cannot be overwhelmed;
So is the Bodhisattva,
Whose heart, pure and clean,
By all the hosts of Evil,
Cannot be tempted, nor confused.
His PROGRESS.
As the new moon,
In size increasing gradually,
Becomes perfect and full in the end;
Even so the Bodhisattva,
With a heart defilement-free,
All the
good dharmas seeking and performing,
In virtue gradually progresses,
And
finally obtains
the
Law
of Purity, perfect and
His ENLIGHTENMENT.
The
rising sun,
All illumining,
All forms and images in the world
In glory are revealed;
So
is
The
And
the Bodhisattva
light of
:
knowledge emitting,
sentient beings illumining,
all to wisdom.
Bringeth he
full.
APPENDIX.
394
His FEARLESSNESS.
Lion, the king of beasts,
Majestic, overpowering,
And in the forest wandering,
Knows he no
So
is
fear,
no terror;
the Bodhisattva
:
Calmly abiding in Learning,
Intelligence, and Morality,
Throughout the universe,
Wherever he wanders about,
Knows he no fear, no doubt.
f
His ENERGY.
The
giant elephant,
With energy wondrous,
A burden heavy carrying,
Shows not the least fatigue;
So is the Bodhisattva:
Bearing, for the sake of the masses,
The misery of the flesh,
He shows
not the least apathy.
His PURITY.
The
lotus-flower,
Though growing
By dirt, or mire,
Is
So
in the
or
marshy
filth
not defiled;
is the Bodhisattva:
Though
No form
living in this world,
of passion
Ever touches him.
land,
APPENDIX.
395
His SELF-SACRIFICE.
There
Who
lived
craftily
once a man
and skillfully
Felled the trunks of trees,
But left the roots untouched,
That
after
due time
They might once more be growing;
'Tis
even so with the Bodhisattva
With the upaya
that
is
:
excellent,
Desires and passions down he fells,
But leaves their seed unscathed
By reason of
And thereby
his all-embracing love,
ever and anon comes he on earth.
THE BODHISATTVA'S HOMELESS
The homeless Bodhisat regards
the
home
life
LIFE.
I8
19
world
[or the
at large]
As a hurricane that abates not awhile,
Or as the moon's illusive image in water
Which the imagination takes deliberately
cast,
for the real.
The water in itself contains no lunar image [real]
The real moon, dependent on water clear, a shadow
;
casts
;
So are all beings unreal only conditionally they exist
Yet 'tis imagined by the vulgar that an Atman they have.
;
;
The Atman
But for a
the product of conditions, and real
reality the imagination it takes.
is
Have the two prejudices ao removed,
And we perceive Intelligence most high and
it is
not
peerless.
;
APPENDIX.
396
Our confused imagination is like unto a black storm,
Blowing over the woods of birth and death, stirs up the
leaves of consciousness
By
the four winds of fallacy
And
:
'tis
haunted
all
the time,
damnation-causes it produces,
Entwining are indeed the roots of evil, which are three,
Through birth and death doth transmigration ever
five
onward move.
Who
and in them devoutly believe,
view
acquire,
right
they
removing all the thoughts
which are fallacious,
And every instant growing are Seeds of Intelligence,
And the Samadhi of knowledge great and of spirituality
is awakened.
to the Sutras listen
The
When
well disciplined in speculation
In the
dark no more
we
deep and
grope, nor do
we
subtle,
reap the crop
of pain;
Perceiving Suchness in the ultimate nature of things,
Subject and object both gone, and vanished are all sins.
Female and male, they're
essentially
The
ignorant
attributes,
and they are void
:
and
imagine
create
the two which only
relatively exist.
The Buddha has destroyed permanently
And
ignorance,
in the ultimate
the
cause of
reality nothing particular sees he,
male or female.
The
excellent fruit of wisdom,
the
The
same
if
ever attained, remains
for aye;
nathless imagine wrongly and see therein a
concrete
and definite.
thing
The Buddha's features thirty-two are after all no-features
Who sees no-features in the features, the feature true he
vulgar
;
understands.
APPENDIX.
To wander
homeless, and immaculate deeds to practise,
Over the heart
This
to watch, in solitude quietly to sit:
the rightful
is
Erelong
397
will
the Bodhisattva cleanses his heart
way
he attain the
fruit
;
of enlightenment.
THE BUDDHIST.
21
Encourage not, for your self-interests,
Heterodoxy and false doctrines;
A merciful heart for all have ye
Remove stupidity and untruth from your minds;
Be ye Tathagata's most faithful servants;
And teach the masses who are ignorant,
To them the Bodhi impart, on yourselves it practising;
And thereby make the Buddha's name resound on earth
Deliver the multitudes from sin and initiate them
To the perfect enlightenment of the Buddha:
;
Ye by these virtues firmly stand,
And your Intelligence-heart doth never
;
fail.
HYMN TO THE BODHISATTVA. 22
With lovingkindness, a Great Being who saves and protects,
Regards all beings impartially as his only child;
Energetically, cheerfully, and without stint,
His
life
he
sacrifices,
uprooting pain, and bringing
bliss
unspeakable.
Surely he will attain the height of truth and beauty,
Forever be freed from the entanglement of birth and death.
And
erelong will he the
Eternally peaceful, and
fruit of
in
enlightenment obtain,
the Uncreate joy finding.
APPENDIX.
398
A VOW OF THE BODHISATTVA. 23
For the sake of all sentient beings on earth,
I aspire for the abode of enlightenment which is most high
In all-embracing love awakened, and with a heart steadily
;
firm,
Even my
life
I
it
is.
sorrows are found, no burning desires
In enlightenment no
'Tis enjoyed by all
men who
;
are wise.
creatures from the turbulent waters of the
sentient
All
dear as
will sacrifice,
triple world,
I'll
release,
and to eternal pease them
I'll
lead.
THE TRUE HOMELESS ONE. 24
Though not wearing
Whose
the yellow robe,
from defilement,
In the doctrine of Buddhas,
He is the true homeless one.
heart
is
free
Though not devoid
Who
And
He
has cut off
in
is
whose heart
showy ornaments,
entanglements,
exists neither knottiness nor looseness,
the true homeless one.
Though not
initiated
Whose heart is
And open only
He
of
all
by the Rules,
clean of
all
evil thoughts,
to tranquillity, intelligence,
Though not
instructed in the
Law,
Whose insight goes deep into the
And is no more deluded by sham
He
and virtuous
deeds,
is the true homeless one.
is
the true homeless one.
ultimate,
appearances,
APPENDIX.
399
The mind that takes no thought of the ego,
That goes beyond the illusory phenomena,
Yet sinks not into stupidity
Truly awakened to Intelligence it is.
Whose
mind, awakened to Intelligence,
Sees no substantiality in the ego,
And, not seeing, yet remains firm,
This man cannot be injured.
THE BODHISATTVA'S SPIRITUAL
LIFE.
Like unto the vast ocean that receives
All the waters,
and yet overflows not;
Even so is the Bodhisattva,
Who knoweth no fatigue
in
seeking the merits of the
Dharma.
Again, like unto the vast ocean that absorbs
All the streams, and yet shows no increase;
Even so is the Bodhisattva,
receiving the deepest Dharma, nothing gaineth.
Who,
'
Again, like unto the vast ocean that refuses to take filth,
And wherein when absorbed doth foulness change to purity;
Even
so
Whom
is
all
the Bodhisattva,
filth of passion cannot tarnish.
the
Again, like unto the vast ocean whose bottom
omable
Even so
Whose
is
is
;
the Bodhisattva,
virtues and
wisdom are so immeasurable
That none ever knows
their limits.
unfath-
APPENDIX
4OO
.
Again, like unto the vast ocean in which there's no diversity,
and streams pouring thereinto become of
All the waters
one taste alone;
Even
so
Who
listeneth to
is
the Bodhisattva,
one note of Dharma.
Again, like unto the vast ocean that existeth not
interests of one individual
For the
Even so
Whose
;
the Bodhisattva,
aspirations are for the benefit of
is
Again, like unto the vast ocean that
all.
embosoms
the jewel
called "all-jewel."
Of which all jewels are produced
Even so is the jewel-treasure of the Bodhisattva,
For it is through this that all the other jewels shine.
;
Again, like unto the vast ocean that produces the three
kinds of jewel,
And yet
Even so
Who,
discriminates not between
them
;
the teaching of the Bodhisattva,
equally delivering the three yanas, maketh not any
is
distinction.
Again, like unto the vast ocean that by degrees becomes
deeper
Even
Who,
;
the Bodhisattva,
practising virtues for the sake of
so
is
Forever aspireth
after the
all,
deepest omniscience.
Again, like unto the vast ocean that harbors not a corpse
Even so is the Bodhisattva,
Who. with the heart of purity and the vow
;
of Bodhi,
Harboreth not a passion, nor the thought of the Qravaka.
APPENDIX.
4OI
THE BODHISATTVA'S
all
Perceiving
FAITH,
(i)
27
in one,
And one in all,
The Bodhisattva
work
diligent in his
never given up to indolence.
Is
Pain he shunneth not, to pleasure he clingeth not,
is ever bent on the deliverance of all
beings;
As he
To him
And of
He
is
all
Buddhas
themselves reveal,
is never weary.
will
their presence
he
in the
Where
is
deepest depths O f the Dharma,
found the inexhaustible ocean of merit.
All sentient beings in the fivefold path of existence,
loveth as his own child;
He
Removing
things unclean and
filthy,
Supplying them with dharmas pure and immaculate.
THE BODHISATTVA'S
FAITH.
28
(2)
While to the doctrine most high listening,
of Pure Intelligence within me glows,
That shining over all the universe
The Light
All the enlightened ones to
Who
me
reveals.
think there are individuals
They put themselves in the position most difficult;
Dharmas have no ego-master which is real,
For they are merely names and expressions.
The
vulgar and ignorant know not
That within themselves they have a reality true and
That the Tathagata is not of any particular form;
Therefore the Tathagata they see not.
real,
APPENDIX.
4O2
Dirt and dust obscuring their intelligence-eye,
Enlightenment perfect and true they see not;
And throughout
kalpas immeasurable and innumerable,
and death they go arolling.
In the stream of birth
Wandering and
rolling
No-more-arolling
is
is
Samsara,
Nirvana;
Yet Samsara and Nirvana,
Absolutely, exists neither of them.
To
believer in falsehood and sophistry,
is here and Nirvana there ;
Samsara
Clearly they grasp not the Dharma of ancient sages,
the Path Incomparable.
Nor understand
Those who thus cling to forms individual,
Of Buddha's universal enlightenment, though they hear,
Themselves negate, and away they wander from th(
right course of thought;
Therefore, they cannot see the Buddha.
Who
the
Dharma
of Truth perceive,
Serene they are for aye, and abide
in Suchness
Enlightenment most truthful they understand,
Transcending words and all the modes of speech.
Illusory are
No
No
all
;
forms individual;
such thing as dharma here exists:
enlightened ones
Seek Truth
in things particular.
Whose insight to the past extends,
To the future and over the present,
And who fore'er abides in serenity of
He's said to be a Tathagata.
Suchness,
APPENDIX.
THE BODHISATTVA'S
4O3
FAITH.
29
(3)
I would rather suffer
sufferings innumerable
That I might listen to the voices of Buddhas,
Than enjoy
all sorts of pleasure
not hear Buddhas' names.
And
The reason why
We
And
Is
A
A
since ages out of
mind
suffer sufferings countless
transmigrate through birth and death,
we have not heard Buddhas' names
that
reality that exists in things unreal,
perfect Intellect synthetising truth and falsehood,
that which transcends all the modes of relativity,
And
This
is
called the Bodhi.
Buddhas of the present are not products of composite
conditions,
are those of the past, nor those of the future.
What is formless in all forms,
Nor
That
is
Who
thus perceives
the true essence of Buddhas.
The deepest
significance of all existences,
In innumerable Buddhas, he will see
The
truth and reality of the Dharma-body.
The Dharma-body knows truth as true,
And falsehood as false,
And well understands the realm of reality;
Therefore,
it
is
called perfect intellect.
The enlightened has nothing enlightened,
Which is the true spirituality of all Buddhas:
And in this wise they behave,
Neither to be one nor to be two.
APPENDIX.
4O4
They see the one in the many,
They see the many in the one
The Dharma has nothing to depend upon;
How
could
it
be a product of combination?
The
actor and the action,
Neither, really subsists:
Who
can understand
Seeks not
And
this,
reality in either of
here where reality
is
them.
unseekable,
Buddhas
The
And
find there the resting abode
Dharma has nothing to depend upon
;
the enlightened have nothing to cling to.
NOTES
TO THE APPENDIX
This and the following are translations from some Mahayana texts in the Buddhist Tripitaka, which were rendered
into the Chinese language at various times from Sanskrit
1
mostly through the co-operation of the Hindu missionaries
and Chinese scholars. A detailed analysis of these texts is
most urgently needed, as they contain many informations of
great importance not only concerning the history of Buddhism
in India but also concerning early Hindu culture generally.
A
rather incomplete idea as to their contents and material and
character will be attained by the perusal of Rev.
Nanjo's Catalogue of the Chinese Tripitaka, Oxford, 1883.
general
Mahayana-mulajata-hrdayabhumi-dhyana
955,) fas.
Sutra,
8
The Avatamsaka,
3
The Avatamsaka, (Buddhabhadra's translation),
4
To conceive
ed on earth
is
6
fas. xiv., p.
fas. xiv, p. 72.
the Tathagata as a personal being
who
appear-
and then eternally
dis-
He
reveals himself constantly
will in this world of particulars.
not Mahayanistic.
Sarvadharma-pravrtti-nirdefa Sutra (Nanjo, no. 1012)
<-
Mahayana-mulajata-hrdavabhumi-dhyana Sutra (Nanjo 955),
fas. iii,
p.
75.
The three
7
no.
73.
for a certain limited time
appeared
and of his own
5
(Nanjo,
iii.
rings are: i. the giver, 2. the receiver, and
the thing given, material or immaterial.
8
2.
all
Precepts.
The
three sets are:
to the accumulation of merit,
beings.
3.
one relating to good behavior,
and 3. to lovingkindness toward
i.
NOTES.
406
The mental
9
(subjective), physical (objective),
10
The
11
Sarvadharma-pravrtti-nirde^a Sutra.
intellectual
and the
and
oral.
affective.
This
Literally, "when greed is neither born nor dead."
means, to live in the world as not living in it. This subjective
divine innocence is thought by Buddhists the essence of
the religious life. The consciousness of one's worth, or self12
is
conceit,
As
a
obstacle in the path of perfect virtue.
mechanical work or physical exercise, we
great
in the case of
attain perfect skillfulness only
when
the
work
is
involuntarily
without any conscious effort on the part of the
performer; so in our moral and spiritual life we attain the
height of virtuousness or saintliness when we identify our-
done,
i.e.,
selves with the reason of our being. This is Laotze's doctrine
of non-action or non-resistance, and also the teaching of
Bhagavadgita. As remarked elsewhere, when a man
reaches this stage of religious life, he ceases to be human,
but divine, in the sense that he transcends the world of good
and evil and eternally abides in the realm of the beautiful.
the
19
This
a very radical statement and
is enough to frighten
and "God-fearing" pietists. Therefore, it is
said that "Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither
cast ye your pearls before swine." But think not that this
is expounding antinomianism.
timid
is
moralists
"This and
all
Parivarta (Nonjo,
the following are taken from the Kasyapa805).
15
This gatha may not be very intelligible to our readers.
The sense is: Whatever is done by a Buddha or Bodhisattva
does not come from logical calculation or deliberate premeditation, but immediately from his inmost heart, which, in
most natural and
freest manner, responds to the needs of
This response is altogether free from all human
the suffering.
elaboration,
for the
Buddha shows no
painful
and struggling
so doing. Everything he does is like the work of
nature herself. His life is above the narrow sphere of human
morality which is marked with a desperate struggle between
efforts
in
good and
evil.
His
is in
the realm of the divinely beautiful.
NOTES
4O7
.
16
"Having no selfhood" (svabhavd), means that things have
no independent existence, no self-nature which will eternally
preserve their thingish identity. This theory has been ex-
plained in the chapter dealing with the doctrine of non-atman.
To state summarily, darkness and light are conditioned by
each other; apart from darkness there is no light, and conno meaning. Even so with
one
and
independent of the other,
ignorance:
enlightenment
they have no existence, they cannot be conceived. They are
versely, without light darkness has
projected there by a confused
but
our ideal fabrication. To
nothing
They
only, forgetting that we are living in the world
imaginary flowers
like
subjectivity.
cling to God
the
in
below,
in the air
are
world of
relativity, is just as
much
one-sided
whirlpool of earthly pleasures
without the thought of God. Life, however, is not antithetic,
but synthetic. Truth is never one-sided, it is always in the
middle. Therefore, seek enlightenment in ignorance and truth
as
to
in
error.
lose
ourselves
A
dualistic
in
the
interpretation of the world and
life
is
not approved by Buddhists. Compare the sentiment expressed
herein with Emerson's poem as elsewhere quoted, in which
these lines occur:
in the mud and scum of things,
There always, always, something sings."
"But
11
The Kasyapaharivarta Sutra (Nonjo, 805.)
is: The Bodhisattva never desires a complete
absorption in the Absolute, in which no individual existences
are distinguishable, fie always leaves the "Will to live"
18
The sense
as
unhurt,
it
were, so that he could
come
in this
world of
particulars ever and anon. What he has destroyed is the
egoistic assertion of the Will, for the aim of Buddhism is
not
it
to
in
remove the
its
true
eternal principle of
life,
but to manifest
The wishes of the Bodhisattva,
never egocentric he knows that transmigration
significance.
therefore, are
and rebirth are painful, but as
;
it is by rebirth alone that he
could mingle himself in the world of sin and save the suffering
creatures therein, he never shuns the misery of life. His
work of revelation is constant and eternal.
19
The Mahayana-midajati-hrdayabhumi-dhyana Sutra,
fas. IV.
NOTES
408
20
The two
prejudices or obstacles that
i
that which arises
lie
enlightenment are:
shortsightedness;
31
2.
Sutra on Makdkdsyapa's Question Concerning
Suvarna-Prabha Sutra.
23
Suvarna-Prabha Sutra, Chap. 26
Padmapani
our
way
to
intellectual
that which arises from impurity of heart.
22
24
in
from
Sutra, Fas.
the Absolute.
8.
25
The Avalamsaka Sutru.
28
This means that the heart of the Bodhisattva which
is
pure and eternal in its essential nature has nothing added
externally to it by studying the Dharma; for the Dharma is
nothing else than the expression of his
own
heart.
27 The
Avatamsaka^ fas. IX, p. 48. This pantheistic thought
of the One-All is generally considered to be Buddhistic; but
the truth is that every genuine religious sentiment inevitably
leads us to this
final
conviction.
Even
in the so-called trans-
monotheistic Christianity, we find the pantheistic
thought boldly proclaimed and put in contrast to the idea
of "our Father which art in Heaven." For instance, read the
cendental
following passage from Thomas a Kempis: "He to whom all
things are one, he who reduceth all things to one, and seeth
all things
in one, may enjoy a quiet mind, and remain at
peace in God." (Chap. III.) The passage in the Gospel of
John declaring that "the Father is in me and I in him," when
logically carried out, comes to echo the same sentiment
entertained
the
by Buddhists, who recognise a manifestation of
in all beings, animate as well as inanimate.
Christianity of to-day is that of Paul as expounded in
his letters, but the future one will advance a few steps more
Dharmakaya
The
and
will
be that of John.
78
From
the Avatamsaka Sutra.
29
From
the Avatamsaka Sutra.
INDEX.
Abhimuki
(sixth stage of Bodhisattvahood), 318.
Acala (eighth stage of Bodhisattvahood), 322.
Agoka, King,
49.
Agrava
explained, 249
(evil),
ft.
Agunya, 22, 95.
Agvaghosha,
4, 8,
61
ft.,
65
ft.,
m
;
115; on Alaya, 66ft.
Awakening of Faith, 7; on Suchness, 99;
on Ignorance, 118; and Dionysius, 102 ft. Buddhacarita,
quoted, 147; on Mahayanism, 246 on the Sambhogakaya,
I2Q. 139
ft-
;
;
;
258, 333-
Agnosticism, 25.
Alaya (or Alaya-vijnana), All-conserving Soul, 66 as deposand
creator of the universe, 68
itory of "germs", 66
128
and the
its
the Garbha, 125 et seq
evolution,
;
;
;
;
;
soul,
165
;
and the twelve nidanas,
183.
Amitabha, 207, 219, 269
Ananartha (non-particularisation), 72.
Ananda attempts to
Anapanam, exercise
locate the soul, 157.
in breathing, 53
ft*
Arada, 146.
Arcismati (fourth stage of Bodhisattvahood), 316,
Arhatship and Mahayanism, 288.
Aryadeva,
3
ft.,
8, 60.
Asanga (and Vasubandhu),
234, 263, 354.
4, 62, 65, 69, 87, 88,
153, 231,
INDEX.
41O
Asceticism repudiated, 52, 53.
Atman, and Samkhyan Lingham, 38 and the Vedantic garira,
and unity of consciousness,
39
38 and Vijnana,
and
and
karma, 41
40
impermanency, 43 and egoism,
;
;
;
;
;
;
u
44; and the "old man", 165. (See also ego" and "soul".)
Atonement, vicarious, 291 ft.
Avatamsaka Sutra, The, on Bodhisattva's
369
reflections,
et seq.
Avenikas (unique features), 327
Avidya
(ignorance), 35 et seq.,
Balas, Ihte ten, of the
Beal,
Samuel,
ft.
115.
Buddha, 327.
20 et seq.
refuted,
Scriptures, quoted, 157
ft.;
Catena of Buddhist
Romantic History of Buddha,
quoted, on Buddha's enlightenment, 337.
Bhagavadgzta, quoted, 126 ft.
Bhutatathata (Suchness), 99 et seq
;
and Mahayana,
7
and
;
perfect knowledge, 92.
Bodhi (wisdom), 46
and Prajna
;
perfect knowledge, 92
Nagarjuna, 297
awakened
in
;
as
human
a
its
;
defined,
etc.,
82
ft.
meaning explained, 294
reflex of
Dharmakaya, 299
;
;
;
as
by
how
heart, 302.
Bodhicitta (Intelligence-heart), 52. (See also "Bodhi.")
Bodhi-Dharma, of Dhyana sect, 103, 149, 155.
Bodhipakshikas, the seven, 316 et seq.
in the three
Bodhisattva, above samsara and nirvana, 72
the
in
conception of,
yanas, 277
primitive Buddhism,
;
;
286
;
308
;
we
are,
290
;
and
love, 292
;
his ten pranidhanas,
his reflections, 369.
Bodhisattvahood, ten stages
Bodhisattva-yana,
of,
70, 311
et seq.
9.
Brahdaranyaka Upanishad, quoted, 102
ft.
INDEX.
Buddha, and
his self-relying spirit, 57; culmination of
the
in
karma, 215;
of, historically
Mahayana
and
texts,
spiritual
Dharmakaya, 255
80 minor marks
of greatness, 271
of idealisation,
in the
289
and Mara, 334; on the ego-soul
process
good
243; the idealisation
treated, 249 et seq.; in the Trikaya ; 252;
and the
the human,
major
411
religious career,
;
his 32
;
in the
;
Mahayanism, 291
in the
;
beginning of his
337.
Buddhacarita, quoted, 57.
Buddhadharma, 355.
Buddha- Essence, Discourse
on, 357
ft.
Buddha-intelligence, 364.
Buddhism(s), geographically divided, 3,4; two, 4 et seq.
and atheism, 31 and the soul problem, 31 et seq. and
;
;
and modern psychology, 40; intellectual,
and speculation, 81 et
liberal, 56 et seq.
agnosticism, 35
56 et seq.
seq.
;
;
;
;
;
and science,
97.
Buddhist(s) classified, 8 et seq.
;
life
and
love, 52
53; aspiration, 368; rule of conduct, 368.
;
ideal,
^
(Jakyamuni contrasted to Devadatta, 200.
Carlyle's Hero- Worship, quoted, 325 ft.
Causation,uni versa! aqH pmpHness. 176.^
Christ and Buddha, compared, 57, 58.
j
Christian conception of the ego-soul, 166.
Christianity,
the
12 et seq.; and
Qikshas (moral
Confucius, 63
growth
its
of,
compared with Mahayanism,
founder, 13; not intellectual, 79.
rules), ten,
70
ft.
ft.
Consciousness, subliminal, 201.
Conservation of energy, and karma,
34.
Convictions, the four, of the Buddha, 327.
INDEX.
412
Qravaka, 277.
9.
(Jravaka-yana,
frimdla Sutra, quoted, 127.
Qunyata,
(or
gunya),
95;
22,
and
Christian critics, 105;
explained, 173; and universal causation, 176.
(see "ten stages of
Dagabhumi,
Deussen,
Bodhisattvahood"), 311,329
quoted, 107.
P.,
Devala, 361, 364.
Dharma,
meaning, 21, 221.
its
Dharmadhatu, 115
193.
ft,
Dharmakaya, Mahayana,
seq.
;
7
briefly
;
the highest principle, 35
Paramatman, 46
and wisdom, 46,
God
and
;
54, 55
>
;
ledge, 92
ft.
;
5
20,
et
45
;
and
46 as love
and non-ego, 47; and the Golof
Christians,
den Rule, 48; and Bodhisattvas, 61
nation, 63
explained,
and Brahman, 46
;
its
;
universal incar-
Trikaya, 73,257; as perfect knowa
as a cosmic mind, 123
prajna, 94
in the
and
;
;
unity, 193; and Suchness, 217; as God, 219; as religious
object, 222
;
Avatamsaka Sutra, 223
in the
characterisation, 224;
love, 232
its
its five
loving
modes
;
its
detailed
phenomenal world, 231; as
heart in the Avatamsaka, 233
;
;
by Asanga and Vasubandhu,
of operation, 235
;
its
freedom, 236;
purvanidhanabala, 237; as rational will, 238; as father,
239; and
its
a
seven characteristics, 234
234;
its
as
;
in the
perpetual revelation, 259; the evolution of
conception, 272 all beings are one in, 290 and the
its
;
;
Bodhi, 295.
Dharmapada, The, quoted,
34,
145, 336, 368.
Dharmamegha (tenth stage of Bodhisattvahood), 326.
Dharmapala, the Anagarika, 3 ft.
Discourse on Buddha- Essence, The, by Vasubandhu, 357.
Durangama (seventh stage
of Bodhisattvahood), 319.
INDEX.
413
Ego, not the source of energy, 55
noumenal, 145, 163
;
phenomenal, 145 empirical, 163.
Egoism and the evolution of Manas,
;
;
Ego-soul, and
149;
1
66
;
its
147
134.
and the
;
five
skandhas,
by Ananda, 157; and the Christian
located
and
attributes,
Vedantic
the
conception,
167
et seq.
flesh,
;
and
Nagarjuna, 168 and svabhava, 171; and Christians, 212;
as conceived by Buddha when he started on his religious
;
career, 337. (See also "Ego", "atman"
Ekacitta, (one mind or thought), 70
Elders, the School
of,
and
"soul").
ft.
248 et seq.
Elephant and the blind, 100.
Emerson, quoted, 29
Enlightenment, 55, 119; and manas, 134; two obstacles
344
ft.
Faith,
its
contents vary, 27 et seq.
Fatalism, 196.
Gautama and
Christ, 29. (See also '-Buddha"),
God, the Buddhist, 219. (See also "Dharmakaya").
Goethe's Faust, quoted, 181.
Golden Rule,
the, universal, 54.
Great Council School, the, 248 et seq.
Guyau, French
sociologist, 50
Hartmann's Unbewusste, 137.
Hetus and Pratyayas, 33, 41,
Hinayanism,
I,
ft.,
142,
84.
148.
60, 63, 280.
Hugo, Victor, quoted, 58
Hui-K'e, second patriarch of Zen sect, 148.
to,
INDEX.
41 4
Iccantika (incapable of salvation), 311.
Ignorance, 35 et seq.
and evolution, 115; and conscious122; when evil ? 124; and Tathagata-
;
120; no evil,
Garbha, 126; and Manas, 133; and Prakrit, 138
ness,
Imitation of Christ, 365
38
Immortality,
and Dharmakaya, 54
;
ft.
fn.
karmaic and not
;
individual, 214.
Injustice, social,
and karma, 186
awakened by
Intelligence,
Jataka Tales,
love, 362.
the, quoted,
156.
Jesus, 6.
Jivatman,
145,
Kant, 6; Critique of Pure Reason., quoted, 324.
Karma, and the law of causation, 33
briefly explained,
deand suchness, 181
33 et seq. and non-atman, 42
;
;
;
nned, 181
injustice,
view, 192
;
the working
of,
183;
;
irrefragable,
184; and
186; and the moral laws, 189; an individualistic
and the desire to communicate, 195
ami
;
;
determinism, 196
;
not like a machine, 198
;
and immor-
and Walt Whitman (quoted), 203 how transand Dharmakaya, 207 and productions of
mitted, 205
and invention, 210; and "seeds of activity,"
^rt.2o8
tality,
203
;
;
;
;
:
KarmT-seeds, 134.
Karuna
(love), 46, 82, 238,
296; and Prajna, 360.
Kathopanishad, quoted, 4/.
Knowledge (sambodhi),
3
ft.
;
three kinds
of,
Kugalamula, 199.
Lalita
Vistara, quoted,
on Nirvana, 339
fn.
67, 87.
INDEX.
4l5
Lankavatara Sutra, quoted, 41, 130.
Laotze, 63
Laotzean
ft.
Wn
wei, 285.
Love, and ego, 55
and Nirvana, 362.
;
Madhyamika, The, on Nirvana, 347.
Madhyamika school, 21, 62, 66; and the Yogacarya,
on
truth, 95.
Mahapurusa, Discourse on
I
Mahasangika,
Mahayana,
tvas, 61
I
;
361.
the,
ft.
et seq
;
its
original meaning, 7
and Hinayana, 70
and
;
;
spiritual
and Bodhisatlife,
71
and
;
Samkhya, 136.
Mahayana-Abhisamaya Sutra, quoted,
Mahay ana-Sangr aha fdstra, 354.
45.
Mahayanism, (Mahayana Buddhism), defined, 10
n
it
genuine?
and its Christian
its
60
et seq.
seven features, 62 et seq.
ten essential features, 65 et
et seq.;
no
nihilism,
living
faith,
>
the development
132.
(self-consciousness).
106.
Manovijnana (ego-consciousness), 67, 69,
Masashige, Kusunoki, 213,
ft,
Maya, subjective ignorance,
Merits, the accumulation
of,
;
and metempsychosis, 64
seq.; in its two phases, 76
135 ft.;
Maudsley, H., quoted, 80.
Max Mueller, quoted, 108
is
and Sthiramati, 61 et seq.
;
Maitreya, 272.
Manjugri,
;
14 et seq.;
;
and individualism, 282.
Manas
et seq.
15; misunderstood, 16 et seq.;
critics,
historically treated,
a
as
et seq.;
in
47.
199.
ft,,
221.
of,
247;
4
1
INDEX.
6
Middle path, Doctrine of the,
358
59,
;
of Eight No's, 103.
Milinda-Panha^ quoted, 203.
Mitra, Rajendra, referred to, 329
ft.
Monier Monier- Williams, refuted, 18
Nagarjuna,
ft,
3
4,
8,
21, 60,
66,
et seq.
95, 96,
168,
100, 103,
171, 173, 292, 297, 353-
Nagasena and King Milinda,
'<Na
iti,"
153.
102.
Nanatva, (difference), 72 ft.
Nidanas, the twelve, 36 et seq., 179, 182.
Nirmanakaya, (Body of Transformation), 73, 257, 268.
Nirvana, 19 and its non-Buddhist critics, 49
briefly ex;
;
plained, 49 et seq.
and
and the surrender of ego, 50
and love, 51, 58; and pessimism, 52;
;
;
Dharmakaya, 51;
and ethics, 53; and Parinishpanna (knowledge), 94; what
33 ! et seq.
is>
;
not
and Dharmakaya, 342
342 et seq.
;
Mahayanistic, 341
the Mahayanistic
;
absolute, 343
four forms
;
of,
conception
343
;
;
of,
upadhic.esa,
and
Anupadhic.esa, 344 that has no abode, 345
Cor. 7, 3031, 346; as synonym of Dharmakaya, 846
344
i
;
332
nihilistic,
;
;
,
by Chandra
ous phase,
Kirti,
347
;
its
four attributes, 348
;
its religi-
and Emerson,
352; and samsara are
and St. Paul, 352
and the Eight No s of
one, 352
as the Middle
the realisation of, 360
Nagarjuna, 358
349;
;
;
;
;
Path, 362
Non-atman,
;
;
comprehensively treated, 367 et seq.
37 et seq.;
impermanence of
in
things,
things,
41 et seq,
170;
and
141, (see also "non-ego", "self,
"soul", "ego").
Non-duality, the
Dharma
of,
106.
Non-ego and Dharmakaya, 47
156.
;
and the Ganges water,
INDEX.
No's,
The
417
Eight, of Nagarjuna, 358.
"Old man" and Atman, 165.
Paramartha-satya (absolute truth), 91 et seq.
Paramatman,
Paramita,
3
145.
ft.
;
six,
68
;
ten, 321.
Paratantra (relative knowledge), 67
Parikalpita (illusion), 67
;
;
explained, 89,
explained, 88.
Parinishpanna (perfect knowledge,), 67
Parivarta, (turning over), 19, 194
;
;
explained, 91.
doctrine
of,
283.
Paul, Apostle, quoted, 48, 166, 260, 262.
Pingalaka, Nagarjuna's commentator, quoted, 172.
Prabhakari (third stage of Bodhisattvahood), 315.
Prajna (and Bodhi), defined, 62 ft.; 82, 97, 119, 238, 360.
Prakrti
(Samkyan primordial
Pramudita
(first
matter), 67
ft.
stage of Bodhisattvahood), 313.
Pranidhana, a Bodhisattva's, 307.
Pratisamvids, the four, 325.
Pratyayasamutpada, (Nidanas), 36 et seq.
Pratyekabuddha, 278.
Pratyekabuddha-yana,
9.
Precepts, the ten moral, 70
Pudgala (ego), 42, 143
ft.
ft.
Punyaskandha, 199.
Pure Lands, 269.
Purusha (Samkyan
soul),
67
ft.
Purvanidhanabala, 237.
significance, 22 et seq.; not revealed, 23; and
its
intellectual and emotional sides, 25 et
24
mystery,
and
intellect and feeling in, 77
and
science, 26
seq.
Religion,
its
;
;
;
;
INDEX.
41 8
78
philosophy,
subjective,
;
81 et seq.
not
;
a philoso-
phical system, 85.
Rockhill's Life
of
Buddha, quoted, on Nirvana, 338
the
Saddharma Pundarika, quoted, 260
ft.,
fn.
274, 277.
Sadhumatt, (ninth stage of Bodhisattvahood), 325.
Samata (sameness), 72
Sambodhi,
ft.
(see "Bodhi'').
of Bliss),
Sambhogakaya (Body
258
ghosha,
;
its
65
six features,
ft.,
264
;
73,
257
in
;
Agva-
mere subjective
a
existence, 266.
Samkhya philosophy, and Yogacarya
to,
146
ft.
;
school, 67
ft
referred
;
on Nirvana, 340.
Samvrtti-satya (conditional truth), 95 et seq.
Samyukta Nikaya, quoted,
156, 185.
Sanskaras, enumerated, 151 et seq.
Schopenhauer, 181.
Skandhas, the
32
five,
149.
ft.,
Soul-substance, denied, 164.
Sthavira,
I
ft.
Sthiramati, on Mahayanism, 61
et seq.;
Suchness, (see also Bhutatathata), 3
Buddhism,
et
99
109; in history,
seq.
no;
;
indefinable,
in the
114; and ignorance, 117;
;
on Bodhicitta, 299.
the
world, 113
in its
Dharmakaya, 127; and karma,
first
101
;
;
principle of
conditioned,
and the Bodhi,
various modes, 125; and
181.
stage of Bodhisattvahood), 318.
Sudurjaya, (fifth
Sukhavati sect, the,
4,
Sumedha, the story
of,
240.
i
280.
Surangama Sutra, quoted, 157.
Suvarna Prabha Sutra, 253 ft.
Svabhava, and non-ego, 170 et seq.; and emptiness, 175.
INDEX.
"Tat tvam
ft.
136
asi," 47,
419
Tathagata-Garbha, 125, 145.
Teleology, 86.
82.
Tennyson, quoted,
Tirthakas,
8.
Tolstoi, quoted, in connection with karma, 207
Trikaya,
Truth
(trinity),
73, 242, 256, 275.
and transcendental,
(satya), conditional
Udana, quoted,
ft.
339
52,
ft,
95.
341.
Universe, a mind, 122.
Upaya (expediency),
298
261
64,
ft.;
its
meaning explained,
ft
Upayajna, 320.
^
Vaigaradyas (convictions), the four, 327
ft.
Vairocana, 219.
Vasubandhu, 87, 153; his Abhidharmakofa referred to,
On the Completion of Karma,
on Mahayana, 66
37
The
quoted, 194
Distinguishing of the Mean, quoted,
on Nirvana, 357, 359, 360.
on
195
llodhicitta, 303
,
;
;
;
;
;
Vasumitra, on Various Schools of Buddhism, I
Vedanta philosophy, and the Mahayanism, 108
vana, 340-; on Atman, 144.
Vicesacinta-brahma-Pariprccha Sutra, 353.
Victory, the
hymn
of,
336.
Vijnana, and atman, 39.
Vijnanamatra, (nothing but ideas), 70.
Vijnanamatra fastra, 265 ft., 343.
Vimala (second stage of Bodhisattvahood), 315.
Vimalakirti, 106, 350, 366.
Visuddhi Magga, quoted, 339, 348
ft.
ft.
ft.;
on Nir-
INDEX.
42O
Waddell, refuted, 21 et seq.
Whitman, Walt, quoted, 155
ft.,
197.
Wilson, Dr. G. R., quoted, 201.
Yoga
philosophy, The, on Nirvana, 340.
Yogacarya school,
Yogavasistka
}
62, 65, 87, 92, 95.
a vedantic book, quoted, 167.
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