Hinduism & Buddhism
Hinduism & Buddhism
Buddhism: An
Historical Sketch -
Volume III
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH
BY
In three volumes
VOLUME III
BOOK VI
BOOK VII
BOOK VI
CHAPTER XXXIV
INTRODUCTORY
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But in all Asia north and east of India, excluding most of Siberia but
including the Malay Archipelago, Indian influence is obvious.
Though primarily connected with religion it includes much more,
such as architecture, painting and other arts, an Indian alphabet, a
vocabulary of Indian words borrowed or translated, legends and
customs. The whole life of such diverse countries as Tibet, Burma,
and Java would have been different had they had no connection with
India.
In these and many other regions the Hindus must have found a low
state of civilization, but in the Far East they encountered a culture
comparable with their own. There was no question of colonizing or
civilizing rude races. India and China met as equals, not hostile but
also not congenial, a priest and a statesman, and the statesman made
large concessions to the priest. Buddhism produced a great
fermentation and controversy in Chinese thought, but though its
fortunes varied it hardly ever became as in Burma and Ceylon the
national religion. It was, as a Chinese Emperor once said, one of the
two wings of a bird. The Chinese characters did not give way to an
Indian alphabet nor did the Confucian Classics fall into desuetude.
The subjects of Chinese and Japanese pictures may be Buddhist, the
plan and ornaments of their temples Indian, yet judged as works of
art the pictures and temples are indigenous. But for all that one has
only to compare the China of the Hans with the China of the T’angs
to see how great was the change wrought by India.
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Sinhalese and Burmese traditions also credit him with the despatch
of missionaries who converted Suvarṇabhûmi or Pegu. No mention
of this has been found in his own inscriptions, and European critics
have treated it with not unnatural scepticism for there is little
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Java seems to have left some trace in Indian tradition, for instance
the proverb that those who go to Java do not come back, and it may
have been an early distributing centre for men and merchandize in
those seas. But Ligor probably marks a still earlier halting place. It is
on the same coast as the Mon kingdom of Thaton, which had
connection with Conjevaram by sea and was a centre of Pali
Buddhism. At any rate there was a movement of conquest and
colonization in these regions which brought with it Hinduism and
Mahayanism, and established Hindu kingdoms in Java, Camboja,
Champa and Borneo, and another movement of Hinayanist
propaganda, apparently earlier, but of which we know less.[6]
Though these expeditions both secular and religious probably took
ship on the east coast of India, e.g. at Masulipatam or the Seven
Pagodas, yet their original starting point may have been in the west,
such as the district of Badami or even Gujarat, for there were trade
routes across the Indian Peninsula at an early date.[7]
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We thus see how Indian influence conquered Further India and the
Malay Archipelago and we must now trace its flow across Central
Asia to China and Japan, as well as the separate and later stream
which irrigated Tibet and Mongolia.
I shall discuss below the grounds for believing that Buddhism was
known in China before A.D. 62, the date when the Emperor Ming Ti
is said to have despatched a mission to enquire about it. For some
time many of its chief luminaries were immigrants from Central Asia
and it made its most rapid progress in that disturbed period of the
third and fourth centuries when North China was split up into
contending Tartar states which both in race and politics were closely
connected with Central Asia. Communication with India by land
became frequent and there was also communication viâ the Malay
Archipelago, especially after the fifth century, when a double stream
of Buddhist teachers began to pour into China by sea as well as by
land. A third tributary joined them later when Khubilai, the Mongol
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should not begin with Java and adopt the hypothesis that the
settlements established there sent expeditions to the mainland and
Borneo.[9] But the history of Java is curiously fragmentary whereas
the copious inscriptions of Camboja and Champa combined with
Chinese notices give a fairly continuous chronicle. And a glance at
the map will show that if there were Hindu colonists at Ligor it
would have been much easier for them to go across the Gulf of Siam
to Camboja than viâ Java. I have therefore not adopted the
hypothesis of expansion from Java (while also not rejecting it) nor
followed any chronological method but have treated of Camboja
first, as being the Hindu state of which on the whole we know most
and then of Champa and Java in comparison with it.
FOOTNOTES:
[4] But not contemporary Annals. The Liang Annals make the
statement about the reign of Hsüan Li 73-49 B.C.
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CHAPTER XXXV
CEYLON
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In any case the records declare that the Indian Emperor showed the
greatest solicitude for the spiritual welfare of Ceylon and, though
they are obviously embellished, there is no reason to doubt their
substantial accuracy.[18] The Sinhalese tradition agrees on the whole
with the data supplied by Indian inscriptions and Chinese pilgrims.
The names of missionaries mentioned in the Dîpa and Mahâvamsas
recur on urns found at Sanchi and on its gateways are pictures in
relief which appear to represent the transfer of a branch of the Bo-
tree in solemn procession to some destination which, though
unnamed, may be conjectured to be Ceylon.[19] The absence of
Mahinda’s name in Asoka’s inscriptions is certainly suspicious, but
the Sinhalese chronicles give the names of other missionaries
correctly and a mere argumentum ex silentio cannot disprove their
testimony on this important point.
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with Pali verse and several of the greater monasteries had their own
editions of them, including a definite historical section.[21] It is
probable that at the beginning of the fifth century A.D. and perhaps
in the fourth century the old Sinhalese in which the prose parts of the
Atthakathâ were written was growing unintelligible, and that it was
becoming more and more the fashion to use Pali as the language of
ecclesiastical literature, for at least three writers set themselves to
turn part of the traditions not into the vernacular but into Pali. The
earliest and least artistic is the unknown author of the short chronicle
called Dîpavamsa, who wrote between 302 A.D. and 430 A.D.[22]
His work is weak both as a specimen of Pali and as a narrative and
he probably did little but patch together the Pali verses occurring
from time to time in the Sinhalese prose of the Atthakathâ.
Somewhat later, towards the end of the fifth century, a certain
Mahânâma arranged the materials out of which the Dîpavamsa had
been formed in a more consecutive and artistic form, combining
ecclesiastical and popular legends.[23] His work, known as the
Mahâvamsa, does not end with the reign of Eḷâra, like the
Dîpavamsa, but describes in 15 more chapters the exploits of
Duṭṭhagâmaṇi and his successors ending with Mahâsena.[24] The
third writer, Buddhaghosa, apparently lived between the authors of
the two chronicles. His voluminous literary activity will demand our
attention later but so far as history is concerned his narrative is
closely parallel to the Mahâvamsa.[25]
The legend tells how Mahinda and his following alighted on the
Missaka mountain[27] whither King Devânampiya Tissa had gone in
the course of a hunt. The monks and the royal cortege met: Mahinda,
after testing the king’s intellectual capacity by some curious
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In the second and third centuries the Court seems to have favoured
the Mahâvihâra and King Goṭhâbhaya banished monks belonging to
the Vetulya sect,[48] but in spite of this a monk of the Abhayagiri
named Sanghamitta obtained his confidence and that of his son,
Mahâsena, who occupied the throne from 275 to 302 A.D. The
Mahâvihâra was destroyed and its occupants persecuted at
Sanghamitta’s instigation but he was murdered and after his death
the great Monastery was rebuilt. The triumph however was not
complete for Mahâsena built a new monastery called Jetavana on
ground belonging to the Mahâvihâra and asked the monks to
abandon this portion of their territory. They refused and according
to the Mahâvamsa ultimately succeeded in proving their rights
before a court of law. But the Jetavana remained as the headquarters
of a sect known as Sagaliyas. They appear to have been moderately
orthodox, but to have had their own text of the Vinaya for according
to the Commentary[49] on the Mahâvamsa they “separated the two
Vibhangas of the Bhagavâ[50] from the Vinaya ... altering their
meaning and misquoting their contents.” In the opinion of the
Mahâvihâra both the Abhayagiri and Jetavana were schismatical, but
the laity appear to have given their respect and offerings to all three
impartially and the Mahâvamsa several times records how the same
individual honoured the three Confraternities.
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With the death of Mahâsena ends the first and oldest part of the
Mahâvamsa, and also in native opinion the grand period of
Sinhalese history, the subsequent kings being known as the
Cûlavaṃsa or minor dynasty. A continuation[51] of the chronicle
takes up the story and tells of the doings of Mahâsena’s son
Sirimeghavaṇṇa.[52] Judged by the standard of the Mahâvihâra, he
was fairly satisfactory. He rebuilt the Lohapasâda and caused a
golden image of Mahinda to be made and carried in procession. This
veneration of the founder of a local church reminds one of the
respect shown to the images of half-deified abbots in Tibet, China
and Japan. But the king did not neglect the Abhayagiri or assign it a
lower position than the Mahâvihâra for he gave it partial custody of
the celebrated relic known as the Buddha’s tooth which was brought
to Ceylon from Kalinga in the ninth year of his reign and has ever
since been considered the palladium of the island.
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Kanishka would see to it that all the principal relics in northern India
found their way to his capital. The bones discovered at Peshawar are
doubtless those considered most authentic in his reign.
Next to the tooth, the most interesting relic of the Buddha was his
patra or alms-bowl, which plays a part somewhat similar to that of
the Holy Grail in Christian romance. The Mahâvaṃsa states that
Asoka sent it to Ceylon, but the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien[61] saw it
at Peshawar about 405 A.D. It was shown to the people daily at the
midday and evening services. The pilgrim thought it contained
about two pecks yet such were its miraculous properties that the
poor could fill it with a gift of a few flowers, whereas the rich cast in
myriads of bushels and found there was still room for more. A few
years later Fa-Hsien heard a sermon in Ceylon[62] in which the
preacher predicted that the bowl would be taken in the course of
centuries to Central Asia, China, Ceylon and Central India whence it
would ultimately ascend to the Tusita heaven for the use of the
future Buddha. Later accounts to some extent record the fulfilment
of these predictions inasmuch as they relate how the bowl (or bowls)
passed from land to land but the story of its wandering may have
little foundation since it is combined with the idea that it is wafted
from shrine to shrine according as the faith is nourishing or
decadent. Hsüan Chuang says that it “had gone on from Peshawar to
several countries and was now in Persia.[63]“ A Mohammedan
legend relates that it is at Kandahar and will contain any quantity of
liquid without overflowing. Marco Polo says Kublai Khan sent an
embassy in 1284 to bring it from Ceylon to China.[64]
The tooth did not, according to Sinhalese tradition, form part of the
relics distributed after the cremation of the Buddha. Seven bones,
including four teeth,[67] were excepted from that distribution and
the Sage Khema taking the left canine tooth direct from the funeral
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But the singular result of this bigotry was not to destroy one sacred
tooth but to create two. The king of Pegu, who wished to marry a
Sinhalese princess, sent an embassy to Ceylon to arrange the match.
They were received by the king of Cotta, who bore the curiously
combined name of Don Juan Dharmapâla. He had no daughter of his
own but palmed off the daughter of a chamberlain. At the same time
he informed the king of Pegu that the tooth destroyed at Goa was
not the real relic and that this still remained in his possession. Bayin
Naung was induced to marry the lady and received the tooth with
appropriate ceremonies. But when the king of Kandy heard of these
doings, he apprized the king of Pegu of the double trick that had
been played on him. He offered him his own daughter, a veritable
princess, in marriage and as her dowry the true tooth which, he said,
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was neither that destroyed at Goa nor yet that sent to Pegu, but one
in his own possession. Bayin Naung received the Kandyan embassy
politely but rejected its proposals, thinking no doubt that it would be
awkward to declare the first tooth spurious after it had been
solemnly installed as a sacred relic. The second tooth therefore
remained in Kandy and appears to be that now venerated there.
When Vimala Dharma re-established the original line of kings, about
1592, it was accepted as authentic.
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The kings who ruled in the fifth century were devout Buddhists and
builders of vihâras but the most important event of this period, not
merely for the island but for the whole Buddhist church in the south,
was the literary activity of Buddhaghosa who is said to have resided
in Ceylon during the reign of Mahânâma. The chief authorities for
his life are a passage in the continuation of the Mahâvamsa[74] and
the Buddhaghosuppatti, a late Burmese text of about 1550, which,
while adding many anecdotes, appears not to come from an
independent source.[75] The gist of their account is that he was born
in a Brahman family near Gaya and early obtained renown as a
disputant. He was converted to Buddhism by a monk named Revata
and began to write theological treatises.[76] Revata observing his
intention to compose a commentary on the Piṭakas, told him that
only the text (pâlimattam) of the scriptures was to be found in India,
not the ancient commentaries, but that the Sinhalese commentaries
were genuine, having been composed in that language by Mahinda.
He therefore bade Buddhaghosa repair to Ceylon and translate these
Sinhalese works into the idiom of Magadha, by which Pali must be
meant. Buddhaghosa took this advice and there is no reason to
distrust the statement of the Mahâvamsa that he arrived in the reign
of Mahânâma, who ruled according to Geiger from 458 to 480,
though the usual reckoning places him about fifty years earlier. The
fact that Fa-Hsien, who visited Ceylon about 412, does not mention
Buddhaghosa is in favour of Geiger’s chronology.[77]
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Even in its main outline the story is not very coherent for one would
imagine that, if a Buddhist from Magadha went to Ceylon to
translate the Sinhalese commentaries, his object must have been to
introduce them among Indian Buddhists. But there is no evidence
that Buddhaghosa did this and he is for us simply a great figure in
the literary and religious history of Ceylon. Burmese tradition
maintains that he was a native of Thaton and returned thither, when
his labours in Ceylon were completed, to spread the scriptures in his
native language. This version of his activity is intelligible, though the
evidence for it is weak.
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When we find it said that his works were esteemed as highly as the
Piṭakas, or that the documents which he translated into Pali were the
words of the Buddha[81], the suspicion naturally arises that the Pali
Canon may be in part his composition and it may be well to review
briefly its history in Ceylon. Our knowledge appears to be derived
entirely from the traditions of the Mahâvihâra which represent
Mahinda as teaching the text of the Piṭakas orally, accompanied by a
commentary. If we admit the general truth of the narrative
concerning Mahinda’s mission, there is nothing improbable in these
statements, for it would be natural that an Indian teacher should
know by heart his sacred texts and the commentaries on them. We
cannot of course assume that the Piṭakas of Mahinda were the Pali
Canon as we know it, but the inscriptions of Asoka refer to passages
which can be found in that canon and therefore parts of it at any rate
must have been accepted as scripture in the third century B.C. But it
is probable that considerable variation was permitted in the text,
although the sense and a certain terminology were carefully
guarded. It was not till the reign of Vaṭṭagâmaṇi, probably about 20
B.C., that the canon was committed to writing and the Parivâra,
composed in Ceylon[82], was included in it.
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To sum up, the available evidence points to the conclusion that in the
time of Asoka texts and commentaries preserved orally were
brought to Ceylon. The former, though in a somewhat fluid
condition, were sufficiently sacred to be kept unchanged in the
original Indian language, the latter were translated into the kindred
but still distinct vernacular of the island. In the next century and a
half some additions to the Pali texts were made and about 20 B.C. the
Mahâvihâra, which proved as superior to the other communities in
vitality as it was in antiquity, caused written copies to be made of
what it considered as the canon, including some recent works. There
is no evidence that Buddhaghosa or anyone else enlarged or
curtailed the canon, but the curious tradition that he collected and
burned all the books written by Mahinda in Sinhalese[85] may allude
to the existence of other works which he (presumably in agreement
with the Mahâvihâra) considered spurious.
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discord, in which the weaker faction generally sought the aid of the
Tamils. These latter became more and more powerful and with their
advance Buddhism tended to give place to Hinduism. In the eighth
century the court removed from Anuradhapura to Pollannaruwa, in
order to escape from the pressure of the Tamils, but the picture of
anarchy and decadence grows more and more gloomy until the
accession of Vijaya Bâhu in 1071 who succeeded in making himself
king of all Ceylon. Though he recovered Anuradhapura it was not
made the royal residence either by himself or by his greater
successor, Parâkrama Bâhu.[90] This monarch, the most eminent in
the long list of Ceylon’s sovereigns, after he had consolidated his
power, devoted himself, in the words of Tennent, “to the two grand
objects of royal solicitude, religion and agriculture.” He was lavish in
building monasteries, temples and libraries, but not less generous in
constructing or repairing tanks and works of irrigation. In the reign
of Vijaya Bâhu hardly any duly ordained monks were to be
found,[91] the succession having been interrupted, and the
deficiency was supplied by bringing qualified Theras from Burma.
But by the time of Parâkrama Bâhu the old quarrels of the
monasteries revived, and, as he was anxious to secure unity, he
summoned a synod at Anuradhapura. It appears to have attained its
object by recognizing the Mahâvihâra as the standard of orthodoxy
and dealing summarily with dissentients.[92] The secular side of
monastic life also received liberal attention. Lands, revenues and
guest-houses were provided for the monasteries as well as hospitals.
As in Burma and Siam Brahmans were respected and the king
erected a building for their use in the capital. Like Asoka, he forbade
the killing of animals.
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The Dutch first appeared in 1602 and were welcomed by the Court of
Kandy as allies capable of expelling the Portuguese. This they
succeeded in doing by a series of victories between 1638 and 1658,
and remained masters of a great part of the island until their
possessions were taken by the British in 1795. Kandy however
continued independent until 1815. At first the Dutch tried to enforce
Christianity and to prohibit Buddhism within their territory[96] but
ultimately hatred of the Roman Catholic church made them
favourable to Buddhism and they were ready to assist those kings
who desired to restore the national religion to its former splendour.
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for whom “above all others they have a high respect and devotion.”
He also describes the ceremonies of pirit and bana, the perahera
procession, and two classes of Buddhist monks, the elders and the
ordinary members of the Sangha. His narrative indicates that
Buddhism was accepted as the higher religion, though men were
prone to pray to deities who would save from temporal danger.
About this time Vimala Dharma II[98] made great efforts to improve
the religious condition of the island and finding that the true
succession had again failed, arranged with the Dutch to send an
embassy to Arakan and bring back qualified Theras. But apparently
the steps taken were not sufficient, for when king Kittisiri Râjasiha
(1747-81), whose piety forms the theme of the last two chapters of the
Mahâvaṃsa, set about reforming the Sangha, he found that duly
ordained monks were extinct and that many so-called monks had
families. He therefore decided to apply to Dhammika, king of
Ayuthia in Siam, and like his predecessor despatched an embassy on
a Dutch ship. Dhammika sent back a company of “more than ten
monks” (that is more than sufficient for the performance of all
ecclesiastical acts) under the Abbot Upâli in 1752 and another to
relieve it in 1755.[99] They were received by the king of Ceylon with
great honour and subsequently by the ordination which they
conferred placed the succession beyond dispute. But the order thus
reconstituted was aristocratic and exclusive: only members of the
highest caste were admitted to it and the wealthy middle classes
found themselves excluded from a community which they were
expected to honour and maintain. This led to the despatch of an
embassy to Burma in 1802 and to the foundation of another branch
of the Sangha, known as the Amarapura school, distinct in so far as
its validity depended on Burmese not Siamese ordination.
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Considering the long lapse of time, the monastic life of Ceylon has
not deviated much in practice from the injunctions of the Vinaya.
Monasteries like those of Anuradhapura, which are said to have
contained thousands of monks, no longer exist. The largest now to be
found—those at Kandy—do not contain more than fifty but as a rule
a pansala (as these institutions are now called) has not more than
five residents and more often only two or three. Some pansalas have
villages assigned to them and some let their lands and do not scruple
to receive the rent. The monks still follow the ancient routine of
making a daily round with the begging bowl, but the food thus
collected is often given to the poor or even to animals and the
inmates of the pansala eat a meal which has been cooked there. The
Pâtimokkha is recited (at least in part) twice a month and
ordinations are held annually.[111]
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Although Sinhalese Buddhism has not diverged much from the Pali
scriptures in its main doctrines and discipline, yet it tolerates a
superstructure of Indian beliefs and ceremonies which forbid us to
call it pure except in a restricted sense. At present there may be said
to be three religions in Ceylon; local animism, Hinduism and
Buddhism are all inextricably mixed together. By local animism I
mean the worship of native spirits who do not belong to the ordinary
Hindu pantheon though they may be identified with its members.
The priests of this worship are called Kapuralas and one of their
principal ceremonies consists in dancing until they are supposed to
be possessed by a spirit—the devil dancing of Europeans. Though
this religion is distinct from ordinary Hinduism, its deities and
ceremonies find parallels in the southern Tamil country. In Ceylon it
is not merely a village superstition but possesses [temples of
considerable size[114], for instance at Badulla and near Ratnapura. In
the latter there is a Buddhist shrine in the court yard, so that the
Blessed One may countenance the worship, much as the Piṭakas
represent him as patronizing and instructing the deities of ancient
Magadha, but the structure and observances of the temple itself are
not Buddhist. The chief spirit worshipped at Ratnapura and in most
of these temples is Mahâ Saman, the god of Adam’s Peak. He is
sometimes identified with Lakshmana, the brother of Râma, and
sometimes with Indra.
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Even more insidious is the pageantry which since the days of King
Tissa has been the outward sign of religion. It may be justified as
being merely an edifying method of venerating the memory of a
great man but when images and relics are treated with profound
reverence or carried in solemn procession it is hard for the ignorant,
especially if they are accustomed to the ceremonial of Hindu
temples, not to think that these symbols are divine. This ornate
ritualism is not authorized in any known canonical text, but it is
thoroughly Indian. Asoka records in his inscriptions the institution
of religious processions and Hsüan Chuang relates how King Harsha
organized a festival during which an image of the Buddha was
carried on an elephant while the monarch and his ally the king of
Assam, dressed as Indra and Brahmâ respectively, waited on it like
servants.[116] Such festivities were congenial to the Sinhalese, as is
attested by the long series of descriptions which fill the Mahâvaṃsa
down to the very last book, by what Fa-Hsien saw about 412 and by
the Perahera festival celebrated to-day.
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FOOTNOTES:
[10] E.g. Burma in the reign of Anawrata and later in the time of
Chapaṭa about 1200, and Siam in the time of Sûryavaṃsa Râma,
1361. On the other hand in 1752 the Sinhalese succession was
validated by obtaining monks from Burma.
[12] Compare the history of Khotan. The first Indian colonists seem
to have introduced a Prakrit dialect. Buddhism and Sanskrit came
afterwards.
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[15] Dîpavaṃsa I. 45-81, II. 1-69. Mahâvaṃsa I. 19-83. The legend that
the Buddha visited Ceylon and left his footprint on Adam’s peak is
at least as old as Buddhaghosa. See Samanta-pâsâdikâ in
Oldenburg’s Vinaya Pitaka, vol. III, p. 332 and the quotations in
Skeen’s Adam’s Peak, p. 50.
[18] For the credibility of the Sinhalese traditions see Geiger introd.
to translation of Mahâvaṃsa 1912 and Norman in J.R.A.S. 1908, pp. 1
ff. and on the other side R.O. Franke in W.Z.K.M. 21, pp. 203 ff., 317
ff. and Z.D.M.G. 63, pp. 540 ff.
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[29] The chronicles give with some slight divergences the names of
the texts on which his preaching was based. It is doubtless meant
that he recited the Sutta with a running exposition.
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[41] For the site see Parker’s Ancient Ceylon, pp. 299 ff. The
Mahâvaṃsa (XXXIII. 79 and X. 98-100) says it was built on the site of
an ancient Jain establishment and Kern thinks that this tradition
hints at circumstances which account for the heretical and
contentious spirit of the Abhaya monks.
[42] Mahâv. XXXIII. 100-104. See too the Ṫîkâ quote by Turnour in
his introduction, p. liii.
[47] Watters, II. 234. Cf. Hsüan Chuang’s life, chap. IV.
[48] Mahâvaṃ. XXXVI. iii. ff. Goṭhâbhaya’s date was probably 302-
315 and Mahâsena’s 325-352. The common chronology makes
Goṭhâbhaya reign from 244 to 257 and Mahâsena from 269 to 296
A.D.
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[56] Plutarch mentions a story that the relics of King Menander were
similarly divided into eight portions but the story may be merely a
replica of the obsequies of the Buddha.
[57] IV. 3, 24. The first text is from Mahâparinibbâna Sutta, V. 24. The
second has not been identified.
[62] Ibid. p. 109. Fa-Hsien does not indicate that at this time there was
a rival bowl in Ceylon but represents the preacher as saying it was
then in Gandhara.
[63] Watters, I. pp. 202, 203. But the life of Hsüan Chuang says
Benares not Persia.
[65] For the history of the tooth see Mahâvaṃsa, p. 241, in Turnour’s
edition: the Dathavaṃsa in Pali written by Dhammakitti in 1211
A.D.: and the Sinhalese poems Daladapujavali and Dhatuvansaya.
See also Da Cunha, Memoir on the History of the Tooth Relic of Ceylon,
1875, and Yule’s notes on Marco Polo, II. pp. 328-330.
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[67] Various accounts are given of the disposal of these teeth, but
more than enough relics were preserved in various shrines to
account for all. Hsüan Chuang saw or heard of sacred teeth in Balkh,
Nagar, Kashmir, Kanauj and Ceylon. Another tooth is said to be kept
near Foo-chow.
[71] See Tennent’s Ceylon, vol. II. pp. 29, 30 and 199 ff. and the
Portuguese authorities quoted.
[72] Fortune in Two Visits to Tea Countries of China, vol. II. pp. 107-8,
describes one of these teeth preserved in the Ku-shan monastery
near Foo-chow.
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[80] In the Journal of Pali Text Soc. 1891, pp. 76-164. Since the above
was written the first volume of the text of the Visuddhi magga,
edited by Mrs. Rhys Davids, has been published by the Pali Text
Society, 1920.
[83] That is according to Geiger 386-416 A.D. Perhaps he was the Ta-
mo-kiu-ti mentioned by Fa-Hsien.
[84] The tendency seems odd but it can be paralleled in India where
it is not uncommon to rewrite vernacular works in Sanskrit. See
Grierson, J.R.A.S. 1913, p. 133. Even in England in the seventeenth
century Bacon seems to have been doubtful of the immortality of his
works in English and prepared a Latin translation of his Essays.
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Hinduism and Buddhism: An Historical Sketch - Volume III
[93] Mahâv. LXXXIV. If this means the region of Madras, the obvious
question is what learned Buddhist can there have been there at this
period.
[99] See for some details Lorgeou: Notice sur un Manuscrit Siamois
contenant la relation de deux missions religieuses envoyées de Siam
à Ceylon au milieu du xviii Siècle. Jour. Asiat. 1906, pp. 533 ff. The
king called Dhammika by the Mahâvaṃsa appears to have been
known as Phra Song Tham in Siam. The interest felt by the Siamese
in Ceylon at this period is shown by the Siamese translation of the
Mahâvaṃsa made in 1796.
[102] A translation by S.Z. Aung and Mrs. Rhys Davids has been
published by the Pali Text Society. The author Anuruddha appears
to have lived between the eighth and twelfth centuries.
[105] For intercourse with Camboja see Epigr. Zeylanica, II. p. 74.
[106] A dubious legend relates that they were known in the north
and suppressed by Harsha. See Ettinghausen, Harsha Vardhana, 1906,
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[110] One of the king’s inscriptions says that he reconciled the clergy
of the three Nikâyas. Ep. Zeyl. I. p. 134.
[111] See Bowden in J.R.A.S. 1893, pp. 159 ff. The account refers to
the Malwatte Monastery. But it would appear that the Pâtimokkha is
recited in country places when a sufficient number of monks meet on
Uposatha days.
[113] E.g. in the Aṭânâṭiya sutta (Dig. Nik. XXXII.) friendly spirits
teach a spell by which members of the order may protect themselves
against evil ones and in Jâtaka 159 the Peacock escapes danger by
reciting every day a hymn to the sun and the praises of past
Buddhas. See also Bunyiu, Nanjios Catalogue, Nos. 487 and 800.
[114] See for an account of the Maha Saman Devale, Ceylon Ant. July,
1916.
[117] Rock Edicts, II. and XIII. Three inscriptions of Asoka have been
found in Mysore.
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Hinduism and Buddhism: An Historical Sketch - Volume III
CHAPTER XXXVI
BURMA
The Shan States lie in the east of Burma on the borders of Yünnan
and Laos. Their traditions carry their foundation back to the fourth
and fifth centuries B.C. There is no confirmation of this, but bodies of
Shans, a race allied to the Siamese, may [have migrated into this
region at any date, perhaps bringing Buddhism with them or
receiving it direct from China. Recent investigations have shown that
there was also a fourth race, designated as Pyus, who occupied
territory between the Burmese and Talaings in the eleventh century.
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For 200 years, that is from about 1060 A.D. until the later decades of
the thirteenth century, Pagan was a great centre of Buddhist culture
not only for Burma but for the whole east, renowned alike for its
architecture and its scholarship. The former can still be studied in the
magnificent pagodas which mark its site. Towards the end of his
reign Anawrata made not very successful attempts to obtain relics
from China and Ceylon and commenced the construction of the
Shwe Zigon pagoda. He died before it was completed but his
successors, who enjoyed fairly peaceful reigns, finished the work
and constructed about a thousand other buildings among which the
most celebrated is the Ananda temple erected by King
Kyansithâ.[152]
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The two Shan states which arose from the ruin of Pagan, namely
Panya (Vijayapura) and Sagaing (Jeyyapura), encouraged religion
and learning. Their existence probably explains the claim made in
Siamese inscriptions of about 1300 that the territory of Siam
extended to Haṃsavatî or Pegu and this contact of Burma and Siam
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After the fall of the two Shan states in 1364, Ava (or Ratnapura)
which was founded in the same year gradually became the religious
centre of Upper Burma and remained so during several centuries.
But it did not at first supersede older towns inasmuch as the loss of
political independence did not always involve the destruction of
monasteries. Buddhism also flourished in Pegu and the Talaing
country where the vicissitudes of the northern kingdoms did not
affect its fortunes.
The most prosperous period for Buddhism in Pegu was the reign of
Dhammaceti, also called Râmâdhipati (1460-1491). He was not of the
royal family, but a simple monk who helped a princess of Pegu to
escape from the Burmese court where she was detained. In 1453 this
princess became Queen of Pegu and Dhammaceti left his monastery
to become her prime minister, [son-in-law and ultimately her
successor. But though he had returned to the world his heart was
with the Church. He was renowned for his piety no less than for his
magnificence and is known to modern scholars as the author of the
Kalyani inscriptions[156], which assume the proportions of a treatise
on ecclesiastical laws and history. Their chief purpose is to settle an
intricate and highly technical question, namely the proper method of
defining and consecrating a sîmâ. This word, which means literally
boundary, signifies a plot of ground within which Uposatha
meetings, ordinations and other ceremonies can take place. The
expression occurs in the Vinaya Piṭaka[157], but the area there
contemplated seems to be an ecclesiastical district within which the
Bhikkhus were obliged to meet for Uposatha. The modern sîmâ is
much smaller[158], but more important since it is maintained that
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After the fall of Pagan, Upper Burma, of which we must now speak,
passed through troubled times and we hear little of religion or
literature. Though Ava was founded in 1364 it did not become an
intellectual centre for another century. But the reign of Narapati
(1442-1468) was ornamented by several writers of eminence among
whom may be mentioned the monk poet Sîlavaṃsa and Ariyavaṃsa,
an exponent of the Abhidhamma. They are noticeable as being the
first writers to publish religious works, either original or translated,
in the vernacular and this practice steadily increased. In the early
part of the sixteenth century[161] occurred the only persecution of
Buddhism known in Burma. Thohanbwâ, a Shan who had become
king of Ava, endeavoured to exterminate the order by deliberate
massacre and delivered temples, monasteries and libraries to the
flames. The persecution did not last long nor extend to other districts
but it created great indignation among the Burmese and was perhaps
one of the reasons why the Shan dynasty of Ava was overthrown in
1555.
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side stood firm. Alompra dealt leniently with them, but died during
his Siamese campaign before he had time to unravel the intricacies of
the Vinaya.
The influence of Atula, who must have been an astute if not learned
man, continued after the king’s death and no measures were taken
against the Ekaṃsikas, although King Hsin-byu-shin (1763-1776)
persecuted an heretical sect called Paramats[165]. His youthful
successor, Sing-gu-sa, was induced to hold a public disputation. The
Ekaṃsikas were defeated in this contest and a royal decree was
issued making the Pârupana discipline obligatory. But the vexed
question was not settled for it came up again in the long reign (1781-
1819) of Bodôpayâ. This king has won an evil reputation for cruelty
and insensate conceit[166], but he was a man of vigour and kept
together his great empire. His megalomania naturally detracted from
the esteem won by his piety. His benefactions to religion were lavish,
the shrines and monasteries which he built innumerable. But he
desired to build a pagoda larger than any in the world and during
some twenty years wasted an incalculable amount of labour and
money on this project, still commemorated by a gigantic but
unfinished mass of brickwork now in ruins. In order to supervise its
erection he left his palace and lived at Mingun, where he [conceived
the idea that he was a Buddha, an idea which had not been entirely
absent from the minds of Alompra and Hsin-byu-shin. It is to the
credit of the Theras that, despite the danger of opposing an autocrat
as cruel as he was crazy, they refused to countenance these
pretensions and the king returned to his palace as an ordinary
monarch.
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From 1852 till 1877 Burma was ruled by Mindon-min, who if not a
national hero was at least a pious, peace-loving, capable king. His
chaplain, Paññâsâmi, composed the Sâsanavaṃsa, or ecclesiastical
history of Burma, and the king himself was ambitious to figure as a
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Nats are of at least three classes, or rather have three origins. Firstly
they are nature spirits, similar to those revered in China and Tibet.
They inhabit noticeable natural features of every kind, particularly
trees, rivers and mountains; they may be specially connected with
villages, houses or individuals. Though not essentially evil they are
touchy and vindictive, punishing neglect or discourtesy with
misfortune and ill-luck. No explanation is offered as to the origin of
many Nats, but others, who may be regarded as forming the second
category, are ghosts or ancestral spirits. In northern Burma Chinese
influence encouraged ancestor worship, but apart from this there is a
disposition (equally evident in India) to believe that violent and
uncanny persons and those who meet with a tragic death become
powerful ghosts requiring propitiation. Thirdly, there are Nats who
are at least in part identified with the Indian deities recognized by
early Buddhism. It would seem that the Thirty Seven Nats, described
in a work called the Mahâgîtâ Medânigyân, correspond to the Thirty
Three Gods of Buddhist mythology, but that the number has been
raised for unknown [reasons to 37[174]. They are spirits of deceased
heroes, and there is nothing unbuddhist in this conception, for the
Piṭakas frequently represent deserving persons as being reborn in
the Heaven of the Thirty Three. The chief is Thagyâ, the Śakra or
Indra of Hindu mythology[175], but the others are heroes, connected
with five cycles of legends based on a popular and often inaccurate
version of Burmese history[176].
Besides Thagyâ Nat we find other Indian figures such as Man Nat
(Mâra) and Byammâ Nat (Brahmâ). In diagrams illustrating the
Buddhist cosmology of the Burmans[177] a series of heavens is
depicted, ascending from those of the Four Kings and Thirty Three
Gods up to the Brahmâ worlds, and each inhabited by Nats
according to their degree. Here the spirits of Burma are marshalled
and classified according to Buddhist system just as were the spirits
of India some centuries before. But neither in ancient India nor in
modern Burma have the devas or Nats anything to do with the
serious business of religion. They have their place in temples as
guardian genii and the whole band may be seen in a shrine adjoining
the Shwe-zi-gon Pagoda at Pagan, but this interferes no more with
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the supremacy of the Buddha than did the deputations of spirits who
according to the scriptures waited on him.
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The age and continuity of Sinhalese traditions have given the Sangha
of Ceylon a correspondingly great prestige but it has more than
[once been recruited from Burma and in literary output it can hardly
rival the Burmese clergy.
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Although all monks must take part in the daily round to collect alms
yet in most monasteries it is the custom (as in Ceylon and Siam) not
to eat the food collected, or at least not all of it, and though no solid
nourishment is taken after midday, three morning meals are
allowed, namely, one taken very early, the next served on the return
from the begging round and a third about 11.30. Two or three
services are intoned before the image of the Buddha each day. At the
morning ceremony, which takes place about 5.30, all the inmates of
the monastery prostrate themselves before the superior and vow to
observe the precepts during the day. At the conclusion of the
evening service a novice announces that a day has passed away and
in a loud voice proclaims the hour, the day of the week, the day of
the month and the year. The laity do not usually attend these
services, but near large monasteries there are rest houses for the
entertainment of visitors and Uposatha days are often celebrated by
a pious picnic. A family or party of friends take a rest-house for a
day, bring a goodly store of cheroots and betel nut, which are not
regarded as out of place during divine [service[183], and listen at
their ease to the exposition of the law delivered by a yellow-robed
monk. When the congregation includes women he holds a large fan-
leaf palm before his face lest his eyes should behold vanity. A
custom which might not be to the taste of western ecclesiastics is that
the congregation ask questions and, if they do not understand,
request the preacher to be clearer.
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In Upper Burma there are not so many large images but as one
approaches Mandalay the pagodas add more and more to the
landscape. Many are golden and the rest are mostly white and
conspicuous. They crown the hills and punctuate the windings of the
valleys. Perhaps Burmese art and nature are seen at their best near
Sagaing on the bank of the Irrawaddy, a mighty flood of yellow
water, sweeping down smooth and steady, but here and there
showing whirlpools that look like molten metal. From the shore rise
hills of moderate height studded with monasteries and shrines.
Flights of white steps lead to the principal summits where golden
spires gleam and everywhere are pagodas of all ages, shapes and
sizes. Like most Asiatics the Burmese rarely repair, but build new
pagodas instead of renovating the old ones. The instinct is not
altogether unjust. A pagoda does not collapse like a hollow building
but understands the art of growing old. Like a tree it may become
cleft or overgrown with moss but it remains picturesque. In the
neighbourhood of Sagaing there is a veritable forest of pagodas;
humble seedlings built by widows’ mites, mature golden domes
reared by devout prosperity and venerable ruins decomposing as all
compound things must do.
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could by any method become free. They formed a low caste like the
Indian Pariahs and though the British Government has abolished the
legal status of slavery, the social stigma which clings to them is said
to be undiminished.
The result must be looked at as a whole and not too minutely. The
best work is the wood carving which has a freedom and boldness
often missing in the minute and crowded designs of Indian art. Still
as a rule it is at the risk of breaking the spell that you examine the
details of Burmese ornamentation. Better rest content with your first
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FOOTNOTES:
[124] For the Pyus see Blagden in J.R.A.S. pp. 365-388. Ibid. in Epigr.
Indica, 1913, pp. 127-133. Also reports of Burma Arch. Survey, 1916,
1917.
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[135] See Forchhammer, Jardine Prize Essay, 1885, pp. 23-27. He also
says that the earliest Talaing alphabet is identical with the Vengi
alphabet of the fourth century A.D. Burma Archaeol. Report, 1917, p.
29.
[140] See however Epig. Indica, vol. V. part iv. Oct. 1898, pp. 101-102.
For the prevalence of forms which must be derived from Sanskrit not
Pali see Burma Arch. Rep. 1916, p. 14, and 1917, p. 39.
[141] Report of Supt. Arch. Survey Burma, 1909, p. 10, 1910, p. 13, and
1916, pp. 33, 38. Finot, Notes d’Epigraphie, p. 357.
[142] See especially Finot in J.A. 1912, II. p. 123, and Huber in
B.E.F.E.O. 1909 P. 584.
[143] The Aris are further credited with having practised a sort of jus
primæ noctis. See on this question the chapter on Camboja and
alleged similar customs there.
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[144] See Burma Arch. Rep. 1916, pp. 12, 13. They seem to have been
similar to the Nîlapatanadarśana of Ceylon. The
Prabodhacandrodaya (about 1100 A.D.) represents Buddhist monks
as drunken and licentious.
[145] See Parker, Burma, 1892. The annalist says “There is a huge
white elephant (or image) 100 feet high. Litigants burn incense and
kneel before it, reflecting within themselves whether they are right
or wrong.... When there is any disaster or plague the king also kneels
in front of it and blames himself.” The Chinese character means
either image or elephant, but surely the former must be the meaning
here.
[150] See the Sâsanavaṃsa, p. 64 and p. 20. See also Bode, Pali
Literature of Burma, p. 15. But the Mahâvaṃsa, LX. 4-7, while
recording the communications between Vijaya Bahu and Aniruddha
( = Anawrata) represents Ceylon as asking for monks from Râmañña,
which implies that lower Burma was even then regarded as a
Buddhist country with a fine tradition.
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[152] Inscriptions give his reign as 1084-1112 A.D. See Burma Arch.
Rep. 1916, p. 24. Among many other remarkable edifices may be
mentioned the Thapinyu or Thabbannu (1100), the Gaudapalin
(1160) and the Bodhi (c. 1200) which is a copy of the temple at
Bodhgaya.
[153] The best known of his works are the Sutta-niddesa on grammar
and the Sankhepavaṇṇanâ. The latter is a commentary on the
Abhidhammattha-sangaha, but it is not certain if Chapaṭa composed
it or merely translated it from the Sinhalese.
[160] In favour of it, it may be said that the Dîpavaṃsa and the
earlier traditions on which the Dîpavaṃsa is based are ancient and
impartial witnesses: against it, that Asoka’s attention seems to have
been directed westwards, not towards Bengal and Burma, and that
no very early proof of the existence of Buddhism in Burma has been
found.
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[165] They were Puritans who objected to shrines and images and
are said to be represented to-day by the Sawti sect.
[166] See The Burmese Empire by the Italian Father Sangermano, who
went to Burma in 1783 and lived there about 20 years.
[168] See E. Forchhammer, Jardine Prize Essay (on the sources and
development of Burmese Law), 1885. J. Jolly, “Recht und Sitte” in
Grundriss der Ind. Ar. Phil. 1896, pp. 41-44. M.H. Bode, Pali Lit. of
Burma, pp. 83 ff. Dhammathat is the Burmese pronunciation of
Dhammasattha, Sanskrit Dharmaśâstra.
[169] This theory did not prevent the kings of Burma and their
subordinates from inflicting atrociously cruel punishments.
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Hinduism and Buddhism: An Historical Sketch - Volume III
[173] See especially The Thirty Seven Nats by Sir. R.C. Temple, 1906,
and Burma by Sir. J.G. Scott, 1906, pp. 380 ff. The best authorities
seem agreed that Nat is not the Sanskrit Nâtha but an indigenous
word of unknown derivation.
[175] It is noticeable that Thagyâ comes from the Sanskrit Śakra not
the Pali Sakka. Th = Sk. s: y = Sk. r.
[176] See R.C. Temple, The Thirty Seven Nats, chaps. X.-XIII., for these
cycles.
[178] According to Sir. J.G. Scott much more commonly than prayers
among Christians. Burma, p. 366.
[179] 15,371 according to the census of 1891. The figures in the last
census are not conveniently arranged for Buddhist statistics.
[183] But on such occasions the laity usually fast after midday.
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[186] = cetiya.
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CHAPTER XXXVII
SIAM[188]
The Buddhism of Siam does not differ materially from that of Burma
and Ceylon but merits separate mention, since it has features of its
own due in some measure to the fact that Siam is still an
independent kingdom ruled by a monarch who is also head of the
Church. But whereas for the last few centuries this kingdom may be
regarded as a political and religious unit, its condition in earlier
times was different and Siamese history tells us nothing of the
introduction and first diffusion of Indian religions in the countries
between India and China.
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The early history of Sukhothai and its kings is not yet beyond
dispute but a monarch called Râmarâja or Râma Khomhëng played a
considerable part in it. His identity with Phăya Rùang, who is said to
have founded the dynasty and city, has been both affirmed and
denied. Sukhothai, at least as the designation of a kingdom, seems to
be much older than his reign[196]. It was undoubtedly understood as
the equivalent of the Sanskrit Sukhodaya, but like Śyâma it may be
an adaptation of some native word. In an important inscription
found at Sukhothai and now preserved at Bangkok[197], which was
probably composed about 1300 A.D., Râma Khomhëng gives an
account of his kingdom. On the east it extended to the banks of the
Mekhong and beyond it to Chavâ (perhaps a name of Luang-
Prabang): on the south to the sea, as far as Śrî Dharmarâja or Ligor:
on the west to Haṃsavatî or Pegu. This last statement is important
for it enables us to understand how at this period, and no doubt
considerably earlier, the Siamese were acquainted with Pali
Buddhism. The king states that hitherto his people had no alphabet
but that he invented one[198]. This script subsequently [developed
into the modern Siamese writing which, though it presents many
difficulties, is an ingenious attempt to express a language with tones
in an alphabet. The vocabulary of Siamese is not homogeneous: it
comprises (a) a foundation of Thai, (b) a considerable admixture of
Khmer words, (c) an element borrowed from Malay and other
languages, (d) numerous ecclesiastical and learned terms taken from
Pali and Sanskrit. There are five tones which must be distinguished,
if either written or spoken speech is to be intelligible. This is done
partly by accents and partly by dividing the forty-four consonants
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The king also speaks of religion. The court and the inhabitants of
Sukhothai were devout Buddhists: they observed the season of Vassa
and celebrated the festival of Kaṭhina with processions, concerts and
reading of the scriptures. In the city were to be seen statues of the
Buddha and scenes carved in relief, as well as large monasteries. To
the west of the city was the Forest Monastery, presented to a
distinguished elder who came from Śri Dharmarâja and had studied
the whole Tripitaka. The mention of this official and others suggests
that there was a regular hierarchy and the king relates how he
exhumed certain sacred relics and built a pagoda over them. Though
there is no direct allusion to Brahmanism, stress is laid on the
worship of spirits and devas on which the prosperity of the kingdom
depends.
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The facts that King Śrî Sûryavaṃsa sent to Ceylon for his
Metropolitan and that some of the inscriptions which extol his merits
are in Pali[205] make it probable that the religion which he professed
differed little from the Pali Buddhism which flourishes in Siam to-
day and this supposition is confirmed by the general tone of his
inscriptions. But still several phrases in them have a Mahayanist
flavour. He takes as his model the conduct of the Bodhisattvas,
described as ten headed by Metteyya, and his vow to become a
Buddha and save all creatures is at least twice mentioned. The
Buddhas are said to be innumerable and the feet of Bhikkhus are
called Buddha feet[206]. There is no difficulty in accounting for the
presence of such ideas: the only question is from what quarter this
Mahayanist influence came. The king is said to have been a student
of Indian literature: his country, like Burma, was in touch with China
and his use of the Khmer language indicates contact with Camboja.
At some time in this period the centre of the Thai empire [changed
but divergent views have been held as to the date[208] and character
of this event. It would appear that in 1350 a Siamese subsequently
known as King Râmâdhipati, a descendant of an ancient line of Thai
princes, founded Ayuthia as a rival to Sukhothai. The site was not
new, for it had long been known as Dvâravatî and seems to be
mentioned under that name by I-Ching (c. 680), but a new city was
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Its rise did not affect the esteem in which Buddhism was held, and it
must have contained many great religious monuments. The jungles
which now cover the site of the city surround the remnants of the
Wăt Somarokot, in which is a gigantic bronze Buddha facing with
scornful calm the ruin which threatens him. The Wăt Chern, which
lies at some distance, contains another gigantic image. A curious
inscription[209] engraved on an image of Śiva found at Sukhothai
and dated 1510 A.D. asserts the identity of Buddhism and
Brahmanism, but the popular feeling was in favour of the former. At
Ayuthia the temples appear to be exclusively Buddhist and at
Lophburi ancient buildings originally constructed for the Brahmanic
cult have been adapted to Buddhist uses. It was in 1602 that the
mark known as the footprint of Buddha was discovered at the place
now called Phra-bat.
Ayuthia was captured by the Burmese in 1568 and the king was
carried into captivity but the disaster was not permanent, for at the
end of the century the power of the Siamese reached its highest point
and their foreign relations were extensive. We hear that five hundred
Japanese assisted them to repulse a Burmese attack and that there
was a large Japanese colony in Ayuthia. On the other hand when
Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592, the Siamese offered to assist the
Chinese. Europeans appeared first in 1511 when the Portuguese took
Malacca. But on the whole [the dealings of Siam with Europe were
peaceful and both traders and missionaries were welcomed. The
most singular episode in this international intercourse was the career
of the Greek adventurer Constantine Phaulcon who in the reign of
King Nărai was practically Foreign Minister. In concert with the
French missionaries he arranged an exchange of embassies (1682 and
1685) between Nărai and Louis XIV, the latter having been led to
suppose that the king and people of Siam were ready to embrace
Christianity. But when the French envoys broached the subject of
conversion, the king replied that he saw no reason to change the
religion which his countrymen had professed for two thousand
years, a chronological statement which it might be hard to
substantiate. Still, great facilities were given to missionaries and
further negotiations ensued, in the course of which the French
received almost a monopoly of foreign trade and the right to
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In most if not in all Wăt there are structures known as Phra: chedi
and Phra: prang. The former are simply the ancient cetiyas, called
dagobas in Ceylon and zedis in Burma. They do not depart
materially from the shape usual in other countries [and sometimes,
for instance in the gigantic chedi at Pra Pratom, the part below the
spire is a solid bell-shaped dome. But Siamese taste tends to make
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The monks are often housed in single chambers arranged round the
courts of a Wat but sometimes in larger buildings outside it. The
number of monks and novices living in one monastery is larger than
in Burma, and according to the Bangkok Directory (1907) works out
at an average of about 12. In the larger Wats this figure is
considerably exceeded. Altogether there were 50,764 monks and
10,411 novices in 1907[220], the province of Ayuthia being decidedly
the best provided with clergy. As in Burma, it is customary for every
male to spend some time in a monastery, usually at the age of about
20, and two months is considered the minimum which is respectable.
It is also common to enter a monastery for a short stay on the day
when a parent is cremated. During the season of Vassa all [monks go
out to collect alms but at other seasons only a few make the daily
round and the food collected, as in Burma and Ceylon, is generally
not eaten. But during the dry season it is considered meritorious for
monks to make a pilgrimage to Phra Bât and while on the way to live
on charity. They engage to some extent in manual work and occupy
themselves with carpentering[221]. As in Burma, education is in
their hands, and they also act as doctors, though their treatment has
more to do with charms and faith cures than with medicine.
As in Burma there are two sects, the ordinary unreformed body, and
the rigorous and select communion founded by Mongkut and called
Dhammayut. It aims at a more austere and useful life but in outward
observances the only distinction seems to be that the Dhammayuts
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trays on which are vessels containing rice and delicacies. They place
a selection of these in each bowl and then proceed to the Bỗt where
they hear the commandments recited and often vow to observe for
that day some which are usually binding only on monks. While the
monks are eating their meal the people repair to a river, which is
rarely far distant in Siam, and pour water drop by drop saying “May
the food which we have given for the use of the holy ones be of
benefit to our fathers and mothers and to all of our relatives who
have passed away.” This rite is curiously in harmony with the
injunctions of the Tirokuḍḍasuttam in the Khuddakapâtha, which is
probably an ancient work[224]. The rest of the day is usually devoted
to pious merrymaking, such as processions by day and illuminations
by night. On some feasts [the laws against gambling are suspended
and various games of chance are freely indulged in. Thus the New
Year festival called Trŭt (or Krŭt) Thăi lasts three days. On the first
two days, especially the second, crowds fill the temples to offer
flowers before the statues of Buddha and more substantial presents
of food, clothes, etc., to the clergy. Well-to-do families invite monks
to their houses and pass the day in listening to their sermons and
recitations. Companies of priests are posted round the city walls to
scare away evil spirits and with the same object guns are fired
throughout the night. But the third day is devoted to gambling by
almost the whole population except the monks. Not dissimilar is the
celebration of the Só̆ngkran holidays, at the beginning of the official
year. The special religious observance at this feast consists in bathing
the images of Buddha and in theory the same form of watery respect
is extended to aged relatives and monks. In practice its place is taken
by gifts of perfumes and other presents.
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Marriages are celebrated with a feast to which monks are invited but
are not regarded as religious ceremonies. The dead are usually
disposed of by cremation, but are often kept some time, being either
embalmed or simply buried and exhumed subsequently. Before
cremation the coffin is usually placed within the grounds of a
temple. The monks read Suttas over it and it is said[232] that they
hold ribbons which enter into the coffin and are supposed to
communicate to the corpse the merit acquired by the recitations and
prayers.
In the preceding pages mention has often been made not only of
Brahmanic rites but of Brahman priests[233]. These are [still to be
found in Bangkok attached to the Court and possibly in other cities.
They dress in white and have preserved many Hindu usages but are
said to be poor Sanskrit scholars. Indeed Gerini[234] seems to say
that they use Pali in some of their recitations. Their principal duty is
to officiate at Court functions, but wealthy families invite them to
take part in domestic rites, and also to cast horoscopes and fix lucky
days. It is clear that the presence of these Brahmans is no innovation.
Brahmanism must have been strong in Siam when it was a province
of Camboja, but in both countries gave way before Buddhism. Many
rites, however, connected with securing luck or predicting the future
were too firmly established to be abolished, and, as Buddhist monks
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Phí Prẽt, who have the characteristics as well as the name of the
Indian Pretas, and also a multitude of beings who like European
ghosts, haunt houses and behave in a mysterious but generally
disagreeable manner. The Phíăm is apparently our nightmare. The
ghosts of children dying soon after birth are apt to kill their mothers
and in general women are liable to be possessed by Phís. The ghosts
of those who have died a violent death are dangerous but it would
seem that Siamese magicians know how to utilize them as familiar
spirits. The better sort of ghosts are known as Chào Phí and shrines
called San Chào are set up in their honour. It does not however
appear that there is any hierarchy of Phís like the thirty-seven Náts
of Burma.
[Among those Phís who are not ghosts of the dead the most
important is the Phí ru̓en or guardian spirit of each house.
Frequently a little shrine is erected for him at the top of a pole. There
are also innumerable Phís in the jungle mostly malevolent and
capable of appearing either in human form or as a dangerous animal.
But the tree spirits are generally benevolent and when their trees are
cut down they protect the houses that are made of them.
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[191] Gerini states (Ptolemy, p. 107) that there are Pali manuscript
chronicles of Lamphun apparently going back to 924 A.D.
[194] E.g. Aymonier in J.A. 1903, p. 186, and Gerini in Journal of Siam
Society, vol. II. part 1, 1905.
[197] See Fournereau, I. p. 225. B.E.F.E.O. 1916, III. pp. 8-13, and
especially Bradley in J. Siam Society, 1909, pp. 1-68.
[200] Bradley, J. Siam Society, 1913, p. 10, seems to think that Pali
Buddhism may have come thence but the objection is that we know a
good deal about the religion of Camboja and that there is no trace of
Pali Buddhism there until it was imported from Siam. The fact that
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the Siamese alphabet was borrowed from Camboja does not prove
that religion was borrowed in the same way. The Mongol alphabet
can be traced to a Nestorian source.
[201] See for these inscriptions papers on the Malay Peninsula and
Siam by Finot and Lajonquière in Bull. de la Comm. Archéol. de l’Indo-
Chine, 1909, 1910 and 1912.
[202] Fournereau, pp. 157 ff. and Coedès in B.E.F.E.O. 1917, No. 2.
Besides the inscription itself, which is badly defaced in parts, we
have (1) a similar inscription in Thai, which is not however a
translation, (2) a modern Siamese translation, used by Schmitt but
severely criticized by Coedès and Petithuguenin.
[204] See Fournereau, vol. II. inscriptions xv and xvi and the account
of the Jâtakas, p. 43.
[206] See the texts in B.E.F.E.O. l.c. The Bodhisattvas are described as
Ariyametteyâdînam dasannam Bodhisattânam. The vow to become a
Buddha should it seems be placed in the mouth of the King, not of
the Metropolitan as in Schmitt’s translation.
[208] 1350 is the accepted date but M. Aymonier, J.A. 1903, pp. 185 ff.
argues in favour of about 1460. See Fournereau, Ancien Siam, p. 242,
inscription of 1426 A.D. and p. 186, inscription of 1510 described as
Groupe de Sajjanalaya et Sukhodaya.
[211] But it was his son who first decreed in 1868 that no Siamese
could be born a slave. Slavery for debt, though illegal, is said not to
be practically extinct.
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[212] = Cûlâlaṇkâra.
[213] The word has been derived from Vâta, a grove, but may it not
be the Pali Vatthu, Sanskrit Vâstu, a site or building?
[214] = Uposatha.
[215] These finials are very common on the roof ends of Siamese
temples and palaces. It is strange that they also are found in
conjunction with multiple roofs in Norwegian Churches of eleventh
century. See de Beylié, Architecture hindoue dans l’extrême Orient, pp.
47, 48.
[219] Four images facing the four quarters are considered in Burma
to represent the last four Buddhas and among the Jains some of the
Tirthankaras are so represented, the legend being that whenever
they preached they seemed to face their hearers on every side.
[220] These figures only take account of twelve out of the seventeen
provinces.
[222] They bear the title of Só̆mdĕt Phra: Chào Ràjagama and have
authority respectively over (a) ordinary Buddhists in northern Siam,
(b) ordinary Buddhists in the south, (c) hermits, (d) the Dhammayut
sect.
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[229] See Keith, Aitereya Aranyaka, pp. 174-178. The ceremony there
described undoubtedly originated in a very ancient popular festival.
[230] I.e. float-raft. Most authors give the word as Krathong, but
Pallegoix prefers Kathong.
[238] Siam Society, vol. IV. part ii. 1907. Some Siamese ghost-lore by A.J.
Irwin.
[239] Jour. Siam Soc. 1909, p. 28. “In yonder mountain is a demon
spirit Phră Khăphŭng that is greater than every other spirit in this
realm. If any Prince ruling this realm reverences him well with
proper offerings, this realm stands firm, this realm prospers. If the
spirit be not reverenced well, if the offerings be not right, the spirit in
the mountain does not protect, does not regard:—this realm
perishes.”
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CHAPTER XXXVIII
CAMBOJA[242]
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is probably the correct form of the name) and that he came from Chi
or Chiao, an unknown locality. The same annals state that towards
the end [of the fifth century the king of Fu-nan who bore the family
name of Ch’iao-ch’ên-ju[254] or Kauṇḍinya and the personal name
of Shê-yeh-po-mo (Jayavarman) traded with Canton. A Buddhist
monk named Nâgasena returned thence with some Cambojan
merchants and so impressed this king with his account of China that
he was sent back in 484 to beg for the protection of the Emperor. The
king’s petition and a supplementary paper by Nâgasena are
preserved in the annals. They seem to be an attempt to represent the
country as Buddhist, while explaining that Maheśvara is its tutelary
deity.
The Liang annals also state that during the Wu dynasty (222-280) Fan
Chan, then king of Fu-nan, sent a relative named Su-Wu on an
embassy to India, to a king called Mao-lun, which probably
represents Muruṇḍa, a people of the Ganges valley mentioned by the
Purâṇas and by Ptolemy. This king despatched a return embassy to
Fu-nan and his ambassadors met there an official sent by the
Emperor of China[255]. The early date ascribed to these events is
noticeable.
The Liang annals contain also the following statements. Between the
years 357 and 424 A.D. named as the dates of embassies sent to
China, an Indian Brahman called Ch’iao-ch’ên-ju (Kauṇḍinya) heard
a supernatural voice bidding him go and reign in Fu-nan. He met
with a good reception and was elected king. He changed the customs
of the country and made them conform to those of India. One of his
successors, Jayavarman, sent a coral image of Buddha in 503 to the
Emperor Wu-ti (502-550). The inhabitants of Fu-nan are said to make
bronze images of the heavenly genii with two or four heads and four
or eight arms. Jayavarman was succeeded by a usurper named Liu-
t’o-pa-mo (Rudravarman) who sent an image made of sandal wood
to the Emperor in 519 and in 539 offered him a hair of the Buddha
twelve feet long. The Sui annals (589-618) state that Citrasena, king
of Chên-la, conquered Fu-nan and was succeeded by his son
Iśânasena.
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He says that “of old it was a country the inhabitants of which lived
naked; the people were mostly worshippers of devas and later on
Buddhism flourished there, but a wicked king has now expelled and
exterminated them all and there are no members of the Buddhist
brotherhood at all.”
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found on the east coast of Borneo and apparently dating from the
fifth century mentions Kuṇḍagga as the grandfather of the reigning
king, and the Liang annals say that the king of Poli (probably in
Borneo but according to some in Sumatra) was called Ch’iao-ch’ên-
ju. It seems likely that the Indian family of Kauṇḍinya was
established somewhere in the South Seas (perhaps in Java) at an
early period and thence invaded various countries at various times.
But Fu-nan is a vague geographical term and it may be that Hun-
T’ien founded a Hindu dynasty in Champa.
[It is clear that during the period of the inscriptions the religion of
Camboja was a mixture of Brahmanism and Buddhism, the only
change noticeable being the preponderance of one or other element
in different centuries. But it would be interesting to know the value
of I-Ching’s statement that Buddhism flourished in Fu-nan in early
times and was then subverted by a wicked king, by whom
Bhavavarman[262] may be meant. Primâ facie the statement is not
improbable, for there is no reason why the first immigrants should
not have been Buddhists, but the traditions connecting these
countries with early Hinayanist missionaries are vague.
Târanâtha[263] states that the disciples of Vasubandhu introduced
Buddhism into the country of Koki (Indo-China) but his authority
does not count for much in such a matter. The statement of I-Ching
however has considerable weight, especially as the earliest
inscription found in Champa (that of Vocan) appears to be inspired
by Buddhism.
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The Siamese captured Angkor Thom in 1313, 1351 and 1420 but did
not on any occasion hold it for long. Again in 1473 they occupied
Chantaboun, Korat and Angkor but had to retire and conclude
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The presiding deity of the Bayon was Śiva, adored under the form of
the linga. The principal external ornaments of the building are forty
towers each surmounted by four heads. These were formerly
thought to represent Brahmâ but there is little doubt that they are
meant for lingas bearing four faces of Śiva, [since each head has three
eyes. Such lingas are occasionally seen in India[281] and many metal
cases bearing faces and made to be fitted on lingas have been
discovered in Champâ. These four-headed columns are found on the
gates of Angkor Thom as well as in the Bayon and are singularly
impressive. The emblem adored in the central shrine of the Bayon
was probably a linga but its title was Kamrateṇ jagat ta râja or
Devarâja, the king-god. More explicitly still it is styled Kamrateṇ jagat
ta râjya, the god who is the kingdom. It typified and contained the
royal essence present in the living king of Camboja and in all her
kings. Several inscriptions make it clear that not only dead but living
people could be represented by statue-portraits which identified
them with a deity, and in one very remarkable record a general
offers to the king the booty he has captured, asking him to present it
“to your subtle ego who is Iśvara dwelling in a golden linga[282].”
Thus this subtle ego dwells in a linga, is identical with Śiva, and
manifests itself in the successive kings of the royal house.
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can be made to reside in a tablet or image, and that the human soul
is compound so that portions of it can be in different places. These
beliefs combined with the Indian doctrine that the deity [is
manifested in incarnations, in the human soul and in images afford a
good theoretical basis for the worship of the Devarâja. It was also
agreeable to far-eastern ideas that religion and the state should be
closely associated and the Cambojan kings would be glad to imitate
the glories of the Son of Heaven. But probably a simpler cause
tended to unite church and state in all these Hindu colonies. In
mediæval India the Brahmans became so powerful that they could
claim to represent religion and civilization apart from the state. But
in Camboja and Champa Brahmanic religion and civilization were
bound up with the state. Both were attacked by and ultimately
succumbed to the same enemies.
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of all others.” The restriction refers no doubt only to the cult of the
Royal God and the office of court chaplain, called Purohita, Guru or
Hotri, of whom there were at least two.
The shrine of the Royal God was first near Mt. Mahendra and was
then moved to Hariharâlaya[290]. Its location was definitely fixed in
the reign of Indravarman, about 877 A.D. Two Śivakaivalya
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The cultus was probably similar to what may be seen in the Sivaite
temples of India to-day. The principal lingam was placed in a shrine
approached through other chambers and accessible only to
privileged persons. Libations were poured over the emblem and
sacred books were recited. An interesting inscription[292] of about
600 A.D. relates how Śrîsomasarman (probably a Brahman)
presented to a temple “the Râmâyaṇa, the Purâṇa and complete
Bhârata” and made arrangements for their recitation. Sanskrit
literature was held in esteem. We are told that Sûryavarman I was
versed in the Atharva-Veda and also in the Bhâshya, Kâvyas, the six
Darśanas, and the Dharmaśâstras[293]. Sacrifices are also frequently
mentioned and one inscription records the performance of a
Koṭihoma[294]. The old Vedic ritual remained to some extent in
practice, for no circumstances are more favourable to its survival
than a wealthy court dominated by a powerful hierarchy. Such
ceremonies were probably performed in the ample enclosures
surrounding the temples[295].
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“The literati are called Pan-ch’i, the bonzes Ch’u-ku and the Taoists
Pa-ssŭ-wei. I do not know whom the Pan-ch’i worship. They have no
schools and it is difficult to say what books they read. They dress
like other people except that they wear a white thread round their
necks, which is their distinctive mark. They attain to very high
positions. The Ch’u-ku shave their heads and wear yellow clothes.
They uncover the right shoulder, but the lower part of their body is
draped with a skirt of yellow cloth and they go bare foot. Their
temples are sometimes roofed with tiles. Inside there is only one
image, exactly like the Buddha Śâkya, which they call Po-lai ( =
Prah), ornamented with vermilion and blue, and clothed in red. The
Buddhas of the towers (? images in the towers of the temples) are
different and cast in bronze. There are no bells, drums, cymbals, or
flags in their temples. They eat only one meal a day, prepared by
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someone who entertains them, for they do not cook in their temples.
They eat fish and meat and also use them in their offerings to
Buddha, but they do not drink wine. They recite numerous texts
written on strips of palm-leaf. Some bonzes have a right to have the
shafts of their palanquins and the handles of their parasols in gold or
silver. The prince consults them on serious matters. There are no
Buddhist nuns.
“The Pa-ssŭ-wei dress like everyone else, except that they wear on
their heads a piece of red or white stuff like the Ku-ku [worn by
Tartar women but lower. Their temples are smaller than those of the
Buddhists, for Taoism is less prosperous than Buddhism. They
worship nothing but a block of stone, somewhat like the stone on the
altar of the God of the Sun in China. I do not know what god they
adore. There are also Taoist nuns. The Pa-ssŭ-wei do not partake of
the food of other people or eat in public. They do not drink wine.
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The Pa-ssŭ-wei have given rise to many conjectures and have been
identified with the Basaih or sacerdotal class of the Chams. But there
seems to be little doubt that the word really represents Pâśupata and
Chou Ta-kuan’s account clearly points to a sect of linga worshippers,
although no information is forthcoming about the “stone on the altar
of the Sun God in China” to which he compares their emblem. His
idea that they represented the Taoists in Camboja may have led him
to exaggerate their importance but his statement that they were a
separate body is confirmed, for an inscription of Angkor[317] defines
the order of hierarchical precedence as “the Brahman, the Śaiva
Acârya, the Pâśupata Acârya[318].”
From the time of Chou Ta-kuan to the present day I have [found few
notices about the religion of Camboja. Hinayanist Buddhism became
supreme and though we have few details of the conquest we can
hardly go wrong in tracing its general lines. Brahmanism was
exclusive and tyrannical. It made no appeal to the masses but a
severe levy of forced labour must have been necessary to erect and
maintain the numerous great shrines which, though in ruins, are still
the glory of Camboja[319]. In many of them are seen the remains of
inscriptions which have been deliberately erased. These probably
prescribed certain onerous services which the proletariat was bound
to render to the established church. When Siamese Buddhism
invaded Camboja it had a double advantage. It was the creed of an
aggressive and successful neighbour but, while thus armed with the
weapons of this world, it also appealed to the poor and oppressed. If
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Though the monuments of Camboja are well preserved the grey and
massive severity which marks them at present is probably very
different from the appearance that they wore when used for
worship. From Chou Ta-kuan and other sources[327] we gather that
the towers and porches were gilded, the bas-reliefs and perhaps the
whole surface of the walls were painted, and the building was
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FOOTNOTES:
(g) Id. “Le Founan,” B.E.F.E.O. 1903, pp. 248-303 (cited as Pelliot,
Founan).
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[245] See the inscription of Bàksĕ, Càṃkró̆ṇ, J.A. XIII. 1909, pp. 468,
469, 497.
[246] The Sui annals (Pelliot, Founan, p. 272) state that “Chên-la lies
to the west of Lin-yi: it was originally a vassal state of Fu-nan.... The
name of the king’s family was Kshatriya: his personal name was
Citrasena: his ancestors progressively acquired the sovereignty of the
country: Citrasena seized Fu-nan and reduced it to submission.” This
seems perfectly clear and we know from Cambojan inscriptions that
Citrasena was the personal name of the king who reigned as
Mahendravarman, c. 600 A.D. But it would appear from the
inscriptions that it was his predecessor Bhavavarman who made
whatever change occurred in the relations of Camboja to Fu-nan and
in any case it is not clear who were the inhabitants of Fu-nan if not
Cambojans. Perhaps Maspéro is right in suggesting that Fu-nan was
something like imperial Germany (p. 25), “Si le roi de Bavière
s’emparait de la couronne impériale, rien ne serait changé en
Allemagne que la famille régnante.”
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offences which cause loss of caste. This seems to indicate that the
emigrants from India came mainly from the North, but it would be
rash to conclude that in times of stress or enthusiasm the
Southerners did not follow their practice. A passage in the second
chapter of the Kautilîya Arthaśâstra has been interpreted as referring
to the despatch of colonists to foreign countries, but it probably
contemplates nothing more than the transfer of population from one
part of India to another. See Finot, B.E.F.E.O. 1912, No. 8. But the
passage at any rate shows that the idea of the King being able to
transport a considerable mass of population was familiar in ancient
India. Jâtaka 466 contains a curious story of a village of carpenters
who being unsuccessful in trade built a ship and emigrated to an
island in the ocean. It is clear that there must have been a
considerable seafaring population in India in early times for the Rig
Veda (II. 48, 3; I. 56, 2; I. 116, 3), the Mahabharata and the Jâtakas
allude to the love of gain which sends merchants across the sea and
to shipwrecks. Sculptures at Salsette ascribed to about 150 A.D.
represent a shipwreck. Ships were depicted in the paintings of
Ajanta and also occur on the coins of the Andhra King Yajñaśrî (c.
200 A.D.) and in the sculptures of Boroboedoer. The Dîgha Nikâya
(XI. 85) speaks of sea-going ships which when lost let loose a land
sighting bird. Much information is collected in Radhakumud
Mookerji’s History of Indian Shipping, 1912.
[248] Voyages are still regularly made in dhows between the west
coast of India and Zanzibar or Mombasa and the trade appears to be
old.
[249] See Jâtaka 339 for the voyage to Baveru or Babylon. Jâtakas 360
and 442 mention voyages to Suvaṇṇabhûmi or Lower Burma from
Bharukaccha and from Benares down the river. The Milinda Pañha
(VI. 21) alludes to traffic with China by sea.
[251] Pelliot, Founan, p. 254. The Western and Eastern Tsin reigned
from 265 to 419 A.D.
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[259] Corpus, I. pp. 84, 89, 90, and Jour. Asiatique, 1882, p. 152.
[260] When visiting Badami, Paṭṭadkal and Aihole in 1912 I noted the
following resemblances between the temples of that district and
those of Camboja. (a) The chief figures are Harihara, Vâmana and
Nṛisiṃha. At Paṭṭadkal, as at Angkor Wat, the reliefs on the temple
wall represent the Churning of the Sea and scenes from the
Râmâyana. (b) Large blocks of stone were used for building and after
being put in their positions were carved in situ, as is shown by
unfinished work in places. (c) Medallions containing faces are
frequent. (d) The architectural scheme is not as in Dravidian temples,
that is to say larger outside and becoming smaller as one proceeds
towards the interior. There is generally a central tower attached to a
hall. (e) The temples are often raised on a basement. (f) Mukhalingas
and kośhas are still used in worship. (g) There are verandahs
resembling those at Angkor Wat. They have sloping stone roofs,
sculptures in relief on the inside wall and a series of windows in the
outside wall. (h) The doors of the Linga shrines have a serpentine
ornamentation and are very like those of the Bayon. (i) A native
gentleman told me that he had seen temples with five towers in this
neighbourhood, but I have not seen them myself.
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[267] But the captivity is only an inference and not a necessary one.
Finot suggests that the ancient royal house of Fu-nan may have
resided at Javâ and have claimed suzerain rights over Camboja
which Jayavarman somehow abolished. The only clear statements on
the question are those in the Sdok Kak Thom inscription, Khmer text
c. 72, which tell us that Camboja had been dependent on Javâ and
that Jayavarman II instituted a special state cult as a sign that this
dependence had come to an end.
It is true that the Hindu colonists of Camboja may have come from
the island of Java, yet no evidence supports the idea that Camboja
was a dependency of the island about 800 A.D. and the inscriptions
of Champa seem to distinguish clearly between Yavadvîpa (the
island) and the unknown country called Javâ. See Finot, Notes d’Epig.
pp. 48 and 240. Hence it seems unlikely that the barbarous pirates
(called the armies of Java) who invaded Champa in 787 (see the
inscription of Yang Tikuh) were from the island. The Siamese
inscription of Râma Khomhëng, c. 1300 A.D., speaks of a place called
Chavâ, which may be Luang Prabang. On the other hand it does not
seem likely that pirates, expressly described as using ships, would
have come from the interior.
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[269] E.g. Ang Chan (1796-1834) received his crown from the King of
Siam and paid tribute to the King of Annam; Ang Duong (1846-1859)
was crowned by representatives of Annam and Siam and his
territory was occupied by the troops of both countries.
[272] Other local deities may be alluded to, under the names of Śrî
Jayakshetra, “the field of victory” adored at Basset Simâdamataka,
Śrî Mandareśvara, and Śrî Jalangeśvara. Aymonier, II. p. 297; I. pp.
305, 306 and 327.
[277] The Bayang Inscription, Corpus, I. pp. 31 ff. which mentions the
dates 604 and 626 as recent.
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[281] I have seen myself a stone lingam carved with four faces in a
tank belonging to a temple at Maḥakut not far from Badami.
[283] E.g. see Epig. Indica, vol. III. pp. 1 ff. At Paṭṭadkal (which region
offers so many points of resemblance to Camboja) King Vijayâditya
founded a temple of Vijayeśvara and two Queens, Lokamahâdevî
and Trailokyamahâdevî founded temples of Lokeśvara and
Trailokyeśvara.
[284] Aymonier, II. pp. 257 ff. and especially Finot in B.E.F.E.O. 1915,
xv. 2, p. 53.
[289] Possibly others may have held office during this long period,
but evidently all three priests lived to be very old men and each may
have been Guru for forty years.
[290] This place which means merely “the abode of Hari and Hara”
has not been identified.
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[298] See Coedès, “La Stèle de Tép Praṇaṃ,” in J.A. XI. 1908, p. 203.
[303] See Coedès, “Inscriptions de Bàt Cuṃ,” in J.A. XII. 1908, pp.
230, 241.
[310] The inscription only says “There are here (atra).” Can this mean
in the various religious establishments maintained by the king?
[311] See also Finot, Notes d’Epig. pp. 332-335. The Mahâvaṃsa
repeatedly mentions that kings founded hospitals and distributed
medicines. See too, Yule, Marco Polo, I. p. 446. The care of the sick
was recognized as a duty and a meritorious act in all Buddhist
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[314] Pelliot (B.E.F.E.O. 1902, p. 148) cites a statement from the Ling
Wai Tai Ta that there were two classes of bonzes in Camboja, those
who wore yellow robes and married and those who wore red robes
and lived in convents.
[318] The strange statement of Chou Ta-kuan (pp. 153-155) that the
Buddhist and Taoist priests enjoyed a species of jus primæ noctis has
been much discussed. Taken by itself it might be merely a queer
story founded on a misunderstanding of Cambojan customs, for he
candidly says that his information is untrustworthy. But taking it in
connection with the stories about the Aris in Burma (see especially
Finot, J.A. 1912, p. 121) and the customs attributed by Chinese and
Europeans to the Siamese and Philippinos, we can hardly come to
any conclusion except that this strange usage was an aboriginal
custom in Indo-China and the Archipelago, prior to the
introductions of Indian civilization, but not suppressed for some
time. At the present day there seems to be no trace or even tradition
of such a custom. For Siamese and Philippine customs see B.E.F.E.O.
1902, p. 153, note 4.
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[323] The word dhyâna is known, but the exercise is more commonly
called Vipassanâ or Kammathâna.
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CHAPTER XXXIX
CHAMPA[329]
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Chinese sources also state that a king called Fan-yi sent an embassy
to China in 284 and give the names of several kings who reigned
between 336 and 440. One of these, Fan-hu-ta, is apparently the
Bhadravarman who has left some Sanskrit inscriptions dating from
about 400 and who built the first temple at Mĩ-so’n. This became the
national sanctuary of Champa: it was burnt down about 575 A.D. but
rebuilt. Bhadravarman’s son Gangarâja appears to have abdicated
and to have gone on a pilgrimage to the Ganges[332]—another
instance of the intercourse prevailing between these regions and
India.
[It would be useless to follow in detail the long chronicle of the kings
of Champa but a few events merit mention. In 446 and again in 605
the Chinese invaded the country and severely chastised the
inhabitants. But the second invasion was followed by a period of
peace and prosperity. Śambhuvarman (†629) restored the temples of
Mi-so’n and two of his successors, both called Vikrântavarman, were
also great builders. The kings who reigned from 758 to 859, reckoned
as the fifth dynasty, belonged to the south and had their capital at
Vîrapura. The change seems to have been important, for the Chinese
who had previously called the country Lin-I, henceforth call it Huan-
wang. The natives continued to use the name Champa but
Satyavarman and the other kings of the dynasty do not mention Mi-
so’n though they adorned and endowed Po-nagar and other
sanctuaries in the south. It was during this period (A.D. 774 and 787)
that the province of Kauthâra was invaded by pirates, described as
thin black barbarians and cannibals, and also as the armies of
Java[333]. They pillaged the temples but were eventually expelled.
They were probably Malays but it is difficult to believe that the
Javanese could be seriously accused of cannibalism at this
period[334].
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The power of the Chams was crushed by Annam in 1470. After this
date they had little political importance but continued to exist as a
nationality under their own rulers. In 1650 they revolted against
Annam without success and the king was captured. But his widow
was accorded a titular position and the Cham chronicle[336]
continues the list of nominal kings down to 1822.
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When Champa was finally conquered the temple was sold to the
Annamites, who admitted that they could not acquire it except by
some special and peaceful arrangement. Even now they still continue
the worship of the goddess though they no longer know who she
is[347].
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The social system was theoretically based on the four castes, but
Chinese accounts indicate that in questions of marriage and
inheritance older ideas connected with matriarchy and a division
into clans still had weight. But the language of the inscriptions is
most orthodox. King Vikrântavarman[349] quotes with approval the
saying that the horse sacrifice is the best of good deeds and the
murder of a Brahman the worst of sins. Brahmans, chaplains
(purohita), pandits and ascetics are frequently mentioned [as worthy
of honour and gifts. The high priest or royal chaplain is styled
Śrîparamapurohita but it does not appear that there was a sacerdotal
family enjoying the unique position held by the Śivakaivalyas in
Camboja. The frequent changes of capital and dynasty in Champa
were unfavourable to continuity in either Church or State.
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The Chinese pilgrim I-Ching, writing in the last year of the seventh
century, includes Champa (Lin-I) in the list of countries which
“greatly reverence the three jewels” and contrasts it with Fu-nan
where a wicked king had recently almost exterminated Buddhism.
He says “In this country Buddhists generally belong to the Arya-
sammiti school, and there are also a few followers of the
Aryasarvâstivâdin school.” The statement is remarkable, for he also
tells us that the Sarvâstivâdins were the predominant sect in the
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There are still about 130,000 Chams in the south of Annam and
Camboja. In the latter country they are all Mohammedans. In Annam
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FOOTNOTES:
[329] Also spelt Campâ and Tchampa. It seems safer to use Ch for C
in names which though of Indian origin are used outside India. The
final a though strictly speaking long is usually written without an
accent. The following are the principal works which I have consulted
about Champa.
(d) L. Finot, “La Religion des Chams,” B.E.F.E.O, 1901, and Notes
d’Epigraphie. “Les Inscriptions de Mi-son,” ib. 1904. Numerous other
papers by this author, Durand, Parmentier and others in the same
periodical can be consulted with advantage.
[330] Corpus, II. p. 11, and Finot, Notes d’Epig. pp. 227 ff.
[333] Corpus, II. Stêle de Po Nagar, pp. 252 ff. and Stêle de Yang Tikuh,
p. 208, etc.
[334] The statements that they came from Java and were cannibals
occur in different inscriptions and may conceivably refer to two
bodies of invaders. But the dates are very near. Probably Java is not
the island now so called. See the chapter on Camboja, sec. 2. The
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[337] Corpus, II. p. 259. Jinendra may be a name either of the Buddha
or of a grammarian. The mention of the Kâśikâ vṛitti is important as
showing that this work must be anterior to the ninth century. The
Uttara Kalpa is quoted in the Tantras (see Bergaigne’s note), but
nothing is known of it.
[339] From Mi-son, date 1157 A.D. See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 961 and
963.
[343] See especially the article by Parmentier, B.E.F.E.O. 1902, pp. 17-
54.
[344] XXVI Corpus, II. pp. 244, 256; date 918 A.D.
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[351] E.g. B.E.F.E.O. pp. 918 ff. Dates 658 A.D. onwards.
[353] See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 912 ff. and esp. p. 970. I have seen a
kosha which is still in use in the neighbourhood of Badami. It is kept
in a village called Nandikeśvara, but on certain festivals it is put on a
linga at the temple of Mahakut. It is about 2 feet high and 10 inches
broad; a silver case with a rounded and ornamented top. On one side
is a single face in bold embossed work and bearing fine moustaches
exactly as in the mukhalingas of Champa. In the tank of the temple
of Mahakut is a half submerged shrine, from which rises a stone
linga on which are carved four faces bearing moustaches. There is
said to be a gold kosha set with jewels at Śringeri. See J. Mythic.
Society (Bangalore), vol. VIII. p. 27. According to Gopinatha Rao,
Indian Iconography, vol. II. p. 63, the oldest known lingas have figures
carved on them.
[361] For his views see his inscriptions in B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 85 ff.
But kings who are not known to have been Buddhists also speak of
Dharma. B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 922, 945.
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[366] Ib. 1901, p. 23, and Parmentier, Inventaire des Monuments Chams,
p. 542.
[368] See for the modern Chams the article “Chams” in E.R.E. and
Ethics, and Durand, “Les Chams Bani,” B.E.F.E.O. 1903, and “Notes
sur les Chams,” ib. 1905-7.
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CHAPTER XL
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The name Java is probably the Sanskrit Yava used in the sense of
grain, especially millet. In the Ramayana[371] the monkeys of
Hanuman are bidden to seek for Sîtâ in various places including
Yava-dvîpa, which contains seven kingdoms and produces gold and
silver. Others translate these last words as referring to another or
two other islands known as Gold and Silver Land. It is probable that
the poet did not distinguish clearly between Java and Sumatra. He
goes on to say that beyond Java is the peak called Śiśira. This is
possibly the same as the Yavakoṭi mentioned in 499 A.D. by the
Indian astronomer Aryabhaṭṭa.
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But the certain data for Javanese history before the eighth century
are few. For that period we have some evidence from Java itself. An
inscription dated 654 Śaka ( = 732 A.D.) discovered in Kĕdoe
celebrates the praises of a king named Sanjaya, son of King Sanna. It
contains an account of the dedication of a linga, invocations of Śiva,
Brahmâ and Vishṇu, a eulogy of the king’s virtue and learning, and
praise of Java. Thus about 700 A.D. there was a Hindu kingdom in
mid Java and this, it would seem, was then the part of the island
most important politically. Buddhist inscriptions of a somewhat later
date (one is of 778 A.D.) have been found in the neighbourhood of
Prambânam. They are written in the Nagari alphabet and record
various pious foundations. A little later again (809 and 840 A.D.) are
the inscriptions found on the Dieng (Dihyang), a [lonely mountain
plateau on which are several Brahmanic shrines in fair preservation.
There is no record of their builders but the New T’ang Annals say
that the royal residence was called Java but “on the mountains is the
district Lang-pi-ya where the king frequently goes to look at the
sea[381].” This may possibly be a reference to pilgrimages to Dieng.
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The evidence at our disposal points to the fact that Java received
most of its civilization from Hindu colonists, but who were these
colonists and from what part of India did they come? We must not
think of any sudden and definite conquest, but rather of a
continuous current of immigration starting perhaps from several
springs and often merely trickling, but occasionally swelling into a
flood. Native traditions collected by Raffles[382] ascribe the
introduction of Brahmanism and the Śaka era to the sage Tritresta
and represent the invaders as coming from Kalinga or from Gujarat.
The difference of locality may be due to the fact that there was a
trade route running from Broach to Masulipatam through Tagara
(now Ter). People arriving in the Far East by this route might be
described as coming either from Kalinga, where they [embarked, or
from Gujarat, their country of origin. Dubious as is the authority of
these legends, they perhaps preserve the facts in outline. The earliest
Javanese inscriptions are written in a variety of the Vengi script and
the T’ang annals call the island Kaling as well as Java. It is therefore
probable that early tradition represented Kalinga as the home of the
Hindu invaders. But later immigrants may have come from other
parts. Fa-Hsien could find no Buddhists in Java in 418, but Indian
forms of Mahayanism indubitably flourished there in later centuries.
The Kalasan inscription dated 778 A.D. and engraved in Nâgari
characters records the erection of a temple to Târâ and of a
Mahayanist monastery. The change in both alphabet and religion
suggests the arrival of new influences from another district and the
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Javanese traditions about Gujarat are said to find an echo among the
bards of western India and in such proverbs as, they who go to Java
come not back[383]. In the period of the Hunnish and Arab invasions
there may have been many motives for emigration from Gujarat. The
land route to Kalinga was probably open and the sea route offers no
great difficulties[384].
The fact that the terms connected with rice cultivation are Javanese
and not loan-words indicates that the island had some indigenous
civilization when the Hindus first settled there. Doubtless they often
came with military strength, but on the whole as colonists and
teachers rather than as conquerors. The Javanese kings of whom we
know most appear to have been not members of Hindu dynasties
but native princes who had adopted Hindu culture and religion.
Sanskrit did not oust Javanese as the language of epigraphy, poetry
and even religious literature. Javanese Buddhism appears to have
preserved its powers of growth and to have developed some special
doctrines. But Indian influence penetrated almost all institutions and
is visible even to-day. Its existence is still testified to by the alphabet
in use, by such titles as Arjo, Radja, Praboe, Dipati ( = adhipati), and
by various superstitions about lucky days and horoscopes.
Communal land tenure of the Indian kind still exists and in former
times grants of land were given to priests and, as in India, recorded
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on copper plates. Offerings to old statues are still made and the
Tenggerese[389] are not even nominal Mohammedans. The Balinese
still profess a species of Hinduism and employ a Hindu Calendar.
From the tenth century onwards the history of Java becomes a little
plainer.
There is a gap in Javanese history from the reign of Djajabaja till 1222
at which date the Pararaton[393], or Book of the Kings of Toemapĕl
and Madjapahit, begins to furnish information. The Sung annals[394]
also give some account of the island but it is not [clear to what years
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The Pararaton opens with the fall of Daha in 1222 which made
Toemapĕl, known later as Singasari, the principal kingdom. Five of
its kings are enumerated, of whom Vishṇuvardhana was buried in
the celebrated shrine of Tjandi Djago, where he was represented in
the guise of Buddha. His successor Śrî Râjasanâgara was praised by
the poet Prapantja[395] as a zealous Buddhist but was known by the
posthumous name of Śivabuddha. He was the first to use the name
of Singasâri and perhaps founded a new city, but the kingdom of
Toemapĕl came to an end in his reign for he was slain by Djaja
Katong[396], prince of Daha, who restored to that kingdom its
previous primacy, but only for a short time, since it was soon
supplanted by Madjapahit. The foundation of this state is connected
with a Chinese invasion of Java, related at some length in the Yüan
annals[397], so that we are fortunate in possessing a double and
fairly consistent account of what occurred.
We learn from these sources that some time after Khubilai Khan had
conquered China, he sent missions to neighbouring countries to
demand tribute. The Javanese had generally accorded a satisfactory
reception to Chinese missions, but on this occasion the king
(apparently Djaja Katong) maltreated the envoy and sent him back
with his face cut or tattooed. Khubilai could not brook this outrage
and in 1292 despatched a punitive expedition. At that time Raden
Vidjaja, the son-in-law of Kĕrtanagara, had not submitted to Djaja
Katong and held out at Madjapahit, a stronghold which he had
founded near the river Brantas. He offered his services to the
Chinese and after a two months’ campaign Daha was captured and
Djaja Katong killed. Raden Vidjaja now found that he no longer
[needed his Chinese allies. He treacherously massacred some and
prepared to fight the rest. But the Mongol generals, seeing the
difficulties of campaigning in an unknown country without guides,
prudently returned to their master and reported that they had taken
Daha and killed the insolent king.
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It does not appear that any prince ever claimed to be king of all
Sumatra. For the Hindu period we have no indigenous literature and
our scanty knowledge is derived from a few statues and inscriptions
and from notices in Chinese writings. The latter do not refer to the
island as a whole but to several states such as Indragiri near the
Equator and Kandali (afterwards called San-bo-tsai, the Sabaza of
the Arabs) near Palembang. The annals of the Liang dynasty say that
the customs of Kandali were much the same as those of Camboja and
apparently we are to understand that the country was Buddhist, for
one king visited the Emperor Wu-ti in a dream, and his son
addressed a letter to His Majesty eulogizing his devotion to
Buddhism. Kandali is said to have sent three envoys to China
between 454 and 519.
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suppose that an expert like I-Ching can have been wrong about what
he actually saw in Śrîbhoja. So far as his remarks apply to Java they
must be based on hearsay and have less authority, but the sculptures
of Boroboedoer appear to show the influence of Mûlasarvâstivâdin
literature. It must be remembered that this school, though nominally
belonging to the Hinayana, came to be something very different
from the Theravâda of Ceylon.
The Sung annals and subsequent Chinese writers know the same
district (the modern Palembang) as San-bo-tsai (which may indicate
either mere change of name or the rise of a new city) and say that it
sent twenty-one envoys between 960 and 1178. The real object of
these missions was to foster trade and there was evidently frequent
intercourse between eastern Sumatra, Champa and China.
Ultimately the Chinese seem to have thought that the entertainment
of Sumatran diplomatists cost more than they were worth, for in
1178 the emperor ordered that they should not come to Court but
present themselves in [the province of Fu-kien. The Annals state that
Sanskrit writing was in use at San-bo-tsai and lead us to suppose
that the country was Buddhist. They mention several kings whose
names or titles seem to begin with the Sanskrit word Śrî[403]. In 1003
the envoys reported that a Buddhist temple had been erected in
honour of the emperor and they received a present of bells for it.
Another envoy asked for dresses to be worn by Buddhist monks. The
Ming annals also record missions from San-bo-tsai up to 1376,
shortly after which the region was conquered by Java and the town
decayed[404]. In the fourteenth century Chinese writers begin to
speak of Su-mên-ta-la or Sumatra by which is meant not the whole
island but a state in the northern part of it called Samudra and
corresponding to Atjeh[405]. It had relations with China and the
manners and customs of its inhabitants are said to be the same as in
Malacca, which probably means that they were Moslims.
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The Liang and T’ang annals both speak of a country called Po-li,
described as an island lying to the south-east of Canton. Groeneveldt
identified it with Sumatra, but the account of its position suggests
that it is rather to be found in Borneo, parts of which were
undoubtedly known to the Chinese as Po-lo and Pu-ni[406]. The
Liang annals state that Po-li sent an embassy to the Emperor Wu-ti in
518 bearing a letter which described the [country as devoted to
Buddhism and frequented by students of the three vehicles. If the
letter is an authentic document the statements in it may still be
exaggerations, for the piety of Wu-ti was well known and it is clear
that foreign princes who addressed him thought it prudent to
represent themselves and their subjects as fervent Buddhists. But
there certainly was a Hindu period in Borneo, of which some
tradition remains among the natives[407], although it ended earlier
and left fewer permanent traces than in Java and elsewhere.
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The earliest dated (779 A.D.) monument in mid Java, Tjandi Kalasan,
is Buddhist and lies in the plain of Prambanan. It is dedicated to Târâ
and is of a type common both in Java and Champa, namely a chapel
surmounted by a tower. In connection with it was erected the
neighbouring building called Tjandi Sari, a two-storied monastery
for Mahayanist monks. Not far distant is Tjandi Sevu, which
superficially resembles the 450 Pagodas of Mandalay, for it consists
of a central cruciform shrine surrounded by about 240 smaller
separate chapels, everyone of which, apparently, contained the
statue of a Dhyâni Buddha. Other Buddhist buildings in the same
region are Tjandi Plaosan, and the beautiful chapel known as Tjandi
Mendut in which are gigantic seated images of the Buddha, Manjuśrî
and Avalokita. The face of the last named is perhaps the most
exquisite piece of work ever wrought by the chisel of a Buddhist
artist.
It is generally agreed that it must have been built about 850 A.D., but
obviously the construction lasted a considerable time and there are
indications that the architects altered their original plan. The
unknown founder must have been a powerful [and prosperous king
for no one else could have commanded the necessary labour. The
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The selection of reliefs is not due to the artists’ fancy but aims at
illustrating certain works. Thus the scenes of the Buddha’s life
reproduce in stone the story of the Lalita Vistara[410] and the Jâtaka
pictures are based on the Divyâvadâna. It is interesting to find that
both these works are connected with the school of the
Mûlasarvâstivâdins, which according to I-Ching was the form of
Buddhism prevalent in the archipelago. In the third gallery the
figure of Maitreya is prominent and often seems to be explaining
something to a personage who accompanies him. As Maitreya is said
to have revealed five important scriptures to Asaṇga, and as there is
a tradition that the east of Asia was evangelized by the disciples of
Asaṇga or Vasubandhu, it is possible that the delivery and progress
of Maitreya’s revelation is here depicted. The fourth gallery seems to
deal with the five superhuman Buddhas[411], their paradises and
other supra-mundane matters, but the key to this series of sculptures
has not yet been found. It is probable that the highest storey proved
to be too heavy in its original form and that the central dagoba had
to be reduced lest it should break the substructure. But it is not
known what image or relic was preserved in this dagoba. Possibly it
was dedicated to Vairocana who was regarded as the Supreme Being
and All-God by some Javanese Buddhists[412].
Yet the region was not wholly Buddhist. Not far from Boroboedoer
and apparently of about the same age is the Sivaite temple of Banon,
and the great temple group of Prambanam is close to Kalasan and to
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The temples on the Dieng plateau are also purely Brahmanic and
probably older, for though we have no record of their foundation, an
inscribed stone dated 800 A.D. has been found in this district. The
plateau which is 6500 feet high was approached by paved roads or
flights of stairs on one of which about 4000 steps still remain.
Originally there seem to have been about 40 buildings on the plateau
but of these only eight now exist besides several stone foundations
which supported wooden structures. The place may have been a
temple city analogous to Girnar or Śatrunjaya, but it appears to have
been deserted in the thirteenth century, perhaps in consequence of
volcanic activity. The Dieng temples are named after the heroes of
the Mahabharata (Tjandi Ardjuno, Tjandi Bimo, etc.), but these
appear to be late designations. They are rectangular towerlike
[shrines with porches and a single cellule within. Figures of Brahma,
Śiva and Vishṇu have been discovered, as well as spouts to carry off
the libation water.
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From the eleventh century until the end of the Hindu period Java can
show a considerable body of literature, which is in part theological. It
is unfortunate that no books dating from an earlier epoch should be
extant. The sculptures of Prambanam and Boroboedoer clearly
presuppose an acquaintance with the Ramayana, the Lalita Vistara
and other Buddhist works but, as in Camboja, this literature was
probably known only in the original Sanskrit and only to the
learned. But it is not unlikely that the Javanese adaptations of the
Indian epics which have come down to us were preceded by earlier
attempts which have disappeared.
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the Buddha principle at this stage is also called Divarûpa. In the next
stage this Divarûpa takes form as Śâkyamuni, who is regarded as a
superhuman form of Buddhahood rather than as a human teacher,
for he produces from his right and left side respectively Lokeśvara
and Bajrapâni. These beings produce, the first Akshobhya and
Ratnasambhava, the second Amitâbha and Amoghasiddhi, but
Vairocana springs directly from the face of Śâkyamuni. The five
superhuman Buddhas are thus accounted for. From Vairocana
spring Iśvara (Śiva), Brahmâ, and Vishṇu: from them the elements,
the human body and the whole world. A considerable part of the
treatise is occupied with connecting these various emanations of the
Advaya with mystic syllables and in showing how the five Buddhas
correspond to the different skandas, elements, senses, etc. Finally we
are told that there are five Devîs, or female counterparts
corresponding in the same order to the Buddhas named above and
called Locanâ, Mâmakî, Pâṇḍaravâsinî, Târâ and Dhâtvîśvarî. But it
is declared that [the first and last of these are the same and therefore
there are really only four Devîs.
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In this curious exposition the author seems to imply that his doctrine
is different from that of ordinary Buddhists, and to reprimand them
more decidedly than Śivaites. He several times uses the phrase Namo
Bhaṭâra, namaḥ Śivâya (Hail, Lord: hail to Śiva) yet he can hardly be
said to favour the Śivaites on the whole, for his All-God is Vairocana
who once (but only once) receives the title of Buddha. The doctrine
attributed to the Śivaites that the five Kusikas are identical with the
superhuman Buddhas remains obscure[435]. These five personages
are said to be often mentioned in old Javanese literature but to be
variously [enumerated[436]. They are identified with the five Indras,
but these again are said to be the five senses (indriyas). Hence we
can find a parallel to this doctrine in the teaching of the
Kamahâyânikan that the five Buddhas correspond to the five senses.
The second thesis is put in the mouth of Yama. He states that when a
being has finished his term in purgatory he returns to life in this
world first as a worm or insect, then successively as a higher animal
and a human being, first diseased or maimed and finally perfect. No
parallel has yet been quoted to this account of metempsychosis.
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The island of Bali is divided from the east coast of Java only by a
narrow strait but the inhabitants possess certain characters of their
own. They are more robust in build, their language is distinct from
Javanese though belonging to the same group, and even the alphabet
presents idiosyncrasies. Their laws, social institutions, customs and
calendar show many peculiarities, explicable on the supposition that
they have preserved the ancient usages of pre-Mohammedan Java.
At present the population is divided into the Bali-Agas or aborigines
and the Wong Madjapahit who profess to have immigrated from
that kingdom. The Chinese references[455] to Bali seem uncertain
but, if accepted, indicate that it was known in the middle ages as a
religious centre. It was probably a colony and dependency of
Madjapahit and when Madjapahit fell it became a refuge for those
who were not willing to accept Islam.
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In the outer court stand various sheds and hollow wooden cylinders
which when struck give a sound like bells. Another ornamented
doorway leads to the second court where are found some or all of
the following objects: (a) Sacred trees, especially Ficus elastica. (b)
Sheds with seats for human beings. It is said that on certain
occasions these are used by mediums who become inspired by the
gods and then give oracles, (c) Seats for the gods, generally under
sheds. They are of various kinds. There is usually one conspicuous
chair with an ornamental back and a scroll hanging behind it which
bears some such inscription as “This is the chair of the Bhatâra.” Any
deity may be invited to take this seat and receive worship.
Sometimes a stone linga is placed upon it. In some temples a stone
chair, called padmâsana, is set apart for Sûrya. (d) Small shrines two
or three feet high, set on posts or pedestals. When well executed they
are similar to the cabinets used in Japanese temples as shrines for
images but when, as often happens, they are roughly made they are
curiously like dovecots. On them are hung strips of dried palm-
leaves in bunches like the Japanese gohei. As a rule the shrines
contain no image but only a small seat and some [objects said to be
stones which are wrapped up in a cloth and called Artjeh[456]. In
some temples (e.g. the Bale Agoeng at Singaraja) there are erections
called Meru, supposed to represent the sacred mountain where the
gods reside. They consist of a stout pedestal or basis of brick on
which is erected a cabinet shrine as already described. Above this are
large round discs made of straw and wood, which may be described
as curved roofs or umbrellas. They are from three to five in number
and rise one above the other, with slight intervals between them. (e)
In many temples (for instance at Sangsit and Sawan) pyramidal
erections are found either in addition to the Merus or instead of
them. At the end of the second court is a pyramid in four stages or
terraces, often with prolongations at the side of the main structure or
at right angles to it. It is ascended by several staircases, consisting of
about twenty-five steps, and at the top are rows of cabinet shrines.
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beliefs. The deities are called Dewa, but many of them are
indigenous nature spirits (especially mountain spirits) such as Dewa
Gunung Agung, who are sometimes identified with Indian gods.
The art of Bali is more fantastic than that of ancient Java. The carved
work, whether in stone or wood, is generally polychromatic. Figures
are piled one on the top of another as in the sculptures of Central
America and there is a marked tendency to emphasize projections.
Leaves and flowers are very deeply carved and such features as ears,
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FOOTNOTES:
[369] I have not been able to find anything more than casual and
second-hand statements to the effect that Indian antiquities have
been found in these islands.
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[372] Ptolemy’s Geography, VII. 2. 29 (see also VIII. 27, 10). Ἰαβαδίου
(ἢ Σαβαδίου), ὅ σημαίνει κριθῆς, νῆσος. Εὐφορωτάτη δὲ λέγεται ἡ
νῆσος εἶναι καὶ ἔτι πλεῖστον χρυσὸν ποιεῖν, ἔχειν τε μητρόπολιν
ὄνομα Ἀργυρῆν ἐπῖ τοῖς δυσμικοῖς πέρασιν .
[373] The Milinda Pañhâ of doubtful but not very late date also
mentions voyages to China.
[375] Kern in Versl. en Med. K. Ak. v. W. Afd. Lett. 3 Rks. I. 1884, pp. 5-
12.
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[383] Jackson, Java and Cambodja. App. IV. in Bombay Gazetteer, vol. I.
part 1, 1896.
[385] See for this question Pelliot in B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 274 ff. Also
Schlegel in T’oung Pao, 1899, p. 247, and Chavannes, ib. 1904, p. 192.
[388] See Kamaha. pp. 9, 10, and Watters, Yüan Chwang, II. pp. 209-
214.
[391] Or Jayabaya.
[396] Or Jayakatong.
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[405] The Ming annals expressly state that the name was changed to
Atjeh about 1600.
[406] For the identification of Po-li see Groeneveldt, p. 80, and Hose
and McDougall, Pagan Tribes of Borneo, chap. II. It might be identified
with Bali, but it is doubtful if Hindu civilization had spread to that
island or even to east Java in the sixth century.
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[415] See Knebel in Tijds. voor Indische T., L. en Volkenkunde, 41, 1909,
p. 27.
[418] See for reasons and references Archaeol. Onderzoek, II. pp. 36-40.
The principal members of the king’s household probably committed
suicide during the funeral ceremonies.
[419] Kern in Tijds. voor T., L. en Volkenkunde, Deel LII. 1910, p. 107.
Similarly in Burma Alompra was popularly regarded as a
Bodhisattva.
[420] Sanskrit Kavi, a poet. See for Javanese literature Van der Tuuk
in J.R.A.S. XIII. 1881, p. 42, and Hinloopen Labberton, ib. 1913, p. 1.
Also the article “Litteratuur” in the Encyc. van Nederlandsch-Indië, and
many notices in the writings of Kern and Veth.
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[423] Episodes of the Indian epics have also been used as the subjects
of Javanese dramas. See Juynboll, Indonesische en achterindische
tooneelvoorstellingen uit het Râmâyana, and Hinloopen Labberton,
Pepakem Sapanti Sakoentala, 1912.
[428] But this probably represents nizbâṇa and is not a Pali form. Cf.
Bajra, Bâyu for Vajra, Vâyu.
[433] The use of this word, as a name for the residence of Vairocana,
seems to be peculiar to our author.
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[445] “Bijdrage tot de Kennis van het Mahâyâna opJava” in Bijd. tot
de Taal Lund en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië, 1901 and 1902.
[448] In a passage which is not translated from the Sanskrit and may
therefore reflect the religious condition of Java.
[451] Veth, Java, vol. IV. p. 154. The whole chapter contains much
information about the Hindu elements in modern Javanese religion.
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[453] Also to some extent in Lombok. The Balinese were formerly the
ruling class in this island and are still found there in considerable
numbers.
[454] It has even been suggested that hinduized Malays carried some
faint traces of Indian religion to Madagascar. See T’oung Pao 1906, p.
93, where Zanahari is explained as Yang ( = God in Malay) Hari.
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CHAPTER XLI
CENTRAL ASIA
The term Central Asia is here used to denote the Tarim basin,
without rigidly excluding neighbouring countries such as the Oxus
region and Badakshan. This basin is a depression surrounded on
three sides by high mountains: only on the east is the barrier
dividing it from China relatively low. The water of the whole area
discharges through the many branched Tarim river into Lake
Lobnor. This so-called lake is now merely a flooded morass and the
basin is a desert with occasional oases lying chiefly near its edges.
The fertile portions were formerly more considerable but a quarter of
a century ago this remote and lonely region interested no one but a
few sportsmen and geographers. The results of recent exploration
have been important and surprising. The arid sands have yielded not
only ruins, statues and frescoes but whole libraries written in a
dozen languages. The value of such discoveries for the general
history of Asia is clear and they are of capital importance for our
special subject, since during many centuries the Tarim region and its
neighbouring lands were centres and highways for Buddhism and
possibly the scene of many changes whose origin is now obscure.
But I am unfortunate in having to discuss Central Asian Buddhism
before scholars have had time to publish or even catalogue
completely the store of material collected and the reader must
remember that the statements in this chapter are at best tentative and
incomplete. They will certainly be supplemented and probably
corrected as year by year new documents and works of art are made
known.
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On the whole the paintings testify to the invasion of Far Eastern art
by the ideas and designs of Indian Buddhism rather than to an equal
combination of Indian and Chinese influence but in some forms of
decoration, particularly that employed in the Khan’s palace at
Idiqutshähri[478], Chinese style is predominant. It may be too that
the early pre-buddhist styles of painting in China and Central Asia
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Only one side of Central Asian history can be written with any
completeness, namely its relations with China. Of these some
account with dates can be given, thanks to the Chinese annals which
incidentally supply valuable information about earlier periods. But
unfortunately these relations were often interrupted and also the
political record does not always furnish the data which are of most
importance for the history of Buddhism. Still there is no better
framework available for arranging our data. But even were our
information much fuller, we should probably find the history of
Central Asia scrappy and disconnected. Its cities were united by no
bond of common blood or language, nor can any one of them have
had a continuous development in institutions, letters or art. These
were imported in a mature form and more or less assimilated in a
precocious Augustan age, only to be overwhelmed in some
catastrophe which, if not merely destructive, at least brought the
ideas and baggage of another race.
[It was under the Emperor Wu-ti (140-87 B.C.) of the Han dynasty
that the Chinese first penetrated into the Tarim basin. They had
heard that the Hsiung-nu, of whose growing power they were afraid,
had driven the Yüeh-chih westwards and they therefore despatched
an envoy named Chang Ch’ien in the hope of inducing the Yüeh-
chih to co-operate with them against the common enemy. Chang
Ch’ien made two adventurous expeditions, and visited the Yüeh-
chih in their new home somewhere on the Oxus. His mission failed
to attain its immediate political object but indirectly had important
results, for it revealed to China that the nations on the Oxus were in
touch with India on one hand and with the more mysterious west on
the other. Henceforth it was her aim to keep open the trade route
leading westwards from the extremity of the modern Kansu
province to Kashgar, Khotan and the countries with which those
cities communicated. Far from wishing to isolate herself or exclude
foreigners, her chief desire was to keep the road to the west open,
and although there were times when the flood of Buddhism which
swept along this road alarmed the more conservative classes, yet for
many centuries everything that came in the way of merchandize, art,
literature, and religion was eagerly received. The chief hindrance to
this intercourse was the hostility of the wild tribes who pillaged
caravans and blocked the route, and throughout the whole stretch of
recorded history the Chinese used the same method to weaken them
and keep the door open, namely to create or utilize a quarrel
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between two tribes. The Empire allied itself with one in order to
crush the second and that being done, proceeded to deal with its
former ally.
Dated records beginning with the year 98 B.C. testify to the presence
of a Chinese garrison near the modern Tun-huang[483]. But at the
beginning of the Christian era the Empire was convulsed by internal
rebellion and ceased to have influence or interest in Central Asia.
With the restoration of order things took another turn. The reign of
the Emperor Ming-ti is the traditional date for the introduction of
Buddhism and it also witnessed the victorious campaigns of the
famous general and adventurer Pan Ch’ao. He conquered Khotan
and Kashgar and victoriously repulsed the attacks of the Kushans or
Yüeh-chih who were interested in these regions and endeavoured to
stop his progress. The Chinese annals do not give the name of their
[king but it must have been Kanishka if he came to the throne in 78. I
confess however that this silence makes it difficult for me to accept
78-123 A.D. as the period of Kanishka’s reign, for he must have been
a monarch of some celebrity and if the Chinese had come into
victorious contact with him, would not their historians have
mentioned it? It seems to me more probable that he reigned before or
after Pan Ch’ao’s career in Central Asia which lasted from A.D. 73-
102. With the end of that career Chinese activity ceased for some
time and perhaps the Kushans conquered Kashgar and Khotan early
in the second century. Neither the degenerate Han dynasty nor the
stormy Three Kingdoms could grapple with distant political
problems and during the fourth, fifth and sixth centuries northern
China was divided among Tartar states, short-lived and mutually
hostile. The Empire ceased to be a political power in the Tarim basin
but intercourse with Central Asia and in particular the influx of
Buddhism increased, and there was also a return wave of Chinese
influence westwards. Meanwhile two tribes, the Hephthalites (or
White Huns) and the Turks[484], successively became masters of
Central Asia and founded states sometimes called Empires—that is
to say they overran vast tracts within which they took tribute
without establishing any definite constitution or frontiers.
When the T’ang dynasty (618-907) re-united the Empire, the Chinese
Government with characteristic tenacity reverted to its old policy of
keeping the western road open and to its old methods. The Turks
were then divided into two branches, the northern and western, at
war with one another. The Chinese allied themselves with the latter,
defeated the northern Turks and occupied Turfan (640). Then in a
series of campaigns, in which they were supported by the Uigurs,
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they conquered their former allies the western Turks and proceeded
to organize the Tarim basin under the name of the Four
Garrisons[485]. This was the most glorious period of China’s foreign
policy and at no other time had she so great a position as a western
power. The [list of her possessions included Bokhara in the west and
starting from Semirechinsk and Tashkent in the north extended
southwards so as to embrace Afghanistan with the frontier districts
of India and Persia[486]. It is true that the Imperial authority in many
of these regions was merely nominal: when the Chinese conquered a
tribe which claimed sovereignty over them they claimed sovereignty
themselves. But for the history of civilization, for the migration of art
and ideas, even this nominal claim is important, for China was
undoubtedly in touch with India, Bokhara and Persia.
But no sooner did these great vistas open, than new enemies
appeared to bar the road. The Tibetans descended into the Tarim
basin and after defeating the Chinese in 670 held the Four Garrisons
till 692, when the fortunes of war were reversed. But the field was
not left clear for China: the power of the northern Turks revived, and
Mohammedanism, then a new force but destined to ultimate
triumph in politics and religion alike, appeared in the west. The
conquests of the Mohammedan general Qutayba (705-715) extended
to Ferghana and he attacked Kashgar. In the long reign of Hsüan
Tsung China waged a double warfare against the Arabs and
Tibetans. For about thirty years (719-751) the struggle was successful.
Even Tabaristan is said to have acknowledged China’s suzerainty.
Her troops crossed the Hindu Kush and reached Gilgit. But in 751
they sustained a crushing defeat near Tashkent. The disaster was
aggravated by the internal troubles of the Empire and it was long
before Chinese authority recovered from the blow[487]. The Tibetans
reaped the advantage. Except in Turfan, they were the dominant
power of the Tarim basin for a century, they took tribute from China
and when it was refused sacked the capital, Chang-an (763). It would
appear however that for a time Chinese garrisons held out in Central
Asia and Chinese officials exercised some authority, though they
obtained no support from the Empire[488]. But although even late in
the tenth century Khotan sent embassies to the Imperial Court,
China [gradually ceased to be a Central Asian power. She made a
treaty with the Tibetans (783) and an alliance with the Uigurs, who
now came to the front and occupied Turfan, where there was a
flourishing Uigur kingdom with Manichæism as the state religion
from about 750 to 843. In that year the Kirghiz sacked Turfan and it
is interesting to note that the Chinese who had hitherto tolerated
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The Tarim basin, though sometimes united under foreign rule, had
no indigenous national unity. Cities, or groups of towns, divided by
deserts lived their own civic life and enjoyed considerable
independence under native sovereigns, although the Chinese, Turks
or Tibetans quartered troops in them and appointed residents to
supervise the collection of tribute. The chief of these cities or oases
were Kashgar in the west: Kucha, Karashahr, Turfan (Idiqutshähri,
Chotscho) and Hami lying successively to the north-east: Yarkand,
Khotan and Miran to the south-east[490]. It may be well to review
briefly the special history of some of them.
The relics found near Kashgar, the most western of these cities, are
comparatively few, probably because its position exposed it to the
destructive influence of Islam at an early date. Chinese writers
reproduce the name as Ch’ia-sha, Chieh-ch’a, etc., but also call the
region Su-lê, Shu-lê, or Sha-lê[491]. It is [mentioned first in the Han
annals. After the missions of Chang-Ch’ien trade with Bactria and
Sogdiana grew rapidly and Kashgar which was a convenient
emporium became a Chinese protected state in the first century B.C.
But when the hold of China relaxed about the time of the Christian
era it was subdued by the neighbouring kingdom of Khotan. The
conquests of Pan-Ch’ao restored Chinese supremacy but early in the
second century the Yüeh-chih interfered in the politics of Kashgar
and placed on the throne a prince who was their tool. The
introduction of Buddhism is ascribed to this epoch[492]. If Kanishka
was then reigning the statement that he conquered Kashgar and
Khotan is probably correct. It is supported by Hsüan Chuang’s story
of the hostages and by his assertion that Kanishka’s rule extended to
the east of the Ts’ung-ling mountains: also by the discovery of
Kanishka’s coins in the Khotan district. Little is heard of Kashgar
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The pilgrim Wu-K’ung spent five months in Kashgar about 786, but
there appear to be no later data of interest for the study of
Buddhism.
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In 383 Fu-chien, Emperor of the Tsin dynasty, sent his general Lü-
Kuang to subdue Kucha[501]. The expedition was successful and
among the captives taken was the celebrated Kumârajîva. Lü-Kuang
was so pleased with the magnificent and comfortable life of Kucha
that he thought of settling there but Kumârajîva prophesied that he
was destined to higher things. So they left to try their fortune in
China. Lü-Kuang rose to be ruler of the state known as Southern
Liang and his captive and adviser became one of the greatest names
in Chinese Buddhism.
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has been preserved to the effect that Sanskrit texts were used in the
cities lying to the west of it, but that in Kucha itself Indian languages
were not understood and translations were made, although such
Sanskrit words as were easily intelligible were retained.
In the time of the Wei, Kucha again got into trouble with China and
was brought to order by another punitive expedition in 448. After
this lesson a long series of tribute-bearing missions is recorded, sent
first to the court of Wei, and afterwards to the Liang, Chou and Sui.
The notices respecting the country are to a large extent repetitions.
They praise its climate, fertility and mineral wealth: the magnificence
of the royal palace, the number and splendour of the religious
establishments. Peacocks were as common as fowls and the Chinese
annalists evidently had a general impression of a brilliant, pleasure-
loving and not very moral city. It was specially famous for its music:
the songs and dances of Kucha, performed by native artists, were
long in favour at the Imperial Court, and a list of twenty airs has
been preserved[504].
When the T’ang dynasty came to the throne Kucha sent an embassy
to do homage but again supported Karashahr in rebellion and again
brought on herself a punitive expedition (648). But the town was
peaceful and prosperous when visited by Hsüan Chuang about 630.
In 658 Kucha was made the seat of government for the territory
known as the Four Garrisons. During the next century it sent several
missions to the Chinese and about 788 was visited by Wu-K’ung,
who indicates that music and Buddhism were still flourishing. He
mentions an Abbot who spoke with equal fluency the language of
the country, Chinese and Sanskrit. Nothing is known about Kucha
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from this date until the eleventh century when we again hear of
missions to the Chinese Court. The annals mention them under the
heading of Uigurs, but Buddhism seems not to have been extinct for
even in 1096 the Envoy presented to the Emperor a jade Buddha.
According to Hsüan Chuang’s account the Buddhism of Karashahr
(Yenki) was the same as that of Kucha and its monasteries enjoyed
the same reputation for strictness and learning.
But the early history of this people and of their civilization is chiefly
a matter of theory. In the Han period[507] there was a kingdom
called Kü-shih or Kiü-shih, with two capitals. It was destroyed in 60
B.C. by the Chinese general Chêng-Chi and eight small principalities
were formed in its place. In the fourth and fifth centuries A.D.
Turfan had some connection with two ephemeral states which arose
in Kansu under the names of Hou Liang and Pei Liang. The former
was founded by Lü-Kuang, the general who, as related above, took
Kucha. He fell foul of a tribe in his territory called Chü-ch’ü,
described as belonging to the Hsiung-nu. Under their chieftain
Mêng-hsün, who devoted his later years to literature and Buddhism,
this tribe took a good deal of territory from the Hou Liang, in
Turkestan as well as in Kansu, and called their state Pei Liang. It was
conquered by the Wei dynasty in 439 and two members of the late
reigning house determined to try their fortune in Turfan and ruled
there successively for about twenty years. An Chou, the second of
these princes, died in 480 and his fame survives because nine years
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Nevertheless the political and intellectual life of the oasis was not
annihilated. It was conquered by the Uigurs at an uncertain date, but
they were established there in the eighth and ninth centuries and
about 750 their Khan adopted Manichæism as the state religion. The
many manuscripts in Sogdian and [other Persian dialects found at
Turfan show that it had an old and close connection with the west. It
is even possible that Mani may have preached there himself but it
does not appear that his teaching became influential until about 700
A.D. The presence of Nestorianism is also attested. Tibetan influence
too must have affected Turfan in the eighth and ninth centuries for
many Tibetan documents have been found there although it seems to
have been outside the political sphere of Tibet. About 843 this Uigur
Kingdom was destroyed by the Kirghiz.
Let us now turn to Khotan[508]. This was the ancient as well as the
modern name of the principal city in the southern part of the Tarim
basin but was modified in Chinese to Yü-t’ien, in Sanskrit to
Kustana[509]. The Tibetan equivalent is Li-yul, the land of Li, but no
explanation of this designation is forthcoming.
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There was also Iranian influence in Khotan. It shows itself in art and
has left indubitable traces in the language called by some
Nordarisch, but when the speakers of that language reached the
oasis or what part they played there, we do not yet know.
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About 674 the king of Khotan did personal homage at the Chinese
Court. The Emperor constituted his territory into a government
called P’i-sha after the deity P’i-sha-mên or Vai’sravana and made
him responsible for its administration. Another king did homage
between 742 and 755 and received an imperial princess as his
consort. Chinese political influence was effective until the last decade
of the eighth century but after 790 the conquests of the Tibetans put
an end to it and there is [no mention of Khotan in the Chinese
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Another cultural centre of the Tarim basin must have existed in the
oases near Lob-nor where Miran and a nameless site to the north of
the lake have been investigated by Stein. They have yielded
numerous Tibetan documents, but also fine remains of Gandharan
art and Prakrit documents written in the Kharoshthî character.
Probably the use of this language and alphabet was not common
further east, for though a Kharoshthî fragment was found by Stein in
an old Chinese frontier post[517] the library of Tun-huang yielded
no specimens of them. That library, however, dating apparently
from the epoch of the T’ang, contained some Sanskrit Buddhist
literature and was rich in Sogdian, Turkish, and Tibetan
manuscripts.
It is clear that there was constant intercourse with India and the
Oxus region. The use of Prakrit and of various Iranian idioms points
to actual colonization from these two quarters and [it is probable that
there were two streams of Buddhism, for the Chinese pilgrims agree
that Shan-shan (near Lob-nor), Turfan, Kucha and Kashgar were
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The Tarim basin and the lands of the Oxus[524] were a region where
different religions and cultures mingled and there is no difficulty in
supposing that Buddhism might have amalgamated there with
Zoroastrianism or Christianity. The question is whether there is any
evidence for such amalgamation. It is above all in its relations with
China that Central Asia appears as an exchange of religions. It
passed on to China the art and thought of India, perhaps adding
something of its own on the way and then received them back from
China with further additions[525]. It certainly received a great deal
from Persia: the number of manuscripts in different Iranian
languages puts this beyond doubt. Equally undoubted is its debt to
India, but it would be of even greater interest to determine whether
Indian Buddhism owes a debt to Central Asia and to define that
debt. For Tibet the relation was mutual. The Tibetans occupied the
Tarim basin during a century and according to their traditions
monks went from Khotan to instruct Tibet.
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Sylvain Lévi has shown that some Mahâyânist sutras were either
written or re-edited in Central Asia[528]. Not only do they contain
lists of Central Asian place-names but these receive an importance
which can be explained only by the local patriotism of the writer or
the public which he addressed. Thus the Sûryagarbha sutra praises
the mountain of Gośringa near Khotan much as the Puranas
celebrate in special chapters called Mâhâtmyas the merits of some
holy place. Even more remarkable is a list in the Chandragarbha
sutra. The Buddha in one of the great transformation scenes common
in these works sends forth rays of light which produce innumerable
manifestations of Buddhas. India (together with what is called the
western region) has a total of 813 manifestations, whereas Central
Asia and China have 971. Of these the whole Chinese Empire has
255, the kingdoms of Khotan and Kucha have 180 and 99
respectively, but only 60 are given to Benares and 30 to Magadha.
Clearly Central Asia was a very important place for the author of
this list[529].
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instead of Indian, it is only natural that the doctrine too should take
on some local colour[531].
Thus the dated inscription of the temple erected in Turfan A.D. 469 is
a mixture of Chinese ideas, both Confucian and Taoist, with Indian.
It is in honour of Maitreya, a Bodhisattva known to the Hînayâna,
but here regarded not merely as the future Buddha but as an active
and benevolent deity who manifests himself in many forms[532], a
view which also finds expression in the tradition that the works of
Asanga were revelations made by him. Akâśagarbha and the
Dharmakâya are mentioned. But the inscription also speaks of
heaven (t’ien) as appointing princes, and of the universal law (tao)
and it contains several references to Chinese literature.
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there is little that can be called history, but still it appears that the
first person whom tradition connects with the worship of Amitâbha
was of low caste, bore a foreign name, saw the deity in an unknown
country, and like many tantric teachers was represented as totally
unlike a Buddhist monk. It cannot be proved that he came from the
lands of the Oxus or Turkestan, but such an [origin would explain
much in the tradition. On the other hand, there would be no
difficulty in accounting for Zoroastrian influence at Peshawar or
Takkasila within the frontiers of India.
Thus all the chief features of Amitâbha’s paradise are Persian: only
his method of instituting it by making a vow is Buddhist. It is true
that Indian imagination had conceived numerous paradises, and that
the early Buddhist legend tells of the Tushita heaven. But Sukhâvatî
is not like these abodes of bliss. It appears suddenly in the history of
Buddhism as something exotic, grafted adroitly on the parent trunk
but sometimes overgrowing it[552].
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FOOTNOTES:
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[462] See Hoernle in J.R.A.S. 1910, pp. 837 ff. and 1283 ff.; 1911, pp.
202 ff., 447 ff.
[463] An old Turkish text about Maitreya states that it was translated
from an Indian language into Tokhri and from Tokhri into Turkish.
See F.K.W. Müller, Sitzungsber. der Kön. Preuss. Akad. 1907, p. 958. But
it is not clear what is meant by Tokhri.
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[475] Stein, Ancient Khotan, plates xiii-xvii and xl, pp. 83 and 482 ff.
[480] Le Coq in J.R.A.S. 1909, pp. 299 ff. See the whole article.
[485] That is Kashgar, Khotan, Kucha and Tokmak for which last
Karashahr was subsequently substituted. The territory was also
called An Hsi.
[486] See for lists and details Chavannes, Documents sur les Tou-kiue
Occidentaux, pp. 67 ff. and 270 ff.
[489] See for this part of their history, Grenard’s article in J.A. 1900, I.
pp. 1-79.
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[491] These words have been connected with the tribe called Sacae,
Sakas, or Sök.
[494] About 643 A.D. He mentions that the inhabitants tattooed their
bodies, flattened their children’s heads and had green eyes. Also that
they spoke a peculiar language.
[496] Beal, Records, II. p. 278. The pilgrim is speaking from hearsay
and it is not clear to what part of Persia he refers.
[497] See Chavannes, Documents sur les Tou-kiue Occidentaux, pp. 121,
125. The inhabitants of K’ang (Samarkand or Sogdiana) are said to
honour both religions. Ib. p. 135.
[501] The circumstances which provoked the expedition are not very
clear. It was escorted by the king of Turfan and other small
potentates who were the vassals of the Tsin and also on bad terms
with Kucha. They probably asked Fu-chien for assistance in
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[502] S. Lévi, J.A. 1913, ii. p. 348, quoting Hsü Kao Sêng Chuan.
[503] Quoted by S. Lévi from the Sung Kao Sêng Chuan. See J.A. 1913,
II. p. 344 and B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 562.
[506] Pelliot, J.A. 1912, i. p. 579, suggests that Chotscho or Qoco is the
Turkish equivalent of Kao Ch’ang in T’ang pronunciation, the nasal
being omitted.
[508] For the history of Khotan see Rémusat, Ville de Khotan, 1820,
and Stein’s great work Ancient Khotan, especially chapter vii. For the
Tibetan traditions see Rockhill, Life of the Buddha, pp. 230 ff.
[511] The Tibetan text gives the date of conversion as the reign of
King Vijayasambhava, 170 years after the foundation of Khotan.
[514] Chavannes, Tou-kiue, p. 125, cf. pp. 121 and 170. For Hsien shên
see Giles’s Chinese Dict. No. 4477.
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[518] See Watters, Yüan Chwang, II. p. 296. Beal, Life. p. 205.
Chavannes, “Voyage de Sung Yun.” B.E.F.E.O. 1903, 395, and for the
Tibetan sources, Rockhill, Life of the Buddha, chap. VIII. One of the
four Tibetan works is expressly stated to be translated from
Khotanese.
[520] A monk from Kashmir called Vairocana was also active in Tibet
about 750 A.D.
[521] It is also possible that Buddhism had a bad time in the fifth and
sixth centuries at the hands of the Tanguts, Juan-Juan and White
Huns.
[522] The Later Han Annals say that the Hindus are weaker than the
Yüeh-chih and are not accustomed to fight because they are
Buddhists. (See T’oung Pao, 1910, p. 192.) This seems to imply that
the Yüeh-chih were not Buddhists. But even this was the real view of
the compiler of the Annals we do not know from what work he took
this statement nor to what date it refers.
[523] See Beal, Life, p. 39, Julien, p. 50. The books mentioned are
apparently the Samyuktâbhidharmahṛidaya (Nanjio, 1287),
Abhidharma Kosha (Nanjio, 1267), Abhidharma-Vibhâsha (Nanjio,
1264) and Yogâcâryabhûmi (Nanjio, 1170).
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[530] See Bibl. Budd. XII. pp. 44, 46, XIV. p. 45.
[531] The Turkish sutras repeatedly style the Buddha God (t’angri)
or God of Gods. The expression devâtideva is applied to him in
Sanskrit, but the Turkish phrases are more decided and frequent.
The Sanskrit phrase may even be due to Iranian influence.
[533] J.A. 1913, I. p. 154. The series of three articles by Chavannes and
Pelliot entitled “Un traité Manichéen retrouvé en Chine” (J.A. 1911,
1913) is a most valuable contribution to our knowledge of
Manichæism in Central Asia and China.
[534] E.g. see J.A. 1911, pp. 509 and 589. See also Le Coq, Sitzb. preuss.
Akad. der Wiss. 48, 1909, 1202-1218.
[537] See Havret, l.c. III. p. 54, for some interesting remarks
respecting the unwillingness of the Nestorians and also of the Jesuits
to give publicity to the crucifixion.
[538] See Takakusu, I-tsing, pp. 169, 223, and T’oung Pao, 1896, p. 589.
[541] See S.B.E. IV. (Vendîdad) pp. 145, 209; XXIII. p. 184, V. p. III.
[542] Chap. VII. The notices in Chaps. XXII. and XXIV. are rather
more detailed but also later.
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[544] Transl. Schiefner, pp. 93, 105 and 303, and Pander’s Pantheon,
No. 11. But Târanâtha also says that he was Aryadeva’s pupil.
[547] S.B.E. IV. p. 293; ib. XXXIII. pp. 317 and 344.
[555] Ti-tsang in Chinese, Jizo in Japanese. See for his history Visser’s
elaborate articles in Ostasiatische Ztsft. 1913-1915.
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CHAPTER XLII
CHINA
Prefatory note.
INTRODUCTORY.
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seen by the fancy of the alchemist and astrologer. The powers that
control nature are also identified with ancient heroes, but they are
mostly heroes of the type of St. George and the Dragon of whom
history has little to say, and Chinese respect for the public service
and official rank takes the queer form of regarding these spirits as
celestial functionaries. Thus the gods have a Ministry of Thunder
which supervises the weather and a Board of Medicine which looks
after sickness and health.
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associate with the word religion, for in their desire to show that they
were as good as their opponents the Taoists copied them in
numerous and important particulars, for instance triads of deities,
sacred books and monastic institutions.
But Taoism is also the name commonly given not only to this fanciful
church but also to the philosophic ideas expounded in the Tao-tê-
ching and in the works of Chuang-tzŭ. The Taoist priesthood claim
this philosophy, but the two have no necessary connection. Taoism
as philosophy represents a current of thought opposed to
Confucianism, compared with which it is ascetic, mystic and
pantheistic, though except in comparison it does not deserve such
epithets. My use of pantheistic in particular may raise objection, but
it seems to me that Tao, however hard to define, is analogous to
Brahman, the impersonal Spirit of Hindu philosophy. The universe
is the expression of Tao and in conforming to Tao man finds
happiness. For Confucianism, as for Europe, man is the pivot and
centre of things, [but less so for Taoism and Buddhism. Philosophic
Taoism, being somewhat abstruse and unpractical, might seem to
have little chance of becoming a popular superstition. But from early
times it was opposed to Confucianism, and as Confucianism became
more and more the hall-mark of the official and learned classes,
Taoism tended to become popular, at the expense of degrading itself.
From early times too it dallied with such fascinating notions as the
acquisition of miraculous powers and longevity. But, as an appeal to
the emotional and spiritual sides of humanity, it was, if superior to
Confucianism, inferior to Buddhism.
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This attitude implies not only a certain want of conviction but also a
utilitarian view of religion. The Chinese visit a temple much as they
visit a shop or doctor, for definite material purposes, and if it be
asked whether they are a religious people in the better sense of the
word, I am afraid the answer must be in the negative. It is with
regret that I express this opinion and I by no means imply that there
are not many deeply religious persons in China, but whereas in India
the obvious manifestations of superstition are a superficial disease
and the heart of the people is keenly sensitive to questions of
personal salvation and speculative theology, this cannot be said of
the masses in China, where religion, as seen, consists of superstitious
rites and the substratum of thought and feeling is small.
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favour the Church in France. The fact that Huxley was made a Privy
Councillor does not imply that Queen Victoria approved of his
religious views. In China the repeated restrictive edicts concerning
monasteries should not be regarded as acts of persecution. Every
politician can see the loss to the state if able-bodied men become
monks by the thousand. In periods of literary and missionary zeal,
large congregations of such monks may have a sufficient sphere of
activity but in sleepy, decadent periods they are apt to become a
moral or political danger. A devout Buddhist or Catholic may
reasonably hold that though the monastic life is the best for the elect,
yet for the unworthy it is more dangerous than the temptations of
the world. Thus the founder of the Ming dynasty had himself been a
bonze, yet he limited the number [and age of those who might
become monks[577]. On the other hand, he attended Buddhist
services and published an edition of the Tripitaka. In this and in the
conduct of most Emperors there is little that is inconsistent or
mysterious: they regarded religion not in our fashion as a system
deserving either allegiance or rejection, but as a modern Colonial
Governor might regard education. Some Governors are enthusiastic
for education: others mistrust it as a stimulus of disquieting ideas:
most accept it as worthy of occasional patronage, like hospitals and
races. In the same way some Emperors, like Wu-Ti[578], were
enthusiasts for Buddhism and made it practically the state religion: a
few others were definitely hostile either from conviction or political
circumstances, but probably most sovereigns regarded it as the
average British official regards education, as something that one
can’t help having, that one must belaud on certain public occasions,
that may now and then be useful, but still emphatically something to
be kept within limits.
The Sacred Edict of the great K’ang Hsi forbids heterodoxy (i tuan)
in which the official explanation clearly includes Buddhism[579]. It
was published in his extreme youth, but had his mature approval,
and until recently was read in every prefecture twice a month. But
the same Emperor gave many gifts to monasteries, and in 1705 he
issued a decree to the monks of P’uto in which he said, “we since our
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boyhood have been earnest students of Confucian lore and have had
no time to become minutely acquainted with the sacred books of
Buddhism, but we are satisfied that Virtue is the one word [which
indicates what is essential in both systems. Let us pray to the
compassionate Kuan-yin that she may of her grace send down upon
our people the spiritual rain and sweet dew of the good Law: that
she may grant them bounteous harvests, seasonable winds and the
blessings of peace, harmony and long life and finally that she may
lead them to the salvation which she offers to all beings in the
Universe[580].” The two edicts are not consistent but such
inconsistency is no reproach to a statesman nor wholly illogical. The
Emperor reprimands extravagance in doctrine and ceremonial and
commends Confucianism to his subjects as all that is necessary for
good life and good government, but when he finds that Buddhism
conduces to the same end he accords his patronage and politely
admits the existence and power of Kuan-yin.
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natural beauty and sympathy with wild life are much more
prominent in Chinese than in Indian art.
It may be asked if the inspiration is not Taoist in the main rather than
Buddhist. Side by side with ethics and ceremony, a native stream of
bold and weird imagination has never ceased to flow in China and
there was no need to import tales of the Genii, immortal saints and
vampire beauties. But when any coherency unites these ideas of the
supernatural, that I think is the work of Buddhism and so far as
Taoism itself has any coherency it is an imitation of Buddhism. Thus
the idea of metempsychosis as one of many passing fancies may be
indigenous to China but its prevalence in popular thought and
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This clearly is not Taoism, but when the era of great art and
literature begins, any distinction between the two creeds, except for
theological purposes, becomes artificial, for Taoism borrowed many
externals of Buddhism, and Buddhism, while not abandoning its
austere and emaciated saints, also accepted the Taoist ideal of the
careless wandering hermit, friend of mountain pines and deer. Wei
Hsieh[589] who lived under the Chin dynasty, when the strength of
Buddhism was beginning to be felt, is considered by Chinese critics
as the earliest of the great painters and is said to have excelled in
both Buddhist and Taoist subjects. The same may be said of the most
eminent names, such as Ku K’ai-chih and Wu Tao-tzŭ[590], and we
may also remember that Italian artists painted the birth of Venus and
the origin of the milky way as well as Annunciations and
[Assumptions, without any hint that one incident was less true than
another. Buddhism not only provided subjects like the death of the
Buddha and Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, which hold in Chinese
art the same place as the Crucifixion and the Madonna in Europe,
and generation after generation have stimulated the noblest efforts of
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the best painters. It also offered a creed and ideals suited to the
artistic temperament: peace and beauty reigned in its monasteries: its
doctrine that life is one and continuous is reflected in that love of
nature, that sympathetic understanding of plants and animals, that
intimate union of sentiment with landscape which marks the best
Chinese pictures.
FOOTNOTES:
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[563] Compare Anal. IX. 1 and xiv. 38. 2. See also Doctrine of the Mean,
chap, xvi, for more positive views about spirits.
[565] Chang Yüan-hsü, who held office in 1912, was deprived of his
titles by the Republican Government. In 1914 petitions were
presented for their restoration, but I do not know with what result.
See Peking Daily News, September 5th, 1914.
[567]
[568]
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[571] I may again remind the reader that I am not speaking of the
Chinese Republic but of the Empire. The long history of its relations
to Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, though it concerns the past,
is of great interest.
[572] De Groot and Parker. For an elaboration of the first thesis see
especially De Groot’s Sectarianism and Religious Persecution in China.
[574] The Emperor is the Lord of all spirits and has the right to
sacrifice to all spirits, whereas others should sacrifice only to such
spirits as concern them. For the Emperor’s title “Lord of Spirits,” see
Shu Ching IV., VI. 2-3, and Shih Ching, III., II. 8, 3.
[575] The title is undoubtedly very ancient and means Son of Heaven
or Son of God. See Hirth, Ancient History of China, pp. 95-96. But the
precise force of Son is not clear. The Emperor was Viceregent of
Heaven, high priest and responsible for natural phenomena, but he
could not in historical times be regarded as sprung (like the Emperor
of Japan) from a family of divine descent, because the dynasties, and
with them the imperial family, were subject to frequent change.
[577] Japanese Emperors did the same, e.g. Kwammū Tennō in 793.
[578]
[579] K’ang Hsi is responsible only for the text of the Edict which
merely forbids heterodoxy. But his son Yung Chêng who published
the explanation and paraphrase repaired the Buddhist temples at
P’uto and the Taoist temple at Lung-hu-shan.
[580] See Johnston, p. 352. I have not seen the Chinese text of this
edict. In Laufer and Francke’s Epigraphische Denkmäler aus China is a
long inscription of Kang Hsi’s giving the history both legendary and
recent of the celebrated sandal-wood image of the Buddha.
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[581] This indicates that the fusion of Buddhism and Hinduism was
less complete than some scholars suppose. Where there was a
general immigration of Hindus, the mixture is found, but the Indian
visitors to China were mostly professional teachers and their
teaching was definitely Buddhist. There are, however, two non-
Buddhist books in the Chinese Tripitaka. Nanjio Cat. Nos. 1295 and
1300.
[582] It has been pointed out by Fergusson and others that there
were high towers in China before the Buddhist period. Still, the
numerous specimens extant date from Buddhist times, many were
built over relics, and the accounts of both Fa-hsien and Hsüan
Chuang show that the Stupa built by Kanishka at Peshawar had
attracted the attention of the Chinese.
[583] The love of nature shown in the Pali Pitakas (particularly the
Thera and Therî Gâthâ) has often been noticed, but it is also strong in
Mahâyânist literature. E.g. Bodhicaryâvatâra VIII. 26-39 and 86-88.
[585]
[587] There are said to have been four great schools of Buddhist
painting under the T’ang. See Kokka 294 and 295.
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[590]
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CHAPTER XLIII
CHINA (continued)
HISTORY.
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During the fourth century and the first half of the fifth some twenty
ephemeral states, governed by Tartar chieftains and perpetually
involved in mutual war, rose and fell in northern China. The most
permanent of them was Northern Wei which lasted till 535 A.D. But
the Later Chao and both the Earlier and Later Ts’in are important for
our purpose[614]. Some writers make it a reproach to Buddhism that
its progress, which had been [slow among the civilized Chinese,
became rapid in the provinces which passed into the hands of these
ruder tribes. But the phenomenon is natural and is illustrated by the
fact that even now the advance of Christianity is more rapid in
Africa than in India. The civilization of China was already old and
self-complacent: not devoid of intellectual curiosity and not
intolerant, but sceptical of foreign importations and of dealings with
the next world. But the Tartars had little of their own in the way of
literature and institutions: it was their custom to assimilate the arts
and ideas of the civilized nations whom they conquered: the more
western tribes had already made the acquaintance of Buddhism in
Central Asia and such native notions of religion as they possessed
disposed them to treat priests, monks and magicians with respect.
The state known as the Former Ts’in[618] had its nucleus in [Shensi,
but expanded considerably between 351 and 394 A.D. under the
leadership of Fu-Chien[619], who established in it large colonies of
Tartars. At first he favoured Confucianism but in 381 became a
Buddhist. He was evidently in close touch with the western regions
and probably through them with India, for we hear that sixty-two
states of Central Asia sent him tribute.
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The Later Ts’in dynasty (384-417) had its headquarters in Kansu and
was founded by vassals of the Former Ts’in. When the power of Fu-
Chien collapsed, they succeeded to his possessions and established
themselves in Ch’ang-an. Yao-hsing[620], the second monarch of this
line was a devout Buddhist, and deserves mention as the patron of
Kumârajîva[621], the most eminent of the earlier translators.
The times were troubled, but order was gradually being restored.
The Eastern Tsin Dynasty had been much disturbed by the struggles
of rival princes. These were brought to an end in 420 by a new
dynasty known as Liu Sung which reigned in [the south some sixty
years. The north was divided among six Tartar kingdoms, which all
perished before 440 except Wei. Wei then split into an Eastern and a
Western kingdom which lasted about a hundred years. In the south,
the Liu Sung gave place to three short dynasties, Ch’i, Liang and
Ch’ên, until at last the Sui (589-605) united China.
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In the reign of Wu-Ti, the first Emperor of the Ch’i dynasty, one of
the imperial princes, named Tzŭ Liang[626], cultivated the society of
eminent monks and enjoyed theological discussions. From the
specimens of these arguments which have been preserved we see
that the explanation of the inequalities of life as the result of Karma
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had a great attraction for the popular mind and also that it provoked
the hostile criticism of the Confucian literati.
The accession of the Liang dynasty and the long reign of its first
emperor Wu-Ti (502-549) were important events in the history of
Buddhism, for this monarch rivalled Asoka in pious enthusiasm if
not in power and prosperity. He obviously set the Church above the
state and it was while he was on the throne that Bodhidharma came
to China and the first edition of the Tripitaka was prepared.
Wu-Ti was not originally a Buddhist. In fact until about 510, when he
was well over forty, he was conspicuous as a patron of
Confucianism. The change might be ascribed to personal reasons,
but it is noticeable that the same thing occurred in Wei, where a
period of Confucianism was succeeded by a strong wave of
Buddhism which evidently swept over all China. Hu[628], the
Dowager Empress of Wei, was a fervent devotee, though of
indifferent morality in both public and private life since she is said to
have poisoned her own son. In 518 she sent Sung Yün and Hui
Shêng[629] to Udyâna in search of Buddhist books of which they
brought back 175.
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In 538 a hair of the Buddha was sent by the king of Fu-nan and
received with great ceremony. In the next year a mission was
despatched to Magadha to obtain Sanskrit texts. It returned in 546
with a large collection of manuscripts and accompanied by the
learned Paramârtha who spent twenty years in translating
them[637]. Wu-Ti, in his old age, became stricter. All luxury was
suppressed at Court, but he himself always wore full dress and
showed the utmost politeness, even to the lowest officials. He was so
reluctant to inflict the punishment of death that crime increased. In
547 he became a monk for the third time and immediately
afterwards the events connected with Hou-Ching (briefly sketched
above) began to trouble the peace of his old age. During the siege of
Nanking he was obliged to depart from his vegetarian diet and eat
eggs. When he was told that his capital was taken he merely said, “I
obtained the kingdom through my own efforts and through me it
has been lost. So I need not complain.”
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With the seventh century began the great T’ang dynasty (620-907).
Buddhism had now been known to the rulers of China for about 550
years. It began as a religion tolerated but still regarded as exotic and
not quite natural for the sons of Han. It had succeeded in
establishing itself as the faith of the majority among both Tartars and
Chinese. The rivalry of Taoism was only an instance of that imitation
which is the sincerest flattery. Though the opposition of the
mandarins assumed serious proportions whenever they could
induce an Emperor to share their views, yet the hostile attitude of the
Government never lasted long and was not shared by the mass of the
people. It is clear that the permissions to practise Buddhism which
invariably followed close on the prohibitions were a national relief.
Though Buddhism tended to mingle with Taoism and other
indigenous ideas, the many translations of Indian works and the
increasing intercourse between Chinese and Hindus had diffused a
knowledge of its true tenets and practice.
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built in every Department. But the earlier part of the reign of Hsüan
Tsung[649] marks a temporary reaction. It was represented to him
that rich families wasted their substance on religious edifices and
that the inmates were well-to-do persons desirous of escaping the
burdens of public service. He accordingly forbade the building of
monasteries, making of images and copying of sutras, and 12,000
monks were ordered to return to the world. In 725 he ordered a
building known as “Hall of the Assembled Spirits” to be renamed
“Hall of Assembled Worthies,” because spirits were mere fables.
Letters, art and pageantry made the Court of Hsüan Tsung brilliant,
but the splendour faded and his reign ended tragically in disaster
and rebellion. The T’ang dynasty seemed in danger of collapse. But it
emerged successfully from these troubles and continued for a
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century and a half. During the whole of this period the Emperors
with one exception[655] were favourable to Buddhism, and the latter
half of the eighth century marks in Buddhist history an epoch of
increased popularity among the masses but also the spread of ritual
and doctrinal corruption, for it is in these years that its connection
with ceremonies for the repose and honour of the dead became more
intimate.
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“But what are the facts? The bone of a man long since dead and
decomposed is to be admitted within the precincts of the Imperial
Palace. Confucius said, ‘respect spiritual beings but keep them at a
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and in any case the Emperor had barely time to execute his drastic
orders, [though all despatch was used on account of the private
fortunes which could be amassed incidentally by the executive.
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turned against their allies and conquered all China north of the
Yang-tze and continually harassed, though they did not capture, the
provinces to the south of it which constituted the reduced empire of
the Sungs. But their power waned in its turn before the Mongols,
who, under Chinggiz Khan and Ogotai, conquered the greater part
of northern Asia and eastern Europe. In 1232 the Sung Emperor
entered into alliance with the Mongols against the Kins, with the
ultimate result that though the Kins were swept away, Khubilai, the
Khan of the Mongols, became Emperor of all China in 1280.
The dynasties of T’ang and Sung mark two great epochs in the
history of Chinese art, literature and thought, but whereas the
virtues and vices of the T’ang may be summed up as genius and
extravagance, those of the Sung are culture and tameness. But this
summary judgment does not do justice to the painters, particularly
the landscape painters, of the Sung and it is noticeable that many of
the greatest masters, including Li Lung-Mien[672], were obviously
inspired by Buddhism. The school which had the greatest influence
on art and literature was the Ch’an[673] or contemplative sect better
known by its Japanese name Zen. Though founded by Bodhidharma
it did not win the sympathy and esteem of the cultivated classes
until the Sung period. About this time the method of block-printing
was popularized and there began a steady output of comprehensive
histories, collected works, encyclopædias and biographies which
excelled anything then published in Europe. Antiquarian research
and accessible editions of classical writers were favourable [to
Confucianism, which had always been the religion of the literati.
Nor did this edition close the work of translation: 275 later
translations, made under the Northern Sung, are still extant and
religious intercourse with India continued. The names and writings
of many Hindu monks who settled in China are preserved and
Chinese continued to go to India. Still on the whole there was a
decrease in the volume of religious literature after 900 A.D.[674] In
the twelfth century the change was still more remarkable. Nanjio
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does not record a single translation made under the Southern Sung
and it is the only great dynasty which did not revise the Tripitaka.
The second Sung Emperor also, T’ai Tsung, was not hostile, for he
erected in the capital, at enormous expense, a stupa 360 feet high to
contain relics of the Buddha. The fourth Emperor, Jên-tsung, a
distinguished patron of literature, whose reign was ornamented by a
galaxy of scholars, is said to have appointed 50 youths to study
Sanskrit but showed no particular inclination towards Buddhism.
Neither does it appear to have been the motive power in the projects
of the celebrated social reformer, Wang An-Shih. But the dynastic
history says that he wrote a book full of Buddhist and Taoist fancies
and, though there is nothing specifically Buddhist in his political and
economic theories, it is clear from the denunciations against him that
his system of education introduced Buddhist and Taoist subjects into
the public examinations[675]. It is also clear that this system was
favoured by those Emperors of the Northern Sung dynasty who
were able to think for themselves. In 1087 it was abolished [by the
Empress Dowager acting as regent for the young Chê Tsung, but as
soon as he began to reign in his own right he restored it, and it
apparently remained in force until the collapse of the dynasty in
1127.
But there was hardly time to execute these measures, so rapid was
the reaction. In less than a year the insolence of Lin Ling-Su brought
about his downfall: the Emperor reversed his edict and, having
begun by suppressing Buddhism, ended by oppressing Taoism. He
was a painter of merit and perhaps the most remarkable artist who
ever filled a throne. In art he probably drew no distinction between
creeds and among the pictures ascribed to him and preserved in
Japan are some of Buddhist subjects. But like Hsüan Tsung he came
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to a tragic end, and in 1126 was carried into captivity by the Kin
Tartars among whom he died.
Fear of the Tartars now caused the Chinese to retire south of the
Yang-tse and Hang-chow was made the seat of Government. The
century during which this beautiful city was the capital did not
produce the greatest names in Chinese history, but it witnessed the
perfection of Chinese culture, and the background of impending
doom heightens the brilliancy of this literary and aesthetic life. Such
a society was naturally eclectic in religion but Buddhism of the
Ch’an school enjoyed consideration and contributed many landscape
painters to the roll of fame. But the most eminent and perhaps the
most characteristic thinker of the period was Chu-Hsi (1130-1200),
the celebrated [commentator on Confucius who reinterpreted the
master’s writings to the satisfaction of succeeding ages though in his
own life he aroused opposition as well as enthusiasm. Chu-Hsi
studied Buddhism in his youth and some have detected its influence
in his works, although on most important points he expressly
condemned it. I do not see that there is much definite Buddhism in
his philosophy, but if Mahayanism had never entered China this
new Confucianism would probably never have arisen or would have
taken another shape. Though the final result may be anti-Buddhist
yet the topics chosen and the method of treatment suggest that the
author felt it necessary to show that the Classics could satisfy
intellectual curiosity and supply spiritual ideals just as well as this
Indian religion. Much of his expositions is occupied with cosmology,
and he accepts the doctrine of world periods, recurring in an eternal
series of growth and decline: also he teaches not exactly
transmigration but the transformation of matter into various living
forms[677]. His accounts of sages and saints point to ideals which
have much in common with Arhats and Buddhas and, in dealing
with the retribution of evil, he seems to admit that when the universe
is working properly there is a natural Karma by which good or bad
actions receive even in this life rewards in kind, but that in the
present period of decline nature has become vitiated so that vice and
virtue no longer produce appropriate results.
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The Mongols were driven out by the native Chinese dynasty known
as Ming, which reigned from 1368 to 1644. It is not [easy to point out
any salient features in religious activity or thought during this
period, but since the Ming claimed to restore Chinese civilization
interrupted by a foreign invasion, it was natural that they should
encourage Confucianism as interpreted by Chu-Hsi. Yet Buddhism,
especially Lamaism, acquired a new political importance. Both for
the Mings and for the earlier Manchu Emperors the Mongols were a
serious and perpetual danger, and it was not until the eighteenth
century that the Chinese Court ceased to be preoccupied by the fear
that the tribes might unite and again overrun the Empire. But the
Tibetan and Mongolian hierarchy had an extraordinary power over
these wild horsemen and the Government of Peking won and used
their goodwill by skilful diplomacy, the favours shown being
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It is in this reign that we first hear of the secular clergy, that is to say,
persons who acted as priests but married and did not live in
monasteries. Decrees against them were issued in 1394 and 1412, but
they continued to increase. It is not clear whether their origin should
be sought in a desire to combine the profits of the priesthood with
the comforts of the world or in an attempt to evade restrictions as to
the number of monks. In later times this second motive was certainly
prevalent, but the celibacy of the clergy is not strictly insisted on by
Lamaists and a lax observance of monastic rules[686] was common
under the Mongol dynasty.
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[The end of the fifteenth century is filled by two reigns, Hsien Tsung
and Hsiao Tsung. The former fell under the influence of his favourite
concubine Wan and his eunuchs to such an extent that, in the latter
part of his life, he ceased to see his ministers and the chief eunuch
became the real ruler of China. It is also mentioned both in 1468 and
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1483 that he was in the hands of Buddhist priests who instructed him
in secret doctrines and received the title of Kuo-Shih and other
distinctions. His son Hsiao Tsung reformed these abuses: the Palace
was cleansed: the eunuchs and priests were driven out and some
were executed: Taoist books were collected and burnt. The
celebrated writer Wang Yang Ming[697] lived in this reign. He
defended and illustrated the doctrine of Lu Chin-Yüan, namely that
truth can be obtained by meditation. To express intuitive knowledge,
he used the expression Liang Chih[698] (taken from Mencius). Liang
Chih is inherent in all human minds, but in different degrees, and can
be developed or allowed to atrophy. To develop it should be man’s
constant object, and in its light when pure all things are understood
and peace is obtained. The phrases of the Great Learning “to
complete knowledge,” “investigate things,” and “rest in the highest
excellence,” are explained as referring to the Liang Chih and the
contemplation of the mind by itself. We cannot here shut our eyes to
the influence of Bodhidharma and his school, however fervently
Wang Yang Ming may have appealed to the Chinese Classics.
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In 1644 the Ming dynasty collapsed before the Manchus and China
was again under foreign rule. Unlike the Mongols, the Manchus had
little inclination to Buddhism. Even before they had conquered
China, their prince, T’ai Tsung, ordered an inspection of monasteries
and limited the number of monks. But in this edict he inveighs only
against the abuse of religion and admits that “Buddha’s teaching is
at bottom pure and chaste, true and sincere: by serving him with
purity and piety, one can obtain happiness[702].” Shun-Chih, the
first Manchu Emperor, wrote some prefaces to Buddhist works and
entertained the Dalai Lama at Peking in 1652[703]. His son and
successor, commonly known as K’ang-Hsi (1662-1723), dallied for a
while with Christianity, but the net result of his religious policy was
to secure to Confucianism all that imperial favour can give. I have
mentioned above his Sacred Edict and the [partial favour which he
showed to Buddhism. He gave donations to the monasteries of P’u-
t’o, Hang-chou and elsewhere: he published the Kanjur with a
preface of his own[704] and the twelfth and last collection of the
Tripitaka was issued under the auspices of his son and grandson.
The latter, the Emperor Ch’ien Lung, also received the Teshu Lama
not only with honour, but with interest and sympathy, as is clear
from the inscription preserved at Peking, in which he extols the
Lama as a teacher of spiritual religion[705]. He also wrote a preface
to a sutra for producing rain[706] in which he says that he has
ordered the old editions to be carefully corrected and prayer and
worship to be offered, “so that the old forms which have been so
beneficial during former ages might still be blessed to the desired
end.” Even the late Empress Dowager accepted the ministrations of
the present Dalai Lama when he visited Peking in 1908, although, to
his great indignation she obliged him to kneel at Court[707]. Her
former colleague, the Empress Tzŭ-An was a devout Buddhist. The
statutes of the Manchu dynasty (printed in 1818) contain regulations
for the celebration of Buddhist festivals at Court, for the periodical
reading of sutras to promote the imperial welfare, and for the
performance of funeral rites.
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FOOTNOTES:
[593]
[594]
[595]
[596]
[597]
[598]
[599] See Chavannes, Les documents Chinois découverts par Aurel Stein,
1913, Introduction. The earliest documents are of 98 B.C.
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[602] See Francke, Zur Frage der Einführung des Buddhismus in China,
1910, and Maspéro’s review in B.E.F.E.O. 1910, p. 629. Another Taoist
legend is that Dipankara Buddha or Jan Têng, described as the
teacher of Śâkyamuni was a Taoist and that Śâkyamuni visited him
in China. Giles quotes extracts from a writer of the eleventh century
called Shên Kua to the effect that Buddhism had been flourishing
before the Ch’in dynasty but disappeared with its advent and also
that eighteen priests were imprisoned in 216 B.C. But the story adds
that they recited the Prajnâpâramitâ which is hardly possible at that
epoch.
[605] See Legge’s translation in S.B.E. Part I. pp. 176, 257, II. 46, 62; ib.
I. pp. 171, 192, II. 13; ib. II. p. 13; ib. II. p. 9, I. p. 249; ib. pp. 45, 95, 100,
364, II. p. 139; ib. II. p. 139; ib. II. p. 129.
[606] Ib. I. p. 202; cf. the Buddha’s conversation with Vaccha in Maj.
Nik. 72.
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[609] But the Emperor Huan is said to have sacrificed to Buddha and
Lao-tzŭ. See Hou Han Shu in T’oung Pao, 1907, p. 194. For early
Buddhism see “Communautés et Moines Bouddhistes Chinois au II
et au III siècles,” by Maspéro in B.E.F.E.O. 1910, p. 222. In the second
[610] Accounts of these and the later translators are found in the
thirteen catalogues of the Chinese Tripitaka (see Nanjio, p. xxvii) and
other works such as the Kao Sang-Chuan (Nanjio, No. 1490).
[612] Dharmakâla, see Nanjio, p. 386. The Vinaya used in these early
days of Chinese Buddhism was apparently that of the Dharmagupta
school. See J.A. 1916, II. p. 40. An Shih-kao (c. A.D. 150) translated a
work called The 3000 Rules for Monks (Nanjio, 1126), but it is not
clear what was the Sanskrit original.
[613]
[614]
[615]
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[619]
[620]
[622] For this title see Pelliot in T’oung Pao, 1911, p. 671.
[623]
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[626]
[627]
[628]
[630]
[631]
[632]
[633] See chap. XXIII. p. 95, and chap. XLV below (on schools of
Chinese Buddhism), for more about Bodhidharma. The earliest
Chinese accounts of him seem to be those contained in the Liang and
Wei annals. But one of the most popular and fullest accounts is to be
found in the Wu Têng Hui Yüan (first volume) printed at Kushan
near Fuchow.
[634] His portraits are also frequent both in China and Japan (see
Ostasiat. Ztsft 1912, p. 226) and the strongly marked features
attributed to him may perhaps represent a tradition of his personal
appearance, which is entirely un-Chinese. An elaborate study of
Bodhidharma written in Japanese is noticed in B.E.F.E.O. 1911, p.
457.
[635]
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[636] The legend does not fit in well with chronology since Sung-Yün
is said to have returned from India in 522.
[639]
[640]
[641] See Biot, Hist, de l’instruction publique en Chine, pp. 289, 313.
[644] Subsequently a story grew up that his soul had visited hell
during a prolonged fainting fit after which he recovered and became
a devout Buddhist. See chap. XI of the Romance called Hsi-yu-chi, a
fantastic travesty of Hsüan Chuang’s travels, and Wieger, Textes
Historiques, p. 1585.
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Hsi’s personal name and substituted for it. Hence the spelling
Yüan Chuang.
[650]
[651]
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Hinduism and Buddhism: An Historical Sketch - Volume III
[653]
[654] See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, p. 161. This does not exclude the possibility
of an opposite current, viz. Chinese Buddhism flowing into Burma.
[656] “Liu-Tsung-Yuan has left behind him much that for purity of
style and felicity of expression has rarely been surpassed,” Giles,
Chinese Literature, p. 191.
[658]
[659]
[662] He is also said to have introduced the images of the Four Kings
which are now found in every temple. A portrait of him by Li Chien
is reproduced in Tajima’s Masterpieces, vol. viii, plate ix. The artist
was perhaps his contemporary.
[663] E.g. Sacki, The Nestorian Monument in China, 1916. See also
above, p. 217.
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Hinduism and Buddhism: An Historical Sketch - Volume III
Historiques, vol. iii. pp. 1726 ff., and Giles, Chinese Literature, pp. 200
ff.
[668] See Wieger, Textes Historiques, vol. III. pp. 1744 ff.
[673]
[676]
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[681] For this curious work see B.E.F.E.O. 1908, p. 515, and J.A. 1913,
I, pp. 116-132. For the destruction of Taoist books see Chavannes in
T’oung Pao, 1904, p. 366.
[684] For the ecclesiastical abuses of the time see Köppen, II. 103, and
de Mailla, Histoire de la Chine, IX. 475, 538.
[687] Often called Yung-Lo which is strictly the title of his reign.
[688]
[690] See Beal, Catena of Buddhist Scriptures, p. 398. The Emperor says:
“So we, the Ruler of the Empire ... do hereby bring before men a
mode for attaining to the condition of supreme Wisdom. We
therefore earnestly exhort all men ... carefully to study the directions
of this work and faithfully to follow them.”
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[691] Nanjio, Cat. 1620. See also ib. 1032 and 1657 for the Empress’s
sûtra.
[693]
Yüan Shih K’ai prefixed to this latter the four characters
[694] See Yule, Cathay and the Way Thither, pp. 75 ff.
[695] When Ying Tsung was carried away by the Mongols in 1449 his
brother Ching-Ti was made Emperor. Though Ying Tsung was sent
back in 1450, he was not able to oust Ching-Ti from the throne till
1457.
[696]
[698]
[700]
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Hinduism and Buddhism: An Historical Sketch - Volume III
[701]
[703] Some authorities say that he became a monk before he died, but
the evidence is not good. See Johnston in New China Review, Nos. 1
and 2, 1920.
[705] See E. Ludwig, The visit of the Tcshoo Lama to Peking, Tien Tsin
Press, 1904.
[707] See for an account of his visit “The Dalai Lamas and their
relations with the Manchu Emperor of China” in T’oung Pao, 1910, p.
774.
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CHAPTER XLIV
CHINA (continued)
THE CANON
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2. Pao-chi or Ratnakûṭa.
3. Ta-chi or Mahâsannipâta.
4. Hua-yen or Avatamsaka.
5. Nieh-pan or Parinirvâṇa.
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translation but not falling into any of the above five classes.
The principal works in class 4 are two translations, one fuller than
the other, of the Hua-yen or Avatamsaka Sûtra[714], still one of the
most widely read among Buddhist works, and at least sixteen of the
other items are duplicate renderings of [parts of it. Class 5 consists of
thirteen works dealing with the death of the Buddha and his last
discourses. The first sûtra, sometimes called the northern text, is
imperfect and was revised at Nanking in the form of the southern
text[715]. There are two other incomplete versions of the same text.
To judge from a specimen translated by Beal[716] it is a collection of
late discourses influenced by Vishnuism and does not correspond to
the Mahâparinibbânasutta of the Pali Canon.
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Of these collections, the first seven were in MS. only: the last five
were printed. The last three appear to be substantially the same. The
tenth and eleventh collections are known as [southern and
northern[748], because they were printed at Nanking and Peking
respectively. They differ only in the number of Chinese works
admitted and similarly the twelfth collection is merely a revision of
the tenth with the addition of fifty-four Chinese works.
The later collections contain new material and differ from the earlier
by natural accretion, for a great number of translations were
produced under the T’ang and Sung. Thus the seventh catalogue
(695 A.D.) records that 859 new works were admitted to the Canon.
But this expansion was accompanied by a critical and sifting process,
so that whereas the first collection contained 2213 works, the Ming
edition contains only 1622. This compression means not that works
of importance were rejected as heretical or apocryphal, for, as we
have seen, the Tripitaka is most catholic, but that whereas the earlier
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appear that Indian Tantras of the worst class were not palatable to
the Chinese.
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though it contains about 300 verses found in Pali, yet it is not merely
the Pali text plus additions, but an anthology arranged on a different
principle and only partly identical in substance[770].
There can be little doubt that the Pali Dhammapada is one among
several collections of verses, with or without an explanatory
commentary of stories. In all these collections there was much
common matter, both prose and verse, but some were longer, some
shorter, some were in Pali and some in Sanskrit. Whereas the
Chinese Dhammapada is longer than the Indian texts, the Chinese
version of Milinda’s Questions[771] is much shorter and omits books
iv-vii. It was made between 317 and 420 A.D. and the inference is
that the original Indian text received later additions.
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It might seem to follow from this that the whole Pali Abhidharma
and some important works such as the Thera-Therîgâthâ were
unknown to the Hinayanists of Central Asia and Northern India in
the early centuries of our era. But caution is necessary in drawing
such inferences, for until recently it might have been said that the
Sutta Nipâta also was unknown, whereas fragments of it in a
Sanskrit version have now been discovered in Eastern
Turkestan[779]. The Chinese editors draw a clear distinction between
Hinayanist and Mahayanist scriptures. They exclude from the latter
works analogous to the Pali Nikâyas and Vinaya, and also the
Abhidharma of the Sarvâstivâdins. But the labours of Hsüan Chuang
and I-Ching show that this does not imply the rejection of all these
works by Mahayanists.
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FOOTNOTES:
[710]
[714] Winternitz (Gesch. Ind. Lit. II. i. p. 242) states on the authority of
Takakusu that this work is the same as the Gaṇḍavyûha. See also
Pelliot in J. A. 1914, II. pp. 118-21. The Gaṇḍavyûha is probably an
extract of the Avatamsaka.
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[718] The Sûtra of Kuan-yin with the thousand hands and eyes is
very popular and used in most temples. Nanjio, No. 320.
[725] See Watters, Yüan Chwang, I. p. 227. The five schools are given
as Dharmagupta, Mahîs’âsika, Sarvâstivâdin, Kâ’syapîya and
Mahâsanghika. For the last Vatsiputra or Sthavira is sometimes
substituted.
[727] The Chinese word lun occurs frequently in them, but though it
is used to translate Abhidharma, it is of much wider application and
means discussion of Śâstra.
[731] Nanjio, Cat. Nos. 1273, 1275, 1276, 1277, 1292, 1281, 1282, 1296,
1317. This last work was not translated till the eleventh century.
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[742]
[745] Thus the Emperor Jên Tsung ordered the works of Ch’i Sung
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[749] See for the complete list Nanjio, Cat. p. xxvii. Those named
1485, 1487, and (b) No. 1612. For the date of the
first see Maspéro in B.E.F.E.O. 1910, p. 114. There was a still earlier
catalogue composed by Tao-an in 374 of which only fragments have
been preserved. See Pelliot in T’oung Pao, XIX. 1920, p. 258.
[750] For the Korean copy now in Japan, see Courant, Bibliographie
coréenne, vol. III. pp. 215-19.
[752]
[753]
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[758] For two interesting lives of translators see the T’oung Pao, 1909,
p. 199, and 1905, p. 332, where will be found the biographies of Sêng
Hui, a Sogdian who died in 280 and Jinagupta a native of Gandhâra
(528-605).
[761] But his translation of the Lotus won admiration for its literary
style. See Anesaki Nichiren, p. 17. Wieger (Croyances, p. 367) says
that the works of An-shih-kao illustrate the various methods of
translation: absolutely literal renderings which have hardly any
meaning in Chinese: word for word translations to which is added a
paraphrase of each sentence in Chinese idiom: and elegant
renderings by a native in which the original text obviously suffers.
[762] Yet it must have been intended as such. The title expressly
describes the work as composed by the Bodhisattva Ma-Ming
(Aśvaghosha) and translated by Dharmaraksha. Though his idea of a
translation was at best an amplified metrical paraphrase, yet he
coincides verbally with the original so often that his work can hardly
be described as an independent poem inspired by it.
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[771] Nanjio, Cat. 1358. See Pelliot, J.A. 1914, II. p. 379.
[774] Thus seventy sûtras of the Pali Anguttara are found in the
Chinese Madhyama and some of them are repeated in the Chinese
Ekottara. The Pali Majjhima contains 125 sûtras, the Chinese
Madhyamâgama 222, of which 98 are common to both. Also twenty-
two Pali Majjhima dialogues are found in the Chinese Ekottara and
Samyukta, seventy Chinese Madhyama dialogues in Pali Anguttara,
nine in Digha, seven in Samyutta and five in Khuddaka. Anesaki,
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Some Problems of the textual history of the Buddhist Scriptures. See also
Anesaki in Muséon, 1905, pp. 23 ff. on the Samyutta Nikâya.
[775] Anesaki, “Traces of Pali Texts,” Muséon, 1905, shows that the
Indian author of the Mahâprajnâpâramitâ Sâstra may have known
Pali texts, but the only certain translation from the Pali appears to be
Nanjio, No. 1125, which is a translation of the Introduction to
Buddhaghosa’s Samanta-pâsâdikâ or commentary on the Vinaya.
See Takakusu in J.R.A.S. 1896, p. 415. Nanjio’s restoration of the title
as Sudarśana appears to be incorrect.
[779] J.R.A.S. 1916, p. 709. Also, the division into five Nikâyas is
ancient. See Bühler in Epig. Indica, II. p. 93. Anesaki says (Trans. A.S.
Japan, 1908, p. 9) that Nanjio, No. 714, Pên Shih is the Itivuttakam,
which could not have been guessed from Nanjio’s entry. Portions of
the works composing the fifth Nikâya (e.g. the Sutta Nipata) occur in
the Chinese Tripitaka in the other Nikâyas. For mentions of the fifth
Nikâya in Chinese, see J.A. 1916, II. pp. 32-33, where it is said to be
called Tsa-Tsang. This is also the designation of the last section of the
Tripitaka, Nanjio, Nos. 1321 to 1662, and as this section contains the
Dharmapada, it might be supposed to be an enormously distended
version of the Kshudraka Nikâya. But this can hardly be the case, for
this Tsa-Tsang is placed as if it was considered as a fourth Piṭaka
rather than as a fifth Nikâya.
[780]
[781] See Watters, Essays on the Chinese Language, pp. 36, 51, and, for
the whole subject of transcription, Stanislas Julien, Méthode pour
déchiffrer et transcrire les noms Sanscrits qui se rencontrent dans les livres
chinois.
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[784] See inter alia the Preface to K’ang Hsi’s Dictionary. The fan-
[786]
[788] History repeats itself. I have seen many modern Burmese and
Sinhalese MSS. in Chinese monasteries.
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CHAPTER XLV
CHINA (continued)
The main division is of course into Lamaism on one side and all
remaining sects on the other. Apart from this we find a record of ten
schools which deserve notice for various reasons. Some, though
obscure in modern China, have flourished after transportation to
Japan: some, such as the T’ien-t’ai, are a memorial of a brilliant
epoch: some represent doctrines which, if not now held by separate
bodies, at least indicate different tendencies, such as magical
ceremonies, mystical contemplation, or faith in Amitâbha.
[The more important schools were comparatively late, for they date
from the sixth and seventh centuries. For two or three hundred years
the Buddhists of China were a colony of strangers, mainly occupied
in making translations. By the fifth century the extent and diversity
of Indian literature became apparent and Fa-Hsien went to India to
ascertain which was the most correct Vinaya and to obtain copies of
it. Theology was now sufficiently developed to give rise to two
schools both Indian in origin and merely transported to China,
known as Ch’êng-shih-tsung and San-lun-tsung[791].
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That this feeling was just is shown by the fact that the school of
Bodhidharma is still practically one in teaching. But its small regard
for scripture and insistence on oral instruction caused the principal
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Although the Ch’an school did not value the study of scripture as
part of the spiritual life, yet it by no means neglected letters and can
point to a goodly array of ecclesiastical authors, extending down to
modern times[813]. More than twenty of their treatises have been
admitted into the Tripitaka. Several of these are historical and
discuss the succession of Patriarchs and abbots, but the most
characteristic productions of the sect are collections of aphorisms,
usually compiled by the disciples of a teacher who himself
committed nothing to writing[814].
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The T’ien-T’ai school is important, not merely for its doctrines, but as
having produced a great monastic establishment and an illustrious
line of writers. In spite of the orders of the Emperor who wished to
retain him at Nanking, Chih-I retired to the highlands of Chê-Kiang
and twelve monasteries still mark various spots where he is said to
have resided. He had some repute as an author, but more as a
preacher. His words were recorded by his disciple Kuan-Ting[820]
and in this way have been preserved two expositions of the Lotus
and a treatise on his favourite doctrine of Chih-Kuan which together
are termed the San-ta-pu, or Three Great Books. Similar spoken
expositions of other sûtras are also preserved. Some smaller treatises
on his chief doctrines seem to be works of his own pen[821]. A
century later Chan-Jan[822], who is reckoned the ninth Patriarch of
the T’ien-t’ai school, composed commentaries on the Three Great
Books as well as some short original works. During the troubled
period of the Five Dynasties, the T’ien-t’ai monasteries suffered
severely and the sacred books were almost lost. But the school had a
branch in Korea and a Korean priest called Ti-Kuan[823] re-
established it in China. It continued to contribute literature to the
Tripitaka until 1270 but after the tenth century its works, though
numerous, lose their distinctive character and are largely concerned
with magical formulæ and the worship of Amida.
The latter is the special teaching of the Pure Land school, also known
as the Lotus school, or the Short Cut[824]. It is indeed a short cut to
salvation, striking unceremoniously across all systems, for it teaches
that simple faith in Amitâbha (Amida) and invocation of his name
can take the place of moral and intellectual endeavour. Its popularity
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The doctrine, if not the school, was known in China before 186, in
which year there died at Lo-yang, a monk of the Yüeh-chih called
Lokâkshi, who translated the longer Sukhâvatî-vyûha. So far as I
know, there is no reason for doubting these statements[826]. The
date is important for the history of doctrine, since it indicates that the
sûtra existed in Sanskrit some time previously. Another translation
by the Parthian An Shih-Kao, whose activity falls between 148 and
170 A.D. may have been earlier and altogether twelve translations
were made before 1000 A.D. of which five are extant[827]. Several of
the earlier translators were natives of Central Asia, so it is
permissible to suppose that the sûtra was esteemed there. The
shorter Sukhâvatî-vyûha was translated by Kumârajîva (c. 402) and
later by Hsüan Chuang. The Amitâyurdhyânasûtra was translated
by Kâlayaśas about 424. These three books[828] are the principal
scriptures of the school and copies of the greater Sukhâvatî may still
be found in almost every Chinese monastery, whatever principles it
professes.
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The school called Chên-yen (in Japanese Shin-gon), true word, or Mi-
chiao[844], secret teaching, equivalent to the Sanskrit Mantrayâna or
Tantrayâna, is the latest among the recognized divisions of Chinese
Buddhism since it first made its appearance in the eighth century.
The date, like that of the translation of the Amida scriptures is
important, for the school was introduced [from India and it follows
that its theories and practices were openly advocated at this period
and probably were not of repute much earlier. It is akin to the
Buddhism of Tibet and may be described in its higher aspects as an
elaborate and symbolic pantheism, which represents the one spirit
manifesting himself in a series of emanations and reflexes. In its
popular and unfortunately commoner aspect it is simply polytheism,
fetichism and magic. In many respects it resembles the Pure Land
school. Its principal deity (the word is not inaccurate) is Vairocana,
analogous to Amitâbha, and probably like him a Persian sun god in
origin. It is also a short cut to salvation, for, without denying the
efficiency of more laborious and ascetic methods, it promises to its
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There are many other sects with a political tinge. The proclivity of
the Chinese to guilds, corporations and secret societies is well known
and many of these latter have a religious basis. All such bodies are
under the ban of the Government, for they have always been
suspected with more or less justice of favouring anti-social or anti-
dynastic ideas. But, mingled with such political aspirations, there is
often present the desire for co-operation in leading privately a
religious life which, if made public, would be hampered by official
restrictions. The most celebrated of these sects is the White Lotus.
Under the Yüan dynasty it was anti-Mongol, and prepared the way
for the advent of the Ming. When the Ming dynasty in its turn
became decadent, we hear again of the White Lotus coupled with
rebellion, and similarly after the Manchus had passed their meridian,
its beautiful but ill-omened name frequently appears. It seems clear
that it is an ancient and persistent society with some idea of creating
a millennium, which becomes active when the central government is
weak and corrupt. Not unlike the White Lotus is the secret society
commonly known as the Triad but called by its members the Heaven
and Earth Association. The T’ai-p’ing sect, out of which the
celebrated rebellion arose, was similar but its inspiration seems to
have come from a perversion of Christianity. The Tsai-Li sect[851] is
still prevalent in Peking, Tientsin, and the province of Shantung. I
should exceed the scope of my task if I attempted to examine these
sects in detail[852], for their relation to Buddhism is often doubtful.
Most of them combine with it Taoist and other beliefs and some of
them expect a Messiah or King of Righteousness who is usually
identified with Maitreya. It is easy to see how at this point hostility
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[Recently several attempts have been made to infuse life and order
into Chinese Buddhism. Japanese influence can be traced in most of
them and though they can hardly be said to represent a new school,
they attempt to go back to Mahayanism as it was when first
introduced into China. The Hinâyâna is considered as a necessary
preliminary to the Mahâyâna and the latter is treated as existing in
several schools, among which are included the Pure Land school,
though the Contemplative and Tantric schools seem not to be
regarded with favour. They are probably mistrusted as leading to
negligence and superstition[854].
FOOTNOTES:
[791]
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[798]
[799]
[801]
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[803] It is found, for instance, in the lists of the Jain Tirthankaras and
in some accounts of the Buddhas and of the Avatâras of Vishnu.
[804] See Watters, Yüan Chwang, p. 290. But the dates offer some
difficulty, for Mihirakula, the celebrated Hun chieftain, is usually
supposed to have reigned about 510-540 A.D. Târanâtha (Schiefner,
p. 95) speaks of a martyr called Mâlikabuddhi. See, too, ib. p. 306.
[805] It is clear that the school of Valabhi was to some extent a rival
of Nâlandâ.
[806] For a portrait of Hui-nêng see Kokka, No. 297. The names of
Bodhidharma’s successors are in Chinese characters
[807]
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VIII. But there is little to record in the way of events or literary and
doctrinal movements.
[809]
[810]
[811] Lin-Chi means coming to the ford. Is this an allusion to the Pali
expression Sotâpanno? The name appears in Japanese as Rinzai.
Most educated Chinese monks when asked as to their doctrine say
they belong to the Lin-Chi.
[812] They are generally called the three mysteries (Hsüan) and the
three important points (Yao), but I have not been able to obtain any
clear explanation of what they mean. See Edkins, Chinese Buddhism,
p. 164, and Hackmann, l.c. p. 250.
Fa-hua.
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[818] In Chinese
Tun, Chien, Pi-mi, Pu-ting, Tsang, T’ung, Pieh, Yüan. See Nanjio,
1568, and for very different explanations of these obscure words.
Edkins, Chinese Buddhism, p. 182, and Richard’s New Testament of
Higher Buddhism, p. 41. Masson-Oursel in J.A. 1915, I. p. 305.
[819]
[822]
[823]
[824]
[828] They are all translated in S.B.E. XLIX. The two former exist in
Sanskrit. The Amitâyurdhyâna is known only in the Chinese
translation. They are called in Chinese
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[829]
[832]
[834]
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[840]
[841] His name when alive was Fa-tsang. See Nanjio, Cat. p. 462, and
Doré, 450. The Empress Wu patronized him.
[844]
[847] Nanjio, No. 530. Nos. 533, 534 and 1039 are also important texts
of this sect.
[850]
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[852] For some account of them, see Stanton, The Triad Society,
White Lotus Society, etc., 1900, reprinted from China Review, vols.
XXI, XXII, and De Groot, Sectarianism and religious persecution in
China, vol. I. pp. 149-259.
[853] The Republic of China has not changed much from the ways of
the Empire. The Peking newspapers of June 17, 1914, contain a
Presidential Edict stating that “the invention of heretical religions by
ill-disposed persons is strictly prohibited by law,” and that certain
religious societies are to be suppressed.
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CHAPTER XLVI
CHINA (continued)
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officials discharge their duties with due respect to the Church and
the other protests against improper legislation.
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tank, spanned by a bridge, wherein grows the red lotus and tame
fish await doles of biscuit. The sides of the quadrangle contain
dwelling rooms, refectories, guest chambers, store houses, a library,
printing press and other premises suitable to a learned and pious
foundation. The interior space is divided into two or three courts,
bordered by a veranda. In each court is a hall of worship or temple,
containing a shelf or alcove on which are set the sacred images: in
front of them stands a table, usually of massive wood, bearing vases
of flowers, bowls for incense sticks and other vessels. The first
temple is called the Hall of the Four Great Kings and the figures in it
represent beings who are still in the world of transmigration and
have not yet attained Buddhahood. They include gigantic images of
the Four Kings, Maitreya, the Buddha designate of the future, and
Wei-to[867], a military Bodhisattva sometimes identified with Indra.
Kuan-ti, the Chinese God of War, is often represented in this
building. The chief temple, called the Precious Hall of the Great
Hero[868], is in the second court and contains the principal images.
Very commonly there are nine figures on either side representing
eighteen disciples of the Buddha and known as the Eighteen Lohan
or Arhats[869]. Above the altar are one or more large gilt [images.
When there is only one it is usually Śâkya-muni, but more often
there are three. Such triads are variously composed and the monks
often speak of them vaguely as the “three precious ones,” without
seeming to attach much importance to their identity[870]. The triad
is loosely connected with the idea of the three bodies of Buddha but
this explanation does not always apply and the central figure is
sometimes O-mi-to or Kuan-yin, who are the principal recipients of
the worship offered by the laity. The latter deity has usually a special
shrine at the back of the main altar and facing the north door of the
hall, in which her merciful activity as the saviour of mankind is
represented in a series of statuettes or reliefs. Other Bodhisattvas
such as Ta-shih-chi (Mahâsthâmaprâpta) and Ti-tsang also have
separate shrines in or at the side of the great hall[871]. The third hall
contains as a rule only small images. It is used for expounding the
scriptures and for sermons, if the monastery has a preacher, but is set
apart for the religious exercises of the monks rather than the
devotions of the laity. In very large monasteries there is a fourth hall
for meditation.
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also a printing press, where are prepared notices and prayers, as well
as copies of popular sûtras.
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The daily services are primarily for the monks, but the laity may
attend them, if they please. More frequently they pay their devotions
at other hours, light a few tapers and too often have recourse to some
form of divination before the images. [Sometimes they defray the
cost of more elaborate ceremonies to expiate sins or ensure
prosperity. But the lay attendance in temples is specially large at
seasons of pilgrimage. For an account of this interesting side of
Chinese religious life I cannot do better than refer the reader to Mr.
Johnston’s volume already cited.
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Buddhism familiarized China with the idea that the average man
stands in danger of purgatory and this doctrine cannot be described
as late or Mahayanist[891]. Those epithets are, however, merited by
the subsidiary doctrine that such punishment can be abridged by
vicarious acts of worship which may take the form of simple prayer
addressed to benevolent beings who can release the tortured soul.
More often the idea underlying it is that the recitation of certain
formulæ acquires merit for the reciter who can then divert this merit
to any purpose[892]. This is really a theological refinement of the
ancient and widespread notion that words have magic force. Equally
ancient and unBuddhist in origin is the theory of sympathetic magic.
Just as by sticking pins into a wax figure you may kill the person
represented, so by imitating physical operations of rescue, you may
deliver a soul from the furnaces and morasses of hell. Thus [a paper
model of hades is made which is knocked to pieces and finally burnt:
the spirit is escorted with music and other precautions over a mock
bridge, and, most singular of all, the priests place over a receptacle of
water a special machine consisting of a cylinder containing a
revolving apparatus which might help a creature immersed in the
fluid to climb up. This strange mummery is supposed to release
those souls who are condemned to sojourn in a pool of blood[893].
This, too, is a superstition countenanced only by Chinese Buddhism,
for the punishment is incurred not so much by sinners as by those
dying of illnesses which defile with blood. Many other rites are
based on the notion that objects—or their paper images—
ceremonially burnt are transmitted to the other world for the use of
the dead. Thus representations in paper of servants, clothes,
furniture, money and all manner of things are burned together with
the effigy of the deceased and sometimes also certificates and
passports giving him a clean bill of health for the Kingdom of
Heaven.
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FOOTNOTES:
[860] See especially De Groot, l.c. p. 58, where the reading of the
Abhidharma is forbidden. Though this name is not confined to the
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[862] More accurately reading the sûtras on their behalf, but this
exercise is practically equivalent to intercessory prayer.
[863]
[868]
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Chinese ideas about the Lohans at the present day are very vague.
Their Indian origin has been forgotten and some of them have been
provided with Chinese biographies. (See Doré, p. 216.) One popular
story says that they were eighteen converted brigands.
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European explanation that they are the Buddhas of the past, present
and future is not correct.
[873]
[876] See Nanjio, Nos. 138 and 139. The practice is not entirely
unknown in the legends of Pali Buddhism. In the Lokapaññatti, a
work existing in Burma but perhaps translated from the Sanskrit,
Asoka burns himself in honour of the Buddha, but is miraculously
preserved. See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 421 and 427.
[877] See I-Tsing, Records of the Buddhist Religion, trans. Takakusu, pp.
195 ff., and for Tibet, Waddell, Buddhism of Tibet, p. 178, note 3, from
which it appears that it is only in Eastern Tibet and probably under
Chinese influence that branding is in vogue. For apparent instances
in Central Asian art, see Grünwedel, Budd. Kultst. p. 23, note 1.
[880] See those cited by De Groot, l.c. p. 228, and the article of
MacGowan (Chinese Recorder, 1888) there referred to. See also
Hackmann, Buddhism as a Religion, p. 228. Chinese sentiment often
approves suicide, for instance, if committed by widows or the
adherents of defeated princes. For a Confucian instance, see
Johnston, p. 341.
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[881] See e.g. Du Bose, The Dragon, Image and Demon, p. 265. I have
never seen such practices myself. See also Paraphrase of the Sacred
Edict, VII. 8.
[885] A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese, pp. 339 ff.
[886] The abbot and several upper priests wear robes, which are
generally red and gold, during the service. The abbot also carries a
sort of sceptre. The vestments of the clergy are said to be derived
from the robes of honour which used to be given to them when they
appeared at Court.
[890] Actes du Sixième Congres des Orientalistes, Leide, 1883, sec. IV.
pp. 1-120.
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CHAPTER XLVII
KOREA[895]
For our purposes Korean history may be divided into four periods:
The three states were Koguryu in the north, Pakche in the south-west
and Silla in the south-east[896]. Buddhism, together [with Chinese
writing, entered Koguryu from the north in 372 and Pakche from the
south a few years later. Silla being more distant and at war with the
other states did not receive it till about 424. In 552 both Japan and
Pakche were at war with Silla and the king of Pakche, wishing to
make an alliance with the Emperor of Japan sent him presents which
included Buddhist books and images. Thus Korea was the
intermediary for introducing Buddhism, writing, and Chinese
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This revolution was mainly the work of the Confucianist party in the
nobility and it was not unnatural that patriots and reformers should
see in Buddhism nothing but the religion of the corrupt old regime
of the Mongols. During the next century and a half a series of
restrictive measures, sometimes amounting to persecution, were
applied to it. Two kings who dared to build monasteries and favour
bonzes were deposed. Statues were melted down, Buddhist learning
was forbidden: marriages and burials were performed according to
the rules of Chu-hsi. About the beginning of the sixteenth century
(the date is [variously given as 1472 and 1512 and perhaps there was
more than one edict) the monasteries in the capital and all cities were
closed and this is why Korean monasteries are all in the country and
often in almost inaccessible mountains. It is only since the Japanese
occupation that temples have been built in towns.
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FOOTNOTES:
[895] See various articles in the Trans. of the Korean Branch of the
R.A.S., and F. Starr, Korean Buddhism. Also M. Courant, Bibliographie
coréenne, especially vol. III. chap. 2.
[898] The reasons were many, but the upper classes were evidently
ready to oppress the lower. Poor men became the slaves of the rich to
obtain a livelihood. All children of slave women were declared
hereditary slaves and so were the families of criminals.
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CHAPTER XLVIII
ANNAM
Until the tenth century A.D.[900] Annam in this sense was a part of
the Chinese Empire, although it was occasionally successful in
asserting its temporary independence. In the troubled period which
followed the downfall of the T’ang dynasty this independence
became more permanent. An Annamite prince founded a kingdom
called Dai-cô-viêt[901] and after a turbulent interval there arose the
Li dynasty which reigned for more than two centuries (1009-1226
A.D.). It was under this dynasty that the country was first styled An-
nam: previously the official designation of the land or its inhabitants
was Giao-Chi[902]. The Annamites were at this period a considerable
[ military power, though their internal administration appears to
have been chaotic. They were occasionally at war with China, but as
a rule were ready to send complimentary embassies to the Emperor.
With Champa, which was still a formidable antagonist, there was a
continual struggle. Under the Tran dynasty (1225-1400) the foreign
policy of Annam followed much the same lines. A serious crisis was
created by the expedition of Khubilai Khan in 1285, but though the
Annamites suffered severely at the beginning of the invasion, they
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In 1428 the Li dynasty came to the throne and ruled Annam at least
in name until the end of the eighteenth century. At first they proved
vigorous and capable; they organized the kingdom in provinces and
crushed the power of Champa. But after the fifteenth century the
kings became merely titular sovereigns and Annamite history is
occupied entirely with the rivalry of the two great families, Trinh
and Nguyen, who founded practically independent kingdoms in
Tonkin and Cochin-China respectively. In 1802 a member of the
Nguyen family made himself Emperor of all Annam but both he and
his successors were careful to profess themselves vassals of China.
Thus it will be seen that Annam was at no time really detached from
China. In spite of political independence it always looked towards
the Chinese Court and though complimentary missions and nominal
vassalage seem unimportant, yet they are significant as indicating
admiration for Chinese institutions. Between Champa and Annam
on the other hand there was perpetual war: in the later phases of the
contest the Annamites appear as invaders and destroyers. They seem
to have disliked the Chams and were not disposed to imitate them.
Hence it is natural that Champa, so long as it existed as an
independent kingdom, should mark the limit of direct Indian
influence on the mainland of Eastern Asia, though afterwards
Camboja became the limit. By direct, I do not mean to exclude the
possibility of transmission through Java or elsewhere, but by
whatever route Indian civilization came to [ Champa, it brought its
own art, alphabet and language, such institutions as caste and forms
of Hinduism and Buddhism which had borrowed practically nothing
from non-Indian sources. In Annam, on the other hand, Chinese
writing and, for literary purposes, a form of the Chinese language
were in use: the arts, customs and institutions were mainly Chinese:
whatever Buddhism can be found was imported from China and is
imperfectly distinguished from Taoism: of Hinduism there are
hardly any traces[903].
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But besides the Chua there are at least three other kinds of religious
edifices: (i) Dinh. These are municipal temples dedicated to beings
commonly called genii by Europeans, that is to say, superhuman
personages, often, but not always, departed local worthies, who for
one reason or another are supposed to protect and supervise a
particular town or village. The Dinh contains a council room as well
as a shrine and is served by laymen. The genius is often represented
by an empty chair and his name must not be pronounced within the
temple. (ii) Taoist deities are sometimes worshipped in special
temples, but the Annamites do not seem to think that such worship
is antagonistic to Buddhism or even distinct from it. (iii) Temples [
dedicated to Confucius (Van mien) are to be found in the towns, but
are generally open only on certain feast days, when they are visited
by officials. Sometimes altars dedicated to the sage may be found in
natural grottoes or other picturesque situations. Besides these
numerous elements, Annamite religion also includes the veneration
of ancestors and ceremonies such as the worship of Heaven and
Earth performed in imitation of the Court of Peking. To this must be
added many local superstitions in which the worship of animals,
especially the tiger, is prominent. But a further analysis of this
composite religion does not fall within my province.
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FOOTNOTES:
[901] French scholars use a great number of accents and even new
forms of letters to transcribe Annamite, but since this language has
nothing to do with the history of Buddhism or Hinduism and the
accurate orthography is very difficult to read, I have contented
myself with a rough transcription.
[902] This is the common orthography, but Chiao Chih would be the
spelling according to the system of transliterating Chinese adopted
in this book.
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CHAPTER XLIX
TIBET
INTRODUCTORY
Tibet had early relations with Kashmir, Central Asia and China
which may all have contributed something to its peculiar
civilization, but its religion is in the main tantric Buddhism imported
from Bengal and invigorated from time to time by both native and
Indian reformers. But though almost every feature of Lamaism finds
a parallel somewhere in India, yet too great insistence on its source
and historical development hardly does justice to the originality of
the Tibetans. They borrowed a foreign faith wholesale, but still the
relative emphasis which they laid on its different aspects was
something new. They had only a moderate aptitude for asceticism,
meditation and metaphysics, although they manfully translated
huge tomes of Sanskrit philosophy, but they had a genius for
hierarchy, discipline and ecclesiastical polity unknown to the
Hindus. Thus taking the common Asiatic idea that great and holy
men are somehow divine, they made it the principle of civil and
sacerdotal government by declaring the prelates of the church to be
deities incarnate. Yet in strange contrast to these practical talents, a
certain innate devilry made them exaggerate all the magical,
terrifying and demoniac elements to be found in Indian Tantrism.
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In discussing this interesting faith, I shall first treat of its history and
then of the sacred books on which it professes to be based. In the
light of this information it will be easier to understand the doctrines
of Lamaism and I shall finally say something about its different sects,
particularly as there is reason to think that the strength of the
Established Church, of which the Grand Lama is head, has been
exaggerated.
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CHAPTER L
TIBET (continued)
HISTORY
At this time Tibet played some part in the politics of China and [
northern India. The Emperor Harsha and the T’ang Emperor T’ai
Tsung exchanged embassies but a second embassy sent from China
arrived after Harsha’s death and a usurper who had seized the
throne refused to receive it. The Chinese with the assistance of the
kings of Tibet and Nepal dethroned him and carried him off captive.
There is therefore nothing improbable in the story that Srong-tsan-
gam-po had two wives, who were princesses of Nepal and China
respectively. He was an active ruler, warlike but progressive, and
was persuaded by these two ladies that Buddhism was a necessary
part of civilization. According to tradition he sent to India a
messenger called Thonmi Sanbhota, who studied there for several
years, adapted a form of Indian writing to the use of his native
language and translated the Karaṇḍa Vyûha. Recent investigators
however have advanced the theory that the Tibetan letters are
derived from the alphabet of Indian origin used in Khotan and that
Sanbhota made its acquaintance in Kashmir[913]. Though the king
and his two wives are now regarded as the first patrons of Lamaism
and worshipped as incarnations of Avalokita and Târâ, it does not
appear that his direct religious activity was great or that he built
monasteries. But his reign established the foundations of civilization
without which Buddhism could hardly have flourished, he to some
extent unified Central Tibet, he chose the site of Lhasa as the capital
and introduced the rudiments of literature and art. But after his
death in 650 we hear little more of Buddhism for some decades.
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from Khotan. His efforts bore little fruit, for no Tibetans were willing
to take the vows, but the edict of 783 preserved in Lhasa mentions
his zeal for religion, and he prepared the way for Khri-sroṇ-lde-btsan
in whose reign Padma-Sambhava, the real founder of Lamaism,
arrived in Tibet[914].
This event is said to have occurred in 747 and the epoch is noticeable
for two reasons. Firstly Tibet, which had become an important
military power, was now brought into contact both in peace and war
with China and Central Asia. It was predominant in the Tarim Basin
and ruled over parts of Ssŭ-chuan and Yunnan. China was obliged to
pay tribute and when it was subsequently refused the Tibetans
sacked the capital, Chang-an. In 783 China made a treaty of peace
with Tibet. The king was the son of a Chinese princess and thus
blood as well as wide experience disposed him to open Tibet to
foreign ideas. But in 747 relations with China were bad, so he turned
towards India and invited to his Court a celebrated Pandit named
Śântarakshita, who advised him to send for Padma-Sambhava.
Secondly this was the epoch when Amogha flourished in China and
introduced the Mantrayâna system or Chên Yen. This was the same
form of corrupt Buddhism which was brought to Tibet and was
obviously the dominant sect in India in the eighth century. It was
pliant and amalgamated easily with local observances, in China with
funeral rites, in Tibet with demonolatry.
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far from clear, but evidently there were numerous Buddhist schools
in Bengal, Kashmir and Nepal and numerous learned monks ready
to take up their residence in Tibet. This readiness has been explained
as due to fear of the rising tide of Islam, but was more probably the
result of the revival of Buddhism in Bengal during the eleventh
century. The most illustrious of these pandits was Atîśa[929] (980-
1053), a native of Bengal, who was ordained at Odontapuri and
studied in Burma[930]. Subsequently he was appointed head of the
monastery of Vikramaśîla and was induced to visit Tibet in
1038[931]. He remained there until his death fifteen years later;
introduced a new calendar and inaugurated the second period of
Tibetan Buddhism which is marked by the rise of successive sects
described as reforms. It may seem a jest to call the teaching of Atîśa a
reform, for he professed the Kâlacakra, the latest and most corrupt
form of Indian Buddhism, but it was doubtless superior in discipline
and coherency to the native superstitions mixed with debased
tantrism, which it replaced.
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Mongols and their treatment of large areas as units it would not have
been possible. The Mings could not have united China before the
Yüan dynasty as they did after it.
Khubilai Khan was not content with the vague theism of Central
Asia and wished to give his rude Mongols a definite religion with
some accessories of literature and manners. Confucianism was
clearly too scholastic for a fighting race and we may surmise that he
rejected Christianity as distant and unimportant, Mohammedanism
as [ inconveniently mixed with politics. But why did he prefer
Lamaism to Chinese Buddhism? The latter can hardly have been too
austerely pure to suit his ends, and Tibetan was as strange as
Chinese to the Mongols. But the Mongol Court had already been
favourably impressed by Tibetan Lamas and the Emperor probably
had a just feeling that the intellectual calibre of the Mongols and
Tibetans was similar and also that it was politic to conciliate the
uncanny spiritual potentates who ruled in a land which it was
difficult to invade. At any rate he summoned the abbot of Sakya to
China in 1261 and was initiated by him into the mysteries of
Lamaism[936].
It is said that before Pagspa’s birth the God Ganeśa showed his
father all the land of Tibet and told him that it would be the kingdom
of his son. In later life when he had difficulties at the Chinese Court
Mahâkâla appeared and helped him, and the mystery which he
imparted to Khubilai is called the Hevajravaśîtâ[937]. These legends
indicate that there was a large proportion of Sivaism in the religion
first taught to the Mongols, larger perhaps than in the present
Lamaism of Lhasa.
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Lamas, imposed itself on Nepal. Indian and Tibetan temples are not
alike. In the former there is little painting but the walls and pillars
are covered with a superabundance of figures carved in relief: in
Tibet pictures and painted banners are the first thing to strike the
eye, but carvings in relief are rare.
In 1368 the Ming superseded the Yüan. They were not professed
Buddhists to the same extent and they had no preference for
Lamaism but they were anxious to maintain good relations with
Tibet and to treat it as a friendly but vassal state. They accorded
imperial recognition (with an implication of suzerainty) to the
dynasty of Phagmodu and also to the abbots of eight monasteries.
Though they were doubtless glad to see Tibet a divided and
contentious house, it does not appear that they interfered actively in
its affairs or did more than recognize the status quo. In the time of
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The advent of the Ming dynasty coincided with the birth of Tsong-
kha-pa[944], the last reformer of Lamaism and organizer of the
Church as it at present exists. The name means the man of the onion-
bank, a valley near the monastery of Kumbum in the district of
Amdo, which lies on the western frontiers of the Chinese province of
Kansu. He became a monk at the age of seven and from the hair cut
off when he received the tonsure is said to have sprung the
celebrated tree of Kumbum which bears on its leaves wondrous
markings[945]. According to the legend, his birth and infancy were
attended by miracles. He absorbed instruction from many teachers
and it has been conjectured that among them were Roman Catholic
missionaries[946]. In early manhood he proceeded to Tibet and
studied at Sakya, Dikung and finally at Lhasa. His reading
convinced him that Lamaism as he found it was not in harmony with
the scriptures, so with the patronage of the secular rulers and the
support of the more earnest clergy he successfully executed a
thorough and permanent work of reform. This took visible shape in
the Gelugpa, the sect presided over by the Grand Lama, which
acquired such paramount importance in both ecclesiastical and
secular matters that it is justly termed the Established Church of
Tibet. It may also be conveniently termed the Yellow Church, yellow
being its special colour particularly for hats and girdles, in
opposition to the red or unreformed sects which use red for the same
purpose. Tsong-kha-pa’s reforms took two principal lines. Firstly he
made monastic discipline stricter, insisting on celibacy and frequent
services of prayer: secondly he greatly reduced, although he did not
annihilate, the tantric and magical element in Lamaism. These [
principles were perpetuated by an effective organization. He himself
founded the great monastery of Gandan near Lhasa and became its
first abbot. During his lifetime or shortly afterwards were founded
three others, Sera and Depung both near Lhasa and
Tashilhunpo[947]. He himself seems to have ruled simply in virtue
of his personal authority as founder, but his nephew and successor
Geden-dub[948] claimed the same right as an incarnation of the
divine head of the Church, and this claim was supported by a
hierarchy which became overwhelmingly powerful.
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The second Grand Lama[954] enjoyed a long reign, and set the
hierarchy in good order, for he distinguished strictly clerical posts,
filled by incarnations, from administrative posts. He was summoned
to Peking by the Emperor, but declined to go and the somewhat
imperative embassy sent to invite him was roughly handled. His
successor, the third Grand Lama bSod-nams[955], although less
noticed by historians than the fifth, perhaps did more solid work for
the holy see of Lhasa than any other of his line for he obtained, or at
least received, the allegiance of the Mongols who since the time of
Khubilai had woefully backslidden from the true faith.
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The Grand Lama then accepted and set out on his travels with great
pomp. According to the story he appeared to the astonished
Mongols in the guise of Avalokita with four arms (of which two
remained folded on his breast) and the imprint of his horse’s hoofs
showed the six mystic syllables om mani padme hum. These wonders
are so easily explicable that they may be historical.
His Holiness then returned to Tibet, but when Altan Khagan died in
1583 he made a second tour in Mongolia in order to make sure of the
allegiance of the new chiefs. He also received an embassy from the
Chinese Emperor Wan-Li, who conferred on him the same titles that
Khubilai had given to Pagspa. The alliance between the Tibetans and
Mongols was naturally disquieting to the Ming dynasty and they
sought to minimize it by showing extreme civility to the Lamas.
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Lo-zang was born as the son of a high Tibetan official about 1616 and
was educated in the Depung monastery under the supervision of
Chos-kyi-Gyal-tsan, abbot of Tashilhunpo and a man of political
weight. The country was then divided into Khamdo, Wu and Tsang,
or Eastern, Central and Western Tibet, and in each province there
ruled a king of the Phagmodu dynasty. In Central Tibet, and
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The Grand Lamas had hitherto resided in the Depung monastery but
Lo-zang now moved to the hill of Marpori, the former royal
residence and began to build on it the Potala[963] palace which,
judging from photographs, must be one of the most striking edifices
in the world, for its stately walls continue the curves of the mountain
side and seem to grow out of the living rock. His old teacher was
given the title of Panchen Rinpoche, which has since been borne by
the abbots of Tashilhunpo, and the doctrine that the Grand Lamas of
Lhasa and Tashilhunpo are respectively incarnations of Avalokita
and Amitâbha was definitely promulgated[964].
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But the young Grand Lama, who owing to the fiction that his
predecessor was still alive had probably been brought up less strictly
than usual, soon began to inspire alarm at Peking for he showed
himself wilful and intelligent. He wrote love songs which are still
popular and his licentious behaviour was quite out of harmony with
the traditions of the holy see. In 1701, under joint pressure from the
Chinese and Mongols, he resigned his ecclesiastical rights and
handed over the care of the Church to the abbot of Tashilhunpo,
while retaining his position as temporal ruler. But the Chinese still
felt uneasy and in 1705 succeeded in inducing him to undertake a
journey to Peking. When he got as far as Mongolia he died of either
dropsy or assassination. The commander of the Oelöt garrisons in
Tibet was a friend of the Chinese, and at once produced a new
Grand Lama called Yeśes, a man of about twenty-five, who claimed
to be the true reincarnation of the fifth Grand Lama, the pretensions
of the dissolute youth who had just died being thus set aside. It
suited the Chinese to deal with an adult, who could be made to
understand [ that he had received and held his office only through
their good will, but the Tibetans would have none of this
arrangement. They clung to the memory of the dissolute youth and
welcomed with enthusiasm the news that he had reappeared in Li-
t’ang as a new-born child, who was ultimately recognized as the
seventh Grand Lama named Kalzang. The Chinese imprisoned the
infant with his parents in the monastery of Kumbum in Kansu and
gave all their support to Yeśes. For the better control of affairs in
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Lhasa two Chinese Agents were appointed to reside there with the
Manchu title of Amban[966].
But the Tibetans would not accept the rule of Yeśes and in 1717 the
revolutionary party conspired with the Oelöt tribes of Ili to put
Kalzang on the throne by force. The troops sent to take the holy child
were defeated by the Chinese but those which attacked Lhasa were
completely successful. Yeśes abdicated and the city passed into the
possession of the Mongols. The Chinese Government were greatly
alarmed and determined to subdue Tibet. Their first expedition was
a failure but in 1720 they sent a second and larger, and also decided
to install the youthful Kalzang as Grand Lama, thus conciliating the
religious feelings of the Tibetans. The expedition met with little
difficulty and the result of it was that China became suzerain of the
whole country. By imperial edict the young Grand Lama was
recognized as temporal ruler, the four ministers or Kalön were given
Chinese titles, and garrisons were posted to keep open the road from
China. But the Tibetans were still discontented. In 1727 a rebellion,
instigated it was said by the family of the Grand Lama, broke out,
and the Prime Minister was killed. This rising was not permanently
successful and the Chinese removed the Grand Lama to the
neighbourhood of their frontier. They felt however that it was unsafe
to give ground for suspicion that they were ill-treating him and in
1734 he was reinstated in the Potala. But the dislike of the Tibetans
for Chinese supervision was plain. In 1747 there was another
rebellion. The population of Lhasa rose and were assisted by Oelöt
troops who suddenly arrived on the scene. Chinese rule was saved
only by the heroism of the two Chinese Agents, who invited the chief
conspirators to a meeting and engaged them in personal combat.
They lost their own lives but killed the principal rebels. The Chinese
then [ abolished the office of Prime Minister, increased their garrison
and gave the Agents larger powers.
About 1758 the Grand Lama died and was succeeded by an infant
called Jambal. The real authority was wielded by the Panchen Lama
who acted as regent and was so influential that the Emperor Ch’ien-
Lung insisted on his visiting Peking[967]. He had a good reception
and probably obtained some promise that the government of Tibet
would be left more in the hands of the Church but he died of
smallpox in Peking and nothing came of his visit except a beautiful
tomb and an epitaph written by the Emperor. After his death a new
complication appeared. The prelates of the Red Church encouraged
an invasion of the Gurkhas of Nepal in the hope of crushing the
Yellow Church. The upshot was that the Chinese drove out the
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A period of calm followed, and when the Grand Lama died in 1804
the Tibetans totally neglected this edict and selected a child born in
eastern Tibet. The Chinese Court, desirous of avoiding unnecessary
trouble, approved[968] the choice on the ground that the infant’s
precocious ability established his divine character but when he [ died
in 1815 and an attempt was made to repeat this irregularity, a second
edict was published, insisting that the names of at least three
candidates must be placed in the golden urn and that he whose
name should be first drawn must be Grand Lama. This procedure
was followed but the child elected by the oracle of the urn died
before he was twenty and another infant was chosen as his successor
in 1838. As a result the Lama who was regent acquired great power
and also unpopularity. His tyranny caused the Tibetans to petition
the Emperor; and His Majesty sent a new Agent to investigate his
conduct. Good reason was shown for holding him responsible for
the death of the Grand Lama in 1838 and for other misdeeds. The
Emperor then degraded and banished him and, what is more
singular, forbade him to reappear in a human reincarnation.
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FOOTNOTES:
[912] It has been argued (e.g., J.R.A.S., 1903, p. 11) that discoveries in
Central Asia indicate that Tibetan civilization and therefore Tibetan
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[913] See Hoernle MS. Remains found in E. Turkestan, 1916, pp. xvii ff.,
and Francke, Epig. Ind. XI. 266 ff., and on the other side Laufer in
J.A.O.S. 1918, pp. 34 ff. There is a considerable difference between
the printed and cursive forms of the Tibetan alphabet. Is it possible
that they have different origins and that the former came from
Bengal, the latter from Khotan?
[914] There were some other streams of Buddhism, for the king had a
teacher called Sântarakshita who advised him to send for Padma-
Sambhava and Padma-Sambhava was opposed by Chinese bonzes.
[916] Much of Chinese popular religion has the same character. See
De Groot, Religious System of China, vol. VI. pp. 929, 1187. “The War
against Spectres.”
[917] Both he and the much later Saskya Pandita are said to have
understood the Bruzha language, for which see T’oung Pao, 1908, pp.
1-47.
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[924] Various dates are given for his death, ranging from 838 to 902.
See Rockhill (Life of the Buddha), p. 225, and Bushell in J.R.A.S. 1880,
pp. 440 ff. But the treaty of 822 was made in his reign.
[925] g Lan-dar-ma.
[926] But see for other accounts Rockhill (Life of the Buddha), p. 226.
According to Csoma de Körös’s tables the date of the persecution
was 899.
[928] Pag Som Jon Zang. Ed. Sarat Chandra Das, p. 183.
[932] Or Jenghiz Khan. The form in the text seems to be the more
correct.
[934] Guyuk was Khagan at this time but the Mongol History of
Sanang Setsen (Schmidt, p. 3) says that the Lama was summoned by
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the Khagan Godan. It seems that Godan was never Khagan, but as an
influential prince he may have sent the summons.
[939] It is given in Isaac Taylor’s The Alphabet, vol. II. p. 336. See also
J.R.A.S. 1910, pp. 1208-1214.
[940] E.g. see the Tisastvustik, a sûtra in a Turkish dialect and Uigur
characters found at Turfan and published in Bibliotheca Buddhica, XII.
[942] Sanang Setsen, p. 121. The succession of the Sakya abbots is not
clear but the primacy continued in the family. See Köppen, II. p. 105.
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[949] He was not the same as Ha-li-ma (see p. 277) of whom more is
heard in Chinese accounts. Ha-li-ma or Karma was fifth head of the
Karma-pa school and was invited on his own merits to China where
he died in 1426 or 1414. See Huth, l.c. vol. I. p. 109 and vol. II. p. 171.
Also Köppen, die Rel. des Buddha, II. 107. Byams-chen-chos-rje was
invited as the representative of Tsong-ka-pa. See Huth, l.c. vol. I. p.
120, vol. II. p. 129.
[950] See for a list of the Lamas of Tashilhunpo and their lives
J.A.S.B. 1882, pp. 15-52. The third incarnation was Abhayakara
Gupta, a celebrated Bengali Pandit who flourished in the reign of
Râmapâla. This appears to have been about 1075-1115, but there is
considerable discrepancy in the dates given.
1. dGe-ḥdun-dub, 1391-1478.
2. dGe-ḥdun, 1479-1541.
3. bSod-nams, 1543-1586.
4. Yon-tan, 1587-1614.
5. Ṅag-dbaṇ bLo-bzaṇ, 1617-1680.
6. Rin-chen Thsaṇs-dbyaṇs, 1693-1703.
7. bLo-bzaṇ sKal-dan, 1705-1758.
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[955] See for an account of his doings Sanang Setsen, chap. IX. Huth,
Geschichte, II. pp. 200 ff. Köppen, II. pp. 134 ff. It would appear that
about 1545 northwestern Tibet was devastated by Mohammedans
from Kashgar. See Waddell, Buddhism, p. 583.
[956] Also known as Yenta or Anda. See, for some particulars about
him, Parker in N. China Branch of R.A.S. 1913, pp. 92 ff.
[959] The correct Mongol names of this place seem to be Örgö and
Kürä. The Lama’s name was bSam-pa rGya-mThso.
[960] He finished his history in 1608 and lived some time longer so
that bSam-pa rGya-mThso cannot have been an incarnation of him.
[962] The name is variously written Gushi, Gushri, Gus’ri, etc., and is
said to stand for Guruśrî. The name of the tribe also varies: Oirad
and Oegeled are both found.
[963] So called from the sacred hill in India on which Avalokita lives.
The origin of the name is doubtful but before the time of Hsüan
Chuang it had come to be applied to a mountain in South India.
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other way, but it must be admitted that if he was the first to claim for
himself this dignity it would be natural for him to claim it for his
predecessors also and cause ecclesiastical history to be written
accordingly.
[965] sDe-srid.
[967] See E. Ludwig, The visit of the Teshoo Lama to Peking, Tientsin
Press, 1904. See also J.A.S.B. 1882, pp. 29-52.
[969] See for a translation of this curious decree, North China Herald
of March 4th, 1910.
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CHAPTER LI
TIBET (continued)
THE CANON
For our purpose the principal works are the two great collections of
sacred and edifying literature translated into Tibetan and known as
the Kanjur and Tanjur[973]. The first contains works esteemed as
canonical, including Tantras. The second is composed of exegetical
literature and also of many treatises on such subjects as medicine,
astronomy and grammar[974]. The two together correspond roughly
speaking to the Chinese Tripitaka, but are more bulky. The canonical
part is smaller but the commentaries and miscellaneous writings
more numerous. There are also other differences due to the fact that
the great literary epoch of Tibet was in the ninth century, whereas
nearly three-quarters of the Chinese Tripitaka had been translated
before that date. Thus the Kanjur appears to contain none[975] of the
Abhidhamma works of the Hînayâna and none of the great Nikâyas
as such, though single sûtras are entered in the catalogues as
separate books. Further there is only one version of the Vinaya
whereas the Chinese Tripitaka has five, but there are several
important [ Tantras which are wanting in Chinese. The Tibetan
scriptures reflect the late Buddhism of Magadha when the great
books of the Hinayanist Canon were neglected, though not wholly
unknown, and a new tantric literature was flourishing exuberantly.
The contents of the Kanjur and Tanjur are chiefly known by analyses
and indices[976], although several editions and translations of short
treatises have been published[977]. The information obtained may be
briefly summarized as follows.
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The names and dates of the translators are not given but the
existence of these translations probably indicates that a knowledge of
Pali lingered on in Magadha later than is generally supposed. It will
also be remembered that about A.D. 1000, Atîśa though a Tantrist,
studied in Burma and presumably came in contact with Pali
literature. Rockhill notes that the Tanjur contains a commentary on
the Lotus Sûtra written by Prithivibandhu, a monk from Ceylon, and
Pali manuscripts have been found in Nepal[985]. It is possible that
Sinhalese may have brought Pali books to northern India and given
them to Tibetans whom they met there.
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It is divided into two parts, mDo (Sûtra) and rGyud (Tantra), besides
a volume of hymns and an index. The same method of division is
really applicable to the Kanjur, for the Tibetan Dulva is little more
than a combination of Sûtras and Jâtakas and sections two, three,
four and six of the Kanjur are collections of special sûtras. In both
compilations the tantric section appears to consist of later books
expounding ideas which are further from the teaching of Gotama
than the Mahayanist sûtras.
Although the titles of books are given in Sanskrit, yet all Indian
proper names which have a meaning (as most have) are translated.
Thus the name Drona (signifying a measure and roughly equivalent
to such an English name as Dr. Bushell) is rendered by Bre-bo, a
similar measure in Tibetan. This habit greatly increases the difficulty
of reading Tibetan texts. The translators apparently desired to give a
Tibetan equivalent for every word and even for every part of a word,
so as to make clear the etymology as well as the meaning of the
sacred original. The learned language thus produced must have
varied greatly from the vernacular of every period but its slavish
fidelity makes it possible to reconstruct the original Sanskrit with
tolerable certainty.
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The translation of all this literature falls into three periods, (i) from
the seventh century until the reign of Ralpachan in the ninth, (ii) the
reign of Ralpachan, and (in) some decades following the arrival of
Atîśa in 1038. In the first period work was sporadic and the
translations made were not always those preserved in the Kanjur.
Thonmi Sanbhota, the envoy sent to India in 616 is said to have made
renderings of the Karaṇḍa Vyûha and other works (but not those
now extant) and three items in the Tanjur are attributed to him[997].
The existence of early translations has been confirmed by Stein who
discovered at Endere a Tibetan manuscript of the Śalistambhasûtra
which is said not to be later than about 740 A.D.[998] The version
now found in the Kanjur appears to be a revision and expansion of
this earlier text.
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Manuscripts are still extensively copied and used in Tibet but the
Kanjur has been printed from wooden blocks for the last 200 years.
There are said to be two printing presses, the older at Narthang near
Tashilhunpo where an edition in 100 volumes is produced and
another at Derge in the eastern province. This edition is in 108
volumes. An edition was also printed at Peking by order of K’ang-
Hsi in red type and with a preface by the Emperor himself[1007].
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FOOTNOTES:
[974] Though this distinction seems to hold good on the whole, yet it
is not strictly observed. Thus the work called Udâna and
corresponding to the Dhammapada is found in both the Kanjur and
Tanjur.
[976] Analysis of the Dulva, etc., four parts in Asiatic Researches, vol.
XX. 1836, by A. Csoma Körösi. Translated into French by Feer,
Annales du Musée Guimet, tome 2me, 1881. Index des Kanjur,
herausgegeben von I.J. Schmidt (in Tibetan), 1845. Huth, Verzeichnis
der in Tibetischen Tanjur, Abtheilung mDo, erhaltenen Werke in
Sitzungsber. Berlin. Akad. 1895. P. Cordier, Catalogue du fonds Tibétain
de la Bibliothèque Nationale. Beckh, Verzeichnis der tibetischen
Handscriften der K. Bibliothek zu Berlin, 1 Abth., Kanjur, 1914. This is
an analysis of the edition in 108 volumes, whereas Csoma de Körösi
and Feer analyzed the edition in 100 volumes. The arrangement of
the two editions is not quite the same. See too Pelliot’s review of
Beckh’s catalogue in J.A. 1914, II. pp. 111 ff. See also Waddell,
“Tibetan Manuscripts and Books” in Asiatic Quarterly, July, 1912, pp.
80-113, which, though not an analysis of the Canon, incidentally
gives much information.
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[979] hDul-ba.
[986] There is another shorter sûtra on the same subject in the mDo
section of the Kanjur. Feer, p. 247. In the edition of 108 volumes, the
whole section is incorporated in the mDo, Beckh, p. 33.
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[994] See Feer, l.c. p. 344, and Laufer, “Die Bruza Sprache” in T’oung
Pao, 1908. It is said that King Ru-che-tsan of Brusha or Dusha
translated (? what date) the Mûla-Tantra and Vyâkhyâ-Tantra into
the language of his country. See J.A.S.B. 1882, p. 12. Beckh states that
four works have titles in Chinese, one in Bruža and one in Tartar
(Hor-gyi-skad-du).
[996] See Nanjio, No. 87, and Feer, l.c. pp. 208-212, but the two works
may not be the same. The Tibetan seems to be a collection of 45
sûtras.
[998] Stein, Ancient Khotan, pp. 426-9 and App. B. See also Pelliot in
B.E.F.E.O. 1908, pp. 507 ff.
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[1006] See Huth, Geschichte des Budd. in der Mongolei, 291, and Laufer,
“Skizze der Mongolischen Literatur” (in Keleti Szemle, 1907), p. 219.
Also Pelliot in J.A. 1914, II. pp. 112-3.
[1008] Some of these are probably included in the Tanjur, which has
not been fully catalogued. See J.A.S. Beng. 1904, for a list of 85
printed books bought in Lhasa, 1902, and Waddell’s article in Asiatic
Quarterly, July, 1912, already referred to.
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CHAPTER LII
TIBET (continued)
DOCTRINES OF LAMAISM
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of precipice, desert and storm have wrought for ages upon the minds
of those who live among them.
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plain mortals, yet Lamaism has the strength belonging to all genuine
expressions of national character and it clearly suits the Tibetans and
Mongols. The oldest known form of Tibetan religion had some of the
same characteristics. It is called Bön or Pön. It would be outside my
province to discuss it here, but even when first heard of it was more
than a rude form of animism. In the eighth century its hierarchy was
sufficiently strong to oppose the introduction of Buddhism and it
possibly contained a pre-buddhist stratum of Iranian ideas[1017]. In
later times it adopted or travestied Buddhist dogma, ritual and
literature, much as Taoism did in China, but still remained a
repository of necromancy, magic, animal sacrifices, devil-dancing,
and such like practices, which have in all ages corrupted Tibetan
Buddhism though theoretically disapproved.
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I will not attempt to catalogue this fantastic host but will merely
notice the principal elements in it.
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The later (but still not tantric) doctrines of Indian Mahayanism are
naturally prominent. The three bodies of Buddha are well known
and also the series of five Celestial Buddhas with corresponding
Bodhisattvas and other manifestations. I feel doubtful whether the
table given by Waddell[1033] can be accepted as a compendium of [
the Lamaist creed. The symmetry is spoiled by the existence of other
groups such as the Thirty Buddhas, the Thousand Buddhas, and the
Buddhas of Healing, and also by the habit just mentioned of
representing deities in various forms. For instance Amoghapâśa,
theoretically a form of Avalokita, is in practice distinct. The fact is
that Lamaism accepted the whole host of Indian Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas, with additions of its own. The classifications made by
various sûtras and tantras were not sufficiently dogmatic to become
articles of faith: chance and fancy determined the prominence and
popularity of a given figure. Among the Buddhas those most
worshipped are Amitâbha, Śâkya and Bhaishajyaguru or the Buddha
of Healing: among the Bodhisattvas, Avalokita, Maitreya and
Mañjuśrî.
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Besides the relatively old and simple forms of the various Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas, there are many others which are usually
accommodated to the system by being described as protecting
spirits, that is virtuous and religious fiends who expend their
ferocity on the enemies of the Church.
Of these Protectors there are two classes, which are not mutually
exclusive, namely, the tutelary deities of individuals, and the [
defenders of the faith or tutelaries of the whole Church. The former,
who are extremely important in the religious life of the Lamas, are
called Yi-dam and may be compared with the Ishṭa-devatâs of the
Hindus: the latter or Chos Skyoṇ correspond to the Dharmapâlas.
Every Lama selects a Yi-dam either for life or for a period. His choice
must remain a secret but he himself has no doubts, as after fasting
and meditation the deity will appear to him[1035]. Henceforth he
every morning repeats formulæ which are supposed to give him the
appearance of his tutelary and thus scare away hostile demons. The
most efficacious tutelaries are tantric forms of the Dhyâni Buddhas,
especially Vajrasattva, Vajradhara and Amitâyus. The deity is
represented not in the guise of a Buddha but crowned, robed, and
holding a thunderbolt, and his attributes appear to be derived from
those of Indra[1036]. In his arms he always clasps a Śakti.
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Most tutelary deities of this class act as defenders of the faith and
each sect has one or two as its special guardians[1038]. The idea is
ancient for even in the Pitakas, Sakka and other spirits respectfully
protect the Buddha’s disciples, and the Dharmapâlas of Gandharan
art are the ancestors of the Chos Skyoṇ. But in Tibet these assume
monstrous and manifold disguises. The oldest is Vajrapâṇi and
nearly all the others are forms of Śiva (such as Acala or Mi-gyo-ba
who reappears in Japan as Fudo) or personages of his retinue. Eight
of them are often adored collectively under the name of the Eight
Terrible Ones. Several of these are well-known figures in Hindu
mythology, for though the Lamas usually give Buddhist titles to
their principal deities, yet they also venerate Hindu gods, without
any explanation of their status. Thus hJigs-med-nam-mkha says that
he composed his history with the help of Śiva[1039]. The members of
this group vary in different enumerations but the following usually
form part of it.
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art and literature is natural, since they are decorative though not
essential parts of early Buddhism. The same may be said of all the
host of Nâgas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, etc. But though these
multitudinous spirits have been rearranged and classified in
conformity with Hindu ideas they are not an importation but rather
part of the old folklore of Tibet, in many ways identical with the
same stratum of thought in India. Thus the snake demigods or
Nâgas[1041] occupy in both countries a large place in the popular
imagination. In the higher ranks of the Lamaist pantheon all the
figures seem to be imported, but some indigenous godlings have
retained a place in the lower classes. Such are rDo-rje-legs, at first an
opponent of Buddhism as preached by Padma-Sambhava but
honoured as a deity after making due submission, and the Five
Kings[1042], a group of fierce spirits, under the presidency of dPe-
dkar.
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Hinduism and Buddhism: An Historical Sketch - Volume III
FOOTNOTES:
[1013] E.g. Grünwedel, Buddhist art in India, fig. 149, id. Mythologie,
fig. 54.
[1016] See e.g. J.A.S.B. 1882, p. 41. The Svayambhû Purâna also states
that Mañjuśrî lives in China. See J. Buddhist Text Society, 1894, vol. II.
part II. p. 33.
[1017] See T’oung Pao, 1908, p. 13. For the Bön generally see also
J.A.S. Bengal, 1881, p. 187; Rockhill, Land of the Lamas, pp. 217-218;
and T’oung Pao, 1901, pp. 24-44.
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[1018] The Lamas offer burnt sacrifices but it is not quite clear
whether these are derived from the Indian homa adopted by Tantric
Buddhism or from Tibetan and Mongol ceremonies. See, for a
description of this ceremony, My Life in Mongolia, by the Bishop of
Norwich, pp. 108-114.
[1024] See J.A.S.B. 82, p. 225. The king is also (but apparently
incorrectly) called Candra-Bhadra.
[1026] See Kalkî Purâna. Vishnu Purâna, IV. XXIV, Bhâg. Pur. XII. ii.
18, and Norman in Trans. III, Int. Congress Religions, vol. II. p. 85.
Also Aufrecht, Cat. Cod. Sansk. 73A, 84B.
[1027] See Schrader, Introd. to the Pâncarâtra, pp. 100-106 and 96.
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Hinduism and Buddhism: An Historical Sketch - Volume III
[1040] See Buddhist Text Society, vol. II. part II. appendix II. 1904, p. 6.
[1043] In Tibetan sGrol-ma, in Mongol Dara äkä. For the early history
of Târâ see Blonay, Matériaux pour servir à l’histoire de ... Târâ, 1895.
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Hinduism and Buddhism: An Historical Sketch - Volume III
[1047] See Foucher, Icon. Bouddhique, 1900, p. 142, and Târanâtha tr.
Schiefner, p. 102.
[1052] Waddell quotes a similar spell known in both Tibet and Japan,
but addressed to Vairocana. Om Amogha Vairocanamahâmudra
mani padma jvalapravarthtaya hūm. Buddhism, p. 149.
[1053] Divyâvadâna (Cowell and Neil), pp. 613-4, and Raj. Mitra,
Nepalese Bud. Lit. p. 98. See also the learned note of Chavannes and
Pelliot, based on Japanese sources in J.A. 1913, I. 314. The text
referred to is Nanjio, No. 782. It is not plain if it is the same as earlier
translations with similar titles. A mantra of six syllables not further
defined is extolled in the Divyâvadâna and the Guṇakâraṇḍavyûha.
[1054] Bu-ston was born in 1288 and the summary of his writings
contained in the Journal of the Buddhist Text Society, vol. I. 1893,
represents the formula as used in the times of Atîśa, c. 1030.
[1055] See for this legend, which is long but not very illuminating,
Rockhill’s Land of the Lamas, pp. 326-334.
[1056] J.R.A.S. 1906, p. 464, and Francke, ib. 1915, pp. 397-404. He
points out the parallel between the three formulae: Om vagîśvari
mum: Om maṇipadme hum: Om vajrapâṇi hum. The hymn to Durgâ in
Mahâbhâr. Bhîshmapar, 796 (like many other hymns) contains a long
string of feminine vocatives ending in e or i.
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CHAPTER LIII
TIBET (continued)
SECTS
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The life and ritual of the Lamas have often been described, and I
need not do more than refer the reader to the detailed account given
by Waddell in his Buddhism of Tibet [1067], but it is noticeable that the
monastic system is organized on a larger scale and inspired by more
energy than in any other country. The monasteries of Tibet, if
inferior to those of Japan in the middle ages, are the greatest
Buddhist establishments now existing. For instance Depung has 7000
monks, Serra 5500 and Tashilhunpo 3800: at Urga in Mongolia there
are said to be 14,000. One is not surprised to hear that these
institutions are veritable towns with their own police and doubtless
the spirit of discipline learned in managing such large bodies of
monks has helped the Lamaist Church in the government of the
country. Also these monasteries are universities. Candidates for
ordination study a course of theology and are not received as novices
or full [ monks unless they pass successive examinations. In every
monastery there is a central temple in which the monks assemble
several times a day to chant lengthy choral offices. Of these there are
at least five, the first before dawn and the last at 7 p.m. Though the
value of Lamas’ learning and ritual may be questioned, it is clear that
many of them lead strenuous lives in the service of a religion which,
if fantastic, still expresses with peculiar intensity the beliefs and
emotions of the Tibetans and Mongols and has forced men of
violence to believe that a power higher than their own is wielded by
intellect and asceticism.
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FOOTNOTES:
[1059] Or Pemayangtse.
[1060] bKah-gDams-pa.
[1062] bKah-brGyud-pa.
[1064] Authorities differ as to the name of the sect which owns Himis
and other monasteries in Ladak.
[1065] See for some account of him and specimens of his poems,
Sandberg, Tibet and the Tibetans, chap. XIII.
[1066] I do not know whether the ceremonies of the other sects offer
the same resemblance. Probably they have all imitated the Gelugpa.
Some authors attribute the resemblance to contact with Nestorian
Christianity in early times but the resemblance is definitely to
Roman costumes and ceremonies not to those of the Eastern church.
Is there any reason to believe that the Nestorian ritual resembled that
of western catholics?
[1068] Almost the only difference that I have noticed is that whereas
Tibetans habitually translate Indian proper names, Mongols
frequently use Sanskrit words, such as Manjuśrî, or slightly modified
forms such as Dara, Maidari ( = Târâ, Maitreya). The same practice is
found in the old Uigur translations. See Bibl. Buddh. XII. Tisastvustik.
For an interesting account of contemporary Lamaism in Mongolia
see Binstead, “Life in a Khalkha Steppe Monastery,” J.R.A.S. 1914,
847-900.
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CHAPTER LIV
JAPAN
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It became the fashion in Japan to talk of the twelve sects, but the
names given are not always the same.
This list is historically correct, but Nos. 1-4 are almost or quite
extinct, and the number twelve is therefore sometimes made up as
follows:
Here Nos. 7, 8, 9 are subdivisions of the Zen and 5 and 12 are two
small sects.
Taking the first list, we may easily distinguish two classes. The first
eight, called by the Japanese Hasshū, are all old and all imported
from China. They represent the Buddhism of the Nara and Hei-an
periods. The other four all arose after 1170 and were all remodelled,
if not created, in Japan. Chronologically the sects may be arranged as
follows, the dates marking the foundation or introduction of each:
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Though the Hossō and Kegon sects are not extinct, their survival is
due to their monastic possessions rather than to the vitality of their
doctrines, but the great sects of the ninth century, the Tendai and
Shingon, are still flourishing. For some seven hundred years,
especially in the Fujiwara period, they had great influence not only
in art and literature, but in political and even in military matters, for
they maintained large bodies of troops consisting of soldier monks
or mercenaries and were a considerable menace to the secular
authority. So serious was the danger felt to be that in the sixteenth
century Nobunaga and Hideyoshi destroyed the great monasteries
of Hieizan and Negoro and the pretensions of the Buddhist Church
to temporal power were brought to an end.
But apart from this political activity, new sects which appeared in
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries suited the popular needs of the
time and were a sign of true religious life. Two of these sects, the
Jōdo and Shinshū[1071], are Amidist—that is to say they teach that
the only or at least the best way of winning salvation is to appeal to
the mercy of Amida, who will give his worshippers a place in his
paradise after death. The Jōdo is relatively old fashioned, and does
not differ much in practice from the worship of Amida as seen in
China, but the Shinshū has no exact parallel elsewhere. Though it
has not introduced many innovations in theology, its abandonment
of monastic discipline, its progressive and popular spirit and its
conspicuous success make it a distinct and remarkable type. Its
priests marry and eat meat: it has no endowments and relies on
voluntary subscription, yet its temples are among the largest and
most conspicuous in Japan. But the hierarchical spirit is not absent
and since Shinshū priests can marry, there arose the institution of
hereditary abbots who were even more like barons than the celibate
prelates of the older sects.
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have been introduced into Japan in the seventh century, but died
out. Later, under the Hōjō Regents, and especially during the
Ashikaga period, it flourished exceedingly. Zen ecclesiastics
managed politics like the French cardinals of the seventeenth century
and profoundly influenced art and literature, since they produced a
long line of painters and writers. But the most interesting feature in
the history of this sect in Japan is that, though it preserves the
teaching of Bodhidharma without much change, yet it underwent a
curious social metamorphosis, for it became the chosen creed of the
military class and contributed not a little to the Bushido or code of
chivalry. It is strange that this mystical doctrine should have spread
among warriors, but its insistence on simplicity of life, discipline of
mind and body, and concentration of thought harmonized with their
ideals.
FOOTNOTES:
[1070] These names are mostly borrowed from the Chinese and
represent: 1. Chü-shê; 2. Ch’êng-shih; 3. Lü; 4. San-lun; 5. Fa-hsiang;
6. Hua-yen; 7. T’ien-t’ai; 8. Chên-yen; 9. Ching-t’u; 10. Ch’an. See my
remarks on these sects in the section on Chinese Buddhism. See
Haas, Die Sekten dea Japanischen Buddhismus, 1905: many notices in
the same author’s Annalen des Jap. Bud. cited above and Ryauon
Fujishima, Le Buddhisme Japonais, 1889.
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BOOK VII
CHAPTER LV
In phrases like the above title, the word influence is easy and
convenient. When we hesitate to describe a belief or usage as
borrowed or derived, it comes pat to say that it shows traces of
external influence. But in what circumstances is such influence
exercised? It is not the necessary result of contact, for in the east of
Europe the Christian Church has not become mohammedanized nor
in Poland and Roumania has it contracted any taint of Judaism. In
these cases there is difference of race as well as of religion. In
business the Turk and Jew have some common ground with the
oriental Christian: in social life but little and in religion none at all.
Europe has sometimes shown an interest in Asiatic religions, but on
the whole an antipathy to them. Christianity originated in Palestine,
which is a Mediterranean rather than an Asiatic country, and its
most important forms, particularly the Roman Catholic Church, took
shape on European soil. Such cults as the worship of Isis and Mithra
were prevalent in Europe but they gained their first footing among
Asiatic slaves and soldiers and would perhaps not have maintained
themselves among European converts only. And Buddhism, though
it may have attracted individual minds, has never produced any
general impression west of India. Both in Spain and in south-eastern
Europe Islam was the religion of invaders and made surprisingly
few converts. Christian heretics, such as the Nestorians and
Monophysites, who were expelled from Constantinople and had
their home in Asia, left the west alone and proselytized in the east.
The peculiar detestation felt by the Church for the doctrines of the
Manichæans was perhaps partly due to the fact that they were in
spirit Asiatic. And the converse of this antipathy is also true: the
progress of Christianity in Asia has been insignificant.
But when people of the same race profess different creeds, these
creeds do influence one another and tend to approximate. This is
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There are clearly two sets of causes which may divide a race between
religions: internal movements, such as the rise of Buddhism, and
external impulses, such as missions or conquest. Conquest pure and
simple is best illustrated by the history of Islam, also by the
conversion of Mexico and South America to Roman Catholicism. But
even when conversion is pacific, it will generally be found that, if it
is successful on a large scale, it means the introduction of more than
a creed. The religious leader in his own country can trust to his
eloquence and power over his hearers. The real support of the
missionary, however little he may like the idea, is usually that he
represents a superior type of civilization. At one time in their career
Buddhism and Christianity were the greatest agencies for spreading
civilization in Asia and Europe respectively. They brought with
them art and literature: they had the encouragement of the most
enlightened princes: those who did not accept them in many cases
remained obviously on a lower level. Much the same thing happens
in Africa to-day. The natives who accept Mohammedanism or
Christianity are moved, not by the arguments of the Koran or Bible,
but by the idea that it is a fine thing to be like an Arab or a European.
A pagan in Uganda is literally a pagan; an uninstructed rustic from a
distant village.
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failed to inspire any record of their doings. Still there was traffic by
land and sea. The Hindus, if self-complacent, were not averse to new
ideas, and before the establishment of Christianity there was not
much bigotry in the west, for organized religion was unknown in
Europe: practices might be forbidden as immoral or anti-social but
such expressions as contrary to the Bible or Koran had no equivalent.
Old worships were felt to be unsatisfying: new ones were freely
adopted: mysteries were relished. There was no invasion, nothing
that suggested foreign conquest or alarmed national jealousy, but the
way was open to ideas, though they ran some risk of suffering
transformation on their long journey.
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“Naught but the world wide story how the earth and the heavens began,
How the gods were glad and angry and a deity once was man.”
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Christianity, like other western ideas, may have reached India both
by land and by sea. After the conquests of Alexander had once
opened the route to the Indus and established Hellenistic kingdoms
in its vicinity, the ideas and art of Greece and Rome journeyed
without difficulty to the Panjab, arriving perhaps as somewhat
wayworn and cosmopolitan travellers but still clearly European. A
certain amount of Christianity may have come along this track, but
for any historical investigation clearly the first question is, what is
the earliest period at which we have any record of its presence in
India? It would appear[1073] that the first allusions to the presence
of [ Christians in Parthia, Bactria and the border lands of India date
from the third century and that the oldest account[1074] of Christian
communities in southern India is the narrative of Cosmas
Indicopleustes (c. 525 A.D.). These latter Christians probably came to
India by sea from Persia in consequence of the persecutions which
raged there in 343 and 414, exactly as at a later date the Parsees
escaped the violence of the Moslims by emigrating to Gujarat and
Bombay.
The story that the Apostle Thomas preached in some part of India
has often been used as an argument for the early introduction and
influence of Christianity, but recent authorities agree in thinking that
it is legendary or at best not provable. The tale occurs first in the Acts
of St. Thomas[1075], the Syriac text of which is considered to date
from about 250. It relates how the apostle was sold as a slave skilled
in architecture and coming to the Court of Gundaphar, king of India,
undertook to build, a palace but expended the moneys given to him
in charity and, when called to account, explained that he was
building for the king a palace in heaven, not made with hands. This
sounds more like an echo of some Buddhist Jâtaka written in praise
of liberality than an embellishment of any real biography. Other
legends make southern India the sphere of Thomas’s activity, though
he can hardly have taught in both Madras and Parthia, and a similar
uncertainty is indicated by the tradition that his relics were
transported to Edessa, which doubtless means that according to
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On the other hand it is clear that during the early centuries of our era
no definite frontier in the religious and intellectual sphere can be
drawn between India and Persia. Christianity reached Persia early: it
formed part of the composite creed of Mani, who was born about
216, and Christians were persecuted in 343. From at least the third
century onwards Christian ideas may have entered India, but this
does not authorize the assumption that they came with sufficient
prestige and following to exercise any lively influence, or in
sufficient purity to be clearly distinguished from Zoroastrianism and
Manichæism.
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notion that words and names have a mysterious potency and are in
themselves spells. But even if the idea of Śabda were derived from
the idea of Logos it need not be an instance of specifically Christian
influence, for this Logos idea was only utilized by Christianity and
was part of the common stock of religious thought prevalent about
the time of Christ in Egypt, Syria and Asia Minor, and it is even
possible that its earlier forms may owe something to India. And were
it proved that the [ teaching of Kabir, which clearly owes much to
Islam, also owes much to Christianity, the fact would not be very
important, for the followers of Kabir form a small and eccentric
though interesting sect, in no way typical of Hinduism as a whole.
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drink: in modern temples, where ample meals are set before the god
more than once a day, it is the custom, perhaps because it is more
advantageous, to sell them to the devout. From this point of view the
prasâd is by no means the equivalent of the Lord’s Supper, but rather
of the things offered to idols which many early Christians scrupled
to eat. It has, however, another and special significance due to the
regulations imposed by caste. As a rule a Hindu of respectable social
status cannot eat with his inferiors without incurring defilement. But
in many temples members of all castes can eat the prasâd together as
a sign that before the deity all his worshippers are equal. From this
point of view the prasâd is really analogous to the communion
inasmuch as it is the sign of religious community, but it is clearly
distinct in origin and though the sacred food may be eaten with great
reverence, we are not told that it is associated with the ideas of
commemoration, sacrifice or transubstantiation which cling to the
Christian sacrament[1091].
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The chief Amidist doctrines are clearly defined in the Sukhâ vatî-
vyûha which was translated from Sanskrit into Chinese in the latter
half of the second century A.D. It must therefore have existed in
Sanskrit at least in the first century of our era, at which period
dogmatic Christianity could hardly have penetrated to India or any
part of Central Asia where a Sanskrit treatise was likely to be
written. Its doctrines must therefore be independent of Christianity
and indeed their resemblance to Christianity is often exaggerated,
for though salvation by faith in Amida is remarkably like
justification by faith, yet Amida is not a Saviour who died for the
world and faith in him is coupled with the use of certain invocations.
The whole theory has close parallels in Zoroastrianism and is also a
natural development of ideas already existing in India.
Nor can I think that the common use of rites on behalf of the dead in
Buddhist China is traceable to Christianity. In this case too the
parallel is superficial, for the rites are in most cases not prayers for
the dead: the officiants recite formulae by which they acquire merit
and they then formally transfer this merit to the dead. Seeing how
great was the importance assigned to the cult of the dead in China, it
is not necessary to seek for explanations why a religion trying to win
its way in those countries invented ceremonies to satisfy the popular
craving, and Buddhism had no need to imitate Christianity, for from
an early period it had countenanced offerings intended to comfort
and help the departed.
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the Nestorians introduced the story of Christ’s life and sacrifice into
Buddhism but that they suppressed the idea of atonement by his
death, possibly under Buddhist influence.
FOOTNOTES:
[1075] See, for the Thomas legend, Garbe, Vincent Smith, Early
History of India, 3rd ed. pp. 231 ff., and Philipps in I.A.. 1903, pp. 1-15
and 145-160.
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[1081] For Akbar and Christianity, see Cathay and the Way Thither
(Hakluyt Society), vol. IV. 172-3.
[1084] Cf. the Pali verses in the Therîgâthâ, 157: “Hail to thee,
Buddha, who savest me and many others from suffering.”
[1086] The liberal ideas as to caste held by some Vishnuites are due
to Râmânand (c. 1400) who was excommunicated by his
coreligionists. I find it hard to agree with Garbe that Râmânuja
admitted the theoretical equality of all castes. He says himself (Srî-
Bhâshya, II. 3. 46, 47) that souls are of the same nature in so far as
they are all parts of Brahman (a proposition which follows from his
fundamental principles and is not at all due to Christian influence),
but that some men are entitled to read the Veda while others are
debarred from the privilege. All fire, he adds, is of the same nature,
but fire taken from the house of a Brahman is pure, whereas fire
taken from a cremation ground is impure. Even so the soul is defiled
by being associated with a low-caste body.
[1087] See Grieson and Garbe. But I have not found a quotation from
any original authority. Mohammed, however, had the same notion
of the Trinity.
[1090] The idea of the second birth is found in the Majjhima Nikâya,
where in Sutta 86 the converted brigand Angulimala speaks of his
regenerate life as Yato aham ariyâya jâtiyâ jâto, “Since I was born by
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this noble (or holy) birth.” Brahmanic parallels are numerous, e.g.
Manu, 2. 146.
[1094] Though the ordinary legend does not say that Krishna was
born in a stable yet it does associate him with cattle.
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southern, and eastern coasts were washed by the sea so that the
earthly paradise was naturally placed in the north. Thus we hear of
an abode of the blessed called the country of the holy Uttara Kurus
or northern Kurus. Here nothing can be perceived with human
senses (Mahâbh. Sabhâ, 1045), and it is mentioned in the same breath
as Heaven and the city of Indra (ib. Anusâs. 2841).
[1099] Garbe thinks that the Sea of Milk is Lake Balkash. For the
Pancarâtra see book v. iii. 3.
[1101] E.g. several works of Lloyd and Saeki, The Nestorian Monument
in China.
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CHAPTER LVI
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was a most religious country, but it does not appear that asceticism,
celibacy or meditation formed part of its older religious life, and
their appearance in Hellenistic times may be due to a wave of Asiatic
influence starting originally from India.
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It is only after the Christian era that we find Apollonius and Plotinus
looking towards India as the home of wisdom. In earlier periods the
definite instances of connection with India are few. Indian figures
found at Memphis perhaps indicate the existence there of an Indian
colony[1103], and a Ptolemaic grave-stone has been discovered
bearing the signs of the wheel and trident[1104]. The infant deity
Horus is represented in Indian attitudes and as sitting on a lotus.
Some fragments of the Kanarese language have been found on a
papyrus, but it appears not to be earlier than the second century
A.D.[1105] In 21 A.D. Augustus while at Athens received an
embassy from India which came viâ Antioch.
The early relations of India were with Babylon rather than with
Egypt, but if Indian ideas reached Babylon they may easily have
spread further. Communication between Egypt and Babylon existed
from an early period and the tablets of Tel-el-Amarna testify to the
antiquity and intimacy of this intercourse. At a later date Necho
invaded Babylonia but was repulsed. The Jews returned from the
Babylonian captivity (538 B.C.) with their religious horizon enlarged
and modified. They were chiefly affected by Zoroastrian ideas but
they may have become acquainted with any views and practices then
known in Babylon, and not necessarily with those identified with the
state worship, for the exiles may have been led to associate with
other strangers. After about 535 B.C. the Persian empire extended
from the valley of the Indus to the valley of the Nile and from
Macedonia to Babylon. We hear that in the army which Xerxes led
against Greece there were Indian soldiers, which is interesting as
showing how the Persians transported subject races from one end of
their empire to the other. After the career of Alexander, Hellenistic
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kingdoms took the place of this empire and, apart from inroads on
the north-west frontier of India, maintained friendly relations with
her. Seleucus Nicator sent Megasthenes as envoy about 300 B.C. and
Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-247 B.C.) a representative named
Dionysius. Bindusâra, the father of Asoka, exchanged missions with
Antiochus, and, according to a well-known anecdote[1108],
expressed a wish to buy a professor (σοφιστήν). But Antiochus
replied that Greek professors were not for sale.
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asceticism, or at least the desire to free the soul from the bondage of
the senses; metempsychosis and the doctrine of conversion or the
new birth of the soul, which fits in well with metempsychosis,
though it frequently exists apart from it. I doubt if there is sufficient
reason for attributing the doctrine of the Logos[1110] to India, but it
is possible that asceticism and the belief in [ metempsychosis
received their first impulse thence. They appear late and, like the
phraseology of the Hermetic books, they do not grow naturally out
of antecedent ideas and practices in Egypt and Palestine. The life
followed by such communities as the Therapeutæ and Essenes is just
such as might have been evolved by seekers after truth who were
trying to put into practice in another country the religious ideals of
India. There are differences: for instance these communities laboured
with their hands and observed the seventh day, but their main ideas,
retirement from the world and suppression of the passions, are those
of Indian monks and foreign to Egyptian and Jewish thought.
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Some striking parallels have been pointed out between the Gospels
and Indian texts of such undoubted antiquity that if imitation is
admitted, the Evangelists must have been the imitators. Before
considering these instances I invite the reader’s attention to two
parallel passages from Shakespeare and the Indian poet Bhartrihari.
The latter is thus translated by Monier Williams[1118]:
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travels each with his capital; one of them gained much, the second
returned with his capital and the third merchant came home after
having lost his capital; The parable is taken from common life; learn
to apply it to the Law. The capital is human life, the gain is heaven,”
etc. It is impossible to fix the date of this passage: the Jain Canon in
which it occurs was edited in 454 A.D. but the component parts of it
are much older. It clearly gives a rough sketch of the idea which is
elaborated in the parable of the talents. Need we suppose that there
has been borrowing on either side? Only in a very restricted sense, I
think, if at all. The parable is taken from common life, as the Indian
text truly says. It occurred to some teacher, perhaps to many teachers
independently, that the spiritual life may be represented as a matter
of profit and loss and illustrated by the conduct of those who employ
their money profitably or not. The idea is natural and probably far
older than the Gospels, but the parable of the talents is an original
and detailed treatment of a metaphor which may have been known
to the theological schools of both India and Palestine. The parable of
the sower bears the same relation to the much older Buddhist
comparison of instruction to agriculture[1123] in which different
classes of hearers correspond to different classes of fields.
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Still all the parallels cited amount to little more than this, that there
was a vague and fluid tradition about the super man’s life of which
fragments have received a consecration in literature. The Canonical
Gospels show great caution in drawing on this fund of tradition, but
a number of Buddhist legends make their appearance in the
Apocryphal Gospels and are so obviously Indian in character that it
can hardly be maintained that they were invented in Palestine or
Egypt and spread thence eastwards. Trees bend down before the
young Christ and dragons (nâgas) adore him: when he goes to
school to learn the alphabet he convicts his teacher of ignorance and
the good man faints[1127]. When he enters a temple in Egypt the
images prostrate themselves before him just as they do before the
young Gotama in the temple of Kapilavastu[1128]. Mary is luminous
before the birth of Christ which takes place without pain or
impurity[1129]. But the parallel which is most curious, because the
incident related is [ unusual in both Indian and European literature,
is the detailed narrative in the Gospel of James, and also in the
Lalita-vistara relating how all activity of mankind and nature was
suddenly interrupted at the moment of the nativity[1130]. Winds,
stars and rivers stayed their motion and labourers stood still in the
attitude in which each was surprised. The same Gospel of James also
relates that Mary when six months old took seven steps, which must
surely be an echo of the legend which attributes the same feat to the
infant Buddha.
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His system has been called dynamic pantheism and this description
applies also to much Indian theology which regards God in himself
as devoid of all qualities and yet the source of the forces which move
the universe. He held that there are four stages of being: primæval
being, the ideal world, the soul and phenomena. This, if not exactly
parallel to anything in Indian philosophy, is similar in idea to the
evolutionary theories of the Sânkhya and the phases of conditioned
spirit taught by many Vishnuite sects.
For Plotinus neither moral good nor evil is ultimate: the highest
principle, like Brahman, transcends both and is beyond good
(ὑπεράγαθον). The highest morality is a morality of inaction and
detachment: fasting and abstinence from pleasure are good and so is
meditation, but happiness comes in the form of ecstasy and union
with God. In human life such union cannot be permanent, though
while the ecstasy lasts it affords a resting place on the weary journey,
but after death it can be permanent: the divine within us can then
return to the universal divine. In these ideas there is the real spirit of
India.
FOOTNOTES:
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[1106] Nicolaus Damascenus, quoted by Strabo, xv. 73. See also Dion
Caasius, ix. 58, who calls the Indian Zarmaros. Zarmanochegas
perhaps contains the two words Śramana and Acârya.
[1108] See Vincent Smith, Early History of India, edition III. p. 147. The
original source of the anecdote is Hegesandros in Athenæus, 14. 652.
[1112] Burnet, Early Greek Philosophy, p. 94, says that it first occurs in
the Busiris of Isocrates and does not believe that the account in
Herodotus implies that Pythagoras visited Egypt.
[1113] Whatever may have been the true character and history of the
enigmatic people of Mitanni it appears certain that they adored
deities with Indian names about 1400 B.C. But they may have been
Iranians, and it may be doubted if the Aryan Indians of this date
believed in metempsychosis.
[1114] J.E. Harrison, l.c. pp. 459 and 564, seems to think that Orphism
migrated from Crete to Thrace.
[1115] The question of the Disciples in John ix. 2. Who did sin, this
man or his parents, that he was born blind? must if taken strictly
imply some form of pre-existence. But it is a popular question, not a
theological statement, and I doubt if severely logical deductions
from it are warranted.
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[1125] See Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, p. 206, and Winternitz, Ges.
Ind. Lit. II. 91.
[1127] Gospel of Thomas: longer version, chaps, VI. XIV. See also the
Arabic and Syriac Gospels of the Infancy, cf. Lalita-vistara, chap. X.
[1129] Pseudo-Matthew, XIII. Cf. Dig. Nik. 14 and Maj. Nik. 123.
Neumann’s notes on the latter give many curious medieval parallels.
[1130] See Gospel of James, XVIII. and Lal. Vist. VII. ad init.
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[1131] See Rhys Davids, Buddhist Birth stories, 1880, introduction; and
Joseph Jacobs, Barlaam and Josaphat, 1896.
[1133] As is also the idea that γνὣσις implies a special ascetic mode
of life, the βίος γνωστικός.
[1141] The account in Philostratus (books II. and III.) reads like a
romance and hardly proves that Apollonius went to India, but still
there is no reason why he should not have done so.
[1143] Similarly Sallustius (c. 360 A.D.), whose object was to revive
Hellenism, includes metempsychosis in his creed and thinks it can be
proved. See translation in Murray, Four Stages of Greek Religion, p.
213.
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CHAPTER LVII
Yet the religious temperaments of India and Iran are not the same.
Zoroastrianism has little sympathy for pantheism or asceticism: it
does not teach metempsychosis or the sinfulness of taking life.
Images are not used in worship[1144], God and his angels being
thought of as pure and shining spirits. The foundation of the system
is an uncompromising dualism of good and evil, purity and
impurity, light and darkness. Good and evil are different in origin
and duality will be abolished only by the ultimate and complete
victory of the good. In the next world the distinction between heaven
and hell is equally sharp but hell is not eternal[1145].
The pantheon and even the ritual of the early Iranians resembled
those of the Veda and we can only suppose that the two peoples
once lived and worshipped together. Subsequently came the reform
of Zoroaster which substituted theism and dualism for this nature
worship. For about two centuries, from 530 B.C. onwards, Gandhara
and other parts of north-western India were a Persian province.
Between the time of Zoroaster (whatever that may be) and this
period we cannot say what [ were the relations of Indian and Iranian
religions, but after the seventh century they must have flourished in
the same region. Aristobulus[1146], speaking of Taxila in the time of
Alexander the Great, describes a marriage market and how the dead
were devoured by vultures. These are Babylonian and Persian
customs, and doubtless were accompanied by many others less
striking to a foreign tourist. Some hold that the Zoroastrian
scriptures allude to disputes with Buddhists[1147].
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Experts on the whole agree that the most ancient Indian architecture
which has been preserved—that of the Maurya dynasty—has no
known antecedents in India, but both in structure (especially the
pillars) and in decoration is reminiscent of Persepolis, just as Asoka’s
habit of lecturing his subjects in stone sermons and the very turns of
his phrases recall the inscriptions of Darius[1148]. And though the
king’s creed is in some respects—such as his tenderness for animal
life—thoroughly Indian, yet this cannot be said of his style and
choice of themes as a whole. His marked avoidance of theology and
philosophy, his insistence on ethical principles such as truth, and his
frank argument that men should do good in order that they may fare
happily in the next world, suggest that he may have become familiar
with the simple and practical Zoroastrian outlook[1149], perhaps
when he was viceroy of Taxila in his youth. But still he shows no
trace of theism or dualism: morality is his one concern, but it means
for him doing good rather than suppressing evil.
After the death of Asoka his Empire broke up and races who were
Iranian in culture, if not always in blood, advanced at its expense.
Dependencies of the Persian or Parthian empire extended into India
or like the Satrapies of Mathurâ and Saurâshṭra lay wholly within it.
The mixed civilization which the Kushans brought with them
included Zoroastrianism, as is shown by the coins of Kanishka, and
late Kushan coins indicate that Sassanian influence had become very
strong in northern India when the dynasty collapsed in the third
century A.D.
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his paradise. These personalities have been adroitly fitted into Indian
theology but they have no Indian lineage and, in spite of all
explanations, Amitâbha and the salvation which he offers remain in
strange contradiction with the teaching of Gotama. I have shown
elsewhere[1151] what close parallels may be found in the Avesta to
these radiant and benevolent genii and to the heaven of boundless
light which is entered by those who repeat the name of its master.
Also there is good evidence to connect the early worship of
Amitâbha with Central Asia. Later Iranian influence may have
meant Mithraism and Manichæism as well as Zoroastrianism and
the school of Asanga perhaps owes something to these
systems[1152]. They may have brought with them fragments of
Christianity or doctrines similar to Christianity but I think that all
attempts to derive Amitâbhist teaching from Christianity are
fanciful. The only point which the two have in common is salvation
by faith, and that doctrine is certainly older than Christianity.
Otherwise the efforts of Amitâbha to save humanity have no
resemblance to the Christian atonement. Nor do the relations
between the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas recall the Trinity but
rather the Persian Fravashis.
The Brihatsaṃhita[1154] says that the Magas, that is Magi, are the
priests of the sun and the proper persons to superintend the
consecration of temples and images dedicated to that deity, but the
clearest statements about this foreign cult are to be found in the
Bhavishya Purana[1155] which contains a legend as to its
introduction obviously based upon history. Sâmba, the son of
Krishna, desiring to be cured of leprosy from which he suffered
owing to his father’s curse, dedicated a temple to the sun on the river
Candrabhâgâ, but could find no Brahmans willing to officiate in it.
By the advice of Gauramukha, priest of King Ugrasena, confirmed
by the sun himself, he imported some Magas from Śâkadvîpa[1156],
whither he flew on the [ bird Garuda[1157]. That this refers to the
importation of Zoroastrian priests from the country of the Śâkas
(Persia or the Oxus regions) is made clear by the account of their
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The river Candrabhâgâ is the modern Chenab and the town founded
by Samba is Mûlasthana or Multan, called Mu-la-san-pu-lu by the
Chinese pilgrim Hsüan Chuang. The Bhavishya Purana calls the
place Sâmbapuri and the Chinese name is an attempt to represent
Mûlasâmba-puri. Hsüan Chuang speaks enthusiastically of the
magnificent temple[1159], which was also seen by Alberuni but was
destroyed by Aurungzeb. Târanâtha[1160] relates how in earlier
times a king called Śrî Harsha burnt alive near Multan 12,000
adherents of the Mleccha sect with their books and thereby greatly
weakened the religion of Persians and Sakas for a century. This
legend offers difficulties but it shows that Multan was regarded as a
centre of Zoroastrianism.
Multan is in the extreme west Of India, but sun temples are found in
many other parts, such as Gujarat, Gwalior and the district of Gaya,
where an inscription has been discovered at Govindapur referring to
the legend of Sâmba. This same legend is also related in the Kapila
Saṃhita, a religious guide-book for Orissa, in connection with the
great Sun temple of Konarak[1161].
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FOOTNOTES:
[1144] They are forbidden by strict theology, but in practice there are
exceptions, for instance, the winged figure believed to represent
Ahura Mazda, found on Achæmenian reliefs.
[1146] See Strabo, XV. 62. So, too, the Pitakas seem to regard
cemeteries as places where ordinary corpses are thrown away rather
than buried or burnt. In Dig. Nik. III, the Buddha says that the
ancient Sakyas married their sisters. Such marriages are said to have
been permitted in Persia.
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[1154] Chap. 60. 19. The work probably dates from about 650 A.D.
[1155] Chap. 139. See, for extracts from the text, Aufrecht. Cat. Cod.
Sansc. p. 30.
[1156] For Śâkadvîpa see Vishnu, p. II. IV. where it is said that
Brahmans are called there Mṛiga or Maga and Kshattriyas Mâgadha.
The name clearly means the country of the Śâkas who were regarded
as Zoroastrians, whether they were Iranian by race or not. But the
topography is imaginary, for in this fanciful geography India is the
central continent and Śakadvîpa the sixth, whereas if it means Persia
or the countries of the Oxus it ought to be near India.
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CHAPTER LVIII
MOHAMMEDANISM IN INDIA
The chief and most obvious method by which Islam influenced India
was the series of invasions, culminating in the Mughal conquest,
which poured through the mountain passes of the north-west
frontier. But there was also long established communication and to
some extent intermigration between the west coast and
Mohammedan countries such as Arabia and Persia. Compared with
the enormous political and social changes wrought by the land
invasions, the results of this maritime intercourse may seem
unworthy of mention. Yet for the interchange of ideas it was not
without importance, the more so as it was unaccompanied by
violence and hostility. Thus the Mappilas or Moplahs of Malabar
appear to be the descendants of Arab immigrants who arrived by sea
about 900 A.D., and the sects known as Khojas and Bohras owe their
conversion to the zeal of Arab and Persian missionaries who
preached in the eleventh century. Apart from Mohammedan
conquests there must have been at this time in Gujarat, Bombay, and
on the west coast generally some knowledge of the teaching of Islam.
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It is not until the time of Kabir that we meet with a sect in which
Hindu and Mohammedan ideas are clearly blended, but it may be
that the theology of Râmânuja and Madhva, of the Lingayats and
Sivaite sects of the south, owes something to Islam. Its insistence on
the unity and personality of God may have vivified similar ideas
existing within Hinduism, but the expression which they found for
themselves is not Moslim in tone, just as nowadays the Arya Samaj is
not European in tone. Yet I think that the Arya Samaj would never
have come into being had not Hindus become conscious of certain
strong points in European religion. In the north it is natural that
Moslim influence should not have made itself felt at once. Islam
came first as an enemy and a raider and was no more sympathetic to
the Brahmans than it was to the Greek Church in Europe. Though
Indian theism may sometimes seem practically equivalent to Islam,
yet it has a different and gentler tone, and it often rests on the idea
that God, the soul and matter are all separate and eternal, an idea
foreign to Mohammed’s doctrine of [ creation. But from the fifteenth
century onwards we find a series of sects which are obviously
compromises and blends. Advances are made from both sides.
Thoughtful Mohammedans see the profundity of Hindu theology:
liberal Hindus declare that no caste or condition, including birth in a
Moslim family, disqualifies man for access to God.
The fusion of Islam with Hinduism exhibited in these sects has for its
basis the unity and omnipresence of God in the light of which minor
differences have no existence. But fusion also arises from an opposite
tendency, namely the toleration by Indian Moslims of Hindu ideas
and practices, especially respect for religious teachers and their
deification after death. While known by some such title as saint,
which does not shock unitarian susceptibility, they are in practice
honoured as godlings. The bare simplicity of the Arabian faith has
not proved satisfying to other nations, and Turks, Persians and
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connection with Sufiism and a real analogy to it, for both arise [ from
the desire to temper an austere and regal deism with concessions to
the common human craving for the interesting and picturesque, such
as mysticism and magic. If the accent of India can sometimes be
heard in the poems of the Sufis we may also admit that the Kabbala
is its last echo.
Experts do not assign any one region as the origin of the Kabbala but
it grew on parallel lines in both Egypt and Babylonia, in both of
which it was naturally in touch with the various oriental influences
which we have been discussing. It is said to have been introduced to
Europe about 900 A.D. but received important additions and
modifications at the hands of Isaac Luria (1534-72) who lived in
Palestine, although his disciples soon spread his doctrines among the
European Jews.
FOOTNOTES:
[1164] But see on this point Census of India, 1911, vol. I. part I. p. 128.
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[1166] See for examples, Census of India, 1901, Panjab, p. 151, e.g. the
Brahmans of a village near Rawal Pindi are said to be Murids of
Abdul-Kadir-Jilani.
[1167] Census of India, 1911, vol. I. part I. p. 195. The Mâlkânas are
described on the same page.
[1168] Such as Ghazi Miyan, Pir Badar, Zindha Ghazi, Sheikh Farid,
Sheikh Sadu and Khwaja Khizr.
468