Hints for the Preliminary Study of Buddhism in China

Buddhism and Buddhists in China By Lewis Hodus

Appendix I. Hints for the Preliminary Study of Buddhism in China

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The student should read and inwardly digest the booklet of K. J. Saunders

He should follow the directions given in Appendix One of that book, This procedure is important because the Hînayâna Buddhism and the life of Buddha are the background of Buddhism in China.

Then he may take Hackmann’s Buddhism as a Religion (No. 15). This will give a general orientation. This may be followed with R. F. Johnston’s Buddhist China (No. 20). Along with this he may read Suzuki’s Awakening of Faith (No. 32), and also his Outlines of Mahâyanâ Buddhism (No. 33). McGovern’s Introduction to Mahâyanâ Buddhism (No. 23) will illuminate the philosophical background of Buddhism, and Eliot’s Hinduism and Buddhism (No. 13) will add historical perspective.


The translation of Mahdydna Sutras by Beal and in the Sacred Books of the East will give him some of the sources for the doctrines held in China. He may begin as the Buddhist missionaries did with the sutra of the Forty-two sections and then take up the Diamond Sutra, and then completing the sutras in Vol. 59 and the Catena of Buddhist Scriptures.

For the study of the ethical side he will find De Groot’s Le Code du Mahâyâna en Chine very helpful. For the study of the sects Eliot, Vol. III, pp. 303-320 Northern Buddhism (No. 14) will be helpful.

In all his study he will find Eitel’s Handbook of Chinese Buddhism (No. 12) indispensable. He must, however, make a Chinese index in order to be able to use the book.

Contact with monks will be helpful and is quite necessary in order to appreciate the human problems of the work.

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Appendix II. A Brief Bibliography

1. BEAL, S. Abstract of Four Lectures upon Buddhist Literature in China. London, Triibner, 1882.

Lecture II, on “Method of Buddha’s Teaching in the Vinaya Pitaka,” and Lecture IV, on “Coincidences Between Buddhism and Other Religions," especially desirable.

2. –– Buddhism in China, London, S. P. C. K, 1884.

The best comprehensive account of Chinese Buddhism, written by an authority.

3. –– Catena of Buddhist Scriptures, from the Chinese. London, Triibner, 1871.

A good introduction to Chinese Buddhism from the sources.

4. –– The Romantic Legend of Sâkya Buddha. London, Triibner, 1875.

Recounts Buddha’s history from the beginning to the conversion of the Kâsyapas and others.

5. –– Texts from the Buddhist Canon Commonly Known as D hammapada. London, Triibner, 1878. Pocket edition, 1902.

These “Scriptural Texts,” translated from the Chinese and abridged, are usually connected with some event in Buddha’s history. This translation has Indian anecdotes, illustrating the verses.

6. COULING, S., editor. The Encyclopaedia Sinica. Shanghai, Kelly & Walsh, 1917.

Contains, on pages 67-75, a number of brief articles upon Buddhism in China.

7. DE QROOT, J. J. M. Religion of the Chinese. New York, Macmillan, 1900.

Pages 164-223 contain a summary of the main facts about Chinese Buddhism by an authority.

8. –– Sectarianism and Religious Persecution in China. 2 vols. J. Müller, Amsterdam, 1903-1904.

Treats from sources Confucianism’s persecution of Buddhism and other sects. See Vol. II. Index, under Buddhism, p. 572.

9. DORE, HENEI. Researches into Chinese Superstitions. 6 vols. Tusewei Press, 1914-1920.

A well illustrated miscellany of superstitions of all Chinese religions showing indistinctly their interpenetration by Buddhism. For Buddhism proper, see Vol. VI, pp. 89-233.

10. EDKINS, J. Chinese Buddhism. 2d edition. London, Trübner, 1893.

A very full account of Buddhism as seen by a Sinologue of the last generation.

11. EITEL, E. J. Buddhism: Its Historical, Theoretical and Popular Aspects. Hongkong, Lane, Crawford and Co., 1884.

Written by an observant scholar and descriptive of Buddhism of South China especially.

12. –– Handbook of Chinese Buddhism. Presbyterian Mission Press, Shanghai.

This is a Sanskrit-Chinese dictionary, a reprint of the second edition of 1888 without the Chinese index necessary for identifying Chinese Buddhist terms.

13. ELIOT, SIR CHARLES. Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch. 3 vols. Edward Arnold and Co., 1921.

This is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of Buddhism by an experienced student. The parts especially related to Chinese Buddhism are Vol. II, pp. 3-106; Vol. Ill, 223-335.

14. JETTY, A. Gods of Northern Buddhism. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1914.

This work is helpful in identifying images in the temples, though unfortunately few of those given are Chinese.

15. HACKMANN, H. Buddhism as a Religion. London, Probsthain, 1910.

Gives a general view of Buddhism from first-hand investigation. For Chinese Buddhism see pp. 200-257.

16. HASTINGS, JAMES. The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. New York, Scribners, 1908.

Articles Asvaghosa, Bodhisattva, China (Buddhism in), Mahâyâna Missions (Buddhist).

17. HUME, R. E. The Living Religions of the World. New York, Scribners, 1924.

A clear comparative study of these religions in the light of Christian standards.

18. INGLIS, J. W. “Christian Element in Chinese Buddhism." International Review of Missions, Vol. V, 1916, pp. 587-602. An excellent article by a veteran missionary and scholar of Manchuria.

19. JOHNSON, S. Oriental Religions ... China. Boston, Houghton, Osgood Co., 1878.

Pages 800-833 give a comprehensive summary by a student of comparative religion.

20. JOHNSTON, R. F. Buddhist China. New York, Dutton, 1913.

A well-written, interesting book. The author knows his subject, and is held in high esteem by Buddhists in China.

21. KEITH, A. BERRIEDALE. Buddhist Philosophy in India and Ceylon. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1923.

A study of the historic development of the Buddhistic philosophy in India and Ceylon which throws much light on the Mahâyâna.

22. LODGE, J. E. Chinese Buddhist Art. Asia, Vol. XIX, June, 1919.

Some of the choicest half-tones illustrating its character accompanied by interesting descriptions.

23. McGOVERN, W. M. An Introduction of Mahâyâna Buddhism. Dutton, 1922.

Though written from the point of view of Japanese Buddhism it gives a good treatment of metaphysical and psychological aspects of the Mahâyâna system.

24. MÜLLER, F. MAX. Sacred Books of the East. Vol. XLIX, Buddhist, Mahâyâna Texts. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1894.

A book of sources necessary for understanding Northern Buddhism.

25. PARKER, E. H. China and Religion. New York, Dutton, 1905.

A sketch of Buddhism by a scholar long resident in China is found in Chapter IV.

26. PAUL, C. T. The Presentation of Christianity to Buddhists. New York, Board of Missionary Preparation, 1924.

A carefully prepared study of Buddhism from the viewpoint of missionaries working in Buddhist lands.

27. REICHELT, K. L. “Special Work Among Chinese Buddhists.” Chinese Recorder, Vol. LI, 1920, July issue, pp. 491-497.

An article by a pioneer in work among Buddhists, of rare insight and sympathy.

28. RICHARD, T. The Awakening of Faith in the Mahâyâna Doctrine. 2d edition. Shanghai, 1918.

A loose translation by a very large-hearted and sympathetic student with an irenic spirit. See 32 below.

29. RICHARD, T. Guide to Buddhahood; Being a Standard Manual of Chinese Buddhism. Shanghai., 1907.

30. SAUNDERS, K. J. Epochs of Buddhist History (Haskell Lectures), Chicago University Press, 1922.

A good summary of the main developments in Buddhism.

31. STAUFFER, M. T. The Christian Occupation of China. Shanghai Continuation Committee, 1922.

The introductory section contains articles upon China’s religions.

32. SUZUKI, T. A’svaghosa’s Awakening of Faith in the Mahâyâna. Chicago, Open Court Publishing Co., 1900.

A far more accurate translation of this work than No. 28 above.

33. –– Outlines of Mahâyâna Buddhism. Chicago, Open Court Publishing Co., 1908.

While written from the Japanese point of view it is necessary to the understanding of Chinese Buddhism.

34. WATTERS, T. “Buddhism in China.” Chinese Recorder, Vol. II, 1870, pp. 1-7, 38-43, 64-68, 81-88, 117-122, 145-150, Shanghai.

A valuable series of articles by an excellent Chinese scholar, discussing the history, persecutions, and various Buddhas of China.

35. WEI, F. C. M. “Salvation by Faith as Taught by the Pure Land Sect." Chinese Recorder, Vol. LI, 1920, pp. 395 401, 485-491.

A good article on the sect whose ideas have spread over China and Japan.

36. WIEGER, L. Bouddhisme Chinois, 2 vols. Ho-Kien-Fou, Roman Catholic Press, 1910-1913.

This contains the Chinese text and French translation of the life of Buddha as known to China; also the ritual observed in ordination. A useful source book.

The Christian Approach to Buddhists

Buddhism and Buddhists in China By Lewis Hodus

X. The Christian Approach to Buddhists

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1. Questions Which Buddhists Ask

Buddhists are approaching Christianity. In many places a spirit of inquiry and interest in the Christian religion is met. It is not necessary that there should be a Buddhist world permanently over against a Christian world. The questions which Buddhists ask a missionary indicate an interest in vital themes. Some of them are as follows:

We put our trust in the three Precious Ones. In what do you trust? Is not your Shang Ti (name for God used in China) a being lower than Buddha and just a little higher than a Bodhisattva? Is not Shang Ti the tribal god of the Jews? Do you believe in the existence of purgatory? What sufferings will those endure who do not live a virtuous life? Do you believe in the reality of the Western Paradise? How can one enter it? There being three kinds of merit, by what method is the great merit accumulated? How is the middle and the small merit accumulated? What are the fruits of these proportions of merit and what are they like? Tell me how to believe Christ. What work of meditation do you perform? Is not Buddhism more democratic than Christianity, because it holds out the possibility of Buddhahood to all beings? Is not Buddhism more inclusive, because it provides for the salvation of all beings?

2. Knowledge and Sympathy

These questions make it plain that the worker who is to deal with Buddhists should have a broad background of general culture. He must be thoroughly humanized. He should have a good knowledge of the history of philosophy and religion, including the work of the modern philosophers. A knowledge of the life of Buddha and of the doctrines of the Hînayâna or Southern Buddhism, as well as the tenets of the Mahayâna should be in his possession. The psychology of religion should interpenetrate his historical learning; the best methods of pedagogy should guide his approach to men. Of course he must speak the language of the Buddhist, not only the spiritual language, but his everyday patois. He will find it an advantage to know some Sanskrit. While this requirement is not very urgent at present, it will rapidly become a necessity for doing the best work.

This knowledge should be interpenetrated by a genuine sympathy, that is, imagination tinged with emotion. The worker should be able to view doctrines, values and actions from the point of view of the Buddhist and his past history. He must have a genuine interest in and a great capacity for friendship. The Buddhists are very human, responding to friendship very quickly. Such friendship forms a link between the man and the larger friendship of Christ.

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3. Emphasis on the Aesthetic in Christianity

A Chinese Christian leader described his idea of a church as a place removed from the din of the street, approached by a walk flanked with trees and flowers and adorned within by symbols speaking to the heart of the Chinese. He longed for the mystic silence and the beauty of holiness which would open the windows of the world of spiritual reality and throw its light upon the problems of life. He was asked, “Would you adapt some of the symbols of the Chinese religions?” He said, “Many of those symbols are neutral. They suggest religious emotion. Their character depends upon the content which the occasion puts into them. If the content is Christian then the symbols and emotions will become Christian.”

Christianity is a religion of beauty. The beautiful in architecture, symbol and ritual, expressing the spiritual universe of the past, present and future, makes a strong appeal to the Chinese heart. It may well be emphasized in the future as never before.

4. Emphasis on the Mystical in Christianity

Not long ago a Buddhist in one of the large cities of China was converted. He found great joy in the experience which revived him and gathered into unity the broken fragments of his life. He attended church regularly and participated in the prayer meetings. Gradually he discovered that he was not being nourished. He felt his joy slipping away from him and his divided life reinstating itself. He went to Buddhism for consolation. He is not hostile to the church. He appreciates the help he received, but he said that he came for consolation and peace and found the same–hard orthodoxy and morality so familiar to him in Confucianism.

While the case of this man may have individual peculiarities, it may be made the starting point for a discussion of the situation in many churches in China. The early message to the Chinese was doctrinal. The false notion of many gods had to be displaced by the idea of the one true God. With this idea of the true God a few other tenets of the Christian religion are often held as dogmatic propositions to be repeated when questions are asked. The great sin preached is the worship of idols.

The second part of the Christian message is salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. This salvation is other-worldly to a large extent. The extreme emphasis upon it has made of the church an insurance society, membership in which insures bliss in the world beyond.

The third part of the message has been concerned with moral acts, abstinence from opium (liquor and tobacco in some churches), polygamy, and the gross sins. Attendance upon church services, contribution for the support of the church, and the refusal to contribute to idolatry have also been required.

The emphasis to a large extent was doctrinal, moral and individual. The result has been a body of people free from the gross sins, but also innocent of the great virtues and individualistic in their outlook upon this world and the next. This emphasis is needed, but in addition there should be the cultivation of the presence of God in the soul by appropriate means. The Christian Church of China should develop a technique of the spiritual life suited to the East. The formation of habits of devotion should be emphasized. Intercessory prayer should be given a larger place. Contemplation and meditation should be regarded not merely as an escape from the turmoil and strife of the world, but as a preparation for the highest life of service and sacrifice. Buddhist mysticism united the whole universe and was the great foundation of Chinese art, literature and morality. The spiritual world of Christianity must likewise seep through into the very thought of Asia and inspire the new art, literature and morality which will be the world expression of a Christian universe.

5. Emphasis on the Social Elements in Christianity

To the aesthetic and mystical emphasis must be attached a social emphasis. Buddhism is often criticized as not being social. It is a highly socialized religion. It has had a large influence upon social life in the East. This social life is different from ours. We see its wrongs and weaknesses. Likewise do the Buddhists see the materialism and injustice of our social life. Christianity must relate itself to the modern world as it is rising in China and seek not merely to remedy a few wrongs or heal a few diseases, but must release the healing stream into the social life of the East. This will be done and is being done through the Church community which has become conscious of itself, realizing its needs and wants, seeking in an intelligent and systematic way to rehabilitate itself. It is not so much the external unrelated efforts that accomplish the thing needed, but it is rather the community life stirred by ideals and fired by a new dynamic which begins the work of reformation.

6. Emphasis on the Person of Jesus Christ

(a) As a Historical Character.–The great asset of the missionary among Buddhists is the historical person of Christ. In contrast to many of the Bodhisattvas, the saviours of the Buddhists, Jesus is a historical character. His life among men was the life of God among men.

(b) As the Revealer.–God is like Christ. Christ reveals God as the complete, the perfect person. He possessed the pure spiritual personality. The chief characteristic of this personality is love. This love conscious of itself finds its highest joy in the well-being of others. This love of God produced human life which, springing from the lowest form, broke through the material elements and is capable of attaining the highest development.

Christ reveals to man his heavenly relationship. Man created in the likeness of God stands in the highest relation of one person to another through love. He likens this relation to that of father and son. He lifts man to the fellowship with the divine. Yet such a fellowship that man preserves his personality.

Christ reveals man in his relation to men as a brother and the form of love which shall control the relation of man to God as well as man to man.

Christ revealed and founded the Kingdom, a society of the saved, dominated by the spirit of the founder and making this spirit of love and service the organizing power in the world.

(c) As the Saviour.–Mahayâna Buddhism emphasized saviourhood. Christ is the saviour of men. In Buddhism the stress is placed upon the merit of the saviour and the saved. There is no question that merit has some value. Yet Christ does not save us by merit, nor do we help to save one another by merit. Salvation is a moral and spiritual process. It is concerned with the biology of the soul. The salvation that we preach is not the salvation by knowledge, or meditation, or merit, but by the interpenetration of Christ’s spirit in ours, by the mystic and moral union of our life with his. As Paul says: “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering.” Yet He is not the saviour of the individual alone. He saves the community, the church. Only as His spirit permeates and dominates the community does he find his true self and the real salvation.

(d) As the Eternal Son, of God.–The Mahayâna system does not emphasize the historicity of Amitabha or of the Bodhisattvas. Spiritual truth is the development of the soul. It is not limited by time and place. Likewise Christianity must emphasize the eternal character of Jesus Christ. “The Logos existed in the very beginning, the Logos was with God, the Logos was God.” To the Mahâyânist this spiritual history is more real than any fact conditioned by time and place.

The Christian worker must learn to understand the import of the Gospel of John. He must see in Jesus Christ “The real Light, which enlightens every man.” He must be able to convince himself that the Christ is the fulfillment of the highest aspirations of the Mahâyâna system.

7. How Christianity Expresses Itself in Buddhist Minds

In 1920 a number of Buddhist monks, under the leadership of Rev. K. L. Reichelt formed a Christian brotherhood. The members of this small brotherhood decided that they must subscribe to vows and they took the four following:

“I promise before the Almighty and Omniscient God, that I with my whole heart will surrender myself to the true Trinity, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I will with my whole heart have faith in Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world who gives completion to the profoundest and best objects of the higher Buddhism. I will live in this faith now and ever after.

“I promise solemnly before God with my whole heart to devote myself to the study of the true doctrine and break wholly with the evil manners of the world and show forth in my public and private life that I am truly united with Christ.

“I promise that I in every respect will try so to educate myself that I can be of use in the work of God on earth. I will with undivided heart devote myself to the great work; to lead my brethren in the Buddhist Association forward to the understanding of Christ as the only One, who gives completion to the highest and profoundest ideas of Higher Buddhism.

“I promise that until my last hour I will work so that out of our Christian Brotherhood there may grow forth a strong church of Christ among Buddhists. I will not permit any evil thing to grow in my heart, which could divide the brotherhood, but will always try to promote the progress of every member in the knowledge of the holy obligations laid down in these vows and our constitution.”

Such men ought, to make choice Christians.

8. Christianity’s Constructive Values

Buddhism in the course of its long history developed certain religious ideas and values which we find in Christianity. It faced the fact of sin and placed it in the heart. It diagnosed the fundamental instincts of men, sex-appetite, will-to-achieve, and pugnacity. These must be overcome. It regards them as delusions which must be eliminated. Christianity also deals with these instincts. It is under no delusion as to their strength. There are certain tendencies in Christianity which have tried to annihilate them. The central tendency of Christianity, however, recognizing their power for good, seeks to sublimate them and make them serve the individual and society. This attitude of the two religions toward these instincts is fundamentally different. The attitude of Christianity has been justified even in Buddhist lands where the religious life of the people has followed the same line that Christianity advocates.

Early Buddhism tried to dissolve man’s personality. Later Buddhism corrected this and perhaps has appealed too much to the desire on the part of the individual to enter a heaven which is merely a replica of the earth. Christianity starts with a personal God and holds up before the believer the goal of perfection for his own personality. It finds man without a self and confers a real selfhood upon him.

Early Buddhism taught that salvation is accomplished by the individual alone. It denies the possibility and the necessity of help from a divine source. Subsequent history has proved this to have been wrong. In India, Buddhism has been displaced by Hinduism, and in China, and Japan, the Mahâyâna has developed the idea of salvation through another. The great stream of Buddhism has recognized that man by himself is helpless. He must have the help of a divine power in order to obtain salvation. Christianity asserts that salvation is possible only through the intervention of God. The incarnation, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and his work in the world through the Holy Spirit on the one hand are the expression of God’s solicitude for man, and, on the other hand, correspond to the deep need which men of all ages have felt, for a power above themselves. From the early stages of magic to the highest reaches of religion we find this constant factor recognized by human groups all over the world. They bear witness to a power above themselves to whom they continually appeal. In Christianity we find this main tendency enunciated most clearly. The individual cannot save himself. Mankind cannot save itself. Both must rely upon the assistance of the divine power which started this universe on its way and which is the ever present creative force.

Christianity, moreover, has established the community of believers including all classes and conditions of men. Herein each one may realize him&if. Herein also he may realize the kind of community which is friendly to his highest aspirations for himself. Herein he has the opportunity to transmute the instincts above mentioned into forces which make for the larger development of his own person and the well-being of the community.

Accordingly, as Christians face Buddhists, they can do so with the consciousness that this great religion has been reaching out after the light which shines brightly in our Christian religion. They have the assurance not only that they have a message which brings fulfilment to the ideas of the Mahâyâna, but also that it has prepared the way for the hearts of the Chinese to receive the highest message of Christianity.

Present-Day Buddhism

Buddhism and Buddhists in China By Lewis Hodus

IX. Present-Day Buddhism

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1. Periods of Buddhist History

The history of Buddhism in China may be divided into four periods. Buddhism entered China, as we have seen, in the second century B.C. The first period, that of the translation and propagation of the faith, ended in 420 A.D. The second period, that of interpenetration, lasted to the beginning of the T’ang dynasty, 618 A.D. The third, the period of establishment, ended with the close of the five dynasties, in 960 A.D. The fourth period, that of decay, has extended to the present day.

2. The Progress of the Last Twenty-five Years

There are signs of a revival of Buddhism in China. Whether this is a tide, or a wave, only the future can reveal. In 1893 Dharmapala, an Indian monk, stopped in Shanghai on his way back from the Congress of Religions in Chicago. It was his purpose to make a tour of China, to arouse the Chinese Buddhists to send missionaries to India to restore Buddhism there, and then to start a propaganda throughout the whole world. He addressed the monks of Shanghai. Dr. Edkins, the veteran missionary, acted as his interpreter. Dharmapala was surrounded by a horde of curious monks who were more interested in his strange appearance and in the cost of his garments than they were in his great ideals. They were also feeling the iron heel of the Confucian government and at once inquired about the attitude of the government toward such an innovation. Dharmapala did not go beyond Shanghai.

Japanese Buddhists, especially the members of the Hongwanji sect, have taken a deep interest in Chinese Buddhists. Count Otani once visited the chief monasteries of China. Numerous Japanese Buddhists have made such visits. In 1902, the Empress Dowager, fired by a reforming zeal, decided to confiscate Buddhist property and to use the proceeds for the spread of modern education. The Buddhist monasteries put themselves under the protection of Japanese monks in order to hold their property. When by 1906 the Empress Dowager saw the consequences of her edict, she at once issued a new edict, reversing the former one, and the Japanese monks took their departure.

The Japanese Buddhists have been fired by missionary zeal for China. In many of the large cities of China are the temples of the Hongwanji sect. Established primarily for the Japanese, these temples are intended to serve as points of departure for a nation-wide missionary work. The twenty-one demands made upon China included two significant items in the last group which the Chinese refused to sign: “Art. 2: Japanese hospitals, churches and schools in the interior of China shall be granted the right of owning land.” “Art. 7: China agrees that Japanese subjects shall have the right of missionary propaganda in China.”

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Under Japanese influence there was established in 1907 at Nanking, under the leadership of Yang, a lay Buddhist devotee, a school for the training of Buddhist missionaries. The students were to go to Japan for further training, and the more promising ones were to study in India. This project was discontinued after the death of Yang on account of the lack of funds.

When the republic was established Buddhism felt a wave of reform. The monasteries established schools for monks and children. A magazine was published which appeared irregularly for several numbers and then stopped. A national organization was formed with headquarters at Peking. A survey of monasteries was begun. The activities in lecturing and propaganda were increased, but Yuan Shih-kai issued twenty-seven regulations for the control of Buddhist monasteries, which markedly dampened the ardor of the reformers.

The world war which accentuated the spirit of nationalism had the added effect of stirring up Buddhist enthusiasm. There are at present signs of new activity among them in China.

3. Present Activities

While Buddhism may be standing still or even dying in certain parts of China, it is showing signs of new life in the provinces of Kiangsu and Chekiang and in the large cities. Such revival in centers subject to the influence of the modern world shows that Buddhism in China as in Japan has sufficient vitality to adjust itself to modern conditions. Let us consider some of these activities.

(a) The Reconstruction of Monasteries.–During the T’ai Ping rebellion, which devastated China in 1850-1865, the monasteries suffered with the towns. Not only were the monasteries burned to the ground, but their means of support were taken away and the monks were scattered. There are still many of these ruined monasteries in the Yangtze valley and in southern and western China. Quite a number of them have been rebuilt. Perhaps the most notable example is that at Changchow which was destroyed during the rebellion. Today it is the largest monastery in China, having about two thousand monks. In Fukien several new monasteries have been built in the last few decades. In the provinces of Chekiang and Kiangsu, in the large cities and about Peking there are building activities, showing that the monasteries are feeling a new wave of prosperity.

T’ai Hsu, one of the leaders’ of modern Buddhism, is holding up an ideal program for Buddhism in this time of reconstruction. He proposes that there should be 576 central monasteries, 4608 preaching places, 72 Buddhist hospitals and 72 orphanages.

(b) Accessions.–Regarding the number of monks it is almost impossible to obtain any reliable figures. A conservative estimate, based upon partial returns, makes the number of monks about 400,000 and that of nuns about 10,000. The impression among the Buddhists is that the number of monks is increasing. That is quite probable in view of the rebuilding and repairing which is now in progress.

More significant is the number of accessions from the learned class. Many officials, disheartened by the present confused political situation, have sought refuge in the monasteries. Some of them are now abbots of monasteries and are using their influence to build them up. All over China there are Confucian scholars who are giving themselves to the study of Buddhism and to meditation. Some of the Chinese students who have studied in Buddhist universities in Japan are propagating Buddhism by lecture and pen.

(c) Publications.–Quite as significant is the increase in the publication of Buddhist literature of all kinds. Many of the monasteries have printing departments where they publish the sutras needed for their own use. In addition, there are eight or more publishing centers where Buddhist literature is printed. The most famous are Yang’s establishment at Nanking, the Buddhist Press in Yangchow and that in Peking. In these establishments about nine hundred different works are being published. The most noteworthy recent publication has been that of the Chinese Buddhist Tripitaka in Shanghai.

Among these publications are a few modern issues. The Chung Hua Book Company has published several works on Buddhism. Other books have been issued for the sake of harmonizing Buddhism with western science and philosophy. In this enterprise Japanese influence is visible. In 1921 a Shanghai press published a dictionary of Buddhist terms containing 3302 pages, based on the Japanese Dictionary of Buddhism. Other works also show the influence of Japanese scholarship.

Among the publications have appeared two magazines. One published at Ningpo, is called “New Buddhism.” This is struggling and may have to succumb. The other is known as the “Sound of the Sea Tide,” now published in Hankow. Moreover, in all the large cities there are Buddhist bookshops where only Buddhist works are sold. These all report a good business. This literary activity reveals an interest among the reading classes of China. Few such books are purchased by the monks. The Chinese scholars read them for their style and for their deep philosophy, but also for light and for help in the present distracting political situation of their country.

(d) Lectures.–Along with publication goes the spread of Buddhism by lectures in the monasteries and the cities of China. A few years ago Buddhist sermons, however serious, were only listened to by monks and by a few pious devotees. Today such addresses are advertised and are usually well attended by the intellectuals. Often many women are found listening. Monks like T’ai Hsü and Yuan Ying have a national reputation. Not only monks, but laymen trained in Japan are delivering lectures on the Buddhist sutras. The favorites are the Awakening of Faith and the Suddharma Pundarika sutra.

(e) Buddhist Societies.–With the lectures goes the organization of Buddhist societies for all sorts of purposes. There is a central society in Peking which has branches in every province. The connection is rather loose. Buddhism has never been in favor of centralization. Nor for that matter would the government have allowed it. The chief ends aimed at by these societies are fellowship, devotion, study, propagation, and service. Such societies, often short lived, are springing up in many quarters. They meet for lectures on Buddhism or to conduct a study class in some of the sutras. Occasionally the more ambitious conduct an institute for several months. Some spend part of the time in meditation together. Several schools for children are supported by these societies. They also encourage work of a religious nature among prisoners, distributing tracts and holding services. Such activities are especially appreciated by those who are to suffer the death penalty. The societies are also doing publishing work. The two magazines are supported by the members of the larger societies.

(f) Signs of Social Ambition.–Social work is a prominent feature of some of these Buddhist societies. They have raised money for famine stricken regions, have opened orphanages, and assist in Red Cross work. One of the largest Chinese institutions for ministering to people who are sick and in trouble is located at Hankow. Around a central Buddhist temple is a modern-built hospital, an orphanage and several schools for poor children. It may not maintain western standards of efficiency, but it certainly represents the outreach of modern Buddhism.

Perhaps their most far-reaching advance has been made because of the realization that leaders are needed and that they must be trained. Several schools for this purpose have sprung into existence. Such schools are necessarily very primitive and are struggling with the difficulties of finding an adequate staff and equipment and of obtaining the best type of students.

Another sign of new life has been the making of programs for the future development of Buddhism. One of the most comprehensive appeared a short time ago. For the individual it proposes the cultivation of love, mercy, equality, freedom, progressiveness, an established faith, patience and endurance. For all men it proposes (1) an education according to capacity; (2) a trade suited to ability; (3) an opportunity to develop one’s powers; (4) a chance for enlightenment for all. For society it urges the cultivation of cooperation, social service, sacrifice for the social weal, and the social consciousness in the individual. On behalf of the country it urges patriotism, participation in the government, and cooperation in international movements. For the world it advocates universal progress. As to the universe it specifies as a goal the bringing of men into harmony with spiritual realities, the enlightenment of all and the realization of the spiritual universe.

A Buddhist writer sums up the aims of new Buddhism as follows:

“Formerly Buddhism desired to escape the sinful world. Today Buddhism not only desires to escape this world of sin, but longs to transform this world of sin into a new world dominated by the ideals of Buddhism. Formerly Buddhism was occupied with erecting and perfecting its doctrines and polity as an organization. Today it not only hopes to perfect the doctrines and polity, but desires to spread the doctrines and ideals abroad so as to help mankind to become truly cultured.”

4. The Attitude of Tibetan Lamas

Not only the Chinese Buddhists, but the Lamas of Mongolia and Tibet are feeling the impulses of the new age. Quite recently an exhibition was held in the Lama temple at Peking which attracted thousands of visitors. Its object was to obtain money to repair the temple, and thus to give its work a fresh impulse. That these impulses are not necessarily hostile to Christianity is shown by a letter written by the Kurung Tsering Lama of Kokonor district to the Rev. T. Sörensen of Szechuan:

“I, your humble servant, have seen several copies of the Scriptures and, having read them carefully, they certainly made me believe in Christ. I understand a little of the outstanding principles and the doctrinal teaching of the One Son, but as to the Holy Spirit’s nature and essence, and as to the origin of this religion, I am not at all clear, and it is therefore important that the doctrinal principles of this religion should be fully explained, so as to enlighten the unintelligent and people of small mental ability.

“The teaching of the science of medicine and astrology is also very important. It is therefore evident if we want this blessing openly manifested, we must believe in the religion of the only Son of God. Being in earnest, I therefore pray you from my heart not to consider this letter lightly. With a hundred salutations.”

Enclosed with this letter was a poem written in most elegant language.

“O thou Supreme God and most precious Father, The truth above all religions, The Ruler of all animate and inanimate worlds! Greater than wisdom, separated from birth and death, Is his son Christ the Lord shining in glory among endless beings. Incomprehensible wonder, miraculously made! In this teaching I myself also believe–As your spirit is with heaven united, My soul undivided is seeking the truth Jesus the Savior’s desire fulfilling, For the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven I am praying. Happiness to all.”

5. The Buddhist World Versus the Christian World

Looking back over the last twenty-five years we see rising quite distinctly a Buddhist world growing conscious of itself, of its past history and of its mission to the world. This Buddhist, world has much more of a program than it had twenty-five years ago. Its object is to unite the Mahayâna and the Hînayâna branches of Buddhism and to spread Buddhist propaganda over the world. At present the leadership of this movement is in Japan. It is in part a political movement. There is no question that Christianity is not at all pleasing to the Japanese militarists. It is regarded by them as the advance post of western industrialism and political ambition. Quite naturally such leaders desire to make the Buddhist world a unit. It is also a social movement. The spirit of the Japanese Buddhist has been brought to consciousness by the new position of Japan. Japan is seeking to take its place in the world as a first rate power. By this not only will Japan’s industry and commerce profit, but its spiritual values must also be adapted to the world. The movement then has its spiritual side. Japanese travelers and people are going to all parts of the world. They carry with them the religious ideals which have been shaped by Buddhism. Buddhism in the past was one of the great religions of salvation with an inspiring missionary message. It is again awakening to this task of evangelization. Under the leadership of Japanese scholars and religious statesmen the Japanese are seeking to unite the Buddhist world so that it shall become a force in the new world. Japan is thus trying to give back what it has received in the past.

At present in Buddhist countries there is a strong force working against this movement. Nationalism is a new force to be reckoned with. Still even with the spirit of nationalism permeating every group, the Buddhist world is getting together and will strive to make its contribution to the life of the whole world.

The Spiritual Values Emphasized by Buddhism in China

Buddhism and Buddhists in China By Lewis Hodus

VIII. The Spiritual Values Emphasized by Buddhism in China

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Near the House of Parliament in Peking is located a small monastery dedicated to the goddess of Mercy, Kuan Yin. Before her image the incense burners send forth curling clouds of smoke. The walls are decorated with old paintings of gods and goddesses. The temple with its courtyard has the appearance of prosperity. Its neat reception room, with its tables, chairs and clock, shows the influence of the modern world.

Here a monk in the prime of life spent a few months recently lecturing on Buddhism to members of parliament and to scholars from various parts of China. Frequently the writer used to drop in of an afternoon to discuss Buddhism and its outlook. Usually a simple repast concluded these conversations, the substance of which forms the greater part of this section.

1. The Threefold Classification of Men Under Buddhism

“What does Buddhism do for men?”

“There are in the world at least three classes of men. The lowest class live among material things, they are occupied with possessions. Their life is entangled in the crude and coarse materials which they regard as real. A second, higher class, regard ideas as realities. They are not entangled in the maze of things, but are confused by ideas, ascribing reality to them. The third and highest class are those who by meditation have freed themselves from the thraldom of ideas and can enter the sixteen heavens.”

2. Salvation for the Common Man

“What can Buddhism do for the lowest class?”

“For this class Buddhism has the ten prohibitions. Every man has in him ten evils, which must be driven out. Three have to do with evil in the body, namely, not to steal, not to kill, not to commit adultery; four belong to the mouth, lying, exaggeration, abuse, and ambiguous talk; three belong to the mind, covetousness, malice, and unbelief.”

“Is not this entirely negative?”

“Yes, but it is necessary, for during the process of eliminating these evil deeds, man acquires patience and equanimity. Buddhism does not stop with the prohibitions. The believer must practice the ten charitable deeds. Not only must he remove the desire to kill living beings, but he must cultivate the desire to save all beings. Not only must he not steal, but he must assist men with his money. Not only must he not give himself to lasciviousness, but he must treat all men with propriety. So each prohibition involves a positive impulse to virtue, which is quite as essential as the refraining from evil.”

“What energizing power does Buddhism provide?”

“First, is purgatory with its terrors. The evil man, seeing the consequences of his acts upon himself, becomes afraid to do them and does that which is good. Then there is transmigration with the danger of transmigration into beasts and insects. Again, there are the rewards in the paradise of Amitâbha. Moreover, there is even the possibility not only of saving one’s self, but by accumulated merit of saving one’s parents and relatives and shortening their stay in purgatory.”

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3. The Place of Faith

“Can any man enter the western paradise of Amitâbha?”

“Yes, it is open to all men. The sutra says: ’If there be any one who commits evil deeds, and even completes the ten evil actions, the five deadly sins and the like; that man, being himself stupid and guilty of many crimes, deserves to fall into a miserable path of existence and suffer endless pains during many long ages. On the eve of death he may meet a good and learned teacher who, soothing and encouraging him in various ways, will preach to him the excellent Law and teach him the remembrance of Buddha, but being harassed by pains’, he will have no time to think of Buddha.’”

“What hope has such a man?”

“Even such a man has hope. The sutra says: ’Some good friend will say to him: Even if thou canst not exercise the remembrance of Buddha, utter the name of Buddha Amitabha.’ Let him do so serenely with his voice uninterrupted; let him be (continually) thinking of Buddha, until he has completed ten times the thought, repeating ’Namah O-mi-to-fo,’ I put my trust in Buddha! On the strength of (his merit of) uttering Buddha’s name he will, during every repetition expiate the sins which involve him in births and deaths during eighty millions of long ages. He will, while dying, see a golden lotus-flower, like the disk of the sun, appearing before his eyes; in a moment he will be born in the world of highest happiness. After twelve greater ages the lotus-flower will unfold; thereupon the Bodhisattvas, Avalôkitësvaras and Mahasattva’s, raising their voices in great compassion, will preach to him in detail the real state of all the elements of nature and the law of the expiation of sins.”

“Does faith save such a man?”

“Yes, not his own faith, but the faith which prompted the vow of Amitabha. Amitâbha’s faith in the possibility of his salvation gives him supreme confidence that he will attain salvation. All he needs is to have the desire to be born in that paradise and to repeat the name of Amitabha.”

4. Salvation of the Second Class

“How do those of the second class attain salvation?”

“The men of the second class regard ideas as realities. They are not entangled in the maze of things, but are confused by ideas, regarding them as real. These men do not need images and outward sanctions, but they need heaven and purgatory though regarding them as ideas. By performing the ten good deeds they will obtain a quiet heart, having no fear, and become saints and sages. Among men, saints and sages occupy a high rank, but not so among Buddhists. By merit of good works merely they enter the planes of sensuous desire, the six celestial worlds located immediately above the earth.”

5. Salvation for the Highest Class

“And the third class?”

“This class has many ranks. There are those who by the practice of meditation (four
dkyanas)* can enter the sixteen heavens conditioned by form. By the practice of the four arûpa-dhyânas** they enter the four highest heavens free from all sensuous desires and not conditioned by form. These heavens are the anteroom of Nirvana.”

*Dhyana means contemplation. In later times under the influence of the idea of transmigration heavens were imagined which corresponded to the degrees of contemplation.
**That degree of abstract contemplation from which all sensations are absent.

“What is the driving power in all this?”

“It is vîrya or energy.”

6. Heaven and Purgatory

“Do heaven and purgatory exist?”

“Heaven and purgatory are in the minds and hearts of men. Really heaven is in the mind of Amitâbha and purgatory exists in the illusioned brains of men.”

“Does anything exist?”

“Nâgârjuna says: ’There is no production, no destruction, no annihilation, no persistence, no unity, no plurality, no coming in and no going forth.’”

7. Sin

“Does sin exist?”

“In the mind of the real Buddhist sin and virtue are different aspects of the all. Sin is illusion; virtue is illusion, There is a higher unity in which they are reconciled.”

8. Nirvâna

“Do you know of any one who attained Nirvâna?”

“Yes, I have experienced it. It is not a state beyond the grave. It is a state into which one can enter here.”

“Can you express this experience in words?”

“Impossible. I can only indicate the shore of this great ocean. At first I was in great distress and agony, as though carrying the illusions of the world. Then came a great peace and calm, ineffable, serene, and surpassing the power of language to express.”

9. The Philosophical Background

“What is behind this universe!”

“Underlying this universe of phenomena and change there is a unity. It is the basis of all being. It is within all being and all being rests in it. It is because of this common background that men are able to apprehend it. This universal basis we call dharma, or law. Its characteristics are that everything born grows old, is subject to disease and death; that the teachings of Buddha purify the mind and enable it to obtain supreme enlightenment; that all Buddhas by treading the same way of perfection will attain the highest freedom.”

“You speak of the Buddhist Trinity.”

“Yes, we have the Dharmakâya. This is the essence-body, the ground of all being, taking many forms, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, spirits, angels, men and even demons. It is impersonal, all-pervasive. It may be called the first person. The second person is the Sambhogakâya, the body of bliss. This is the heavenly manifestation of Buddha. The third person is the Nirmânakâya. This is the projection of the body of bliss on earth.”

Some identify this trinity with that of the Christian faith. While there is a resemblance, we should note that the first person of the Buddhist trinity would correspond to God as the absolute or the impersonal background of universal Being. The second corresponds to the glorified Christ and the third to the historic Jesus. There is no counterpart either to God the Father or to the Holy Spirit.

“Do you believe in the salvation of all beings?”

“Yes, all have the Buddha heart. All living beings will finally become Buddhas.”

Then turning to a friend of mine the speaker said: “What have you done in Buddhism?” The friend answered: “I have written and translated many books.” “I do not mean that,” he answered. “What work have you done?” The friend confessed that he had not done much else. Then he said: “Every morning when you awake, reflect deeply and profoundly upon your state before you were born. Think back to that state where your soul was merged with Buddha. Find yourself in that state and you will find ineffable enlightenment and joy.”

The sun was setting behind the Western hills. The blare of trumpets sounded on the city wall. Outside of the door was the whirling sound of Peking returning home from its mundane tasks and joys. We joined the rushing, restless crowd and still we felt the calm of another world. Has not Christianity a message of balm and peace for these sons of the East who are so sensitive to the touch of the eternal and sublime?

10. What Buddhism Has to Give

An important government official obliged to deal with many vexatious requests and demands declared: “I could not get through my day’s work, if I did not spend an hour every day in meditation, just as Buddha did when he became enlightened.” He was asked what he did when he meditated or prayed. “Nothing at all.” “Well, about what do you think?” “Of nothing at all. I stop thinking when I engage in religious meditation. Life makes me think too much. I should lose my sanity, if I did not stop thinking and enter into the ’void’, whence we all came and into which we all are going to drop back.”

His Christian inquirer still was unsatisfied by the Buddhist’s description of his prayer life, and pressed further for details. “What happens when you meditate or pray?”

“Nothing happens, I tell you, except, that I experience a peace which the passing world cannot give and which the passing world cannot altogether take away. The secret of religion is simply to realize that everything is passing away. When you accept that fact, then you become really free. The Christian world seemed to have been tremendously impressed by the slogan of the French soldiers at Verdun, ’They shall not pass!’ Perhaps the German soldiers did not pass just then or there. But the French soldiers themselves are all passing away. And everything in the world is passing away. What our Buddhist religion teaches us is: ’Let it pass!’ You cannot keep anything for very long. And prayer or meditation is simply to practice yourself in that thought deliberately. Oh, it is a wonderful peace when you fully believe that gospel, and enter into it every day. Vanity of vanities, everything is vanity! Why worry? We do altogether too much worrying. To pray means simply to quit worrying, to quit thinking, to enter into the indescribably passionless peace of Nirvana.”

Here seemed to be an ardent Buddhist. When asked what he thought as the difference between a Buddhist and a Christian, he answered promptly:

“Yes, there is my wife. She is a very good woman. All the neighbors come to her, when there is any one sick or in trouble. So I say to her: ’Wife, I should think you would make a first-class Christian.’ But I think she lets herself be worried by altogether too many troubles. She is all the time thinking and fussing and planning. To be sure, it is mostly about other people, But then she does have the children and the house and the relatives and friends and neighbors to look after. Perhaps she really cannot be a Buddhist. Perhaps it is all a matter of temperament. Oh, but I tell you it is great to be a Buddhist, because it gives you such a wonderful peace.”