QJarncU UtiittctBtta ffiibrarg at^aca, Ken Inrk THE GIFT OF <3j.BoOTSircrun, Cornell University Library BQ 5345.S52 1906 3 1924 023 155 223 All books are subject to recall after two weeks. Library Annex DATE DUE i^*enn3r 3ry UMi 1 1 GAVLOHO PRINTED IN U.S.A. The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023155223 SERMONS OF A BUDDHIST ABBOT ADDRESSES ON RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS BY THE RT. REV. SOYEN SHAKU LORD ABBOT OF BNGAKU-JI AND KENCHO-JI, KAMAKURA, JAPAN INCLUDING THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS TRANSLATED PROM THE JAPANESE MS BY DAISETZ TEITARO SUZUKI WITH PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR CHICAGO THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING COMPANY LONDON AGENTS Kbgan Paul, Trench, TrObner & Co., Ltd. 1906 5 y^. 9 -:rf^ A-3]3Z.33 copyright by The Open Court Publishing Co. 1906 TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE THIS little work is a collection of some of the lectures delivered by the Right Rev- erend Soyen Shaku, Lord Abbot of Engaku-ji and Kencho-ji, Kamakura, Japan, during his sojourn in this country, 1905-1906. He came here early in the summer of 1905 and stayed with friends on the Pacific coast until March in the following year. Lectures on Buddhism were frequently delivered at the request of his hostess, Mrs. Alexander Russell of San Francisco, for the benefit of her friends. He lectured on the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters, and naturally chose the texts for his sermons from this most popular among the canonical books. As His Reverence did not speak English, the burden of interpreting his speeches fell upon my shoulders. During his stay on the coast, His Reverence was occasionally invited by his countrymen, scat- tered throughout the State, to such places as the Buddhist Mission and the Japanese Con- sulate in San Francisco, to Los Angeles, Sacra- mento, Fresno, San Jose, and Oakland. Wher- ever he went, his addresses were most enthu- siastically received and greatly appreciated by iv translator's preface the Japanese residents, and by Americans when his speeches were repeated in English. In March, 1906, the Right Reverend Soyen Shaku crossed the continent to the Atlantic coast, visiting Washington, New York, Phila- delphia, and Boston. Whenever he was asked by his countrymen or by his American friends, to speak on his faith, he always acceded to their wish. These addresses were added to the ser- mons already under my charge, and when His Reverence was leaving for his European tour towards the end of April, he left all the manu- scripts with me with a view of publishing them in book form. In going over these documents critically, I found that I could not make use of all the material as it stood; for the talks during his stay on the Pacific coast were mostly of a very informal nature, and a copy of them prepared from shorthand notes needed a great deal of revision; besides, some of the. talks were suited only to special audiences and adapted to their peculiar needs. So with his permission I con- densed several articles into one, while in other cases I selected a subject only incidentally or cursorily referred to in several different addresses, and made a special essay of the scattered passages. Sometimes I found his expressions too Buddhistic, that is, too technical, and intelligible only to those who have made Buddhism a special study. In such cases, I put the thoughts in a more con- TRANSLATOR S PREFACE V vehtional and comprehensible form for the benefit of the American public. Again, when I thought that His Reverence took too much knowledge of his subject for granted on the part of his audi- ence, I endeavored to express his thoughts more plainly and explicitly. ' In spite of these alterations and the liberties I have taken vnth the manuscripts of the Rev- erend Shaku, these lectures remain a faithful representation of the views as well as the style of preaching of my venerable teacher and friend. * * * As to the text of the Sutra of Forty-two Chap- ters, I have decided after rnuch consideration to incorporate it here. In the first place, it is not a long sutra, and like the Dharmapada it contains many characteristic Buddhist thoughts. Sec- ondly, most of the Reverend Shaku's lectures have a close relation to the sutra ; and when they are read after the perusal of the text, his stand- point as a modern Japanese representative of Buddhism will be better understood. Thirdly, being the first Buddhist literature introduced by the first official Hindu missionaries into the Middle Kingdom (a. d. 67), the sutra has a very interesting historical background. * * * I have to add that this collection also contains two articles and one letter by the Reverend Shaku, all of which previously appeared in The Open Court. The letter was addressed to the VI TRANSLATOR S PREFACE late Dr. John H. Barrows as a sort of protest against his lecture delivered at the Chicago Uni- versity, 1896, in which Dr. Barrows unfortunately- fell in line with the popular misconception of the spirit of Buddhism. The two articles referred to deal with the problem of war as seen from the general Buddhist point of view ; and I may remark that the first of the two attracted at the time the attention of such an eminent thinker of our day as Count Leo Tolstoy and was alluded to in his famous anti-war declaration. Daisetz TeitAro Suzuki. La Salle, III., 1906. CONTENTS PAGE Preface iii The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters 3 The God-Conception 25 Assertions and Denials 37 Immortality 53 Buddhist Faith 62 Buddhist Ethics 69 What is Buddhism? 79 The Middle Way 90 The Wheel of the Good Law loi The Phenomenal and the Supra-phenomenal . . . in Reply to a Christian Critic 121 Ignorance and Enlightenment 126 Spiritual Enlightenment 132 Practice of Dhy&na 146 Kwannon Bosatz 160 Buddhism and Oriental Culture 170 The Story of Deer Park 182 The Story of the Gem-Hunting 186 The Sacrifice for a Stanza 189 Buddhist View of War 193 At the Battle of Nan-Shan Hill ....... ig8 A Memorial Address 204 Index 215' 7 THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS' HAVING attained Buddhahood, the World- honored One thought thus: "To be free from the passions and to be calm, this is the most excellent Way." 'This is the first Buddhist literature ever translated into the Chinese language. It was brought into China by the first missionaries from Central India, a. d. 67, who were specially invited by the Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty. Though some authorities think that the sutra existed in Sanskrit in the present Chinese form, the most probable fact is, as maintained by another authority, that the translators extracted all these passages from the different Buddhist canonical books which they brought along for their mis- sionary purposes, and compiled them after the fashion of the Confucian Analects, beginning each chapter with the stereotyped "The Buddha said," which corresponds to the Confucian "The Master said." This was the most natural thing for the first Buddhist workers from India to do in the land of Confucianism. The sutra, besides being a collection of moral and religious sayings of the Buddha, is interesting to us at least in the following two points: (i) It throws some light on the development which Buddhism made in India from the Parinirv&na of Buddha down to the times of these two translators; and (2) it allows us to see what the first Buddhist propagandists thought best to introduce, as the most essen- 3 4 SERMONS BY A BUDDHIST ABBOT He was absorbed in Great Meditation,' sub- dued all evil ones, and in Deer Park^ caused to revolve the Wheel of Dharma, which was the Fourfold Truth,' and converted the five Bhik- shus,' Kaudinya, etc., inducing them to attain Enlightenment." Again,, there were other Bhikshus who im- plored the Buddha to remove their doubts which they had concerning his doctrine. The World-honored One illumined all their minds through his authoritative teachings. The Bhik- tial doctrines of their faith, among the people who had hitherto been educated mostly by the Confucians but partly by the Laotzeans. The first translators did not think it wise to present their doctrine systematically by writing a discourse or a lengthy treatise, as they were wont to do in their native country, nor did they think it advisable to reproduce an entire sutra in the language of their newly adopted country. On the other hand, they culled Buddha's short sayings and dialogues from various sutras, imitating the general style of the Con- fucian sacred book Lun Yu. They must have thought that Buddhism, which has so many voluminous canonical books and deeply metaphysical treatises, would be best promul- gated in China through an anthology, and not through an exact reproduction of the original texts. The present sutra is undoubtedly the result of these considerations, and 05 this account it must be said to be well suited for popular reading. 'Cf. "The Practice of Dhyana." (P. 146.) ''"The Story of Deer Park" is told elsewhere. (P. 182.) 'This is explained in the article entitled "The Wheel of the Good Law." (P. loi.) ^Buddhist monks are called Bhikshus, literally "beggars." 'What the Buddhists understand by Enlightenment is explained in the sermons, (^ee p. 132.) THE SUTRA OP FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS ^ shus, joining their hands and reverentially bowing, followed his august instructions. (i) The Buddha said: "Those who leave their parents, go out of the home, understand the mind, reach the source, and comprehend the immaterial, are called Qramana/ " Those who observe the two hundred and fifty precepts' of morality, who are pure and spot- less in their behavior, and who exert themselves for the attainment of the four fruits of saint- ship,' are called Arhats. ,"The Arhat is able to fly through space and assume different forms; his life is eternal, and there are times when he causes heaven and earth to quake.* "Next is the An^glimin.' . At the end of his life, the spirit of the An^g^min ascends, to the nineteenth heaven and obtains Arhatship. " Next is the Skridagamin." The Skridagamin 'Or Qramanera, from the root (ram, "to exert oneself,", "to make effort." 'This is fully explained in the Vinaya texts in the Sacred Books of the East, Vols. XIII, XVII, XX. 'The Arhats, the An4gamins, the SkridAgamins, the SrotS-pannas. These are explained below. *This and the following three passages seem to be a gloss, incorporated in the text later by a copyist. Arhat, accord- ing to the traditional Chinese interpretation , means "one who kills robbe;rs," that is, the robbers of passion and prejudice. "AnAgimin means "one who never returns." The nine- teenth heaven is called Akanishtha, the highest in the world of form {r-apaloka}. °Skrid4gS,min means "one who comes back." 6 SERMONS OP A BUDDHIST ABBOT ascends to the heavens [after his death], comes back to the earth once more, and then attains Arhatship. " Next is the Srotadpanna.' The Srotadpanna dies seven times and is born seven times, when he finally attains Arhatship. "By the severance of the passions is meant .that like the limbs severed they are never again made use of." (2) The Buddha said: "The homeless gra- mana cuts off the passions, frees himself of attachments, understands the source of his own mind, penetrates the deepest doctrine of Buddha, and comprehends the Dharma which is immaterial. He has no prejudice in his heart, he has nothing to hanker after. He is not hampered by the thought of the Way, nor is he entangled in karma. No prejudice, no compulsion, no discipline, no enlightenment, and no going up through the grades, and yet in possession of all honors in itself, — this is called the Way." (3) The Buddha said: "Those who shaving their heads and faces become Qramanas and who receive instruction in the Way, should surrender all worldly possessions and be contented with whatever they obtain by begging.^ One meal a day and one lodging under a tree, and neither should be repeated. For what makes one stupid and irrational is attachments and the passions." 'Srota^panna means "one who gets in the stream." 'Cf. Luke, xii, 33 et seq. THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS 7 (4) The Buddha said: "There are ten things considered good by all beings, and ten things evil. What are they? Three of them depend upon the body, four upon the mouth, and three upon thought. "Three evil deeds depending upon the body are: killing, stealing, and committing adultery. The four depending upon the mouth are: slan- dering, cursing, lying, and flattery. The three depending upon thought are: envy, anger, and infatuation. All these things are against the Holy Way, and therefore they are evil. "When these evils are not done, there are ten good deeds." (5) The Buddha said: "If a man who has committed many a misdemeanor does not repent and cleanse his heart of the evil, retribution will come upon his person as sure as the streams run into the ocean which becomes ever deeper and wider. "If a man who has committed a misdemeanor come to the knowledge of it, reform himself, and practise goodness, the force of retribution will gradually exhaust itself as a disease gradu- ally loses its baneful influence when the patient perspires." (6) The Buddha said: "When an evil-doer, seeing you practise goodness, comes and mali- ciously insults you, you should patiently endure it and not feel angry with him, for the evil-doer is insulting himself by trying to insult you." 8 SERMONS OP A BUDDHIST ABBOT (7) The Buddha said: "Once a man came unto me and denounced me on account of my observing the Way and practising great loving- kindness. But I. kept silent and did not answer him. The denunciation ceased. I then asked him, 'If you bring a present to your neighbor and he accepts it not, does the present come back to you?' The man replied, 'It will.' I said, 'You denounce me now, but as I accept it not, you must take the wrong deed back on your own person. It is like echo succeeding sound, it is like shadow following object; you never escape the effect of your own evil deeds. Be therefore mindful, and cease from doing evil.'" (8) The Buddha said: "Evil-doers who de- nounce the wise resemble a person who spits against the sky; the spittle will never reach the sky, but comes down on himself. Evil-doers again resemble a man who stirs the dust against the wind ; the dust is never raised without doing him injury. Thus, the wise will never be hurt, but the curse is sure to destroy the evil-doers themselves." (9) The Buddha said: "If you endeavor to embrace the Way through much learning, the Way will not be understood. If you observe the Way with simplicity of heart, great indeed is this Way." (10) The Buddha said: "Those who rejoice in seeing others observe the Way will obtain great blessing." A Qramana asked the Buddha, THE SUTRA OP FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS 9 "Would this blessing ever be destroyed?" The Buddha said, "It is like a lighted torch whose flame can be distributed to ever so many other torches which people may bring along; and therewith they will cook food and dispel dark- ness, while the original torch itself remains burn- ing ever the same It is even so with the bliss of the Way." (11) The Buddha said: "It is better to feed one good man than to feed one hundred bad men. It is better to feed one who observes the five precepts of Buddha than to feed one thousand good men. It is better to feed one Srota^panna than to feed ten thousands of those who observe the five precepts of Buddha. It is better to feed one Skrid4gS,min than to feed one million of SrotaS,pannas. It is better to feed one Anagimin than to feed ten millions of Skrida- gamins. It is better to feed one Arhat than to feed one hundred millions of Anigamins. It is better to feed one Pratyekabuddha than to feed one billion of Arhats. It is better to feed one of the Buddhas, either of the present, or of the past, or of the future, than to feed ten billions of Pratyekabuddhas. It is better to feed one who is above knowledge, onesidedness, discipline, and enlightenment than to feed one hundred billions of Buddhas of the past, present, or future."^ ^ 'This seems to be a very sweeping assertion on the part of the Buddha, but the principle remains ever true. The 10 SERMONS OF A BUDDHIST ABBOT (12) The Buddha said: "There are twenty- difficult things to attain [or to accomplish] in this world: (i) It is difficult for the poor to practise charity ; (2) It is difficult for the strong and rich to observe the Way;' (3) It is difficult to disregard life and go to certain death; (4) It is only a favored few that get acquainted with a Buddhist sutra; (5) It is by rare opportunity that a person is bom in the age of Buddha; (6) It is difficult to conquer the passions, to suppress selfish desires; (7) It is difficult not to hanker after that which is agreeable; (8) It is difficult not to get into a passion when slighted; (9) It is difficult not to abuse one's authority; (10) It is difficult to be even-minded and simple, hearted in all one's dealings with others; (11) It is difficult to be thorough in learning and exhaustive in investigation; (12) It is difficult to subdue selfish pride; (13) It is difficult not to feel contempt toward the unlearned; (14) It is difficult to be one in knowledge and practice; (15) It is difficult not to express an opinion about others;'' (16) It is by rare opportunity that one fundamental fact of the religious life is purity of heart. If there is a dark comer in your heart, all that you do is hypoc- risy. When the Emperor Wu of Liang saw Bodhidharma, he asked the saint, "I have built so many monasteries, I have converted so many souls, I have copied so many sacred sutras; now what does Your Holiness think my merit will be?" To this, Bodhidharma made a curt response, "No merit whatever.". 'Cf. Matt, xix, 24. ^cf ]yiatt. vii, i, 2. THE SUTRA OP FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS II is introduced to a true spiritual teacher; (17) It is difficult to gain an insight into the nature of being and to practise the Way; (18) It is diffi- cult to follow the steps of a savior; (19) It is difficult to be always the master of oneself; (20) It is difficult to understand thoroughly the Ways of Buddha." (13) A monk asked the Buddha: "Under what conditions is it possible to come to the knowledge of the past and to understand the most supreme Way?" The Buddha said : "Those who are pure in heart and single in purpose are able to understand the most supreme Way. It is like polishing a mirror, which becomes bright when the dust is removed. Remove your pas- sions, and have no hankering, and the past will be revealed unto you." (14) A monk asked the Buddha: "What is good, and what is great?" The Buddha an- swered: "Good is to practise the Way and to follow the truth. Great is the heart that is in accord with the Way." (15) A monk asked the Buddha: "What is most powerful, and what is most illuminat- ing?" The Buddha said: "Meekness is most powerful, for it harbors no evil thoughts, and, moreover, it is restful and full of strength. As it is free from evils, it is sure to be honored by all.' "The most illuminating is a mind which is •Matt. V, 5. 12 SERMONS OP A BUDDHIST ABBOT thoroughly cleansed of dirt, and which, remain- ing pure, retains no blemishes. From the time when there was yet no heaven and earth till the present day, there is nothing in the ten quarters which is not seen, or known, or heard by such a mind, for it has gained all-knowledge, and for that reason it is called 'illuminating.'" (i6) The Buddha said: "Those who have passions are never able to perceive the Way; for it is like stirring up clear water with hands; people may come there wishing to find a reflec- tion of their faces, which, however, they will never see. A mind troubled and vexed with the passions is impure, and on that account it never sees the Way. O monks, do away with passions. When the dirt of passion is removed the Way will manifest itself." (17) The Buddha said: "Seeing the Way is like going into a dark room with a torch; the darkness instantly departs, while the light alone remains. When the Way is attained and the truth is seen, ignorance vanishes and enlighten- ment abides forever." (18) The Buddha said: "My doctrine is to think the thought that is unthinkable, to prac- tise the deed that is not-doing, to speak the speech that is inexpressible, and to be trained in the discipline that is beyond discipline. Those who understand this are near, those who are con- fused are far. The Way is beyond words and expressions, is bound by nothing earthly. Lose THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS 13 sight of it to an inch, or miss it for a moment, and we are away from it forevermore." (19) The Buddha said: "Look up to heaven and down on earth, and they will remind you of their impermanency. Look about the world, and it will remind you of its impermanency. But when you gain spiritual enlightenment, you shall then find wisdom. The knowledge thus attained leads you anon to the Way." (20) The Buddha said: "You should think of the four elements' of which the body is com- posed. Each of them has its own name, and there is no such thing there known as ego. As there is really no ego, it is like unto a mirage.'" (21) The Buddha said: "Moved by their selfish desires, people seek after fame and glory. But when they have acquired it, they are already stricken in years. If you hanker after worldly fame and practise not the Way, your labors are wrongfully applied and your energy is wasted. It is like unto burning an incense stick. How- ever much its pleasing odor be admired, the fire that consumes is steadily burning up the stick." (22) The Buddha said: "People cleave to their worldly possessions and selfish passions so 'Earth, water, fire, and air. ^A Japanese poet sings: "When pulled together And bound, there stands A hut well thatched : But take it apart, And we have the wilderness eternal." 14 SERMONS OF A BUDDHIST ABBOT blindly as to sacrifice their own lives for them. They are like a child who tries to eat a little honey smeared on the edge of a knife. The amotmt is by no means sufficient to appease his appetite, but he runs the risk of wounding his tongue." (23) The Buddha said: "Men are tied up to their families and possessions more helplessly than in a prison. There is an occasion for the prisoner to be released, but householders enter- tain no desire to be relieved from the ties of family. When a man's passion is aroused noth- ing prevents him from ruining himself. Even into the maws of a tiger will he jump. Those who are thus drowned in the filth of passion are called the ignorant. Those who are able to overcome it are saintly Arhats." (24) The Buddha said : " There is nothing like lust. Lust may be said to be the most powerful passion. Fortunately, we have but one thing which is more powerful. If the thirst for truth were weaker than passion, how many of us in the world would be able to follow the way of right- eousness?" (25) The Buddha said: "Men who are addicted to the passions are like the torch- carrier running against the wind; his hands are sure to be burned." (26) The Lord of Heaven offered a beautiful fairy to the Buddha, desiring to tempt him to the evil path. But the Buddha said, "Be gone. THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS 1 5 What use have I for the leather bag filled with filth which you have brought to me?" Then, the god reverently bowed and asked the Buddha about the essence of the Way, in which having been instructed by the Buddha, it is said, he attained the SrotaS,panna-fruit. (27) The Buddha said: "Those who are fol- lowing the Way should behave like a piece of timber which is drifting along a stream. If the log is neither held by the banks, nor seized by men, nor obstructed by the gods, nor kept in the whirlpool, nor itself goes to decay, I assure you that this log will finally reach the ocean. If monks walking on the Way are neither tempted by the passions, nor led astray by some evil influences, but steadily pursue their course for Nirvana, I assure you that these monks will finally attain enlightenment." (28) The Buddha said: "Rely not upon your own will. Your own will is not trustworthy. Guard yourselves against sensualism, for it surely leads to the path of evil. Your own will becomes trustworthy only when you have attained Arhatship." (29) The Buddha said : "O monks, you should not see women.' [If you should have to see them], refrain from talking to them. [If you should have to talk], you sTiould reflect in a right spirit: 'I am now a homeless mendicant. In the world of sin, I must behave myself like unto 'Matt. V, 28. l6 SERMONS OF A BUDDHIST ABBOT the lotus flower whose purity is not defiled by the mud. Old ones I will treat as my mother; elderly ones as elder sisters; younger ones as younger sisters; and little ones as daughters.' And in all this you should harbor no evil thoughts, but think of salvation." (30) The Buddha said: "Those who walk in the Way should avoid sensualism as those who carry hay would avoid coming near the fire." (31) The Buddha said: "There was once a man who, being in despair over his inability to control his passions, wished to mutilate himself.' The Buddha said to him: 'Better destroy your own evil thoughts than do harm to your own person. The mind is lord. When the lord him- self is calmed the servants will of themselves be yielding. If your mind is not cleansed of evil passions, what avails it to mutilate yourself?'" Thereupon, the Buddha recited the gatha, "Passions grow from the will, The will grows from thought and imagination : When both are calmed, There is neither sensualism nor transmigration." The Buddha said, this g^th^ was taught before by K^shyapabuddha. (32) The Buddha said: "From the passions arise worry, and from worry arises fear. Away with the passions, and no fear, no worry." (33) The Buddha said: "Those who follow 'Matt. V, 29 and 30, THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS 1 7 the Way are like unto warriors who fight single- handed with a multitude of foes. They may all go out of the fort in full armor; but among them are some who are faint-hearted, and some who go halfway and beat a retreat, and some who are killed in the affray, and some who come home victorious. O monks, if you desire to attain enlightenment, you should steadily walk in your Way, with a resolute heart, with courage, and should be fearless in whatever environment you may happen to be, and destroy every evil influ- ence that you may come across; for thus you shall reach the goal." (34) One night a monk was reciting a sutra bequeathed by K^shyapabuddha. His tone was so mournful, and his voice so fainting, as if he were going out of existence. The Buddha asked the monk, "What was your occupation before you became a homeless monk?" Said the monk, "I was very fond of playing the guitar." The Buddha said, "How did you find it when the strings were too loose?" Said the monk, "No sound is possible." "How when the strings were too tight?" "They crack." "How when they were neither too tight nor too loose?" "Every note sounds in its proper tone." The Buddha then said to the monk, "Religious disci- pline is also like unto playing the guitar. When the mind is properly adjusted and quietly applied, the Way is attainable; but when you are too fervently bent on it, your body grows tired ; and 1 8 SERMONS OF A BUDDHIST ABBOT when your body is tired, your spirit becomes weary; when your spirit is weary, your discipline will relax; and with the relaxation of discipline there follows many an evil. Therefore, be cahn and pure, and the Way will be gained." (35) The Buddha said: "When a man makes utensils out of a metal which has been thor- oughly cleansed of dross, the utensils will be excellent. You monks, who wish to follow the Way, make your own hearts clean from the dirt of evil passion, and your conduct will be unim- peachable." (36) The Buddha said: "Even if one escapes from the evil creations, it is one's rare fortune to be bom as a human being. Even if one be bom as human, it is' one's rare fortune to be bom as a man and not a woman.' Even if one be born a man, it is one's rare fortune to be perfect in all the six senses. Even if he be per- fect in all the six senses, it is his rare fortune to be bom in the middle kingdom. Even if he be bom in the middle kingdom, it is his rare fortune to be born in the time of a Buddha. Even if he be bom in the time of a Buddha, it is his rare fortune to .see the enlightened. Even if he be able to see the enlightened, it is his rare fortune to have his heart awakened in faith. Even if he have faith, it is his rare fortune to awaken the heart of intelligence. Even if he awakens the heart of intelligence, it is his rare fortune to »Cf. I Cor. xi, 3, 7, 8, 9, " THE SUTRA OF FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS 19 realize a spiritual state which is above discipline and attainment." (37) The Buddha said: "O children of Bud- dha! You are away from me ever so many- thousand miles, but if you remember and think of my precepts, you shall surely gain the fruit of enlightenment. You may, standing by my side, see me alway, but if you observe not my precepts, you shall never gain enlightenment." (38) The Buddha asked a monk, "How do you measure the length of a man's life?" The monk answered, "By days." The Buddha said, "You do not understand the Way." The Buddha asked another monk, "How do you measure the length of a man's life?" The monk answered, " By the time that passes during a meal." The Buddha said, "You do not under- stand the way." The Buddha asked a third monk, "How do you measure the length of a man's life?" The monk answered, "By the breath." The Buddha said, "Very well, you know the Way." (39) The Buddha said, "Those who study the doctrine of the Buddhas will do well to beUeve and observe all that is taught by them. It is like unto honey; it is sweet within, it is sweet without, it is sweet throughout; so is the Bud- dhas' teaching." (40) The Buddha said : " O monks, you must not walk on the Way as the ox that is attached to the wheel. His body moves, but his heart is 20 SERMONS OP A BUDDHIST ABBOT not willing. But when your hearts are in accord with the Way, there is no need of troubling yourselves about your outward demeanor." (41) The Buddha said: "Those who practise the Way might well follow the example of an ox that marches through the deep mire carrying a heavy load. He is tired, but his steady gaze, looking forward, will never relax until he come out of the mire, and it is only then that he takes a respite. O monks, remember that passions and sins are more than the filthy mire, and that you can escape misery only by earnestly and steadily thinking of the Way." (42) The Buddha said: "I consider the dig- nities of kings and lords as a particle of dust that floats in the sunbeam. I consider the treasure of precious metals and stones as bricks and pebbles. I consider the gaudy dress of silks and brocades as a worn-out rag. I consider this universe as small as the holila (?) fruit. I consider the lake of Anavatapta as a drop of oil with which one smears the feet. I consider the various methods of salvation taught by the Buddhas as a treasure created by the imagination. I consider the transcendental doctrine of Bud- dhism as precious metal or priceless fabric seen in a dream. I consider the teaching of Buddhas as a flower before my eyes. I consider the prac- tice of Dhy^na as a pillar supporting the Mount Stmieru. I consider Nirvana as awakening from a day dream or nightmare. I consider the strug- THE SUTRA OP FORTY-TWO CHAPTERS 21 gle between heterodox and orthodox as the antics of the six [mythical] dragons. I consider the doctrine of sameness as the absolute ground of reality. I consider all the religious works done for universal salvation as like the plants in the four seasons." SERMONS THE GOD-CONCEPTION OF BUDDHISM' AMONG the many critical opinions which are passed upon Buddhism by Christian or Western scholars, there are two which stand out most conspicuously and most persistently. One of them declares that Buddhism is a religion which denies the existence of the soul, and the other that it is atheistic or at best pantheistic, which latter term implies what is practically tantamount to the rejection of a God, that is, a personal God as believed in by the Christians. The object of this discourse is to see to what extent the second criticism is, if at all, justifiable. In other words, I propose here to elucidate the Buddhist conception of God. At the outset, let me state that Buddhism is not atheistic as the term is ordinarily under- stood. It has certainly a God, the highest reality and truth, through which and in which this universe exists. However, the followers of Buddhism usually avoid the term God, for it savors so much of Christianity, whose spirit is 'It may be interesting for our readers to read in connec- tion with this article Dr. Paul Carus's Buddhist story entitled Amitdbha. 25 26 SERMONS OF A BUDDHIST ABBOf not always exactly in accord with the Buddhist interpretation of religious experience. Again, Buddhism is not pantheistic in the sense that it identifies the universe with God. On the other hand, the Buddhist God is absolute and tran- scendent; this world, being merely its manifes- tation, is necessarily fragmental and imperfect. To define more exactly the Buddhist notion of the highest being, it may be convenient to bor- row the term very happily coined by" a modem German scholar, " panentheism, " according to which God is -n-av koL Iv (all and one) and more than the totality of existence. One of the most fundamental beliefs of Bud- dhism is that all the multitudinous and multi- farious phenomena in the universe start from, and have their being in, one reality which itself has "no fixed abode," being above spatial and temporal limitations. However different and separate and irreducible things may appear to the senses, the most profound law of the human mind declares that they are all one in their hidden nature. In this world of relativity, or ndndtva as Buddhists call it, subject and object, thought and nature, are separate and distinct, and as far as our sense-experience goes, there is an impassable chasm between the two which no amount of philosophizing can bridge. But the very constitution of the mind demands a unify- ing principle which is an indispensable hypothesis for our conception of phenomenality ; and this THE GOD-CONCEPTION OF BUDDHISM 27 hypothesis is called "the gate of sameness," samatd, in contradistinction to "the gate of difference," ndndtva; and Buddhism declares that no philosophy or religion is satisfactory which does not recognize these two gates. In some measure the "gate of sameness" may be considered to correspond to "God" and the "gate of difference" to the world of individual existence. Now, the question is, "How does Buddhism conceive the relation between these two entrances to the abode of Supreme Knowledge (sambodhi) ? " And the answer to this decides the Buddhist attitude towards pantheism, theism, atheism, and what not. To state it more comprehensively. Buddhism recognizes the coexistence and identity of the two principles, sameness and difference. Things are many and yet one; they are one and yet many. I am not thou, and thou art not I ; and yet we are all one in essence. When one slays another, there is an actor, an act, and a sufferer, all distinct and separate; and yet "If the red slayer think he slays, Or if the slain think he is slain, They know not well the subtle ways I keep, and pass, and turn again." Buddhism, therefore, says that while we have to acknowledge the world of particulars in which individuality predominates, we must not forget that looking through the gate of sameness all 28 SERMONS OF A BUDDHIST ABBOT distinctions and contradictions vanish in a higher principle of unity. A Japanese poet thus sings: "Rain and hail and ice and snow, Neither like the other. So! When they melt, however, lo, See one stream of water flow! " Intellectually, the coexistence of the two mutually excluding thoughts is impossible, for the proposition, "Mine are not thine," cannot be made at the same time the proposition, "Mine are thine." But here Buddhism is speak- ing of our inmost religious experience, which deals directly with facts and not with their more or less distorted intellectual reflections. It is, therefore, really idle to say that Buddhism is pantheistic or atheistic or nihilistic. Buddh ism is not a,^hilosophical system, t houg h it is the most rational and intellectual religion^in the world. What It proposes is to make_ clear facts of the deepest spiritual life and to formulate a doctrine which leads its followers to the path of inward experience. Thus, according to the proclamation of an enlightened mind, God or the principle of same- ness is not transcendent, but immanent in the universe, and we sentient beings are manifesting the divine glory just as much as the lilies of the field. A God who, keeping aloof from his crea- tions, sends down his words of command through specially favored personages, is rejected by Buddhists as against the constitution of human THE GOD-CONCEPTION OF BUDDHISM 29 reason. God must be in us, who are made in his Ukeness. We cannot presume the duality of God and the world. Religion is riot to go to God by forsaking the world, but to find him in it. Our faith " is to believe in our essential oneness with him, and not in our sensual separateness. "God in us and we in him," must be made the most fundamental faith of all religion. We must not, however, suppose that God is no more than the sum-total of individual exist- ences. God exists even when all creations have been destroyed and reduced to a state of chaotic barrenness. God exists eternally, and he will create another universe out of the ruins of this one. To our limited intelligence there may be a beginning and an end of the worlds, but as God surveys them, being and becoming are one selfsame process. To him nothing changes, or, to state it rather paradoxically, he sees no change whatever in all the changes we have around us; all things are absolutely quiet in their eternal cycle of birth and death, growth and decay, combination and disintegration. This universe cannot exist outside of God, but God is more than the totality of individual existences; God is here as well as there, God is not only this but also that. As far as he is manifested in nature and mind, they glorify him, and we can have a gUmpse of his image and feel, however imperfectly, his inner Hfe. But it will be a grievous error. 30 SERMONS OF A BUDDHIST ABBOT let US repeat, to think that he has exhausted his being in the manifestation of this universe, that he is absolutely identical with his creations, and that with the annihilation of the world he vanishes into eternal emptiness. There is a favorite saying in Buddhism which declares that "sameness without difference is sameness wrongly conceived, while difference without sameness is difference wrongly con- ceived"; to express this in Christian terms, "God not in the world is a false God, and the world not in God is unreality." All things return to one, and one operates in all things ; many in one and one in many; this is the Buddhist concep- tion of God and the world. Billows and waves and ripples, all Surging, "swelling, and ebbing, and yet are they not so many 'different motions of the eternally selfsame body bF~water? The moon is serenely shining up in the sky, and she is alone in all the heavens and on the entire earth; but when she mirrors herself in the bril- liant whiteness of the evening dews which appear like glittering pearls broadcast upon the earth from the hand of a fairy, — how wondrously numerous her images! And is not every one of them complete in its own fashion? This is the way in which an enlightened mind contemplates God and the world. God is immanent in the world and not outside of it; therefore, when we comprehend the secret of the "little flower in the crannied wall," we THE GOD-CONCEPTION OF BUDDHISM 3J -know the reason of this universe. Reason is the inner Ufe of all beings, it is the subjectivity of existence, it is the quickening spirit of all creation, it is a realization in our finite minds of infinite divinity. When we know ourselyes,_jwe know heaven and earth~""we Eiow God, we_know every- thing and aiiything. We know his presence even in the most insignificant flower in the field which is trampled under foot by men and beasts carelessly and pitilessly, to say nothing about the starry heavens with their grandeur which is replete with suggestions, or about the huge mass of inert matter on which mountains rise, oceans roar, and sentient beings walk. When we come to realize this mysterious presence of the highest reason in all things, we are struck with the fact and there arise mingled feelings of awe, admira- tion, and helplessness, which latter is strangely tinged with a sense of self -exaltation. We are awe-stricken because it is beyond our human intelligence to grasp thoroughly the scheme of God. We admire it because of the wonderful beauty and harmony which are traceable in every step of his, though our imperfect minds are some- times set against almost insurmountable difficul- ties in the reconciliation of contraries and oppo- sites. We feel helpless because our fragmentary consciousness is unable to review the entire range of divine operation and thus to know the why of all these things, though the recognition of divinity in us Ufts us above the wearisome con- 32 SERMONS OF A BUDDHIST ABBOT demnation piled upon humanity by some moral- ists and religionists. * * * Having thus expounded the Buddhist concep- tion of God and his relation to us, I wish to pro- ceed to explain some terms which are generally used by Buddhists to designate the highest being in its various modes and phases. As I mentioned before, Buddhists do not make use of the term God, which characteristically belongs to Christian terminology. An equivalent most commonly used is DharmaMya, which word has been explained in one of the sermons herein collected, and it will not be necessary to enter again upon the discussion of its signification. Let us only see what other equivalents have been adopted. When the DharmaMya is most concretely conceived it becomes the Buddha, or Tathagata, or Vairochana, or Amitabha. Buddha means "the enlightened," and this may be understood to correspond to "God is wisdom." Vairochana is "coming from the sun," and Amitabha, "infinite light," which reminds us of the Chris- tian notion, "God is light." As to the correct meaning of Tathagata, Buddhists do not give any definite and satisfactory explanation, and it is usually considered to be the combination of toiM="thus" and gato="gone," but it is diffi- cult to find out how "Thus Gone" came to be an appellation of the supreme being. There are THE GOD-CONCEPTION OF BUDDHISM 33 some scholars, however, who understand gata in the sense of "being in" or "situated in." If this be correct, Tath^gata meaning "being thus," or "being such," can be interpreted in the same sense as Tath^t^ or Bh-dtatath^t^ or Tattva as explained below. But in this case Tathagata will lose its personification and become a meta- physical term like the others, though it has been so persistently used by Buddhists in connection with the historical Buddha that it always awakens in their minds something more concrete and personal than a mere ontological abstraction. Buddhism is the most speculative of all the existing religions in the world and abounds with many highly abstract terms which may sound empty to ordinary minds. Among them we have such words as Tath^t^ (or Tath^tva), Tattva, BhiitatathS,ta, Bhiitakoti, Q