Contents

INTRODUCTION.

PAGE

Buddhism deserves examination—Researches of Remusat, Burnouf, Koeppen, and St. Hilaire—Sanscrit manuscripts from Nepaul—Buddhist books reveal to view the ancient Hindoo world—The opening scene of the Kin-kang-king,

1-9

________________

A LIFE OF BUDDHA,

IN FOUR CHAPTERS.

CHAPTER I.

LIFE OF SHAKYAMUNI TILL HIS APPEARANCE AT BENARES AS A TEACHER.

Previous lives—Chronology—The seventh Buddha—Birth—Early life—Becomes a hermit—Becomes Buddha—Legendary stories of his early preaching—Hwa-yen-king—Extramundane teaching—Appearance at Benares,

11-26

CHAPTER II.

LIFE OF BUDDHA FROM HIS APPEARANCE AS A TEACHER AT BENARES TO THE CONVERSION OF RAHULA.

The four truths—Godinia and his four companions—The first monastic community—The first lay brother—Conversion of five hundred fire-worshippers in the kingdom of Magadha—Buddha at Rajagriha—At Shravasti, Shravasti in Jeta's garden—Appoints punishments garden—Appoints punishments for crimes of monks—Goes to see his father after twelve years’ absence—Story of his son Rahula,

27-33

p. xxvi

CHAPTER III.

FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF RAHULA'S RELIGIOUS LIFE TILL THE NEAR APPROACH OF THE NIRVÂNA.

PAGE

Buddha sends for Rahula—Arrangements for instructing Rahula and other boys—Tutors—Boys admitted to the vows—Nuns—Rapid spread of monasticism—Disciplinary rules—Education in metaphysics—Ananda and the Leng-yen-king—Buddha in these works like Socrates in Plato—Buddha said to have gone to Ceylon—Also to the paradise of desire—Offer of Devas to protect Buddhism—Protectors of China—Relation of Buddhism to Hindoo polytheism—Prajna-paramita—King Prasenajit—Sutra of the Benevolent King—Daily liturgy—Ananda becomes Buddha's attendant disciple—Intrusted with the Sutras in twelve divisions—Buddha teaches his esoteric system—Virtually contained in the "Lotus Sutra"—In this the sun of Buddha culminated—His father's approaching death announced—Buddha reaches the forty-ninth year of his public preaching,

34-45

CHAPTER IV.

LAST DISCOURSES AND DEATH OF BUDDHA.

Buddha's immortality in his teaching—Death real and final—Object of Nirvâna teaching—Buddha visits the Tau-li heaven—Descends again by Indra's staircase—The first images—Death of Buddha's aunt—Death of Shariputra—Buddha at Kushinagara—Between the Sala trees—Last instructions—Kashiapa made patriarch—Flesh prohibited—Relieves the king of Magadha—Sends for Ananda—Answers to four questions—Brahma comes—Buddha's last words—Death—Gold coffin—Maya comes—Cremation—His relics—Pagodas,

46-59

CHAPTER V.

THE PATRIARCHS OF THE NORTHERN BUDDHISTS.

Features of Asiatic life in the time of the patriarchs—Character, powers, and intellectual qualities of the patriarchs—Series of thirty-three patriarchs—Appointment of Kashiapa by Shakyamuni—The Svastika—Council of Rajagriha, for writing out the books of Buddha, and settling what should be received as canonical—The part taken by Ananda in the authorship of the Buddhist books—Ananda, second patriarch—The third was Shangnavasu—Remarks on samadhi and reverie—Fourth, Upagupta—Conversion of a wicked woman when dying—Fifth, sixth, and seventh patriarchs—Buddha's prophecy regarding Buddhanandi, the seventh—Struggle between filial love and Buddhist conviction in Buddhamitra—

p. xxvii

PAGE

[paragraph continues] The way in which he subdued an unbelieving king—Maming given to the king of the Getæ to induce him to raise the siege of Pataliputra—Kapimara, the thirteenth—Nagarjuna, the fourteenth—Converts ten thousand Brahmans—Writes the Ta-chï-tu-lun—Vigorous defence of Buddhism by Kanadeva—Assassination of Kanadeva—Sanghanandi, precocious as a boy—Prophecy respecting him—Rahulata ascends to heaven—Sangkayasheta's discussion on the nature of sound—Converts five hundred hermits—Kumarada's views on the inequality of present retribution—Difficulties met with by Manura in teaching Buddhism in Southern and Western India—A patriarch's power over birds—Haklena converts Singhalaputra, who succeeded him as patriarch (the twenty-fourth), but was killed by the king of Candahar—The orthodox school has only twenty-four patriarchs—The contemplative school has twenty-eight—Pradjnyatara, the twenty-seventh, converts Bodhidharma, the twenty-eighth, who proceeds to China—Hindoo knowledge of the Roman empire,

60-86

CHAPTER VI.

SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN CHINA.

The emperor Ming-ti sends an embassy to India for images, A.D. 61—Kashiapmadanga arrives in China—Spread of Buddhism, A.D. 335—Buddojanga—A pagoda at Nanking, A.D. 381—The translator Kumarajiva, A.D. 405—The Chinese traveller, Fa-hien, visits India—His book—Persecution, A.D. 426—Buddhism prosperous, 455—Indian embassies to China in the Sung dynasty—Opposition of the Confucianists to Buddhism—Discussions on doctrine—Buddhist prosperity in the Northern Wei kingdom and the Liang kingdom—Bodhidharma—Sun-yün sent to India—Bodhidharma leaves Liang Wu-ti and goes to Northern China—His latter years and death—Embassies from Buddhist countries in the south—Relics—The Liang emperor Wu-ti becomes a monk—Embassies from India and Ceylon—Influence of Sanscrit writing in giving the Chinese the knowledge of an alphabet—Syllabic spelling—Confucian opposition to Buddhism in the T‘ang dynasty—The five successors of Bodhidharma—Hiuen-tsang's travels in India—Work as a translator—Persecution, A.D. 714—Hindoo calendar in China—Amogha introduces the festival for hungry ghosts—Opposition of Han Yü to Buddhism—Persecution of 845—Teaching of Ma-tsu—Triumph of the Mahayana—Bodhiruchi—Persecution by the Cheu dynasty—Extensive erection of pagodas in the Sung dynasty—Encouragement of Sanscrit studies—Places of pilgrimage—P‘u-to—Regulations for receiving the vows—Hindoo Buddhists in China in the Sung dynasty—The Mongol dynasty favoured Buddhism—The last Chinese Buddhist who visited India—The Ming dynasty limits the right of accumulating land—Roman Catholic controversy with Buddhists—Kano hi of the Manchu dynasty opposes Buddhism—The literati still condemn Buddhism

57-154

p. xxviii

CHAPTER VII.

THE SCHOOLS OF CHINESE BUDDHISM.

PAGE

The growth of esoteric sects in India—The Jains—Their series of twenty-four patriarchs—Bodhidharma headed a new school in Southern India, and was heretical as viewed from the Jams standpoint—He founded the contemplative school in China—Nagarjuna, the author of the most revered hooks of this school—Tsung-men—Kiau-men—Divisions of Tsung-men—The Tsung-men sects are heretical in the view of the old orthodoxy-Specimen of the teaching of the Tsung-men—Lin-tsi school—Professes strict discipline—Its founder died A.D. 868—His monument on the bank of the Hu-to river in Chi-li—Resemblance to European speculation on the absolute—Is Buddhism pantheistic?—Exoteric sects—Lü-men (Vinaya)—Yogachara—Fa-siang—Madhyamika—Fa-sing—Tsing-tu, or sect of the "Pure land" or "Western heaven"—T‘ien-t‘ai—Poetry of the Tsing-tu school,

155-174

CHAPTER VIII

ON CHI-K‘AI AND THE T‘IEN-T‘AI SCHOOL OF BUDDHISM.

T‘ien-t‘ai, a place of great note in Chinese Buddhism —Chï-k‘ai resided there in the sixth century—His cloak and rice bowl—Fu-lung feng—Fang-kwang sï and the rock bridge—Legend of the Lo-hans—Twelve monasteries founded—He taught the Fa-hwa-king—System of threefold contemplation—Six connectives—Eight modes of characterising Buddhism—Ten steps in progress—Derived much from Nagarjuna—T‘ien-t‘ai, a middle system-Regulations,

175-187

CHAPTER IX.

THE BUDDHIST MORAL SYSTEM.

The Ten virtues and Ten vices—The cause of human stupidity is in the passions—The Five prohibitions—The Ten prohibitions—Klaproth's praise of Buddhism—But it is atheistic, and therefore this praise should be qualified—Kindness to animals based on the fiction of transmigration —Buddhism teaches compassion for suffering without inculcating obedience to Divine law—Story of Shakyamuni—Sin not distinguished from misery—Buddhists teach that the moral sense is innate—They assign a moral nature to animals—The Six paths of the metempsychosis—Hindoo notions of heaven and hell—Countless ages of joy and suffering—Examples—Exemption from punishment gained by meritorious actions—Ten kings of future judgment—Fate or Karma— Buddhism depreciates

p. xxix

PAGE

heaven and the gods—Buddha not God, but a Saviour—Moral influence of the Paradise of the Western heaven—Figurative interpretation of this legend—The contemplative school identifies good and evil—No moral distinctions in the Nirvâna—Buddhism has failed to produce high morality—The Confucianist condemnation of the Buddhists—Mr. P. Hordern's praise of Buddhism in Birmah —The Birmese intellectually inferior to the Chinese—Kindness to animals known to the Chinese before they received Buddhism—Buddha's reasons for not eating flesh,

188-204

CHAPTER X.

THE BUDDHIST CALENDAR.

National festivals— Festivals in honour of celestial beings—In honour of the Buddhas and Bodhisattwas—In honour of characters in Chinese Buddhist history—Supplemental anniversaries—Singhalese Buddhists keep a different day for Buddha's birthday—In the T‘ang dynasty Hindoo astronomers reformed the calendar —Gaudamsiddha—The week of India and Babylon known to the Chinese—Word mit for Sunday—Peacock Sutra—The Hindoo Rahu and Ketu,

205-212

CHAPTER XI.

RELATION OF BUDDHISM TO THE OLDER HINDOO MYTHOLOGY.

Buddhism accepted the Hindoo mythology, with the sacred books of the Brahmans, so far as it agreed with its own dogmas—The gods Indra, Brahma, and Ishwara listen as disciples to Buddha—Eight classes of Devas—Four kings of Devas—Yakshas—Mahoragas—Pretas—Maras—Mama, king of the dead—Creation is denied to the Hindoo gods in the Chung-lun and other works,

213-220

CHAPTER XII.

THE BUDDHIST UNIVERSE.

The universe passes through incessant changes—Kalpas of various lengths—Kalpas of establishment, of destruction, &c.—Saha world—Sumeru mountain—The Southern continent is Jambudvipa—Heaven of the thirty-three—Tushita paradise—Upper tier of paradises—Heavens of form and of desire—Heavens without form—Brahma's paradise—No wise man is born there, because Brahma says he created the universe—The bells—Story from the "Ti-tsang Sutra,"

221-227

p. xxx

CHAPTER XIII.

THE EXTENDED UNIVERSE OF THE NORTHERN BUDDHISTS.

PAGE

Primitive Buddhism aimed at moral improvement and the Nirvâna—Its mythology was of popular growth—The Mahayana mythology was introduced by the metaphysicians of Buddhism itself—Nagarjuna the chief inventor—Hwa-yen-king—An extended universe invented to illustrate dogma—Ten worlds beyond the Saha world in ten different directions—New divinities to worship—Amitabha—His world in the West—Kwan-yin and Ta-shï-chï—The world of Ach‘obhya Buddha in the East—World of Yo-shï Fo, the healing teacher—Mercy, wisdom, &c., are symbolised in the Bodhisattwas—Wu-t‘ai shan in China is introduced in the Hwa-yen-king,

228-238

CHAPTER XIV.

BUDDHIST IMAGES AND IMAGE-WORSHIP.

Temples—Entering hall, Sï-to-t‘ien-wang—These four kings described—The laughing Buddha, Mi-li Fo—Behind him, Wei-to—Chief hall, Ta-hiung-pau-tien—Shakyamuni—Ananda—Kashiapa—Kwan-yin, Wen-shu, and other Bodhisattwas—Buddha represented as teaching—Buddha of the past, present, and future—Chapels to O-mi-to Fo, Ti-tsang, and the Ten kings—Representation of the eight miseries from which Kwan-yin delivers—Temples in Ceylon—Images in temples near Peking—Tan-cho sï snake—Pi-yün sï—Hall of Lo-hans—Diamond throne of Buddha—Colossal images of Maitreya—Musical instruments—Reflections,

239-258

CHAPTER XV.

MONASTERIES AT P‘U-TO.

This establishment more modern than T‘ien-t‘ai and Wu-t‘ai—Many Thibetan inscriptions—Frequent visits of Peking lamas—Dedicated to Kwan-yin—Gifts by Kang-hi—Images—Caves—Pagodas—Inscriptions—Resident defenders of Buddhism—The Potala of Jehol in Mongolia—It is also the name of the palace—Temple of the Dalai Lama—In China an island was preferred to be the tau-ch’ang of Kwan-yin,

259-267

CHAPTER XVI.

BUDDHIST PROCESSIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, PILGRIMAGES, AND CEREMONIES FOR THE DEAD.

Yü-lan-hwei, "Association for giving food to the dead"—Worship of ancestors—Liturgical services in the houses of the rich, for the liberation of the souls of the dead from hell—Village processions—

p. xxxi

PAGE

[paragraph continues] Based on the old rural processions of classical times—Masquerades—Plays—Pilgrimages to Miau-feng shah—Pilgrims wearing iron chains—Supposed efficacy of the prayers of the priests—Zeal of the laity in promoting pilgrimages to celebrated shrines,

268-272

CHAPTER XVII.

BUDDHIST LITERATURE.

Buddhist libraries presented to monasteries by emperors—Ch‘eng-tsu, of the Ming dynasty, was the first to print the entire series of the Buddhist accepted books—Prajna-paramita, eighty times as large as our New Testament—The Pei-tsang, or second printed edition, dates from the sixteenth century—The Kia-hing edition of the Pei-tsang—Division into King, Lü, Lun—First Council—Work of Ananda—The Mahayana of Northern Buddhism—Council of Cashmere—Authors of the Mahayana—Lung-shu wrote the Hwa-yen-king—Contrasts between the primitive and Mahayana books—List of translators, A.D. 70 to A.D. 705—Sixteen hundred works are classified, inclusive of those by Chinese authors—On the councils for settling the canon—Translations by Burnouf and others—Lotus—Book of Forty-two Sections—Character of this and other early works—Stories illustrative of ancient life—Fan-wang-king—Chan-tsï-king translated by Beal—Pratimoksha,

273-288

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE LENG-YEN-KING—FIRST CHAPTER.

The Sutra of firm establishment in all doctrine, describing clearly the secret merit and attainments in the religious life of Tathagata, who appears as Buddha in his great and unsurpassed stature; also the many acts of the Bodhisattwas

289-301

CHAPTER XIX.

THE EKASHLOKA SHASTRA.

The "Ekashloka Shastra," translated from the Chinese, with an analysis and notes,

302-317

CHAPTER XX.

EFFECT OF BUDDHISM ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE SUNG DYNASTY.

The Sung philosophers differ from Confucius—Five periods of Chinese intellectual development—The Sung writers changed the old cosmogony—The Han writers had already done so—Diagram of the Great Extreme—Other pictorial illustrations—Avoidance of the doctrine of a personal God—Materialistic philosophy of nature—New view of divination,

318-326

p. xxxii

CHAPTER XXI.

FENG-SHUI, OR THE WIND AND WATER SUPERSTITION OF THE CHINESE.

PAGE

An obstacle to civilisation—Meaning of Feng, "Wind"—Of Shui, "Water"—Use of cyclic characters—Meaning of Lung, "Dragon"—Names of the geomancers—Hindoo nomenclature—Sha-ch‘i, "Destructive vapour"—Dark arrow—Chen-wu, or "Protecting shield"—Feng-shui professedly based on the "Book of Changes"—Modern Feng-shui is based on the Han-lung-king—Buddhist element in Feng-shui—The four elements of the Greeks—The Hindoo "Air and water" is Feng-shui—Earth, water, fire, and air are creative forces, existing in successive kalpas, and forming successive worlds—Resemblance to the theories of the Ionian philosophers—Geomancy in the T‘ang dynasty—Rahu and Ketu—The Feng-shui system grew out of Buddhism—Native element in Feng-shui—Nine fancied stars—Causes of the contour of hills and plains—Stars of the six houses—Feng-shui inconsistent with genuine Confucianism,

327-352

CHAPTER XXII.

BUDDHIST PHRASEOLOGY IN RELATION TO CHRISTIAN TEACHING.

Use of Buddhist terms in the Nestorian inscription, A.D. 781—Mo, "demon;" in Sanscrit, mara—Ti-yü, "hell," is naraka—Ten judges of hell—Among them Pau Cheng, the famous judge of the Sung dynasty—The Sung philosophers encouraged the popular belief in future retribution—This prepares for Christianity—T‘ien-t‘ang, "heaven"—Defects of this term—Ming-kung, &c., as names for "heaven"—Buddhist paradises possibly borrowed from Western Asia or some other country farther west—Redemption—Ti-tsang and Kwan-yin—Pity—Instruction—Effect of sin—Decreed forgiveness to penitents—Secret merit—Happiness and merit confounded—Sin and misery confounded—Illustration from the narrative of a Christian convert,

353-370

CHAPTER XXIII.

NOTICE OF THE WU-WEI-KIAU, A REFORMED BUDDHIST SECT.

Originated two hundred and seventy years ago by a native of Shantung—No showy ceremonial—No images—Sacred books six in number—Interview of the founder with the emperor of the period, Cheng-te—Discussion with opponents—Victory—One of their leaders was crucified,

371-379

p. xxxiii

CHAPTER XXIV.

BUDDHISM AND TRUISM IN THEIR POPULAR ASPECTS.

PAGE

The popularity of Buddhism rests on its doctrine of retribution, and not on its ethics—Magical claims of the Tauists—Swan-yin, since the twelfth century, usually a female—Powers and claims of Swan-yin—Popular Buddhism loves to have prayers said for the dead—Hopes for paradise hereafter—Popular Tauism believes in haunted houses, in charms, and in the efficacy of the wizard in controlling demons—The present head of the Tauists and chief magician—Went from Western China to Kiang-si, where he has ever since resided as hereditary Pope—The Tauist divinity Yü-hwang shang-ti has incarnations assigned to him—Chang Sien the bowman, a physician—Tail-cutting delusion—Tauist prayers for the dead—The Buddhist Yen-lo-wang, "God of death"—The eight genii—The eighteen Lo-hans—The Tauist delusions dangerous politically—T‘ien-tsin massacre—Need of the light of education—The effect of the assault of Christianity on these religions,

380-397

CHAPTER XXV.

ON THE USE OF SANSCRIT BY THE CHINESE BUDDHISTS.

Changes in Chinese sounds since the time of the Buddhist transliteration of Indian words—Examples of Sanscrit words in old and new Chinese—The importance of translations made in A.D. 60 to A.D. 76 for reading the Four Books—The Hindoo translators did not speak pure Sanscrit—Sanscrit was the language of the books—No Pali books in China—The translators spoke Pracrit—The term po-li, "glass"—Use of Sanscrit words in magic—Dharani—Inscription in six languages at Kü-yung kwan,

398-407

CHAPTER XXVI.

BOOKS AND PAPERS THAT MAY BE CONSULTED FOR THE STUDY OF CHINESE BUDDHISM.

Foĕ kouĕ ki by Remusat—Works of Julien—Interesting passage from Fa-hien—Translations by Beal—Schott, Ueber den Buddhaismus in Hoch Asien und in China—Writings of Palladius—Eitel's Handbook for the Student of Chinese Buddhism—Watters’ account of Chinese Buddhism—Eitel's Three Lectures, and article on Nirvâna,

408-419

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF PROPER NAMES AND SUBJECTS,

422-443

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF TITLES OF BOOKS MENTIONED,

445-453