Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch Volume III Part 39

The three states were Koguryu in the north, Pakche in the south-west and Silla in the south-east[896]. Buddhism, together with Chinese writing, entered Koguryu from the north in 372 and Pakche from the south a few years later. Silla being more distant and at war with the other states did not receive it till about 424. In 552 both j.a.pan and Pakche were at war with Silla and the king of Pakche, wishing to make an alliance with the Emperor of j.a.pan sent him presents which included Buddhist books and images. Thus Korea was the intermediary for introducing Buddhism, writing, and Chinese culture into j.a.pan, and Korean monks played an important part there both in art and religion.

But the influence of Korea must not be exaggerated. The j.a.panese submitted to it believing that they were acquiring the culture of China and as soon as circ.u.mstances permitted they went straight to the fountain head. The princ.i.p.al early sects were all imported direct from China.

The kingdom of Silla, which became predominant in the seventh century, had adopted Buddhism in 528, and maintained friendly intercourse with the T'ang dynasty. As in j.a.pan Chinese civilization was imitated wholesale. This tendency strengthened Buddhism at the time, but its formidable rival Confucianism was also introduced early in the eighth century, although it did not become predominant until the thirteenth[897].

In the seventh century the capital of Silla was a centre of Buddhist culture and also of trade. Merchants from India, Tibet and Persia are said to have frequented its markets and several Korean pilgrims visited India.

In 918 the w.a.n.g dynasty, originating in a northern family of humble extraction, overthrew the kingdom of Silla and with it the old Korean aristocracy. This was replaced by an official n.o.bility modelled on that of China: the Chinese system of examinations was adopted and a cla.s.s of scholars grew up. But with this attempt to reconstruct society many abuses appeared. The number of slaves greatly increased[898], and there were many hereditary low castes, the members of which were little better than slaves. Only the higher castes could compete in examinations or hold office and there were continual struggles and quarrels between the military and civil cla.s.ses. Buddhism flourished much as it flourished in the Hei-an period of j.a.pan, but its comparative sterility reflected the inferior social conditions of Korea. Festivals were celebrated by the Court with great splendour: magnificent monasteries were founded: the bonzes kept troops and entered the capital armed: the tutor of the heir apparent and the chancellor of the kingdom were often ecclesiastics, and a law is said to have been enacted to the effect that if a man had three sons one of them must become a monk. But about 1250 the influence of the Sung Confucianists began to be felt. The bonzes were held responsible for the evils of the time, for the continual feuds, exactions and ma.s.sacres, and the civil n.o.bility tended to become Confucianist and to side against the church and the military. The inevitable outburst was delayed but also rendered more disastrous when it came by the action of the Mongols who, as in China, were patrons of Buddhism. The Yan dynasty invaded Korea, placed regents in the princ.i.p.al towns and forced the Korean princes to marry Mongol wives.

It was from Korea that Khubilai despatched his expeditions against j.a.pan, and in revenge the j.a.panese harried the Korean coast throughout the fourteenth century. But so long as the Yan dynasty lasted the Korean Court which had become Mongol remained faithful to it and to Buddhism; when it was ousted by the Ming, a similar movement soon followed in Korea. The Mongolized dynasty of Korye was deposed and another, which professed to trace its lineage back to Silla, mounted the throne and gave the country the name of Chosen.

This revolution was mainly the work of the Confucianist party in the n.o.bility and it was not unnatural that patriots and reformers should see in Buddhism nothing but the religion of the corrupt old regime of the Mongols. During the next century and a half a series of restrictive measures, sometimes amounting to persecution, were applied to it. Two kings who dared to build monasteries and favour bonzes were deposed. Statues were melted down, Buddhist learning was forbidden: marriages and burials were performed according to the rules of Chu-hsi. About the beginning of the sixteenth century (the date is variously given as 1472 and 1512 and perhaps there was more than one edict) the monasteries in the capital and all cities were closed and this is why Korean monasteries are all in the country and often in almost inaccessible mountains. It is only since the j.a.panese occupation that temples have been built in towns.

At first the results of the revolution were beneficial. The great families were compelled to discharge their body-guards whose collisions had been a frequent cause of bloodshed. The public finances and military forces were put into order. Printing with moveable type and a phonetic alphabet were brought into use and vernacular literature began to flourish. But in time the Confucian literati formed a sort of corporation and became as troublesome as the bonzes had been. The aristocracy split into two hostile camps and Korean politics became again a confused struggle between families and districts in which progress and even public order became impossible.

For a moment, however, there was a national cause. This was when Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592 as part of his attack on China. The people rose against the j.a.panese troops and, thanks to the death of Hideyoshi rather than to their own valour, got rid of them. It is said that in this struggle the bonzes took part as soldiers fighting under their abbots and that the treaty of peace was negotiated by a Korean and a j.a.panese monk[899].

Nevertheless it does not appear that Buddhism enjoyed much consideration in the next three centuries. The Hermit Kingdom, as it has been called, became completely isolated and stagnant nor was there any literary or intellectual life except the mechanical study of the Chinese cla.s.sics. Since the annexation by j.a.pan (1910) conditions have changed and Buddhism is encouraged. Much good work has been done in collecting and reprinting old books, preserving monuments and copying inscriptions. The monasteries were formerly under the control of thirty head establishments or sees, with somewhat conflicting interests. But about 1912 these thirty sees formed a union under a president who resides in Seoul and holds office for a year. A theological seminary also has been founded and a Buddhist magazine is published.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 895: See various articles in the _Trans. of the Korean Branch of the R.A.S._, and F. Starr, _Korean Buddhism_. Also M.

Courant, _Bibliographie corenne_, especially vol. III. chap. 2.]

[Footnote 896: The orthography of these three names varies considerably. The j.a.panese equivalents are Koma, Kudara and Shiragi.

There are also slight variations in the dates given for the introduction of Buddhism into various states. It seems probable that Mrnanda and Mukocha, the first missionaries to Pakche and Silla were Hindus or natives of Central Asia who came from China and some of the early art of Silla is distinctly Indian in style. See Starr, _l.c._ plates VIII and IX.]

[Footnote 897: These dates are interesting, as reflecting the changes of thought in China. In the sixth century Chinese influence meant Buddhism. It is not until the latter part of the Southern Sung, when the philosophy of Chu-hsi had received official approval, that Chinese influence meant Confucianism.]

[Footnote 898: The reasons were many, but the upper cla.s.ses were evidently ready to oppress the lower. Poor men became the slaves of the rich to obtain a livelihood. All children of slave women were declared hereditary slaves and so were the families of criminals.]

[Footnote 899: These statements are taken from Maurice Courant's Epitome of Korean History in Madrolle's _Guide to North China_, p.

428. I have not been successful in verifying them in Chinese or j.a.panese texts. See, however, Starr, _Korean Buddhism_, pp. 29-30.]

CHAPTER XLVIII

ANNAM

The modern territory called Annam includes the ancient Champa, and it falls within the French political sphere which includes Camboja. Of Champa I have treated elsewhere in connection with Camboja, but Annam cannot be regarded as the heir of this ancient culture. It represents a southward extension of Chinese influence, though it is possible that Buddhism may have entered it in the early centuries of our era either by sea or from Burma.

At the present day that part of the French possessions which occupies the eastern coast of Asia is divided into Tonkin, Annam and Cochin China. The Annamites are predominant in all three provinces and the language and religion of all are the same, except that Cochin China has felt the influence of Europe more strongly than the others. But before the sixteenth century the name Annam meant rather Tonkin and the northern portion of modern Annam, the southern portion being the now vanished kingdom of Champa.

Until the tenth century A.D.[900] Annam in this sense was a part of the Chinese Empire, although it was occasionally successful in a.s.serting its temporary independence. In the troubled period which followed the downfall of the T'ang dynasty this independence became more permanent. An Annamite prince founded a kingdom called Dai-c-vit[901] and after a turbulent interval there arose the Li dynasty which reigned for more than two centuries (1009-1226 A.D.). It was under this dynasty that the country was first styled An-nam: previously the official designation of the land or its inhabitants was Giao-Chi[902]. The Annamites were at this period a considerable military power, though their internal administration appears to have been chaotic. They were occasionally at war with China, but as a rule were ready to send complimentary emba.s.sies to the Emperor. With Champa, which was still a formidable antagonist, there was a continual struggle. Under the Tran dynasty (1225-1400) the foreign policy of Annam followed much the same lines. A serious crisis was created by the expedition of Khubilai Khan in 1285, but though the Annamites suffered severely at the beginning of the invasion, they did not lose their independence and their recognition of Chinese suzerainty remained nominal. In the south the Chams continued hostilities and, after the loss of some territory, invoked the aid of China with the result that the Chinese occupied Annam. They held it, however, only for five years (1414-1418).

In 1428 the Li dynasty came to the throne and ruled Annam at least in name until the end of the eighteenth century. At first they proved vigorous and capable; they organized the kingdom in provinces and crushed the power of Champa. But after the fifteenth century the kings became merely t.i.tular sovereigns and Annamite history is occupied entirely with the rivalry of the two great families, Trinh and Nguyen, who founded practically independent kingdoms in Tonkin and Cochin-China respectively. In 1802 a member of the Nguyen family made himself Emperor of all Annam but both he and his successors were careful to profess themselves va.s.sals of China.

Thus it will be seen that Annam was at no time really detached from China. In spite of political independence it always looked towards the Chinese Court and though complimentary missions and nominal va.s.salage seem unimportant, yet they are significant as indicating admiration for Chinese inst.i.tutions. Between Champa and Annam on the other hand there was perpetual war: in the later phases of the contest the Annamites appear as invaders and destroyers. They seem to have disliked the Chams and were not disposed to imitate them. Hence it is natural that Champa, so long as it existed as an independent kingdom, should mark the limit of _direct_ Indian influence on the mainland of Eastern Asia, though afterwards Camboja became the limit. By direct, I do not mean to exclude the possibility of transmission through Java or elsewhere, but by whatever route Indian civilization came to Champa, it brought its own art, alphabet and language, such inst.i.tutions as caste and forms of Hinduism and Buddhism which had borrowed practically nothing from non-Indian sources. In Annam, on the other hand, Chinese writing and, for literary purposes, a form of the Chinese language were in use: the arts, customs and inst.i.tutions were mainly Chinese: whatever Buddhism can be found was imported from China and is imperfectly distinguished from Taoism: of Hinduism there are hardly any traces[903].

The Buddhism of Annam is often described as corrupt and decadent.

Certainly it would be vain to claim for it that its doctrine and worship are even moderately pure or primitive, but it cannot be said to be moribund. The temples are better kept and more numerously attended than in China and there are also some considerable monasteries. As in China very few except the monks are exclusive Buddhists and even the monks have no notion that the doctrines of Lao-tzu and Confucius are different from Buddhism. The religion of the ordinary layman is a selection made according to taste from a ma.s.s of beliefs and observances traceable to several distinct sources, though no Annamite is conscious that there is anything incongruous in this heterogeneous combination. This fusion of religions, which is more complete even than in China, is ill.u.s.trated by the temples of Annam which are of various kinds[904]. First we have the Chua or Buddhist temples, always served by bonzes or nuns. They consist of several buildings of which the princ.i.p.al contains an altar bearing a series of images arranged on five or six steps, which rise like the tiers of a theatre. In the front row there is usually an image of the infant Skyamuni and near him stand figures of At-nan (Ananda) and Muc-Lien (Maudgalyyana). On the next stage are Taoist deities (the Jade Emperor, the Polar Star, and the Southern Star) and on the higher stages are images representing (_a_) three Buddhas[905] with attendants, (_b_) the Buddhist Triratna and (_c_) the three religions, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. But the arrangement of the images is subject to much variation and the laity hardly know who are the personages represented. At side altars there are generally statues of Quan-Am, guardian deities, eminent bonzes and other worthies. Representations of h.e.l.l are also common. Part of the temple is generally set apart for women who frequent it in the hope of obtaining children by praying to Quan-Am and other G.o.ddesses. Buddhist literature is sometimes printed in these Chua and such works as the Amityurdhynastra and collections of Dhran?s are commonly placed on the altars.

Quan-Am (Kuan-Yin) is a popular deity and the name seems to be given to several G.o.ddesses. They would probably be described as incarnations of Avalokita, if any Annamite were to define his beliefs (which is not usual), but they are really legendary heroines who have left a reputation for superhuman virtue. One was a daughter of the Emperor Chuang of the Chou dynasty. Another (Quan-Am-Thi-Kinh), represented as sitting on a rock and carrying a child in her arms, was a much persecuted lady who pa.s.sed part of her life disguised as a bonze. A third form, Quan-Am-Toa-Son, she who dwells on the mountains, has an altar in nearly every temple and is specially worshipped by women who wish for sons. At Hanoi there is a small temple, rising on one column out of the water near the sh.o.r.e of a lake, like a lotus in a tank, and containing a bra.s.s image of Quan-Am with eight arms, which is evidently of Indian origin. Sometimes popular heroines such as Cao Tien, a princess who was drowned, are worshipped without (it would seem) being identified with Quan-Am.

But besides the Chua there are at least three other kinds of religious edifices: (i) Dinh. These are munic.i.p.al temples dedicated to beings commonly called genii by Europeans, that is to say, superhuman personages, often, but not always, departed local worthies, who for one reason or another are supposed to protect and supervise a particular town or village. The Dinh contains a council room as well as a shrine and is served by laymen. The genius is often represented by an empty chair and his name must not be p.r.o.nounced within the temple. (ii) Taoist deities are sometimes worshipped in special temples, but the Annamites do not seem to think that such worship is antagonistic to Buddhism or even distinct from it. (iii) Temples dedicated to Confucius (Van mien) are to be found in the towns, but are generally open only on certain feast days, when they are visited by officials. Sometimes altars dedicated to the sage may be found in natural grottoes or other picturesque situations. Besides these numerous elements, Annamite religion also includes the veneration of ancestors and ceremonies such as the worship of Heaven and Earth performed in imitation of the Court of Peking. To this must be added many local superst.i.tions in which the worship of animals, especially the tiger, is prominent. But a further a.n.a.lysis of this composite religion does not fall within my province.

There is little to be said about the history of Buddhism in Annam, but native tradition places its introduction as late as the tenth century[906]. Buddhist temples usually contain a statue of Phat To[907] who is reported to have been the first adherent of the faith and to have built the first paG.o.da. He was the tutor of the Emperor Li-Thai-To who came to the throne in 1009. Phat-To may therefore have been active in the middle of the tenth century and this agrees with the statement that the Emperor Dinh Tien-Hoang D (968-979) was a fervent Buddhist who built temples and did his best to make converts[908]. One Emperor, Li Hu-Ton, abdicated and retired to a monastery.

The Annals of Annam[909] record a discussion which took place before the Emperor Thai-Tn (1433-1442) between a Buddhist and a sorcerer.

Both held singularly mixed beliefs but recognized the Buddha as a deity. The king said that he could not decide between the two sects, but gave precedence to the Buddhists.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 900: The dates given are 111 B.C.-939 A.D.]

[Footnote 901: French scholars use a great number of accents and even new forms of letters to transcribe Annamite, but since this language has nothing to do with the history of Buddhism or Hinduism and the accurate orthography is very difficult to read, I have contented myself with a rough transcription.]

[Footnote 902: This is the common orthography, but Chiao Chih would be the spelling according to the system of transliterating Chinese adopted in this book.]

[Footnote 903: It is said that the story of the Rmyana is found in Annamite legends (_B.E.F.E.O._ 1905, p. 77), and in one or two places the Annamites reverence statues of Indian deities.]

[Footnote 904: The most trustworthy account of Annamite religion is perhaps Dumoutier, _Les Cultes Annamites_, Hanoi, 1907. It was published after the author's death and consists of a series of notes rather than a general description. See also Diguet, _Les Annamites_, 1906, especially chap. VI.]

[Footnote 905: Maitreya is called Ri-lac = Chinese Mi-le. The equivalence of the syllables _ri_ and _mi_ seems strange, but certain.

Cf. A-ri-da = Amida or O-mi-to.]

[Footnote 906: Pelliot (Meou-Tseu, traduit et annot, in _T'oung Pao_, vol. XIX. p. 1920) gives reasons for thinking that Buddhism was prevalent in Tonkin in the early centuries of our era, but, if so, it appears to have decayed and been reintroduced. Also at this time Chiao-Chih may have meant Kuang-tung.]

[Footnote 907: Diguet, _Les Annamites_, p. 303.]

[Footnote 908: Maybon et Russier, _L'Histoire d'Annam_, p. 45.]

[Footnote 909: Dumoutier, _Les Cultes Annamites_, p. 58.]

CHAPTER XLIX

TIBET

INTRODUCTORY

The religion of Tibet and Mongolia, often called Lamaism, is probably the most singular form of Buddhism in existence and has long attracted attention in Europe on account of its connection with politics and its curious resemblance to the Roman Church in ritual as well as in statecraft. The pontiffs and curia of Lhasa emulated the authority of the medieval papacy, so that the Mings and Manchus in China as well as the British in India had to recognize them as a considerable power.

Tibet had early relations with Kashmir, Central Asia and China which may all have contributed something to its peculiar civilization, but its religion is in the main tantric Buddhism imported from Bengal and invigorated from time to time by both native and Indian reformers. But though almost every feature of Lamaism finds a parallel somewhere in India, yet too great insistence on its source and historical development hardly does justice to the originality of the Tibetans.

They borrowed a foreign faith wholesale, but still the relative emphasis which they laid on its different aspects was something new.

They had only a moderate apt.i.tude for asceticism, meditation and metaphysics, although they manfully translated huge tomes of Sanskrit philosophy, but they had a genius for hierarchy, discipline and ecclesiastical polity unknown to the Hindus. Thus taking the common Asiatic idea that great and holy men are somehow divine, they made it the principle of civil and sacerdotal government by declaring the prelates of the church to be deities incarnate. Yet in strange contrast to these practical talents, a certain innate devilry made them exaggerate all the magical, terrifying and demoniac elements to be found in Indian Tantrism.