Religion in Japan Part 7

7 Thibet.

_ 8 Light of Asia_, i. 142, and vi. 688.

_ 9 Lectures on Buddhism_, pp. 62-3.

_ 10 Legends and Theories of the Buddhists_, p. 187.

11 Prof. Max Muller, however (_Hibbert Lectures_, 1878, p. 134 note), gives weighty reasons for regarding 477 B.C. as the year of Buddha's death.

12 "The Buddhists look upon the Bo-tree as most Christians have looked upon the Cross."-Rhys Davids' _Buddhism_, p. 37 note.

13 It is, no doubt, owing largely to the influence of Buddhism that the pa.s.sion of _anger_ is almost unknown in j.a.pan. In the same way, a j.a.panese, though the heart were well-nigh breaking, would consider it a most unworthy thing to let his grief betray itself.

14 Miss Isabella Bird (Mrs. Bishop), auth.o.r.ess of _Unbeaten Tracks in j.a.pan_, well describes the impression produced on the spectator by the Daibutsus, or colossal images of Buddha, so common in j.a.pan:-"He is not sleeping, he is not waking, he is not acting, he is not thinking, his consciousness is doubtful; he exists,-that is all; his work is done, a hazy beat.i.tude, a negation remain. This is the Nirvana in which the devout Buddhist may aspire to partic.i.p.ate."

The Daibutsu at Kamakura, of which an ill.u.s.tration is given opposite, is one of the largest in j.a.pan. It is fifty feet high, and, as a work of art, is without a rival. The boss protruding from the forehead is supposed to represent a jewel, and to symbolize Illumination.

_ 15 History of the Jewish Church_, Vol. iii, Lecture xlv.

16 This is scarcely less true of Christianity; and it _must_ be true, in some measure, of every religious system which attempts to minister to the needs of beings, so differently const.i.tuted, and so dissimilarly circ.u.mstanced, as are the members of the human race. As we proceed in this chapter to refer to the various schools of Buddhism and their characteristics, we can hardly fail to have suggested to us, more than once, those different aspects of Christianity, which have been the occasion of all our "schools of thought," and, alas, of how many of our divisions!

17 Those who would investigate the subject further are referred to Alabaster's _The Modern Buddhist_ (Trubner, 1870).

18 For it is men only who inhabit this Celestial Region: women, worthy of attaining to it, have changed their s.e.x.

_ 19 Jodo_ means the "Pure Land."

20 Avalokitesvara="The Lord who looks down from heaven." The female form taking the place of the male is, no doubt, due to the idea of the woman's being supposed to be the more compa.s.sionate nature; just as, too often in the Christian Church, the Blessed Mother has, for a like reason, been made to encroach upon the prerogatives of her Divine Son. Instances are recorded of the Chinese, when conversing with Europeans, giving the name of _Kwanyin_ to the statues of the Blessed Virgin in the Roman Churches. (Davis' _The Chinese_, chap, xiv.)

21 I have not thought it necessary in this little volume to introduce the subject of Confucianism. Even in China it is less a religion than a system of philosophy-political, social, moral. It may, however, be remarked that the writings of Confucius are highly esteemed in j.a.pan, and that, in the past at any rate, they have had a considerable influence in forming the thought and character of its people. The ethics of Confucius being materialistic, i.e. concerned with the things of this present life, and the Buddhist ethics being mainly spiritualistic, the two mutually supplement each other. The great Confucian Temple at Yeddo was until 1868 the chief University of j.a.pan. Now,-so entirely have the Western systems of education supplanted the teaching of the Chinese sage,-the building has been converted into a Museum.

22 Charcoal-brazier.

23 "The only reason I can ascertain for the constant recurrence of the lotus in Buddhist art and ceremonial is the idea of its being the symbol of purity. Its scent and aspect are alike delightful, and though rooted in mud and slime it abhors all defilement. If, therefore, men would but take it as their model, they would escape all the contamination of this corrupt world. Every man, it is said, has a lotus in his bosom, which will blossom forth if he call in the a.s.sistance of Buddha." _Unbeaten Tracks in j.a.pan_, Vol. i. p. 292.

24 Buddhists believe in the existence of a personal wicked spirit, named Mara, whose object is to solicit men to evil.

25 Cf. the following extract from the speech of the Bishop of Exeter at the Annual Meeting of the C.M.S. 1892:-"If you had been asked to sketch an ideal land, most suitable for Christian Missions, and when itself Christianized more suited for evangelistic work among the nations of the far East, what, I ask, would be the special characteristics of the land and people that you would have desired?

Perhaps, first, as Englishmen or Irishmen, you would have said, 'Give us islands, inseparably and for ever united, give us islands which can hold their sea-girt independence, and yet near enough to the mainland to exert influence there.' Such is j.a.pan-the Land of the Rising Sun. 'Give us a hardy race, not untrained in war by land and sea; for a nation of soldiers, when won for Christ, fights best under the banner of the Cross-for we are of the Church militant here on earth: give us brave men;' and such are the descendants of the old Daimios and two-sworded Samurai of j.a.pan. 'Give us an industrial race, not idlers nor loungers, enervated by a luxurious climate, but men who delight in toil, laborious husbandmen, persevering craftsmen, shrewd men of business;' and such are the j.a.panese agriculturists, who win two harvests a year from their grateful soil-such are the handicraftsmen there, whose work is the envy of Western lands; such are the merchants, who hold their own with us in commerce. 'Give us men of culture, with n.o.ble traditions, but not so wedded to the past that they will not grasp the present and salute the future;' and such are the quick-witted, myriad-minded j.a.panese, who, with a marvellous power of imitation, ever somehow contrive to engraft their own specialities upon those of Western lands. Witness their Const.i.tution, their Parliament, their 30,000 schools in active operation; witness their museums and hospitals; witness their colleges and universities. 'But,' you would also have said, 'give us a race whose women are homespun and refined, courteous and winsome, not tottering on tortured feet, nor immured in zenanas and harems, but who freely mingle in social life, and adorn all they touch;' and such, without controversy, are the women of j.a.pan. Above all, 'give us a reverent and a religious people, who yet are conscious that the religion of their fathers is unsatisfying and unreal, and who are therefore ready to welcome the Christ of G.o.d;' and such are the thoughtful races of j.a.pan."

26 See on this subject Study VI in the late Dean Plumptre's _The Spirits in Prison_. The Christian can scarcely doubt that Gautama has, long ere this, fallen at the feet of the Crucified,-knowing at last the Name whereby he has been saved,-and has heard from the Divine lips the gracious approval, waiting to be bestowed on all men of good-will, of whatever age, of whatever land, who have "worked righteousness," and have faithfully responded to whatever measure of light and opportunity has been accorded them by G.o.d.

27 I may observe that the language, not only of the New Testament, but of the _Athanasian Creed_, was quoted to me in this connexion by a Buddhist priest in j.a.pan. I endeavoured to point out to him,-how far convincingly I cannot say,-what at the present day at least is generally recognized amongst us; that for the Christian Church to warn her own children, in terms the most emphatic just because the most loving, against becoming entangled in the deadly errors prevalent at the time when the Creed was drawn up, is a thing wholly distinct from pa.s.sing any sentence of eternal condemnation on, or, indeed, expressing any opinion as to the future state of, such as live and die without ever having been brought to a knowledge of the Faith. I added, of course, that any acquaintance with the claims of Christianity is a responsibility for which we believe all will have to give account.

28 I doubt if the speaker, in his long absence from England, quite realized the extent to which, of the last few years, bitterness and intolerance have effaced themselves, at any rate within the limits of the Church of England; or was aware of the marked improvement that is exhibited amongst us in dealing with such matters of controversy as still remain.

29 In the course of a letter appearing in _The Christian_ of April 20, 1893, the Rev. H. Loomis writes, "Let the _forty thousand_ Christians of j.a.pan but dedicate themselves to the welfare of the country in all its relations, and the true new j.a.pan will be founded." But Mr. Loomis himself has placed the total membership of "Protestant Missions" at 35,500, of the Orthodox Church at 20,300, and of the Roman Church at 44,800. To which sixty thousand of these does Mr. Loomis-presumably-refuse the t.i.tle of "Christian"? and are we justified in acting thus towards any who believe in the Holy Trinity, and have accepted Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the World, Very G.o.d and Very Man?

30 Even Mr. Loomis' list does not appear to be exhaustive! The "Plymouth Brethren," e.g., are certainly represented at Tokio.

31 The above is an abridgement of a pa.s.sage in the _Conquests of the Cross_ (Messrs. Ca.s.sell & Co.).

32 In the course of the present year (1893), the Rev. J. McKim has been raised to the American Episcopate in j.a.pan; Dr. Williams continuing to reside at Tokio. It is also announced that two new Anglican Bishops are to be consecrated for the Islands of Kyushu and Yezo respectively. One of these is the Rev. H. Evington, Examining Chaplain to Bishop Bickersteth, who has been connected with the C.

M. S. Mission to j.a.pan since 1874.

_ 33 Pastoral Letter to his Clergy_, Advent, 1892.

_ 34 Occasional Paper_, Guild of St. Paul, Oct. 1893.