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an introduction tomahAyana buddhismWith especial Reference to

Chinese and JapanesePhases

BYWILLIAM MONTGOMERY McGOVERN, Ph. D.

Lecturer on Japanese and Chinese at theSchool of Oriental Studies {University of London) ;Priest of the Nishi Honganji, Kyoto, JapanAuthor of Modern Japan, Colloquial Japanese,Elements of Japanese Writing, etc., etc.

LONDON :KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., LTD.NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.1922


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DEDICATIONTO

MRS. C. A. F. RHYS-DAVIDS, M.A., D.LITT.

Dear Mrs. Rhys-Davids,In dedicating to you this exposition of the

bare essentials of the Mahayana philosophy, Ifeel that I must explain something of its scopeand aim.In its original form the present work was part

of a thesis which, when presented to the Japanesecathedral, the Nishi Honganji, secured me myBuddhist degree, and an honorary ordination asa Buddhist priest. In consequence I hope thatit may be considered to represent, as far as itgoes, what the Japanese Buddhists believe tobe true, and what they consider accurate.

In presenting the book in a new dress beforethe Western public, a good deal of revision hastaken place, but this has been chiefly a matterof omission and simplification. All technicaldetails have been deleted, and any unusualidea or term has had placed after it a few words ofelementary elucidation.

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iv DEDICATIONI have called it an " introduction " for three

reasons. First, because it is intended for a guideto the general reader of average education, whodoes not care to go into details ; second, becauseit is intended also to point out the chief sign-posts to those who desire to take up the subjectsomewhat more seriously ; and third, becauseit serves as a preface to my longer, more serious,and more ambitious book on Buddhism, which isnow in preparation.

Finally, may I add that though working atBuddhism through Chinese rather than Palisources, and from the Mahayana rather than theHJnayana point of view, with the consequencethat I am afraid that you will not always agreewith my presentation, yet I wish to thank youmost heartily for your encouragement, discussion,and occasional advice.

Yours sincerely,WILLIAM MONTGOMERY MCGOVERN.

Christ Church, Oxford.


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CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGEINTEODUCTION ; the doctrinalEVOLUTION OF BUDDHISM . . II. EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC . . . . 32

II. THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE ANDITS RELATION TO THE UNIVERSE 48

III. THE TRIKA"yATHE BUDDHISTDOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY . . J^IV. THE NATURE AND POWERS OFBUDDHAHOOD . . . . 99V. PSYCHOLOGYELEMENTS OF EXIST-ENCE 132VI. THE WHEEL OF LIFE AND THE ROADTO NIRVANA 1 53

CONCLUSION: A short historyOF BUDDHISM AND THE PRINCIPALBUDDHIST SECTS .. .. .. 180APPENDIX : the sacred litera-

TL^RE OF THE BUDDHISTS .. 2! 5


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INTEODUCTIONTHE DOCTRINAL EVOLUTION OFBUDDHISMBuddhism is divided into two great schools,

Mahayana and Hinayana. Both systems origi-nated in India, but since the former predomi-nates in China, Japan, Nepal, and, in a modifiedform, in Tibet and Mongolia, while the latter isconfined almost exclusively to Ceylon, Burma,and Siam, they are often, and rather incorrectly,known as Northern and Southern Buddhism.Mahayana is again divided into unreformed

and reformed branches, the unreformed branchbeing found all over Eastern Asia, while there-formed branch has its centre in Japan. Eoughly,we may compare these divisions of Buddhismto those of the principal Occidental faiths. Hina-yana, or the earlier and more primitive form ofBuddhism, corresponds to Judaism ; UnreformedMahayana to Catholicism, and Reformed Maha-yana to Protestantism.Of recent years, owing to the labours of suchscholars as Spence Hardy, Gogerly, Prof, and Mrs.


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2 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMKhys-Davids, etc., Hinayana has become moreor less known to the Western world, but Maha-yana still awaits adequate treatment. Differentscholars in dealing with Mahayana have spokenof it as a ritualistic and animistic degenerationof Hinayana ; as sophistic nihilism, as mysticpantheism. They have claimed it to be nowmonotheistic, now polytheistic, now atheistic ; orfinally, they have contented themselves withstating that it is a vast mass of contradictoryideas, unassimilated and undefined.

It is obvious that all of these descriptions cannot be true, while the historical importance ofthe Mahayana philosophy renders it imperativeto attempt some more concise interpretation ofits essential elements, for as Christians far out-number Jews, so do Mahayanists far outnumberHinayanists ; as Christianity has had far moreimportant cultural connections than Judaism, sohas Mahayana, at the expense of Hinayana,ineffaceably linked itself with the civilizations ofvast parts of Asia ; and as the early fathers ofthe Christian Church and the schoolmen of theMiddle Ages built up a religious and philosophicsystem far more important than the ideas ex-pressed in Eabbinic schools, so is Mahayana theoutcome of centuries of speculative development,


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INTRODUCTION 3enriched by materials from all sources, and ex-pounded by the great bulk of the ancient meta-physicians of India and China, while Hina-yana has remained far more narrow and confinedin its philosophic evolution.

Indian TJiought at the Time of the Buddha.Any adequate understanding of Mahayana

must be based upon a comprehension of thestages of its development, of the processes bywhich it differentiated itself from the more primi-tive Hinayana, of the relation of the latter topristine Buddhism, and of the place of thispristine Buddhism in Indian thought.The period in which Gautama or ^akyamuni,

the historical founder of Buddhism, lived (somefive and a half centuries B.C.) was in many waysan interesting one. The earlier child-like beliefsof the Vedas had dwindled, and the implicitacceptance of the primeval_deities had given way,at least among the educated classes, to a keendiscussion, from a mystico-rationalist point ofview of the essential problems of existence. Itwas the age of the formulation of metaphysicalsystems. Bands of mendicant teachers wentforth proclaiming new syntheses of knowledge,new outlooks on life.


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4 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMThese Indian philosophers, like their contem-

porary Occidental brethren, were primarily con-cerned with problems relating to (I) the natureof ultimate reality, and (II) methods of ascertain-ing truth.

I.Just as the early Greek philosophers weredivided into (a) a School of Naive Eealists, (6) aSchool of Being, and (c) a School of Becoming, sodid the Indians divide themselves into (1) thosewho followed the Vedic hymns and accepted theuniverse at its face value, (2) those who taughtthat the ultimate nature of things is quiescent andchangeless, that beyond the realm of fluctuatingphenomena is the realm of the absolute, in whichthere is no space and time, but only an eternalpresent, and (3) those who taught that change,flux, becoming, integration and disintegration,are inherent in the nature of things ; that nothing ever remains the same for two consecutivemoments ; that even the Absolute is ever evolv-ing and becoming.

II.Consequent upon these differences of out-look upon the nature of reality, there arose widelydivergent theories concerning the basis of truth :

(1) Truth through sense impression. In earlydays man instinctively believed in the validity


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INTRODUCTION 5of his sense impressions. All things were sup-posed to be exactly as we see them, and absolutetruth was to be gained by experience.

(2) Truth through reason. Gradually, however,as the limitations of the senses come to be felt,it is recognized that the ceaseless change of thephenomenal world prevents our obtaining aninsight into its nature by means of the senses.But the school of Being represented by theUpanishads taught that man's soul is not of thephenomenal but of the noumenal world, that hemight, through the exercise of his mentalpowers, gain a direct insight into theultimate nature of reality. This Vedanta doc-trine corresponds very closely to certain phasesof Plato's theory of knowledge.

(3) Truth through psychological analysis.While the Vedantins and Plato were content toaccept the validity of reason, supported, no doubt,by the seeming absolutivity of mathematics, theIndian school of Becoming came to regard themind, not as an independent, unconditioned, andeternal entity having a direct insight into truth,but as a limited, caused, confined, and con-ditioned organism whose data are of purely rela-tive value. Acute analysis of the functions ofconsciousness no doubt aided this conception,


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6 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMand the conflicting nature of all reasoning seemedto support it. In spite of age-long disputes, notwo systems of philosophy agreed, and no singlerational doctrine could claim universal accept-ance.

Consequently, only the immediate data ofconsciousness could claim assured validity. Wehave no means of ascertaining whether or notthese data correspond to ultimate reality, or arelogically consistent, but of the reality of feelingsqua feelings, there can be no doubt.

Primitive Buddhism.Primitive Buddhism, so far as we can judgeits doctrines by means of higher criticism of thevarious recensions of the Siitra Pitaka, was thesupreme example of the Indian Becoming philo-soi)hy. Change was the foundation stone onwhich its metaphysic rested. The body wasconsidered a living complex organism, possessingno self-nature. The nature of the mind was sup-posed to be analogous. The percipient conscious-ness had no direct insight into truth through astable and transcendent reason, but was a com-pound effected by the chain of causality, andconditioned by its environment.

Consequently at the outset Buddhism assumedan agnostic position concerning transcendental


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INTRODUCTION 7problems. " These problems the Blessed Onehas left unelucidated, has set aside, has rejectedthat the world is eternal, that the world is noteternal, that the world is finite, that the worldis infinite, etc."

In a word. Buddhism insisted that we can only-deal with facts and data of which we are imme-diately conscious ; with states of consciousness ;with an analysis of the emotions ; with theuniverse as perceived as opposed to the universeas it is.The doctrines of primitive Buddhism are all in

accordance with this psychological basis, as maybe seen by examining its theory of the ThreeMarks and the Four Noble Truths.The Three Marks are not doctrines which are

to be accepted on faith, or as the result of logicalreasoning, but are considered the essential charac-teristics of life as recognized by every dayperceptual and emotional experience.They are : " (1) All is impermanent. (2) All

is sorrowful. (3) All is lacking a self." Thislast phrase refers not only to the soul, but tothe universe as a whole. It consists not ofsimple or self-existing things, but of complex,caused, conditioned things. The fourth mark,Nirvana, is no less psychological. By means of


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8 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMcontemplation certain forms of Samadhi, trance,or ecstasy were experienced. Magnify the ex-perience, consider it permanent, associate with itthe abolition of sorrow, sin, and ignorance, andthe theory of Nirvana is formulated, for it mustbe remembered that originally Nirvana is purelya state of mind.The so-called four Noble Truths are derived

from the same basic ideas. Transformed froman ancient Indian medical rune, they are:(L)Suffering exists. (2) The cause of suffering isdesire (and ignorance). (3) There is a possibleend of sufferingNirvana. (4) This end may beachieved by following the Noble Eight-fold Path,which consists of (a) right knowledge, (b) rightaspiration, (c) right speech, (d) right conduct,(e) right means of livelihood, (f ) right endeavour,(g) right mindfulness, and (h) right meditation.The first and third " truths " (suffering andNirvana) are the same as the second and fourth" marks." The fourth (the path to Nirvana) ispurely a point of ethics, and does not at presentconcern us. The second (the cause of suffering)is the most important, and contains the seed of avery complete phenomenology, for at a veryearly stage " suffering " became, in this instance,synonymous with life, and this " truth " was


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JNTR09UCTI9N 9supposed to explain the origin of the experiencedworldthe experienced universe, let it be noted,for early Buddhism had no interest in the originof the external universe.

Primitive Buddhism though agnostic wasprobably realistically inclined. It believed thatthere is an external universe closely correspondingto our sense-data, but it realized that in itspresent form the world as we see it is subjective,the result of the percipient consciousness(vijndna) acted upon by external stimuli.The theory of the origin, awakening, and

development of the Vijhana is explained in theobscure Pratitya Samutpdda, or the twelve-linkedchain of causation. This, though differently ex-plained by the various schools of Buddhism,always consists of :

(1) Ignorance.(2) Action.(3) Consciousness.(4) Name and Form.(5) The Senses.(6) Contact.(7) Sensation.(8) Craving.(9) Attachment.

(10) Becoming.(11) Birth.(12) Old age, disease, and death.


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10 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMThe origin of the percipient consciousness is

ignorance and desire. Without these the indi-vidual consciousness would disintegrate, andthough the experienced universe cannot existwithout object, it equally cannot exist withoutsubject. Consequently when an Arhat (one whohas attained Mrvana) dies, the experienced worldfor that person comes to an end.

It will be seen from this that there is a closeconnection between cause and effect. This lawBuddhism calls Karma, and is one of the funda-mental features of the Buddhist faith. Amongthe innumerable divisions of Karma we find thefollowing :

Des/'re

Ac//o/j ^ ^ ffeju/f^-Another such threefold classification is :1. The Seed. {Retu).2. Environment or attendant circumstances.

(Pratyaya).3. The result or fruit. (PJiala).The doctrine of Andtman prevents the belief

in the persistence of the undying personality,while the doctrine of Karma, on the other hand,demands that there be something that can reapthe result of a man's good or bad deeds. Accord-


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INTRODUCTION IIingly the early Buddhists taught that the fruitof a man's deeds will cause the birth of a newpersonality after the dissolution of the old. Thisbirth may be in one of the numerous heavens orhells, or it may be on the earth again.

Hlnaydna Buddhism.The philosophy of primitive or pristine Budd-hism became crystallized in Hinayana Buddhism,

the Orthodox branch of the faith which wasmatured during the period from the death of theBuddha down to about the time of the beginningof the Christian era, after which it had to competewith the newly-developed Mahayana. Hinayanaitself was by no means unified, for shortly afterthe death of Gautama it broke up into a numberof sects, with widely varying interpretations ofthe earlier philosophy. Out of the eighteen ortwenty such Hinayana sects, two only requireespecial attention at the present time. Theseare, first, the Sthaviravadins (Pali Thervadins),and, second, the Sarvastivadins.The former is probably the school which keeps

nearest to the tenets of early Buddhism, butsoon lost its hold over India proper,though it has always maintained itself in Ceylon,Burma, and Siam. The Sarvastivadins were ofa more scholastic nature. They transformed


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12 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMBuddhism into a complete and consistentphilosophy, and wrote in or translated theirworks into classical Sanskrit, while the moresimple Sthaviravadins retained the more collo-quial, popular, and vulgar Pali. The Sarvas-tivadins seem to have gained the upper hand inIndia some time before the birth of Christ, andlong remained the most important school ofIndian Hinayana. Most of the Hinayana workstranslated into foreign tongues, such as Chineseor Tibetan, belonged to this school, and thoughas a separate school it almost expired with theextinction of Buddhism in India, it had anenormous influence on the philosophic develop-ment of the later sects which survived. In fact,the Sarvastivadins may be called the Hinayanaschool par excellence.Even the more primitive Sthaviravadin school,

which prides itself upon its maintenance of theletter of the law as preached by Qakyamuni, hasadded several important features. The mostessential point is that in practice it has abandonedthe agnosticism of the earlier faith, and dependingupon the fidelity of sense impressions proceededto systematize objective phenomena. Thus, forexample, it accepted, in a somewhat modifiedform, the ancient cosmography of India, with its


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INTRODUCTION 13geography, astronomy, and account of the in-tegration and disintegration of the material {i.e.,external) universe. Where primitive Buddhismhad ignored, the Sthaviravadins denied, theexistence of an Absolute. Those problems whichthe early Buddhists has rejected as being irrele-vant were answered by the Sthaviravadins, eventhough the answers were relegated to the bodyof relative, as opposed to absolute, truth. Thelatter consisted only of such doctrines as thethree marks and the four noble truths.One of the most important steps to be taken

was the analysis of the parts of being, approachedin the first place from the psychological point ofview. Early Buddhism had taught that insteadof an ego entity, the personality consisted of fiveconstituent parts (skandha), viz. :Rupa (Form,i.e., the body) ; Vedand (sensation or feeling) ;Samjnd (conception) ; SamsMra (here meaningvarious mental qualities) ; and Vijndna (con-sciousness). The Sthaviravadins divided Form,the material world, into 27 or 28 parts ; Sensa-tion into 3 or 5 ; Conception into 6 ; MentalQualities into 52 ; and Consciousness into 89parts.

These divisions were the result of introspectiveanalysis, but they were considered absolute and


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14 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMfinal. These several divisions constituted theunchanging elements of existence from which allphenomena are compounded. Buddhism wasthus transformed from an agnostic and positivistsystem, concerned only with suffering and thealleviation of suffering, into a realistic andmaterialistic philosophy, though the transforma-tion was gradual and could hardly have beenrecognized at the time, for early Buddhism per-mitted the analysis of subjective states, and theelements of existence of the Sthaviravadins wereenunciated by merely subdividing the divisionsof early Buddhism, while maintaining the sub-jective or psychological point of view.

The Sarvastivadins are to the Sthaviravadinswhat the Sthaviravadins were to primitive Budd-hism. The materialism and realism of the Stha-viravadins was made more explicit and categori-cal ; the agnostic and psychological aspect waslargely lost sight of. Buddhism thus became adefinite and rigid philosophic system, instead ofremaining a body of truths which were effectiveirrespective of metaphysics. A most importantstep was made when the elements of existencewere classified from an external or objective aswell as from a subjective point of view. The olderor subjective classification was retained (though


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INTRODUCTION 15the subdivisions of each skandha were somewhatdifferent from those of the Sthaviravadins), butthe subdivisions were re-arranged in such a wayas to constitute a complete analysis of theexternal universe.According to the Abhidharma Koa these

elements (or dharma) are 75 in number, classifiedin the following way :

1. Unconditioned Elements {AsamsJcrita Dhar-ma) or simple elements, so called because they donot enter into combinations with other elements.They are three in number, of which Space orEther, and Nirvana are two.

2. Conditioned Elements {Samskrita Dharma)^or complex elements, so called because theyenter into combinations, though themselves sim-ple and permanent. Their compounds constitutethe phenomena of the universe. These elementsare 72 in number, divided into :

1. Material elements, 11 in number.2. Mind, 1 in number.3. Mental Qualities, such as love, hate, etc.,

46 in number.4. Miscellaneous elements, such as life, decay,

etc., 14 in number.These elements were considered permanent and

unchanging, as were the eighty odd physical


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16 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMelements of the scientists of a generation ago.In their present state all phenomena were sup-posed to be impermanent and unstable, butconsisted of stable and unchanging rudiments.TJie Transition from Hinaydna to Mahdydna.

In its finished form Hinayana laid great em-phasis upon two doctrines. These were :(1)It is necessary for all men to strive after Arhat-ship, or salvation from the wheel of life and death.This was the religious phase. (2) All phenomenaare unstable compounds of a certain fixed numberof stable elements. This was the philosophicphase.

Neither one of these doctrines can be said tobe in strict conformity with the principles ofearly Buddhism. As regards the first, in Hina-yana a distinction in hind was made between theArhat, he who has merely attained Nirvana orsalvation, and the Buddha who had also attainedsupreme enlightenment, or, more correctly, threestages were enunciated :(1) Arhatship, or meresalvation ; (2) PratyeJca Buddahood, or privateBuddhahood, supreme enlightenment for oneselfalone ; and (3) Buddahood proper, supreme en-lightenment gained in order to teach the world.According to Hinayana not only is there an


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INTRODUCTION 17immense difierence between each stage, but forthe average man the only possible goal is Arhat-ship ; only one out of many millions may aspireto Pratyeka Buddhahood, and only one in manycycles may attain Buddhahood. In primitiveBuddhism, on the other hand, little distinction,save one of degree, is made between the Buddhaand his illuminated disciples, and the highestgoal is open to all.As regards the second point, the thorough-

going anitya or impermanency doctrine of primi-tive Buddhism is presumed to apply to all partsof the universe. Every thing, even the com-ponent parts of being, are in a perpetual flux orbecoming, so that the doctrine of a number offixed and changeless elements, constituting aneternal being, seems a departure from the originaloutlook on life. To be consistent even thedharmas or elements should be considered com-plex, caused, conditioned, subject to change.On both these points Mahayana rose in revoltagainst Hinayana, and attempted to revert tothe spirit of the original teachings. Theyclaimed that their own teachings more perfectlyexpressed the meaning of the Buddha's teach-ing, just as the Protestants wished to revert tothe ideas of Primitive Christianity. It must be


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18 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAyANA BUDDHISMconfessed, however, that this desire for reformresulted only in the formation of a new systemof religion and philosophy, which retainedsomething of the spirit but little of the letter ofthe earlier faith. Let us take for example thequestion of the universality of the Buddha goal,whereby the distinction in kind between theBuddha and his disciples was obliterated.Mahayana, appealing as it does to the emo-

tional and devotional elements, regarded the Arhatideal as selfish. It was enamoured of the ideaof self-sacrifice and proclaimed that those whowere content with self-salvation or self-enlighten-ment might aim only at Arhatship or PratyekaBuddhahood, but insisted that its own followerspreferred to abandon these lower aspirations inorder that they might become all-saving Buddhas.Once this doctrine had been formulated greatemphasis was laid upon it, and we find manypassages breathing the noblest altruism.

Accordingly in early Mahayana all its ownfollowers were called Bodhisattvas, Buddhas-to-be, as opposed to the adherents of Hinayana,who were termed (Jrdvalcas, or aspirants onlyafter Arhatship.

Later Mahayana, the so-called true Mahayana,carried this idea still further, and taught that


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INTRODUCTION 19

supreme and perfect enlightenment (Buddha-hood) was the final goal of all. The first halfof the famous Mahayana scripture, the Lotus ofthe Good Law (Saddharma Pundarika Sutra),is given up to shewing that in reality there is butone road, that the other goals are but updyadeviceson the parts of the Buddhas for thepurpose of leading the world away from sensu-ality and materialism.

Strangely enough, however, though throwingthe gates of Buddhahood open to all, Mahayanatook great pains to exalt the dignity and powersof the Buddhas. In Hinayana the Buddhas aremen pure and simple, while in Mahayana theyare looked upon as divine incarnations, or asmaterial expressions of the Universal Buddha,whose existence Mahayana gradually came toteach.

In Hinayana Sutras sermons are deliveredby ^akyamuni, generally speaking in simpleand unaffected phrases so as to make the auditorfeel the presence of a fatherly and serene oldphilosopher, advising those in the battle of lifeas one who has just emerged victorious himself.In Mahayana SUtras, on the other hand, we finda mysterious and transcendent person far re-moved from the levels of ordinary humanity,


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20 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMwho is listened to and worshipped by countlesshordes of beings, celestial, human, and demoniac,who shower flowers upon the sage while he per-forms his stupendous supernatural deeds. Inthe Saddharma Pundarika Sutra, for example,Qakyamuni sits for long ages in meditation. Heis the Supreme Euler who has himself led count-less thousands to Enlightenment during countlessages, and who never really dies and who is neverreally born. The only explanation of this isthat ^akyamuni and all the other Buddhas, aswell as the Universal Buddha, are one.

The Mahdydna Buddhism of India.The religious aspect of Mahayana developed

some time immediately prior to the Christianera, but its philosophical aspect was formulatedduring the period extending from the first tothe fifth centuries A.D. Two main schoolscame to be differentiated. One was the Madhya-mika school, founded by Nagarjuna and AryaDeva in the first and second centuries A.D.The other was the Yogacarya school, foundedby Asanga and Vasubandhu in the fourthcentury A.D.The Madhyamika school, which was thus some

centuries earlier, largely devoted itself to the


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INTRODUCTION 21consideration of the second point on whichMahayana claimed that Hinayana had departedfrom the original teachingthe question of theexistence of certain permanent stable elementswhich composed the universe. In acceptingthis doctrine, Hinayana, as we have said, almostabandoned its spirit of insistence upon changeand becoming, and approached the standpointof Western philosophy. The root instinct of thereligion was too strong, however, and in theMadhyamika philosophy a return was made,to the principle of eternal transience and im-permanence.

The basis of this undeveloped or early Maha-yana is (Junya (literally emptiness or the Void).This doctrine has been frequently totally mis-understood in the West and taken to mean thetheory of the non-existence of the universe orpurely Nihilistic Idealism. In reality Qunya issimply an insistence that all things have no self-essence ; that they are compounds, unstableorganisms even in their elemental stage. Thescience of the present generation believes thatthe supposedly rigid physical elements are notnecessarily permanent ; that they may be brokendown ; that the elements may themselves proveto be compounds possessing the essential quali-


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22 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMties of transformation and decay. In likemanner the Qtinya school supposed that theDharmas (elements) are impern^anent and haveno existence-unto-themselves ; that they may bebroken down into parts, parts into sub-parts,and so on eternally. Accordingly all phenomenahave a relative as opposed to an absoluteexistence. All of life was once more reducedto a single underlying flux, a stream of existencewith an everlasting becoming.

In a word, then, the Madhyamika doctrine of^unya is that there is no thing-unto-itself,nothing with a self essence, nothing that cannotbe broken up until we reach the greattranscendent reality which is so absolute that itis wrong to say that it is or that it is not. Thisunderlying realitythe principle of eternal re-lativity, non-infinitypermeates all phenomena,allowing expansion, growth, and evolution, whichwould otherwise be impossible.

It is easy to see that this early and undevelopedMahayana idea of the Eternal Flux was the germof the later doctrine of the Absolute. Thedoctrine of the Madhyamika school, however,was largely a negative one. It reduced allphenomena to a constantly changing stream of


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INTRODUCTION 23

life, but concerning the nature of this stream oflife it tells us little or nothing.The next stage of doctrinal development, as

found in the Yogacarya school, was a veryimportant one, and resulted in the formulationof a remarkably complete system of idealism.The stream of life was supposed to be the Essenceof mind, a fundamental Mind substance that waspermanent and yet ever changing like the ocean.From this all the elements (and the 75 elementsof the earlier school became 100 in the Yogacaryadoctrine) and therefore all phenomena are de-rived. It was called the Alaya Vijndna, re-pository consciousness, yet it was considered tobe neither matter nor mind, but the basic energythat was at the root of both.

It is the imperceptible and unknowablenoumenon behind all phenomena. To quoteKuroda : "In contradistinction to the fallaciousphenomena of existence there is the true Essenceof Mind. The Essence of Mind is the entitywithout ideas and without phenomena and isalways the same. It pervades all things, and ispure and unchanging . . . so it is calledBhutatatJidtapermanent reality . ' 'It would be easy to exaggerate the importanceof this doctrine and falsely to identify it with


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24 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMmore developed systems, but undoubtedly it lia8many points of contact with certain phases ofmodern Occidental philosophy. The AlayaVijnana is like the Elan de Vie of Bergson, theEnergy of Leibnitz, or the Unconscious of VonHartmann. Like the last, though it is theessence of consciousness, it is not itself consciousin its earlier stages. It is mental, and yet thereis a certain objective reality about it. Eachunit of life may be regarded as a vortex in thesea of life. The action and interaction of theseunits one with another and with the commonstream brings about the phenomenal appearanceof the Universe.

Accordingly the Alaya Vijnana is regarded inthree aspects, viz:(1) as active, or the seed ofpercipient consciousness ; (2) as passive, as thesensibilia of consciousness ; (3) as the object offalse belief, inasmuch as being the root of self-consciousness, each person comes to regard him-self as an eternal ego unity.

The Early 3Iahdydna Buddhism ofChina and Japan.

Buddhism was introduced into China in thefirst century A.D., and was firmly establishedby the fourth century. It was introduced into


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INTRODUCTION 25Japan in the sixth century, and was firmlyestablished there in the seventh. The importantsects of Indian Buddhism were introduced intothose two countries, and we find a Bidon orKusha sect corresponding to. the Sarvastivadinschool, a Sanron sect corresponding to theMadhyamika school, and a Hosso sect correspond-ing to the Yogacarya school. These were alleclipsed, however, by a number of schools whichdeveloped in China and Japan itself. In theseschools we may distinguish two phases, anearlier and theoretical or philosophical phase,and a later or practical and religious phase.The early or philosophic phase is best repre-sented by the two schools of Tendai and Kegon.The Tendai school is in some ways a furtherdevelopment of the Madhyamika school, theKegon of the Yogacarya, but both are syntheticphilosophies, and have borrowed largely from allavailable sources. The doctrines of the twoschools closely resemble each other, differingchiefly on points of emphasis, so that for the timebeing they may be considered together.

Their most valuable contribution to Buddhistphilosophy was the development of the idea ofthe Absolute, which was latent in both theMadhyamika and Yogacarya schools. The


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26 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMEssence of Mind, or the Sea of Life is regarded asthe one fundamental reality. It alone can besaid to have a permanent existence, all phenom-ena being merely ephemeral manifestations there-of. It is very frequently called the MiddlePrinciple (Chu), since it transcends both Being(Ke) and Becoming (Kii). Chinese Mahayanistsanswer the question of Being and Becoming bythe simile of the ocean. The ocean is the Ab-solute, the waves are life's phenomena. Theocean is always changing. Waves are constantlyarising, and no two waves are ever alike. So doesthe stream of life ever go surging past, neverremaining the same. Yet there is a certainstability, a certain being, a fixity, a changeless-ness in this very changeability.The doctrine of the Absolute of most Western

philosophies is based upon the idea of pureBeing. The Mahayana doctrine of the Absolute(Bhutatathata) evolved from the idea of be-coming, yet the two doctrines are strangely v/similar. In both the Absolute is the sufficientreason of the universe ; it is the principle ofexistence which transcends but includes matterand mind, life and death, sameness and difference,Samsara (the phenomenal world) and Nirvana(the noumenal world). The Bhutatathata of


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INTRODUCTION 27Mahayana is the norm of life, the acme of being,the warp and the woof of the universe. Itcomes near to Hegel's conception of the Absolute,inasmuch as it is not only the force behindevolution, but also the very process of evolutionitself.

Eetaining, as Chinese Mahayana does, theconception that all existence is derived from theAlaya Vijnana, which, in turn, has its essence andsupporting principle in the Bhutathata, itdeclares that the Absolute is both identical andnon-identical with the material universe. It is,to quote the ocean simile again, as if the waterwere stirred up by the winds of ignorance where-by the waves are produced. The water there-fore is both identical and not identical with thewaves. To quote scholastic verbiage, the Uni-verse is but a mode of the Universal.

Preceding systems had formulated, as we shallpresently see, the doctrine that every Buddhahas three bodies, the DharmaMya, the Body ofthe Law, the Sambhogalcdya, the body of Com-pensation, and the Nirmanakdya, or the body ofTransformation. In developed Buddhism theBhiitatathata is regarded as a sort of UniversalBuddha- Accordingly it was likewise consideredto be possessed of the three bodies, so that we


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28 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMfind in the later stages an almost Christian ideaof the Trinity. The Dharmakaya correspondsto an impersonalized God the Father, theAbstract order of the universe, or better, Mr.Well's Unmanifested Deity, the Sambhogakayaa more personalized ideation of the Absolute thesymbol of moral perfection and the object ofdevotionMr. Well's God the Invisible King,and the Nirmanakaya is equivalent to theChristian God the Son, or the Absolute asmanifested in the world in the guise of a humanBuddha.The Later Mdhdydna Buddhism of China and

Japan.The later schools of Chinese and Japanese

Buddhism are not so much doctrinal develop-ments as various adaptations of the foregoingphilosophical foundation. The most importantsects were the Shingon or Mantra sect, the Zenor Dhyana sect, and the Jodo or Sukhavati sect.All of them agreed in accepting the older philo-sophical foundations but gave them a religious,and to a large extent mystical bias.The Shingon school claims to be the hidden

or esoteric doctrine of which all outward orexoteric doctrines are but symbols. The full


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INTRODUCTION 29truth, or the inner mysteries are revealed only tothose who have been initiated into the order. Forthe uninitiate the Shingon speaks only in terms olparable and symbol. The Absolute and thevarious aspects of the Absolute are represented ascelestial Buddhas and Bodhisattyas, each onewith a mystic name, form, colour, and signeach represented by a certain sound. TheBhiitatathata itself, as a whole, is generallyrepresented as Vairocana or the Sun Buddha.The noumenal aspect of the universe is calledthe Diamond World ; the phenomenal aspect theWomb World, and sacred charts (mandala) aredrawn illustrating the nature, attributes, andrelations of each. The Shingon sect correspondsvery closely to the Lamaism of Tibet andMongolia. Both are derived from the laterphases of the Yogacarya sect in India, about thesixth century A.D,, when esotericism becamerampant in both Hindu and Buddhist circles.The Zen Dhyana school represents a different

type of esotericism or mysticism. The basic ideaof Zen is that all formulated doctrines, whetherexoteric or esoteric ; all books ; all speech ; andeven all thought are inadequate to express thefull nature of absolute truth. ConsequentlyZen refuses to place complete credence in any


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30 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMone book, or collection of books, Buddhist orotherwise. It refuses to tie itself to any doctrineor creed. It accepts the philosophy of the Tendaiand Kegon schools from a relative point of view,but insists that absolute truth must be found byeach man for himself by means of intuitionalrealization to be gained through meditation.The only definite teaching to be found in theZen sect is that every man is possessed of theBodhicitta (the heart of wisdom) or the seed ofBuddhahood. Every man is a sleeping Buddha.Consequently a man has but to awaken hisBodhicitta by meditation for him to gain adirect insight into the nature of reality. TheZen sect was introduced into China by Bodhid-harma in the sixth century, and into Japan byEisai in 1191.The Sukhavati doctrine, more particularly as

represented by the Shin sect, the reformedbranch of Mahayana Buddhism may be calledthe mysticism of exclusive adoration. In thisschool the Absolute or Universal Buddha issymbolized as Amitabha the Buddha of Infinitelight, or Amitayus, the Buddha of Infinite Time,and as such is the object of fervent devotion.Enlightenment, or Nirvana, or Buddhahood issymbolized by the Paradise, SukhSvatl, or JMo


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INTRODUCTION 31of Amitabha. Eebirth in this paradise is to begained by self-forgetting adoration of thesupreme. In early days Amitabha may havebeen regarded as an historical Buddha, and hisparadise a place to be gained by death, but, inthe developed doctrine of Chinese and moreespecially Japanese Buddhism, we are told thatAmitabha is without beginning and without end,that he is but a symbol for an inexpressiblereality, that rebirth into his paradise is nothingmore than the awakening of the Bodhicitta hereon earth, and that this Bodhicitta is to beawakened by love and by faith. At the presenttime both Chinese and Japanese Buddhism isdominated by the Zen and Jodo ideasZenbeing an embodiment of absolute truth for theeducated, and Jodo its relative symbol for themass of the people.


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EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC 33Buddhism (such as the Four Noble Truths,)which were absolutely true and changeless, andthose doctrines which were merely adopted byBuddhist metaphysicians to fill out a philosophicconception of the universe, and which wouldnecessarily be modified as new information cameto light. To this category belong the varioustheories of cosmography, etc.

Later Buddhism slightly modified this con-ception. Absolute Truth was equivalent tocomplete and perfect enlightenment. Wordsbeing but symbols are incapable of describingadequately or defining it. Thought consists ofa number of concepts, and any concept beingequally a symbol and therefore inadequate, itfollows that a knowledge of Absolute Truthcannot be gained merely by a process of ratiocina-tion. While, however. Absolute Truth is in-conceivable it is not unrealizable for throughspiritual development we may gain directillumination, more or less adequate, accordingto our nature and the stage of our development.Once we have thus acquired a direct insight into

truth we may inadequately attempt to clothe itin words and concepts, and crystallize it intodogmas, as a guide to the later seekers aftertruth. It is, however, like trying to describe


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34 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMthe colours of the rainbow to a man blind frombirth.

This crystallization of truth by formulation ofdoctrine is what the Mahayanists call relativetruth. Absolute Truth is ever the same, whilerelative truth is ever advancing, coming nearerand nearer to an approximation of AbsoluteTruth, as each generation taking the doctrine ofits predecessors is able more succinctly tointerpret it and compare it with new realizationsof Absolute Truth. While, however, the smallercircle of relative truth is constantly expandingand thereby approaching in size the greater circleof Absolute Truth, the two can never coincide,since the latter is infinite, and the former mustever deal with finite instruments, such as thebrain or speech.Mahayana declares that all theories, hypo-

theses, doctrines, whether verbal or incorporatedin scriptures, whether scientific, philosophical orreligious, and including its own doctrines ofNirvana, the Universal Buddha, etc., belong tothe body of relative truth, and must, therefore,be modified with the course of time. Thisconception of the nature of truth greatly facili-tates the doctrinal development of later Budd-hism, allowing for the evolution of new theories


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EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC 35and interpretations, while the simpler theory oftruth maintained by the Southern Buddhistscaused them to stick fast to the letter of the lawas taught by ^akyamuni.The three-fold division of truth is nothing

more than a restatement of this in other terms.The three classes are (1) illusion (parikalpita),(2) relative knowledge (paratantra), (3) absoluteknowledge (parinipanna). The first is abso-lutely false, as when a rope lying in the road ismistaken for a snake. The second is a pragmaticcomprehension of the nature of things sufficientfor ordinarj^ purposes, as when the rope is seento be a rope. The third deals with the real andultimate nature of things, when the rope isanalysed and its true nature understood. Theonly real difference between the two-fold andthe three-fold divisions of truth is that finiteknowledge is separated into falsehood and thatwhich is relatively true, and the latter exaltedto its proper position, since otherwise, by neglectof this important phase, intellectual progresswould be barred.

2. Methods of Ascertaining Truth.Early Buddhism had no elaborate epistemology

or logic, but in the period of the full development


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36 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMof Mahayana Buddhism we find the followingclassification of the means of evaluating know-ledge :

7. INDIRECT.1. Tradition.

a. Exoteric.b. Esoteric.II. DIRECT.

1. Experience.a. Empirical.b. Intuitional.

2. Reason.a. Pure reason.b. Practical reason.

A word must be said concerning each of thesepoints.Buddhism has both an external and an internal

standard of truth. The saints and sages of thepast have had a direct insight into the nature ofreality, and in consequence the truth which theyexpounded must be accepted by all. On theother hand such sages have only achieved en-lightenment through means which are open tous all. By process of experience, both materialand spiritual, and by reason, both pure andpractical, we may test the validity of each oftheir positions and reinterpret their meanings


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EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC 37into closer accordance with the knowledge ofthe time.

Tradition is of two kinds, exoteric and esoteric.The first is embodied in the external dogmas ofBuddhism as expounded in the Sutras, Vinayas,and the Abhidharmas, which are open so that allthe world may read, while many branches ofMahayana insist that beyond this there is asecret tradition which may never be writtendown, which requires proper training andinitiation before it can be understood.

Experience was likewise divided into twophases. The first is merely the ascertainment oftruth through ordinary physical sense organsand sense objects. Provided the sense organsand the sense perceiving aspects of consciousnessare normally constituted the data which theyfurnish may be taken as valid, at least for theestablishment of relative as opposed to AbsoluteTruth. Owing to the limitations of the physicalsenses and the brain machine, Absolute Truthcan only be glimpsed by transcending them andgaining knowledge through intuition or directrealization. For such purposes all doctrines,theories, and scriptures are but fingers pointingto the moon, and have no inherent validity.This doctrine is called the doctrine of Ton or


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38 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMsuddenness, i.e., the means whereby knowledgemay be gained at one stroke through transcen-dental apperception without waiting to piecetogether, one by one, the data of empiricalknowledge.Reason is the means whereby we piece to-

gether the separate and unconnected sense data,whether empirical or transcendental, and therebymake a system or a new co-ordination of facts,enabling us to lay down generalizations andbroad formulae. Owing to the whole trend ofits philosophy Buddhism could not place suchgreat stress upon the importance of abstract orpure reason as could Plato and Aristotle. Never-theless even the Hinayana sutras proclaim thatnothing is to be accepted that is not in accordancewith reason, and in the metaphysical systems ofMahayana the process of abstract reason was themethod most frequently employed, moreparticularly in such schools as the Tendai andthe Avatamsaka or Kegon.

Yet, inasmuch as Buddhism taught that theephemeral nature of external reality and ofconsciousness was an obstacle to the ascertain-ment of Absolute Truth by sophism or baredeductive reasoning, we early find a tendencytowards pragmatism, or a substitution of practic-


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EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC 39al for pure reasoning, or a tendency to judge ofthe validity of a doctrine by its effect upon humanlife. Thus for example in the Hinayana sutras,in discussing what we might call the freedom ofthe will, we find the Buddha saying " SomeQramanas and Brahmins there are who maintainthat whatever a man has in this life ... ispurely due to predestination. Others say thatit is due to the will of Igvara (God), othersagain that it is due to blind chance. Now, Omonks, when I find Qramanas and Brahminsholding or preaching such views I . . . say tothem, ' So then, you must acknowledge thatmen become murderers, thieves, etc. . . on accountof Fate, Igvara's will, or blind chance. Accord-ingly all attempts at improvement or distinctionbetween right and wrong, become of no avail.Such being the case the moral regeneration ofthe fallen becomes impossible.' This sort ofreasoning must silence those who hold any of thethree views mentioned above ." The pragmaticnature of this argument is obvious.

In Mahayana we find the doctrine carriedsomewhat further, and associated with what wemight call the symbolic theory of truth, i.e., thatthe nature of absolute truth is so great and soinfinite that it can never be completelj' and


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40 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMadequately grasped by finite logic, yet neverthe-less it may be expressed or indicated by asymbol which teaches us something of its essencewithout limiting it by definition.Thus the nature of the Absolute (Bhfttata-

thata) can never be properly formulated, yetby symbolizing it as the universal Buddha,as Amitabha, Infinite Light, or Amitayut^,Infinite Time, we may have a focus for devotionwhich may remain as a living and vital stimulustowards the spiritual life even when increasingknowledge may cause us to reinterpret our sym-bols. This is the doctrine of upaya or hoben,means or devices, or accommodations of truthto the minds of the hearers, which is really thebasis of the Sukhavati or Paradise doctrine.

3. Methods of Demonstrating Truth.Buddhist logic which is comprised in a sort ofinverted syllogism passed through a very inter-esting evolution. From the first it was obviouslya logic of demonstration of ideas already enter-tained, rather than a pretence of deduction ofpreviously unknown facts, as was claimed, andnow considered falsely claimed, by Aristotelianlogic, with which it baa otherwise much incommon.


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EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC 41Again the frankly Becoming and consequentlyanti-rational position of Buddhism hindered the

evolution of its logic. Hinayana Buddhism, infact, never produced any logical system, and eventhe reasoning of the early Madhyamika andYogacarya scholars with their five-fold syllogismis largely based on analogical reasoning, theciting of individual homogeneous and hetero-geneous examples rather than the proof of a factby citing a universal and invariable law.Dignaga or Mahadignaga was the first to

devote himself almost exclusively to logic, andwith him Buddhist logic, properly so called,begins. His syllogism is as follows :

Thesis, e.g.Socrates is mortal.Reason, e.g.Because Socrates is a man.Example, e.g.And all men are mortal.

With this may be compared the Occidentalformula :Major Premise.All men are mortal.

Minor Premise.Socrates is a man.Conclusion.Therefore Socrates is mortal.

Let us examine each of these features some-what more in detail :

1. The thesis is divided into the subject orminor term (pakga) e.g., " Socrates," and pre-dicate or major term (sadhya) e.g., " mortal."


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42 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMNeither subject nor predicate is itself to bedisputed, but only the thesis or propositionconcerning their relationship.

2. The reason or premise must be a knowntruth, or a truth accepted by all. Consequently,Dign^ga wiU place here only those facts knowndirectly, i.e., through reason or experience, andnot those facts which are known indirectly, e.g.,by tradition, exoteric, or esoteric.

3. The same thing must hold true of theExample, which is of a more abstract nature.The word example (drstanta) is singularly un-fitted to denote the idea of the major premise,and is derived from the period when the universallaw of necessary concomitance was unknown,and in its place there was cited one or twoanalogous examples. Thus the old syllogismwould have run :

Thesis. Sound is non-eternal.Reason. Because it is produced.Example. Like a pot, and not like space,

while with Dignaga it is of course :Thesis. Sound is non-eternal.Reason. Because it is produced.Example. All produced things are non-eternal,

to which might bo added, purely for purposesof elucidation, and not for proof, the homo-


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EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC 43geneous example " like a pot," and the hetero-geneous example " not like space."

Dignaga's rule for the formation of his newexample was to " take the reason for the subject,and the major term for the predicate." Thusfor example :

Thesis. AU A is B.Reason. All A is C.Example. All C is B,

or, in other words, to cite another syllogism :Thesis. All diamonds are combustible.Reason. Because all diamonds are carbon. .Example. And all carbon is combustible.This brings us to a discussion of the famous

doctrine of the 3 phases of the reason or middleterm (hetu).

1. The first deals with the relation betweenthe middle term (C) and the minor term orsubject (A). 2. The second deals with therelation between the middle term (C) and themajor term or predicate (B). 3. The thirddeals with the relation between the middleterm (C) and the heterogeneous example (whichwe will call D).For a syllogism to be valid :1. mustinclude the whole of A, e.g.^ the word carbon must

include all and not merely some of diamonds.


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44 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISM2. All C must invariably apply to B, but it need

not include all B, e.g., all carbon must be com-bustible, though combustible things may includeother things than carbon. 3. C must includeno D or Non-B, e.g., carbon must possess nonon-combustible qualities.

Finally we come to the fallacies, the presenceof which in either the thesis, the reason, or theexample would make the syllogism invalid.We are told that there are 9 fallacies of thethesis, 14 fallacies of the reason, and 10 fallaciesof the example, but these as lying within therealm of pure technicality, are outside the scopeof our present undertaking.

4. Absolute Truth, and Buddhist Doctrines.Such then is the Buddhist theory of the nature

of truth, and the means of ascertaining anddemonstrating it. The question then arises, doesBuddhism claim a unique possession of truth,does it state that its own doctrines are the sole,final, and absolute embodiments of reality ?Such is far from the case. Its doctrine of the

distinction between Absolute Truth and relativetruth, caused it to state that all of its own doc-trines, and theories, as well as the sacred workscontaining them, belong exclusively to the


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EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC 45realm of relative truth, and are, therefore, liableto error, and capable of constant improvement,that other systems of thought no less than itsown are equally but the imperfect embodimentsof inadequate glimpses of absolute reality. Thisidea, more or less common to all forms of Maha-yana Buddhism, is emphasized by the Dhyanasect.The mode of expression adopted by a modern

leader of the school, Kaiten Nukariya in his" Religion of the Samurai " is very interesting :" The scripture is no more nor less than thefinger pointing to the moon of Buddhahood.When we recognize the moon and enjoy itsbenign beauty, the finger is of no use. As thefinger has no brightness whatever so the scripturehas no holiness whatever. The scripture isreligious currency representing spiritual wealth.It does not matter whether the money be goldor sea-shells or cows. It is a mere substitute.What it stands for is of paramount importance." Away with your stone knife. Do not watchthe stake against which a running hare oncestruck its head and died. Do not wait foranother hare. Another may not come forever.Do not cut out the side of the boat from whichyou dropped your sword to mark where it sunk.


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46 INTRODUCTIO\ TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMThe boat is ever moving on. The canon is thewindow out of which we observe the grandspiritual scenery of spiritual nature. To holdcommunion directly with it we must get out ofthe window. It is a mere stray fly that is alwaysbuzzing within it struggling to get out. Thosewho spend most of their lives in the study of thescriptures are religious flies, good for nothing buttheir buzzing about nonsensical technicalities.It is on this account that Einzai declared ' Thetwelve divisions of the Buddhist canon arenothing better than waste paper.'

"After outlining the " Relative Truth " re-

garding the Absolute Nukariya goes on to say :" Has then the divine nature of the UniversalSpirit been completely and exhaustively re-vealed to our Enlightened Consciousness 1 Tothis question we would answer in the negative,for so far as our limited experience is concernedUniversal Spirit reveals itself as a being withprofound wisdom and boundless mercy ; thisnevertheless does not imply that this conceptionis the only possible and complete one. It goeson to disclose a new phase, to add a new truth.The subtlest logic of old is a mere quibble of now-a-days. . . . New theories are formed, newdiscoveries are made only to jfive way to newer


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EPISTEMOLOGY AND LOGIC 47theories and newer discoveries. New idealerealized or new desires satisfied are sure toawaken new and stronger desires. Not an instantlife remains the same, but it rushes on amplify-ing and enriching itself from the dawn of timeto the end of eternity."


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CHAPTEE IITHE NATUEE OF THE ABSOLUTE A^'D

ITS EELATION TO THE UNIVEESE1. The Outlook on Life

Questions concerning the outlook on life havealways played an integral part in Buddhistphilosophy. In fact, in its essence, Buddhism isnot an analysis of the ultimate nature of existenceor an explanation of the noumenon which liesbehind phenomena, but it is an interpretationof the good and bad of life, taken as a whole andunanalysed.

Like all other phases of Buddhist thought itstheory of the proper evaluation of life hasundergone great evolution and modification.Its various ramifications may best be consideredunder three stages, which, for want of betterterms, we may call, (1) absolute pessimism, (2)absolute optimism, and (3) relative pessimism.The first is associated with primitive and Hina-yana Buddhism ; the second with the doctrinesof the various schools of unreformed Mahay^ua ;


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 49the third with the reformed branch ofMahSyana.

[a). Absolute Pessimum.Primitive Buddhism began by saying, as we

know, (1) all is impermanent, (2) all is lacking aself, (3) all is sorrowful. The very nature ofphenomenal life is transient, and consequentlyall joys are transient. Where there is birththere is necessarily old age, disease, and death.Those whom we love are estranged, or are takenfrom us. Achievement is disillusionment. Thefew benefit at the expense of the many, and eventhe few find no real enjoyment in life.

This state of affairs holds true not merely forthe present earthly existence, but for all possibleforms of life, whether in heaven or hell, whetherin the past, present, or future. Consequentlyfor primitive Buddhism, and for HinayanaBuddhism life, qua life, has no fascination. Itcan find peace and satisfaction only in emancipa-tion from all known forms of existence, in com-plete escape from the phenomenal world, in theannihilation of bodily and mental existence,namely Mrvana.

Nirvana, to be sure, is purely a state of mindobtainable anywhere and at any time, and is to


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50 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMbe achieved while still in the flesh, but as life orthe corporate personality is only formed as theresult of ignorance and desire in the past, whenthe Arhat, he who has attained Nirvana, dies nonew personality can be formed, and certainly,from our material point of view, the personalityis wiped out of existence.

This is what is known as the 8hd1cyoku-teki noNehan or the negative view of Nirvana, wherelife is compared to the waning of the moon.Here the moon is compared to the sins andsorrows of life. Gradually it wanes until finallythere is nothing left.

(&). Absolute Optimism.All this was changed by the formulation of the

doctrine of the Absolute, the Universal Buddha,or the Essence of Mind, the supreme idealwhich is behind all life and from which all thingsdraw their sustenance.Every sentient being is possessed of the

Bodhicitta (the wisdom heart) or the seed orkernel of enlightenment. This is the spark ofBuddhahood which has only to be awakened tospring into the flame of perfection or Buddhahood.Consequently all forms of life spring from thenoumenon which is itself good, which is possessed


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 51of the four-fold qualities of Jo purity, rakupleasure, ga self essence, and jO permanence.All phenomenal life is bad only because it isrelative, incomplete, imperfect, because it in-adequately expresses the absolute, because it isbounded and conditioned, for latent within eachphenomenon is supreme bliss.Nirvana consists not in escape from the world,

but in the unlocking of the hidden nature, thedevelopment of the sleeping Buddha, the un-folding of potentialities. It is the fruition oflife rather than its denial. Sin and sorrow arenot so much exterminated as transmuted intoholiness and joy.

This is known as the Shakkyoku-teki noNehan or the positive Nirvana, in which Nirvanais compared to the waxing of the moon. Themoon is the Bodhicitta, which steadily grows inintensity until the full moon of Buddhahood bereached.

(


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52 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMaspects of the whole by which its absolutivitymay be more adequately judged.

Shinran, the founder of the Shin school ofBuddhism (13th century A.D.), accepted thephilosophy of unreformed Mahayana Buddhism,but gave it a practical turn. Though the worldbe potentially good and all men possessed ofthe Bodhicitta, yet do grief and doubt assail us.Meditation upon the Absolute may suffice themetaphysician, but the man in the street is leftdisconsolate. Weak mortality is unable toawaken the Bodhicitta, and for such the olderphilosophies give no help.Though acting on these ideas Shinran did not

deny the validity of the older doctrines, but hedevoted his life to formulating them in such away that they might serve as a comfort and astimulus. Looked at from the relative point of

L/view, so long as our hearts are bent uponexternal pleasures, or are in dependence uponmaterial things, there is no true happiness orpeace of mind. Anguish seizes upon us, and wefind ourselves forlorn and hopeless.

I .Salvation, however, may be found in under-standing the true meaning behind the wordsAmida, Tariki, and Ojo. Amida, (SanskritAmitabha) is a symbol of the Infinite, the sum


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 53total of our highest aspirations. Tariki (liter-ally other power) is a complete setting aside ofpersonal motives, of self-aspiration in a completeadoration of the supreme. It is, as we havesaid, a mysticism of exclusive adoration. Thisawakens the Busshin or Buddha heart (Bodhi-citta) which results in Ojo, rebirth in Paradise,a rebirth which takes place not merely at death,but at the moment in life of complete self-abnegation, thereby differing from the olderSukhavati doctrine, which gave a purely materialand post-mortem position to Paradise.

Life then is relatively evil, that is, evil so longas we place our trust in anything save Amida,but becomes a resting place, a temporary abodeof the Bodhicitta, when once the latter has beenawakened by unselfish adoration. As Amida iseternal, so is the Bodhicitta eternal, but whetherafter death it retains its discreteness, or is lost inthe sea of perfection, only the awakened one canknow.

2. The Nature of Reality.On no point is the diversity of Buddhist

philosophy so exemplified as on that of itsvarious theories of the nature of ultimate reality.There is, of course, the marked line of cleavage


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54 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMbetween the Hinayana and Mahayana philoso-phies, but, in addition, each of these schoolsis several times subdivided. The principalstages may be summarized as follows :

1. Primitive Buddhism^ or psychologicalagnosticism, in which no attempt is made toexplore the recesses of the noumenal world, andno theories concerning ultimate reality arepostulated.

2. Hinaydna Buddhism teaches a material-istic realism, that the universe consists of acertain small number of elements, uncreated,which enter into combination in accordancewith causal law, unconnected with any super-natural law giver.

3. The Mddhyamika School of Mahaydnabroke up these elements into component parts,and stated that there is only a fluid, fluctuat-ing stream of life, and that therefore all seeminglyunchanging phenomena have only a conceptualexistence.

4. The Yogdcdrya School of Mahdydna calledthis stream of life the Essence of Mind or theAlaya Vijnana, which is no less fluid or devoid ofeternal particularity. The evolution of thisEssence of Mind brings about the formationof the phenomenal universe.


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 556. Chinese and Japanese Mahdyana (especi-

ally the Tendai and Kegon sects) has developedthe theory of the Absolute latent in the fore-going conceptions, and states that the Bhtita-tathata is both the Norm or Pure Form, orSupreme Idea, and also the fundamental essenceof all life.

This theory of the Absolute or Bhtitatathatais so important that a few words of elucidationare necessary. It is the doctrine which mostsharply distinguishes Mahayana from Hinayana,and, on the other hand, the peculiar line ofdevelopment which the theory underwent causesit to be essentially different from most otherdoctrines of the Absolute as found in eitherEurope or Asia.

Classification of Theories Concerning theAbsolute.

It is important to understand quite clearlyjust what relationship exists between theMahayana and other theories concerning thenature of the Absolute. In attempting toexplain their own position, modern Mahayanascholars have classified the various forms ofmonotheism In the following way :

1. Tran$oendental Monotheism, under which


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56 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMOrthodox Christianity and Islam are included.In this the Deity and the world are entirelyseparate and distinct. Spirit and matter werecreated by God out of nothing and henceforwardsexercise their functions in accordance with HisLaws. This school has three divisions, (a)anthropomorphic in which a definite form isassigned to the Deity, (b) anthropopathic inwhich the Deity is without body or parts, yet hassemi-human emotions, and (c) the school inwhich the Deity though more or less personalyet is " without body parts, or passions."

2. Emanational Monotheism is a modifiedform of pantheism which teaches that God andthe World are not the same, yet the world is ofa similar nature and is an emanation from theDeity. In this school the Divine is the parent aswell as the ruler of the Universe. This theorywhich found much favour with the Hindus andthe Sufis, and which has had a revival amongstmany members of modern Liberal Christianity isusually associated with the idea that the worldwhen first emanated was pure, but that it hasbecome corrupted, though finally the universeand the human soul will once more be purified,whereupon it will be reabsorbed into the DivineEssence.


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 573. JDevolutional Monotheism. With the third

form of monotheism we definitely enter thelimits of pantheism strictly so-called. In thissystem God and the world are absolutely synony-mous, one word being used for the other. Thereare two forms of this idea, one is that the Divineis simply the sum total of the atoms which com-pose the universe, the other which has beentermed panentheism, is that God while the sum-total is yet something more, a something initself.

In either case this school teaches that in themanifestation of the universe the Divine haschanged His essencethat the nature of theAbsolute was at first pure and undefiled likeclear water, but that subsequently it becamepolluted as if some mud were mingled with itbut that at some future time it is to be hoped thatthis mud will be strained off and the water willonce more resume its clarity.

4. The Mahayana Conception stands in con-tradistinction to all the other teachings. To besure Mahayana is, philosophically at least,monotheistic, and at the same time it is Pantheis-tic in teaching that the divine and the universeare indivisible, though with the PanentheistaMahayana asserts that the Universal Buddha is


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58 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMfar more than the sum-total of existence. Thefundamental difference is that according toMahayana the essence of the Divine remains un-changed throughout all eternity, and the basicnature of one phenomenon is exactly the sameas another, though the mode of expression ormanifestation may be widely different.We are given two illustrations of this idea.The first is that of pots of clay. There are, weknow, pots of many shapes and sizes, some usedfor good purposes and some for bad, though theymay all be of the same underlying substance.The other illustration is that of the ocean whichwe have already pointed out. The pots and thewaves are the different phenomena of theuniverse, while the clay and the ocean are theAbsolute. While, to use the simile of the ocean,no two waves are alike, they are all of the sameessence, the water, and that essence remainsunchanged, though it is constantly assumingnew and different shapes and transformations.In like manner, says Mahayana, does the

Absolute express itself in the Universe withoutin the least affecting its own essence. TheBhfltatathata therefore is the Eternal Being andyet th Eternal Becoming. Furthermore aitbare can be an ocean without waves but no


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 59waves without ocean, so, Mahayana declares, thatno life would be possible without having for itsessence the Bhutatathata.

The Mahayana Theory of the Nature of theAbsolute.

A careful examination of the Mahayanatheory of the Bhutatathata or Absolute shewsthat it combines two widely different concepts.These are (1) the norm of life, and (2) the essenceof life.

(1) On the one hand it is not the Universe,but the sufficient reason of the Universe, theabstract idea of law and causality, the such-as-it-is-ness of life. It thus combines somethingof the Aristotelian conception of the Pure Formof the Universe as opposed to its content, withthe Platonic theory of ideas. In this aspectit is the symbol of intellectual and moral per-fection. It is for this reason that we find theAbsolute described as Bharma (Law), or Bhar-makdya (The Body of the Law), as the Essenceof Buddha, since it constitutes the reasons ofBuddhahood, Bodhi (Wisdom) or the source ofintelligence, Prajna (Enlightenment),

Baramarthd(Absolute Truth), etc.

(2) On the other hand,\in addition to being


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60 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMthe Norm or the Pure Form of the Universe,it is also its ultimate essence. The Bhiitatathatais identical with the Essence of Mind, and so itis called the seed of life, or the TathdgatagarbJia(the womb of the Tathagata) when it is thoughtof in analogy to Mother Earth where all thegerms of life are stored. The Alaya Vijhanais but a development of this aspect of the Bhiita-tathata. In the early days the word MahayS.nawas used in a similar connection.In the famous Mahayana ^raddhotpada ^astra,

which is accepted as Orthodox by all branchesof Mahayana, we find the following general anddetailed explanation of the Buddhist theory ofthe Absolute :

(a). General Explanation.The Absolute can be considered in two ways,

(1) Its Substance, and (2) Its Attributes. (1)Its Substance. The author of the Qraddhotpada^astra, who is usually supposed to be A5vaghoa,declares the Absolute to be " the soul (or heart)of all sentient beings and constitutes all things inthe universe, phenomenal and supra-phenome-nal." (2) Its Attributes. The Absolute has atriple significance, (i) greatness of quintessenceor essential naturean essence which " knowsno diminution or addition, but remains the same


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 61iu ordinary people, ^ravakas, Pratyeka Buddha>s,Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. It was not createdin the past, nor is it to be annihilated inthe future ; it is eternal, permanent, absolute ;and from all eternity it sufRcingly embraces inits essence all possible merits." (ii) greatnessof manifestations,

"that is to say (the Absolute)has such characteristics as . . :the effulgence of

great wisdom ; the universal illumination ofthe dharmadhatu ; the true and adequateknowledge ; the mind pure and clean in its selfnature ; the eternal, the blessed, the self-regulat-ing, and the pure." (iii) greatness of activity,because as a result of its activity all the innumer-able phenomena of the universe came into exist-ence, and also because through its influenceaspiring mankind feels a deep compassion for allbeings, " Bodhisattvas treat others as their ownself ; wish to work out a universal salvation ofmankind in ages to come . . . and do notcling to the individual existence of a sentientbeing."

(h). Detailed Explanation.The Absolute has two phases or aspects :

(1) the Unmanifest or Transcendental phase(literally the soul as Pure Form) or the Absolute


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62 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMproper, and (2) The Manifest or Immanent phase(hterally the soul as birth and death) or theAbsolute become limited.

(1) The Unvianifested Phase, is the IdealWorld the underlying unity, the quintessenceof all being. It is the eternal samenessunder all apparent difference. Owing to oursubjective activity (nen) we build up avision of a discrete, particularized universe, butin reality the essence of things ever remains one,void of particularity. Being absolute " it isnot nameable or explicable. It can not berendered in any form of language. It is withoutthe range of perception." It may be termed^iinya or the Void, because it is not a fixed orlimited entity but a perpetual becoming, void ofself-existing component parts. It may likewisebe termed A^iinya, the Full or the Existentbecause when confused subjectivity has beendestroyed " we perceive the pure soul manifest-ing itself as eternal, permanent, immutable, andcompletely comprising all things that are pure."

(2) The Manifested Phase is the Womb Worldwhere are stored all the potentialities of everyform of life. It is identical with the AlayaVijnana, the repository consciousness, or theEssence of Mind. This Essence of Mind has


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 63likewise two aspects, (a) that of Enlightenmentin which it is regarded as the focus of purity inthe phenomenal world, (b) Non-enlightenmentin which the Alaya Vijnana becomes entangledby ignorance, and as the result of consequentconfused subjectivity gives rise to the formationof the phenomenal world, which is, of course, atbottom subjective.

(a) Enlightenment consists of supremewisdom and purity. In one sense it is latentin all sentient beings however low their state.This is known as Potential Enlightenment, orenlightenment a priori. The majority of man-kind, however, have still to develop this seed ofBuddhahood until this enlightenment be mademanifest and conscious. Enlightenment is thenknown as Active Enlightenment or enlighten-ment a posteriori. The various ranks such asCommon People, Qravakas, Pratyeka Buddha,Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas are but stagesleading to Active Enlightenment.

(b) Non-enlightenment consists of the fecunda-tion of the Essence of Mind by Ignorance whichresults in blind activity and the subsequentevolution of units of consciousness, which,interacting with one another create for themselvesthe image of the phenomenal world. " There-


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64 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMfore the three worlds are nothing but the mani-festation of the Alaya Vijnanaseparated fromthe mind there would be no such things as thesix objects of sense." In order to explain theevolution of the phenomenal world the Mahayan-ists have brought in the Pratitya Samutpadaor the twelve Nidanas, which in Hinayana referalmost exclusively to personal origination, toexplain the evolution of the external world.First comes ignorance, which, acting upon theAbsolute, brings about action, which results inthe formation of consciousnessand so onthrough the list.An examination of the details of this theorylies outside the scope of our present undertaking,but the following points should be of interest.The Bhutatathata quickened by ignorance andready to be realized in the world of the particu-lars is known as Tathagatagarbha, literally theTathagata's womb, or store house. It mayrightly be called the womb of the universewhich gives birth to the stream of consciousness.The stream of life being set flowing, from the

action arising therefrom we find the beginning ofthe individualization of the particular units oflatent consciousness. Thus is the Alaya Vijnanawhich as Suzuki says, " is a particularized ex-


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 65

pression in the human mind of the Tathagata-garbha. It is an individual, ideal reflex of thecosmic garbha. It is this psychic germ, as theAlaya is often designated, that stores all themental possibilities which are set in motion bythe impetus of the external world."The Alaya Vijnana ( Vijndna means conscious-

ness, and Alaya repository) is not waking ornormal consciousness. In itself it is more likethe unconsciousness which is behind matter andspirit, thought and extension. Although it isindividualistic, or the centre of blind activity, ithas not yet reached the stage of self-consciousness,or distinguished itself from other such centres.It is but the seed from which the flower ofconsciousness will blossom, or the materialout of which the world of subject and objectwUl be constructed.

Gradually, just as the Unconsciousness ofVon Hartmann evolves into the Conscious inmankind, so does the Alaya Vijndna evolve intothe Kligtomano-vijnana. Kligto-mano-vijndnais literally " Soiled Mind Consciousness " andmeans the state in which the unit of life begins tobe aware of itself, to distinguish itself from othersuch units, to become a co-ordinated organism.As this organism comes more and more into


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66 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMcontact with the stream of life around it, itbegins to react to its external environment, todistinguish sensations, to group them together,to abstract them into ideas and to associate ideasinto memory and reason. Instinctively, follow-ing the line of self-preservation, it likes certainsensations and dislikes others, to crave for thepleasant and to avoid the unpleasant. In thisway the Mano-vijnana (Mind consciousness)comes into being.The external world has, in its essence, a real

existence. It is a part of the stream of lifebased in the Essence of Mind. The world as itappears, to us, however, is the result of actionof the Alaya, Kli^to-mano, and Mano-vijndna,stimulated by contact with the real externalworld, which in turn is but a phase of the uni-versal Alaya.Sectarian Views on the Relation between the

Absolute and the World of Phenomena.The foregoing may be said to represent the

views of all branches of Mahayana irrespectiveof sect. Most of the schools, however, were veryfond of metaphysical hair splitting, and it maybe of interest to see something of the mannerin which they carried on their discussions. As


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 67an instance let us examine, for a moment, themanner in which some of the sects have viedwith one another in formulating examples of theunity of life, and the identity in essence of allphenomena.The argument employed is somewhat compli-

cated, and to understand it at all it is necessaryto bear in mind two things, one, the old distinctionbetween the noumenon and phenomena (theSamskrita and Asamskrita Dharmas of the olderBuddhist phraseology), the other, the threestates of being, or the three philosophies of life,Ke, Kii, and Chu.A. In China and Japan the noumenon orthe Essence of Mind is sometimes called Ri orEeason or Principle, as opposed to phenomena,Ji or Thing. These terms should be rememberedas discussions concerning the nature of the Ab-solute, the relationship between the Absoluteand the material world, and the relation of onething to another, were carried on solely in theseterms.

B. The three states of being, it will be re-membered, referred to the metaphysical stand-point of different stages of Buddhist develop-ment.

1. Ke, stands for Eealism, where the various


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68 INTRODUCTION TO MAHAYANA BUDDHISMphenomena of the universe are disintegrated intoa number of real and self-existing permanentelements.

2. Ku, or Qunya, has no direct Europeanequivalent. It is usually expressed by Nihil-istic Idealism, but in reality it is neither nihilisticnor idealistic. The ^iinya doctrine simplyasserts that there is nothing-unto-itself, thatthere is nothing changeless and eternal, but thatevery thing is in a state of flux, that there isnever a Being but only a Becoming. ModernEuropean science is nihilistic in asserting thatthere is no changeless and self-existing table,as every table is a changing concatenation ofelements. The Qtinya doctrine, as we havealready observed, goes on to say that theseelements are in turn composite, and continues itsprocess of desintegration until we reach theceaselessly flowing stream of life.

3. C?iu, or Madhya is the ontological de-velopment of this stream of life. Madhya in itsmetaphysical aspect is equivalent to the Absoluteor the Essence of Mind, the Bhutatathat. Itis the norm of existence which is ever the sameand yet ever changing. It is thus the unionof opposites. In the light of the Madhyadoctrine we are able to say that the Universe


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 69both exists and non-exists. The universe hasno final existence per se, i.e., it may be broken upinto component parts, so that to regard it as afixed reality is an illusion. On the other handit has a relative existence. As a complex itdoes exist and being derived from the Essence ofMind its existence is based upon ultimate reality.The Universe is but a passing phase of theUniversal Life Essence.So much by way of introduction. Now for the

discussion itself. In Chinese or developedMahayana we find two main systems of thought,one that of the Avatamsaka or Kegon school,which was adopted by the Mantra school, theother that of the Tendai school which was takenover by the Dhyana School.

According to the Avatamsaka School theteachings of its rival consists of the Ri-ji-mugedoctrine and its own the Ji-ji-muge doctrine.Let us see exactly what this means.

Ri-ji-muge Ji-ji-muge._/f/

Ri it will be remembered stands for reason,Principle, the Noumenon, or the Absolute j


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70 INTRODUCTION 10 MAHAYANA BUDDHISMJi for the particular, phenomena, the variousobjects of the universe. Muge means undivided.Now in Mahayana, as we know, the Absoluteor the Noumenon and the World of Life andDeath or the realm of phenomena are identical.Accordingly, to use the technical phrase, theRi and the Ji are undivided, the greater includingthe less. The followers of this school try, bymeans of meditation, to unlock the secrets ofall phenomena (Ji) by fathoming the real natureof the one noumenon (Ri).We know moreover, that it is not the caseonly for one phenomenon, but that all thingsare one in essence with the essence of mind.In consequence, following out the idea on logicallines, we have.

If A =xand B =ithen A =B.

Substituting for x the Ri, and for A any pheno-menon (Ji No. 1), and for B any other phenomenon,(Ji No. 2), we have

Ji No. 1 -Ji No. 2.or in other words, the fundamental essenceof any phenomenon is the same as all othersuch objects. In this school of thought (the Ri-ji-muge), however, one thing equals another


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THE NATURE OF THE ABSOLUTE 71thing only indirectly, i.e., only because the twothings are both identical with the one transcend-ing Ri and not because of their own essence.The Kegon School declares that this doctrine

is not that of the true immanence of the Uni-versal Buddha, which is only to be found in thetheory of the Ji-ji-muge. Literally, of course,Ji-ji-muge means " Phenomena-phenomena-undivided " or more freely, the direct identity(in essence) of all phenomena. This doctrineinsists upon what we may call the a priori unityof all the material objects of the universe.

The line of argument employed in working outthis system is the very opposite of the preced-ing :By investigating their basic nature we discover

that one object is of the same substance with allthe others, or let us say,

If Ji No. 1 =Ji No. 2And Ji No. 2 =Ji No. 3, etc.,

then we must postulate a universal noumenonwhich is at the back of them all.

In this system phenomena are emphasized atthe expense of the noumenon, or let us say thatinstead of trying to understand the nature of theparticular by comprehending the universal, as isdone in

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