FOOTNOTES:
For a specimen of devotional literature about the heart see the little tract translated in China Branch, R.A.S. XXIII. pp. 9-22.
For text translation and commentary, see De Groot, Code du Mahâyâna en Chine, 1893, see also Nanjio, No. 1087.
[857] De Groot, p. 81.
[858] The identity of name seems due to a similarity of metaphor. The Brahmajâla sutta is a net of many meshes to catch all forms of error. The Fan-wang-ching compares the varieties of Buddhist opinion to the meshes of a net (De Groot, l.c. p. 26), but the net is the all-inclusive common body of truth.
[859] See, however, sections 20 and 39.
[860] See especially De Groot, l.c. p. 58, where the reading of the Abhidharma is forbidden. Though this name is not confined to the Hînayâna, A-pi-t'an in Chinese seems to be rarely used as a title of Mahayanist books.
[861] The Indian words are transliterated in the Chinese text.
[862] More accurately reading the sûtras on their behalf, but this exercise is practically equivalent to intercessory prayer.
[864] The full title is
Pai Chang is apparently to be taken as the name of the author, but it is the designation of a monastery used as a personal name. See Hackmann in T'oung Pao, 1908, pp. 651-662. It is No. 1642 in Nanjio's Catalogue. He says that it has been revised and altered.
[865] See T'oung Pao, 1904, pp. 437 ff.
[866] It is probable that the older Chinese monasteries attempted to reproduce the arrangement of Nâlanda and other Indian establishments. Unfortunately Hsüan Chuang and the other pilgrims give us few details as to the appearance of Indian monasteries: they tell us, however, that they were surrounded by a wall, that the monks' quarters were near this wall, that there were halls where choral services were performed and that there were triads of images. But the Indian buildings had three stories. See Chavannes, Mémoire sur les Religieux Eminents, 1894, p. 85.
For this personage see the article in B.E.F.E.O. 1916. No. 3, by Péri who identifies him with Wei, the general of the Heavenly Kings who appeared to Tao Hsüan the founder of the Vinaya school and became popular as a protecting deity of Buddhism. The name is possibly a mistaken transcription of Skandha.
See Lévi and Chavannes' two articles in J.A. 1916, I and II, and Watters in J.R.A.S. 1898, p. 329, for an account of these personages. The original number, still found in a few Chinese temples as well as in Korea, Japan and Tibet was sixteen. Several late sûtras contain the idea that the Buddha entrusted the protection of his religion to four or sixteen disciples and bade them not enter Nirvana but tarry until the advent of Maitreya. The Ta-A-lo-han-nan-t'i-mi-to-lo-so-shuo-fa-chu-chi (Nanjio, 1466) is an account of these sixteen disciples and of their spheres of influence. The Buddha assigned to each a region within which it is his duty to guard the faith. They will not pass from this life before the next Buddha comes. Piṇḍola is the chief of them. Nothing is known of the work cited except that it was translated in 654 by Hsüan Chuang, who, according to Watters, used an earlier translation. As the Arhats are Indian personalities, and their spheres are mapped out from the point of view of Indian geography, there can be no doubt that we have to do with an Indian idea, imported into Tibet as well as into China where it became far more popular than it had ever been in India. The two additional Arhats (who vary in different temples, whereas the sixteen are fixed) appear to have been added during the T'ang dynasty and, according to Watters, in imitation of a very select order of merit instituted by the Emperor T'ai Tsung and comprising eighteen persons. Chavannes and Lévi see in them spirits borrowed from the popular pantheon.
Chinese ideas about the Lohans at the present day are very vague. Their Indian origin has been forgotten and some of them have been provided with Chinese biographies. (See Doré, p. 216.) One popular story says that they were eighteen converted brigands.
In several large temples there are halls containing 500 images of Arhats, which include many Chinese Emperors and one of them is often pointed out as being Marco Polo. But this is very doubtful. See, however, Hackmann, Buddhismus, p. 212.
[870] Generally they consist of Śâkya-muni and two superhuman Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, such as O-mi-to (Amitâbha) and Yo-shih-fo (Vaidûrya): Pi-lu-fo (Vairocana) and Lo-shih-fo (Lochana): Wên-shu (Manjuś-ri) and P'u-hsien (Śamantabhadra). The common European explanation that they are the Buddhas of the past, present and future is not correct.
For the importance of Ti-tsang in popular Buddhism, which has perhaps been underestimated, see Johnston, chap. VII.
[872] I speak of the Old Imperial Government which came to an end in 1911.
[874] De Groot, l.c. p.51.
[875] See Kern's translation, especially pp. 379 and 385.
[876] See Nanjio, Nos. 138 and 139. The practice is not entirely unknown in the legends of Pali Buddhism. In the Lokapaññatti, a work existing in Burma but perhaps translated from the Sanskrit, Asoka burns himself in honour of the Buddha, but is miraculously preserved. See B.E.F.E.O. 1904, pp. 421 and 427.
[877] See I-Tsing, Records of the Buddhist Religion, trans. Takakusu, pp. 195 ff., and for Tibet, Waddell, Buddhism of Tibet, p. 178, note 3, from which it appears that it is only in Eastern Tibet and probably under Chinese influence that branding is in vogue. For apparent instances in Central Asian art, see Grünwedel, Budd. Kultst. p. 23, note 1.
[878] Branding is common in many Hindu sects, especially the Mâdhvas, but is reprobated by others.
[879] It is condemned as part of the superstition of Buddhism in a memorial of Han Yü, 819 A.D.
[880] See those cited by De Groot, l.c. p. 228, and the article of MacGowan (Chinese Recorder, 1888) there referred to. See also Hackmann, Buddhism as a Religion, p. 228. Chinese sentiment often approves suicide, for instance, if committed by widows or the adherents of defeated princes. For a Confucian instance, see Johnston, p. 341.
[881] See e.g. Du Bose, The Dragon, Image and Demon, p. 265. I have never seen such practices myself. See also Paraphrase of the Sacred Edict, VII. 8.
This word, which has no derivation in Chinese, is thought to be a corruption of some vernacular form of the Sanskrit Upâdhyâya current in Central Asia. See I-tsing, transl. Takakusu, p. 118. Upâdhyâya became Vajjha (as is shown by the modern Indian forms Ojha or Jha and Tamil Vâddyar). See Bloch in Indo-Germanischen Forschungen, vol. XXV. 1909, p. 239. Vajjha might become in Chinese Ho-sho or Ho-shang for Ho sometimes represents the Indian syllable va. See Julien, Méthode, p. 109, and Eitel, Handbook of Chinese Buddhism, p. 195.
[883] For details see Hackmann in T'oung Pao, 1908.
[884] They apparently correspond to the monastic lay servants or "pure men" described by I-Ching, chap. XXXII, as living as Nâlanda.
[885] A Catena of Buddhist Scriptures from the Chinese, pp. 339 ff.
[886] The abbot and several upper priests wear robes, which are generally red and gold, during the service. The abbot also carries a sort of sceptre. The vestments of the clergy are said to be derived from the robes of honour which used to be given to them when they appeared at Court.
[887] II. 16. Cf. the rituals in De la Vallée Poussin's Bouddhisme et Matériaux, pp. 214 ff. Târanâtha frequently mentions burnt offerings as part of worship in medieval Magadha.
[888] I do not refer to the practice of turning disused temples into schools which is frequent. In some monasteries the monks, while retaining possession, have themselves opened schools.
[889] It is not clear to me what is really meant by the birthdays of beings like Maitreya and Amitâbha.
[890] Actes du Sixième Congres des Orientalistes, Leide, 1883, sec. IV. pp. 1-120.
[891] E.g. in Dipavamsa, XIII; Mahâv. XIV. Mahinda is represented as converting Ceylon by accounts of the terrors of the next world.
[892] The merit of good deeds can be similarly utilized. The surviving relatives feed the poor or buy and maintain for the rest of its life an animal destined to slaughter. The merit then goes to the deceased.
[893] It may possibly be traceable to Manichæism which taught that souls are transferred from one sphere to another by a sort of cosmic water wheel. See Cumont's article, "La roue à puiser les âmes du Manichéisme" in Rev. de l'Hist, des Religions, 1915, p. 384. Chavannes and Pelliot have shown that traces of Manichæism lingered long in Fu-Kien. The metaphor of the endless chain of buckets is also found in the Yüan Jên Lun.
[894] See Francke, "Ein Buddhistischer Reformversuch in China," T'oung Pao, 1909, pp. 567-602.
CHAPTER XLVII
KOREA[895]
The Buddhism of Korea cannot be sharply distinguished from the Buddhism of China and Japan. Its secluded mountain monasteries have some local colour, and contain halls dedicated to the seven stars and the mountain gods of the land. And travellers are impressed by the columns of rock projecting from the soil and carved into images (miriok), by the painted walls of the temples and by the huge rolled-up pictures which are painted and displayed on festival days. But there is little real originality in art: in literature and doctrine none at all. Buddhism started in Korea with the same advantages as in China and Japan but it lost in moral influence because the monks continually engaged in politics and it did not win temporal power because they were continually on the wrong side. Yet Korea is not without importance in the annals of far-eastern Buddhism for, during the wanderings and vicissitudes of the faith, it served as a rest-house and depot. It was from Korea that Buddhism first entered Japan: when, during the wars of the five dynasties the T'ien-t'ai school was nearly annihilated in China, it was revived by a Korean priest and the earliest extant edition of the Chinese Tripitaka is known only by a single copy preserved in Korea and taken thence to Japan.
For our purposes Korean history may be divided into four periods:
| I. | The three States. | (B.C. 57-A.D. 668). |
| II. | The Kingdom of Silla. | (668-918). |
| III. | The Kingdom of Korye. | (918-1392). |
| IV. | The Kingdom of Chosen. | (1392-1910). |
The three states were Koguryu in the north, Pakche in the south-west and Silla in the south-east[896]. Buddhism, together with Chinese writing, entered Koguryu from the north in 372 and Pakche from the south a few years later. Silla being more distant and at war with the other states did not receive it till about 424. In 552 both Japan and Pakche were at war with Silla and the king of Pakche, wishing to make an alliance with the Emperor of Japan sent him presents which included Buddhist books and images. Thus Korea was the intermediary for introducing Buddhism, writing, and Chinese culture into Japan, and Korean monks played an important part there both in art and religion. But the influence of Korea must not be exaggerated. The Japanese submitted to it believing that they were acquiring the culture of China and as soon as circumstances permitted they went straight to the fountain head. The principal early sects were all imported direct from China.
The kingdom of Silla, which became predominant in the seventh century, had adopted Buddhism in 528, and maintained friendly intercourse with the T'ang dynasty. As in Japan Chinese civilization was imitated wholesale. This tendency strengthened Buddhism at the time, but its formidable rival Confucianism was also introduced early in the eighth century, although it did not become predominant until the thirteenth[897].
In the seventh century the capital of Silla was a centre of Buddhist culture and also of trade. Merchants from India, Tibet and Persia are said to have frequented its markets and several Korean pilgrims visited India.
In 918 the Wang dynasty, originating in a northern family of humble extraction, overthrew the kingdom of Silla and with it the old Korean aristocracy. This was replaced by an official nobility modelled on that of China: the Chinese system of examinations was adopted and a class of scholars grew up. But with this attempt to reconstruct society many abuses appeared. The number of slaves greatly increased[898], and there were many hereditary low castes, the members of which were little better than slaves. Only the higher castes could compete in examinations or hold office and there were continual struggles and quarrels between the military and civil classes. Buddhism flourished much as it flourished in the Hei-an period of Japan, but its comparative sterility reflected the inferior social conditions of Korea. Festivals were celebrated by the Court with great splendour: magnificent monasteries were founded: the bonzes kept troops and entered the capital armed: the tutor of the heir apparent and the chancellor of the kingdom were often ecclesiastics, and a law is said to have been enacted to the effect that if a man had three sons one of them must become a monk. But about 1250 the influence of the Sung Confucianists began to be felt. The bonzes were held responsible for the evils of the time, for the continual feuds, exactions and massacres, and the civil nobility tended to become Confucianist and to side against the church and the military. The inevitable outburst was delayed but also rendered more disastrous when it came by the action of the Mongols who, as in China, were patrons of Buddhism. The Yüan dynasty invaded Korea, placed regents in the principal towns and forced the Korean princes to marry Mongol wives. It was from Korea that Khubilai despatched his expeditions against Japan, and in revenge the Japanese harried the Korean coast throughout the fourteenth century. But so long as the Yüan dynasty lasted the Korean Court which had become Mongol remained faithful to it and to Buddhism; when it was ousted by the Ming, a similar movement soon followed in Korea. The Mongolized dynasty of Korye was deposed and another, which professed to trace its lineage back to Silla, mounted the throne and gave the country the name of Chosen.
This revolution was mainly the work of the Confucianist party in the nobility and it was not unnatural that patriots and reformers should see in Buddhism nothing but the religion of the corrupt old regime of the Mongols. During the next century and a half a series of restrictive measures, sometimes amounting to persecution, were applied to it. Two kings who dared to build monasteries and favour bonzes were deposed. Statues were melted down, Buddhist learning was forbidden: marriages and burials were performed according to the rules of Chu-hsi. About the beginning of the sixteenth century (the date is variously given as 1472 and 1512 and perhaps there was more than one edict) the monasteries in the capital and all cities were closed and this is why Korean monasteries are all in the country and often in almost inaccessible mountains. It is only since the Japanese occupation that temples have been built in towns.
At first the results of the revolution were beneficial. The great families were compelled to discharge their body-guards whose collisions had been a frequent cause of bloodshed. The public finances and military forces were put into order. Printing with moveable type and a phonetic alphabet were brought into use and vernacular literature began to flourish. But in time the Confucian literati formed a sort of corporation and became as troublesome as the bonzes had been. The aristocracy split into two hostile camps and Korean politics became again a confused struggle between families and districts in which progress and even public order became impossible. For a moment, however, there was a national cause. This was when Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592 as part of his attack on China. The people rose against the Japanese troops and, thanks to the death of Hideyoshi rather than to their own valour, got rid of them. It is said that in this struggle the bonzes took part as soldiers fighting under their abbots and that the treaty of peace was negotiated by a Korean and a Japanese monk[899].
Nevertheless it does not appear that Buddhism enjoyed much consideration in the next three centuries. The Hermit Kingdom, as it has been called, became completely isolated and stagnant nor was there any literary or intellectual life except the mechanical study of the Chinese classics. Since the annexation by Japan (1910) conditions have changed and Buddhism is encouraged. Much good work has been done in collecting and reprinting old books, preserving monuments and copying inscriptions. The monasteries were formerly under the control of thirty head establishments or sees, with somewhat conflicting interests. But about 1912 these thirty sees formed a union under a president who resides in Seoul and holds office for a year. A theological seminary also has been founded and a Buddhist magazine is published.