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BUDDHISM is geographically
divided into two schools1 -- the Southern, the older and simpler, and
the Northern, the later and more developed faith. The former, based mainly on
the Pali texts2 is known as Hinayana3 (small vehicle), or the
inferior doctrine; while the latter, based on the various Sanskrit texts,
4 is known as Mahayana (large
vehicle), or superior
doctrine. The chief tenets of the Southern School are so well known to
occidental scholars that they almost always mean the Southern School by the
word Buddhism. But with regard to the Northern School very little is known to
the West, owing to the fact that most of its original texts were lost, and that
the teachings based on these texts are written in Chinese, or Tibetan, or
Japanese languages unfamiliar to non-Buddhist investigators.
It is hardly justifiable to
cover the whole system of Buddhism with a single epithet 1
'pessimistic' or 'nihilistic,' because Buddhism, having been adopted by savage
tribes as well as civilized nations, by quiet, enervated people as well as by
warlike, sturdy hordes, during some twenty-five hundred years, has developed
itself into beliefs widely divergent and even diametrically opposed. Even in
Japan alone it has differentiated itself into thirteen main sects and
forty-four sub-sects2 and is still in full vigour, though in other
countries it has already passed its prime. Thus Japan seems to be the best
representative of the Buddhist countries where the majority of people abides by
the guiding
principle of the Northern
School. To study her religion, therefore, is to penetrate into Mahayanism,
which still lies an unexplored land for the Western minds. And to investigate
her faith is not to dig out the remains of Buddhist faith that existed twenty
centuries ago, but to touch the heart and soul of Mahayanism that enlivens its
devotees at the present moment.
The object of this little
book is to show how the Mahayanistic view of life and of the world differs
markedly from that of Hinayanism, which is generally taken as Buddhism by
occidentals, to explain how the religion of Buddha has adapted itself to its
environment in the Far East, and also to throw light on the existing state of
the spiritual life of modern Japan.
For this purpose we have
singled out of thirteen Japanese sects the Zen Sect,1 not only because
of the great influence it has exercised on the nation, but because of the
unique position it holds among the established religious systems of the world.
In the first place, it is as old as Buddhism itself, or even older, for its
mode of practising Meditation has been handed down without much alteration from
pre-Buddhistic recluses of India; and it may, on that account, provide the student
of comparative religion with an interesting subject for his research.
In the second place, in
spite of its historical antiquity, ideas entertained by its advocates Are so
new that they are in harmony with those of the New Buddhists;2
accordingly
the statement of these
ideas may serve as an explanation of the present movement conducted by young
and able reformers of Japanese Buddhism.
Thirdly, Buddhist
denominations, like non-Buddhist religions, lay stress on scriptural authority;
but Zen denounces it on the ground that words or characters can never
adequately. express religious truth, which can only be realized by mind;
consequently it claims that the religious truth attained by Shakya Muni in his
Enlightenment has been handed down neither by word of mouth nor by the letters
of scriptures, but from teacher's mind to disciple's through the line of
transmission until the present day. It is an isolated instance in the whole
history of the world's religions that holy scriptures are declared to be 'no
more than waste1 paper by religionists, as done by Zen masters.
Fourthly, Buddhist as well
as non-Buddhist religions regard, without exception, their founders as
superhuman beings, but the practisers of Zen hold the Buddha as their
predecessor, whose spiritual level they confidently aim to attain. Furthermore,
they liken one who remains in the exalted position of Buddhaship to a man bound
by a gold chain, and pity his state of bondage. Some of them went even so far
as to declare Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to be their servants and
slaves.2 Such an attitude of religionists can hardly be found in any
other religion.
Fifthly, although
non-Buddhist people are used to call Buddhism idolatry, yet Zen can never be
called so in the accepted sense of the term, because it, having a grand
conception of Deity, is far from being a form of idol-worship; nay, it
sometimes even took an iconoclastic
attitude as is exemplified
by Tan Hia,1 who warmed himself on a cold morning by making a fire of
wooden statues. Therefore our exposition on this point will show the real state
of existing Buddhism, and serve to remove religious prejudices entertained
against it.
Sixthly, there is another
characteristic of Zen, which cannot be found in any other religion-that is to
say, its peculiar mode of expressing profound religious insight by such actions
as the lifting up of a hair-brush, or by the tapping of the chair with a staff,
or by a loud outcry, and so forth. This will give the student of religion a
striking illustration of differentiated forms of religion in its scale of
evolution.
Besides these
characteristics, Zen is noted for its physical and mental training. That the
daily practice of Zazen2 and the breathing exercise remarkably improves
one's physical condition is an established fact. And history proves that most
Zen masters enjoyed a long life in spite of their extremely simple mode of
living. Its mental discipline, however, is by far more fruitful, and keeps one's
mind in equipoise, making one neither passionate nor dispassionate, neither
sentimental nor unintelligent, neither nervous nor senseless. It is well known
as a cure to all sorts of mental disease, occasioned by nervous disturbance, as
a nourishment to the fatigued brain, and also as a stimulus to torpor and
sloth. It is self-control, as it is the subduing of such pernicious passions as
anger, jealousy, hatred, and the like, and the awakening of noble emotions such
as sympathy, mercy, generosity, and what not. It is a mode of Enlightenment, as
it is the dispelling
of illusion and of doubt,
and at the same time it is the overcoming of egoism, the destroying of mean
desires, the uplifting of the moral ideal, and the disclosing of inborn wisdom.
The historical importance
of Zen can hardly be exaggerated. After its introduction into China in the
sixth century, A.D., it grew ascendant through the Sui (598-617) and the Tang
dynasty (618-906), and enjoyed greater popularity than any other sect of Buddhism
during the whole period of the Sung (976-1126) and the Southern Sung dynasty
(1127-1367). In these times its commanding influence became so irresistible
that Confucianism, assimilating the Buddhist teachings, especially those of
Zen, into itself and changing its entire aspect, brought forth the so-called
Speculative philosophy.1 And in the Ming dynasty (1368-1659) the
principal doctrines of Zen were adopted by a celebrated Confucian scholar, Wang
Yang Ming,2 who thereby founded a school, through which Zen exercised
profound influence on Chinese and Japanese men of letters, statesmen, and
soldiers.
As regards Japan, it was
first introduced into the island as the faith first for the Samurai or the
military class, and moulded the characters of many distinguished soldiers whose
lives adorn the pages of her history. Afterwards it gradually found its way to
palaces as well as to cottages through literature and art, and at last
permeated through every fibre of the national life. It is Zen that modern
Japan, especially after the Rust-Japanese War, has acknowledged as an ideal
doctrine for her rising generation.
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