Contents:

Page No 1

Page No 2

Page No 3

Page No 4

THE RELIGION OF THE SAMURAI .............................................................................................................1

THE RELIGION OF THE SAMURAI .............................................................................................................2

BUDDHISM is geographically divided into two schools[1]the Southern, the older and simpler, and the

Northern, the later and more developed faith. The former, based mainly on the Pali texts[2] is known as

Hinayana[3] (small vehicle), or the inferior doctrine; while the latter, based on the various Sanskrit texts, [4]

[1. The Southern School has its adherents in Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Anan, etc.; while the Northern School is

2. They chiefly consist of the Four Nikayas: (1) Digha Nikaya (Dirghagamas, translated into Chinese by

Buddhaya�as, A.D. 412413); (2) Majjhima Nikaya (Madhyamagamas, translated into Chinese by Gautama

Sanghadeva, A.D. 397398); (3) Sanyutta Nikaya (Samyuktagamas, translated into Chinese by Gunabhadra,

of the earlier Sung dynasty, A.D. 420 479); (4) Anguttara Nikaya (Ekottaragamas, translated into Chinese by

Dharmanandi, A.D. 384385). Out of these Hinayana books, the English translation of twentythree suttas

by Rhys Davids exist in 'Sacred Books of Buddhist,' vols. ii.iii., and of seven suttas by the same author in

3. The Southern Buddhists never call their faith Hinayana, the name being an invention of later Buddhists,

who call their doctrine Mahayana in contradistinction to the earlier form of Buddhism. We have to notice that

the word Hinayana frequently occurs in Mahayana books, while it does not in Hinayana books.

4. A catalogue of the Buddhist Canon, K'yuenluh, gives the titles of 897 Mahayana sutras, yet the most

important books often quoted by Northern Buddhist teachers amount to little more than twenty. There exist

the English translation of Larger Sukhavativyuhasutra, Smaller Sukhavativyuhasutra,

Vajracchedikasutra, Larger Prajnaparamitahradyasutra, Smaller Prajnaparamitahrdayasutra, by Max

M�ller, and Amitayurdhyanasutra, by J. Takakusu, in 'Sacred Books of the East,' vol. xlix. An English

translation of Saddharmapundarikasutra, by Kern, is given in 'Sacred Books of the East,' Vol. xxi.

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

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 twentyfive 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 fortyfour subsects[2] 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

[1. Hinayanism is, generally speaking, inclined to be pessimistic, but Mahayanism in the main holds the

optimistic view of life. Nihilism is advocated in some Mahayana sutras, but others set forth idealism or

2. (1) The Ten Dai Sect, including three subsects; (2) The Shin Gon Sect, including eleven subsects; (3)

The Ritsu Sect; (4) The Rin Zai Sect, including fourteen subsects; (5) The So To Sect; (6) The O Baku Sect;

(7) The Jo Do Sect, including two subsects; (8) The Shin Sect, including ten subsects; (9) The Nichi Ren

Sect, including nine subsects; (10) The Yu Zu Nen Butsu Sect; (11) The Hosso Sect; (12) The Ke Gon Sect;

(13) The Ji Sect. Out of these thirteen Buddhist sects, Rin Zai, So To, and O Baku belong to Zen. For further

information, see 'A Short History of the Twelve Japanese Buddhist Sects,' by Dr. B. Nanjo.]

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

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

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 preBuddhistic recluses of India;

and it may, on that account, provide the student of comparative religion with an interesting subject for his

In the second place, in spite of its historical antiquity, ideas entertained by its advocates Are so new that they

[1. The word Zen is the SinicoJapanese abbreviation of the Sanskrit Dhyana, or Meditation. It implies the

whole body of teachings and discipline peculiar to a Buddhist sect now popularly known as the Zen Sect.

2 There exists a society formed by men who have broken with the old creeds of Buddhism, and who call

themselves the New Buddhists. It has for its organ 'The New Buddhism,' and is one of the influential

religious societies in Japan. We mean by the New Buddhists, however, numerous educated young men who

the statement of these ideas may serve as an explanation of the present movement conducted by young and

Thirdly, Buddhist denominations, like nonBuddhist 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 waste[1] paper

Fourthly, Buddhist as well as nonBuddhist 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

Fifthly, although nonBuddhist 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

2 "Shakya and Maitreya," says Go So, "are servants to the other person. Who is that other person?"

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

Sixthly, there is another characteristic of Zen, which cannot be found in any other religionthat is to say, its

peculiar mode of expressing profound religious insight by such actions as the lifting up of a hairbrush, 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

Zazen[2] 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 selfcontrol, 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

[1. A Chinese Zen teacher, well known for his peculiarities, who died in A.D. 824. For the details of this

of illusion and of doubt, and at the same time it is the overcoming of egoism, the destroying of mean desires,

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 (598617) and the Tang dynasty (618906), and enjoyed

greater popularity than any other sect of Buddhism during the whole period of the Sung (9761126) and the

Southern Sung dynasty (11271367). 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 socalled Speculative philosophy.[1] And in the Ming dynasty (13681659) 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

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

RustJapanese War, has acknowledged as an ideal doctrine for her rising generation.

[1. See 'A History of Chinese Philosophy,' by Ryukichi Endo, and A History of Chinese Philosophy,' by

2 For the life of this distinguished scholar and soldier (14721529), see 'A Detailed Life of O Yo Mei by

1. Origin of Zen in India.Today Zen as a living faith can be found in its pure form only among the

Japanese Buddhists. You cannot find it in the socalled Gospel of Buddha anymore than you can find

Unitarianism in the Pentateuch, nor can you find it in China and India any more than you can find life in

fossils of bygone ages. It is beyond all doubt that it can be traced back to Shakya Muni himself, nay, even to

preBuddhistic times, because Brahmanic teachers practised Dhyana, or Meditation,[1] from

[1. "If a wise man hold his body with its three parts (chest, neck, and head) erect, and turn his senses with the

mind towards the heart, he will then in the boat of Brahman cross all the torrents which cause fear.

"Compressing his breathings let him, who has subdued all motions, breathe forth through the nose with the

gentle breath. Let the wise man without fail restrain his mind, that chariot yoked with vicious horses.

"Let him perform his exercises in a place level, pure, free from pebbles, fire, and dust, delightful by its

sounds, its water, and bowers; not painful to the eye, and full of shelters and eaves.

"When Yoga, is being performed, the forms which come first, producing apparitions in Brahman, are those of

"When, as earth, water, light, heat, and ether arises, the fivefold quality of Yoga takes place, then there is no

longer illness, old age, or pain for him who has obtained a body produced by the fire of Yoga.

The first results of Yoga they call lightness, healthiness, steadiness, a good complexion, an easy

pronunciation, a sweet odour, and slight excretions "(�vet. Upanisad, ii. 813).

"When the five instruments of knowledge stand still together with the mind, and when the intellect does not

"This, the firm holding back of the senses, is what is called Yoga. He must be free from thoughtlessness then,

"This is the rule for achieving it (viz., concentration of the mind on the object of meditation): restraint of the

breath, restraint of the senses, meditation, fixed attention, investigation, absorptionthese are called the

sixfold Yoga. When beholding by this Yoga, be beholds the goldcoloured maker, the lord, the person,

Brahman, the cause; then the sage, leaving behind good and evil, makes everything (breath, organs of sense,

body, etc.) to be one in the Highest Indestructible (in the pratyagatman or Brahman) " (Maitr. Upanisad, vi.

"And thus it has been elsewhere: There is the superior fixed attention (dharana) for himviz., if he presses

the tip of the tongue down the palate, and restrain the voice, mind, and breath, he sees Brahman by

discrimination (taraka). And when, after the cessation of mind, he sees his own Self, smaller than small, and

shining as the Highest Self, then, having seen his Self as the Self, he becomes Selfless, and because he is

Selfless, he is without limit, without cause, absorbed in thought. This is the highest mysteryviz., final

Amrtab. Upanisad, 18, describes three modes of sittingnamely, the Lotusseat (Padmasana), the sitting with

legs bent underneath; the mystic diagram seat (Svastika); and the auspiciousseat (Bhadrasana);while

Yoga�ikha directs the choice of the Lotusposture, with attention concentrated on the tip of the nose, hands

earliest times. But Brahmanic Zen was carefully distinguished even by early Buddhists[1] as the heterodox

Zen from that taught by the Buddha. Our Zen originated in the Enlightenment of Shakya Muni, which took

[1. The anonymous author of Lankavatarasutra distinguishes the heterodox Zen from the Hinayana Zen, the

Hinayana Zen from the Mahayana Zen, and calls the last by the name of the Buddha's Holy Zen. The sutra is

believed by many Buddhists, not without reason, to be the exposition of that Mahayana doctrine which

A�vaghosa restated in his �raddhotpada�astra. The sutra was translated, first, into Chinese by Gunabbadra,

in A.D. 443; secondly, by Bodhiruci in A.D. 513; and, thirdly, by �iksanada in A.D. 700704. The book is

famous for its prophecy about Nagdrajuna, which (according to Dr. Nanjo's translation) is as follows:

his thirtieth year, when he was sitting absorbed in profound meditation under the Bodhi Tree. It is said that

then be awoke to the perfect truth and declared: "All animated and inanimate beings are Enlightened at the

same time." According to the tradition[1] of this sect Shakya Muni transmitted his mysterious doctrine from

[1. The incident is related as follows: When the Buddha was at the assembly on the Mount of Holy Vulture,

there came a Brahmaraja who offered the Teacher a golden flower, and asked him to preach the Dharma. The

Buddha took the flower and held it aloft in his hand, gazing at it in perfect silence. None in the assembly

could understand what he meant, except the venerable Mahaka�yapa, who smiled at the Teacher. Then the

Buddha said: "I have the Eye and Treasury of Good Dharma, Nirvana, the Wonderful Spirit, which I now

hand over to Mahaka�yapa." The book in which this incident is described is entitled 'Sutra on the Great

Brahman King's Questioning Buddha to Dispel a Doubt,' but there exists no original text nor any Chinese

translation in the Tripitaka, It is highly probable that some early Chinese Zen scholar of the Sung dynasty

(A.D. 9601126) fabricated the tradition, because Wang Ngan Shih (Oanseki), a powerful Minister under

the Emperor Shan Tsung (Shinso, A.D. 10681085), is said to have seen the book in the Imperial Library.

There is, however, no evidence, as far as we know, pointing to the existence of the Sutra in China. In Japan

there exists, in a form of manuscript, two different translations of that book, kept in secret veneration by some

Zen masters, which have been proved to be fictitious by the present writer after his close examination of the

Mount of Holy Vulture, and the latter was acknowledged as the first patriarch, who, in turn, transmitted the

doctrine to Ananda, the second patriarch, and so till Bodhidharma, the twentyeighth' patriarch. We have

little to say about the historical value of this tradition, but it is worth while to note that the list of the names of

these twentyeight patriarchs contains many eminent scholars of Mahayanism, or the later developed school

of Buddhism, such as A�vaghosa,[2] Nagarjuna,[3] Kanadeva,[4] and Vasubhandhu.[5]

The first twentythree patriarchs are exactly the same as those given in 'The Sutra on the Nidana of

transmitting Dharmapitaka,' translated in A.D. 472. King Teh Chwen Tang Iuh (Keitokudentoroku), a

famous Zen history of China, gives two elaborate narratives about the transmission of Right Dharma from

teacher to disciple through these twentyeight patriarchs, to be trusted without hesitation. It would not be

difficult for any scholar of sense to find these statements were made from the same motive as that of the

anonymous author who gives a short life, in Dirghagamasutra, of each of the six Buddhas, the predecessors

of Shakya Muni, if he carefully compare the list given above with the lists of the patriarchs of the

Sarvastivada school given by San Yin (Soyu died A.D. 518) in his Chuh San Tsung Ki (Shutsusan zoki).

2. One of the founders of Mahayana Buddhism, who flourished in the first century A.D. There exists a life of

his translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva in A.D. 401409. The most important of his works are:

3. The founder of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism, who lived in the second century A.D. A

life of his was translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva in A.D. 401409. Twentyfour books are ascribed to

him, of which Mahapraj�aparamita�astra, Madhyamika�astra, Praj�adipa�astra, Dvada�anikaya�astra,

4. Sometimes called Aryadeva, a successor of Nagarjuna. A life of his was translated into Chinese by

Kumarajiva in A.D. 401409. The following are his important works: �ata�astra, '�astra by the Bodhisattva

Deva on the refutation of four heretical Hinayana schools mentioned in the Lankatvatarasutra'; '�astra by

the Bodhisattva Deva on the explanation of the Nirvana by twenty Hinayana teachers mentioned in the

5. A younger brother of Asamga, a famous Mahayanist of the fifth century A.D. There are thirtysix works

ascribed to Vasubandhu, of which Da�abhumika�astra, Aparimitayussutra�astra,

Vidyamatrasiddhitrida�a�astra, Bodhicittopadana�astra, Buddhagotra�astra,

Vidyamatrasiddhivin�atigatha�astra, Madhyantavibhaga�astra, Abhidharmako�a�astra, Tarka�astra,

2. Introduction of Zen into China by Bodhidharma.An epochmaking event took place in the Buddhist

history of China by Bodhidharma's coming over from Southern India to that country in about A.D. 520.[1] It

was the introduction, not of the dead scriptures, as was repeatedly done before him, but of a living faith, not

of any theoretical doctrine, but of practical Enlightenment, not of the relies of Buddha, but of the Spirit of

Shakya Muni; so that Bodhidharma's position as a representative of Zen was unique. He was, however, not a

missionary to be favourably received by the public. He seems to have behaved in a way quite opposite to that

in which a modern pastor treats his flock. We imagine him to have been a religious teacher entirely different

in every point from a popular Christian missionary of our age. The latter would smile or try to smile at every

[1. Buddhist historians differ in opinion respecting the date of Bodhidharma's appearance in China. Compare

talk sociably; while the former would not smile at any face, but would stare at it with the large glaring eyes

that penetrated to the innermost soul. The latter would keep himself scrupulously clean, shaving, combing,

brushing, polishing, oiling, perfuming, while the former would be entirely indifferent to his apparel, being

always clad in a faded yellow robe. The latter would compose his sermon with a great care, making use of

rhetorical art, and speak with force and elegance; while the former would sit as absolutely silent as the bear,

3. Bodhidharma and the Emperor Wu.No sooner had Bodhidharma landed at Kwang Cheu in Southern

China than he was invited by the Emperor[1] Wu, who was an enthusiastic Buddhist and good scholar, to

proceed to his capital of Chin Liang. When he was received in audience, His Majesty asked him: "We have

built temples, copied holy scriptures, ordered monks and nuns to be converted. Is there any merit, Reverend

Sir, in our conduct?" The royal host, in all probability, expected a smooth, flattering answer from the lips of

his new guest, extolling his virtues, and promising him heavenly rewards, but the Blueeyed Brahmin bluntly

This unexpected reply must have put the Emperor to shame and doubt in no small degree, who was informed

simply of the doctrines of the orthodox Buddhist sects. 'Why not,' he might have thought within himself, 'why

all this is futile? By what authority does he declare all this meritless? What holy text can be quoted to justify

his assertion? What is his view in reference to the different doctrines taught by Shakya Muni? What does he

the first principle of Buddhism?' Thus thinking, he inquired: "What is the holy truth, or the first principle?"

The answer was no less astonishing: "That principle transcends all. There is nothing holy." The crowned

creature was completely at a loss to see what the teacher meant. Perhaps he might have thought: 'Why is

nothing holy? Are there not holy men, Holy Truths, Holy Paths stated in the scriptures? Is he himself not one

of the holy men [2]' "Then who is that confronts us?" asked the monarch again. "I know not, your majesty,"

was the laconic reply of Bodhidharma, who now saw that his new faith was beyond the understanding of the

The elephant can hardly keep company with rabbits. The petty orthodoxy can by no means keep pace with the

elephantine stride of Zen. No wonder that Bodhidharma left not only the palace of the Emperor Wu, but also

the State of Liang, and went to the State of Northern Wei.[1] There he spent nine years in the Shao Lin[2]

Monastery, mostly sitting silent in meditation with his face to the wall, and earned for himself the appellation

of 'the wallgazing Brahmin.' This name itself suggests that the significance of his mission was not

appreciated by his contemporaries. But neither he was nor they were to blame, because the lion's importance

is appreciated only by the lion. A great personage is no less great because of his unpopularity among his

fellow men, just as the great Pang[3] is no less great because of his unpopularity among the winged creatures.

Bodhidharma was not popular to the degree that he was envied by his contemporary Buddhists, who,

3 Chwangtsz in his famous parable compares a great sage with the Pang, an imaginary bird of enormous

size, with its wings of ninety thousand miles. The bird is laughed at by wrens and sparrows because of its

as we are told by his biographers, attempted to poison him three times,[1] but without success.

4. Bodhidharma and his Successor the Second Patriarch.China was not, however, an uncultivated [2]

[1. This reminds us of Nan Yoh Hwui Sz (Nangakueshi, died A.D. 577), who is said to have learned Zen

under Bodhidharma. He says in his statement of a vow that he was poisoned three times by those who envied

2. The translation of Hinayana Zen sutras first paved the way for our faith. Fourteen Zen sutras, including

such important books as Mahanapanadhyanasutra, Dhyanacaryadharmasa�j�asutra,

Dhyanacaryasaptatrim�advargasutra, were translated by Ngan Shi Kao (Anseiko) as early as A.D.

Dhyananisthitasamadhidharmaparygyasutra by Kumarajiva in A.D. 402; 'An Abridged Law on the

Importance of Meditation' by Kumarajiva in A.D. 405; Pancadvaradhyanasutramaharthadharma by

Dharmamitra in A.D. 424441. Furthermore, Mahayana books closely related to the doctrine of Zen were not

unknown to China before Bodhidharma. Pratyutpannabuddhasammukhavasthitasamadhi was translated by

K' Leu Cia Chan (Shirugasen) in A.D. 164186; Vimalakirttinirde�asutra, which is much used in Zen,

by Kumarajiva in A.D. 384412; Lankavatarasutra, which is said to have been pointed out by Bodhidharma

as the best explanation of Zen, by Gunabhadra in A.D. 433; Saddharmapundarikasutra, in its complete

form, by Kumarajiva in A.D. 406; Avatamsakasutra by Buddhabhadra in A.D. 418; Mahaparinirvanasutra

If we are not mistaken, Kumarajiva, who came to China A.D. 384, made a valuable contribution towards the

foundation of Zen in that country, not merely through his translation of Zen sutras above mentioned, but by

the education of his disciples, such as Sang Chao (Sojo, died A.D. 414), Sang Shang (Sosho, whose

writings undoubtedly influenced later Zen teachers. A more important personage in the history of Zen

previous to the Blueeyed Brahmin is Buddhabhadra, a wellknown Zen master, who came over to China

A.D. 406. His translation of Dharmataradhyanasutra (which is said to have been preached by Bodhidharma

himself when he was in India) and that of Avatamsakasutra may be said without exaggeration to have laid

the cornerstone for Zen. He gave a course of lectures on the Zen sutra for the first time in China in A.D.

413, and it was through his instruction that many native practisers of Zen were produced, of whom Chi Yen

(Chigon) and H�en Kao (Genko) are well known. In these days Zen should have been in the ascendant in

India, because almost all Indian scholarsat least those known to uswere called Zen teachersfor instance,

Chinese Buddhist scholars did no less than Indian teachers toward the uprising of Zen. The foremost among

them is Hwui Yuen (Eon, died A.D. 414), who practised Zen by the instruction of Buddhabhadra. He

founded the Society of the White Lotus, which comprised eighteen eminent scholars of the age among its

members, for the purpose of practising Meditation and of adoring Buddha Amitabha. We must not forget that

during the Western and the Eastern Tsin (Shin) dynasties (A.D. 265420) both Taoism and Buddhism grew

prosperous to no small extent. And China produced, on the one hand, Taoists of an eccentric type, such as the

Seven Wise Men of the Bamboo Forest, while she gave birth to many recluselike men of letters, such as Tao

Yuen Ming (Toyenmei, died A.D. 427) and some others on the other. Besides there were some scholars

who studied Buddhism in connection with Taoism and Confucianism, and led a secluded life.

To the last class of scholars belonged Chwen Hih (Hu dai shi), known as Chwen the Great. He is said to have

been accustomed to wear a Confucianist hat, a Buddhist robe, and Taoist shoes. It was in A.D. 534 that he

presented a memorial to the Emperor Wu, in which he explained the three grades of good. "The Highest

Good consists," says he, "in the emptiness of mind and nonattachment. Transcendence is its cause, and

Nirvana is its result. The Middle Good consists in morality and good administration. It results in a peaceful

and happy life in Heaven and in Earth. The Lowest Good consists in love and protection of sentient beings."

Thus his idea of good, as the reader will see without difficulty, is the result of a compromise of Taoism and

Buddhism. Sin Wang Ming (Sinomei, On the MindKing), one of his masterpieces, together with other

minor poems, are still used as a textbook of Zen. This fact unmistakably proves that Taoist element found its

land for the seed of Zennay, there had been many practisers of Zen before Bodhidharma. All that he had to

do was to wait for an earnest seeker after the spirit of Shakya Muni. Therefore he waited, and waited not in

vain, for at last there came a learned Confucianist, Shang Kwang (Shinko) by name, for the purpose of

finding the final solution of a problem which troubled him so much that he had become dissatisfied with

Confucianism, as it had no proper diet for his now spiritual hunger. Thus Shang Kwang was far from being

one of those halfhearted visitors who knocked the door of Bodhidharma only for the sake of curiosity. But

the silent master was cautious enough to try the sincerity of a new visitor before admitting him to the

Meditation Hall. According to a biography[1] of his, Shang Kwang was not allowed to enter the temple, and

had to stand in the courtyard covered deep with snow. His firm resolution and earnest desire, however, kept

him standing continually on one spot for seven days and nights with beads of the frozen drops of tears on his

breast. At last he cut off his left arm with a sharp knife, and presented it before the inflexible teacher to show

his resolution to follow the master even at the risk of his life. Thereupon Bodhidharma admitted him into the

order as a disciple fully qualified to be instructed in the highest doctrine of Mahayanism.

Our master's method of instruction was entirely different from that of ordinary instructors of learning. He

would not explain any problem to the learner, but simply help him to get enlightened by putting him an

abrupt but telling question. Shang Kwang, for instance, said to Bodhidharma, perhaps with a sigh: "I have no

peace of mind. Might I ask you, sir, to pacify my mind [2]" "Bring out your mind (that troubles you so

much)," replied the master, "here before me! I shall pacify it." "It is impossible for me," said the disciple,

after a little consideration, "to seek out my mind (that troubles me so much)." "Then,"

[1. King Teh Chwen Tang Luh (Keitokudentoroku), published by Tao Yuen (Dogen) A.D. 1004, gives

a detailed narrative concerning this incident as stated here, but earlier historians tell us a different story about

the mutilation of Shang Kwang's arm. Compare Suh Kas San Chwen (Zokukosoden) and Hwui Yuen

exclaimed Bodhidharma, "I have pacified your mind." Hereon Shang Kwang was instantly Enlightened. This

event is worthy of our notice, because such a mode of instruction was adopted by all Zen teachers after the

5. Bodhidharma's Disciples and the Transmission of the Law.[1]Bodhidharma's labour of nine years in

China resulted in the initiation of a number of disciples, whom some time before his death he addressed as

follows: "Now the time (of my departure from this world) is at hand. Say, one and all, how do you understand

the Law?" Tao Fu (Dofuku) said in response to this: "The Law does not lie in the letters (of the Scriptures),

according to my view, nor is it separated from them, but it works." The Master said: "Then you have obtained

my skin." Next Tsung Chi (Soji), a nun, replied: "As Ananda [2] saw the kingdom of Aksobhya[3] only

once but not twice, so I understand the Law"; The master said: "Then you have attained to my flesh." Then

Tao Yuh (Doiku) replied: "The four elements[4] are unreal from the first, nor are the five aggregates[5]

really existent. All is emptiness according to my view." The master said: "Then you have acquired my bone."

Lastly, Hwui Ko (Eka), which was the Buddhist name given by Bodhidharma, to Shang Kwang, made a

polite bow to the teacher and stood in his place without a word. "You have attained

[1. For details, see Chwen Tang Luh and Den Ka Roku, by Kei Zan. As for the life of Bodhidharma, Dr. B.

5. (1) Rupa, or form; (2) Vedana, or perception; (3) Samj�a, or consciousness; (4) Karman (or Samskara), or

to my marrow." So saying, Bodhidharma handed over the sacred Kachaya,[l] which he had brought from

India to Hwui Ko, as a symbol of the transmission of the Law, and created him the Second Patriarch.

6. The Second and the Third Patriarchs.After the death of the First Patriarch, in A.D. 528, Hwui Ko did

his best to propagate the new faith over sixty years. On one occasion a man suffering from some chronic

disease called on him, and requested him in earnest: "Pray, Reverend Sir, be my confessor and grant me

absolution, for I suffer long from an incurable disease." "Bring out your sin (if there be such a thing as sin),"

replied the Second Patriarch, "here before me. I shall grant you absolution." "It is impossible," said the man

after a short consideration, "to seek out my sin." "Then," exclaimed the master, "I have absolved you.

Henceforth live up to Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha."[2] "I know, your reverence," said the man, "that you

belong to Samgha; but what are Buddha and Dharma?" "Buddha is Mind itself. Mind itself is Dharma.

Buddha is identical with Dharma. So is Samgha." "Then I understand," replied the man, "there is no such

thing as sin within my body nor without it, nor anywhere else. Mind is beyond and above sin. It is no other

than Buddha and Dharma." Thereupon the Second Patriarch saw the man was well qualified to be taught in

the new faith, and converted him, giving him the name of Sang Tsung (Sosan). After two years' instruction

[1. The clerical cloak, which is said to have been dark green. It became an object of great veneration after the

Sixth Patriarch, who abolished the patriarchal system and did not hand the symbol over to successors.

3 The Second Patriarch died in A.D. 593that is, sixtyfive years after the departure of the First Patriarch.]

on Sang Tsung the Kachaya handed down from Bodhidharma, and authorized him as the Third Patriarch. It is

by Sang Tsung that the doctrine of Zen was first reduced to writing by his composition of Sin Sin[1] Ming

7. The Fourth Patriarch and the Emperor Tai Tsung (Taiso).The Third [2] Patriarch was succeeded

by Tao Sin (Doshin), who being initiated at the age of fourteen, was created the Fourth Patriarch after nine

years' study and discipline. Tao Sin is said never to have gone to bed for more than forty years of his

patriarchal career.[3] In A.D. 643 the Emperor Tai Tsung (627649), knowing of his virtues, sent him a

special messenger, requesting him to call on His Majesty at the palace. But he declined the invitation by a

memorial, saying that be was too aged and infirm to visit the august personage. The Emperor, desirous of

seeing the reputed patriarch, sent for him thrice, but in vain. Then the enraged monarch ordered the

messenger to behead the inflexible monk, and bring the head before the throne, in case he should disobey the

order for the fourth time. As Tao Sin was told of the order of the Emperor, he stretched out his neck ready to

be decapitated. The Emperor, learning from the messenger what had happened, admired all the more the

imperturbable patriarch, and bestowed rich gifts upon him. This example of his was followed by later Zen

masters, who would not condescend to bend their knees before temporal power, and it became one of the

[1. A good many commentaries were written on the book, and it is considered as one of the best books on Zen.

3. He died in A.D. 651that is, fortyfive years after the death of the Third Patriarch.]

would never approach rulers and statesmen for the sake of worldly fame and profit, which they set at naught.

8. The Fifth and the Sixth Patriarchs.Tao Sin transmitted the Law to Hung Jan (Konin), who being

educated from infancy, distinguished himself as the Abbot of the Hwang Mei Monastery at Ki Cheu. The

Fifth Patriarch, according to his biographer, gathered about him seven hundred pupils, who came from all

quarters. Of these seven hundred pupils the venerable Shang Sin (Jinshu) was most noted for his learning

and virtues, and be might have become the legitimate successor of Hung Jan, had not the Kachaya of

Hwui Nang, the Sixth Patriarch, seems to have been born a Zen teacher. The spiritual light of Buddha first

flashed in his mind when he happened to hear a monk reciting a sutra. On questioning the monk, be learned

that the book was Vajracchedikapraj�aparamitasutra,[1] and that Hung Jan, the Abbot of the Hwang Mei

Monastery, was used to make his disciples recite the book that it might help them in their spiritual discipline.

Hereupon he made up his mind to practise Zen, and called on Hung Jan at the Monastery. "Who are you,"

demanded the Fifth Patriarch, "and whence have you come?" "I am a son of the farmer," replied the man, "of

Sin Cheu in the South of Ta Y� Ling." "What has brought you here?" asked the master again. "I have no

other purpose than to attain to Buddhahood," answered the man. "O, you, people of the South," exclaimed the

[1. The book was translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva in A.D. 384. 417; also by Bodhiruci in A.D. 509,

and by Paramartha in A.D. 592; then by Hiuen Tsang in A.D. 648. Many commentaries have been written on

some difference between the Southern and the Northern people," objected the man, "but how could you

distinguish one from the other as to the nature of Buddha?" The teacher recognized a genius in the man, but

he did not admit the promising newcomer into the order, so Hwui Nang had to stay in the Monastery for eight

9. The Spiritual Attainment of the Sixth Patriarch.Some time before his death (in 675 A.D.) the Fifth

Patriarch announced to all disciples that the Spirit of Shakya Muni is hard to realize, that they should express

their own views on it, on condition that anyone who could prove his right realization should be given with the

Kachaya and created the Sixth Patriarch. Then the venerable Sung Siu, the head of the seven hundred

disciples, who was considered by his brothers to be the man entitled to the honour, composed the following

All who read these lines thought that the writer was worthy of the expected reward, and the Fifth Patriarch

also, appreciating the significance of the verses, said: "If men in the future would practise Zen according to

this view, they would acquire an excellent result." Hwui Nang, the ricepounder, hearing of them, however,

[1. The idea expressed by these lines is clear enough. Body is likened to the Bodhitree, under which Shakya

Muni attained to his supreme enlightenment; for it is not in another body in the future existence, but in this

very body that one had to get enlightened. And mind is pure and bright in its nature like a mirror, but the dirt

and dust of passions and of low desires often pollute and dim it. Therefore one should dust and wipe it from

remarked that they are beautiful, but hardly expressive of the Spirit of Shakya Muni, and wrote his own

Perhaps nobody ever dreamed such an insignificant fellow as the ricepounder could surpass the venerable

scholar in a religious insight, but the Fifth Patriarch saw at once an Enlightened Soul expressed in those lines;

therefore he made up his mind to give the Kachaya to the writer, in whom he found a great spiritual leader of

future generations. But he did it secretly at midnight, lest some of the disciples from envy do violence to

Hwui Nang. He was, moreover, cautious enough to advise his successor to leave the Monastery at once, and

go back to the South, that the latter might conceal his Enlightenment until a time would come for his

10. Flight of the Sixth Patriarch.On the following morning the news of what had happened during the

night flew from mouth to mouth, and some of the enraged brothers attempted to pursue the worthy fugitive.

The foremost among them, Hwui Ming (Emyo), overtook the Sixth Patriarch at a mountain pass not very far

from the Monastery. Then Hwui Nang, laying down the Kachaya on a rock by the road, addressed the

[1. These verses have often been misunderstood as expressive of a nihilistic view, but the real meaning is

anything but nihilistic. Mind is pure and bright in its essence. It is always free from passions and mean

desires, just as the sun is always bright, despite of cloud and mist that cover its face. Therefore one must get

an insight into this essential nature of Mind, and realize that one has no mean desires and passions from the

first, and also that there is no tree of Bodhi nor the mirror of Enlightenment without him, but they are within

mere symbol of the patriarchal authority, and it is not a thing to be obtained by force. Take it along with you,

if you long for it." Upon this Hwui Ming, who began to be ashamed of his base act, tried to lift the Kachaya,

but in vain, for it was, as he felt, as heavy as the rock itself. At last he said to the Sixth Patriarch: "I have

come here, my brother, not for the sake of this robe, but for the sake of the Law. Grant my hearty desire of

getting Enlightened." "If you have come for the Law," replied Hwui Nang, "you must put an end to all your

struggles and longings. Think neither of good nor of evil (make your mind pure from all idle thoughts), then

see how is, Hwui Ming, your original (mental) physiognomy!" Being thus questioned, Ming found in an

instant the Divine Light of Buddha within himself, and became a disciple of the Sixth Patriarch.

11. The Development of the Southern and of the Northern School of Zen.After the death of the Fifth

Patriarch the venerable Shang Siu, though not the legitimate successor of his master, was not inactive in the

propagation of the faith, and gathered about him a number of enthusiastic admirers. This led to the foundation

of the Northern school of Zen in opposition to the Southern school led by the Sixth Patriarch. The Empress

Tseh Tien Wa Heu,[1] the real ruler of China at that time, was an admirer of Shang Siu, and patronized his

In the meanwhile the Sixth Patriarch, who had gone to the South, arrived at the Fah Sing Monastery in

Kwang Cheu, where Yin Tsung (Inshu), the abbot, was giving lectures on the Mahayana sutras to a number

[1. The Emperor Chung Tsung (Chuso, A.D. 684704) was a nominal sovereign, and the Empress was the

two monks of the Monastery discussing about the flag floating in air. One of them said: "It is the wind that

moves in reality, but not the flag." "No," objected the other, "it is the flag that moves in reality, but not the

wind." Thus each of them insisted on his own onesided view, and came to no proper conclusion. Then the

Sixth Patriarch introduced himself and said to them: "It is neither the wind nor the flag, but your mind that

moves in reality." Yin Tsung, having heard these words of the stranger, was greatly astonished, and thought

the latter should have been an extraordinary personage. And when he found the man to be the Sixth Patriarch

of Zen, he and all his disciples decided to follow Zen under the master. Consequently Hwui Nang, still clad

like a layman, changed his clothes, and began his patriarchal career at that Monastery. This is the

12. Missionary Activity of the Sixth Patriarch.As we have seen above, the Sixth Patriarch was a great

genius, and may be justly called a born Zen teacher. He was a man of no erudition, being a poor farmer, who

had served under the Fifth Patriarch as a ricepounder only for eight months, but he could find a new

meaning in Buddhist terms, and show how to apply it to practical life. On one occasion, for instance, Fah Tah

(Hotatsu), a monk who had read over the Saddharmapundarikasutra[1] three thousand times, visited him

to be instructed in Zen. "Even if you read the sutra ten thousand times," said the Sixth Patriarch, who could

never read the text, "it will do you no good, if you cannot grasp the spirit of the sutra." "I have simply recited

[1. One of the most noted Mahayana sutras, translated by Dharmaraksa (A.D. 286) and by Kumarajiva (A.D.

406). The reader has to note that the author states the essential doctrine in the second chapter. See " Sacred

is written in characters. How could such a dull fellow as I grasp its spirit?" "Then recite it once," responded

the master; "I shall explain its spirit." Hereupon Fah Tah began to recite the sutra, and when he read it until

the end of the second chapter the teacher stopped him, saying: "You may stop there. Now I know that this

sutra was preached to show the socalled greatest object of Shakya Muni's appearing on earth. That greatest

object was to have all sentient beings Enlightened just as He Himself." In this way the Sixth Patriarch

grasped the essentials of the Mahayana sutras, and freely made use of them as the explanation of the practical

13. The Disciples under the Sixth Patriarch.Some time after this the Sixth Patriarch settled himself

down at the Pao Lin Monastery, better known as Tsao Ki Shan (Sokeizan), in Shao Cheu, and it grow into

a great centre of Zen in the Southern States. Under his instruction many eminent Zen masters qualified

themselves as Leaders of the Three Worlds. He did not give the patriarchal symbol, the Kachaya, to his

successors, lest it might cause needless quarrels among the brethren, as was experienced by himself. He only

gave sanction to his disciples who attained to Enlightenment, and allowed them to teach Zen in a manner best

suited to their own personalities. For instance, H�en Kioh (Genkaku), a scholar of the Tien Tai doctrine,'

well known as the Teacher of Yung Kia[2] (Yoka), received a sanction for his spiritual attainment after

[1. The Teacher of Tien Tai (Tendai, A.D. 538597), the founder of the Buddhist sect of the same name,

was a great scholar of originality. His doctrine and criticism on the Tripitaka greatly influenced the whole of

2 His Ching Tao Ko (Shodoka), a beautiful metrical exposition of Zen, is still read by most students of

and was at once acknowledged as a Zen teacher. When he reached the zenith of his fame, he was presented

with a crystal bowl together with rich gifts by the Empress Tseh Tien; and it was in A.D. 705 that the

Emperor Chung Tsung invited him in vain to proceed to the palace, since the latter followed the example of

After the death[1] of the Sixth Patriarch (A.D. 713), the Southern Zen was divided into two schools, one

being represented by Tsing Yuen (Seigen), the other by Nan Yoh (Nangaku.) Out of these two main

schools soon developed the five[2] branches of Zen, and the faith made a splendid progress. After Tsing

Yuen and Nan Yoh, one of the junior disciples of the Sixth Patriarch, Hwui Chung (Echu), held an

honourable position for sixteen years as the spiritual adviser to the Emperor Suh Tsung (A.D. 756762) and to

the Emperor Tai Tsung (A.D. 763779). These two Emperors were enthusiastic admirers of Zen, and ordered

several times the Kachaya of Bodhidharma to be brought into the palace from the Pao Lin Monastery that

they might do proper homage to it. Within some one hundred and thirty years after the Sixth Patriarch, Zen

[1. There exists Luh Tan Fah Pao Tan King (Rokusohobodankyo), a collection of his sermons. It is

full of bold statements of Zen in its purest form, and is entirely free from ambiguous and enigmatical words

that encumber later Zen books. In consequence it is widely read by nonBuddhist scholars in China and

Japan. Both Hwui Chung (Echu), a famous disciple of the Sixth Patriarch, and Dogen, the founder of the

Soto Sect in Japan, deny the authority of the book, and declare it to be misleading, because of errors and

prejudices of the compilers. Still, we believe it to be a collection of genuine sections given by the Sixth

2 (1) The Tsao Tung (Soto) Sect, founded by Tsing Yuen (died in A.D. 740) and his successors; (2) the Lin

Tsi (RinZai) Sect, founded by Nan Yoh (died in 744) and his successors; (3) the Wei Yan (Yigyo) Sect,

founded by Wei Shan (Yisan, died in 853) and his disciple Yen Shan (Kyozan, died in 890); (4) the Yun

Man (Unmon) Sect, founded by Yun Man (died in 949); (5) the Pao Yen (Hogen) Sect, founded by Pao

gained so great influence among higher classes that at the time of the Emperor S�en Tsung (A.D. 847859)

both the Emperor and his Prime Minister, Pei Hiu, were noted for the practice of Zen. It may be said that Zen

had its golden age, beginning with the reign of the Emperor Suh Tsung, of the Tang dynasty, until the reign

of the Emperor Hiao Tsung (11631189), who was the greatest patron of Buddhism in the Southern Sung

[1. During the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618906) China produced, besides the Sixth Patriarch and his prominent

disciples, such great Zen teachers as Ma Tsu (Baso, died in 788), who is probably the originator of the Zen

Activity; Shih Teu (Sekito, died in 790), the reputed author of Tsan Tung Ki (Sandokai), a metrical

writing on Zen; Poh Chang (Hyakujo, died 814), who first laid down regulations for the Zen Monastery;

Wei Shan (Yisan), Yang Shan (Kyozan), the founders of the Wei Yang Sect; Hwang Pah (Obaku, died in

850), one of the founders of the Lin Tsi Sect, and the author of Chwen Sin Pao Yao, (Densinhoyo), one

of the best works on Zen; Lin Tsi (Rinzai, died in 866), the real founder of the Lin Tsi Sect; T�ng Shan

(Tozan, died in 869), the real founder of the Tsao T�ng Sect; Tsao Shan (Sozan, died in 901), a famous

disciple of T�ng Shan; Teh Shan (Tokusan, died in 865), who was used to strike every questioner with his

staff; Chang Sha (Chosha, died in 823); Chao Cheu (Joshu, died in 897); Nan Ts�en (Nansen, died in

834); Wu Yeh (Mugo, died in 823); who is said to have replied, 'Away with your idle thoughts,' to every

questioner; Yun Yen (Ungan, died in 829); Yoh Shan (Yakusan, died in 834); Ta Mei (Taibai, died in

839), a noted recluse; Ta Tsz (Daiji, died in 862); Kwei Fung (Keiho, died in 841), the author of 'The

To the period of the Five Dynasties (A.D. 907959) belong such teachers as S�eh Fung (Setpo, died in.

908); H�en Sha (Gensha, died in 908); Yun Man (Unmon, died in 949), the founder of the Yun Man Sect;

Shen Yueh (Zengetsu, died in 912), a renowned Zen poet; Pu Tai (Hotei, died in 916), well known for his

peculiarities; Chang King (Chokei, died in 932); Nan Yuen (Nanin, died in 952); Pao Yen (Hogen, died

in 958), the founder of the Pao Yen Sect. During the Sung dynasty (A.D. 9601126) appeared such teachers

as Yang Ki (Yogi, died in 1049), the founder of the Yang Ki School of Zen; S�eh Teu (Setcho, died in

1052), noted for poetical works; Hwang Lung (O ryu, died in 1069), the founder of the Hwang Lung School

of Zen; Hwang Lin (Korin, died in 987); Tsz Ming (Jimyo, died in 1040); Teu Tsy (Toshi, died in 1083);

Fu Yun (Fuyo, died in 1118); Wu Tsu (Goso, died in 1104); Yung Ming (Yomyo, died in 975), the

author of Tsung King Luh (Shukyoroku); Ki Sung (Kaisu, died in 1071), a great Zen historian and

author. In the Southern Sung dynasty (A.D. 11271279) flourished such masters as Yuen Wu (Engo, died in

1135), the author of Pik Yen Tsih (Hekiganshu); Chan Hieh (Shinketsu, flourished in 1151); Hung Chi

(Wanshi, died in 1157), famous for his poetical works; Ta Hwui (Daie, died in 1163), a noted disciple of

Yuen Wu; Wan Sung (Bansho), flourished in 11931197), the author of Tsung Yun Luh (Shoyoroku); J�

Tsing (Nyojo), died in 1228), the teacher to Dogen, or the founder of the Soto Sect in Japan.]

this age belong almost all the eminent men of letters,[1] statesmen, warriors, and artists who were known as

the practisers of Zen. To this age belongs the production of almost all Zen books,[2] doctrinal and historical.

[1. Among the great names of Zen believers the following are most important: Pang Yun (Hoon, flourished

in 785804), whose whole family was proficient in Zen; Tsui Ki�n (Saigun, flourished in 806824); Luh

Kang (Rikko), a lay disciple to Nan Ts�n; Poh Loh Tien (Hakurakuten, died in 847), one of the greatest

Chinese literary men; Pei Hiu (Haikyu, flourished 827856), the Prime Minister under the Emperor S�en

Tsung, a lay disciple to Hwang Pah; Li Ngao (Riko, lived about 806), an author and scholar who practised

Zen under Yoh Shan; Y� Chuh (Uteki, flourished 785804), a local governor, a friend of Pang Yun; Yang

Yih (Yooku, flourished in 976), one of the greatest writers of his age; Fan Chung Ngan (Hanchu an,

flourished 10081052), an able statesman and scholar; Fu Pih (Fu shitsu, flourished 10411083), a minister

under the Emperor Jan Tsung; Chang Shang Ying (Choshoyei, 10861122), a Buddhist scholar and a

statesman; Hwang Ting Kien (Koteiken, 10641094), a great poet; Su Shih (Soshoku, died in 1101), a

great man of letters, well known as Sotoba; Su Cheh (Sotetsu, died in 1112), a younger brother of

Sotoba, a scholar and minister under the Emperor Cheh Tsung; Chang Kiu Ching (ChoKyusei,

flourished about 1131), a scholar and lay disciple of Ta Hwui; Yang Kieh (Yoketsu, flourished 10781086),

2. Of doctrinal Zen books, besides Sin Sin Ming by the Third Patriarch, and Fah Pao Tan King by the Sixth

(1) King teh Chwen TanLuh (Keitokudentoroku), published in 1004 by Tao Yuen (Dogen).

14. Three Important Elements of Zen.To understand how Zen developed during some four hundred

years after the Sixth Patriarch, we should know that there are three important elements in Zen. The first of

these is technically called the Zen Numberthe method of practising Meditation by sitting crosslegged, of

which we shall treat later.[1] This method is fully developed by Indian teachers before Bodhidharma's

introduction of Zen into China, therefore it underwent little change during this period. The second is the Zen

Doctrine, which mainly consists of Idealistic and Pantheistic ideas of Mahayana Buddhism, but which

undoubtedly embraces some tenets of Taoism. Therefore. Zen is not a pure Indian faith, but rather of Chinese

of expression of Zen in action, which is entirely absent in any other faith. It was for the sake of this Zen

Activity that Hwang Pah gave a slap three times to the Emperor S�en Tsung; that Lin Tsi so often burst out

into a loud outcry of Hoh (Katsu); that Nan Ts�en killed a cat at a single stroke of his knife in the presence of

his disciples; and that Teh Shan so frequently struck questioners with his staff.[1] The Zen Activity was

displayed by the Chinese teachers making use of diverse things such as the staff, the brush[2] of long hair, the

mirror, the rosary, the cup, the pitcher, the flag, the moon, the sickle, the plough, the bow and arrow, the ball,

the bell, the drum, the cat, the dog, the duck, the earthwormin short, any and everything that was fit for the

occasion and convenient for the purpose. Thus Zen Activity was of pure Chinese origin, and it was developed

after the Sixth Patriarch.[3] For this reason the period previous to the Sixth Patriarch may be called the Age

of the Zen Doctrine, while that posterior to the same master, the Age of the Zen Activity.

15. Decline of Zen.The blooming prosperity of Zen was over towards the end of the Southern Sung

dynasty (11271279), when it began to fade, not being bitten by the frost of oppression from without, but

[1. A long official staff (Shujo) like the crosier carried by the abbot of the monastery.

3. The giving of a slap was first tried by the Sixth Patriarch, who struck one of his disciples, known as Ho

Tseh (Kataku), and it was very frequently resorted to by the later masters. The lifting up of the brush was

first tried by Tsing Yuen in an interview with his eldest disciple, Shih Ten, and it became a fashion among

other teachers. The loud outcry of Hoh was first made use of by Ma Tsu, the successor of Nan Yoh. In this

way the origin of the Zen Activity can easily be traced to the Sixth Patriarch and his direct disciples. After the

Sung dynasty Chinese Zen masters seem to have given undue weight to the Activity, and neglected the

serious study of the doctrine. This brought out the degeneration severely reproached by some of the Japanese

rottenness within. As early as the Sung dynasty (9601126) the worship of Buddha Amitabha[1] stealthily

found its way among Zen believers, who could not fully realize the Spirit of Shakya Muni, and to satisfy

these people the amalgamation of the two faiths was attempted by some Zen masters.[2]

[1. The faith is based on Larger Sukhavativyuha, Smaller Sukhavativyuha, and Amitayusdhyanasutra. It

was taught in India by A�vaghosa, Nagariuna, and Vasubandhu. In China Hwui Yuen (Eon, died in A.D.

416), Tan Lwan (Donran, died in 542), Tao Choh (Doshaku), and Shen Tao (Zendo) (both of whom lived

about 600650), chiefly taught the doctrine. It made an extraordinary progress in Japan, and differentiated

2. It is beyond all doubt that Poh Loh Tien (Hakurakuten) practised Zen, but at the same time believed in

Amitabha; so also Su Shih (Soshoku), a most noted Zen practiser, worshipped the same Buddha, Yang Kieh

(Yoketeu), who carried a picture of Amitabha wherever he went and worshipped it, seems to have thought

there is nothing incompatible between Zen and his faith. The foremost of those Zen masters of the Sung

dynasty that attempted the amalgamation is Yung Ming (Yomyo, died in 975), who reconciled Zen with the

worship of Amitabha in his Wan Shen Tung Kwei Tsih (Manzendokishu) and Si Ngan Yan Shan Fu

(Seianyosinfu). He was followed by Tsing Tsz (Joji) and Chan Hieh (Shinketsu, lived about 1151),

the former of whom wrote Kwei Yuen Chih Chi (Kigenjikishi), and the latter Tsing Tu Sin Yao

(Jodosinyo), in order to further the tendency. In the Yuen dynasty Chung Fung (Chuho, died in 1323)

encouraged the adoration of Amitabha, together with the practice of Zen, in his poetical composition

(Kwanshujogo). In the Ming dynasty Yun Si (Unsei, died in 1615), the author of Shen Kwan Tseh Tsin

(Zenkwansakushin) and other numerous works, writing a commentary on Sukhavativyuhasutra,

brought the amalgamation to its height. Ku Shan (Kuzan, died in 1657), a Zen historian and author, and his

prominent disciple Wei Lin (Erin), axe well known as the amalgamators. Yun Ming declared that those who

practise Zen, but have no faith in Amitabha, go astray in nine cases out of ten; that those who do not practise

Zen, but believe in Amitabha, are saved, one and all; that those who practise Zen, and have the faith in

Amitabha, are like the tiger provided with wings; and that for those who have no faith in Amitabha, nor

practise Zen, there exist the iron floor and the copper pillars in Hell. Ku Shan said that some practise Zen in

order to attain Enlightenment, while others pray Amitabha for salvation; that if they were sincere and

diligent, both will obtain the final beatitude. Wei Lin also observed: "Theoretically I embrace Zen, and

practically I worship Amitabha." Echu, the author of Zentonenbutsu ('On Zen and the Worship of

Amitabha'), points out that one of the direct disciples of the Sixth Patriarch favoured the faith of Amitabha,

but there is no trustworthy evidence, as far as we know, that proves the existence of the amalgamation in the

This tendency steadily increasing with time brought out at length the period of amalgamation which covered

the Yuen (12801367) and the Ming dynasties (13681659), when the prayer for Amitabha was in every

mouth of Zen monks sitting in Meditation. The patrons of Zen were not wanting in the Yuen dynasty, for

such a warlike monarch as the Emperor Shi Tsu (Seiso), 12801294) is known to have practised Zen under

the instruction of Miao Kao, and his successor Ching Tsung (12951307) to have trusted in Yih Shan,[1] a

Zen teacher of reputation at that time. Moreover, Lin Ping Chung (Rinheicha, died in 1274), a powerful

minister under Shi Tsu, who did much toward the establishment of the administrative system in that dynasty,

had been a Zen monk, and never failed to patronize his faith. And in the Ming dynasty the first Emperor Tai

Tsu (13681398), having been a Zen monk, protected the sect with enthusiasm, and his example was

followed by Tai Tsung (14031424), whose spiritual as well as political adviser was Tao Yen, a Zen monk of

distinction. Thus Zen exercised an influence unparalleled by any other faith throughout these ages. The life

and energy of Zen, however, was gone by the ignoble amalgamation, and even such great scholars as Chung

[1. The Emperor sent him to Japan in 1299 with some secret order, but he did nothing political, and stayed as

2. A most renowned Zen master in the Yuen dynasty, whom the Emperor Jan Tsung invited to visit the

3. An author noted for his learning and virtues, who was rather a worshipper of Amitabha than a Zen monk.

4. An author of voluminous books, of which T�ng Shang Ku Cheh (Tojokotetsu) is well known.]

influence of the age. We are not, however, doing justice to the tendency of amalgamation in these times

simply to blame it for its obnoxious results, because it is beyond doubt that it brought forth wholesome fruits

to the Chinese literature and philosophy. Who can deny that this tendency brought the Speculative[1]

philosophy of the Sung dynasty to its consummation by the amalgamation of Confucianism with Buddhism

especially with Zen, to enable it to exercise longstanding influence on society, and that this tendency also

produced Wang Yang Ming,[2] one of the greatest generals and scholars that the world has ever seen, whose

philosophy of Consciences still holds a unique position in the history of human thought? Who can deny

[1. This wellknown philosophy was first taught by Cheu Men Shuh (Shumoshiku, died in 1073) in its

definite form. He is said to have been enlightened by the instruction of Hwui Tang, a contemporary Zen

master. He was succeeded by Chang Ming Tao (Teimeido, died in 1085) and Chang I Chwen (Teiisen,

died in 1107), two brothers, who developed the philosophy in no small degree. And it was completed by Chu

Tsz (Shushi, died in 1200), a celebrated commentator of the Confucian classics. It is worthy to note that

these scholars practised Meditation just as Zen monks. See 'History of Chinese Philosophy' (pp. 215269), by

2 He was born in 1472, and died in 1529. His doctrine exercised a most fruitful influence on many of the

great Japanese minds, and undoubtedly has done much to the progress of New Japan.

1. The Establishment of the Rin Zai[1] School of Zen in Japan.The introduction of Zen into the island

empire is dated as early as the seventh century;[2] but it was in 1191 that it was first established by Eisai, a

man of bold, energetic nature. He crossed the sea for China at the age of twentyeight in 1168, after his

[1. The Lin Tsi school was started by Nan Yoh, a prominent disciple of the Sixth Patriarch, and completed by

2 Zen was first introduced into Japan by Do sha (629700) as early as 653656, at the time when the Fifth

Patriarch just entered his patriarchal career. Dosho went over to China in 653, and met with H�en Tsang,

the celebrated and great scholar, who taught him the doctrine of the Dharmalaksana. It was H�en Tsang

who advised Dosho to study Zen under Hwui Man (Eman). After returning home, he built a Meditation

Hall for the purpose of practising Zen in the Gango monastery, Nara. Thus Zen was first transplanted into

Next a Chinese Zen teacher, I Kung (Giku), came over to Japan in about 810, and under his instruction the

Empress Danrin, a most enthusiastic Buddhist, was enlightened. She erected a monastery named Danrinji,

and appointed I Kung the abbot of it for the sake of propagating the faith. It being of no purpose, however, I

Thirdly, Kakua in 1171 went over to China, where he studied Zen under Fuh Hai (Bukkai), who belonged

to the Yang Ki (Yogi) school, and came home after three years. Being questioned by the Emperor

Takakura (11691180) about the doctrine of Zen, he uttered no word, but took up a flute and played on it.

But his first note was too high to be caught by the ordinary ear, and was gone without producing any echo in

whole Tripitaka[1] for eight years in the Hiyei Monastery[2] the then centre of Japanese Buddhism. After

visiting holy places and great monasteries, he came home, bringing with him over thirty different books on

the doctrine of the TenDai Sect.[3] This, instead of quenching, added fuel to his burning desire for

adventurous travel abroad. So he crossed the sea over again in 1187, this time intending to make pilgrimage

to India; and no one can tell what might have been the result if the Chinese authorities did not forbid him to

cross the border. Thereon he turned his attention to the study of Zen, and after five years' discipline

succeeded in getting sanction for his spiritual attainment by the H� Ngan (Kioan), a noted master of the Rin

Zai school, the then abbot of the monastery of Tien Tung Shan (Tendosan). His active propaganda of Zen

was commenced soon after his return in 1191 with splendid success at a newly built temple[4] in the province

of Chikuzen. In 1202 Yoriiye, the Shogun, or the real governor of the State at that time, erected the

monastery of Kenninji in the city of Kyoto, and invited him to proceed to the metropolis. Accordingly he

settled himself down in that temple, and taught Zen with his characteristic activity.

2 The great monastery erected in 788 by Saicho (767822), the founder of the Japanese Ten Dai Sect,

3 The sect was named after its founder in China, Chi 1 (538597), who lived in the monastery of Tien Tai

Shan (Tendaisan), and was called the Great Teacher of Tien Tai. In 804 Dengyo went over to China by

the Imperial order, and received the transmission of the doctrine from Tao Sui (Dosui), a patriarch of the

sect. After his return he erected a monastery on Mount Hiyei, which became the centre of Buddhistic

This provoked the envy and wrath of the Ten Dai and the Shin Gon[1] teachers, who presented memorials to

the Imperial court to protest against his propagandism of the new faith. Taking advantage of the protests,

Eisai wrote a book entitled Kozengokokuron ('The Protection of the State by the Propagation of Zen'),

and not only explained his own position, but exposed the ignorance 2 of the protestants. Thus at last his merit

was appreciated by the Emperor Tsuchimikado (11991210), and he was promoted to So Jo, the highest

rank in the Buddhist priesthood, together with the gift of a purple robe in 1206. Some time after this he went

to the city of Kamakura, the political centre, being invited by Sanetomo, the Shogun, and laid the

foundation of the socalled Kamakura Zen, still prospering at the present moment.

2. The Introduction of the SoTo School[3] of Zen.Although the Rin Zai school was, as mentioned

above, established by Eisai, yet he himself was not a pure Zen teacher, being a Ten Dai scholar as well as an

[1. The Shin Gon or Mantra Sect is based on Mahavairocanabhisambodhisutra, Vajra�ekharasutra, and

other Mantrasutras. It was established in China by Vajrabodhi and his disciple Amoahavajra, who came

from India in 720. Ku kai (774835), well known as Ko Bo Dai Shi, went to China in 804, and received the

transmission of the doctrine from Hwui Kwo (Keika), a, disciple of Amoghavajra. In 806 he came back and

propagated the faith almost all over the country. For the detail see 'A Short History of the Twelve Japanese

2 Saicho, the founder of the Japanese Ten Dai Sect, first learned the doctrine of the Northern School of Zen

under Gyohyo (died in 797), and afterwards he pursued the study of the same faith under Siao Jan in China.

Therefore to oppose the propagation of Zen is, for Ten Dai priests, as much as to oppose the founder of their

3 This school was started by TsingYuen (Seigen), an eminent disciple of the Sixth Patriarch, and

purest form was done by Dogen, now known as Jo Yo Dai Shi. Like Eisai, he was admitted into the Hiyei

Monastery at an early age, and devoted himself to the study of the Canon. As his scriptural knowledge

increased, he was troubled by inexpressible doubts and fears, as is usual with great religious teachers.

Consequently, one day he consulted his uncle, Koin, a distinguished Ten Dai scholar, about his troubles.

The latter, being unable to satisfy him, recommended him Eisai, the founder of the new faith. But as Eisai

died soon afterwards, he felt that he had no competent teacher left, and crossed the sea for China, at the age

of twentyfour, in 1223. There he was admitted into the monastery of Tien Tung Shan (Tendosan), and

assigned the lowest seat in the hall, simply because be was a foreigner. Against this affront he strongly

protested. In the Buddhist community, he said, all were brothers, and there was no difference of nationality.

The only way to rank the brethren was by seniority, and he therefore claimed to occupy his proper rank.

Nobody, however, lent an ear to the poor newcomer's protest, so he appealed twice to the Chinese Emperor

After four years' study and discipline, he was Enlightened and acknowledged as the successor by his master

J� Tsing (Nyojo died in 1228), who belonged to the Tsao Tung (So To) school. He came home in 1227,

bringing with him three important Zen books.[1] Some three years he did what Bodhidharma, the

Wallgazing Brahmin, had done seven hundred years before him, retiring to a hermitage.

[1. (1) Pao King San Mei (Hokyosanmai, 'Precious Mirror Samadhi'), a metrical exposition of Zen, by

T�ng Shan (Tozan, 806869), one of the founders of the So To school. (2) Wu Wei Hien H�eh

(Goikenketsu. 'Explanation of the Five Categories'), by T�ng Shan and his disciple Tsao Shan (Sozan).

This book shows us how Zen was systematically taught by the authors. (3) Pih Yen Tsih (Hekiganshu, 'A

at Fukakusa, not very far from Kyoto. Just like Bodhidharma, denouncing all worldly fame and gain, his

attitude toward the world was diametrically opposed to that of Eisai. As we have seen above, Eisai never

shunned, but rather sought the society of the powerful and the rich, and made for his goal by every means.

But to the Sage of Fukakusa, as Dogen was called at that time, pomp and power was the most disgusting

thing in the world. Judging from his poems, be seems to have spent these years chiefly in meditation;

dwelling now on the transitoriness of life, now on the eternal peace of Nirvana; now on the vanities and

miseries of the world; now listening to the voices of Nature amongst the hills; now gazing into the brooklet

that was, as he thought, carrying away his image reflected on it into the world.

3. The Characteristics of Dogen, the Founder of the Japanese So To Sect.In the meantime seekers

after a new truth gradually began to knock at his door, and his hermitage was turned into a monastery, now

known as the Temple of Koshoji.[1] It was at this time that many Buddhist scholars and men of quality

gathered about him but the more popular he became the more disgusting the place became to him. His hearty

desire was to live in a solitude among mountains, far distant from human abodes, where none but falling

waters and singing birds could disturb his delightful meditation. Therefore he gladly accepted the invitation

[1. It was in this monastery (built in 1236) that Zen was first taught as an independent sect, and that the

Meditation Hall was first opened in Japan. Dogen lived in the monastery for eleven years, and wrote some

of the important books. Zazengi ('The Method of Practising the Crosslegged Meditation') was written

soon after his return from China, and Bendowa and other essays followed, which are included in his great

province of Echizen, where his ideal monastery was built, now known as Eiheiji.[1]

In 1247, being requested by Tokiyori, the Regent General (12471263), he came down to Kamakura,

where he stayed half a year and went back to Eiheiji. After some time Tokiyori, to show his gratitude for

the master, drew up a certificate granting a large tract of land as the property of Eiheiji, and handed it over

to Genmyo, a disciple of Dogen. The carrier of the certificate was so pleased with the donation that he

displayed it to all his brethren and produced it before the master, who severely reproached him saying: "O,

shame on thee, wretch! Thou art defiled by the desire of worldly riches even to thy inmost soul, just as

noodle is stained with oil. Thou canst not be purified from it to all eternity. I am afraid thou wilt bring shame

on the Right Law." On the spot Genmyo was deprived of his holy robe and excommunicated. Furthermore,

the master ordered the 'polluted' seat in the Meditation Hall, where Genmyo was wont to sit, to be removed,

and the 'polluted' earth under the seat to be dug out to the depth of seven feet.

In 1250 the exEmperor Gosaga (12431246) sent a special messenger twice to the Eihei monastery to

do honour to the master with the donation of a purple robe, but he declined to accept it. And when the mark

of distinction was offered for the third time, he accepted it, expressing his feelings by the following verses:

[1. The monastery was built in 1244 by Yoshishige (Hatano), the feudal lord who invited Dogen. He lived

in Eiheiji until his death, which took place in 1253. It is still flourishing as the head temple of the So To

He was never seen putting on the purple robe, being always clad in black, that was better suited to his

4. The Social State of Japan when Zen was established by Eisai and Dogen.Now we have to observe

the condition of the country when Zen was introduced into Japan by Eisai and Dogen. Nobilities that had

so long governed the island were nobilities no more. Enervated by their luxuries, effeminated by their ease,

made insipient by their debauchery, they were entirely powerless. All that they possessed in reality was the

nominal rank and hereditary birth. On the contrary, despised as the ignorant, sneered at as the upstart, put in

contempt as the vulgar, the Samurai or military class had everything in their hands. It was the time when

Yoritomo[1] (11481199) conquered all over the empire, and established the Samurai Government at

Kamakura. It was the time when even the emperors were dethroned or exiled at will by the Samurai. It was

the time when even the Buddhist monks[2] frequently took up arms to force their will. It was the time when

Japan's independence was endangered by Kublai, the terror of the world. It was the time when the whole

nation was full of martial spirit. It is beyond doubt that to these rising Samurais, rude and simple, the

philosophical doctrines of Buddhism, represented by Ten Dai and Shin Gon, were too complicated and too

alien to their nature. But in Zen they could find something congenial to their nature, something that touched

their chord of sympathy, because Zen was the doctrine of chivalry in a certain sense.

[1. The Samurai Government was first established by Yoritomo, of the Minamoto family, in 1186, and Japan

was under the control of the military class until 1867, when the political power was finally restored to the

2 They were degenerated monks (who were called monksoldiers), belonging to great monasteries such as

5. The Resemblance of the Zen Monk to the Samurai.Let us point out in brief the similarities between

Zen and Japanese chivalry. First, both the Samurai and the Zen monk have to undergo a strict discipline and

endure privation without complaint. Even such a prominent teacher as Eisai, for example, lived contentedly

in such needy circumstances that on one occasion[1] he and his disciples had nothing to eat for several days.

Fortunately, they were requested by a believer to recite the Scriptures, and presented with two rolls of silk.

The hungry young monks, whose mouths watered already at the expectation of a longlookedfor dinner,

were disappointed when that silk was given to a poor man, who called on Eisai to obtain some help. Fast

continued for a whole week, when another poor follow came in and asked Eisai to give something. At this

time, having nothing to show his substantial mark of sympathy towards the poor, Eisai tore off the gilt glory

of the image of Buddha Bhe�ajya and gave it. The young monks, bitten both by hunger and by anger at this

outrageous act to the object of worship, questioned Eisai by way of reproach: "Is it, sir, right for us

Buddhists to demolish the image of a Buddha?" "Well," replied Eisai promptly, "Buddha would give even

his own life for the sake of suffering people. How could he be reluctant to give his halo?" This anecdote

6. The Honest Poverty of the Zen Monk and the Samurai.Secondly, the socalled honest poverty is a

characteristic of both the Zen monk and the Samurai. To get rich by an ignoble means is against the rules of

Japanese chivalry or Bushido. The Samurai would rather starve than to live by some expedient unworthy of

Samurais who were really starved to death in spite of their having a hundred pieces of gold carefully

preserved to meet the expenses at the time of an emergency; hence the proverb: "The falcon would not feed

on the ear of corn, even if he should starve." Similarly, we know of no case of Zen monks, ancient and

modern, who got rich by any ignoble means. They would rather face poverty with gladness of heart. Fugai,

one of the most distinguished Zen masters just before the Restoration, supported many student monks in his

monastery. They were often too numerous to be supported by his scant means. This troubled his disciple

much whose duty it was to look after the foodsupply, as there was no other means to meet the increased

demand than to supply with worse stuff. Accordingly, one day the disciple advised Fugai not to admit new

students any more into the monastery. Then the master, making no reply, lolled out his tongue and said:

"Now look into my mouth, and tell if there be any tongue in it." The perplexed disciple answered

affirmatively. "Then don't bother yourself about it. If there be any tongue, I can taste any sort of food."

Honest poverty may, without exaggeration, be called one of the characteristics of the Samurais and of the Zen

monks; hence a proverb: " The Zen monk has no money, moneyed Monto[1] knows nothing."

7. The Manliness of the Zen Monk and of the Samurai.Thirdly, both the Zen monk and the Samurai

were distinguished by their manliness and dignity in manner, sometimes amounting to rudeness. This is due

partly to the hard discipline that they underwent, and partly to the mode of instruction. The following

story,[2] translated by Mr. D. Suzuki, a friend of mine, may well exemplify our statement:

When Rinzai[1]was assiduously applying himself to Zen discipline under Obak (Huang Po in Chinese, who

died 850), the head monk recognized his genius. One day the monk asked him how long he had been in the

monastery, to which Rinzai replied: 'Three years.' The elder said: 'Have you ever approached the master and

asked his instruction in Buddhism?' Rinzai said: 'I have never done this, for I did not know what to ask.'

"Rinzai, according to this advice, approached Obak and repeated the question, but before he finished the

"When Rinzai came back, the elder asked how the interview went. Said Rinzai: 'Before I could finish my

question the master slapped me, but I fail to grasp its meaning.' The elder said: 'You go to him again and ask

the same question.' When he did so, he received the same response from the master. But Rinzai was urged

"At last he went to the elder, and said In obedience to your kind suggestion, I have repeated my question

three times, and been slapped three times. I deeply regret that, owing to my stupidity, I am unable to

comprehend the hidden meaning of all this. I shall leave this place and go somewhere else.' Said the elder: 'If

"Immediately after this the elder saw the master, and said: 'That young novice, who asked about Buddhism

three times, is a remarkable fellow. When he comes to take leave of you, be so gracious as to direct him

"When Rinzai came to see the master, the latter advised him not to go anywhere else. but to Daigu

"Rinzai went to Daigu, who asked him whence he came. Being informed that he was from Obak, Daigu

further inquired what instruction he had under the master. Rinzai answered: 'I asked him three times about

the essence of Buddhism, and he slapped me three times. But I am yet unable to see whether I had any fault

or not.' Daigu said: 'Obak was tenderhearted even as a dotard, and you are not warranted at all to come

"Being thus reprimanded, the signification of the whole affair suddenly dawned upon the mind of Rinzai,

and he exclaimed: 'There is not much, after all, in the Buddhism of Obak.' Whereupon Daigu took hold of

him, and said: 'This ghostly goodfornothing creature! A few minutes ago you came to me and

complainingly asked what was wrong with you, and now boldly declare that there is not much in the

Buddhism of Obak. What is the reason of all this? Speak out quick! speak out quick!' In response to this,

Rinzai softly struck three times his fist at the ribs of Daigu. The latter then released him, saying: 'Your

"Rinzai took leave of Daigu and came back to Obak, who, on seeing him come, exclaimed: 'Foolish

fellow! what does it avail you to come and go all the time like this?' Rinzai said: 'It is all due to your doting

"When, after the usual salutation, Rinzai stood by the side of Obak, the latter asked him whence he had

come this time. Rinzai answered: "In obedience to your kind instruction, I was with Daigu. Thence am I

And he related, being asked for further information, all that had happened there.

"Obak said: 'As soon as that fellow shows himself up here, I shall have to give him a good thrashing.' 'You

need not wait for him to come; have it right this moment,' was the reply; and with this Rinzai gave his

"Obak said: 'How dares this lunatic come into my presence and play with a tiger's whiskers?' Rinzai then

burst out into a Ho,[1] and Obak said: 'Attendant, come and carry this lunatic away to his cell.'"

8. The Courage and the Composure of Mind of the Zen Monk and of the Samurai.Fourthly, our

Samurai encountered death, as is well known, with unflinching courage. He would never turn back from, but

fight till his last with, his enemy. To be called a coward was for him the dishonour worse than death itself. An

incident about Tsu Yuen (Sogen), who came over to Japan in 1280, being invited by Tokimune[2]

(Hojo), the Regent General, well illustrates how much Zen monks resembled our Samurais. The event

happened when he was in China, where the invading army of Yuen spread terror all over the country. Some

of the barbarians, who crossed the border of the State of Wan, broke into the monastery of Tsu Yuen, and

threatened to behead him. Then calmly sitting down, ready to meet his fate, he composed the following verses

[1. A loud outcry, frequently made use of by Zen teachers, after Rinzai. Its Chinese pronunciation is 'Hoh,'

This reminds us of Sang Chao[1] (Sojo), who, on the verge of death by the vagabond's sword, expressed his

The barbarians, moved by this calm resolution and dignified air of Tsu Yuen, rightly supposed him to be no

9. Zen and the Regent Generals of the HoJo Period.No wonder, then, that the representatives of the

Samurai class, the Regent Generals, especially such able rulers as Tokiyori, Tokimune, and others noted

for their good administration, of the Hojo period (12051332) greatly favoured Zen. They not only

patronized the faith, building great temples[2] and inviting best Chinese Zen teachers.[3]

[1. The man was not a pure Zen master, being a disciple of Kumarajiva, the founder of the San Ron Sect. This

is a most remarkable evidence that Zen, especially the Rin Zan school, was influenced by Kumarajiva and his

2. Tofukuji, the head temple of a subsect of the Rin Zai under the same name, was built in 1243.

Kenchoji, the head temple of a subsect of the Rin Zai under the same name, was built in 1253. Engaku ji,

the head temple of a subsect of the Rin Zai under the same name, was built in 1282. Nanzenji, the head

3. Tao Lung (Doryu), known as Daikaku Zenji, invited by Tokiyori, came over to Japan in 1246. He

became the founder of Kenchojiha, a subsect of the Rin Zai, and died in 1278. Of his disciples, Yakuo

was most noted, and Yakuo's disciple, Jakushitsu, became the founder of Yogenjiha, another subsect

of the Rin Zai. Tsu Yuen (Sogen), known as Bukkokokushi, invited by Tokimune, crossed the sea in

1280, became the founder of Engakujiha (a subsect of the Rin Zai), and died in 1286. Tsing Choh

(Seisetsu), invited by Takatoki, came in 1327, and died in 1339. Chu Tsun (Soshun) came in 1331, and

died in 1336. Fan Sien (Bonsen) came together with Chu Tsun, and died in 1348. These were the prominent

but also lived just as Zen monks, having the head shaven, wearing a holy robe, and practising crosslegged

Meditation. Tokiyori (12471263), for instance, who entered the monastic life while be was still the real

governor of the country, led as simple a life, as is shown in his verse, which ran as follows:

Tokiyori attained to Enlightenment by the instruction of Dogen and Doryu, and breathed his last calmly

His successor, Tokimune (12641283), a bold statesman and soldier, was no less of a devoted believer in

Zen. Twice he beheaded the envoys sent by the great Chinese conqueror, Kublai, who demanded Japan

should either surrender or be trodden under his foot. And when the alarming news of the Chinese Armada's

approaching the land reached him, be is said to have called on his tutor, Tsu Yuen, to receive the last

instruction. "Now, reverend sir," said. he, "an imminent peril threatens the land." "How art thou going to

encounter it?" asked the master. Then Tokimune burst into a thundering Ka with all his might to show his

undaunted spirit in encountering the approaching enemy. "O, the lion's roar!" said Tsu Yuen.

"Thou art a genuine lion. Go, and never turn back." Thus encouraged by the teacher, the Regent General sent

out the defending army, and successfully rescued the state from the mouth of destruction, gaining a splendid

10. Zen after the Downfall of the HoJo Regency.Towards the end of the HoJo period,[1] and after the

downfall of the Regency in 1333, sanguinary battles were fought between the Imperialists and the rebels. The

former, brave and faithful as they were, being outnumbered by the latter, perished in the field one after

[1. Although Zen was first favoured by the Hojo Regency and chiefly prospered at Kamakura, yet it

rapidly began to exercise its influence on nobles and Emperors at Kyoto. This is mainly due to the activity

of Enni, known as ShoIchiKokuShi (12021280), who first earned Zen under Gyoyu, a disciple of

Eisai, and afterwards went to China, where he was Enlightened under the instruction of Wu Chun, of the

monastery of King Shan. After his return, Michiiye (Fujiwara), a powerful nobleman, erected for him

Tofukuji in 1243, and he became the founder of a subsect of the Rin Zai, named after that monastery. The

Emperor Gosaga (12431246), an admirer of his, received the Moral Precepts from him, One of his

disciples, Tozan, became the spiritual adviser of the Emperor Fushimi (12881298), and another disciple,

Mu kwan, was created the abbot of the monastery of Nanzenji by the Emperor Kameyama (12601274),

Another teacher who gained lasting influence on the Court is Nanpo, known as DaiOKokuShi

(12351308), who was appointed the abbot of the monastery of Manjuji in Kyo to by the Emperor

Fushimi. One of his disciples, Tsuo, was the spiritual adviser to both the Emperor Hanazono

(13081318) and the Emperor Godaigo. And another disciple, Myocho, known as DaiToKokuShi

(12821337), also was admired by the two Emperors, and created the abbot of Daitokuji, as the founder of

a subsect of the Rin Zai under the same name. It was for Myocho's disciple, Kanzan (1277 1360), that the

Emperor Hanazono turned his detached palace into a monastery, named Myoshinji, the head temple of a

eventful life ended in anxiety and despair. It was at this time that Japan gave birth to Masashige

(Kusunoki), an able general and tactician of the Imperialists, who for the sake of the Emperor not only

sacrificed himself and his brother, but by his will his son and his son's successor died for the same cause,

boldly attacking the enemy whose number was overwhelmingly great. Masashige's loyalty, wisdom,

bravery, and prudence are not merely unique in the history of Japan, but perhaps in the history of man. The

tragic tale about his parting with his beloved son, and his bravery shown at his last battle, never fail to inspire

the Japanese with heroism. He is the best specimen of the Samurai class. According to an old document,[1]

this Masashige was the practiser of Zen, and just before his last battle he called on Chu Tsun (Soshun) to

receive the final instruction. "What have I to do when death takes the place of life?" asked Masashige. The

Thus becoming, as it were, an indispensable discipline for the Samurai, Zen never came to an end with the

Hojo period, but grew more prosperous than before during the reign[2] of the Emperor Godaigo, one of

[1. The event is detailed at length in a life of Soshun, but some historians suspect it to be fictitious. This

2. As we have already mentioned, Dogen, the founder of the Japanese So To Sect, shunned the society of

the rich and the powerful, and led a secluded life. In consequence his sect did not make any rapid progress

who, being of energetic spirit, spread his faith with remarkable activity, building many large monasteries, of which Yokoji, in the province of Noto,

Sojiji (near Yokohama), one of the head temples of the sect, are well known. One of his disciples, Mei ho (12771350), propagated the faith in the northern

provinces; while another disciple, Gasan (12751365), being a greater character, brought up more than thirty distinguished disciples, of whom Taigen,

Tsugen, Mutan, Daitetsu, and Jippo, are best known. Taigen (died 1370) and big successors propagated the faith over the middle provinces, while

Tsugen (13321391) and his successors spread the sect all over the northeastern and southwestern provinces. Thus it is worthy of our notice that most of

the Rin Zai teachers confined their activities within Kamakura and Kyoto, while the So To masters spread the faith all over the country.]

The Shoguns of the Ashikaga period (13381573) were not less devoted to the faith than the Emperors who

succeeded the Emperor Godaigo. And even Takauji (13381357), the notorious founder of the

Shogunate, built a monastery and invited Soseki,[1] better known as MuSoKokuShi, who was respected

as the tutor by the three successive Emperors after Godaigo. Takauji's example was followed by all

succeeding Shoguns, and Shogun's example was followed by the feudal lords and their vassals. This resulted

in the propagation of Zen throughout the country. We can easily imagine how Zen was prosperous in these

days from the splendid monasteries[2] built at this period, such as the Golden Hall Temple and the Silver

11. Zen in the Dark Age.The latter half of the Ashikaga period was the age of arms and bloodshed. Every

[1. Soseki (12761351) was perhaps the greatest Zen master of the period. Of numerous monasteries built

for him, Erinji, in the province of Kae, and Tenryuji, the head temple of a subsect of the Rin Zai under

the same name, are of importance, Out of over seventy eminent disciples of his, Gido (13651388), the

author of Kugeshu; Shunoku (13311338), the founder of the monastery of Sokokuji, the head temple

of a subsect of the Rin Zai under the same name; and Zekkai (13371405), author of Shokenshu, are

2 Myoshinji was built in 1337 by the Emperor Hanazono; Tenryuji was erected by Takauji, the first

Shogun of the period, in 1344; Sokokuji by Yoshimitsu, the third Shogun, in 1385; KinKakuji, or

Golden Hall Temple, by the same Shogun, in 1397; Ginkakuji, or Silver Hall Temple, by Yoshimasa, the

soldiers. Every wind sighed over the lifeless remains of the brave. Everywhere the din of battle resounded.

Out of these fighting feudal lords stood two champions. Each of them distinguished himself as a veteran

soldier and tactician. Each of them was known as an experienced practiser of Zen. One was Harunobu[1]

(Takeda, died in 1573), better known by his Buddhist name, Shingen. The other was Terutora[2]

(Uyesugi, died in 1578), better known by his Buddhist name, Kenshin. The character of Shingen can be

imagined from the fact that he never built any castle or citadel or fortress to guard himself against his enemy,

but relied on his faithful vassals and people; while that of Kenshin, from the fact that he provided his

enemy, Shingen, with salt when the latter suffered from want of it, owing to the cowardly stratagem of a

rival lord. The heroic battles waged by these two great generals against each other are the flowers of the

Japanese warhistory. Tradition has it that when Shingen's army was put to rout by the furious attacks of

Kenshin's troops, and a single warrior mounted on a huge charger rode swiftly as a sweeping wind into

Shingen's headquarters, down came a blow of the heavy sword aimed at Shingen's forehead, with a

question expressed in the technical terms of Zen: "What shalt thou do in such a state at such a moment?"

Having no time to draw his sword, Shingen parried it with his warfan, answering simultaneously in Zen

words: "A flake of snow on the redhot furnace!" Had not his attendants come to the rescue Shingen's life

might have gone as 'a flake of snow on the redhot furnace.' Afterwards the horseman was known to have

[1. Shingen practised Zen under the instruction of Kwaisen, who was burned to death by Nobunaga

Although the priests of other Buddhist sects had their share in these bloody affairs, as was natural at such a

time, yet Zen monks stood aloof and simply cultivated their literature. Consequently, when all the people

grew entirely ignorant at the end of the Dark Age, the Zen monks were the only men of letters. None can

deny this merit of their having preserved learning and prepared for its revival in the following period.[1]

12. Zen under the Tokugana Shogunate.Peace was at last restored by Iyeyasu, the founder of the

Tokugana Shogunate (16031867). During this period the Shogunate gave countenance to Buddhism on one

hand, acknowledging it as the state religion, bestowing rich property to large monasteries, making priests take

rank over common people, ordering every householder to build a Buddhist altar in his house; while, on the

other hand, it did everything to extirpate Christianity, introduced in the previous period (1544). All this

paralyzed the missionary spirit of the Buddhists, and put all the sects in dormant state. As for Zen[2] it was

[1. After the introduction of Zen into Japan many important books were written, and the following are chief

2 The So To Sect was not wanting in competent teachers, for it might take pride in its Tenkei (16481699),

whose religious insight was unsurpassed by any other master of the age; in its Shi getsu, who was a

commentator of various Zen books, and died 1764; in its Menzan (16831769), whose indefatigable works

on the exposition of So To Zen are invaluable indeed; and its Getsushu (16181696) and Manzan

(16351714), to whose labours the reformation of the faith is ascribed. Similarly, the Rin Zai Sect, in its

Gudo (15791661); in its Isshi (16081646); in its Takuan (15731645), the favourite tutor of the third

Shogun, Iyemitsu; in its Hakuin (16671751), the greatest of the Rin Zai masters of the day, to whose

extraordinary personality and labour the revival of the sect is due; and its Torei (17211792), a learned

disciple of Hakuin. Of the important Zen books written by these masters, Rojitankin, by Tenkei;

still favoured by feudal lords and their vassals, and almost all provincial lords embraced the faith.

It was about the middle of this period that the fortyseven vassals of Ako displayed the spirit of the Samurai

by their perseverance, selfsacrifice, and loyalty, taking vengeance on the enemy of their deceased lord. The

leader of these men, the tragic tales of whom can never be told or heard without tears, was Yoshio (Oishi

died 1702), a believer of Zen,[1] and his tomb in the cemetery of the temple of Sengakuji, Tokyo, is daily

Most of the professional swordsmen forming a class in these days practised Zen. Munenori[2] (Yagyu), for

instance, established his reputation by the combination of Zen and the fencing art. The following story about

"On a certain occasion Bokuden took a ferry to cross over the Yabase in the province of Omi. There was

among the passengers a Samurai, tall and squareshouldered, apparently an experienced fencer. He behaved

rudely toward the fellowpassengers, and talked so much of his own dexterity in the art that Bokuden,

provoked by his brag, broke silence. 'You seem, my friend, to practise the art in order to conquer the enemy,

but I do it in order not to be conquered,' said Bokuden. 'O monk,' demanded the man, as Bokuden was clad

like a Zen monk, 'what school of swordsmanship do you belong to?' Well, mine is the

Conqueringenemywithoutfightingschool.' 'Don't tell a fib, old monk. If you could conquer the enemy

without fighting, what then is your sword for?' 'My sword is not to kill, but to save,' said Bokuden, making

use of Zen phrases; 'my art is transmitted from mind to mind.' 'Now then, come, monk,' challenged the man,

'let us see, right at this moment, who is the victor, you or I.' The gauntlet was picked up without hesitation.

'But we must not fight,' said Bokuden, 'in the ferry, lest the passengers should be hurt. Yonder a small island

you see. There we shall decide the contest.' To this proposal the man agreed, and the boat was pulled to that

island. No sooner had the boat reached the shore than the man jumped over to the land, and cried: 'Come on,

monk, quick, quick!' Bokuden, however, slowly rising, said: 'Do not hasten to lose your head. It is a rule of

my school to prepare slowly for fighting, keeping the soul in the abdomen.' So saying he snatched the oar

from the boatman and rowed the boat back to some distance, leaving the man alone, who, stamping the

ground madly, cried out: 'O, you fly, monk, you coward. Come, old monk!' 'Now listen,' said Bokuden, 'this

is the secret art of the Conqueringenemywithoutfightingschool. Beware that you do not forget it, nor tell

it to anybody else.' Thus, getting rid of the brawling fellow, Bokuden and his fellowpassengers safely

The O Baku School of Zen was introduced by Yin Yuen (Ingen) who crossed the sea in 1654, accompanied

by many able disciples.[2] The Shogunate gave him a tract of land at Uji, near Kyoto, and in 1659 he built

2 Ingen (16541673) came over with TaMei (Daibi, died 1673), Hwui Lin (Erin died 1681), Tuh Chan

(Dokutan, died 1706), and others. For the life of Ingen: see Zokukoshuden and Kakushukoyo.]

noted for its Chinese style of architecture, now known as Obakusan. The teachers of the same school[1]

came one after another from China, and Zen[2] peculiar to them, flourished a short while.

[1. Tsih Fei (Sokuhi died 1671), Muh Ngan (Mokuan died 1684), Kao Ts�en (Kosen died 1695), the

The O Baku School is the amalgamation of Zen and the worship of Amitabha, and different from the other

It was also in this period that Zen gained a great influence on the popular literature characterized by the

shortest form of poetical composition. This was done through the genius of Basho,[1] a great literary man,

recluse and traveller, who, as his writings show us, made no small progress in the study of Zen. Again, it was

made use of by the teachers of popular [2] ethics, who did a great deal in the education of the lower classes.

In this way Zen and its peculiar taste gradually found its way into the arts of peace, such as literature, fine art,

teaceremony, cookery, gardening, architecture, and at last it has permeated through every fibre of Japanese

13. Zen after the Restoration.After the Restoration of the Meiji (1867) the popularity of Zen began to

wane, and for some thirty years remained in inactivity; but since the RussoJapanese War its revival has

taken place. And now it is looked upon as an ideal faith, both for a nation full of hope and energy, and for a

person who has to fight his own way in the strife of life. Bushido, or the code of chivalry, should be observed

not only by the soldier in the battlefield, but by every citizen in the struggle for existence. If a person be a

person and not a beast, then he must be a Samuraibrave, generous, upright, faithful, and manly, full of

selfrespect and selfconfidence, at the same time full of the spirit of selfsacrifice. We can find an

[1. He (died 1694) learned Zen under a contemporary Zen master (Buccho), and is said to have been

2 The teaching was called Shingaku, or the 'learning of mind.' It was first taught by Baigan (Ishida), and

is the reconciliation of Shintoism and Buddhism with Confucianism. Baigan and his successors practised

Meditation, and were enlightened in their own way. Doni (Nakazawa, died 1803) made use of Zen more

Arthur, who, after the sacrifice of his two sons for the country in the RussoJapanese War, gave up his own

and his wife's life for the sake of the deceased Emperor. He died not in vain, as some might think, because his

simplicity, uprightness, loyalty, bravery, selfcontrol, and selfsacrifice, all combined in his last act, surely

inspire the rising generation with the spirit of the Samurai to give birth to hundreds of Nogis. Now let us see

in the following chapters what Zen so closely connected with Bushido teaches us.

1. Scripture is no More than Waste Paper.Zen is based on the highest spiritual plane attained by Shakya

[1. Zen is not based on any particular sutra, either of Mahayana or of Hinayana. There are twofold Tripitakas

(or the three collections of the Buddhist scriptures)namely, the Mahayanatripitaka and the

Hinayanatripitaka. The former are the basis of the Mahayana, or the higher and reformed Buddhism, full of

profound metaphysical reasonings; while the latter form that of the Hinayana, or the lower and early

Buddhism, which is simple and ethical teaching. These twofold Tripitakas are as follows:

.The Saddharmapundarikasutra, Samdhinirmocanasutra, Avatamsakasutra, Praj�aparamitasutra, Amitayussutra,

.Mahapraj�aparamitasutra, Mahayanacraddhotpada�astra, Madhyamaka�astra, Yogacarya bhumi�astra, etc.

.Dharmaskandhapada, Samgitiparyayapada, J�anaprasthana�astra, Abhidharmakosa�astra, etc,

The term 'Tripitaka,' however, was not known at the time of Shakya Muni, and almost all of the northern

Buddhist records agree in stating that the Tripitaka was rehearsed and settled in the same year in which the

Muni died. Mahavansa also says: "The book called Abhidharmapitaka was compiled, which was preached

to god, and was arranged in due order by 500 Budhu priests." But we believe that Shakya Muni's teaching

was known to the early Buddhists, not as Tripitaka, but as Vinaya and Dharma, and even at the time of King

A�oka (who ascended the throne about 269 B.C.) it was not called Tripitaka, but Dharma, as we have it in his

Edicts. Mahayanists unanimously assert the compilation of the Tripitaka in the first council of Rajagrha, but

they differ in opinion as to the question who rehearsed the Abhidharma; notwithstanding, they agree as for

The Sutra Pitaka, compiled by Ananda; the Vinaya Pitaka, compiled by Upali; the Abhidharma Pitaka,

compiled by Purnaaccording to Paramartha ('A Commentary on the History of the Hinayana Schools').

The abovementioned discrepancy clearly betrays the uncertainty of their assertions, and gives us reason to

discredit the compilation of Abhidharma Pitaka at the first council. Besides, judging from the

Dharmaguptavinaya and other records, which states that Purna took no part in the first council, and that he

had different opinions as to the application of the rules of discipline from that of Ka�yapa, there should be

Of these three collections of the Sacred Writings, the first two, or Sutra and Vinaya, of Mahayana, as well as

of Himayana, are believed to be the direct teachings of Shakya Muni himself, because all the instructions are

put in the mouth of the Master or sanctioned by him. The Mahayanists, however, compare the Hinayana

doctrine with a restingplace on the road for a traveller, while the Mahayana doctrine with his destination.

All the denominations of Buddhism, with a single exception of Zen, are based on the authority of some

particular sacred writings. The Ten Dai Sect, for instance, is based on Saddharmapundarikasutra; the Jo Do

Sect on Larger Sukhavativyuha, Smaller Sukhavativyuha, and Amitayusdhyanasutra; the Ke Gon Sect

attained the same plane. To describe it in full by means of words is beyond the power even of Gotama

himself. It is for this reason that the author of Lankavatarasutra insists that Shakya Muni spoke no word

through his long career of fortynine years as a religious teacher, and that of Mahapraj�aparamitasutra[1]

also express the same opinion. The Scripture is no more nor less than the finger pointing to the moon of

Buddhahood. When we recognize the moon and enjoy its benign beauty, the finger is of no use. As the finger

has no brightness whatever, so the Scripture has no holiness whatever. The Scripture is religious currency

representing spiritual wealth. It does not matter whether money be gold, or seashells, or cows. It is a mere

substitute. What it stands for is of paramount importance. Away with your stoneknife! Do not watch the

stake against which a running hare once struck its head and died. Do not wait for another hare. Another may

not come for ever. Do not cut the side of the boat out of which you dropped your sword to mark where it

sunk. The boat is ever moving on. The Canon is the window through which we observe the grand scenery of

spiritual nature. To hold communion directly with it we must get out of the window. It is a mere stray fly that

is always buzzing within it, struggling to get out. Those who spend most of their lives in the study of the

Scriptures, arguing and explaining with hairsplitting reasonings, and attain no higher plane in spirituality,

are religious flies good for nothing but their buzzing about the nonsensical technicalities. It is on this account

that Rinzai declared: [2] 'The twelve divisions of the Buddhist Canon are nothing better than waste paper.'

2. No Need of the Scriptural Authority for Zen.Some Occidental scholars erroneously identify

Buddhism with the primitive faith of Hinayanism, and are inclined to call Mahayanism, a later developed

these scholars think, and the later developed faith be the degenerated one, then the child should be called the

genuine man and the grownup people be the degenerated ones; similarly, the primitive society must be the

genuine and the modern civilization be the degenerated one. So also the earliest writings of the Old

Testament should be genuine and the four Gospels be degenerated. Beyond all doubt Zen belongs to

Mahayanism, yet this does not imply that it depends on the scriptural authority of that school, because it does

not trouble itself about the Canon whether it be Hinayana or Mahayana, or whether it was directly spoken by

Shakya Muni or written by some later Buddhists. Zen is completely free from the fetters of old dogmas, dead

creeds, and conventions of stereotyped past, that check the development of a religious faith and prevent the

discovery of a new truth. Zen needs no Inquisition. It never compelled nor will compel the compromise of a

Galileo or a Descartes. No excommunication of a Spinoza or the burning of a Bruno is possible for Zen.

On a certain occasion Yoh Shan (Yakusan) did not preach the doctrine for a long while, and was requested

to give a sermon by his assistant teacher, saying: "Would your reverence preach the Dharma to your pupils,

who long thirst after your merciful instruction?" "Then ring the bell," replied Yoh Shan. The bell rang, and all

the monks assembled in the Hall eager to bear the sermon. Yoh Shan went up to the pulpit and descended

immediately without saying a word. "You, reverend sir," asked the assistant, "promised to deliver a sermon a

little while ago. Why do you not preach?" "Sutras are taught by the Sutra teachers," said the master; "�astras

are taught by the �astra teachers. No wonder that I say nothing."[1] This little episode will show you that Zen

�astra, but a conviction or realization within us. To quote another example, an officer offered to T�ng Shan

(Tozan) plenty of alms, and requested him to recite the sacred Canon. T�ng Shan, rising from his chair,

made a bow respectfully to the officer, who did the same to the teacher. Then T�ng Shan went round the

chair, taking the officer with him, and making a bow again to the officer, asked: "Do you see what I mean?"

"No, sir," replied the other. "I have been reciting the sacred Canon, why do you not see?"[1] Thus Zen does

not regard Scriptures in black and white as its Canon, for it takes todays and tomorrows of this actual life as

3. The Usual Explanation of the Canon.An eminent Chinese Buddhist scholar, well known as Ten Dai

Dai Shi (A.D. 538597), arranged the whole preachings of Shakya Muni in a chronological order in

accordance with his own religious theory, and observed that there were the Five Periods in the career of the

Buddha as a religious teacher. He tried to explain away all the discrepancies and contradictions, with which

the Sacred Books are encumbered, by arranging the Sutras in a line of development. His elucidation was so

minute and clear, and his metaphysical reasonings so acute and captivating, that his opinion was universally

accepted as an historical truth, not merely by the Chinese, but also by the Japanese Mahayanists. We shall

Shakya Muni attained to Buddhaship in his thirtieth year, and sat motionless for seven days under the Bodhi

tree, absorbed in deep meditation, enjoying the first bliss of his Enlightenment. In the second week he

2 Bodhisattva is an imaginary personage, or ideal saint, superior to Arhat, or the highest saint of Hinayanism.

The term 'Bodhisattva' was first applied to the Buddha before his Enlightenment, and afterwards was adopted

by Mahayanists to mean the adherent of Mahayanism in contradistinction with the �ravaka or hearers of

celestial beings, and deities in the nine assemblies held at seven different places. This is the origin of a

famous Mahayana book entitled Buddhavatamsakamahavaipulyasutra. In this book the Buddha set forth

his profound Law just as it was discovered by his highly Enlightened mind, without considering the mental

states of his hearers. Consequently the ordinary hearers (or the Buddha's immediate disciples) could not

understand the doctrine, and sat stupefied as if they were 'deaf and dumb,' while the great Bodhisattvas fully

understood and realized the doctrine. This is called the first period, which lasted only two or three[1] weeks.

Thereupon Shakya Muni, having discovered that ordinary bearers were too ignorant to believe in the

Mahayana doctrine and appreciate the greatness of Buddhahood, thought it necessary to modify his teaching

so as to adjust it to the capacity of ordinary people. So he went to Varanasi (or Benares) and preached his

modified doctrinethat is, Hinayanism. The instruction given at that time has been handed down to us as the

four Agamas,[1] or the four Nikayas. This is called the second period, which lasted about twelve years. It was

at the beginning of this period that the Buddha converted the five ascetics,[3] who became his disciples. Most

[1. Bodhiruci says to the effect that the preachings in the first five assemblies were made in the first week,

and the rest were delivered in the second week. Nagarjuna says that the Buddha spoke no word for

fiftyseven days after his Enlightenment. It is said in Saddharmapundarikasutra that after three weeks the

Buddha preached at Varanasi, and it says nothing respecting Avatamsakasutra. Though there are divers

opinions about the Buddha's first sermon and its date, all traditions agree in this that he spent some time in

meditation, and then delivered the first sermon to the five ascetics at Varanasi.

or the adherents of Hinayanism were converted during this period. They trained their hearts in accordance

with the modified Law, learned the four noble truths,[1] and worked out their own salvation.

The Buddha then having found his disciples firmly adhering to Hinayanism without knowing that it was a

modified and imperfect doctrine, he had to lead them up to a higher and perfect doctrine that he might lead

them up to Buddhahood. With this object in view Shakya Muni preached Vimalakirttinirde�asutra[2],

Lankavatarasutra, and other sutras, in which he compared Hinayanism with Mahayanism, and described the

latter in glowing terms as a deep and perfect Law, whilst he set forth the former at naught as a superficial and

imperfect one. Thus he showed his disciples the inferiority of Hinayanism, and caused them to desire for

The disciples of the Buddha now understood that Mahayanism was far superior to Hinayanism, but they

thought the higher doctrine was only for Bodhisattvas and beyond their understanding. Therefore they still

adhered to the modified doctrine, though they did no longer decry Mahayanism, which they had no mind to

[1. The first is the sacred truth of suffering; the second the truth of the origin of sufferingthat is, lust and

desire; the third the sacred truth of the extinction of suffering; the fourth the sacred truth of the path that leads

to the extinction of suffering. There are eight noble paths that lead to the extinction of sufferingthat is,

Right faith, Right resolve, Right speech, Right action, Right living, Right effort, Right thought, and Right

2 This is one of the most noted Mahayana books, and is said to be the best specimen of the sutras belonging

to this period. It is in this sutra that most of Shakya's eminent disciples, known as the adherents of

Hinayanism, are astonished with the profound wisdom, the eloquent speech, and the supernatural power of

Vimalakirtti, a Bodhisattva, and confess the inferiority of their faith. The author frequently introduces

episodes in order to condemn Hinayanism, making use of miracles of his own invention.]

practise. Upon this Shakya Muni preached Praj�aparamitasutras[1] in the sixteen assemblies held at four

different places, and taught them Mahayanism in detail in order to cause them to believe it and practise it.

Thus they became aware that there was no definite demarcation between Mahayanism and Hinayanism, and

that they might become Mahayanists. This is the fourth period, which lasted about twentytwo years.

Now, the Buddha, aged seventytwo, thought it was high time to preach his longcherished doctrine that all

sentient beings can attain to Supreme Enlightenment; so he preached Saddharmapundarikasutra, in which

he prophesied when and where his disciples should become Buddhas. It was his greatest object to cause all

sentient beings to be Enlightened and enable them to enjoy the bliss of Nirvana. It was for this that he had

endured great pain and hardships through his previous existences. It was for this that he had left his heavenly

abode to appear on earth. It was for this that he had preached from time to time through his long career of

fortyseven years. Having thus realized his great aim, Shakya Muni had now to prepare for his final

departure, and preached Mahaparinirvanasutra in order to show that all the animated and inanimate things

were endowed with the same nature as his. After this last instruction he passed to eternity. This is called the

These five periods above mentioned can scarcely be called historical in the proper sense of the term, yet they

are ingeniously invented by Ten Dai Dai Shi to set the Buddhist Scriptures in the order of doctrinal

development, and place Saddharmapundarika in the highest rank among the Mahayana books. His

not a little valuable for our reader, who wants to know the general phase of the Buddhist Canon, consisting of

4. Sutras used by Zen Masters.Ten Dai failed to explain away the discrepancies and contradictions of

which the Canon is full, and often contradicted himself by the ignoring of historical[1] facts. To say nothing

[1. Let us state our own opinion on the subject in question. The foundation of Hinayanism consists in the four

Nikayas, or four Agamas, the most important books of that school. Besides the four Agamas, there exist in

the Chinese Tripitaka numerous books translated by various authors, some of which are extracts from

Agamas, and some the lives of the Buddha, while others are entirely different sutras, apparently of later date.

Judging from these sources, it seems to us that most of Shakya Muni's original teachings are embodied into

the four Agamas. But it is still a matter of uncertainty that whether they are stated in Agamas now extant just

as they were, for the Buddha's preachings were rehearsed immediately after the Buddha's death in the first

council held at Rajagrha, yet not consigned to writing. They were handed down by memory about one

hundred years. Then the monks at Vaisali committed the socalled Ten Indulgences, infringing the rules of

the Order, and maintained that Shakya Muni had not condemned them in his preachings. As there were,

however, no written sutras to disprove their assertion, the elders, such as Ya�a, Revata, and others, who

opposed the Indulgences, had to convoke the second council of 700 monks, in which they succeeded in

getting the Indulgences condemned, and rehearsed the Buddha's instruction for the second time. Even in this

council of Vaisali we cannot find the fact that the Master's preachings were reduced to writing. The decisions

of the 700 elders were not accepted by the party of opposition, who held a separate council, and settled their

own rules and doctrine. Thus the same doctrine of the Teacher be.an to be differently stated and believed.

This being the first open schism, one disruption after another took place among the Buddhistic Order. There

were many different schools of the Buddhists at the time when King A�oka ascended the throne (about 269

B.C.), and the patronage of the King drew a great number of pagan ascetics into the Order, who, though they

dressed themselves in the yellow robes, yet still preserved their religious views in their original colour. This

naturally led the Church into continual disturbances and moral corruption. In the eighteenth year of A�oka's

reign the King summoned the council of 1,000 monks at Pataliputra (Patna), and settled the orthodox doctrine

in order to keep the Dharma pure from heretical beliefs. We believe that about this time some of the Buddha's

preachings were reduced to writing, for the missionaries despatched by the King in the year following the

council seem to have set out with written sutras. In addition to this, some of the names of the passages of the

Dharma are given in the Bharbra edict of the King, which was addressed to the monks in Magadha. We do

not suppose, however, that all the sutras were written at once in these days, but that they were copied down

from memory one after another at different times, because some of the sutras were put down in Ceylon 160

In the introductory book of Ekottaragama (Anguttara Nikaya), now extant in the Chinese Tripitaka, we notice

the following points: (1) It is written in a style quite different from that of the original Agama, but similar to

that of the supplementary books of the Mahayana sutras; (2) it states Ananda's compilation of the Tripitaka

after the death of the Master; (3) it refers to the past Buddhas, the future Buddha Maitreya, and innumerable

Bodhisattvas; (4) it praises the profound doctrine of Mahayanism. From this we infer that the Agama was put

in the present form after the rise of the Mahayana School, and handed down through the hand of

Again, the first book of Dirghagama, (Digha Nikaya), that describes the line of Buddhas who appeared before

Shakya Muni, adopts the whole legend of Gotama's life as a common mode of all Buddhas appearing on

earth; while the second book narrates the death of Gotama and the distribution of his relies, and refers to

Pataliputra, the new capital of A�oka. This shows us that the present Agama is not of an earlier date than the

third century B.C. Samyuktagama (Samyutta Nikaya) also gives a detailed account of A�oka's conversion,

and of his father Bindusara. From these evidences we may safely infer that the Hinayana sutras were put in

the present shape at different times between the third century B.C. and the first century A.D.

With regard to the Mahayana sutras we have little doubt about their being the writings of the later Buddhist

reformers, even if they are put in the mouth of Shakya Muni. They are entirely different from the sutras of

Hinayanism, and cannot be taken as the preachings of one and the same person. The reader should notice the

(1) Four councils were held for the rehearsal of the Tripitaka namely, the first at Rajagrha, in the year of

Shakya Muni's death; the second at Vaisali, some 100 years after the Buddha; the third at the time of King

A�oka, about 235 years after the Master; the fourth at the time of King Kanishka, the first century A.D. But

all these councils were held to compile the Hinayana sutras, and nothing is known of the rehearsal of the

Mahayana books. Some are of opinion that the first council was held within the Sattapanni cave, near

Rajagrha, where the Hinayana Tripitaka was rehearsed by 500 monks, while outside the cave there assembled

a greater number of monks, who were not admitted into the cave, and rehearsed the Mahayana Tripitaka. This

(2) The Indian orthodox Buddhists of old declared that the Mahayana sutras were the fabrication of heretics

or of the Evil One, and not the teachings of the Buddha. In reply to this, the Mahayanists had to prove that the

Mahayana sutras were compiled by the direct disciples of the Master; but even Nagarjuna could not vindicate

the compilation of the doubtful books, and said (in Mahapraj�aparamita�astra) that they were compiled by

Ananda and Manju�ri, with myriads of Bodhisattvas at the outside of the Iron Mountain Range, which

encloses the earth. Asanga also proved (in Mahayanalankarasutra�astra) with little success that

Mahayanism was the Buddha's direct teachings. Some may quote Bodhisattvagarbhasthasutra in favour of

the Mahayana; but it is of no avail, as the sutra itself is the work of a later date.

(3) Although almost all of the Mahayana sutras, excepting Avatamsakasutra, treat of Hinayanism as the

imperfect doctrine taught in the first part of the Master's career, yet not merely the whole life of Gotama, but

also events which occurred after his death are narrated in the Hinayana sutras. This shows that the Mahayana

(4) The narratives given in the Hinayana sutras in reference to Shakya Muni seem to be based on historical

facts, but those in the Mahayana books are full of wonders and extravagant miracles far from facts.

(5) The Hinayana sutras retain the traces of their having been classified and compiled as we see in

Ekottaragama, while Mahayana books appear to have been composed one after another by different authors at

different times, because each of them strives to excel others, declaring itself to be the sutra of the highest

doctrine, as we see in Saddharmapundarika, Samdhinirmocana, Suvarnaprabhasottamaraja, etc.

(6) The dialogues in the Hinayana sutras are in general those between the Buddha and his disciples, while in

the Mahayana books imaginary beings called Bodhisattvas take the place of disciples. Moreover, in some

(7) Most of the Mahayana sutras declare that they themselves possess those mystic powers that protect the

reader or the owner from such evils as epidemic, famine, war, etc.; but the Hinayana sutras are pure from

(8) The Mahayana sutras extol not only the merits of the reading, but the copying of the sutras. This

unfailingly shows the fact that they were not handed down by memory, as the Hinayana sutras, but written by

(9) The Hinayana sutras were written with a plain style in Pali, while the Mahayana books, with brilliant

(10) The Buddha in the Hinayana sutras is little more than a human being, while Buddha or Tathagata in the

(11) The moral precepts of the Hinayana were laid down by the Master every time when his disciples acted

indecently, while those of the Mahayana books were spoken all at once by Tathagata.

(12) Some Mahayana sutras appear to be the exaggeration or modification of what was stated in the Hinayana

(13) If we take both the Hinayana and the Mahayana as spoken by one and the same person, we cannot

understand why there are so many contradictory statements, as we see in the following:

(a) Historical Contradictions.For instance, Hinayana sutras are held to be the first sermon of the Buddha

by the author of Saddharmapundarika, while Avatamsaka declares itself to be the first sermon. Nagarjuna

(b) Contradictions as to the Person of the Master.For instance, Agamas say the Buddha's body was

marked with thirtytwo peculiarities, while the Mahayana books enumerate ninetyseven peculiarities, or

life, while the Mahayana books, as a rule, express the optimistic, idealistic view.

(14) The Hinayana sutras say nothing of the Mahayana books, while the latter always compare their doctrine

with that of the former, and speak of it in contempt. It is clear that the name 'Hinayana' was coined by the

Mahayanists, as there is no sutra which calls itself 'Hinayana.' It is therefore evident that when the Hinayana

(15) The authors of the Mahayana sutras should have expected the opposition of the Hinayanists, because

they say not seldom that there might be some who would. not believe in and oppose Mahayanism as not

being the Buddha's teaching, but that of the Evil One. They say also that one who would venture to say the

Mahayana books are fictitious should fall into Hell. For example, the author of Mahaparinirvanasutra says:

"Wicked Bhiksus would say all Vaipulya Mahayana sutras are not spoken by the Buddha, but by the Evil

(16) There are evidences showing that the Mahayana doctrine was developed out of the Hinayana one.

(a) The Mahayanists' grand conception of Tathagata is the natural development of that of those progressive

Hinayanists who belonged to the Mahasamghika School, which was formed some one hundred years after the

Master. These Hinayanists maintained that the Buddha had infinite power, endless life, and limitlessly great

body. The author of Mahaparinirvanasutra also says that Buddha is immortal, his Dharmakaya is infinite

Suvarnaprabhasottamarajasutra enumerate the Three Bodies of Buddha, while the writer of

Lankavatarasutra describes the Four Bodies, and that of Avatamsakasutra the Ten Bodies of Tathagata.

(b) According to the Hinayana sutras, there are only four stages of saintship, but the Mahasamghika School

increases the number and gives ten steps. Some Mahayana sutras also enumerate the ten stages of

(d) The Hinayana sutras give the names of six Vij�anas, while the Mahayana books seven, eight, or nine

(17) For a few centuries after the Buddha we hear only of Hinayanism, but not of Mahayanism, there being

(18) In some Mahayana sutras (Mahavairocanabhisambodhisutra, for example) Tathagata Vairocana takes

(19) The contents of the Mahayana sutras often prove that they were, composed, or rewritten, or some

additions were made, long after the Buddha. For instance, Mahamayasutra says that A�vaghosa would

refute heretical doctrines 600 years after the Master, and Nagarjuna would advocate the Dharma 700 years

after Gotama, while Lankavatarasutra prophesies that Nagarjuna would appear in South India.

(20) The author of Sanrongengi tells us Mahadeva, a leader of the Mahasamghika School, used

Mahayana sutras, together with the orthodox Tripitaka 116 {years?} after the Buddha. It is, however,

(21) Mahapraj�aparamita�astra, ascribed to Nagarjuna, refers to many Mahayana books, which include

Saddharmapundarika, Vimalakirttinirde�a, Sukhavativyuha, Mahapraj�aparamita,

Pratyutpannabuddhasammukhavasthitasamadhi, etc. He quotes in his Da�abhumivibhasa �astra,

(22) Sthiramati, whose date is said to be earlier than Nagarjuna and later than A�vaghosa, tries to prove that

Mahayanism was directly taught by the Master in his Mahayanavataraka�astra. And

Mahayanottaratantra�astra, which is ascribed by some scholars to him, refers to Avatamsaka,

(23) Chileuciachin, who came to China in A.D. 147 or A.D. 164, translated some part of Mahayana

(24) Anshikao, who came to China in A.D. 148, translated such Mahayana books as Sukhavativyaha,

(25) Matanga, who came to China in A.D. 67, is said by his biographer to have been informed of both

Mahayanism and Hinayanism to have given interpretations to a noted Mahayana book, entitled

(26) Sandhinirmocanasutra is supposed to be a work of Asanga not without reason, because Asanga's

doctrine is identical with that of the sutra, and the sutra itself is contained in the latter part of

Yoga�aryabhumi�astra. The author divides the whole preachings of the Master into the three periods that he

might place the Idealistic doctrine in the highest rank of the Mahayana schools.

(27) We have every reason to believe that Mahayana sutras began to appear (perhaps Praj�a sutras being the

first) early in the first century A.D., that most of the important books appeared before Nagarjuna, and that

some of Mantra sutras were composed so late as the time of Vajrabodhi, who came to China in A.D. 719.]

opposition raised by the Japanese scholars,[1] such an assumption can be met with an assumption of entirely

opposite nature, and the difficulties can never be overcome. For Zen masters, therefore, these assumptions

[1. The foremost of them was Chuki Tominaga (1744), of whose life little is known. He is said to have been a

nameless merchant at Osaka. His Shutsujokogo is the first great work of higher criticism on the Buddhist

To believe blindly in the Scriptures is one thing, and to be pious is another. How often the childish views of

Creation and of God in the Scriptures concealed the light of scientific truths; how often the blind believers of

them fettered the progress of civilization; how often religious men prevented us from the realizing of a new

truth, simply because it is against the ancient folklore in the Bible. Nothing is more absurd than the constant

dread in which religious men, declaring to worship God in truth and in spirit, are kept at the scientific

discovery of new facts incompatible with the folklore. Nothing is more irreligious than to persecute the

seekers of truth in order to keep up absurdities and superstitions of bygone ages. Nothing is more inhuman

than the commission of 'devout cruelty' under the mask of love of God and man. Is it not the misfortune, not

only of Christianity, but of whole mankind, to have the Bible encumbered with legendary histories, stories of

miracles, and a crude cosmology, which from time to time come in conflict with science?

The Buddhist Scriptures are also overloaded with Indian superstitions and a crude cosmology, which pass

under the name of Buddhism. Accordingly, Buddhist scholars have confused not seldom the doctrine of the

Buddha with these absurdities, and thought it impious to abandon them. Kaiseki,[1] for instance, was at a loss

to distinguish Buddhism from the Indian astronomy, which is utterly untenable in the face of the fact. He

taxed his reason to the utmost to demonstrate the Indian theory and at the same time to refute the Copernican

theory. One day he called on Yekido[2] a contemporary Zen master, and explained the construction of the

Three Worlds as described in the Scriptures, Baying that Buddhism would come to naught if the theory of the

Three Worlds be overthrown by the Copernican. Then Yekido exclaimed: "Buddhism aims to destroy the

the universe. Why do you waste your energy in the construction of the Three Worlds?'[1] In this way Zen

does not trouble itself about unessentials of the Scriptures, on which it never depends for its authority.

Dogen, the founder of the Japanese So To Sect, severely condemns (in his Shobogenzo) the notions of

the impurity of women inculcated in the Scriptures. He openly attacks those Chinese monks who swore that

they would not see any woman, and ridicules those who laid down rules prohibiting women from getting

access to monasteries. A Zen master was asked by a Samurai whether there was hell in sooth as taught in the

Scriptures. "I must ask you," replied he, "before I give you an answer. For what purpose is your question?

What business have you, a Samurai, with a thing of that sort? Why do you bother yourself about such an idle

question? Surely you neglect your duty and are engaged in such a fruitless research. Does this not amount to

your stealing the annual salary from your lord?" The Samurai, offended not a little with these rebukes, stared

at the master, ready to draw his sword at another insult. Then the teacher said smilingly: "Now you are in

Does, then, Zen use no scripture? To this question we answer both affirmatively and negatively: negatively,

because Zen regards all sutras as a sort of pictured food which has no power of appeasing spiritual hunger;

affirmatively, because it freely makes use of them irrespective of Mahayana or Hinayana. Zen would not

make a bonfire of the Scriptures as Caliph Omar did of the Alexandrian library. A Zen master, having seen a

Confucianist burning his books on the thought that they were rather a hindrance to his spiritual growth,

observed: "You had better burn your books in mind and heart, but not the books in black and white."[2]

As even deadly poison proves to be medicine in the band of a good doctor, so a heterodox doctrine

antagonistic to Buddhism is used by the Zen teachers as a finger pointing to the principle of Zen. But they as

Mababuddhosnisatathagataguhyahetusaksatkrtaprasannathasarvabhodhisattvacaryasurangamasutra,[5]

Mahaparinirvanasutra,[6] Saddharmapundarikasutra, Avatamsakasutra, and so forth.

5. A Sutra Equal in Size to the Whole World.The holy writ that Zen masters admire is not one of

parchment nor of palmleaves, nor in black and white, but one written in heart and mind. On one occasion a

King of Eastern India invited the venerable Praj�atara, the teacher of Bodhidharma, and his disciples to

[1. This book is the nearest approach to the doctrine of Zen, and is said to have been pointed out by

Bodhidharma as the best book for the use of his followers. See Nanjo's Catalogue, Nos. 175, 1761 177.

2. The author of the sutra insists on the unreality of all things. The book was first used by the Fifth Patriarch,

as we have seen in the first chapter. See Nanjo's Catalogue, Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.

3. The sutra agrees with Zen in many respects, especially in its maintaining that the highest truth can only be

realized in mind, and cannot be expressed by word of mouth. See Nanjo's Catalogue, Nos. 144, 145, 146,

4. The sutra was translated into Chinese by Buddhatrata in the seventh century. The author treats at length of

Samadhi, and sets forth a doctrine similar to Zen, so that the text was used by many Chinese Zenists. See

5. The sutra was translated into Chinese by Paramiti and Mika�akya, of the Tang dynasty (618907). The

author conceives. Reality as Mind or Spirit. The book belongs to the Mantra class, although it is much used

6. The author of the book sets forth his own conception of Nirvana and of Buddha, and maintains that all

beings are endowed with Buddhanature. He also gives in detail an incredible account about Gotama's death.]

Finding all the monks reciting the sacred sutras with the single exception of the master, the Ring questioned

Praj�atara: "Why do you not, reverend sir, recite the Scriptures as others do?" "My poor self, your majesty,"

replied he, "does not go out to the objects of sense in my expiration nor is it confined within body and mind

in my inspiration. Thus I constantly recite hundreds, thousands, and millions of sacred sutras." In like manner

the Emperor Wu, of the Liang dynasty, once requested Chwen Hih (Fu Daishi) to give a lecture on the

Scriptures. Chwen went upon the platform, struck the desk with a block of wood, and came down. Pao Chi

(Hoshi), a Buddhist tutor to the Emperor, asked the perplexed monarch: "Does your Lordship understand

him?" "No," answered His Majesty. "The lecture of the Great Teacher is over." As it is clear to you from

these examples, Zen holds that the faith must be based not on the dead Scriptures, but on living facts, that one

must turn over not the gilt pages of the holy writ, but read between the lines in the holy pages of daily life,

that Buddha must be prayed not by word of mouth, but by actual deed and work, and that one must split open,

as the author of Avatamsakasutra allegorically tells us, the smallest grain of dirt to find therein a sutra equal

in size to the whole world. "The socalled sutra," says Dogen, "covers the whole universe. It transcends

time and space. It is written with the characters of heaven, of man, of beasts, of Asuras,[l] of hundreds of

grass, and of thousands of trees. There are characters, some long, some short, some round, some square, some

blue, some red, some yellow, and some whitein short, all the phenomena in the universe are the characters

with which the sutra is written." Shakya Muni read that sutra through the bright star illuminating the broad

meditation under the Bodhi Tree. Ling Yun (Reiun) read it through the lovely flowers of a peachtree in

Hian Yen (Kyogen) read it through the noise of bamboo, at which he threw pebbles. Su Shih (Soshoku)

6. Great Men and Nature.All great men, whether they be poets or scientists or religious men or

philosophers, are not mere readers of books, but the perusers of Nature. Men of erudition are often lexicons in

flesh and blood, but men of genius read between the lines in the pages of life. Kant, a man of no great

erudition, could accomplish in the theory of knowledge what Copernicus did in astronomy. Newton found the

law of gravitation not in a written page, but in a falling apple. Unlettered Jesus realized truth beyond the

comprehension of many learned doctors. Charles Darwin, whose theory changed the whole current of the

world's thought, was not a great reader of books, but a careful observer of facts. Shakespeare, the greatest of

poets, was the greatest reader of Nature and life. He could hear the music even of heavenly bodies, and said:

Chwang Tsz (Soshi), the greatest of Chinese philosophers, says: Thou knowest the music of men, but not

of the earth. Thou knowest the music of the earth, but not the music of the heaven." Goethe, perceiving a

profound meaning in Nature, says: "Flowers are the beautiful hieroglyphics of Nature with which she

indicates how much she loves us." Sontoku[1] (Ninomiya), a great economist, who, overcoming all

difficulties and hardships by which he was beset from his childhood, educated himself, says: "The earth and

7. The Absolute and Reality are but an Abstraction.A grain of sand you, trample upon has a deeper

significance than a series of lectures by your verbal philosopher whom you respect. It contains within itself

the whole history of the earth; it tells you what it has seen since the dawn of time; while your philosopher

simply plays on abstract terms and empty words. What does his Absolute, or One, or Substance mean? What

does his Reality or Truth imply? Do they denote or connote anything? Mere name! mere abstraction! One

school of philosophy after another has been established on logical subtleties; thousands of books have been

written on these grand names and fair mirages, which vanish the moment that your hand of experience

"Duke Hwan," says Chwang Tsz,[2]"seated above in his hall, was"(once) reading a book, and a wheelwright,

Phien, was making a wheel below it. Laying aside his hammer and chisel, Phien went up the steps and said: 'I

venture to ask your Grace what words you are reading?' The duke said: 'The words of sages.' 'Are these sages

alive?' Phien continued. 'They are dead,' was the reply. 'Then, said the other, 'what you, my Ruler, are reading

'How should you, a wheelwright, have anything to say about the book which I am reading? If you can explain

yourself, very well; if you cannot, you shall die.' The wheelwright said: 'Your servant will look at the thing

from the point of view of his own art. In making a wheel, if I proceed gently, that is pleasant enough, but the

workmanship is not strong; if I proceed violently, that is toilsome and the joinings do not fit. If the

movements of my band are neither (too) gentle nor (too) violent, the idea in my mind is realized. But I cannot

tell (how to do this) by word of mouth; there is a knack in it. I cannot teach the knack to my son, nor can my

son learn it from me. Thus it is that I am in my seventieth year, and am (still) making wheels in my old age.

But these ancients, and what it was not possible for them to convey, are dead and gone. So then what you, my

Ruler, are reading is but their dregs and sediments."' Zen has no business with the dregs and sediments of

8. The Sermon of the Inanimate.The Scripture of Zen is written with facts simple and familiar, so simple

and familiar with everyday life that they escape observation on that very account. The sun rises in the east.

The moon sets in the west. High is the mountain. Deep is the sea. spring comes with flowers; summer with

the cool breeze; autumn with the bright moon; winter with the fakes of snow. These things, perhaps too

simple and too familiar for ordinary observers to pay attention to, have had profound significance for Zen. Li

Ngao (Riko) one day asked Yoh Shan (Yakusan): "What is the way to truth?" Yoh Shan, pointing to the

sky and then to the pitcher beside him, said: "You see?" "No, sir," replied Li Ngao. "The cloud is in the sky,"

said Yoh Shan, "and the water in the pitcher." H�en Sha (Gensha) one day went upon the platform and was

ready to deliver a sermon when he heard a swallow singing. "Listen," said he, "that small bird preaches the

essential doctrine and proclaims the eternal truth." Then he went back to his room, giving no sermon.[1]

The letters of the alphabet, a, b, c, etc., have no meaning whatever. They are but artificial signs, but when

spelt they can express any great idea that great thinkers may form. Trees, grass, mountains, rivers, stars,

moons, suns. These are the alphabets with which the Zen Scripture is written. Even a, b, c, etc., when spelt,

can express any great idea. Why not, then, these trees, grass, etc., the alphabets of Nature when they compose

the Volume of the Universe? Even the meanest clod of earth proclaims the sacred law.

Hwui Chung[2] (Echu) is said first to have given an expression to the Sermon of the Inanimate. "Do the

inanimate preach the Doctrine?" asked a monk of Hwui Chung on one occasion. "Yes, they preach eloquently

and incessantly. There is no pause in their orations," was the reply. "Why, then, do I not hear them?" asked

the other again. "Even if you do not, there are many others who can hear them." "Who can hear them?" "All

the sages hear and understand them," said Hwui Chung. Thus the Sermon of the Inanimate had been a

favourite topic of discussion 900 years before Shakespeare who expressed the similar idea, saying:

"How wonderful is the Sermon of the Inanimate," says T�ng Shan (Tozan). "You cannot hear it through

your ears, but you can hear it through your eyes." You should hear it through your mind's eyes, through your

intellect, not through your perception, not through your knowledge, not through your logic, not through your

metaphysics. To understand it you have to divine, not to define; you have to observe, not to calculate; you

have to sympathize, not to analyze; you have to see through, not to criticize; you have not to explain, but to

feel; you have not to abstract, but to grasp; you have to see all in each, but not to know all in all; you have to

get directly at the soul of things, penetrating their hard crust of matter by your rays of the innermost

consciousness. "The falling leaves as well as the blooming flowers reveal to us the holy law of Buddha," says

Ye who seek for purity and peace, go to Nature. She will give you more than ye ask. Ye who long for

strength and perseverance, go to Nature. She will train and strengthen you. Ye who aspire after an ideal, go to

Nature. She will help you in its realization. Ye who yearn after Enlightenment, go to Nature. She will never

1. The Ancient Buddhist Pantheon.The ancient Buddhist pantheon was full of deities or Buddhas,

3,000[1] in number, or rather countless, and also of Bodhisattvas no less than Buddhas. Nowadays, however,

in every church of Mahayanism one Buddha or another together with some Bodhisattvas reigns supreme as

the sole object of worship, while other supernatural beings sink in oblivion. These Enlightened Beings,

regardless of their positions in the pantheon, were generally regarded as persons who in their past lives

cultivated virtues, underwent austerities, and various sorts of penance, and at length attained to a complete

Enlightenment, by virtue of which they secured not only peace and eternal bliss, but acquired divers

supernatural powers, such as clairvoyance, clairaudience, allknowledge, and what not. Therefore, it is

natural that some Mahayanists[2] came to believe that, if they should go through the same course of

discipline and study, they could attain to the same Enlightenment and Bliss, or the same Buddhahood, while

Buddhabhisitabuddhanamasutra enumerates Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 11,093 in number. See Nanjo's

2. Those who believe in the doctrine of Holy Path. See 'A History of the Twelve Japanese Buddhist Sects,'

and led up to the eternal state of bliss, without undergoing these hard disciplines, by the power of a Buddha

2. Zen is Iconoclastic.For the followers of Bodhidharma, however, this conception of Buddha seemed too

crude to be accepted unhesitatingly and the doctrine too much irrelevant with and uncongenial to actual life.

Since Zen denounced, as we have seen in the previous chapter, the scriptural authority, it is quite reasonable

to have given up this view of Buddha inculcated in the Mahayana sutras, and to set at naught those statues

and images of supernatural beings kept in veneration by the orthodox Buddhists. Tan Hia (Tanka), a noted

Chinese Zen master, was found warming himself on a cold morning by the fire made of a wooden statue of

Buddha. On another occasion he was found mounting astride the statue of a saint. Chao Chen (Joshu) one

day happened to find Wang Yuen (Bunyen) worshipping the Buddha in the temple, and forthwith struck

him with his staff. "Is there not anything good in the worshipping of the Buddha?" protested Wang Yuen.

Then the master said: "Nothing is better than anything good."[1] These examples fully illustrate Zen's attitude

towards the objects of Buddhist worship. Zen is not, nevertheless, iconoclastic in the commonly accepted

sense of the term, nor is it idolatrous, as Christian missionaries are apt to suppose.

Zen is more iconoclastic than any of the Christian or the Mohammedan denominations in the sense that it

opposes the acceptance of the petrified idea of Deity, so conventional and formal that it carries no inner

conviction of the believers. Faith dies out whenever one comes to stick to one's fixed and immutable idea of

oneself, taking bigotry for genuine faith. Faith must be living and growing, and the living and growing faith

should assume no fixed form. It might seem for a superficial observer to take a fixed form, as a running river

appears constant, though it goes through ceaseless changes. The dead faith, immutable and conventional,

makes its embracer appear religious and respectable, while it arrests his spiritual growth. It might give its

owner comfort and pride, yet it at bottom proves to be fetters to his moral uplifting. It is on this account that

Zen declares: "Buddha is nothing but spiritual chain or moral fetters," and, "If you remember even a name of

Buddha, it would deprive you of purity of heart." The conventional or orthodox idea of Buddha or Deity

might seem smooth and fair, like a gold chain, being polished and hammered through generations by

religious goldsmiths; but it has too much fixity and frigidity to be worn by us.

3. Buddha is Unnamable.Give a definite name to Deity, He would be no more than what the name

implies. The Deity under the name of Brahman necessarily differs from the Being under the appellation of

Jehovah, just as the Hindu differs from the Jew. In like manner the Being designated by God necessarily

differs from One named Amitabha or from Him entitled Allah. To give a name to the Deity is to give Him

tradition, nationality, limitation, and fixity, and it never brings us nearer to Him. Zen's object of worship

cannot be named and determined as God, or Brahman, or Amitabha, or Creator, or Nature, or Reality, or

Substance, or the like. Neither Chinese nor Japanese masters of Zen tried to give a definite name to their

object of adoration. They now called Him That One, now This One, now Mind, now Buddha, now Tathagata,

now Certain Thing, now the True, now Dharmanature, now Buddhanature, and so forth. T�ng Shan[1]

(Tozan) on a certain occasion declared it to be "A Certain Thing that pillars heaven above and supports the

earth below; dark as lacquer and undefinable; manifesting itself through its activities, yet not wholly

comprisable within them." Sokei[2] expressed it in the same wise: "There exists a Certain Thing, bright as a

mirror, spiritual as a mind, not subjected to growth nor to decay." H�en Sha (Gensha) comparing it with a

gem says: "There exists a bright gem illuminating through the worlds in ten directions by its light."[3]

This certain thing or being is too sublime to be named after a traditional or a national deity, too spiritual to be

symbolized by human art, too full of life to be formulated in terms of mechanical science, too free to be

rationalized by intellectual philosophy, too universal to be perceived by bodily senses; but everybody can feel

its irresistible power, see its invisible presence, and touch its heart and soul within himself. "This mysterious

Mind," says Kwei Fung (Keiho), "is higher than the highest, deeper than the deepest, limitless in all

directions. There is no centre in it. No distinction of east and west, and above and below. Is it empty? Yes,

but not empty like space. Has it a form? Yes, but has no form dependent on another for its existence. Is it

intelligent? Yes, but not intelligent like your mind. Is it nonintelligent? Yes, but not nonintelligent like

[1. T�ng Shan Luh (Tozanroku, 'Sayings and Doings of Tazan') is one of the best Zen books.

2. Sokei, a Korean Zenist, whose work entitled Zenkekikwan is worthy of our note as a representation

trees and stone. Is it conscious? Yes, but not conscious like you when waking. Is it bright? Yes, but not bright

like the sun or the moon." To the question, "What and who is Buddha?" Yuen Wu (Engo) replied: "Hold

your tongue: the mouth is the gate of evils!" while Pao Fuh (Hofuku) answered to the same question: "No

skill of art can picture Him." Thus Buddha is unnamable, indescribable, and indefinable, but we provisionally

4. Buddha, the Universal Life.Zen conceives Buddha as a Being, who moves, stirs, inspires, enlivens,

and vitalizes everything. Accordingly, we may call Him the Universal Life in the sense that He is the source

of all lives in the universe. This Universal Life, according to Zen, pillars the heaven, supports the earth,

glorifies the sun and moon, gives voice to thunder, tinges clouds, adorns the pasture with flowers, enriches

the field with harvest, gives animals beauty and strength. Therefore, Zen declares even a dead clod of earth to

be imbued with the divine life, just as Lowell expresses a similar idea when he says:

One of our contemporary Zenists wittily observed that 'vegetables are the children of earth, that animals

which feed on vegetables are the grandchildren of earth, and that men who subsist on animals are the

greatgrandchildren of earth.' If there be no life in earth, how could life come out of it? If there be no life,

the same as the animal's life in the vegetables, how could animals sustain their lives feeding on vegetables? If

there be no life similar to ours in animals, how could we sustain our life by subsisting on them? The poet

must be in the right, not only in his esthetic, but in his scientific point of view, in saying

As we men live and act, so do our arteries; so does blood; so do corpuscles. As cells and protoplasm live and

act, so do elements, molecules, and atoms. As elements and atoms live and act, so do clouds; so does the

earth; so does the ocean, the Milky Way, and the Solar System. What is this life which pervades the grandest

as well as the minutest works of Nature, and which may fitly be said 'greater than the greatest and smaller

than the smallest?' It cannot be defined. It cannot be subjected to exact analysis. But it is directly experienced

and recognized within us, just as the beauty of the rose is to be perceived and enjoyed, but not reduced to

exact analysis. At any rate, it is something stirring, moving, acting and reacting continually. This something

which can be experienced and felt and enjoyed directly by every one of us. This life of living principle in the

microcosmos is identical with that of the macrocosmos, and the Universal Life of the macrocosmos is the

"Tathagata (another name for Buddha) gives life to all beings, just as the lake Anavatapta gives rise to the

four great rivers." "Tathagata," says the same sutra, "divides his own body into innumerable bodies, and also

restores an infinite number of bodies to one body. Now be becomes cities, villages, houses, mountains, rivers,

and trees; now he has a large body; now he has a small body; now he becomes men, women, boys, and girls."

5. Life and Change.A peculiar phase of life is change which appears in the form of growth and decay.

Nobody can deny the transitoriness of life. One of our friends humorously observed: "Everything in the world

may be doubtful to you, but it can never be doubted that you will die." Life is like a burning lamp. Every

minute its flame dies out and is renewed. Life is like a running stream. Every moment it pushes onward. If

there be anything constant in this world of change, it should be change itself. Is it not just one step from rosy

childhood to snowy age? Is it not just one moment from the nuptial song to the funeraldirge? Who can live

In comparison with an organism, inorganic matter appears to be constant and changeless; but, in fact, it is

equally subjected to ceaseless alteration. Every morning, looking into the mirror, you will find your visage

reflected in it just as it was on the preceding day; so also every morning, looking at the sun and the earth, you

will find them reflected in your retina just as they were on the previous morning; but the sun and the earth are

no less changeless than you. Why do the sun and the earth seem changeless and constant to you? Only

because you yourself undergo change more quickly than they. When you look at the clouds sweeping across

the face of the moon, they seem to be at rest, and the moon in rapid motion; but, in fact, the clouds, as well as

Science might maintain the quantitative constancy of matter, but the socalled matter is mere abstraction. To

say matter is changeless is as much as to say 2 is always 2, changeless and constant, because the arithmetical

number is not more abstract than the physiological matter. The moon appears standing still when you look at

her only a few moments. In like manner she seems to be free from change when you look at her in your short

span of life. Astronomers, nevertheless, can tell you how she saw her better days, and is now in her wrinkles

6. Pessimistic View of the Ancient Hindus.In addition to this, the new theory of matter has entirely over

thrown the old conception of the unchanging atoms, and they are now regarded to be composed of magnetic

forces, ions, and corpuscles in incessant motion. Therefore we have no inert matter in the concrete, no

unchanging thing in the sphere of experience, no constant organism in the transient universe. These

considerations often led many thinkers, ancient and modern, to the pessimistic view of life. What is the use of

your exertion, they would say, in accumulating wealth, which is doomed to melt away in the twinkling of an

eye? What is the use of your striving after power, which is more shortlived than a bubble? What is the use

of your endeavour in the reformation of society, which does not endure any longer than the castle in the air?

How do kings differ from beggars in the eye of Transience? How do the rich differ from the poor, how the

beautiful from the ugly, bow the young from the old, how the good from the evil, how the lucky from the

unlucky, how the wise from the unwise, in the court of Death? Vain is ambition. Vain is fame. Vain is

pleasure. Vain are struggles and efforts. All is in vain. An ancient Hindu thinker [1] says:

"O saint, what is the use of the enjoyment of pleasures in this offensive, pithless bodya mere mass of

bones, skins, sinews, marrow, and flesh? What is the use of the enjoyment of pleasures in this body, which is

assailed by lust, hatred, greed, delusion, fear, anguish, jealousy, separation from what is loved, union with

old age, death, illness, grief, and other evils? In such a world as this, what is the use of the enjoyment of

pleasures, if he who has fed on them is to return to this world again and again? In this world I am like a frog

It is this consideration on the transitoriness of life that led some Taoist in China to prefer death to life, as

"When Kwangzze went to Khu, he saw an empty skull, bleached indeed, but still retaining its shape.

Tapping it with his horseswitch, he asked it saying: 'Did you, sir, in your greed of life, fail in the lessons of

reason and come to this? Or did you do so, in the service of a perishing state, by the punishment of an axe?

Or was it through your evil conduct, reflecting disgrace on your parents and on your wife and children? Or

was it through your hard endurances of cold and hunger? Or was it that you had completed your term of life?'

"Having given expression to these questions, he took up the skull and made a pillow of it, and went to sleep.

At midnight the skull appeared to him in a dream, and said: 'What you said to me was after the fashion of an

orator. All your words were about the entanglements of men in their lifetime. There are none of those things

after death. Would you like to hear me, sir, tell you about death?' 'I should,' said Kwangzze, and the skull

resumed: 'In death there are not (the distinctions of) ruler above minister below. There are none of the

phenomena of the four seasons. Tranquil and at ease, our years are those of heaven and earth. No king in his

court has greater enjoyment than we have.' Kwangzze did not believe it, and said: 'If I could get the Ruler of

our Destiny to restore your body to life with its bones and flesh and skin, and to give you back your father

and mother, your wife and children, and all your village acquaintances, would you wish

me to do so?' The skull stared fixedly at him, and knitted its brows and said: 'How should I cast away the

enjoyment of my royal court, and undertake again the toils of life among mankind?'"

7. Hinayanism and its Doctrine.The doctrine of Transience was the first entrance gate of Hinayanism.

Transience never fails to deprive us of what is dear and near to us. It disappoints us in our expectation and

hope. It brings out grief, fear, anguish, and lamentation. It spreads terror and destruction among families,

communities, nations, mankind. It threatens with perdition the whole earth, the whole universe. Therefore it

follows that life is full of disappointment, sufferings, and miseries, and that man is like 'a frog in a dry well.'

Again, when Transcience once gets hold of our imagination, we can easily foresee ruins and disasters in the

very midst of prosperity and happiness, and also old age and ugliness in the prime and youth of beauty. It

gives rise quite naturally to the thought that body is a bag full of pus and blood, a mere heap of rotten flesh

and broken pieces of bone, a decaying corpse inhabited by innumerable maggots. This is the doctrine called

And, again, Transience holds its tyrannical sway not only over the material but over the spiritual world. At its

touch Atman, or soul, is brought to nothing. By its call Devas, or celestial beings, are made to succumb to

[1. Mahasaptipatthana Suttanta, 7, runs as follows: "And, moreover, bhikkhu, a brother, just as if he had been

a body abandoned in the charnelfield, dead for one, two, or three days, swollen, turning black and blue, and

decomposed, apply that perception to this very body (of his own), reflecting: 'This body, too, is even so

unchanging, would be a whim of the ignorant. This is the doctrine called by the Hinayanists the Holy Truth

If, as said, there could be nothing free from Transience, Constancy should be a gross mistake of the ignorant;

if even gods have to die, Eternity should be no more than a stupid dream of the vulgar; if all phenomena be

flowing and changing, there could be no constant noumena underlying them. It therefore follows that all

things in the universe are empty and unreal. This is the doctrine called by the Hinayanists the Holy Truth of

Unreality. Thus Hinayana Buddhism, starting from the doctrine of Transience, arrived at the pessimistic view

8. Change as seen by Zen.Zen, like Hinayanism., does not deny the doctrine of Transience, but it has

come to a view diametrically opposite to that of the Hindus. Transience for Zen simply means change. It is a

form in which life manifests itself. Where there is life there is change or Transience. Where there is more

change there is more vital activity. Suppose an absolutely changeless body: it must be absolutely lifeless. An

eternally changeless life is equivalent to an eternally changeless death. Why do we value the morning glory,

which fades in a few hours, more than an artificial glass flower, which endures hundreds of years? Why do

we prefer an animal life, which passes away in a few scores of years, to a vegetable life, which can exist

thousands of years? Why do we prize changing organism more than inorganic matter, unchanging and

constant? If there be no change in the bright hues of a flower, it is as worthless as a stone. If there be no

change in the song of a bird, it is as valueless as a whistling wind. If there be no change in trees and grass,

they are utterly unsuitable to be planted in a garden. Now, then, what is the use of our life, if it stand still? As

the water of a running stream is always fresh and wholesome because it does not stop for a moment, so life is

ever fresh and new because it does not stand still, but rapidly moves on from parents to children, from

children to grandchildren, from grandchildren to greatgrandchildren, and flows on through generation after

We can never deny the existence of old age and deathnay, death is of capital importance for a continuation

of life, because death carries away all the decaying organism in the way of life. But for it life would be

choked up with organic rubbish. The only way of life's pushing itself onward or its renewing itself is its

producing of the young and getting rid of the old. If there be no old age nor death, life is not life, but death.

9. Life and Change.Transformation and change are the essential features of life; life is not transformation

nor change itself, as Bergson seems to assume. It is something which comes under our observation through

transformation and change. There are, among Buddhists as well as Christians, not a few who covet constancy

and fixity of life, being allured by such smooth names as eternal life, everlasting joy, permanent peace, and

what not. They have forgotten that their souls can never rest content with things monotonous. If there be

everlasting joy for their souls, it must be presented to them through incessant change. So also if there be

eternal life granted for their souls, it must be given through ceaseless alteration. What is the difference

between eternal life, fixed and constant, and eternal death? What is the difference between everlasting bliss,

changeless and monotonous, and everlasting suffering? If constancy, instead of change, govern life, then

hope or pleasure is absolutely impossible. Fortunately, however, life is not constant. It changes and becomes.

Pleasure arises through change itself. Mere change of food or clothes is often pleasing to us, while the

appearance of the same thing twice or thrice, however pleasing it may be, causes us little 'pleasure. It will

become disgusting and tire us down, if it be presented repeatedly from time to time.

An important element in the pleasure we derive from social meetings, from travels, from sightseeings, etc.,

is nothing but change. Even intellectual pleasure consists mainly of change. A dead, unchanging abstract

truth, 2 and 2 make 4, excites no interest; while a changeable, concrete truth, such as the Darwinian theory of

10. Life, Change, and Hope.The doctrine of Transcience never drives us to the pessimistic view of life.

On the contrary, it gives us an inexhaustible source of pleasure and hope. Let us ask you: Are you satisfied

with the present state of things? Do you not sympathize with povertystricken millions living side by side

with millionaires saturated with wealth? Do you not shed tears over those hungerbitten children who cower

in the dark lanes of a great city? Do you not wish to put down the stupendous oppressorMightisright?

Do you not want to do away with the socalled armoured peace among nations? Do you not need to mitigate

Life changes and is changeable; consequently, has its future. Hope is therefore possible. Individual

development, social betterment, international peace, reformation of mankind in general, can be hoped. Our

ideal, however unpractical it may seem at the first sight, can be realized. Moreover, the world itself, too, is

changing and changeable. It reveals new phases from time to time, and can be moulded to subserve our

purpose. We must not take life or the world as completed and doomed as it is now. No fact verifies the belief

that the world was ever created by some other power and predestined to be as it is now. It lives, acts, and

changes. It is transforming itself continually, just as we are changing and becoming. Thus the doctrine of

Transience supplies us with an inexhaustible source of hope and comfort, leads us into the living universe,

The reader may easily understand how Zen conceives Buddha as the living principle from the following

dialogues: "Is it true, sir," asked a monk of Teu tsz (Toshi), "that all the voices of Nature are those of

Buddha?" "Yes, certainly," replied Teu tsz. "What is, reverend sir," asked a man of Chao Cheu (Joshu), "the

holy temple (of Buddha)?" "An innocent girl," replied the teacher. "Who is the master of the temple?" asked

the other again. "A baby in her womb," was the answer. "What is, sir," asked a monk to Yen Kwan

(Yenkan), "the original body of Buddha Vairocana?"[1] "Fetch me a pitcher with water," said the teacher.

The monk did as he was ordered. "Put it back in its place," said Yen Kwan again.[2]

11. Everything is Living according to Zen.Everything alive has a strong innate tendency to preserve

itself, to assert itself, to push itself forward, and to act on its environment, consciously or unconsciously. The

innate, strong tendency of the living is an undeveloped, but fundamental, nature of Spirit or Mind. It shows

itself first in inert matter as impenetrability, or affinity, or mechanical force. Rock has a powerful tendency to

[1. Literally, All Illuminating Buddha, the highest of the Trikayas. See Eitel, p. 192.

to assert itself. And it permits nothing to destroy it. Salt has the same strong tendency, for its particles act and

react by themselves, and never cease till its crystals are formed. Steam, too, should have the same, because it

In the eye of simple folks of old, mountains, rivers, trees, serpents, oxen, and eagles were equally full of life;

hence the deification of them. No doubt it is irrational to believe in nymphs, fairies, elves, and the like, yet

still we may say that mountains stand of their own accord, rivers run as they will, just as we say that trees and

grass turn their leaves towards the sun of their own accord. Neither is it a mere figure of speech to say that

thunder speaks and hills respond, nor to describe birds as singing and flowers as smiling, nor to narrate winds

as moaning and rain as weeping, nor to state lovers as looking at the moon, the moon as looking at them,

when we observe spiritual element in activities of all this. Haeckel says, not without reason: "I cannot

imagine the simple chemical and physical forces without attributing the movement of material particles to

conscious sensation." The same author says again: "We may ascribe the feeling of pleasure and pain to all

12. The Creative Force of Nature and Humanity.The innate tendency of selfpreservation, which

manifests itself as mechanical force or chemical affinity in the inorganic nature, unfolds itself as the desire of

the preservation of species in the vegetables and animals. See how vegetables fertilize themselves in a

complicated way, and how they spread their seeds far and wide in a most mysterious manner. A far more

developed form of the same desire is seen in the sexual attachment and parental love of animals. Who does

not know that even the smallest birds defend their young against every enemy with self sacrificing courage,

and that they bring food whilst they themselves often starve and grow lean? In human beings we can observe

the various transformations of the selfsame desire. For instance, sorrow or despair is experienced when it is

impossible; anger, when it is hindered by others; joy, when it is fulfilled; fear, when it is threatened; pleasure,

when it is facilitated. Although it manifests itself as the sexual attachment and parental love in lower animals,

yet its developed forms, such as sympathy, loyalty, benevolence, mercy, humanity, are observed in human

Again, the creative force in inorganic nature, in order to assert itself and act more effectively, creates the

germ of organic nature, and gradually ascending the scale of evolution, develops the sense organs and the

nervous system; hence intellectual powers, such as sensation, perception, imagination, memory, unfold

themselves. Thus the creative force, exerting itself gradually, widens its sphere of action, and necessitates the

union of individuals into families, clans, tribes, communities, and nations. For the sake of this union and

cooperation they established customs, enacted laws, and instituted political and educational systems.

Furthermore, to reinforce itself, it gave birth to languages and sciences; and to enrich itself, morality and

13. Universal Life is Universal Spirit.These considerations naturally lead us to see that Universal Life is

not a blind vital force, but Creative Spirit, or Mind, or Consciousness, which unfolds itself in myriads of

ways. Everything in the universe, according to Zen, lives and acts, and at the same time discloses its spirit. To

be alive is identically the same as to be spiritual. As the poet has his song, so does the nightingale, so does the

cricket, so does the rivulet. As we are pleased or offended, so are horses, so are dogs, so are sparrows, ants,

earthworms, and mushrooms. Simpler the body, simpler its spirit; more complicated the body, more

complicated its spirit. 'Mind slumbers in the pebble, dreams in the plant, gathers energy in the animal, and

It is this Creative, Universal Spirit that sends forth Aurora to illuminate the sky, that makes Diana shed her

benign rays and �olus play on his harp, wreathes spring with flowers, that clothes autumn with gold, that

induces plants to put forth blossoms, that incites animals to be energetic, and that awakens consciousness in

man. The author of Mahavaipulyapurnabuddhasutra expressly states our idea when he says: "Mountains,

rivers, skies, the earth: all these are embraced in the True Spirit, enlightened and mysterious." Rinzai also

says: "Spirit is formless, but it penetrates through the world in the ten directions."[1] The Sixth Patriarch

expresses the same idea more explicitly: "What creates the phenomena is Mind; what transcends all the

14. Poetical Intuition and Zen.Since Universal Life or Spirit permeates the universe, the poetical

intuition of man never fails to find it, and to delight in everything typical of that Spirit. "The leaves of the

plantain," says a Zen poet, "unfold themselves, hearing the voice of thunder. The flowers of the hollyhock

turn towards the sun, looking at it all day long." Jesus could see in the lily the Unseen Being who clothed it so

lovely. Wordsworth found the most profound thing in all the world to be the universal spiritual life, which

manifests itself most directly in nature, clothed in its own proper dignity and peace. "Through every star,"

says Carlyle, "through every grass blade, most through every soul, the glory of present God still beams."

It is not only grandeur and sublimity that indicate Universal Life, but smallness and commonplace do the

same. A sage of old awakened to the faith[1] when he heard a bell ring; another, when he looked at the peach

blossom; another, when he heard the frogs croaking; and another, when he saw his own form reflected in a

river. The minutest particles of dust form a world. The meanest grain of sand under our foot proclaims a

divine law. Therefore Teu Tsz Joshi), pointing to a stone in front of his temple, said: " All the Buddhas of

15. Enlightened Consciousness.In addition to these considerations, which mainly depend on indirect

experience, we can have direct experience of life within us. In the first place, we experience that our life is

not a bare mechanical motion or change, but is a spiritual, purposive, and selfdirecting force. In the second

place, we directly experience that it knows, feels, and wills. In the third place, we experience that there exists

some power unifying the intellectual, emotional, and volitional activities so as to make life uniform and

rational. Lastly, we experience that there lies deeply rooted within us Enlightened Consciousness, which

neither psychologists treat of nor philosophers believe in, but which Zen teachers expound with strong

conviction. Enlightened Consciousness is, according to Zen, the centre of spiritual life. It is the mind of

minds, and the consciousness of consciousness. It is the Universal Spirit awakened in the human mind. It is

not the mind that feels joy or sorrow; nor is it the mind that reasons and infers; nor is it the mind that fancies

and dreams; nor is it the mind that hopes and fears; nor is it the mind that distinguishes good

[1. Both the Chinese and the Japanese history of Zen are full of such incidents.

from evil. It is Enlightened Consciousness that holds communion with Universal Spirit or Buddha, and

realizes that individual lives are inseparably united, and of one and the same nature with Universal Life. It is

always bright as a burnished mirror, and cannot be dimmed by doubt and ignorance. It is ever pure as a lotus

flower, and cannot be polluted by the mud of evil and folly. Although all sentient beings are endowed with

this Enlightened Consciousness, they are not aware of its existence, excepting men who can discover it by the

practice of Meditation. Enlightened consciousness is often called Buddhanature, as it is the real nature of

Universal Spirit. Zen teachers compare it with a precious stone ever fresh and pure, even if it be buried in the

heaps of dust. Its divine light can never be extinguished by doubt or fear, just as the sunlight cannot be

destroyed by mist and cloud. Let us quote a Chinese Zen poet to see how Zen treats of it:[1]

16. Buddha Dwelling in the Individual Mind.Enlightened Consciousness in the individual mind acquires

for its possessor, not a relative knowledge of things as his intellect does, but the profoundest insight in

reference to universal brotherhood of all beings, and enables him to understand the absolute holiness of their

Consciousness once awakened within us serves as a guiding principle, and leads us to hope, bliss, and life;

consequently, it is called the Master[1] of both mind and body. Sometimes it is called the Original[2] Mind,

as it is the mind of minds. It is Buddha dwelling in individuals. You might call it God in man, if you like. The

On one occasion a butcher, who was used to kill one thousand sheep a day, came to Gotama, and, throwing

down his butcherknife, said "I am one of the thousand Buddhas." "Yes, really," replied Gotama. A monk,

Hwui Chao (Echa) by name, asked Pao Yen (Hogen): "What is Buddha?" "You are Hwui Chao," replied

the master. The same question was put to Sheu Shan (Shuzan), Chi Man (Chimon), and Teu Tsz (Toshi),

the first of whom answered: "A bride mounts on a donkey and her motherinlaw drives it;" and the second:

"He goes barefooted, his sandals being worn out;" while the third rose from his chair and stood still without

saying a word. Chwen Hih (Fukiu) explains this point in unequivocal terms: "Night after night I sleep with

Buddha, and every morning I get up with Him. He accompanies me wherever I go. When I stand or sit, when

I speak or be mute, when I am out or in, He never leaves me, even as a shadow accompanies body. Would

17. Enlightened Consciousness is not an Intellectual Insight.Enlightened Consciousness is not a bare

intellectual insight, for it is full of beautiful emotions. It loves, caresses, embraces, and at the same time

3 For such dialogues, see Shoyoroku, Mumonkan, Hekiganshu. Fukiu's words are repeatedly quoted

beings, being ever merciful to them. It has no enemies to conquer, no evil to fight with, but constantly finds

friends to help, good to promote. Its warm heart beats in harmony with those of all fellow beings. The author

of Brahmajalasutra fully expresses this idea as he says: "All women are our mothers; all men our fathers; all

earth and water our bodies in the past existences; all fire and air our essence."

Thus relying on our inner experience, which is the only direct way of knowing Buddha, we conceive Him as

a Being with profound wisdom and boundless mercy, who loves all beings as His children, whom He is

fostering, bringing up, guiding, and teaching. "These three worlds are His, and all beings living in them are

His children."[1] "The Blessed One is the mother of all sentient beings, and gives them all the milk of

mercy."[2] Some people named Him Absolute, as He is all light, all hope, all mercy, and all wisdom; some,

Heaven, as He is high and enlightened; some, God, as He is sacred and mysterious; some, Truth, as He is true

to Himself; some, Buddha, as He is free from illusion; some, Creator, as He is the creative force immanent in

the universe; some, Path, as He is the Way we must follow; some, Unknowable, as He is beyond relative

knowledge; some, Self, as He is the Self of individual selves. All these names are applied to one Being,

18. Our Conception of Buddha is not Final.Has, then, the divine nature of Universal Spirit been

completely and exhaustively revealed in our Enlightened Consciousness? To this question we should answer

negatively, for, so far as our limited experience is concerned, Universal Spirit reveals itself as a Being with

wisdom and boundless mercy; this, nevertheless, does not imply that the conception is the only possible and

complete one. We should always bear in mind that the world is alive, and changing, and moving. It goes on to

disclose a new phase, or to add a new truth. The subtlest logic of old is a mere quibble of nowadays. The

miracles of yesterday are the commonplaces of today. Now theories are formed, new discoveries are made,

only to give their places to newer theories are discoveries. New ideals realized or new desires satisfied are

sure to awaken newer and stronger desires. Not an instant life remains immutable, but it rushes on,

Therefore Universal Life may in the future possibly unfold its new spiritual content, yet unknown to us

because it has refined, lifted up, and developed living beings from the am ba to man, increasing the

intelligence and range of individuals, until highly civilized man emerge into the plane of

consciousnessconsciousness of divine light in him. Thus to believe in Buddha is to be content and thankful

for the grace of His, and to hope for the infinite unfoldment of His glories in man.

19. How to Worship Buddha.The author of Vimalakirttinirde�asutra well explains our attitude towards

Buddha when he says: "We ask Buddha for nothing. We ask Dharma for nothing. We ask Samgha for

nothing." Nothing we ask of Buddha. No worldly success, no rewards in the future life, no special blessing.

Hwang Pah (Obaku) said: "I simply worship Buddha. I ask Buddha for nothing. I ask Dharma for nothing., I

ask Samgha for nothing." Then a prince[1] questioned him: "You ask Buddha for nothing. You ask Dharma

nothing. You ask Samgha for nothing. What, then, is the use of your worship?" The Prince earned a slap as an

answer to his utilitarian question.[1] This incident well illustrates that worship, as understood by Zen masters,

is a pure act of thanksgiving, or the opening of the grateful heart; in other words, the disclosing of

Enlightened Consciousness. We are living the very life of Buddha, enjoying His blessing, and holding

communion with Him through speech, thought, and action. The earth is not 'the vale of tears,' but the glorious

creation of Universal Spirit; nor man 'the poor miserable sinner' but the living altar of Buddha Himself.

Whatever we do, we do with grateful heart and pure joy sanctioned by Enlightened Consciousness; eating,

drinking, talking, walking, and every other work of our daily life are the worship and devotion. We agree

with Margaret Fuller when she says: "Reverence the highest; have patience with the lowest; let this day's

performance of the meanest duty be thy religion. Are the stars too distant? Pick up the pebble that lies at thy

1. Man is Goodnatured according to Mencius.[1]Oriental scholars, especially the Chinese men of

letters, seem to have taken so keen an interest in the study of human nature that they proposed all the possible

opinions respecting the subject in questionnamely, (1) man is goodnatured; (2) man is badnatured; (3)

man is goodnatured and badnatured as well; (4) man is neither goodnatured nor badnatured. The first of

these opinions was proposed by a most reputed Confucianist scholar, Mencius, and his followers, and is still

adhered to by the majority of the Japanese and the Chinese Confucianists. Mencius thought it as natural for

man to do good as it is for the grass to be green. 'Suppose a person has happened,' he would say, 'to find a

child on the point of tumbling down into a deep well. He would rescue it even at the risk of his life, no matter

how morally degenerated he might be. He would have no time to consider that his act might bring him some

reward from its parents, or a good reputation among his friends and fellowcitizens. He would do it barely

out of his inborn goodnature.' After enumerating some instances similar to this one, Mencius concludes that

[1. Mencius (372282 B.C.) is regarded as the beat expounder of the doctrine of Confucius. There exists a

wellknown work of his, entitled after his own name. See 'A History of Chinese Philosophy,' by R. Endo, and

goodness is the fundamental nature of man, even if he is often carried away by his brutal disposition.

2. Man is Badnatured according to Si�n Tsz [1] (Junshi).The weaknesses of Mencius's theory are

fully exposed by another diametrically opposed theory propounded by Si�n Tsz (Junshi) and his followers.

'Man is badnatured,' says Si�n Tsz, 'since he has inborn lust, appetite, and desire for wealth. As he has

inborn lust and appetite, he is naturally given to intemperance and wantonness. As he has inborn desire for

wealth, he is naturally inclined to quarrel and fight with others for the sake of gain.' Leave him without

discipline or culture, he would not be a whit better than the beast. His virtuous acts, such as charity, honesty,

propriety, chastity, truthfulness, are conduct forced by the teachings of ancient sages against his natural

inclination. Therefore vices are congenial and true to his nature, while virtues alien and untrue to his

These two theories are not only far from throwing light on the moral state of man, but wrap it in deeper

gloom. Let us raise a few questions by way of refutation. If man's fundamental nature be good, as Mencius

maintains, why is it easy for him to be vicious without instruction, while he finds it hard to be virtuous even

with instruction. If you contend that good is man's primary nature and evil the secondary one, why is be so

often overpowered by the secondary nature? If you answer saying that man is goodnatured originally, but he

acquires the secondary nature through the struggle for existence, and it gradually gains

[1. Si�n Tsz's date is later by some fifty years than Mencius. Si�n Tsz gives the reason why man seeks after

morality, saying that man seeks what he has not, and that he seeks after morality simply because he has not

morality, just as the poor seek riches. See 'A History of Chinese Philosophy' (pp. 5160), by G. Nakauchi,

power over the primary nature by means of the same cause, then the primitive tribes should be more virtuous

than the highly civilized nations, and children than grownup people. Is this not contrary to fact?

If, again, man's nature is essentially bad, as Si�n Tsz holds, how can he cultivate virtue? If you contend that

ancient sages invented socalled cardinal virtues and inculcated them against his natural inclination, why

does he not give them up? If vices be congenial and true to man's nature, but virtues be alien and untrue to

him, why are virtues honoured by him? If vices be genuine and virtue a deception, as you think, why do you

call the inventors of that deceiving art sages? How was it possible for man to do good before these sages'

3. Man is both Goodnatured and Badnatured according to Yan Hiung[1] (Yoyu).According to

Yang Hiung and his followers, good is no less real than evil, and evil is no more unreal than good. Therefore

man must be doublenaturedthat is, partly good and partly bad. This is the reason why the history of man is

full of fiendish crimes, and, at the same time, it abounds with godly deeds. This is the reason why mankind

comprises, on the one hand, a Socrates, a Confucius, a Jesus, and, on the other, a Nero and a Kieh. This is the

reason why we find today a honest fellow in him whom we find a betrayer tomorrow.

This view of man's nature might explain our present moral state, yet it calls forth many questions bard to

answer. If this assertion be true, is it not a useless task to educate man with the purpose of making him better

and nobler? How could one extirpate man's bad nature implanted within him at his origin? If man be

[1. Yan Hiung (died A.D. 18) is the reputed author of Tai Huen (Taigen) and Fah Yen (Hogen). His

how did he come to set good over evil? How did he come to consider that he ought to be good and ought not

4. Man is neither Goodnatured nor Badnatured according to Su Shih (Soshoku).[1]The difficulty

may be avoided by a theory given by Su Shih and other scholars influenced by Buddhism, which maintains

that man is neither goodnatured nor badnatured. According to this opinion man is not moral nor immoral

by nature, but unmoral. He is morally a blank. He is at a crossroad, so to speak, of morality when he is first

born. As he if; blank, he can be dyed black or red. As he is at the crossroad, he can turn to the right or to the

left. He is like fresh water, which has no flavour, and can be made sweet or bitter by circumstances. If we are

not mistaken, this theory, too, has to encounter insurmountable difficulties. How could it be possible to make

the unmoral being moral or immoral? We might as well try to get honey out of sand as to get good or evil out

of the blank nature. There can be no fruit of good or evil where there is no seed of good or bad nature. Thus

we find no satisfactory solution of the problem at issue in these four theories proposed by the Chinese

scholarsthe first theory being incompetent to explain the problem of human depravity; the second breaking

down at the origin of morality; the third failing to explain the possibility of moral culture; the fourth being

5. There is no Mortal who is Purely Moral.By nature man should be either good or bad; or he should be

[1. Su Shih (10421101), a great man of letters, practiser of Zen, noted for his poetical works.]

can be no alternative possible besides these four propositions, none of which can be accepted as true. Then

there must be some misconception in the terms of which they consist. It would seem to some that the error

can be avoided by limiting the sense of the term 'man,' saying some persons are goodnatured, some persons

are badnatured, some persons are goodnatured and badnatured as well, and some persons are neither

goodnatured nor badnatured. There is no contradiction in these modified propositions, but still they fail to

explain the ethical state of man. Supposing them all to be true, let us assume that there are the four classes of

people: (1) Those who are purely moral and have no immoral disposition; (2) those who are half moral and

half immoral; (3) those who are neither moral nor immoral; (4) those who are purely immoral and have no

moral disposition. Orthodox Christians, believing in the sinlessness of Jesus, would say he belongs to the first

class, while Mohammedans and Buddhists, who deify the founder of their respective faith, would in such case

regard their founder as the purely moral personage. But are your beliefs, we should ask, based on historical

fact? Can you say that such traditional and selfcontradictory records as the four gospels are history in the

strict sense of the term? Can you assert that those traditions which deify Mohammed and Shakya are the

statements of bare facts? Is not Jesus an abstraction and an ideal, entirely different from a concrete carpenter's

son, who fed on the same kind of food, sheltered himself in the same kind of building, suffered from the same

kind of pain, was fired by the same kind of anger, stung by the same kind of lust as our own? Can you say the

person who fought many a sanguinary battle, who got through many cunning negotiations with enemies and

friends, who personally experienced the troubles of polygamy, was a person sinless and divine? We might

allow that these ancient sages are superhuman and divine, then our classification has no business with them,

because they do not properly belong to mankind. Now, then, who can point out any sinless person in the

present world? Is it not a fact that the more virtuous one grows the more sinful he feels himself? If there be

any mortal, in the past, the present, and the future, who declares himself to be pure and sinless, his very

declaration proves that he is not highly moral. Therefore the existence of the first class of people is open to

6. There is no Mortal who is NonMoral or Purely Immoral.The same is the case with the third and the

fourth class of people who are assumed as nonmoral or purely immoral. There is no person, however

morally degraded he may be, but reveals some good nature in his whole course of life. It is our daily

experience that we find a faithful friend in the person even of a pickpocket, a loving father even in a burglar,

and a kind neighbour even in a murderer. Faith, sympathy, friendship, love, loyalty, and generosity dwell not

merely in palaces and churches, but also in brothels and gaols. On the other hand, abhorrent vices and bloody

crimes often find shelter under the silk hat, or the robe, or the coronet, or the crown. Life may fitly be

compared with a rope made of white and black straw, and to separate one from the other is to destroy the rope

itself; so also life entirely independent of the duality of good and bad is no actual life. We must acknowledge,

therefore, that the third and the fourth propositions are inconsistent with our daily experience of life, and that

only the second proposition remains, which, as seen above, breaks down at the origin of morality.

7. Where, then, does the Error Lie?Where, then, does the error lie in the four possible propositions

respecting man's nature? It lies not in their subject, but in the predicatethat is to say, in the use of the terms

'good' and 'bad.' Now let us examine how does good differ from bad. A good action ever promotes interests in

a sphere far wider than a bad action. Both are the same in their conducing to human interests, but differ in the

extent in which they achieve their end. In other words, both good and bad actions are performed for one end

and the same purpose of promoting human interests, but they differ from each other as to the extent of

interests. For instance, burglary is evidently bad action, and is condemned everywhere; but the capturing of

an enemy's property for the sake of one's own tribe or clan or nation is praised as a meritorious conduct. Both

acts are exactly the same in their promoting interests; but the former relates to the interests of a single

individual or of a single family, while the latter to those of a tribe or a nation. If the former be bad on account

of its ignoring others' interests, the latter must be also bad on account of its ignoring the enemy's interests.

Murder is considered bad everywhere; but the killing of thousands of men in a battlefield is praised and

honoured, because the former is perpetrated to promote the private interests, while the latter those of the

public. If the former be bad, because of its cruelty, the latter must also be bad, because of its inhumanity.

The idea of good and bad, generally accepted by common sense, may be stated as follows: 'An action is good

when it promotes the interests of an individual or a family; better when it promotes those of a district or a

country; best when it promotes those of the whole world. An action is bad when it inflicts injury on another

individual or another family; worse when. it is prejudicial to a district or a country; worst when it brings harm

on the whole world. Strictly speaking, an action is good when it promotes interests, material or spiritual, as

intended by the actor in his motive; and it is bad when it injures interests, material or spiritual, as intended by

According to this idea, generally accepted by common sense, human actions may be classified under four

different heads: (1) Purely good actions; (2) partly good and partly bad actions; (3) neither good nor bad

actions; (4) purely bad actions. First, purely good actions are those actions which subserve and never hinder

human interests either material or spiritual, such as humanity and love of all beings. Secondly, partly good

and partly bad actions are those actions which are both for and against human interests, such as narrow

patriotism and prejudiced love. Thirdly, neither good nor bad actions are such actions as are neither for nor

against human interestsfor example, an unconscious act of a dreamer. Lastly, purely bad actions, which are

absolutely against human interests, cannot be possible for man except suicide, because every action promotes

more or less the interests, material or spiritual, of the individual agent or of someone else. Even such horrible

crimes as homicide and parricide are intended to promote some interests, and carry out in some measure their

aim when performed. It follows that man cannot be said to be good or bad in the strict sense of the terms as

above defined, for there is no human being who does the first class of actions and nothing else, nor is there

any mortal who does the fourth class of actions and nothing else. Man may be called good and bad, and at the

same time be neither good nor bad, in that he always performs the second and the third class of actions. All

this, nevertheless, is a more play of words. Thus we are driven to conclude that the commonsense view of

8. Man is not Goodnatured nor Badnatured, but Buddhanatured.We have had already occasion to

observe that Zen teaches Buddhanature, which all sentient beings are endowed with. The term

'Buddhanature,'[1] as accepted generally by Buddhists, means a latent and undeveloped nature, which

enables its owner to become Enlightened when it is developed and brought to actuality.[2] Therefore man,

according to Zen, is not goodnatured nor badnatured in the relative sense, as accepted generally by

common sense, of these terms, but Buddhanatured in the sense of nonduality. A good person (of common

sense) differs from a bad person (of common sense), not in his inborn Buddhanature, but in the extent of his

expressing it in deeds. Even if men are equally endowed with that nature, yet their different states of

development do not allow them to express it to an equal extent in conduct. Buddhanature may be compared

with the sun, and individual mind with the sky. Then an Enlightened mind is like the sky in fair weather,

when nothing prevents the beams of the sun; while an ignorant mind is like the sky in cloudy weather, when

the sun sheds faint light; and an evil mind is like the sky in stormy weather, when the sun seems to be out of

existence. It comes under our daily observation that even a robber or a murderer may prove to be a good

father and a loving husband to his wife and children. He is an honest fellow when he remains at home. The

sun of Buddhanature gives light within the wall of his house, but without the house the darkness of foul

9. The Parable of the Robber Kih.[3]Chwang Tsz (Soshi) remarks in a humorous way to the following

[1. For a detailed explanation of Buddhanature, see the chapter entitled Buddhanature in Shobogenzo.

2 Mahaparinirvanasutra may be said to have been written for the purpose of stating this idea.

3 The parable is told for the purpose of undervaluing Confucian doctrine, but the author thereby accidentally

touches human nature. We do not quote it here with the same purpose as the author's.]

effect: "The followers of the great robber and murderer Kih asked him saying: 'Has the robber also any moral

principles in his proceedings?' He replied: 'What profession is there which has not its principles? That the

robber comes to the conclusion without mistake that there are valuable deposits in an apartment shows his

wisdom; that he is the first to enter it shows his bravery; that he makes an equal division of the plunder shows

his justice; that he never betrays the fellowrobbers shows his faithfulness; and that he is generous to the

followers shows his benevolence. Without all these five qualities no one in the world has ever attained to

become a great robber.'" The parable clearly shows us Buddhanature of the robber and murderer expresses

itself as wisdom, bravery, justice, faithfulness, and benevolence in his society, and that if he did the same

10. Wang Yang Ming (Oyomei) and a Thief.One evening when Wang was giving a lecture to a

number of students on his famous doctrine that all human beings are endowed with Conscience,[1] a thief

broke into the house and hid himself in the darkest corner. Then Wang declared aloud that every human being

is born with Conscience, and that even the thief who had got into the house had Conscience just as the sages

of old. The burglar, overhearing these remarks, came out to ask the forgiveness of the master; since there was

no way of escape for him, and he was halfnaked, he crouched behind the students. Wang's willing

forgiveness and cordial treatment encouraged the man to ask the question how the

[1. It is not conscience in the ordinary sense of the term. It is 'moral' principle, according to Wang, pervading

through the Universe. 'It expresses itself as Providence in Heaven, as moral nature in man, and as mechanical

laws in things.' The reader will notice that Wang's Conscience is the nearest approach to Buddhanature.]

teacher could know such a poor wretch as he was endowed with Conscience as the sages of old. Wang

replied: "It is your Conscience that makes you ashamed of your nakedness. You yourself are a sage, if you

abstain from everything that will put shame on you." We firmly believe that Wang is perfectly right in telling

the thief that he was not different in nature from the sages of old. It is no exaggeration. It is a saving truth. It

is also a most effective way of saving men out of darkness of sin. Any thief ceases to be a thief the moment

he believes in his own Conscience, or Buddhanature. You can never correct criminals by your severe

reproach or punishment. You can save them only through your sympathy and love, by which you call forth

their inborn Buddhanature. Nothing can produce more pernicious effects on criminals than to treat them as

if they were a different sort of people and confirm them in their conviction that they are badnatured. We

greatly regret that even in a civilized society authorities neglecting this saving truth are driving to perdition

11. The Bad are the Good in the Egg.This is not only the case with a robber or a murderer, but also with

ordinary people. There are many who are honest and good in their homesteads, but turn out to be base and

dishonest folk outside them. Similarly, there are those who, having an enthusiastic love of their local district,

act unlawfully against the interests of other districts. They are upright and honourable gentlemen within the

boundary of their own district, but a gang of rascals without it. So also there are many who are Washingtons

and William Tells in their own, but at the same time pirates and cannibals in the other countries. Again, there

are not a few persons who, having racial prejudices, would not allow the rays of their Buddhanature to pass

through a coloured skin. There are civilized persons who are humane enough to love and esteem any human

being as their brother, but so unfeeling that they think lower creatures as their proper food. The highly

enlightened person, however, cannot but sympathize with human beings and lower creatures as well, as

These people are exactly the same in their Buddhanature, but a wide difference obtains among them in the

extent of their expressing that nature in deeds. If thieves and murderers be called badnatured, reformers and

revolutionists should be called so. If, on the other hand, patriotism and loyalty be said to be good, treason and

insurrection should likewise be so. Therefore it is evident that a socalled good person is none but one who

acts to promote wider interests of life, and a socalled bad person is none but one who acts to advance

narrower ones. In other words, the bad are the good in the egg, so to speak, and the good are the bad on the

wing. As the bird in the egg is one and the same as the bird on the wing, so the good in the egg is entirely of

the same nature as the bad on the wing. To show that human nature transcends the duality of good and evil,

the author of Avatamsakasutra declares that 'all beings are endowed with the wisdom and virtue of

Tathagata.' Kwei Fung (Keiho) also says: "All sentient beings have the Real Spirit of Original

Enlightenment (within themselves). It is unchanging and pure. It is eternally bright and clear, and conscious.

12. The Great Person and Small Person.For these reasons Zen proposes to call man Buddhanatured or

Goodnatured in a sense transcendental to the duality of good and bad. It conveys no sense to call some

individuals good in case there is no bad individual. For the sake of convenience, however, Zen calls man

good, as is exemplified by Shakya Muni, who was wont to address his hearers as 'good men and women,' and

by the Sixth Patriarch in China, who called everybody 'a good and wise one.' This does not imply in the least

that all human beings are virtuous, sinless, and saintlynay, the world is full of vices and crimes. It is an

undeniable fact that life is the warfare of good against evil, and many a valiant hero has fallen in the foremost

ranks. It is curious, however, to notice that the champions on the both sides are fighting for the same cause.

There can be no single individual in the world who is fighting against his own cause or interest, and the only

possible difference between one party and the other consists in the extent of interests which they fight for.

Socalled bad persons, who are properly designated as 'small persons' by Chinese and Japanese scholars,

express their Buddhanature to a small extent mostly within their own doors, while socalled good persons,

or 'great persons' as the Oriental scholars call them, actualize their Buddhanature to a large extent in the

Enlightened Consciousness, or Buddhanature, as we have seen in the previous chapter, is the mind of mind

and the consciousness of consciousness, Universal Spirit awakened in individual minds, which realizes the

universal brotherhood of all beings and the unity of individual lives. It is the real. self, the guiding principle,

the Original Physiognomy[1] (nature), as it is called by Zen, of man. This real self lies dormant under the

threshold of consciousness in the minds of the confused; consequently, each of them is inclined to regard

[1. The expression first occurs in Hobodankyo of the Sixth Patriarch, and is frequently used by later

self, and to exert himself to further the interests of the individual self even at the cost of those of the others.

He is 'the smallest person' in the world, for his self is reduced to the smallest extent possible. Some of the less

confused identify their selves with their families, and feel happy or unhappy in proportion as their families

are happy or unhappy, for the sake of which they sacrifice the interests of other families. On the other hand,

some of the more enlightened unite their selves through love and compassion with their whole tribe or

countrymen, and consider the rise or fall of the tribe or of the country as their own, and willingly sacrifice

their own lives, if need be, for the cause of the tribe or the country. When they are fully enlightened, they can

realize the unity of all sentient lives, and be ever merciful and helpful towards all creatures. They are 'the

greatest persons' on earth, because their selves are enlarged to the greatest extent possible.

13. The Theory of BuddhaNature adequately explains the Ethical States of Man.This theory of

Buddhanature enables us to get an insight into the origin of morality. The first awakening of Buddhanature

within man is the very beginning of morality, and man's ethical progress is the gradually widening expression

of that nature in conduct. But for it morality is impossible for man. But for it not only moral culture or

discipline, but education and social improvement must be futile. Again, the theory adequately explains the

ethical facts that the standard of morality undergoes change in different times and places, that good and bad

are so inseparably knit together, and that the bad at times become good all on a sudden, and the good grow

bad quite unexpectedly. First, it goes without saying that the standard of morality is raised just in proportion

as Buddhanature or real self extends and amplifies itself in different times and places. Secondly, since good

is Buddhanature actualized to a large extent, and bad is also Buddhanature actualized to a small extent, the

existence of the former presupposes that of the latter, and the mess of duality can never be got rid of. Thirdly,

the fact that the bad become good under certain circumstances, and the good also become bad often

unexpectedly, can hardly be explained by the dualistic theory, because if good nature be so arbitrarily turned

into bad and bad nature into good, the distinction of good and bad nature has no meaning whatever.

According to the theory of Buddhanature, the fact that the good become bad or the bad become good, does

not imply in the least a change of nature, but the widening or the narrowing of its actualization. So that no

matter how morally degenerated one may be, he can uplift himself to a high ethical plane by the widening of

his self, and at the same time no matter how morally exalted one may be, he can descend to the level of the

brute by the narrowing of his self. To be an angel or to be a devil rests with one's degrees of enlightenment

and free choice. This is why such infinite varieties exist both among the good and the bad. This is why the

higher the peak of enlightenment the people climb, the more widely the vista of moral possibilities open

14. BuddhaNature is the Common Source of Morals.Furthermore, Buddhanature or real self, being

the seat of love and the nucleus of sincerity, forms the warp and woof of all moral actions. He is an obedient

son who serves his parents with sincerity and love. He is a loyal subject who serves his master with sincerity

and love. A virtuous wife is she who loves her husband with her sincere heart. A trustworthy friend is he who

keeps company with others with sincerity and love. A man of righteousness is he who leads a life of sincerity

and love. Generous and humane is he who sympathizes with his fellowmen with his sincere heart. Veracity,

chastity, filial piety, loyalty, righteousness, generosity, humanity, and what notallthis is no other than

Buddhanature applied to various relationships of human brotherhood. This is the common source, ever fresh

and inexhaustible, of morality that fosters and furthers the interests of all. Toju[1] expresses the similar idea

Thus, in the first place, moral conduct, which is nothing but the expression of Buddhanature in action,

implies the assertion of self and the furtherance of one's interests. On this point is based the halftruth of the

Egoistic theory. Secondly, it is invariably accompanied by a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction when it fulfils

its end. This accidental concomitance is mistaken for its essence by superficial observers who adhere to the

Hedonistic theory. Thirdly, it conduces to the furtherance of the material and spiritual interests of man, and it

led the Utilitarians to the confusion of the result with the cause of morality. Fourthly, it involves the control

or sacrifice of the lower and ignoble self of an individual in order to realize his higher and nobler self. This

15. The Parable of a Drunkard.Now the question arises, If all human beings are endowed with

[1. Toju Nakae (died A.D. 1649), the founder of the Japanese Wang School of Confucianism, known as

why have they not come naturally to be Enlightened? To answer this question, the Indian Mahayanists[1] told

the parable of a drunkard who forgets the precious gems put in his own pocket by one of his friends. The man

is drunk with the poisonous liquor of selfishness, led astray by the alluring sight of the sensual objects, and

goes mad with anger, lust, and folly. Thus he is in a state of moral poverty, entirely forgetting the precious

gem of Buddhanature within him. To be in an honourable position in society as the owner of that valuable

property, he must first get rid himself of the influence of the liquor of self, and detach himself from sensual

objects, gain control over his passion, restore peace and sincerity to his mind, and illumine his whole

existence by his inborn divine light. Otherwise he has to remain in the same plight to all eternity.

Lot us avail ourselves of another figure to explain more clearly the point at issue. Universal Spirit may fitly

be likened to the universal water, or water circulating through the whole earth. This universal water exists

everywhere. It exists in the tree. It exists in the grass. It exists in the mountain. It exists in the river. It exists

in the sea. It exists in the air. It exists in the cloud. Thus man is not only surrounded by water on all sides, but

it penetrates his very body. But be can never appease his thirst without drinking water. In like manner

Universal Spirit exists everywhere. It exists in the tree. It exists in the grass. It exists in the ground. It exists

in the mountain. It exists in the river. It exists in the sea. It exists in the bird. It exists in the beast. Thus man

is not merely surrounded by Spirit on all sides, but it permeates through his whole existence. ' But he can

never be Enlightened unless he awakens it within him by means of Meditation. To drink water is to drink the

Therefore, to get Enlightened we have to believe that all beings are Buddhanaturedthat is, absolutely

goodnatured in the sense that transcends the duality of good and bad. "One day," to cite an example, "Pan

Shan (Banzan) happened to pass by a meatshop. He heard a customer saying: 'Give me a pound of fresh

meat.' To which the shopkeeper, putting down his knife, replied: Certainly, sir. Could there be any meat that

is not fresh in my shop?' Pan Shan, hearing these remarks, was Enlightened at once."

16. Shakya Muni and the Prodigal Son.A great trouble with us is that we do not believe in half the good

that we are born with. We are just like the only son of a welltodo, as the author of

Saddharmapundarikasutra[1] tells us, who, being forgetful of his rich inheritance, leaves his home and

leads a life of handtomouth as a coolie. How miserable it is to see one, having no faith in his noble

endowment, burying the precious gem of Buddhanature into the foul rubbish of vices and crimes, wasting

his excellent genius in the exertion that is sure to disgrace his name, falling a prey to bitter remorse and

doubt, and casting himself away into the jaw of perdition. Shakya Muni, full of fatherly love towards all

beings, looked with compassion on us, his prodigal son, and used every means to restore the halfstarved

man to his home. It was for this that he left the palace and the beloved wife and son, practised his

selfmortification and prolonged Meditation, attained to Enlightenment, and preached Dharma for fortynine

years; in other words, all his strength and effort were focussed on that single aim, which was to bring the

taught not only by words, but by his own actual example, that man has Buddhanature, by the unfoldment of

which he can save himself from the miseries of life and death, and bring himself to a higher realm than gods.

When we are Enlightened, or when Universal Spirit awakens within us, we open the inexhaustible store of

17. The Parable of the Monk and the Stupid Woman.The confused or unenlightened may be compared

with a monk and a stupid woman in a Japanese parable which runs as follows: "One evening a monk (who

was used to have his head shaved clean), getting drunk against the moral precepts, visited a woman, known as

a blockhead, at her house. No sooner had he got into her room than the female fell asleep so soundly that the

monk could not wake her nap. Thereupon he made up his mind to use every possible means to arouse her,

and searched and searched all over the room for some instrument that would help him in his task of arousing

her from deathlike slumber. Fortunately, he found a razor in one of the drawers of her mirror stand. With it

he gave a stroke to her hair, but she did not stir a whit. Then came another stroke, and she snored like

thunder. The third and fourth strokes came, but with no better result. And at last her head was shaven clean,

yet still she slept on. The next morning when she awoke, she could not find her visitor, the monk, as he had

left the house in the previous night. 'Where is my visitor, where my dear monk?' she called aloud, and waking

in a state of somnambulation looked for him in vain, repeating the outcry. When at length her hand

accidentally touched her shaven head, she mistook it for that of her visitor, and exclaimed: 'Here you are, my

dear, where am I myself gone then?" A great trouble with the confused is their forgetting of real self or

Buddhanature, and not knowing 'where it is gone.' Duke Ngai, of the State of Lu, once said to Confucius:

"One of my subjects, Sir, is so much forgetful that he forgot to take his wife when be changed his residence."

"That is not much, my lord," said the sage, "the Emperors Kieh[1] and Cheu[2] forgot their own selves."'

18. 'Each Smile a Hymn, each Kindly Word a Prayer.'The glorious sun of Buddhanature shines in the

zenith of Enlightened Consciousness, but men still dream a dream of illusion. Bells and clocks of the

Universal Church proclaim the dawn of Bodhi, yet men, drunk with the liquors of the Three Poisons[4] Still

slumber in the darkness of sin. Let us pray to Buddha, in whose bosom we live, for the sake of our own

salvation. Let us invoke Buddha, whose boundless mercy ever besets us, for the Sake of joy and peace of all

our fellowbeings. Let us adore Him through our sympathy towards the poor, through our kindness shown to

Let, then, your heart be so pure that you may not be unworthy of the sunshine beaming upon you the light of

Universal Spirit. Let your thought be so noble that you may deserve fair flowers blooming before you,

reminding you of merciful Buddha. Let your life be so good that you may not be ashamed of yourself in the

[1. The last Emperor of the Ha dynasty, notorious for his vices. His reign was 18181767 B.C.

2. The last Emperor of the Yin dynasty, one of the worst despots. His reign was 11541122 B.C.

19. The World is in the Making.Our assertion is far from assuming that life is now complete, and is in its

best state. On the contrary, it is full of defects and shortcomings. We must not be puffed up with modern

civilization, however great victory it has scored for its side. Beyond all doubt man is still in his cradle. He

often stretches forth his hands to get at his higher ideal, yet is still satisfied with worthless playthings. It is too

glaring a fact to be overlooked by us that faith in religion is dying out in the educated circles of society, that

insincerity, cowardice, and doubletongue are found holding high positions in almost ever community, that

Lucrese and Ezzeling are looking down upon the starving multitude from their luxurious palace, that

Mammon and Bacchus are sometimes preying on their living victims, that even religion often sides with

Contention and piety takes part in Cruelty, that Anarchy is ever ready to spring on the crowned beings, that

philosophy is disposed to turn the deaf ear to the petition of peace, while science provides fuel for the fire of

Was the golden age of man, then, over in the remote past? Is the doomsday coming instead? Do you bear the

trumpet call? Do you feel the earth tremble? No, absolutely no, the golden age is not passed. It is yet to come.

There are not a few who think that the world is in completion, and the Creator has finished His work. We

witness, however, that He is still working and working, for actually we hear His hammerstrokes resounding

through heaven above and earth beneath. Does He not show us new materials for His building? Does He not

give new forms to His design? Does He not surprise us with novelties, extraordinaries, and mysteries? In a

A stream does not run in a straight line. It now turns to the right, now to the left, now leaps down a precipice,

now waters rich fields, now runs back towards its source; but it is destined to find its outlet in the ocean. So it

is with the stream of life. It now leaps down the precipice of revolution. Now it enriches the fertile field of

civilization. Now it expands itself into a glassy lake of peace. Now it forms the dangerous whirlpool of strife.

But its course is always toward the ocean of Enlightenment, in which the gems of equality and freedom,

20. The Progress and Hope of Life.How many myriads of years have passed since the germs of life first

made appearance on earth none can tell; how many thousands of summers and winters it has taken to develop

itself into higher animals, no scientist can calculate exactly. Slowly but steadily it has taken its swerving

course, and ascending stop by step the series of evolution, has reached at length the plane of the rational

animal. We cannot tell how many billions of years it takes to develop ourselves and become beings higher

than man himself, yet we firmly believe that it is possible for us to take the same unerring course as the

organic germs took in the past. Existing humanity is not the same as primitive one. It is quite another race.

Our desires and hopes are entirely different from. those of primitive man. What was gold for them is now iron

for us. Our thoughts and beliefs are what they never dreamed of. Of our knowledge they had almost none.

That which they kept in veneration we trample under our feet. Things they worshipped as deities now serve

us as our slaves. Things that troubled and tortured them we now turn into utilities. To say nothing of the

customs and manners and mode of living which underwent extraordinary change, we are of a race in body

In addition to this we have every reason to believe in the betterment of life. Let us cast a glance to the

existing state of the world. While the TurcoItalian war was raising its ferocious outcry, the Chinese

revolution lifted its head before the trembling throne. Who can tell whether another sanguinary affair will not

break out before the Bulgarian bloodshed comes to an end? Still we believe that, as fire drives out fire, to

borrow Shakespeare's phrase, so war is driving out war. As an ocean, which separated two nations in the past,

serves to unite them now, so a war, which separated two people in the past, brings them to unity now. It goes

without saying, that every nation groans under the burden of cannons and warships, and heartily desires

peace. No nation can willingly wage war against any other nation. It is against the national conscience. It is

no exaggeration to say the world is wholly the ear to hear the news from the goddess of peace. A time will

surely come, if our purpose be steady and our resolution firm, when universal peace will be restored, and

21. The Betterment of Life.Again, people nowadays seem to feel keenly the wound of the economical

results of war, but they are unfeeling to its moral injuries. As elements have their affinities, as bodies have

their attractions, as creatures have their instinct to live together, so men have their inborn mutual love. 'God

divided man into men that they might help each other.' Their strength lies in their mutual help, their pleasure

is in their mutual love, and their perfection is in their giving and receiving of alternate good. Therefore

Shakya Muni says: "Be merciful to all living beings." To take up arms against any other person is unlawful

We do not deny that there are not a few who are so wretched that they rejoice in their crimes, nor that there is

any person but has more or less stain on his character, nor that the means of committing crimes are multiplied

in proportion as modern civilization advances; yet still we believe that our social life is ever breaking down

our wolfish disposition that we inherited from our brute ancestors, and education is ever wearing out our

cannibalistic nature which we have in common with wild animals. On the one hand, the signs of social morals

are manifest in every direction, such as asylums for orphans, poorhouses, houses of correction, lodgings for

the penniless, asylums for the poor, free hospitals, hospitals for domestic animals, societies for the prevention

of cruelty to animals, schools for the blind and the dumb, asylums for the insane, and so forth; on the other

hand, various discoveries and inventions have been made that may contribute to the social improvement, such

as the discovery of the X rays and of radium, the invention of the wireless telegraph and that of the aeroplane

and what not. Furthermore, spiritual wonders such as clairvoyance, clairaudience, telepathy, etc., remind us

of the possibilities of further spiritual unfoldment in man which he never dreamed of. Thus life is growing

richer and nobler step by step, and becoming more and more hopeful as we advance in the Way of Buddha.

The world is built on the foundation of morality, which is another name for Universal Spirit, and moral order

sustains it. We human beings, consciously or unconsciously, were, are, and will be at work to bring the world

into perfection. This idea is allegorically expressed in the Buddhist sutra,[1] which details the advent of a

merciful Buddha named Maitreya in the remote future. At that time, it says, there will be no steep hills, no

filthy places, no epidemic, no famine, no earthquake, no storm, no war, no revolution, no bloodshed, no

cruelty, and no suffering; the roads will be paved smoothly, grass and trees always blooming, birds ever

singing, men contented and happy; all sentient beings will worship the Buddha of Mercy, accept His doctrine,

and attain to Enlightenment. This prophecy will be fulfilled, according to the sutra, 5,670,000,000 years after

the death of Shakya Muni. This evidently shows us that the Mahayanist's aim of life is to bring out man's

inborn light of Buddhanature to illumine the world, to realize the universal brotherhood of all sentient

beings, to attain to Enlightenment, and to enjoy peace and joy to which Universal Spirit leads us.

1. Enlightenment is beyond Description and Analysis.In the foregoing chapters we have had several

occasions to refer to the central problem of Zen or Enlightenment, whose content it is futile to attempt to

explain or analyze. We must not explain or analyze it, because by doing so we cannot but mislead the reader.

We can as well represent Enlightenment by means of explanation or analysis as we do personality by

snapshots or by anatomical operations. As our inner life, directly experienced within us, is anything but the

shape of the head, or the features of the face, or the posture of the body, so Enlightenment experienced by

Zenists at the moment of their highest Samadhi[1] is anything but the psychological analysis of mental

[1. Abstract Contemplation, which the Zenists distinguish from Samadhi, practised by the Brahmins. The

author of 'An Outline of Buddhist Sects' points out the distinction, saying: "Contemplation of outside

religionists is practised with the heterodox view that the lower worlds (the worlds for men, beasts, etc.) are

disgusting, but the upper worlds (the worlds for Devas) are desirable; Contemplation of common people

(ordinary lay believers of Buddhism) is practised with the belief in the law of Karma, and also with disgust

(for the lower worlds) and desire (for the upper worlds); Contemplation of Hinayana is practised with an

insight into the truth of Anatman (nonsoul); Contemplation of Mahayana is practised with an insight of

Unreality of Atman (soul) as well as of Dharma (thing); Contemplation of the highest perfection is practised

with the view that Mind is pure in its nature, it is endowed with unpolluted wisdom, free from passion, and it

generalization of concepts. Enlightenment can be realized only by the Enlightened, and baffles every attempt

to describe it, even by the Enlightened themselves. The effort of the confused to guess at Enlightenment is

often likened by the Zenists to the effort of the blind who feel an elephant to know what it looks like. Some

of them who happen to feel the trunk would declare it is like a rope, but those who happen to feel the belly

would declare it is like a huge drum; while those who happen to feel the feet would declare it is like the trunk

2. Enlightenment implies an Insight into the Nature of Self.We cannot pass over, however, this weighty

problem without saying a word. We shall try in this chapter to present Enlightenment before the reader in a

roundabout way, just as the painter gives the fragmentary sketches of a beautiful city, being unable to give

even a bird'seye view of it. Enlightenment, first of all, implies an insight into the nature of Self. It is an

emancipation of mind from illusion concerning Self. All kinds of sin take root deep in the misconception of

Self, and putting forth the branches of lust, anger, and folly, throw dark shadows on life. To extirpate this

misconception Buddhism[1] strongly denies the existence of the individual soul as conceived by common

sensethat is, that unchanging spiritual entity provided with sight, hearing, touch, smell, feeling, thought,

[1. Both Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism teach the doctrine of Anatman, or Nonself. It is the denial of

soul as conceived by common sense, and of Atman as conceived by Indian heterodox thinkers. Some

Mahayanists believe in the existence of real Self instead of individual self, as we see in

Mahaparinirvanasutra, whose author says: "There is real self in nonself." It is worthy of note that the

Hinayanists set forth Purity, Pleasure, Atman, and Eternity, as the four great misconceptions about life, while

body. It teaches us that there is no such thing as soul, and that the notion of soul is a gross illusion. It treats of

body as a temporal material form of life doomed to be destroyed by death and reduced to its elements again.

It maintains that mind is also a temporal spiritual form of life, behind which there is no immutable soul.

An illusory mind tends either to regard body as Self and to yearn after its material interests, or to believe

mind dependent on soul as Ego. Those who are given to sensual pleasures, consciously or unconsciously,

bold body to be the Self, and remain the lifelong slave to the objects of sense. Those who regard mind as

dependent on soul as the Self, on the other hand, undervalue body as a mere tool with which the soul works,

and are inclined to denounce life as if unworthy of living. We must not undervalue body, nor must we

overestimate mind. There is no mind isolated from body, nor is there any body separated from mind. Every

activity of mind produces chemical and physiological changes in the nervecentres, in the organs, and

eventually in the whole body; while every activity of body is sure to bring out the corresponding change in

the mental function, and eventually in the whole personality. We have the inward experience of sorrow when

we have simultaneously the outward appearance of tears and of pallor; when we have the outward appearance

of the fiery eyes and short breath, we have simultaneously the inward feeling of anger. Thus body is mind

observed outwardly in its relation to the senses; mind is body inwardly experienced in its relation to

introspection. Who can draw a strict line of demarcation between mind and body? We should admit, so far as

our present knowledge is concerned, that mind, the intangible, has been formed to don a garment of matter in

order to become an intelligible existence at all; matter, the solid, has faded under examination into

formlessness, as that of mind. Zen believes in the identification of mind and body, as Dogen[1] says: "Body

Bergson denies the identification of mind and body, saying[2]: "It (experience) shows us the interdependence

of the mental and the physical, the necessity of a certain cerebral substratum for the psychical statenothing

more. From the fact that two things are mutually dependent, it does not follow that they are equivalent.

Because a certain screw is necessary for a certain machine, because the machine works when the screw is

there and stops when the screw is taken away, we do not say that the screw is equivalent of the machine."

Bergson's simile of a screw and a machine is quite inadequate to show the interdependence of mind and body,

because the screw does cause the machine to work, but the machine does not cause the screw to work; so that

their relation is not interdependence. On the contrary, body causes mind to work, and at the same time mind

causes body to work; so that their relation is perfectly interdependent, and the relation is not that of an

addition of mind to body, or of body to mind, as the screw is added to the machine. Bergson must have

compared the working of the machine with mind, and the machine itself with body, if be wanted to show the

real fact. Moreover, he is not right in asserting that "from the fact that two things are mutually dependent, it

does not follow that they are equivalent," because there are several kinds of interdependence, in some of

which two things can be equivalent. For instance, bricks, mutually dependent in their forming an arch, cannot

be equivalent one with another; but water and waves, being mutually dependent, can be identified. In like

[1. The master strongly condemns the immortality of the soul as the heterodox doctrine in his

3. The Irrationality of the Belief of Immortality.Occidental minds believe in a mysterious entity under

the name of soul, just as Indian thinkers believe in the socalled subtle body entirely distinct from the gross

body of flesh and blood. Soul, according to this belief, is an active principle that unites body and mind so as

to form an harmonious whole of mental as well as bodily activities. And it acts through the instrumentality of

the mind and body in the present life, and enjoys an eternal life beyond the grave. It is on this soul that

Now, to say nothing of the origin of soul, this longentertained belief is hardly good for anything. In the first

place, it throws no light upon the relation of mind and body, because soul is an empty name for the unity of

mind and body, and serves to explain nothing. On the contrary, it adds another mystery to the already

mysterious relationships between matter and spirit. Secondly, soul should be conceived as a psychical

individual, subject to spacial determinationsbut since it has to be deprived by death of its body which

individualizes it, it will cease to be individuality after death, to the disappointment of the believer. How could

[1. Bergson, arguing against the dependence of the mind on brain, says: "That there is a close connection

between a state of consciousness and the brain we do not dispute. But there is also a close connection

between a coat and the nail on which it hangs, for if the nail is pulled out, the coat will fall to the ground.

Shall we say, then, that the shape of the nail gave the shape of the coat, or in any way corresponds to it? No

more are we entitled to conclude, because the psychical fact is hung on to a cerebral state, that there is any

parallelism between the two series, psychical and physiological." We have to ask, in what respects does the

interrelation between mind and body resemble the relation between a coat and a nail?]

existing without blending together with other things? Thirdly, it fails to gratify the desire, cherished by the

believer, of enjoying eternal life, because soul has to lose its body, the sole important medium through which

it may enjoy life. Fourthly, soul is taken as a subject matter to receive in the future life the reward or the

punishment from God for our actions in this life; but the very idea of eternal punishment is inconsistent with

the boundless love of God. Fifthly, it is beyond all doubt that soul is conceived as an entity, which unifies

various mental faculties and exists as the foundation of individual personality. But the existence of such soul

is quite incompatible with the wellknown pathological fact that it is possible for the individual to have

double or treble or multiple personalities. Thus the belief in the existence of soul conceived by the common

sense turns out not only to be irrational, but a useless encumbrance on the religious mind. Therefore Zen

declares that there is no such thing as soul, and that mind and body are one. Hwui Chung (Yechu), a famous

disciple of the Sixth Patriarch in China, to quote an example, one day asked a monk: "Where did you come

from?' "I came, sir, from the South," replied the man. "What doctrine do the masters of the South teach?"

asked Hwui Chung again. "They teach, sir, that body is mortal, but mind is immortal," was the answer.

"That," said the master, "is the heterodox doctrine of the Atman!" "How do you, sir," questioned the monk,

Fiske,[2] in his argument against materialism, blames the denial of immortality, saying: "The materialistic

assumption that there is no such state of things, and that the life of the soul ends accordingly with the life of

that is known to the history of philosophy." But we can say with equal force that the commonsense

assumption that the life of soul continues beyond the grave is, perhaps, the most colossal instance of baseless

assumption that is known to the history of thought, because, there being no scientific evidences that give

countenance to the assumption, even the spiritualists themselves hesitate to assert the existence of a ghost or

soul. Again he[1] says: "With this illegitimate hypothesis of annihilation the materialist transgresses the

bounds of experience quite as widely as the poet who sings of the New Jerusalem with its river of life and its

street of gold. Scientifically speaking, there is not a particle of evidence for either view." This is as much as

to say there is not a particle of evidence, scientifically speaking, for the commonsense view of soul, because

the poet's description of the New Jerusalem is nothing but the result of the commonsense belief of

4. The Examination of the Notion of Self.The belief in immortality is based on the strong instinct of

selfpreservation that calls forth an insatiable longing for longevity. It is another form of egoism, one of the

relics of our brute forefathers. We must bear in mind that this illusion of the individual Self is the foundation

on which every form of immorality has its being. I challenge my readers to find in the whole history of

mankind any crime not based on egoism. Evildoers have been as a rule pleasurehunters, moneyseekers,

seekers after selfinterests, characterized by lust, folly, and cruelty. Has there been anyone who committed

theft that he might further the interests of his villagers? Has there been any paramour who disgraced himself

that lie might help his neighbours? Has there been any traitor who performed the ignoble conduct to promote

To get Enlightened, therefore, we have to correct, first of all, our notions concerning Self. Individual body

and mind are not the only important constituents of Self. There are many other indispensable elements in the

notion of Self. For instance, I have come into existence as another form of my parents. I am theirs, and may

justly be called the reincarnation of them. And again, my father is another form of his parents; my mother of

hers; his and her parents of theirs; and ad infinitum. In brief, all my forefathers live and have their being in

me. I cannot help, therefore, thinking that my physical state is the result of the sum total of my good and bad

actions in the past lives I led in the persons of my forefathers, and of the influence I received therein;[1] and

that my psychical state is the result of that which I received, felt, imagined, conceived, experienced, and

Besides this, my brothers, my sisters, my neighboursnay, all my followmen and fellowwomen are no

other than the reincarnation of their parents and forefathers, who are also mine. The same blood invigorated

the king as well as the beggar; the same nerve energized the white as well as the black men; the same

consciousness vitalized the wise as well as the unwise. Impossible it is to conceive myself independent of my

fellowmen and fellowwomen, for they are mine and I am theirsthat is, I live and move in them, and they

It is bare nonsense to say that I go to school, not to be educated as a member of society, but simply to gratify

my individual desire for knowledge; or that I make a fortune, not to lead the life of a welltodo in society,

but to satisfy my individual moneyloving instinct; or that I seek after truth, neither to do good to my

contemporaries nor to the future generations, but only for my individual curiosity

or that I live neither to live with my family nor with my friends nor with anyone else, but to live my

individual life. It is as gross absurdity to say that I am an individual absolutely independent of society as to

say I am a husband with no wife, or I am a son to no parents. Whatever I do directly or indirectly I contribute

to the common fortune of man; whatever anyone else does directly or indirectly determines my fate.

Therefore we must realize that our Selves necessarily include other members of the community, while other

5. Nature is the Mother of All Things.Furthermore, man has come into existence out of Nature. He is her

child. She provided him food, raiment, and shelter. She nourishes him, strengthens him, and vitalizes him. At

the same time she disciplines, punishes, and instructs him. His body is of her own formation, his knowledge

is of her own laws, and his activities are the responses to her own addresses to him. Modern civilization is

said by some to be the conquest of man over Nature; but, in fact, it is his faithful obedience to her. "Bacon

truly said," says Eucken,[1] "that to rule nature man must first serve her. He forgot to add that, as her ruler, he

is still destined to go on serving her." She can never be attacked by any being unless he acts in strict

conformity to her laws. To accomplish anything against her law is as impossible as to catch fishes in a forest,

or to make bread of rock. How many species of animals have perished owing to their inability to follow her

steps! How immense fortunes have been lost in vain from man's ignorance of her order! How many human

beings disappeared on earth from their disobedience to her unbending will! She is, nevertheless, true to those

who obey her rules. Has not science proved that she is truthful? Has not art found that she is beautiful?

Has not philosophy announced that she is spiritual? Has not religion proclaimed that she is good? At all

events, she is the mother of all beings. She lives in all things and they live in her. All that she possesses is

theirs, and all that they want she supplies. Her life is the same vitality that stirs all sentient beings. Chwang

Tsz[1] (Soshi) is right when he says: "Heaven, Earth, and I were produced together, and all things and I are

one." And again: "If all things be regarded with love, Heaven and Earth are one with me." Sang Chao (Sojo)

also says: "Heaven and Earth are of the same root as we. All things in the world are of one substance with

6. Real Self.If there be no individual soul either in mind or body, where does personality lie? What is Real

Self? How does it differ from soul? Self is living entity, not immutable like soul, but mutable and

everchanging life, which is body when observed by senses, and which is mind when experienced by

introspection. It is not an entity lying behind mind and body, but life existent as the union of body and mind.

It existed in our forefathers in the past, is existing in the present, and will exist in the future generations. It

also discloses itself to some measure in vegetables and animals, and shadows itself forth in inorganic nature.

It is Cosmic life and Cosmic spirit, and at the same time individual life and individual spirit. It is one and the

same life which embraces men and nature. it is the selfexistent, creative, universal principle that moves on

from eternity to eternity. As such it is called Mind or Self by Zenists. Pan Shan (Banzan) says: "The moon

of mind comprehends all the universe in its light." A man asked Chang Sha (Chosha): "How can you turn

When we get the insight into this Self, we are able to have the open sesame to the mysteries of the universe,

because to know the nature of a drop of water is to know the nature of the river, the lake, and the

oceannay, even of vapour, mist, and cloud; in other words, to get an insight into individual life is the key

to the secret of Universal Life. We must not confine Self within the poor little person called body. That is the

root of the poorest and most miserable egoism. We should expand that egoism into familyegoism, then into

nationegoism, then into raceegoism, then into humanegoism, then into livingbeingegoism, and lastly

into universeegoism, which is not egoism at all. Thus we deny the immortality of soul as conceived by

common sense, but assume immortality of the Great Soul, which animates, vitalizes, and spiritualizes all

sentient beings. It is Hinayana Buddhism that first denied the existence of atman or Self so emphatically

inculcated in the Upanisads, and paved the way for the general conception of Universal Self, with the

7. The Awakening of the Innermost Wisdom.Having set ourselves free from the misconception of Self,

next we must awaken our innermost wisdom, pure and divine, called the Mind of Buddha,[1] or Bodhi,[2] or

Praj�a[3] by Zen masters. It is the divine light, the inner heaven, the key to all moral treasures, the centre of

[1. Zen is often called the Sect of Buddhamind, as it lays stress on the awakening of the Mind of Buddha.

of kindness, justice, sympathy, impartial love, humanity, and mercy, the measure of all things. When this

innermost wisdom is fully awakened, we are able to realize that each and everyone of us is identical in spirit,

in essence, in nature with the universal life or Buddha, that each ever lives face to face with Buddha, that

each is beset by the abundant grace of the Blessed One, that He arouses his moral nature, that He opens his

spiritual eyes, that He unfolds his new capacity, that He appoints his mission, and that life is not an ocean of

birth, disease, old age, and death, nor the vale of tears, but the holy temple of Buddha, the Pure Land,[1]

Then our minds go through an entire revolution. We are no more troubled by anger and hatred, no more bitten

by envy and ambition, no more stung by sorrow and chagrin, no more overwhelmed by melancholy and

despair. Not that we become passionless or simply intellectual, but that we have purified passions, which,

instead of troubling us, inspire us with noble aspirations, such as anger and hatred against injustice, cruelty,

and dishonesty, sorrow and lamentation for human frailty, mirth and joy for the welfare of followbeings,

pity and sympathy for suffering creatures. The same change purifies our intellect. Scepticism and sophistry

give way to firm conviction; criticism and hypothesis to right judgment; and inference and argument to

What we merely observed before we now touch with heart as well. What we knew in relation of difference

before we now understand in relation of unity as well. How things happen was our chief concern before, but

now we consider as well bow much value they have. What was outside us before now comes within us. What

was dead and indifferent before grows now alive and lovable to us. What was insignificant and empty before

and has profound meaning. Wherever we go we find beauty; whomever we meet we find good; whatever we

get we receive with gratitude. This is the reason why the Zenists not only regarded all their fellowbeings as

their benefactors, but felt gratitude even towards fuel and water. The present writer knows a contemporary

Zenist who would not drink even a cup of water without first making a salutation to it. Such an attitude of

Zen toward things may well be illustrated by the following example: S�eh Fung (Seppo) and Kin Shan

(Kinzan), once travelling through a mountainous district, saw a leaf of the rape floating down the stream.

Thereon Kin Shan said: "Let us go up, dear brother, along the stream that we may find a sage living up on the

mountain. I hope we shall find a good teacher in him." "No," replied S�eh Fung, "for he cannot be a sage who

8. Zen is not Nihilistic.Zen judged from ancient Zen masters' aphorisms may seem, at the first sight, to be

idealistic in an extreme form, as they say: "Mind is Buddha" or, "Buddha is Mind," or, "There is nothing

outside mind," or, "Three worlds are of but one mind." And it may also appear to be nihilistic, as they say:

"There has been nothing since all eternity," "By illusion you see the castle of the Three Worlds'; by

Enlightenment you see but emptiness in ten directions."[1] In reality, however, Zen[2] is neither idealistic nor

nihilistic. Zen makes use of the nihilistic idea of Hinayana Buddhism, and calls its students' attention to the

[1. These words were repeatedly uttered by Chinese and Japanese Zenists of all ages. Chwen Hih

(Fudaishi) expressed this very idea in his Sin Wang Ming (Shinomei) at the time of Bodhidharma.

2. The Rinzai teachers mostly make use of the doctrine of unreality of all things, as taught in

Praj�aparamitasutras. We have to note that there are some differences between the Mahayana doctrine of

world, first to destroy the error of immutation, next to dispel the attachment to the sensual objects.

It is a misleading tendency of our intellect to conceive things as if they were immutable and constant. It often

leaves changing and concrete individual objects out of consideration, and lays stress on the general, abstract,

unchanging aspect of things. It is inclined to be given to generalization and abstraction. It often looks not at

this thing or at that thing, but at things in general. It loves to think not of a good thing nor of a bad thing, but

of bad and good in the abstract. This intellectual tendency hardens and petrifies the living and growing world,

and leads us to take the universe as a thing dead, inert, and standing still. This error of immutation can be

corrected by the doctrine of Transcience taught by Hinayana Buddhism. But as medicine taken in an undue

quantity turns into poison, so the doctrine of Transcience drove the Hinayanists to the suicidal conclusion of

nihilism. A wellknown scholar and believer of Zen, Kwei Fung (Keiha) says in his refutation of

"If mind as well as external objects be unreal, who is it that knows they are so? Again, if there be nothing real

in the universe, what is it that causes unreal objects to appear? We stand witness to the fact that there is no

one of the unreal things on earth that is not made to appear by something real. If there be no water of

unchanging fluidity, how can there be the unreal and temporary forms of waves? If there be no unchanging

mirror, bright and clean, bow can there be the various images, unreal and temporary, reflected in it? If mind

as well as external objects be nothing at all, no one can tell what it is that causes these unreal appearances.

Therefore this doctrine (of the unreality of all things) can never clearly disclose spiritual

Reality. So that Mahabheriharakaparivartasutra says: " All the sutras that teach the unreality of things

belong to the imperfect doctrine " (of the Shakya Muni). Mahapraj�aparamitasutra says The doctrine of

9. Zen and Idealism.Next Zen makes use of Idealism as explained by the Dharmalaksana School of

Mahayana Buddhism.' For instance, the Fourth Patriarch says: " Hundreds and thousands of laws originate

with mind. Innumerable mysterious virtues proceed from the mental source." Niu Teu (Gozu) also says:

"When mind arises, various things arise; when mind ceases to exist, various things cease to exist." Tsao Shan

(Sozan) carried the point so far that he cried out, on hearing the bell: "It hurts, it pains." Then an attendant

of his asked "What is the matter?" "It is my mind," said he, that is struck."[2]

We acknowledge the truth of the following considerations: There exists no colour, nor sound, nor odour in

the objective world, but there are the vibrations of ether, or the undulations of the air, or the stimuli of the

sensory nerves of smell. Colour is nothing but the translation of the stimuli into sensation by the optical

nerves, so also sounds by the auditory, and odours by the smelling. Therefore nothing exists objectively

exactly as it is perceived by the senses, but all are subjective. Take electricity, for example, it appears as light

when perceived through the eye; it appears as sound when perceived through the ear; it appears as taste when

perceived through the tongue; but electricity in reality is not light, nor sound, nor taste. Similarly, the

mountain is not high nor low; the river is not deep nor shallow; the house is not large nor small;

the day is not long nor short; but they seem so through comparison. It is not objective reality that displays the

phenomenal universe before us, but it is our mind that plays an important part. Suppose that we have but one

sense organ, the eye, then the whole universe should consist of colours and of colours only. If we suppose we

were endowed with the sixth sense, which entirely contradicts our five senses, then the whole world would be

otherwise. Besides, it is our reason that finds the law of cause and effect in the objective world, that

discovered the law of uniformity in Nature, and that discloses scientific laws in the universe so as to form a

cosmos. Some scholars maintain that we cannot think of nonexistence of space, even if we can leave out all

objects in it; nor can we doubt the existence of time, for the existence of mind itself presupposes time. Their

very argument, however, proves the subjectivity of time and space, because, if they were objective, we should

be able to think them nonexistent, as we do with other external objects. Even space and time, therefore are

10. Idealism is a Potent Medicine for Selfcreated Mental Disease.In so far as Buddhist idealism refers

to the world of sense, in so far as it does not assume that to to be known is identical with to be, in so far as it

does not assert that the phenomenal universe is a dream and a vision, we may admit it as true. On the one

hand, it serves us as a purifier of our hearts polluted with materialistic desires, and uplifts us above the plain

of sensualism; on the other hand, it destroys superstitions which as a rule arise from ignorance and want of

It is a lamentable fact that every country is full of such superstitions people as described by one of the New

Thought writers: 'Tens of thousands of women in this country believe that if two people look in a mirror at

the same time, or if one thanks the other for a pin, or if one gives a knife or a sharp instrument to a friend, it

will break up friendship. If a young lady is presented with a thimble, she will be an old maid. Some people

think that after leaving a house it is unlucky to go back after any article which has been forgotten, and, if one

is obliged to do so, one should sit down in a chair before going out again; that if a broom touches a person

while someone is sweeping, bad luck will follow; and that it is unlucky to change one's place at a table. A

man took an opal to a New York jeweller and asked him to buy it. He said that it had brought him nothing but

bad luck, that since it had come into his possession he had failed in business, that there bad been much

sickness in his family, and all sorts of misfortune had befallen him. He refused to keep the cursed thing any

longer. The jeweller examined the stone, and found that it was not an opal after all, but an imitation.'

Idealism is a most potent medicine for these selfcreated mental diseases. It will successfully drive away

devils and spirits that frequent ignorant minds, just as Jesus did in the old days. Zen makes use of moral

idealism to extirpate, root and branch, all such idle dreams and phantasmagoria of illusion and opens the way

11. Idealistic Scepticism concerning Objective Reality.But extreme Idealism identifies 'to be' with 'to be

[1. A philosophical work on Buddhist idealism by Vasubandhu, translated into Chinese by Hiuen Tsang in

A.D. 648. There exists a famous commentary on it, compiled by Dharmapala, translated into Chinese by

and Vidyamatravin�ati�astra,[1] by Vasubandhu. Then it necessarily parts company with Zen, which

believes in Universal Life existing in everything instead of behind it. Idealism shows us its dark side in three

sceptic views: (1) scepticism respecting objective reality; (2) scepticism respecting religion; (3) scepticism

First it assumes that things exist in so far as they are known by us. It is as a matter of course that if a tree

exists at all, it is known as having a trunk long or short, branches large or small, leaves green or yellow,

flowers yellow or purple, etc., all of which are ideas. But it does not imply in the least that 'to be known' is

equivalent to 'to be existent.' Rather we should say that to be known presupposes to be existent, for we cannot

know anything nonexistent, even if we admit that the axioms of logic subsist. Again, a tree may stand as

ideas to a knower, but it can stand at the same time as a shelter in relation to some birds, as food in relation to

some insects, as a world in relation to some minute worms, as a kindred organism to other vegetables. How

could you say that its relation to a knower is the only and fundamental relation for the existence of the tree?

The disappearance of its knower no more affects the tree than of its feeder; nor the appearance of its knower

Extreme idealism erroneously concludes that what is really existent, or what is directly proved to be existent,

is only our sensations, ideas, thoughts; that the external world is nothing but the images reflected on the

mirror of the mind, and that therefore objective reality of things is doubtfulnay, more, they are unreal,

illusory, and dreams. If so, we can no longer distinguish the real from the visionary; the waking from the

[1. A simpler work on Idealism, translated into Chinese by Hiuen Tsang in A.D. 661. See Nanjo's Catalogue,

the insane; the true from the untrue. Whether life is real or an empty dream, we are at a loss to understand.

12. Idealistic Scepticism concerning Religion and Morality.Similarly, it is the case with religion and

morality. If we admit extreme idealism as true, there can be nothing objectively real. God is little more than a

mental image. He must be a creature of mind instead of a Creator. He has no objective reality. He is when we

think He is. He is not when we think He is not. He is at the mercy of our thought. How much more unreal the

world must be, which is supposed to have been created by an unreal God! Providence, salvation, and divine

What is morality, then? It is subjective. It has no objective validity. A moral conduct highly valued by our

fathers is now held to be immoral by us. Immoral acts now strongly denounced by us may be regarded as

moral by our posterity. Good deeds of the savage are not necessarily good in the eyes of the civilized, nor evil

acts of the Orientals are necessarily evil before the face of the Occidentals. It follows, then, that there is no

If morality be merely subjective, and there be no objective standard, how can you distinguish evil from good?

How can you single out angels from among devils? Was not Socrates a criminal? Was not Jesus also a

criminal? How could you know Him to be a Divine man different from other criminals who were crucified

with Him? What you honour may I not denounce as disgrace? What you hold as duty may I not condemn as

sin? Every form of idealism is doomed, after all, to end in such confusion and scepticism. We cannot embrace

13. An Illusion concerning Appearance and Reality.To get Enlightened we must next dispel an illusion

respecting appearance and reality. According. to certain religionists, all the phenomena of the universe are to

succumb to change. Worldly things one and all are evanescent. They are nought in the long run. Snowcapped

mountains may sink into the bottom of the deep, while the sands in the fathomless ocean may soar into the

azure sky at some time or other. Blooming flowers are destined to fade and to bloom again in the next year.

So destined are growing trees, rising generations, prospering nations, glowing suns, moons, and stars. This,

they would say, is only the case with phenomena or appearances, but not with reality. Growth and decay,

birth and death, rise and fall, all these are the ebb and flow of appearances in the ocean of reality, which is

always the same. Flowers may fade and be reduced to dust, yet out of that dust come flowers. Trees may die

out, yet they are reproduced somewhere else. The time may come when the earth will become a dead sphere

quite unsuitable for human habitation, and the whole of mankind will perish; yet who knows that whether

another earth may not be produced as man's home? The sun might have its beginning and end, stars, moons,

Again, they say, mutation is of the world of sense or phenomenal appearances, but not of reality. The former

are the phases of the latter shown to our senses. Accordingly they are always limited and modified by our

senses, just as images are always limited and modified by the mirror in which they are reflected. On this

account appearances are subject to limitations, while reality is limitless. And it follows that the former are

imperfect, while the latter is perfect; that the former is transient, while the latter is eternal; that the former is

relative, while the latter is absolute; that the former is worldly, while the latter is holy; that the former is

These considerations naturally lead us to an assertion that the world of appearances is valueless, as it is

limited, shortlived, imperfect, painful, sinful, hopeless, and miserable; while the realm of reality is to be

aspired for, as it is eternal, perfect, comfortable, full of hope, joy, and peacehence the eternal divorce of

appearance and reality. Such a view of life tends to make one minimize the value of man, to neglect the

Some religionists tell us that we men are helpless, sinful, hopeless, and miserable creatures. Worldly riches,

temporal honours, and social positionsnay, even sublimities and beauties of the present existence, are to be

ignored and despised. We have no need of caring for those things that pass away in a twinkling moment. We

must prepare for the future life which is eternal. We must accumulate wealth for that existence. We must

endeavour to hold rank in it. We must aspire for the sublimity and beauty and glory of that realm.

14. Where does the Root of the Illusion Lie?Now let us examine where illusion lies hidden from the

view of these religionists. It lies deeply rooted in the misconstruction of reality, grows up into the illusive

ideas of appearances, and throws its dark shadow on life. The most fundamental error lies in their construing

According to their opinion, all that we know, or perceive, or feel, or imagine about the world, is appearances

or phenomena, but not reality itself. Appearances are 'things known as,' but not 'things as they are.'

Thinginitself, or reality, lies behind appearances permanently beyond our ken. This is probably the most

profound metaphysical pit into which philosophical minds have ever fallen in their way of speculation.

Things appear, they would say, as we see them through our limited senses; but they must present entirely

different aspects to those that differ from ours, just as the vibration of ether appears to us as colours, yet it

presents quite different aspects to the colourblind or to the purblind. The phenomena] universe is what

appears to the human mind, and in case our mental constitution undergoes change, it would be completely

This argument, however, is far from proving that the reality is unknowable, or that it lies hidden behind

appearances or presentations. Take, for instance, a reality which appears as a ray of the sun. When it goes

through a pane of glass it appears to be colourless, but it exhibits a beautiful spectrum when it passes through

a prism. Therefore you assume that a reality appearing as the rays of the sun is neither colourless nor

coloured in itself, since these appearances are wholly due to the difference that obtains between the pane of

We contend, however, that the fact does not prove the existence of the reality named the sun's ray beyond or

behind the white light, nor its existence beyond or behind the spectrum. It is evident that the reality exists in

white light, and that it is known as the white light when it goes through a pane of glass; and that the same

reality exists in the spectrum, and is known as the spectrum when it goes through the prism. The reality is

known as the white light on the one hand, and as the spectrum on the other. It is not unknowable, but

Suppose that one and the same reality exhibits one aspect when it stands in relation to another object; two

aspects when it stands in relation in two different objects; three aspects when it stands in relation to three

different objects. The reality of one aspect never proves the unreality of another aspect, for all these three

aspects can be equally real. A tree appears to us as a vegetable; it appears to some birds as a shelter; and it

appears to some worms as a food. The reality of its aspect as a vegetable never proves the unreality of its

aspect as food, nor the reality of its aspect as food disproves the reality of its aspect as shelter. The real tree

does not exist beyond or behind the vegetable. We can rely upon its reality, and make use of it to a fruitful

result. At the same time, the birds can rely on its reality as a shelter, and build their nests in it; the worms,

too, can rely on its reality as food, and eat itto their satisfaction. A reality which appears to me as my wife

must appear to my son as his mother, and never as his wife. But the same real woman is in the wife and in the

15. ThinginItself means ThingKnowerless.How, then, did philosophers come to consider reality to

be unknowable and hidden behind or beyond appearances? They investigated all the possible presentations in

different relationships, and put them all aside as appearances, and brooded on the thinginitself, shut out

from all possible relationship, and declared it unknowable. Thinginitself means thing cut off from all

possible relationships. To, put it in another way: thinginitself means thing deprived of its relation to its

knowerthat is to say, thingknowerless. So that to declare thinginitself unknowable is as much as to

declare thingunknowable unknowable; there is no doubt about it, but what does it prove?

Deprive yourself of all the possible relationships, and see what you are. Suppose you are not a son to your

parents, nor the husband to your wife, nor the father to your children, nor a relative to your kindred, nor a

friend to your acquaintances, nor a teacher to your students, nor a citizen to your country, nor an individual

member to your society, nor a creature to your God, then you get youinyourself. Now ask yourself what is

youinyourself? You can never answer the question. It is unknowable, just because it is cut off from all

knowable relations. Can you thus prove that youinyourself exist beyond or behind you?

In like manner our universe appears to us human beings as the phenomenal world or presentation. It might

appear to other creatures of a different mental constitution as something else. We cannot ascertain how it

might seem to Devas, to Asuras, to angels, and to the Almighty, if there be such beings. However different it

might seem to these beings, it does not imply that the phenomenal world is unreal, nor that the realm of

'Water,' the Indian tradition has it, 'seems to man as a drink, as emerald to Devas, as bloody pus to Pretas, as

houses to fishes.' Water is not a whit less real because of its seeming as houses to fishes, and fishes' houses

are not less real because of its seeming as emerald to Devas. There is nothing that proves the unreality of it. It

is a gross illusion to conceive reality as transcendental to appearances. Reality exists as appearances, and

appearances are reality known to human beings. You cannot separate appearances from reality, and hold out

the latter as the object of aspiration at the cost of the former. You must acknowledge that the socalled realm

of reality which you aspire after, and which you seek for outside or behind the phenomenal universe, exists

here on earth. Let Zen teachers tell you that "the world of birth and death is the realm of Nirvana"; "the earth

16. The Four Alternatives and the Five Categories.There are, according to Zen, the four classes of

religious and philosophical views, technically called the Four Alternatives,[1] of life and of the world. The

first is 'the deprivation of subject and the nondeprivation of object' that is to say, the denial of subject, or

mind, or Atman, or soul, and the nondenial of object, or matter, or thingsa view which denies the reality

of mind and asserts the existence of things. Such a view was held by a certain school of Hinayanism, called

Sarvastivada, and still is held by some philosophers called materialists or naturalists. The second is the

'deprivation of object and the nondeprivation of subject'that is to say, the denial of object, or matter, or

things, and the nondenial of subject, or mind, or spirita view which denies the reality of material object,

and asserts the existence of spirit or ideas. Such a view was held by the Dharmalaksana School of

Mahayanism, and is still held by some philosophers called idealists. The third is 'the deprivation of both

subject and object'that is to say, the denial of both subject or spirit, and of object or mattera view which

denies the reality of both physical and mental phenomena, and asserts the existence of reality that transcends

the phenomenal universe. Such a view was held by the Madhyamika School of Mahayanism, and is still held

by some religionists and philosophers of the present day. The fourth is 'the nondeprivation of both subject

and object'that is to say, the nondenial of subject and objecta view which holds mind and body as one

and the same reality. Mind, according to this view, is reality experienced inwardly by introspection, and body

is the selfsame reality observed outwardly by senses. They are one reality and one life. There also exist other

persons and other beings belonging to the same life and reality; consequently all things share

[1. Shiryaken in Japanese, the classification mostly made use of by masters of the Rin Zai School of Zen.

in one reality, and life in common with each other. This reality or life is not transcendental to mind and body,

or to spirit and matter, but is the unity of them. In other words, this phenomenal world of ours is the realm of

reality. This view was held by the Avatamsaka School of Mahayanism, and is still held by Zenists. Thus Zen

is not materialistic, nor idealistic, nor nihilistic, but realistic and monistic in its view of the world.

There are some scholars that erroneously maintain that Zen is based on the doctrine of unreality of all things

expounded by Kumarajiva and his followers. Koben,[1] known as Myoye Shonin, said 600 years ago:

"Yang Shan (Kyozan) asked Wei Shan (Isan): 'What shall we do when hundreds, thousands, and millions

of things beset us all at once?' 'The blue are not the yellow,' replied Wei Shan, 'the long are not the short.

Everything is in its own place. It has no business with you.' Wei Shan was a great Zen master. He did not

Besides the Four Alternatives, Zen uses the Five Categories[2] in order to explain the relation between reality

and phenomena. The first is 'Relativity in Absolute,' which means that the universe appears to be consisting

in relativities, owing to our relative knowledge; but these relativities are based on absolute reality. The

second is 'Absolute in Relativity,' which means Absolute Reality does not remain inactive, but manifests

itself as relative phenomena. The third is 'Relativity out of Absolute,' which means Absolute Reality is all in

all, and relative phenomena come out of it as its secondary and subordinate forms. The fourth is 'Absolute up

2 Goi in Japanese, mostly used by the SoTo School of Zen. The detailed explanation is given in

phenomena always play an important part on the stage of the world; it is through these phenomena that

Absolute Reality comes to be understood. The fifth is the 'Union of both Absolute and Relativity,' which

means Absolute Reality is not fundamental or essential to relative phenomena, nor relative phenomena

subordinate or secondary to Absolute Realitythat is to say, they are one and the same cosmic life, Absolute

Reality being that life experienced inwardly by intuition, while relative phenomena are the same life

outwardly observed by senses. The first four Categories are taught to prepare the student's mind for the

17. Personalism of B. P. Bowne.B. P. Bowne[1] says: They (phenomena) are not phantoms or illusions,

nor are they masks of a backlying reality which is trying to peer through them." "The antithesis," he

continues,[2] "of phenomena and noumena rests on the fancy that there is something that rests behind

phenomena which we ought to perceive but cannot, because the masking phenomena thrusts itself between

the reality and us." Just so far we agree with Bowne, but we think he is mistaken in sharply distinguishing

between body and self, saying[3]: "We ourselves are invisible. The physical organism is only an instrument

for expressing and manifesting the inner life, but the living self is never seen." "Human form," he argues,[4]

"as an object in space apart from our experience of it as the instrument and expression of personal life, would

have little beauty or attraction; and when it is described in anatomical terms, there is nothing in it that we

should desire it. The secret of its beauty and its value lies in the invisible realm." "The same is true," he says

again, "of literature. It does not exist in space, or in time, or in books, or in libraries . . . all that could be

found there would be black marks on a white paper, and collections of these bound together in various forms,

which would be all the eyes could see. But this would not be literature, for literature has its existence only in

mind and for mind as an expression of mind, and it is simply impossible and meaningless in abstraction from

mind." "Our human history"he gives another illustration[1]"never existed in space, and never could so

exist. If some visitor from Mars should come to the earth and look at all that goes on in space in connection

with human beings, he would never get any hint of its real significance. He would be confined to integrations

and dissipations of matter and motion. He could describe the masses and grouping of material things, but in

all this be would get no suggestion of the inner life which gives significance to it all. As conceivably a bird

might sit on a telegraph instrument and become fully aware of the clicks of the machine without any

suspicion of the existence or meaning of the message, or a dog could see all that eye can see in a book yet

without any hint of its meaning, or a savage could gaze at the printed score of an opera without ever

suspecting its musical import, so this supposed visitor would be absolutely cut off by an impassable gulf from

the real seat and significance of human history. The great drama of life, with its likes and dislikes, its loves

and hates, its ambitions and strivings, and manifold ideas, inspirations, aspirations, is absolutely foreign to

space, and could never in any way be discovered in space. So human history has its seat in the invisible."

In the first place, Bowne's conception of the physical organism as but an instrument for the expression of the

inner, personal life, just as the telegraphic apparatus is the instrument for the expression of messages, is

because body is not a mere instrument of inner personal life, but an essential constituent of it. Who can deny

that one's physical conditions determine one's character or personality? Who can overlook the fact that one's

bodily conditions positively act upon one's personal life? There is no physical organism which remains as a

mere passive mechanical instrument of inner life within the world of experience. Moreover, individuality, or

personality, or self, or inner life, whatever you may call it, conceived as absolutely independent of physical

condition, is sheer abstraction. There is no such concrete personality or individuality within our experience.

In the second place, he conceives the physical organism simply as a mark or symbol, and inner personal life

as the thing marked or symbolized; so he compares physical forms with paper, types, books, and libraries,

and inner life, with literature. In so doing he overlooks the essential and inseparable connection between the

physical organism and inner life, because there is no essential inseparable connection between a mark or

symbol and the thing marked or symbolized. The thing may adopt any other mark or symbol. The black

marks on the white paper, to use his figure, are not essential to literature. Literature may be expressed by

singing, or by speech, or by a series of pictures. But is there inner life expressed, or possible to be expressed,

in any other form save physical organism? We must therefore acknowledge that inner life is identical with

18. All the Worlds in Ten Directions are Buddha's Holy Land.We are to resume this problem in the

following chapter. Suffice it to say for the present it is the law of Universal Life that manifoldness is in unity,

and unity is in manifoldness; difference is in agreement, and agreement in difference; confliction is in

harmony, and harmony in confliction; parts are in the whole, and the whole is in parts; constancy is in

change, and change in constancy; good is in bad, and bad in good; integration is in disintegration, and

disintegration is in integration; peace is in disturbance, and disturbance in peace. We can find something

celestial among the earthly. We can notice something glorious in the midst of the base and degenerated.

'There are nettles everywhere, but are not smooth, green grasses more common still?' Can you recognize

something aweinspiring in the rise and fall of nations? Can you not recognize something undisturbed and

peaceful among disturbance and trouble? Has not even grass some meaning? Does not even a stone tell the

mystery of Life? Does not the immutable law of good sway over human affairs after all, as Tennyson says

Has not each of us a light within him, whatever degrees of lustre there may be? Was Washington in the

wrong when he said: "Labour to keep alive in your heart that little spark of celestial fire called conscience."

We are sure that we can realize the celestial bliss in this very world, if we keep alive the Enlightened

Consciousness, of which Bodhidharma and his followers showed the example. 'All the worlds in ten

directions are Buddha's Holy Lands!' That Land of Bliss and Glory exists above us, under us, around us,

within us, without us, if we open our eyes to see. 'Nirvana is in life itself,' if we enjoy it with admiration and

love. "Life and death are the life of Buddha," says Dogen. Everywhere the Elysian gates stand open, if we

do not shut them up by ourselves. Shall we starve ourselves refusing to accept the rich bounty which the

Blessed Life offers to us? Shall we perish in the darkness of scepticism, shutting our eyes to the light of

Tathagata? Shall we suffer from innumerable pains in the selfcreated hell where remorse, jealousy, and

hatred feed the fire of anger? Let us pray to Buddha, not in word only, but in the deed of generosity and

tolerance, in the character noble and loving, and in the personality sublime and good. Let us pray to Buddha

to save us from the hell of greed and folly, to deliver us from the thraldom of temptation. Let us 'enter the

1. Epicureanism and Life.There are a good many people always buoyant in spirit and mirthful in

appearance as if born optimists. There are also no fewer persons constantly crestfallen and gloomy as if born

pessimists. The former, however, may lose their buoyancy and sink deep in despair if they are in adverse

circumstances. The latter, too, may regain their brightness and grow exultant if they are under prosperous

conditions. As there is no evil however small but may cause him to groan under it, who has his heart

undisciplined, so there is no calamity however great but may cause him to despair, who has his feelings in

control. A laughing child would cry, a crying child would laugh, without a sufficient cause. 'It can be teased

or tickled into anything.' A grownup child is he who cannot hold sway over his passions.

He should die a slave to his heart, which is wayward and blind, if he be indulgent to it. It is of capital

importance for us to discipline the heart,' otherwise it will discipline us. Passions are like legs. They should

be guided by the eye of reason. No wise serpent is led by its tail, so no wise man is led by his passion.

Passions that come first are often treacherous and lead us astray. We must guard ourselves against them. In

order to gratify them there arise mean desiresthe desires to please sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

rather, driving us. We must not spend our whole lives in pursuit of those miragelike objects which gratify

our sensual desires. When we gratify one desire, we are silly enough to fancy that we have realized true

happiness. But one desire gratified begets another stronger and more insatiable. Thirst allayed with salt water

Shakya Muni compared an Epicurean with a dog chewing a dry bone, mistaking the blood out of a wound in

his mouth for that of the bone. The author of Mahaparinirvanasutra[1] has a parable to the following effect:

'Once upon a time a hunter skilled in catching monkeys alive went into the wood. He put something very

sticky on the ground, and hid himself among the bushes. Byandby a monkey came out to see what it was,

and supposing it to be something eatable, tried to feed on it. It stuck to the poor creature's snout so firmly that

he could not shake it off. Then he attempted to tear it off with both his paws, which also stuck to it.

Thereupon he strove to kick it off with both his hindlegs, which were caught too. Then the hunter came out,

and thrusting his stick through between the paws and hindlegs of the victim, and thus carrying it on his

shoulder, went home.' In like manner an Epicurean (the monkey), allured by the objects of sense (something

sticky), sticks to the five desires (the snout and the four limbs), and being caught by Temptation (the hunter),

We are no more than a species of monkeys, as evolutionists hold. Not a few testify to this truth by their being

caught by means of 'something eatable.' We abolished slavery and call ourselves civilized nations. Have we

not, nevertheless, hundreds of lifelong slaves to cigars among us? Have we not thousands of lifelong

slaves to gold among us? Have we not myriads of lifelong slaves to vanity among us? These slaves are

incredibly loyal to, and incessantly work for, their masters, who in turn bestow on them incurable diseases,

A poor puppy with an empty can tied to his tail, Thomas Carlyle wittily observes, ran and ran on, frightened

by the noise of the can. The more rapidly he ran, the more loudly it rang, and at last he fell exhausted of

running. Was it not typical of a socalled great man of the world? Vanity tied an empty can of fame to his

tail, the hollow noise of which drives him through life until he falls to rise no more. Miserable!

Neither these men of the world nor Buddhist ascetics can be optimists. The latter rigorously deny themselves

sensual gratifications, and keep themselves aloof from all objects of pleasure. For them to be pleased is

equivalent to sin, and to laugh, to be cursed. They would rather touch an adder's head than a piece of

money.[1] They would rather throw themselves into a fiery furnace than to come in contact with the other

sex. Body for them is a bag full of blood and pus;[2] life, an idle, or rather evil, dream. Vegetarianism and

celibacy are their holy privileges. Life is unworthy of having; to put an end to it is their deliverance.[3] Such

2. The Errors of Philosophical Pessimists and Religious Optimists.Philosophical pessimists[4] maintain

4 Schopenhauer, 'The World as Will and Idea' (R. B. Haldane and J. Kemp's translation, vol. iii., pp.

384386); Hartman, 'Philosophy of the Unconsciousness' (W. C. Coupland's translation, vol. iii., pp.

and that pain exists positively, but pleasure is a mere absence of pain because we are conscious of sickness

but not of health; of loss, but not of possession. On the contrary, religious optimists insist that there must not

be any evil in God's universe, that evil has no independent nature, but simply denotes a privation of

No matter what these onesided observers' opinion may be, we are certain that we experience good as well as

evil, and feel pain and pleasure as well. Neither can we alleviate the real sufferings of the sick by telling them

that sickness is no other than the absence of health, nor can we make the poor a whit richer by telling them

that poverty is a mere absence of riches. How could we save the dying by persuading them that death is a

bare privation of life? Is it possible to dispirit the happy by telling them that happiness is unreal, or make the

fortunate miserable by telling them that fortune has no objective reality, or to make one welcome evil by

You must admit there are no definite external causes of pain nor those of pleasure, for one and the same thing

causes pain at one time and pleasure at another. A cause of delight to one person turns out to be that of

aversion to another. A dying miser might revive at the sight of gold, yet a Diogenes would pass without

noticing it. Cigars and wine are blessed gifts of heaven to the intemperate,' but accursed poison to the

temperate. Some might enjoy a long life, but others would heartily desire to curtail it. Some might groan

under a slight indisposition, while others would whistle away a life of serious disease. An Epicure might be

taken prisoner by poverty, yet an Epictetus would fearlessly face and vanquish him. How, then, do you

How do you know the causes of one are more numerous than the causes of the other?

Expose thermometers of several kinds to one and the same temperature. One will indicate, say, 60�, another

�, another as low as 15�. Expose the thermometers of human sensibilities, which are of myriads of different kinds, to one and the

same temperature of environment. None of them will indicate the same degrees. In one and the same climate, which we think

moderate, the Eskimo would be washed with perspiration, while the Hindu would shudder with cold. Similarly, under one and the

same circumstance some might be extremely miserable and think it unbearable, yet others would be contented and happy.

Therefore we may safely conclude that there are no definite external causes of pain and pleasure, and that there must be internal

3. The Law of Balance.Nature governs the world with her law of balance. She puts things ever in pairs,'

and leaves nothing in isolation. Positives stand in opposition to negatives, actives to passives, males to

females, and so on. Thus we get the ebb in opposition to the flood tide; the centrifugal force to the centripetal;

attraction to repulsion; growth to decay; toxin to antitoxin; light to shade; action to reaction; unity to variety;

day to night; the animate to the inanimate. Look at our own bodies: the right eye is placed side by side with

the left; the left shoulder with the right; the right lung with the left; the left hemisphere of the brain with that

It holds good also in human affairs: advantage is always accompanied by disadvantage; loss by gain;

convenience by inconvenience; good by evil; rise by fall; prosperity by adversity; virtue by vice; beauty by

pleasure; youth by old age; life by death. 'A handsome young lady of quality,' a parable in

Mahaparinirvanasutra tells us, 'who carries with her an immense treasure is ever accompanied by her sister,

an ugly woman in rags, who destroys everything within her reach. If we win the former, we must also get the

latter.' As pessimists show intense dislike towards the latter and forget the former, so optimists admire the

4. Life Consists in Conflict.Life consists in conflict. So long as man remains a social animal he cannot

live in isolation. All individual hopes and aspirations depend on society. Society is reflected in the individual,

and the individual in society. In spite of this, his inborn free will and love of liberty seek to break away from

social ties. He is also a moral animal, and endowed with love and sympathy. He loves his fellowbeings, and

would fain promote their welfare; but he must be engaged in constant struggle against them for existence. He

sympathizes even with animals inferior to him, and heartily wishes to protect them; yet he is doomed to

destroy their lives day and night. He has many a noble aspiration, and often soars aloft by the wings of

imagination into the realm of the ideal; still his material desires drag him down to the earth. He lives on day

by day to continue his life, but he is unfailingly approaching death at every moment.

The more he secures new pleasure, spiritual or material, the more he incurs pain not yet experienced. One evil

removed only gives place to another; one advantage gained soon proves itself a disadvantage. His very reason

is the cause of his doubt and suspicion; his intellect, with which he wants to know everything, declares itself

to be incapable of knowing anything in its real state; his finer sensibility, which is the sole source of finer

pleasure, has to experience finer suffering. The more he asserts himself, the more he has to sacrifice himself.

These conflictions probably led Kant to call life "a trial time, wherein most succumb, and in which even the

best does not rejoice in his life." "Men betake themselves," says Fichte, "to the chase after felicity. . . . But

as soon as they withdraw into themselves and ask themselves, 'Am I now happy? the reply comes distinctly

from the depth of their soul, ' Oh no; thou art still just as empty and destitute as before!' . . . They will in

the future life just as vainly seek blessedness as they have sought it in the present life."

It is not without reason that the pessimistic minds came to conclude that 'the unrest of unceasing willing and

desiring by which every creature is goaded is in itself unblessedness,' and that 'each creature is in constant

danger, constant agitation, and the whole, with its restless, meaningless motion, is a tragedy of the most

piteous kind.' 'A creature like the carnivorous animal, who cannot exist at all without continually destroying

and tearing others, may not feel its brutality, but man, who has to prey on other sentient beings like the

carnivorous, is intelligent enough, as hard fate would have it, to know and feel his own brutal living.' He must

be the most miserable of all creatures, for he is most conscious of his own misery. Furthermore, 'he

experiences not only the misfortunes which actually befall him, but in imagination he goes through every

possibility of evil.' Therefore none, from great kings and emperors down to nameless beggars, can be free

5. The Mystery of Life.Thus far we have pointed out the inevitable conflictions in life in order to prepare

ourselves for an insight into the depth of life. We are far from being pessimistic, for we believe that life

consists in confliction, but that confliction does not end in confliction, but in a new form of harmony. Hope

comes to conflict with fear, and is often threatened with losing its hold on mind; then it renews its life and

takes root still deeper than before. Peace is often disturbed with wars, but then it gains a still firmer ground

than ever. Happiness is driven out of mind by melancholy, then it is reenforced by favourable conditions

and returns with double strength. Spirit is dragged down by matter from its ideal heaven, then, incited by

shame, it tries a higher flight. Good is opposed by evil, then it gathers more strength and vanquishes its foe.

Truth is clouded by falsehood, then it issues forth with its greater light. Liberty is endangered by tyranny,

Manifoldness stands out boldly against unity; difference against agreement; particularity against generality;

individuality against society. Manifoldness, nevertheless, instead of annihilating, enriches unity; difference,

instead of destroying agreement, gives it variety; particularities, instead of putting an end to generality,

increase its content; individuals, instead of breaking the harmony of society, strengthen the power of it.

Thus 'Universal Life does not swallow up manifoldness nor extinguish differences, but it is the only means of

bringing to its full development the detailed content of reality; in particular, it does not abolish the great

oppositions of life and world, but takes them up into itself and brings them into fruitful relations with each

other.' Therefore 'our life is a mysterious blending of freedom and necessity, power and limitation, caprice

and law; yet these opposites are constantly seeking and finding a mutual adjustment.'

6. Nature Favours Nothing in Particular.There is another point of view of life, which gave the present

writer no small contentment, and which he believes would cure one of pessimistic complaint. Buddha, or

Universal Life conceived by Zen, is not like a capricious despot, who acts not seldom against his own laws.

His manifestation as shown in the Enlightened Consciousness is lawful, impartial, and rational. Buddhists

believe that even Shakya Muni himself was not free from the law of retribution, which includes, in our

Now let us briefly examine how the law of balance holds its sway over life and the world. When the

Cakravartin, according to an Indian legend, the universal monarch, would come to govern the earth, a wheel

would also appear as one of his treasures, and go on rolling all over the world, making everything level and

smooth. Buddha is the spiritual Cakravartin, whose wheel is the wheel of the law of balance, with which he

governs all things equally and impartially. First let us observe the simplest cases where the law of balance

holds good. Four men can finish in three days the same amount of work as is done by three men in four days.

The increase in the number of men causes the decrease in that of days, the decrease in the number of men

causes the increase in that of days, the result being always the same. Similarly the increase in the sharpness of

a knife is always accompanied by a decrease in its durability, and the increase of durability by a decrease of

sharpness. The more beautiful flowers grow, the uglier their fruits become; the prettier the fruits grow, the

simpler become their flowers. 'A strong soldier is ready to die; a strong tree is easy to be broken; hard leather

is easy to be torn. But the soft tongue survives the hard teeth.' Horned creatures are destitute of tusks, the

sharptusked creatures lack horns. Winged animals are not endowed with paws, and handed animals are

provided with no wings. Birds of beautiful plumage have no sweet voice, and sweetvoiced songsters no

feathers of bright colours. The finer in quality, the smaller in quantity, and bulkier in size, the coarser in

Nature favours nothing in particular. So everything has its advantage and disadvantage as well. What one

gains on the one hand one loses on the other. The ox is competent in drawing a heavy cart, but he is

absolutely incompetent in catching mice. A shovel is fit for digging, but not for earpicking. Aeroplanes are

good for aviation, but not for navigation. Silkworms feed on mulberry leaves and make silk from it, but they

can do nothing with other leaves. Thus everything has its own use or a mission appointed by Nature; and if

we take advantage of it, nothing is useless, but if not, all are useless. 'The neck of the crane may seem too

long to some idle onlookers, but there is no surplus in it. The limbs of the tortoise may appear too short, but

there is no shortcoming in them.' The centipede, having a hundred limbs, can find no useless feet; the serpent,

7. The Law of Balance in Life.It is also the case with human affairs. Social positions high or low,

occupations spiritual or temporal, work rough or gentle, education perfect or imperfect, circumstances needy

or opulent, each has its own advantage as well as disadvantage. The higher the position the graver the

responsibilities, the lower the rank the lighter the obligation. The director of a large bank can never be so

careless as his errandboy who may stop on the street to throw a stone at a sparrow; nor can the manager of a

large plantation have as good a time on a rainy day as his daylabourers who spend it in gambling. The

accumulation of wealth is always accompanied by its evils; no Rothschild nor Rockefeller can be happier

A mother of many children may be troubled by her noisy little ones and envy her sterile friend, who in turn

may complain of her loneliness; but if they balance what they gain with what they lose, they will find the

both sides are equal. The law of balance strictly forbids one's monopoly of happiness. It applies its scorpion

whip to anyone who is given to pleasures. Joy in extremity lives next door to exceeding sorrow. "Where there

is much light," says Goethe, "shadow is deep." Age, withered and disconsolate, lurks under the skirts of

blooming youth. The celebration of birthday is followed by the commemoration of death. Marriage might be

supposed to be the luckiest event in one's life, but the widow's tears and the orphan's sufferings also might be

its outcome. But for the former the latter can never be. The death of parents is indeed the unluckiest event in

the son's life, but it may result in the latter's inheritance of an estate, which is by no means unlucky. The

disease of a child may cause its parents grief, but it is a matter of course that it lessens the burden of their

livelihood. Life has its pleasures, but also its pains. Death has no pleasure of life, but also none of its pain. So

that if we balance their smiles and tears, life and death are equal. It is not wise for us, therefore, to commit

suicide while the terms of our life still remain, nor to fear death when there is no way of avoiding it.

Again, the law of balance does not allow anyone to take the lion's share of nature's gifts. Beauty in face is

accompanied by deformity in character. Intelligence is often uncombined with virtue. "Fair girls are destined

to be unfortunate," says a Japanese proverb, "and men of ability to be sickly." "He makes no friend who never

makes a foe." "Honesty is next to idiocy." "Men of genius," says Longfellow, "are often dull and inert in

society; as the blazing meteor when it descends to earth is only a stone." Honour and shame go hand in hand.

Knowledge and virtue live in poverty, while ill health and disease are inmates of luxury.

Every misfortune begets some sort of fortune, while every good luck gives birth to some sort of bad luck.

Every prosperity never fails to sow seeds of adversity, while every fall never fails to bring about some kind of

rise. We must not, then, despair in days of frost and snow, reminding ourselves of sunshine and flowers that

follow them; nor must we be thoughtless in days of youth and health, keeping in mind old age and ill health

that are in the rear of them. In brief, all, from crowns and coronets down to rags and begging bowls, have

8. The Application of the Law of Causation to Morals.Although it may be needless to state here the law

of causation at any length, yet it is not equally needless to say a few words about its application to morals as

the law of retribution, which is a matter of dispute even among Buddhist scholars. The kernel of the idea is

very simplelike seed, like fruit; like cause, like effect; like action, like influencenothing more. As fresh

air strengthens and impure air chokes us, so good conduct brings about good consequence, and bad conduct

Over against these generalizations we raise no objection, but there are many cases, in practical life, of

doubtful nature. An act of charity, for example, might do others some sort of damage, as is often the case

with the giving of alms to the poor, which may produce the undesirable consequence of encouraging beggary.

An act of love might produce an injurious effect, as the mother's love often spoils her children. Some[2] may

2. Dr. H. Kato seems to have thought that good cause may bring out bad effect when he attacked Buddhism

analyze these causes and effects in order to find in what relation they stand. In the first case the good action

of almsgiving produces the good effect of lessening the sufferings of the poor, who should be thankful for

their benefactor. The giver is rewarded in his turn by the peace and satisfaction of his conscience. The poor,

however, when used to being given alms are inclined to grow lazy and live by means of begging. Therefore

the real cause of the bad effect is the thoughtlessness of both the giver and the given, but not charity itself. In

the second case the mother's love and kindness produce a good effect on her and her children, making them

all happy, and enabling them to enjoy the pleasure of the sweet home; yet carelessness and folly on the part of

the mother and ingratitude on the part of the children may bring about the bad effect.

History is full of numerous cases in which good persons were so unfortunate as to die a miserable death or to

live in extreme poverty, side by side with those cases in which bad people lived in health and prosperity,

enjoying a long life. Having these cases in view, some are of the opinion that there is no law of retribution as

believed by the Buddhists. And even among the Buddhist scholars themselves there are some who think of

the law of retribution as an ideal, and not as a law governing life. This is probably due to their

misunderstanding of the historical facts. There is no reason because he is good and honourable that he should

be wealthy or healthy; nor is there any reason because he is bad that he should be poor or sickly. To be good

is one thing, and to be healthy or rich is another. So also to be bad is one thing, And to be poor and sick is

another. The good are not necessarily the rich or the healthy, nor are the bad necessarily the sick or the poor.

Health must be secured by the strict observance of hygienic rules, and not by the keeping of ethical precepts;

nor can wealth ever be accumulated by bare morality, but by economical and industrial activity. The moral

conduct of a good person has no responsibility for his ill health or poverty; so also the immoral action of a

bad person has no concern with his wealth or health. You should not confuse the moral with the physical law,

since the former belongs only to human life, while the latter to the physical world.

The good are rewarded morally, not physically; their own virtues, honours, mental peace, and satisfaction are

ample compensation for their goodness. Confucius, for example, was never rich nor high in rank; he was,

nevertheless, morally rewarded with his virtues, honours, and the peace of mind. The following account of

him,[1] though not strictly historical, well explains his state of mind in the days of misfortune:

"When Confucius was reduced to extreme distress between Khan and Zhai, for seven days he had no cooked

meat to eat, but only some soup of coarse vegetables without any rice in it. His countenance wore the

appearance of great exhaustion, and yet be kept playing on his lute and singing inside the house. Yen Hui

(was outside) selecting the vegetables, while Zze Lu and Zze Kung were talking together, and said to him:

'The master has twice been driven from Lu; he had to flee from Wei; the tree beneath which he rested was cut

down in Sung; he was reduced to extreme distress in Shang and Kau; he is held in a state of siege here

between Khan and Zhai; anyone who kills him will be held guiltless; there is no prohibition against making

him a prisoner. And yet he keeps playing and singing, thrumming his lute without ceasing. Can a superior

man be without the feeling of shame to such an extent as this?' Yen Hui gave them no reply, but went in and

lute and said: 'Yu and Zhze are small men. Call them here, and I will explain the thing to them.'

"When they came in, Zze Lu said: 'Your present condition may be called one of extreme distress!' Confucius

replied: 'What words are these? When the superior man has free course with his principles, that is what we

call his success; when such course is denied, that is what we call his failure. Now I hold in my embrace the

principles of righteousness and benevolence, and with them meet the evils of a disordered age; where is the

proof of my being in extreme distress? Therefore, looking inwards and examining myself, I have no

difficulties about my principles; though I encounter such difficulties (as the present), I do not lose my virtue.

It is when winter's cold is come, and the hoarfrost and snow are falling, that we know the vegetative power

of the pine and cypress. This distress between Khan and Zhai is fortunate for me.' He then took back his lute

so that it emitted a twanging sound, and began to play and sing. (At the same time) Zze Lu hurriedly seized a

shield and began to dance, while Zze Kung said: 'I did not know (before) the height of heaven nor the depth

Thus the good are unfailingly rewarded with their own virtue, and the wholesome consequences of their

actions on society at large. And the bad are inevitably recompensed with their own vices, and the injurious

effects of their actions on their fellowbeings. This is the unshaken conviction of humanity, past, present, and

future. It is the pith and marrow of our moral ideal. It is the crystallization of ethical truths, distilled through

long experiences from time immemorial to this day. We can safely approve Edwin Arnold, as he Bays:

9. Retribution[1] in the Past, the Present, and the Future Life.Then a question suggests itself: If there

be no soul that survives body (as shown in the preceding chapter), who will receive the retributions of our

actions in the present life? To answer this question, we have to restate our conviction that life is one and the

same; in other words, the human beings form one life or one selfthat is to say, our ancestors in the past

formed man's past life. We ourselves now form man's present life, and our posterity will form the future life.

Beyond all doubt, all actions of man in the past have brought their fruits on the present conditions of man,

and all actions of the present man are sure to influence the conditions of the future man. To put it in another

way, we now reap the fruits of what we sowed in our past life (or when we lived as our fathers), and again

shall reap the fruits of what we now sow in our future life (or when we shall live as our posterity).

There is no exception to this rigorous law of retribution, and we take it as the will of Buddha to leave no

action without being retributed. Thus it is Buddha himself who kindles our inward fire to save ourselves from

sin and crimes. We must purge out all the stains in our hearts, obeying Buddha's command audible in the

innermost self of ours. It is the great mercy of His that, however sinful, superstitious, wayward, and

thoughtless, we have still a light within us which is divine in its nature. When that light shines forth, all sorts

of sin are destroyed at once. What is our sin, after all? It is nothing but illusion or

[1. The retribution cannot be explained by the doctrine of the transmigration of the soul, for it is incompatible

with the fundamental doctrine of nonsoul. See Abhidharmamahavibhasa�astra, vol. cxiv.]

error originating in ignorance and folly. How true it is, as an Indian Mahayanist declares, that 'all frost and

the dewdrops of sin disappear in the sunshine of wisdom!'[1] Even if we might be imprisoned in the

bottomless bell, yet let once the Light of Buddha shine upon us, it would be changed into heaven. Therefore

the author of Mahakarunikasutra[2] Says: "When I climb the mountain planted with swords, they would

break under my tread. When I sail on the sea of blood, it will be dried up. When I arrive at Hades, they will

10. The Eternal Life as taught by Professor M�nsterberg.Some philosophical pessimists undervalue

life simply because it is subject to limitation. They ascribe all evils to that condition, forgetting that without

limitation life is a mere blank. Suppose our sight could see all things at once, then sight has no value nor use

for us, because it is life's purpose to choose to see one thing or another out of many; and if all things be

present at once before us through sight, it is of no purpose. The same is true of intellect, bearing, smell, touch,

feeling, and will. If they be limitless, they cease to be useful for us. Individuality necessarily implies

limitation, hence if there be no limitation in the world, then there is no room for individuality. Life without

Professor Hugo M�nsterberg finds no value, so it seems to me, in 'such life as beginning with birth and

ending with death.' He says:[3] "My life as a causal system of physical and psychological processes, which

lies spread out in time between the dates of my birth and of my death, will come to an end with my last

breath; to continue it, to make it go on till the earth falls into the sun, or a billion times longer, would be

kind of life which is nothing but the mechanical occurrence of physiological and psychological phenomena

had as such no ultimate value for me or for you, or for anyone, at any time. But my real life, as a system of

interrelatedwillattitudes, has nothing before or after because it is beyond time. It is independent of birth

and death because it cannot be related to biological events; it is not born, and will not die; it is immortal; all

Professor M�nsterberg tries to distinguish sharply life as the causal system of physiological and

psychological processes, and life as a system of interrelatedwillattitudes, and denounces the former as

fleeting and valueless, in order to prize the latter as eternal and of absolute value. How could he, however,

succeed in his task unless he has two or three lives, as some animals are believed to have? Is it not one and

the same life that is treated on the one hand by science as a system of physiological and psychological

processes, and is conceived on the other by the Professor himself as a system of interrelatedwillattitudes?

It is true that science treats of life as it is observed in time, space, and causality, and it estimates it of no

value, since to estimate the value of things is no business of science. The same life observed as a system of

interrelatedwillattitudes is independent of time, space, and causality as he affirms. One and the same life

includes both phases, the difference being in the points of view of the observers.

Life as observed only from the scientific point of view is bare abstraction; it is not concrete life; nor is life as

observed only in the interrelatedwillattitude point of view the whole of life. Both are abstractions.

Concrete life includes both phases. Moreover, Professor M�nsterberg sees life in the relationship entirely

independentof time, space, and causality, saying: "If you agree or disagree with the latest act of the Russian

Czar, the only significant relation which exists between him and you has nothing to do with the naturalistic

fact that geographically 'an ocean lies between you; and if you are really a student of Plato, your only

important relation to the Greek philosopher has nothing to do with the other naturalistic fact that biologically

two thousand years lie between you"; and declares life (seen from that point of view) to be immortal and

eternal. This is as much as to say that life, when seen in the relationship independent of time and space, is

independent of time and spacethat is, immortal and eternal. Is it not mere tautology? He is in the right in

insisting that life can be seen from the scientific point of view as a system of physiological and psychological

processes, and at the same time as a system of interrelatedwillattitudes independent of time and space. But

he cannot by that means prove the existence of concrete individual life which is eternal and immortal,

because that which is independent of time and space is the relationship in which he observes life, but not life

itself. Therefore we have to notice that life held by Professor M�nsterberg to be eternal and immortal is quite

a different thing from the eternal life or immortality of soul believed by common sense.

11. Life in the Concrete.Life in the concrete, which we are living, greatly differs from life in the abstract,

which exists only in the classroom. It is not eternal; it is fleeting; it is full of anxieties, pains, struggles,

brutalities, disappointments, and calamities. We love life, however, not only for its smoothness, but for its

roughness; not only for its pleasure, but for its pain; not only for its hope, but for its fear; not only for its

flowers, but for its frost and snow. As Issai[1] (Sato) has aptly put it: "Prosperity is like

[1. A noted scholar (17721859) and author, who belonged to the Wang School of Confucianism. See

spring, in which we have green leaves and flowers wherever we go; while adversity is like winter, in which

we have snow and ice. Spring, of course, pleases us; winter, too, displeases us not." Adversity is salt to our

lives, as it keeps them from corruption, no matter how bitter to taste it way be. It is the best stimulus to body

and mind, since it brings forth latent energy that may remain dormant but for it. Most people hunt after

pleasure, look for good luck, hunger after success, and complain of pain, illluck, and failure. It does not

occur to them that 'they who make good luck a god are all unlucky men,' as George Eliot has wisely

observed. Pleasure ceases to be pleasure when we attain to it; another sort of pleasure displays itself to tempt

us. It is a mirage, it beckons to us to lead us astray. When an overwhelming misfortune looks us in the face,

our latent power is sure to be aroused to grapple with it. Even delicate girls exert the power of giants at the

time of emergency; even robbers or murderers are found to be kind and generous when we are thrown into a

common disaster. Troubles and difficulties call forth our divine force, which lies deeper than the ordinary

12. Difficulties are no Match for the Optimist.How can we suppose that we, the children of Buddha, are

put at the mercy of petty troubles, or intended to be crushed by obstacles? Are we not endowed with inner

force to fight successfully against obstacles and difficulties, and to wrest trophies of glory from hardships?

Are we to be slaves to the vicissitudes of fortune? Are we doomed to be victims for the jaws of the

environment? It is not external obstacles themselves, but our inner fear and doubt that prove to be the

stumblingblocks in the path to success; not material loss, but timidity and hesitation that ruin us for ever.

Difficulties are no match for the optimist, who does not fly from them, but welcomes them. He has a mental

prism which can separate the insipid white light of existence into bright hues. He has a mental alchemy by

which he can produce golden instruction out of the dross of failure. He has a spiritual magic which makes the

nectar of joy out of the tears of sorrow. He has a clairvoyant eye that can perceive the existence of hope

Prosperity tends to make one forget the grace of Buddha, but adversity brings forth one's religious conviction.

Christ on the cross was more Christ than Jesus at the table. Luther at war with the Pope was more Luther than

he at peace. Nichiren[1] laid the foundation of his church when sword and sceptre threatened him with

death. Shinran[2] and Henen[3] established their respective faiths when they were exiled. When they were

exiled, they complained not, resented not, regretted not, repented not, lamented not, but contentedly and

joyously they met with their inevitable calamity and conquered it. Honen is said to have been still more

joyous and contented when be bad suffered from a serious disease, because he had the conviction that his

A Chinese monk, E Kwai by name, one day seated himself in a quiet place among hills and practised Dhyana.

None was there to disturb the calm enjoyment of his meditation. The genius of the hill was so much stung by

[1. The founder (12221282) of the Nichi Ren Sect, who was exiled in 1271 to the Island of Sado. For the

history and doctrine of the Sect, see I A Short History of the Twelve Japanese Buddhist Sects,' by B. Nanjo,

2. The founder (11731262) of the Shin Sect, who was banished to the province of Eechigo in 1207. See

3. The founder (1131 1212) of the Jo Do Sect, who was exiled to the Island of Tosa in 1207. See Nanjo's

envy that he made up his mind to break by surprise the mental serenity of the monk. Having supposed

nothing ordinary would be effective, he appeared all on a sudden before the man, assuming the frightful form

of a headless monster. E Kwai being disturbed not a whit, calmly eyed the monster, and observed with a

smile: "Thou hast no head, monster! How happy thou shouldst be, for thou art in no danger of losing thy

Were we born headless, should we not be happy, as we have to suffer from no headache? Were we born

eyeless, should we not be happy, as we are in no danger of suffering from eye disease? Ho Ki Ichi,[1] a great

blind scholar, was one evening giving a lecture, without knowing that the light had been put out by the wind.

When his pupils requested him to stop for a moment, he remarked with a smile: "Why, how inconvenient are

13. Do Thy Best and Leave the Rest to Providence.There is another point of view which enables us to

enjoy life. It is simply this, that everything is placed in the condition best for itself, as it is the sum total of the

consequences of its actions and reactions since the dawn of time. Take, for instance, the minutest grains of

dirt that are regarded by us the worst, lifeless, valueless, mindless, inert matter. They are placed in their best

condition, no matter how poor and worthless they may seem. They can never become a thing higher nor

lower than they. To be the grains of dirt is best for them. But for these minute microcosms, which, flying in

the air, reflect the sunbeams, we could have no azure sky. It is they that scatter the

sun's rays in midair and send them into our rooms. It is also these grains of dirt that form the nuclei of

raindrops and bring seasonable rain. Thus they are not things worthless and good for nothing, but have a

hidden import and purpose in their existence. Had they mind to think, heart to feel, they should be contented

Take, for another example, the flowers of the morning glory. They bloom and smile every morning, fade and

die in a few hours. How fleeting and ephemeral their lives are! But it is that short life itself that makes them

frail, delicate, and lovely. They come forth all at once as bright and beautiful as a rainbow or as the Northern

light, and disappear like dreams. This is the best condition for them, because, if they last for days together,

the morning glory shall no longer be the morning glory. It is so with the cherrytree that puts forth the

loveliest flowers and bears bitter fruits. It is so with the appletree, which bears the sweetest of fruits and has

ugly blossoms. It is so with animals and men. Each of them is placed in the condition best for his appointed

The newlyborn baby sucks, sleeps, and cries. It can do no more nor less. Is it not best for it to do so? When

it attained to its boyhood, he goes to school and is admitted to the firstyear class. He cannot be put in a

higher nor lower class. It is best for him to be the firstyear class student. When his school education is over,

he may get a position in society according to his abilities, or may lead a miserable life owing to his failure of

some sort or other. In any case he is in a position best for his special mission ordained by Providence or the

Humtotal of the fruits of his actions and reactions since all eternity. He should be contented and happy, and

do what is right with might and main. Discontent and vexation only make him more worthy of his ruin

Therefore our positions, no matter. how high or low, no matter how favourable or unfavourable our

environment, we are to be cheerful. "Do thy best and leave the rest to Providence," says a Chinese adage.

1. The Method of Instruction Adopted by Zen Masters.Thus far we have described the doctrine of Zen

inculcated by both Chinese and Japanese masters, and in this chapter we propose to sketch the practice of

mental training and the method of practising Dhyana or Meditation. Zen teachers never instruct their pupils

by means of explanation or argument, but urge them to solve by themselves through the practice of

Meditation such problems as'What is Buddha?' What is self?' 'What is the spirit of Bodhidharma?' 'What is

life and death?' 'What is the real nature of mind?' and so on. Ten Shwai (Tosotsu), for instance, was wont to

put three questions[1] to the following effect: (1) Your study and discipline aim at the understanding of the

real nature of mind. Where does the real nature of mind exist? (2) When you understand the real nature of

mind, you are free from birth and death. How can you be saved when you are at the verge of death? (3) When

you are free from birth and death, you know where you go after death. Where do you go when your body is

reduced to elements? The pupils are not requested to express their solution of these problems in the form of a

theory or an argument, but to show how they have grasped the profound meaning implied in these problems,

[1. The famous three difficult questions, known as the Three Gates of Teu Shwai (To Sotsu San Kwan), who

established their conviction, and how they can carry out what they grasped in their daily life.

A Chinese Zen master[1] tells us that the method of instruction adopted by Zen may aptly be compared with

that of an old burglar who taught his son the art of burglary. The burglar one evening said to his little son,

whom he desired to instruct in the secret of his trade: "Would you not, my dear boy, be a great burglar like

myself?" "Yes, father," replied the promising young man." "Come with me, then. I will teach you the art." So

saying, the man went out, followed by his son. Finding a rich mansion in a certain village, the veteran burglar

made a hole in the wall that surrounded it. Through that hole they crept into the yard, and opening a window

with complete ease broke into the house, where they found a huge box firmly locked up as if its contents were

very valuable articles. The old man clapped his hands at the lock, which, strange to tell, unfastened itself.

Then he removed the cover and told his son to get into it and pick up treasures as fast as he could. No sooner

had the boy entered the box than the father replaced the cover and locked it up. He then exclaimed at the top

of his voice: "Thief! thief! thief! thief!" Thus, having aroused the inmates, he went out without taking

anything. All the house was in utter confusion for a while; but finding nothing stolen, they went to bed again.

The boy sat holding his breath a short while; but making up his mind to get out of his narrow prison, began to

scratch the bottom of the box with his fingernails. The servant of the house, listening to the noise, supposed

it to be a mouse gnawing at the inside of the box; so she came out, lamp in hand, and unlocked it. On

removing the cover, she was greatly surprised to find the boy instead of a little mouse, and gave alarm. In the

went down into the yard, hotly pursued by the people. He ran as fast as possible toward the well, picked up a

large stone, threw it down into it, and hid himself among the bushes. The pursuers, thinking the thief fell into

the well, assembled around it, and were looking into it, while the boy crept out unnoticed through the hole

and went home in safety. Thus the burglar taught his son how to rid himself of overwhelming difficulties by

his own efforts; so also Zen teachers teach their pupils how to overcome difficulties that beset them on all

2. The First Step in the Mental Training.Some of the old Zen masters are said to have attained to

supreme Enlightenment after the practice of Meditation for one week, some for one day, some for a score of

years, and some for a few months. The practice of Meditation, however, is not simply a means for

Enlightenment, as is usually supposed, but also it is the enjoyment of Nirvana, or the beatitude of Zen. It is a

matter, of course, that we have fully to understand the doctrine of Zen, and that we have to go through the

The first step in the mental training is to become the master of external things. He who is addicted to worldly

pleasures, however learned or ignorant he may be, however high or low his social position may be, is a

servant to mere things. He cannot adapt the external world to his own end, but he adapts himself to it. He is

constantly employed, ordered, driven by sensual objects. Instead of taking possession of wealth, he is

possessed by wealth. Instead of drinking liquors, he is swallowed up by his liquors. Balls and music bid him

to run mad. Games and shows order him not to stay at home. Houses, furniture, pictures, watches, chains,

hats, bonnets, rings, bracelets, shoesin short, everything has a word to command him. How can such a

person be the master of things? To Ju (Nakae) says: "There is a great jail, not a jail for criminals, that

contains the world in it. Fame, gain, pride, and bigotry form its four walls. Those who are confined in it fall a

To be the ruler of things we have first to shut up all our senses, and turn the currents of thoughts inward, and

see ourselves as the centre of the world, and meditate that we are the beings of highest intelligence; that

Buddha never puts us at the mercy of natural forces; that the earth is in our possession; that everything on

earth is to be made use of for our noble ends; that fire, water, air, grass, trees, rivers, hills, thunder, cloud,

stars, the moon, the sun, are at our command; that we are the lawgivers of the natural phenomena; that we

are the makers of the phenomenal world; that it is we that appoint a mission through life, and determine the

3. The Next Step in the Mental Training.In the next place we have to strive to be the master of our

bodies. With most of the unenlightened, body holds absolute control over Self. Every order of the former has

to be faithfully obeyed by the latter. Even if Self revolts against the tyranny of body, it is easily trampled

down under the brutal hoofs of bodily passion. For example, Self wants to be temperate for the sake of health,

and would fain pass by the resort for drinking, but body would force Self into it. Self at times lays down a

strict dietetic rule for himself, but body would threaten Self to act against both the letter and spirit of the rule.

Now Self aspires to get on a higher place among sages, but body pulls Self down to the pavement of masses.

Now Self proposes to give some money to the poor, but body closes the purse tightly. Now Self admires

divine beauty, but body compels him to prefer sensuality. Again, Self likes spiritual liberty, but body confines

Therefore, to got Enlightened, we must establish the authority of Self over the whole body. We must use our

bodies as we use our clothes in order to accomplish our noble purposes. Let us command body not to shudder

under a cold showerbath in inclement weather, not to be nervous from sleepless nights, not to be sick with

any sort of food, not to groan under a surgeon's knife, not to succumb even if we stand a whole day in the

midsummer sun, not to break down under any form of disease, not to be excited in the thick of battlefieldin

Sit in a quiet place and meditate in imagination that body is no more bondage to you, that it is your machine

for your work of life, that you are not flesh, that you are the governor of it, that you can use it at pleasure, and

that it always obeys your order faithfully. Imagine body as separated from you. When it cries out, stop it

instantly, as a mother does her baby. When it disobeys you, correct it by discipline, as a master does his

pupil. When it is wanton, tame it down, as a horsebreaker does his wild horse. When it is sick, prescribe to

it, as a doctor does to his patient. Imagine that you are not a bit injured, even if it streams blood; that you are

EShun, a pupil and sister of Ryoan,[1] a famous Japanese master, burned herself calmly sitting

crosslegged on a pile of firewood which consumed her. She attained to the complete mastery of her body.

Socrates' self was never poisoned, even if his person was destroyed by the venom he took. Abraham Lincoln

himself stood unharmed, even if his body was laid low by the assassin. Masashige was quite

[1. Ryo an (Emyo, died 1411), the founder of the monastery of Saijoji, near the city of Odawara. See

safe, even if his body was hewed by the traitors' swords. Those martyrs that sang at the stake to the praise of

God could never be burned, even if their bodies were reduced to ashes, nor those seekers after truth who were

killed by ignorance and superstition. Is it not a great pity to see a man endowed with divine spirit and power

easily upset by a bit of headache, or crying as a child under a surgeon's knife, or apt to give up the ghost at

the coming of little danger, or trembling through a little cold, or easily laid low by a bit of indisposition, or

It is no easy matter to be the dictator of body. It is not a matter of theory, but of practice. You must train your

body that you may enable it to bear any sort of suffering, and to stand unflinched in the face of hardship. It is

for this that Sorai[1] (Ogiu) laid himself on a sheet of strawmat spread on the ground in the coldest nights

of winter, or was used to go up and down the roof of his house, having himself clad in heavy armour. It is for

this that ancient Japanese soldiers led extremely simple lives, and that they often held the

meetingofperseverance,[2] in which they exposed themselves to the coldest weather in winter or to the

hottest weather in summer. It is for this that Katsu Awa practised fencing in the middle of night in a deep

Kisaburo, although he was a mere outlaw, having his left arm half cut at the elbow in a quarrel, ordered his

servant to cut it off with a saw, and during the operation he could calmly sit talking and laughing with his

[1. One of the greatest scholars of the Tokugawa period, who died in 1728. See Etsuwabunko.

evening happened to come to a bridge where two robbers were lying in wait for him. They lay fully stretching

themselves, each with his head in the middle of the bridge, that he might not pass across it without touching

them. Hikokuro was not excited nor disheartened, but calmly approached the vagabonds and passed the

bridge, treading upon their heads, which act so frightened them that they took to their heels without doing any

The history of Zen is full of the anecdotes that show Zen priests were the lords of their bodies. Here we quote

a single example by way of illustration: Ta Hwui (Daiye), once having had a boil on his hip, sent for a

doctor, who told him that it was fatal, that he must not sit in Meditation as usual. Then Ta Hwui said to the

physician: " I must sit in Meditation with all my might during my remaining days, for if your diagnosis be not

mistaken, I shall die before long." He sat day and night in constant Meditation, quite forgetful of his boil,

4. The Third Step in the Mental Training.To be the lord of mind is more essential to Enlightenment, which,

in a sense, is the clearing away of illusions, the putting out of mean desires and passions, and the awakening

of the innermost wisdom. He alone can attain to real happiness who has perfect control over his passions

tending to disturb the equilibrium of his mind. Such passions as anger, hatred, jealousy, sorrow, worry,

grudge, and fear always untune one's mood and break the harmony of one's mind. They poison one's body,

not in a figurative, but in a literal sense of the word. Obnoxious passions once aroused never fail to bring

about the physiological change in the nerves, in the organs, and eventually in the whole constitution, and

leave those injurious impressions that make one more liable to passions of similar nature.

We do not mean, however, that we ought to be cold and passionless, as the most ancient Hinayanists were

used to be. Such an attitude has been blamed by Zen masters. "What is the best way of living for us monks?"

asked a monk to Yun K� (Ungo), who replied: "You had better live among mountains." Then the monk

bowed politely to the teacher, who questioned: "How did you understand me?" "Monks, as I understood,"

answered the man, "ought to keep their hearts as immovable as mountains, not being moved either by good or

by evil, either by birth or by death, either by prosperity or by adversity." Hereupon Yun K� struck the monk

with his stick and said: "You forsake the Way of the old sages, and will bring my followers to perdition!"

Then, turning to another monk, inquired: "How did you understand me?" "Monks, as I understand," replied

the man, "ought to shut their eyes to attractive sights and close their ears to musical notes." "You, too,"

exclaimed Yun Ka, "forsake the Way of the old sages, and will bring my followers to perdition!" An old

woman, to quote another example repeatedly told by Zen masters, used to give food and clothing to a monk

for a score of years. One day she instructed a young girl to embrace and ask him: "How do you feel now?" "A

lifeless tree," replied the monk coolly, "stands on cold rock. There is no warmth, as if in the coldest season of

the year." The matron, being told of this, observed: "Oh that I have made offerings to such a vulgar fellow for

twenty years!" She forced the monk to leave the temple and reduced it to ashes.[1]

If you want to secure Dhyana, let go of your anxieties and failures in the past; let bygones be bygones; cast

your brain; let pass the imagination and anticipation of future hardships and sufferings; let go of all your

annoyances, vexations, doubts, melancholies, that impede your speed in the race of the struggle for existence.

As the miser sets his heart on worthless dross and accumulates it, so an unenlightened person clings to

worthless mental dross and spiritual rubbish, and makes his mind a dustheap. Some people constantly dwell

on the minute details of their unfortunate circumstances, to make themselves more unfortunate than they

really are; some go over and over again the symptoms of their disease to think themselves into serious illness;

and some actually bring evils on them by having them constantly in view and waiting for them. A man asked

Poh Chang (Hyakujo): "How shall I learn the Law?" "Eat when you are hungry," replied the teacher; " sleep

when you are tired. People do not simply eat at table, but think of hundreds of things; they do not simply

A ridiculous thing it is, in fact, that man or woman, endowed with the same nature as Buddha's, born the lord

of all material objects, is ever upset by petty cares, haunted by the fearful phantoms of his or her own

creation, and burning up his or her energy in a fit of passion, wasting his or her vitality for the sake of foolish

It is a man who can keep the balance of his mind under any circumstances, who can be calm and serene in the

hottest strife of life, that is worthy of success, reward, respect, and reputation, for he is the master of men. It

2. The founder of the Wang School of Confucianism, a practiser of Meditation, who was born in 1472, and

(Oyomei) won a splendid victory over the rebel army which threatened the throne of the Ming dynasty.

During that warfare Wang was giving a course of lectures to a number of students at the headquarters of the

army, of which he was the Commanderinchief. At the very outset of the battle a messenger brought him

the news of defeat of the foremost ranks. All the students were terrorstricken and grew pale at the

unfortunate tidings, but the teacher was not a whit disturbed by it. Some time after another messenger brought

in the news of complete rout of the enemy. All the students, enraptured, stood up and cheered, but he was as

cool as before, and did not break off lecturing. Thus the practiser of Zen has so perfect control over his heart

that he can keep presence of mind under an impending danger, even in the presence of death itself.

It was at the age of twentythree that Hakuin got on board a boat bound for the Eastern Provinces, which

met with a tempest and was almost wrecked. All the passengers were laid low with fear and fatigue, but

Hakuin enjoyed a quiet sleep during the storm, as if he were lying on a comfortable bed. It was in the fifth

of Meiji era that Dokuon; lived for some time in the city of Tokyo, whom some Christian zealots

attempted to murder. One day he met with a few young men equipped with swords at the gate of his temple.

"We want to see Dokuon; go and tell him," said they to the priest. "I am Dokuon," replied he calmly,

"whom you want to see, gentlemen. What can I do for you?" "We have come to ask you a favour; we are

Christians; we want your hoary head." So saying they were ready to attack him, who, smiling, replied: "All

right, gentlemen. Behead me forthwith, if you please." Surprised by this unexpected boldness on the part of

[1. Doku On (Ogino), a distinguished Zen master, an abbot of Sokokuji, who was born in 1818, and died in

These teachers could through long practice constantly keep their minds buoyant, casting aside useless

encumbrances of idle thoughts; bright, driving off the dark cloud of melancholy; tranquil, putting down

turbulent waves of passion; pure, cleaning away the dust and ashes of illusion; and serene, brushing off the

cobwebs of doubt and fear. The only means of securing all this is to realize the conscious union with the

Universal Life through the Enlightened Consciousness, which can be awakened by dint of Dhyana.

5. Zazen, or the Sitting in Meditation.Habit comes out of practice, and forms character by degrees, and

eventually works out destiny. Therefore we must practically sow optimism, and habitually nourish it in order

to reap the blissful fruit of Enlightenment. The sole means of securing mental calmness is the practice of

Zazen, or the sitting in Meditation. This method was known in India as Yoga as early as the Upanisad period,

and developed by the followers of the Yoga system.[2] But Buddhists sharply distinguished Zazen from

Yoga, and have the method peculiar to themselves. Keizan[3] describes the method to the following effect:

'Secure a quiet room neither extremely light nor extremely dark, neither very warm nor very cold, a room, if

you can, in the Buddhist temple located in a beautiful mountainous district. You should not practise Zazen in

2. See Yoga Sutra with the Commentary of Bhoja Raja (translated by Rajendralala Mitra), pp. 102104.

3 Keizan (Jokin), the founder of Sojiji, the head temple of the So To Sect of Zen, who died at the age of

fiftyeight in 1325. He sets forth the doctrine of Zen and the method of practising Zazen in his famous work,

may be likely to disturb you, nor should you sit in a place close by the sea or drinkingshops or

brothelhouses, or the houses of widows and of maidens or buildings for music, nor should you live in close

proximity to the place frequented by kings, ministers, powerful statesmen, ambitious or insincere persons.

You must not sit in Meditation in a windy or very high place lest you should get ill. Be sure not to let the

wind or smoke get into your room, not to expose it to rain and storm. Keep your room clean. Keep it not too

light by day nor too dark by night. Keep it warm in winter and cool in summer. Do not sit leaning against a

wall, or a chair, or a screen. You must not wear soiled clothes or beautiful clothes, for the former are the

cause of illness, while the latter the cause of attachment. Avoid the Three Insufficienciesthat is to say,

insufficient clothes, insufficient food, and insufficient sleep. Abstain from all sorts of uncooked or hard or

spoiled or unclean food, and also from very delicious dishes, because the former cause troubles in your

alimentary canal, while the latter cause you to covet after diet. Eat and drink just too appease your hunger and

thirst, never mind whether the food be tasty or not. Take your meals regularly and punctually, and never sit in

Meditation immediately after any meal. Do not practise Dhyana soon after you have taken a heavy dinner,

lest you should get sick thereby. Sesame, barley, corn, potatoes, milk, and the like are the best material for

your food. Frequently wash your eyes, face, hands, and feet, and keep them cool and clean.

'There are two postures in Zazenthat is to say, the crossedleg sitting, and the half crossedleg sitting. Seat

yourself on a thick cushion, putting it right under your haunch. Keep your body so erect that the tip of the

nose and the navel are in one perpendicular line, and both ears and shoulders are in the same plane. Then

place the right foot upon the left thigh, the left foot on the right thigh, so as the legs come across each other.

Next put your right hand with the palm upward on the left foot, and your left hand on the right palm with the

tops of both the thumbs touching each other. This is the posture called the crossedleg sitting. You may

simply place the left foot upon the right thigh, the position of the hands being the same as in the crosslegged

'Do not shut your eyes, keep them always open during whole Meditation. Do not breathe through the mouth;

press your tongue against the roof of the mouth, putting the upper lips and teeth together with the lower.

Swell your abdomen so as to hold the breath in the belly; breathe rhythmically through the nose, keeping a

measured time for inspiration and expiration. Count for some time either the inspiring or the expiring breaths

from one to ten, then beginning with one again. Concentrate your attention on your breaths going in and out

as if you are the sentinel standing at the gate of the nostrils. If you do some mistake in counting, or be

Chwang Tsz seems to have noticed that the harmony of breathing is typical of the harmony of mind, since he

says: " The true men of old did not dream when they slept. Their breathing came deep and silently. The

breathing of true men comes (even) from his heels, while men generally breathe (only) from their throats."[1]

At any rate, the counting of breaths is an expedient for calming down of mind, and elaborate rules are given

in the Zen Sutra,[2] but Chinese and Japanese Zen masters do not lay so much stress on this point as Indian

6. The Breathing Exercise of the Yogi.Breathing exercise is one of the practices of Yoga, and somewhat

similar in its method and end to those of Zen. We quote here[1] Yogi Ramacharaka to show how modern

Yogis practise it: "(1) Stand or sit erect. Breathing through the nostrils, inhale steadily, first filling the lower

part of the lungs, which is accomplished by bringing into play the diaphragm, which, descending, exerts a

gentle pressure on the abdominal organs, pushing forward the front walls of the abdomen. Then fill the

middle part of the lungs, pushing out the lower ribs, breastbone, and chest. Then fill the higher portion of the

lungs, protruding the upper chest, thus lifting the chest, including the upper six or seven pairs of ribs. In the

final movement the lower part of the abdomen will be slightly drawn in, which movement gives the lungs a

support, and also helps to fill the highest part of the lungs. At the first reading it may appear that this breath

consists of three distinct movements. This, however, is not the correct idea. The inhalation is continuous, the

entire chest cavity from the lower diaphragm to the highest point of the chest in the region of the collarbone

being expanded with a uniform movement. Avoid a jerking series of inhalations, and strive to attain a steady,

continuous action. Practice will soon overcome the tendency to divide the inhalation into three movements,

and will result in a uniform continuous breath. You will be able to complete the inhalation in a couple of

seconds after a little practice. (2) Retain the breath a few seconds. (3) Exhale quite slowly, holding the chest

in a firm position, and drawing the abdomen in a little and lifting it upward slowly as the air leaves the lungs.

When the air is entirely exhaled, relax the chest and abdomen. A little practice will render this part of

exercise easy, and the movement once acquired will be afterwards performed almost automatically."

7. Calmness of Mind.The Yogi breathing above mentioned is fit rather for physical exercise than for

mental balance, and it will be beneficial if you take that exercise before or after Meditation. Japanese masters

mostly bold it very important to push forward. The lowest part of the abdomen during Zazen, and they are

'If you feel your mind distracted, look at the tip of the nose; never lose sight of it for some time, or look at

your own palm, and let not your mind go out of it, or gaze at one spot before you.' This will greatly help you

in restoring the equilibrium of your mind. Chwang Tsz[1] thought that calmness of mind is essential to sages,

and said: "The stillness of the sages does not belong to them as a consequence of their skilful ability; all

things are not able to disturb their minds; it is on this account that they are still. When water is still, its

clearness shows the beard and eyebrows (of him who looks into it). It is a perfect level, and the greatest

artificer takes his rule from it. Such is the clearness of still water, and how much greater is that of the human

spirit? The still mind of the sage is the mirror of heaven and earth, the glass of all things."

Forget all worldly concerns, expel all cares and anxieties, let go of passions and desires, give up ideas and

thoughts, set your mind at liberty absolutely, and make it as clear as a burnished mirror. Thus let flow your

inexhaustible fountain of purity, let open your inestimable treasure of virtue, bring forth your inner hidden

nature of goodness, disclose your innermost divine wisdom, and waken your Enlightened Consciousness to

see Universal Life within you. "Zazen enables the practiser," says Keizan,[2] "to open up his mind, to see

his own nature, to become conscious of mysteriously pure and bright spirit, or eternal light within him."

Once become conscious of Divine Life within you, yon can see it in your brethren, no matter how different

they may be in circumstances, in abilities, in characters, in nationalities, in language, in religion, and in race.

You can see it in animals, vegetables, and minerals, no matter how diverse they may be in form, no matter

how wild and ferocious some may seem in nature, no matter how unfeeling in heart some may seem, no

matter how devoid of intelligence some may appear, no matter how insignificant some may be, no matter

how simple in construction some may be, no matter how lifeless some may seem. You can see that the whole

8. Zazen and the Forgetting of Self.Zazen is a most effectual means of destroying selfishness, the root of

all Sin, folly, vice, and evil, since it enables us to see that every being is endowed with divine spirituality in

common with men. It is selfishness that throws dark shadows on life, just as it is not the sun but the body that

throws shadow before it. It is the selfsame selfishness that gave rise to the belief in the immortality of soul,

in spite of its irrationality, foolishness, and superstition. Individual self should be a poor miserable thing if it

were not essentially connected with the Universal Life. We can always enjoy pure happiness when we are

united with nature, quite forgetful of our poor self. When you look, for example, into the smiling face of a

pretty baby, and smile with it, or listen to the sweet melody of a songster and sing with it, you completely

forget your poor self at that enraptured moment. But your feelings of beauty and happiness are for ever gone

when you resume your self, and begin to consider them after your own selfish ideas. To forget self and

identify it with nature is to break down its limitation and to set it at liberty. To break down petty selfishness

and extend it into Universal Self is to unfetter and deliver it from bondage. It therefore follows that salvation

can be secured not by the continuation of individuality in another life, but by the realization of one's union

with Universal Life, which is immortal, free, limitless, eternal, and bliss itself. This is easily effected by

9. Zen and Supernatural Power.Yoga[1] claims that various supernatural powers can be acquired by

Meditation, but Zen does not make any such absurd claims. It rather disdains those who are believed to have

acquired supernatural powers by the practice of austerities. The following traditions clearly show this spirit:

"When Fah Yung (Hoyu) lived in Mount Niu Teu[2] (Gozusan) he used to receive every morning the

offerings of flowers from hundreds of birds, and was believed to have supernatural powers. But after his

Enlightenment by the instruction of the Fourth Patriarch, the birds ceased to make offering, because be

became a being too divine to be seen by inferior animals." "Hwang Pah (Obaku), one day going up Mount

Tien Tai (Tendaisan), which was believed to have been inhabited by Arhats with supernatural powers, met

with a monk whose eyes emitted strange light. They went along the pass talking with each other for a short

while until they came to a river roaring with torrent. There being no bridge, the master bad to stop at the

shore; but his companion crossed the river walking on the water and beckoned to Hwang Pah to follow him.

Thereupon Hwang Pah said: 'If I knew thou art an Arhat, I would have doubled you up before thou got over

there!' The monk then understood the spiritual attainment of Hwang Pah, and praised him as a true

2 A prominent disciple of the Fourth Patriarch, the founder of the Niu Teu School (Gozuzen) of Zen, who

occasion Yang Shan (Kyozan) saw a stranger monk flying through the air. When that monk came down and

approached him with a respectful salutation, he asked: 'Where art thou from? 'Early this morning,' replied the

other, 'I set out from India.' 'Why,' said the teacher, 'art thou so late?' 'I stopped,' responded the man, 'several

times to look at beautiful sceneries.' Thou mayst have supernatural powers,' exclaimed Yang Shan, 'yet thou

must give back the Spirit of Buddha to me ' Then the monk praised Yang Shan saying: 'I have come over to

China in order to worship Ma�ju�ri,[1] and met unexpectedly with Minor Shakya,' and, after giving the

It is quite reasonable that Zenists distinguish supernatural powers from spiritual uplifting, the former an

acquirement of Devas, or of Asuras, or of Arhats, or of even animals, and the latter as a nobler

accomplishment attained only by the practisers of Mahayanism. Moreover, they use the term supernatural

power in a meaning entirely different from the original one. Lin Tsi (Rinzai) says, for instance: "There are

six supernatural powers of Buddha: He is free from the temptation of form, living in the world of form; He is

free from the temptation of .sound, living in the world of sound; He is free from the temptation of smell,

living in the world of smell; He is free from the temptation of taste, living in the world of taste; He is free

from the temptation of Dharma,[3] living in the world of Dharma. These are six supernatural powers."[4]

[1 Ma�ju�ri is a legendary Bodhisattva, who became an object of worship of some Mahayanists. He is treated

Sometimes Zenists use the term as if it meant what we call Zen Activity, or the free display of Zen in action,

as you see in the following examples. T�ng Shan (ToZan) was on one occasion attending on his teacher

Yun Yen (Ungan), who asked: "What are your supernatural powers?" T�ng Shan, saying nothing, clasped

his hands on his breast, and stood up before Yun Yen. "How do you display your supernatural powers?"

questioned the teacher again. Then T�ng Shan said farewell and went out. Wei Shan (Esan) one day was

taking a nap, and seeing his disciple Yang Shan (Kyozan) coming into the room, turned his face towards the

wall. "You need not, Sir," said Yang Shan, "stand on ceremony, as I am your disciple." Wei Shan seemed to

try to get up, so Yang Shan went out; but Wei Shan called him back and said: "I shall tell you of a dream I

dreamed." The other inclined his head as if to listen. "Now," said Wei Shan, "divine my fortune by the

dream." Thereupon Yang Shan fetched a basin of water and a towel and gave them to the master, who

washed his face thereby. Byandby Hiang Yen (Kyogen) came in, to whom Wei Shan said: "We displayed

supernatural powers a moment ago. It was not such supernatural powers as are shown by Hinayanists." "I

know it, Sir," replied the other, "though I was down below." "Say, then, what it was," demanded the master.

Then Hiang Yen made tea and gave a cup to Wei Shan, who praised the two disciples, saying: "You surpass

[1. One of the prominent disciples of Shakya Muni, who became famous for his wisdom.

2. One of the eminent disciples of Shakya Muni, noted for his supernatural powers.

any mysterious element in their spiritual attainment, as Dogen says[1] unequivocally respecting his

Enlightenment: "I recognized only that my eyes are placed crosswise above the nose that stands lengthwise,

and that I was not deceived by others. I came home from China with nothing in my hand. There is nothing

mysterious in Buddhism. Time passes as it is natural, the sun rising in the east, and the moon setting into the

10. True Dhyana.To sit in Meditation is not the only method of practising Zazen. "We practise Dhyana in

sitting, in standing, and in walking," says one of the Japanese Zenists. Lin Tsi (RinZai) also says: " To

concentrate one's mind, or to dislike noisy places, and seek only for stillness, is the characteristic of

heterodox Dhyana." It is easy to keep selfpossession in a place of tranquillity, yet it is by no means easy to

keep mind undisturbed amid the bivouac of actual life. It is true Dhyana that makes our mind sunny while the

storms of strife rage around us. It is true Dhyana that secures the harmony of heart, while the surges of

struggle toss us violently. It is true Dhyana that makes us bloom and smile, while the winter of life covets us

"Idle thoughts come and go over unenlightened minds six hundred and fifty times in a snap of one's fingers,"

writes an Indian teacher,[2] "and thirteen hundred million times every twentyfour hours." This might be an

exaggeration, yet we cannot but acknowledge that one idle thought after another ceaselessly bubbles up in the

stream of consciousness. "Dhyana is the letting go," continues the writer"that is to say, the letting go of the

2. The introduction to Anapanasutra by Khin San Hwui, who came to China A.D. 241.]

thirteen hundred million idle thoughts is an illusion about one's self. He is indeed the poorest creature, even if

he be in heaven, who thinks himself poor. On the contrary, he is an angel who thinks himself hopeful and

happy, even though he be in hell. " Pray deliver me," said a sinner to Sang Tsung (Sosan).[1] "Who ties you

up?" was the reply. You tie yourself up day and night with the fine thread of idle thoughts, and build a

cocoon of environment from which you have no way of escape. 'There is no rope, yet you imagine yourself

bound.' Who could put fetters on your mind but your mind itself? Who could chain your will but your own

will? Who could blind your spiritual eyes, unless you yourself shut them up? Who could prevent you from

enjoying moral food, unless you yourself refuse to eat? "There are many," said S�eh Fung (Seppo) on one

occasion, "who starve in spite of their sitting in a large basket full of victuals. There are many who thirst in

spite of seating themselves on the shore of a sea." "Yes, Sir," replied H�en Sha (Gensha), "there are many

who starve in spite of putting their heads into the basket full of victuals. There are many who thirst in spite of

putting their heads into the waters of the sea."[2] Who could cheer him up who abandons himself to

11. Let Go of your Idle Thoughts.[3]A Brahmin, having troubled himself a long while with reference to

the problem of life and of the world, went out to call on Shakya Muni that he might be instructed by the

Master. He got some beautiful flowers to offer them as a present to the Muni, and proceeded to the place

3. A famous Zenist, Mugokokushi, is said to have replied to every questioner, saying: "Let go of your

addressing his disciples and believers. No sooner had he come in sight of the Master than he read in his

mien the struggles going on within him. "Let go of that," said the Muni to the Brahmin, who was going to

offer the flowers in both his hands. He dropped on the ground the flowers in his right hand, but still holding

those in his left. "Let go of that," demanded the Master, and the Brahmin dropped the flowers in his left hand

rather reluctantly. "Let go of that, I say," the Muni commanded again; but the Brahmin, having nothing to let

go of, asked: "What shall I let go of, Reverend Sir? I have nothing in my hands, you know." "Lot go of that,

you have neither in your right nor in your left band, but in the middle." Upon these words of the Muni a light

came into the sufferer's mind, and he went home satisfied and in joy.[1] "Not to attach to all things is

Dhyana," writes an ancient Zenist, "and if you understand this, going out, staying in, sitting, and lying are in

Dhyana." Therefore allow not your mind to be a receptacle for the dust of society, or the ashes of life, or rags

and waste paper of the world. You bear too much burden upon your shoulders with which you have nothing

Learn the lesson of forgetfulness, and forget all that troubles you, deprives you of sound sleep, and writes

wrinkles on your forehead. Wang Yang Ming, at the age of seventeen or so, is said to have forgotten the day

'on which he was to be married to a handsome young lady, daughter of a man of high position. It was the

afternoon of the very day on which their nuptials had to be held that he went out to take a walk. Without any

definite purpose he went into a temple in the neighbourhood, and there he found a recluse apparently very old

[1. 'Sutra on the Brahmacarin Blackfamily,' translated into Chinese by K' Khien, of the Wu dynasty (A.D.

was sitting absorbed in Meditation. There was something extremely calm and serene in that old man's look

and bearing that attracted the young scholar's attention. Questioning him as to his name, age, and birthplace,

Wang found that the venerable man had enjoyed a life so extraordinarily long that he forgot his name and

age, but that he had youthful energy so abundantly that be could talk with a voice sounding as a large bell.

Being asked by Wang the secret of longevity, the man replied: "There is no secret in it; I merely kept my

mind calm and peaceful." Further, he explained the method of Meditation according to Taoism and

Buddhism. Thereupon Wang sat face to face with the old man and began to practise Meditation, utterly

forgetful of his bride and nuptial ceremony. The sun began to cast his slanting rays on the wall of the

temple, and they sat motionless; twilight came over them, and night wrapped them with her sable shroud, and

they sat as still as two marble statues; midnight, dawn, at last the morning sun rose to find them still in their

reverie. The father of the bride, who had started a search during the night, found to his surprise the

It was at the age of fortyseven that Wang gained a great victory over the rebel army, and wrote to a friend

saying: "It is so easy to gain a victory over the rebels fortifying themselves among the mountains, yet it is not

so with those rebels living in our mind."[2] Tsai Ki�n Mu (Saikunbo) is said to have had an exceedingly

long and beautiful beard, and when asked by the Emperor, who received him in audience, whether he should

sleep with his beard on the comforters or beneath them, be could not answer, since he had never known how

question, he went home and tried to find out how he had been used to manage his beard in bed. First he put

his beard on the comforters and vainly tried to sleep; then he put it beneath the comforters and thought it all

right. Nevertheless, he was all the more disturbed by it. So then, putting on the comforters, now putting it

beneath them, he tried to sleep all night long, but in vain. You must therefore forget your mental beard that

Men of longevity never carried troubles to their beds. It is a wellknown fact that Zuio (Shiga)[1] enjoyed

robust health at the age of over one hundred years. One day, being asked whether there is any secret of

longevity, he replied affirmatively, and said to the questioner: "Keep your mind and body pure for two weeks,

abstaining from any sort of impurity, then I shall tell you of the secret." The man did as was prescribed, and

came again to be instructed in the secret. Zuio said: "Now I might tell you, but be cautious to keep yourself

pure another week so as to qualify yourself to learn the secret." When that week was over the old man said:

"Now I might tell you, but will you be so careful as to keep yourself pure three days more in order to qualify

yourself to receive the secret?" The man did as he was ordered, and requested the instruction. Thereupon

Zuio took the man to his private room and softly whispered, with his mouth close to the ear of the man:

"Keep the secret I tell you now, even at the cost of your life. It is thisdon't be passionate. That is all."[2]

12. 'The Five Ranks of Merit.'Thus far we have stated how to train our body and mind according to the

general rules and customs established by Zenists. And here we shall describe the different stages of mental

through which the student of Zen has to go. They are technically called 'The Five Ranks of Merit.'[1] The

first stage is called the Rank of Turning,[2] in which the student 'turns' his mind from the external objects of

sense towards the inner Enlightened Consciousness. He gives up all mean desires and aspires to spiritual

elevation. He becomes aware that he is not doomed to be the slave of material things, and strives to conquer

over them. Enlightened Consciousness is likened to the King, and it is called the MindKing, while the

student who now turns towards the King is likened to common people. Therefore in this first stage the student

The second stage is called the Rank of Service,[3] in which the student distinguishes himself by his loyalty to

the MindKing, and becomes a courtier to 'serve' him. He is in constant 'service' to the King, attending him

with obedience and love, and always fearing to offend him. Thus the student in this stage is ever careful not

to neglect rules and precepts laid down by the sages, and endeavours to uplift himself in spirituality by his

The third stage is called the Rank of Merit,[4] in which the student distinguishes himself by his 'meritorious'

acts of conquering over the rebel army of passion which rises against the MindKing. Now, his rank is not

the rank of a courtier, but the rank of a general. In other words, his duty is not only to keep rules and

instructions of the sages, but to subjugate his own passion and establish moral order in the mental kingdom.

The fourth stage is called the Rank of Cooperative Merit,' in which the student 'cooperates' with other

persons in order to complete his merit. Now, he is not compared with a general who conquers his foe, but with

the primeminister who cooperates with other officials to the benefit of the people. Thus the student in this

stage is not satisfied with his own conquest of passion, but seeks after spiritual uplifting by means of

The fifth stage is called the Rank of MeritoverMerit,[l] which means the rank of meritlessmerit. This is

the rank of the King himself. The King does nothing meritorious, because all the governmental works are

done by his ministers and subjects. All that he has to do is to keep his inborn dignity and sit high on his

throne. Therefore his conduct is meritless, but all the meritorious acts of his subjects are done through his

authority. Doing nothing, he does everything. Without any merit, he gets all merits. Thus the student in this

stage no more strives to keep precepts, but his doings are naturally in accord with them. No more he aspires

for spiritual elevation, but his, heart is naturally pure from material desires. No more he makes an effort to

vanquish his passion, but no passion disturbs him. No more he feels it his duty to do good to others, but he is

naturally good and merciful. No more he sits in Dhyana, but he naturally lives in Dhyana at all times. It is in

this fifth stage that the student is enabled to identify his Self with the MindKing or Enlightened

13. 'The Ten Pictures of the Cowherd.'[2]Besides these Five Ranks of Merit, Zenists make use of the

Ten Pictures of the Cowherd, in order to show the different stages of mental training through which the

student of Zen has to go. Some poems were written by Chinese and Japanese teachers on each of these

2. The pictures were drawn by Kwoh Ngan (Kakuan), a Chinese Zenist. For the details, see

of explanation, but they are too ambiguous to be translated into English, and we rest content with the

translation of a single Japanese poem on each of the ten pictures, which are as follows:

The first picture, called 'the Searching of the Cow,' represents the cowherd wandering in the wilderness with

a vague hope of finding his lost cow that is running wild out of his sight. The reader will notice that the cow

The second picture, called 'the Finding of the Cow's Tracks,' represents the cowherd tracing the cow with the

The third picture, called 'the Finding out of the Cow,' represents the cowherd slowly approaching the cow

The fourth 'picture, called 'the Catching of the Cow,' represents the cowherd catching hold of the cow, who

The fifth picture, called 'the Taming of the Cow,' represents the cowherd pacifying the cow, giving her grass

The sixth picture, called 'the Going Home Riding on the Cow,' represents the cowherd playing on a flute,

The seventh picture, called 'the Forgetting of the Cow and the Remembering of the Man,' represents the

The eighth picture, called 'the Forgetting of the Cow and of the Man,' represents a large empty circle.

The ninth picture, called 'the Returning to the Root and Source,' represents a beautiful landscape full of lovely

The tenth picture, called 'the Going into the City with Open Hands,' represents a smiling monk, gourd in

These Ten Pictures of the Cowherd correspond in meaning to the Five Ranks of Merit above stated, even if

14. Zen and Nirvana.The beatitude of Zen is Nirvana, not in the Hinayanistic sense of the term, but in the

sense peculiar to the faith. Nirvana literally means extinction or annihilation; hence the extinction of life or

the annihilation of individuality. To Zen, however, it means the state of extinction of pain and the

annihilation of sin. Zen never looks for the realization of its beatitude in a place like heaven, nor believes in

the realm of Reality transcendental of the phenomenal universe, nor gives countenance to the superstition of

Immortality, nor does it hold the world is the best of all possible worlds, nor conceives life simply as

blessing. It is in this life, full of shortcomings, misery, and sufferings, that Zen hopes to realize its beatitude.

It is in this world, imperfect, changing, and moving, that Zen finds the Divine Light it worships. It is in this

phenomenal universe of limitation and relativity that Zen aims to attain to highest Nirvana. "We speak," says

the author of Vimalakirttinirde�asutra, "of the transitoriness of body, but not of the desire of the Nirvana or

destruction of it." "Paranirvana," according to the author of Lankavatarasutra, "is neither death nor

destruction, but bliss, freedom, and purity." "Nirvana," says Kiai Hwan,[1]" means the extinction of pain or

the crossing over of the sea of life and death. It denotes the real permanent state of spiritual attainment. It

does not signify destruction or annihilation. It denotes the belief in the great root of life and spirit." It is

Nirvana of Zen to enjoy bliss for all sufferings of life. It is Nirvana of Zen to be serene in mind for all

disturbances of actual existence. It is Nirvana of Zen to be in the conscious union with Universal Life or

15. Nature and her Lesson.Nature offers us nectar and ambrosia every day, and everywhere we go the

rose and lily await us. "Spring visits us men," says Gudo,[2] "her mercy is great. Every blossom holds out

the image of Tathagata." "What is the spiritual body of Buddha who is immortal and divine?" asked a man to

Ta Lun (Dairyu), who instantly replied: "The flowers cover the mountain with golden brocade. The waters

tinge the rivulets with heavenly blue." "Universe is the whole body of Tathagata; observed Dogen. "The

worlds in ten directions, the earth, grass, trees, walls, fences, tiles, pebblesin a word, all the

animated and inanimate objects partake of the Buddhanature. Thereby, those who partake in the benefit of

the Wind and Water that rise out of them are, all of them, helped by the mysterious influence of Buddha, and

Thus you can attain to highest bliss through your conscious union with Buddha. Nothing can disturb your

peace, when you can enjoy peace in the midst of disturbances; nothing can cause you to suffer, when you

welcome misfortunes and hardships in order to train and strengthen your character; nothing can tempt you to

commit sin, when you are constantly ready to listen to the sermon given by everything around you; nothing

can distress you, when you make the world the holy temple of Buddha. This is the state of Nirvana which

16. The Beatitude of Zen.We are far from denying, as already shown in the foregoing chapters, the

existence of troubles, pains, diseases, sorrows, deaths in life. Our bliss consists in seeing the fragrant rose of

Divine mercy among the thorns of worldly trouble, in finding the fair oasis of Buddha's wisdom in the desert

of misfortunes, in getting the wholesome balm of His love in the seeming poison of pain, in gathering the

History testifies to the truth that it is misery that teaches men more than happiness, that it is poverty that

strengthens them more than wealth, that it is adversity that moulds character more than prosperity, that it is

disease and death that call forth the inner life more than health and long life. At least, no one can be blind to

the fact that good and evil have an equal share in forming the character and working out the destiny of man.

Schopenhauer says: "As our bodily frame would burst asunder if the pressure of atmosphere were removed,

so if the lives of men were relieved of all need, hardship, and adversity, if everything they took in hand were

successful, they would be so swollen with arrogance . . . that they would present the spectacle of unbridled

folly. A ship without ballast is unstable, and will not go straight." Therefore let us make our ship of life go

straight with its ballast of miseries and hardships, over which we gain control.

The believer in Buddha is thankful to him, not only for the sunshine of life, but also for its wind, rain, snow,

thunder, and lightning, because He gives us nothing in vain. Hisanobu (Koyama) was, perhaps, one of the

happiest persons that Japan ever produced, simply because he was ever thankful to the Merciful One. One

day he went out without an umbrella and met with a shower. Hurrying up to go home, he stumbled and fell,

wounding both his legs. As he rose up, he was overheard to say: "Thank heaven." And being asked why he

was so thankful, replied: "I got both my legs hurt, but, thank heaven, they were not broken." On another

occasion he lost consciousness, having been kicked violently by a wild horse. When he came to himself, he

exclaimed: "Thank heaven," in hearty joy. Being asked the reason why he was so joyful, he answered: "I have

really given up my ghost, but, thank heaven, I have escaped death after all."[1] A person in such a state of

mind can do anything with heart and might. Whatever he does is an act of thanks for the grace of Buddha,

and he does it, not as his duty, but as the overflowing of his gratitude which lie himself cannot check. Here

exists the formation of character. Here exist real happiness and joy. Here exists the realization of Nirvana.

Most people regard death as the greatest of evils, only because they fear death. They fear death only because

they have the instinct of selfpreservation. Hereupon pessimistic philosophy and religion propose to attain to

Nirvana by the extinction of Willtolive, or by the total annihilation of life. But this is as much as to

propose death as the final cure to a patient. Elie Metchnikoff proposes, in his 'Nature of Man,' another cure,

saying: 'If man could only contrive to live long enoughsay, for one hundred and forty yearsa natural

desire for extinction would take the place of the instinct for selfpreservation, and the call of death would

then harmoniously satisfy his legitimate craving of a ripe old age.' Why, we must ask, do you trouble yourself

so much about death? Is there any instance of an individual who escaped it in the whole history of mankind?

If there be no way of escape, why do you trouble yourself about it? Can you cause things to fall off the earth

against the law of gravitation? Is there any example of an individual object that escaped the government of

that law in the whole history of the world? Why, then, do you trouble yourself about it? It is no less silly to

trouble yourself about death than you do about gravitation. Can you realize that death, which you have yet no

immediate experience of, is the greatest of evil? We dare to declare death to be one of the blessings which we

have to be thankful for. Death is the scavenger of the world; it sweeps away all uselessness, staleness, and

corruption from the world, and keeps life clean and ever now. When you are of no use for the world it comes

upon you, removes you to oblivion in order to relieve life of useless encumbrance. The stream of existence

should be kept running, otherwise it would become putrid. If old lives were to stop the running stream it

would stand still, and consequently become filthy, poisoned, and worthless. Suppose there were only births

and no deaths. The earth has to be packed with men and women, who are doomed to live to all eternity,

jostling, colliding, bumping, trampling each other, and vainly struggling to get out of the Black Hole of the

Only birth and no death is far worse than only death and no birth. "The dead," says Chwang Tsz, "have no

tyrannical king about, no slavish subject to meet; no change of seasons overtakes them. The heaven and the

earth take the places of Spring and Autumn. The king or emperor of a great nation cannot be happier than

they." How would you be if death should never overtake you when ugly decrepitude makes you blind and

deaf, bodily and mentally, and deprives you of all possible pleasures? How would you be if you should not

die when your body is broken to pieces or terribly burned by an accidentsay, by a violent earthquake

followed by a great conflagration? Just imagine Satan, immortal Satan, thrown down by the ire of God into

Hell's fiery gulf, rolling himself in dreadful torture to the end of time. You cannot but conclude that it is only

death which relieves you of extreme sufferings, incurable diseases, and it is one of the blessings you ought to

The believer of Buddha is thankful even for death itself, the which is the sole means of conquering death. If

he be thankful even for death, how much more for the rest of things! He can find a meaning in every form of

life. He can perceive a blessing in every change of fortune. He can acknowledge a mission for every

individual. He can live in contentment and joy under any conditions. Therefore Lin Tsi (Rinzai) says: "All

the Buddhas might appear before me and I would not be glad. All the Three Regions[1] and Hells might

suddenly present themselves before me, and I would not fear. . . . He (an Enlightened person)

might get into the fire, and it would not burn him. He might got into water, and it would not drown him. He

might be born in Hell, and he would be happy as if he were in a fair garden. He might be born among Pretas

and beasts, and he would not suffer from pain. How can he be so? Because be can enjoy everything."