Reading section 40

Nevertheless it does not appear that Buddhism enjoyed much consideration in the next three centuries. The Hermit Kingdom, as it has been called, became completely isolated and stagnant nor was there any literary or intellectual life except the mechanical study of the Chinese classics. Since the annexation by Japan (1910) conditions have changed and Buddhism is encouraged. Much good work has been done in collecting and reprinting old books, preserving monuments and copying inscriptions. The monasteries were formerly under the control of thirty head establishments or sees, with somewhat conflicting interests. But about 1912 these thirty sees formed a union under a president who resides in Seoul and holds office for a year. A theological seminary also has been founded and a Buddhist magazine is published.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 895: See various articles in the _Trans. of the Korean Branch of the R.A.S._, and F. Starr, _Korean Buddhism_. Also M. Courant, _Bibliographie coréenne_, especially vol. III. chap. 2.]

[Footnote 896: The orthography of these three names varies considerably. The Japanese equivalents are Koma, Kudara and Shiragi. There are also slight variations in the dates given for the introduction of Buddhism into various states. It seems probable that Mârânanda and Mukocha, the first missionaries to Pakche and Silla were Hindus or natives of Central Asia who came from China and some of the early art of Silla is distinctly Indian in style. See Starr, _l.c._ plates VIII and IX.]

[Footnote 897: These dates are interesting, as reflecting the changes of thought in China. In the sixth century Chinese influence meant Buddhism. It is not until the latter part of the Southern Sung, when the philosophy of Chu-hsi had received official approval, that Chinese influence meant Confucianism.]

[Footnote 898: The reasons were many, but the upper classes were evidently ready to oppress the lower. Poor men became the slaves of the rich to obtain a livelihood. All children of slave women were declared hereditary slaves and so were the families of criminals.]

[Footnote 899: These statements are taken from Maurice Courant's Epitome of Korean History in Madrolle's _Guide to North China_, p. 428. I have not been successful in verifying them in Chinese or Japanese texts. See, however, Starr, _Korean Buddhism_, pp. 29-30.]

CHAPTER XLVIII

ANNAM

The modern territory called Annam includes the ancient Champa, and it falls within the French political sphere which includes Camboja. Of Champa I have treated elsewhere in connection with Camboja, but Annam cannot be regarded as the heir of this ancient culture. It represents a southward extension of Chinese influence, though it is possible that Buddhism may have entered it in the early centuries of our era either by sea or from Burma.

At the present day that part of the French possessions which occupies the eastern coast of Asia is divided into Tonkin, Annam and Cochin China. The Annamites are predominant in all three provinces and the language and religion of all are the same, except that Cochin China has felt the influence of Europe more strongly than the others. But before the sixteenth century the name Annam meant rather Tonkin and the northern portion of modern Annam, the southern portion being the now vanished kingdom of Champa.

Until the tenth century A.D.[900] Annam in this sense was a part of the Chinese Empire, although it was occasionally successful in asserting its temporary independence. In the troubled period which followed the downfall of the T'ang dynasty this independence became more permanent. An Annamite prince founded a kingdom called Dai-cô-viêt[901] and after a turbulent interval there arose the Li dynasty which reigned for more than two centuries (1009-1226 A.D.). It was under this dynasty that the country was first styled An-nam: previously the official designation of the land or its inhabitants was Giao-Chi[902]. The Annamites were at this period a considerable military power, though their internal administration appears to have been chaotic. They were occasionally at war with China, but as a rule were ready to send complimentary embassies to the Emperor. With Champa, which was still a formidable antagonist, there was a continual struggle. Under the Tran dynasty (1225-1400) the foreign policy of Annam followed much the same lines. A serious crisis was created by the expedition of Khubilai Khan in 1285, but though the Annamites suffered severely at the beginning of the invasion, they did not lose their independence and their recognition of Chinese suzerainty remained nominal. In the south the Chams continued hostilities and, after the loss of some territory, invoked the aid of China with the result that the Chinese occupied Annam. They held it, however, only for five years (1414-1418).

In 1428 the Li dynasty came to the throne and ruled Annam at least in name until the end of the eighteenth century. At first they proved vigorous and capable; they organized the kingdom in provinces and crushed the power of Champa. But after the fifteenth century the kings became merely titular sovereigns and Annamite history is occupied entirely with the rivalry of the two great families, Trinh and Nguyen, who founded practically independent kingdoms in Tonkin and Cochin-China respectively. In 1802 a member of the Nguyen family made himself Emperor of all Annam but both he and his successors were careful to profess themselves vassals of China.

Thus it will be seen that Annam was at no time really detached from China. In spite of political independence it always looked towards the Chinese Court and though complimentary missions and nominal vassalage seem unimportant, yet they are significant as indicating admiration for Chinese institutions. Between Champa and Annam on the other hand there was perpetual war: in the later phases of the contest the Annamites appear as invaders and destroyers. They seem to have disliked the Chams and were not disposed to imitate them. Hence it is natural that Champa, so long as it existed as an independent kingdom, should mark the limit of _direct_ Indian influence on the mainland of Eastern Asia, though afterwards Camboja became the limit. By direct, I do not mean to exclude the possibility of transmission through Java or elsewhere, but by whatever route Indian civilization came to Champa, it brought its own art, alphabet and language, such institutions as caste and forms of Hinduism and Buddhism which had borrowed practically nothing from non-Indian sources. In Annam, on the other hand, Chinese writing and, for literary purposes, a form of the Chinese language were in use: the arts, customs and institutions were mainly Chinese: whatever Buddhism can be found was imported from China and is imperfectly distinguished from Taoism: of Hinduism there are hardly any traces[903].

The Buddhism of Annam is often described as corrupt and decadent. Certainly it would be vain to claim for it that its doctrine and worship are even moderately pure or primitive, but it cannot be said to be moribund. The temples are better kept and more numerously attended than in China and there are also some considerable monasteries. As in China very few except the monks are exclusive Buddhists and even the monks have no notion that the doctrines of Lao-tzŭ and Confucius are different from Buddhism. The religion of the ordinary layman is a selection made according to taste from a mass of beliefs and observances traceable to several distinct sources, though no Annamite is conscious that there is anything incongruous in this heterogeneous combination. This fusion of religions, which is more complete even than in China, is illustrated by the temples of Annam which are of various kinds[904]. First we have the Chua or Buddhist temples, always served by bonzes or nuns. They consist of several buildings of which the principal contains an altar bearing a series of images arranged on five or six steps, which rise like the tiers of a theatre. In the front row there is usually an image of the infant Śâkyamuni and near him stand figures of At-nan (Ănanda) and Muc-Lien (Maudgalyâyana). On the next stage are Taoist deities (the Jade Emperor, the Polar Star, and the Southern Star) and on the higher stages are images representing (_a_) three Buddhas[905] with attendants, (_b_) the Buddhist Triratna and (_c_) the three religions, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism. But the arrangement of the images is subject to much variation and the laity hardly know who are the personages represented. At side altars there are generally statues of Quan-Am, guardian deities, eminent bonzes and other worthies. Representations of hell are also common. Part of the temple is generally set apart for women who frequent it in the hope of obtaining children by praying to Quan-Am and other goddesses. Buddhist literature is sometimes printed in these Chua and such works as the Amitâyurdhyânasûtra and collections of Dhâraṇîs are commonly placed on the altars.

Quan-Am (Kuan-Yin) is a popular deity and the name seems to be given to several goddesses. They would probably be described as incarnations of Avalokita, if any Annamite were to define his beliefs (which is not usual), but they are really legendary heroines who have left a reputation for superhuman virtue. One was a daughter of the Emperor Chuang of the Chou dynasty. Another (Quan-Am-Thi-Kinh), represented as sitting on a rock and carrying a child in her arms, was a much persecuted lady who passed part of her life disguised as a bonze. A third form, Quan-Am-Toa-Son, she who dwells on the mountains, has an altar in nearly every temple and is specially worshipped by women who wish for sons. At Hanoi there is a small temple, rising on one column out of the water near the shore of a lake, like a lotus in a tank, and containing a brass image of Quan-Am with eight arms, which is evidently of Indian origin. Sometimes popular heroines such as Cao Tien, a princess who was drowned, are worshipped without (it would seem) being identified with Quan-Am.

But besides the Chua there are at least three other kinds of religious edifices: (i) Dinh. These are municipal temples dedicated to beings commonly called genii by Europeans, that is to say, superhuman personages, often, but not always, departed local worthies, who for one reason or another are supposed to protect and supervise a particular town or village. The Dinh contains a council room as well as a shrine and is served by laymen. The genius is often represented by an empty chair and his name must not be pronounced within the temple. (ii) Taoist deities are sometimes worshipped in special temples, but the Annamites do not seem to think that such worship is antagonistic to Buddhism or even distinct from it. (iii) Temples dedicated to Confucius (Van mien) are to be found in the towns, but are generally open only on certain feast days, when they are visited by officials. Sometimes altars dedicated to the sage may be found in natural grottoes or other picturesque situations. Besides these numerous elements, Annamite religion also includes the veneration of ancestors and ceremonies such as the worship of Heaven and Earth performed in imitation of the Court of Peking. To this must be added many local superstitions in which the worship of animals, especially the tiger, is prominent. But a further analysis of this composite religion does not fall within my province.

There is little to be said about the history of Buddhism in Annam, but native tradition places its introduction as late as the tenth century[906]. Buddhist temples usually contain a statue of Phat To[907] who is reported to have been the first adherent of the faith and to have built the first pagoda. He was the tutor of the Emperor Li-Thai-To who came to the throne in 1009. Phat-To may therefore have been active in the middle of the tenth century and this agrees with the statement that the Emperor Dinh Tien-Hoang Dê (968-979) was a fervent Buddhist who built temples and did his best to make converts[908]. One Emperor, Li Hué-Ton, abdicated and retired to a monastery.

The Annals of Annam[909] record a discussion which took place before the Emperor Thai-Tôn (1433-1442) between a Buddhist and a sorcerer. Both held singularly mixed beliefs but recognized the Buddha as a deity. The king said that he could not decide between the two sects, but gave precedence to the Buddhists.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 900: The dates given are 111 B.C.-939 A.D.]

[Footnote 901: French scholars use a great number of accents and even new forms of letters to transcribe Annamite, but since this language has nothing to do with the history of Buddhism or Hinduism and the accurate orthography is very difficult to read, I have contented myself with a rough transcription.]

[Footnote 902: This is the common orthography, but Chiao Chih would be the spelling according to the system of transliterating Chinese adopted in this book.]

[Footnote 903: It is said that the story of the Râmâyana is found in Annamite legends (_B.E.F.E.O._ 1905, p. 77), and in one or two places the Annamites reverence statues of Indian deities.]

[Footnote 904: The most trustworthy account of Annamite religion is perhaps Dumoutier, _Les Cultes Annamites_, Hanoi, 1907. It was published after the author's death and consists of a series of notes rather than a general description. See also Diguet, _Les Annamites_, 1906, especially chap. VI.]

[Footnote 905: Maitreya is called Ri-lac = Chinese Mi-le. The equivalence of the syllables _ri_ and _mi_ seems strange, but certain. Cf. A-ri-da = Amida or O-mi-to.]

[Footnote 906: Pelliot (Meou-Tseu, traduit et annoté, in _T'oung Pao_, vol. XIX. p. 1920) gives reasons for thinking that Buddhism was prevalent in Tonkin in the early centuries of our era, but, if so, it appears to have decayed and been reintroduced. Also at this time Chiao-Chih may have meant Kuang-tung.]

[Footnote 907: Diguet, _Les Annamites_, p. 303.]

[Footnote 908: Maybon et Russier, _L'Histoire d'Annam_, p. 45.]

[Footnote 909: Dumoutier, _Les Cultes Annamites_, p. 58.]

CHAPTER XLIX

TIBET

INTRODUCTORY

The religion of Tibet and Mongolia, often called Lamaism, is probably the most singular form of Buddhism in existence and has long attracted attention in Europe on account of its connection with politics and its curious resemblance to the Roman Church in ritual as well as in statecraft. The pontiffs and curia of Lhasa emulated the authority of the medieval papacy, so that the Mings and Manchus in China as well as the British in India had to recognize them as a considerable power.

Tibet had early relations with Kashmir, Central Asia and China which may all have contributed something to its peculiar civilization, but its religion is in the main tantric Buddhism imported from Bengal and invigorated from time to time by both native and Indian reformers. But though almost every feature of Lamaism finds a parallel somewhere in India, yet too great insistence on its source and historical development hardly does justice to the originality of the Tibetans. They borrowed a foreign faith wholesale, but still the relative emphasis which they laid on its different aspects was something new. They had only a moderate aptitude for asceticism, meditation and metaphysics, although they manfully translated huge tomes of Sanskrit philosophy, but they had a genius for hierarchy, discipline and ecclesiastical polity unknown to the Hindus. Thus taking the common Asiatic idea that great and holy men are somehow divine, they made it the principle of civil and sacerdotal government by declaring the prelates of the church to be deities incarnate. Yet in strange contrast to these practical talents, a certain innate devilry made them exaggerate all the magical, terrifying and demoniac elements to be found in Indian Tantrism.

The extraordinary figures of raging fiends which fill Tibetan shrines suggest at first that the artists simply borrowed and made more horrible the least civilized fancies of Indian sculpture, yet the majesty of Tibetan architecture (for, judging by the photographs of Lhasa and Tashilhumpo, it deserves no less a name) gives another impression. The simplicity of its lines and the solid, spacious walls unadorned by carving recall Egypt rather than India and harmonize not with the many-limbed demons but with the calm and dignified features of the deified priests who are also portrayed in these halls.

An atmosphere of mystery and sorcery has long hung about the mountainous regions which lie to the north of India. Hindus and Chinese alike saw in them the home of spirits and wizards, and the grand but uncanny scenery of these high plateaux has influenced the art and ideas of the natives. The climate made it natural that priests should congregate in roomy strongholds, able to defy the cold and contain the stores necessary for a long winter, and the massive walls seem to imitate the outline of the rocks out of which they grow. But the strange shapes assumed by mists and clouds, often dyed many colours by the rising or setting sun, suggest to the least imaginative mind an aerial world peopled by monstrous and magical figures. At other times, when there is no fog, distant objects seem in the still, clear atmosphere to be very near, until the discovery that they are really far away produces a strange feeling that they are unreal and unattainable.

In discussing this interesting faith, I shall first treat of its history and then of the sacred books on which it professes to be based. In the light of this information it will be easier to understand the doctrines of Lamaism and I shall finally say something about its different sects, particularly as there is reason to think that the strength of the Established Church, of which the Grand Lama is head, has been exaggerated.

CHAPTER L

TIBET (_continued_)

HISTORY

It is generally stated that Buddhism was first preached in Tibet at the instance of King Srong-tsan-gam-po[910] who came to the throne in 629 A.D. Some legendary notices of its earlier appearance[911] will bear the natural interpretation that the Tibetans (like the Chinese) had heard something about it from either India or Khotan before they invited instructors to visit them[912].

At this time Tibet played some part in the politics of China and northern India. The Emperor Harsha and the T'ang Emperor T'ai Tsung exchanged embassies but a second embassy sent from China arrived after Harsha's death and a usurper who had seized the throne refused to receive it. The Chinese with the assistance of the kings of Tibet and Nepal dethroned him and carried him off captive. There is therefore nothing improbable in the story that Srong-tsan-gam-po had two wives, who were princesses of Nepal and China respectively. He was an active ruler, warlike but progressive, and was persuaded by these two ladies that Buddhism was a necessary part of civilization. According to tradition he sent to India a messenger called Thonmi Sanbhota, who studied there for several years, adapted a form of Indian writing to the use of his native language and translated the Karaṇḍa Vyûha. Recent investigators however have advanced the theory that the Tibetan letters are derived from the alphabet of Indian origin used in Khotan and that Sanbhota made its acquaintance in Kashmir[913]. Though the king and his two wives are now regarded as the first patrons of Lamaism and worshipped as incarnations of Avalokita and Târâ, it does not appear that his direct religious activity was great or that he built monasteries. But his reign established the foundations of civilization without which Buddhism could hardly have flourished, he to some extent unified Central Tibet, he chose the site of Lhasa as the capital and introduced the rudiments of literature and art. But after his death in 650 we hear little more of Buddhism for some decades.

About 705 King Khri-gtsug-lde-btsan is said to have built monasteries, caused translations to be made, and summoned monks from Khotan. His efforts bore little fruit, for no Tibetans were willing to take the vows, but the edict of 783 preserved in Lhasa mentions his zeal for religion, and he prepared the way for Khri-sroṇ-lde-btsan in whose reign Padma-Sambhava, the real founder of Lamaism, arrived in Tibet[914].

This event is said to have occurred in 747 and the epoch is noticeable for two reasons. Firstly Tibet, which had become an important military power, was now brought into contact both in peace and war with China and Central Asia. It was predominant in the Tarim Basin and ruled over parts of Ssŭ-chuan and Yunnan. China was obliged to pay tribute and when it was subsequently refused the Tibetans sacked the capital, Chang-an. In 783 China made a treaty of peace with Tibet. The king was the son of a Chinese princess and thus blood as well as wide experience disposed him to open Tibet to foreign ideas. But in 747 relations with China were bad, so he turned towards India and invited to his Court a celebrated Pandit named Śântarakshita, who advised him to send for Padma-Sambhava.

Secondly this was the epoch when Amogha flourished in China and introduced the Mantrayâna system or Chên Yen. This was the same form of corrupt Buddhism which was brought to Tibet and was obviously the dominant sect in India in the eighth century. It was pliant and amalgamated easily with local observances, in China with funeral rites, in Tibet with demonolatry.

At this time Padma-Sambhava was one of the most celebrated exponents of Tantric Buddhism, and in Tibet is often called simply the Teacher (Guru or Mahâcârya). His portraits represent him as a man of strongly marked and rather angry features, totally unlike a conventional monk. A popular account of his life[915] is still widely read and may contain some grains of history, though the narrative as a whole is fantastic. It describes him as born miraculously in Udyâna but as having studied at Bodhgaya and travelled in many regions with the intention of converting all the world. According to his plan, the conversion of his native land was to be his last labour, and when he had finished his work in Tibet he vanished thither miraculously. Thus Udyâna is not represented as the source and home of Tantric Buddhism but as being like Tibet a land of magic and mystery but, like Tibet, needing conversion: both are disposed to welcome Tantric ideas but those ideas are elaborated by Padma-Sambhava not in Udyâna but in Bengal which from other sources we know to have been a centre of Tantrism.

Some other points of interest in these legends may be noticed. Padma-Sambhava is not celibate but is accompanied by female companions. He visits many countries which worship various deities and for each he has a new teaching suited to its needs. Thus in Tibet, where the older religion consisted of defensive warfare against the attacks of evil spirits[916], he assumes the congenial character of a victorious exorcist, and in his triumphant progress subdues local demons as methodically as if he were suppressing the guerilla warfare of native tribes. He has new revelations called Terma which he hides in caves to be discovered by his successors. These revelations are said to have been in an unknown language[917]. Those at present existing are in Tibetan but differ from the canonical scriptures in certain orthographical peculiarities. The legend thus admits that Padma-Sambhava preached a non-celibate and magical form of Buddhism, ready to amalgamate with local superstitions and needing new revelations for its justification.

He built the monastery of Samye[918] about thirty miles from Lhasa on the model of Odantapuri in Bengal. Śântarakshita became abbot and from this period dates the foundation of the order of Lamas[919]. Mara (Thse Ma-ra) was worshipped as well as the Buddhas, but however corrupt the cultus may have been, Samye was a literary centre where many translations were made. Among the best known translators was a monk from Kashmir named Vairocana[920]. It would appear however that there was considerable opposition to the new school not only from the priests of the old native religion but from Chinese Buddhists[921].