Buddhism in the Modern WorldSaunders, Kenneth J. (Kenneth James)
Religion
Buddhism in the Modern World
Saunders, Kenneth J. (Kenneth James)
Buddhism
Let us get a glimpse of Chinese Buddhism in one of these great
monasteries. The day is a round of worship[15] and the worship is
divided amongst many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Here some rich layman
is making an offering for masses for his dead; Buddhism in China has
indeed become largely a matter of such masses, and the filial Chinese
spend yearly scores of millions upon them.[16] The priests have turned
out in force, and the abbot is reciting the praises now of Omito-Fo,
now of Pilochana, the great sun-Buddha, now of the merciful Kwanyin
whose ears are ever open to human prayer, and now of Titsang, guardian
of the dead. Beautiful figures these, and especially that of this
strong conqueror of death so popular amongst the Japanese as the
guardian of the little ones who have gone into the dark under-world.
Innumerable figures of him adorned with baby garments tell their own
pathetic tale, and he is unimaginative indeed who cannot find here in
these ideal figures traces of the Spirit of God at work in human
hearts.
It is harder to sympathise with and to admire the Lama Buddhism which
has penetrated China from Tibet, but even here there are some
beautiful figures such as the _Tāras_, and amongst the mummery and
moral corruption of a Lama temple one may find some sparks of the
divine spirit, even if one fails to meet the Lama of Kim!
Buddhism in China, decadent though it is in many places, is reviving
itself; there is great building activity at certain centres such as
Ningpo and Hangchow; there are probably nearly half a million monks,
and at one ordination in 1920 a thousand candidates were ordained in
Changchow. Many men, indeed, disillusioned at the failure of the
revolution, are seeking the quiet otherworldly retreats of Buddhism,
and others of scholarly bent delight in the classical scriptures which
the early missionaries from India translated into Chinese, and which
are still models of beauty.
Among laymen also there is an increasing interest in the Buddhist
scriptures. Turn into this bookstore at Peking and you will find over
a thousand copies of different texts and commentaries, and there are
publishing-houses in most of the great cities. Two notable works are
the reprint of the whole of the Scriptures and a new dictionary of
Buddhist terms, containing over three thousand pages. At Ningpo one
will find a small group of young enthusiasts working for a
"neo-Buddhism." Antipathetic to Christianity, and especially to the
aggressions of "Christian" nations, these men, like some of the
propagandists in Ceylon, use weapons which are two-edged and dangerous
to all religion, not only to Christianity; they seem to feed upon the
publications of the rationalist press, and must not be taken too
seriously. Yet we can sympathise with their resentment of Western
aggression, which is a large factor in these Buddhist movements
everywhere. "Buddhism: the Religion of Asia" often accompanies and
reinforces another cry, "Asia for the Asiatics."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account