23 “The only reason I can ascertain for the constant recurrence of the lotus in Buddhist art and ceremonial is the idea of its being the symbol of purity. Its scent and aspect are alike delightful, and though rooted in mud and slime it abhors all defilement. If, therefore, men would but take it as their model, they would escape all the contamination of this corrupt world. Every man, it is said, has a lotus in his bosom, which will blossom forth if he call in the assistance of Buddha.” _Unbeaten Tracks in Japan_, Vol. i. p. 292. 24 Buddhists believe in the existence of a personal wicked spirit, named Mara, whose object is to solicit men to evil. 25 Cf. the following extract from the speech of the Bishop of Exeter at the Annual Meeting of the C.M.S. 1892:—“If you had been asked to sketch an ideal land, most suitable for Christian Missions, and when itself Christianized more suited for evangelistic work among the nations of the far East, what, I ask, would be the special characteristics of the land and people that you would have desired? Perhaps, first, as Englishmen or Irishmen, you would have said, ‘Give us islands, inseparably and for ever united, give us islands which can hold their sea-girt independence, and yet near enough to the mainland to exert influence there.’ Such is Japan—the Land of the Rising Sun. ‘Give us a hardy race, not untrained in war by land and sea; for a nation of soldiers, when won for Christ, fights best under the banner of the Cross—for we are of the Church militant here on earth: give us brave men;’ and such are the descendants of the old Daimios and two-sworded Samurai of Japan. ‘Give us an industrial race, not idlers nor loungers, enervated by a luxurious climate, but men who delight in toil, laborious husbandmen, persevering craftsmen, shrewd men of business;’ and such are the Japanese agriculturists, who win two harvests a year from their grateful soil—such are the handicraftsmen there, whose work is the envy of Western lands; such are the merchants, who hold their own with us in commerce. ‘Give us men of culture, with noble traditions, but not so wedded to the past that they will not grasp the present and salute the future;’ and such are the quick-witted, myriad-minded Japanese, who, with a marvellous power of imitation, ever somehow contrive to engraft their own specialities upon those of Western lands. Witness their Constitution, their Parliament, their 30,000 schools in active operation; witness their museums and hospitals; witness their colleges and universities. ‘But,’ you would also have said, ‘give us a race whose women are homespun and refined, courteous and winsome, not tottering on tortured feet, nor immured in zenanas and harems,