The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of MéijiGriffis, William Elliot
Religion
The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji
Griffis, William Elliot
Japan -- Religion
The key-word of Buddhism is Ingwa, which means law or fate, the chain of
cause and effect in which man is found, atheistic "evolution applied to
ethics," the grinding machinery of a universe in which is no
Creator-Father, no love, pity or heart. If the cry of the human spirit
has compelled the makers of Buddhist theology to furnish a goddess of
mercy, it is but one subordinate being among many. If a boundlessly
compassionate Amida is thought out, it is an imaginary being. The symbol
of Buddhism is the wheel of the law, which revolves as mercilessly as
ceaselessly.[24]
The key-word of Christianity is love, and its message is grace. Its
symbol is the cross, and its sacrament the supper, in token of the
infinite love of the Father who wrote his revelation in a human life.
The resemblances between the religions of Gautama and of Jesus, are
purely superficial. They appear to the outward man. The inward man
cannot, even from Darien peaks of observation or in his scrutiny _de
profundis_, discover any vital or historical connection between the two
faiths, Christianity and Buddhism. In his theology the Christian says
God is all; but the Buddhist says All is god. Buddhism says destroy the
passions: Christianity says control them. The Buddhist's watchword is
Nirvana. The Christian's is Eternal Life in Christ Jesus.[25]
The Temples and Their Symbolism.
In the vast airy halls of a Buddhist temple one will often see columns
made of whole tree-trunks, sheeted with gold and supporting massive
ceilings which are empanelled and gorgeous with every hue and tint known
to the palette. Besides the coloring, carving and gilding, the rich
symbolism strikes the eye and touches the imagination. It is a pleasing
study for one familiar with the background and world of Buddhism, to
note their revelation and expression in art, as well as to discern what
the varying sects accept or reject. There is the lotus, in leaf, bud,
flower and calyx;[26] the diamond in every form, real and imaginary,
with the vagra or emblem of conquest; while on the altars, beside the
central image, be it that of Shaka or of Amida, are Bodhisattvas or
Buddhas by brevet, beings in every state of existence, as well as
deities of many names and forms. Abstract ideas and attributes are
expressed in the art language not only of Japan, Korea and China, but
also in that of India and even of Persia and Greece,[27] until one
wonders how an Aryan religion, like Buddhism, could have so conquered
and unified the many nations of Chinese Asia. He wonders, indeed, until
he remembers how it has itself been transformed and changed in popular
substance, from lofty metaphysics and ethics into pantheism for the
shorn, and into polytheism for the unshorn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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