Reconciliation of Races and Religions — 05 – [Part I. The Jewels of the Faiths]: Seyyid Kaẓim—Islam—Parsiism—Buddhism: From “All honour to Buddhism…” to “…in his fearsome pilgrimage.”

All honour to Buddhism for its noble effort.

In some undiscoverable way Buddhists acted as pioneers for the destined Deliverer.

Let us, then, consider what precious spiritual jewels its sons and daughters can bring to the new Fraternity.

There are many most inadequate statements about Buddhism.

Personally, I wish that such expressions as 'the cold metaphysic of Buddhism' might be abandoned; surely metaphysicians, too, have religious needs and may have warm hearts.

At the same time I will not deny that I prefer the northern variety of Buddhism, because I seem to myself to detect in the southern Buddhism a touch of a highly-refined egoism.

Self-culture may or may not be combined with self-sacrifice.

In the case of the Buddha it was no doubt so combined, as the following passage, indited by him, shows-- 'All the means that can be used as bases for doing right are not worth one sixteenth part of the emancipation of the heart through love.

That takes all those up into itself, outshining them in radiance and in glory.'

[Footnote: Mrs. Rhys Davids, _Buddhism_, p. 229. ] What, then, are the jewels of the Buddhist which he would fain see in the world's spiritual treasury?

He will tell you that he has many jewels, but that three of them stand out conspicuously--the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

Of these the first is 'Sakya Muni, called the Buddha (the Awakened One).'

His life is full of legend and mythology, but how it takes hold of the reader!

Must we not pronounce it the finest of religious narratives, and thank the scholars who made the _Lalita Vistara_ known to us?

The Buddha was indeed a supernormal man; morally and physically he must have had singular gifts.

To an extraordinary intellect he joined the enthusiasm of love, and a thirst for service.

The second of the Buddhist brother's jewels is the Dharma, i. e. the Law or Essential Rightness revealed by the Buddha.

That the Master laid a firm practical foundation for his religion cannot be denied, and if Jews and Christians reverence the Ten Words given through 'Moses,' much more may Buddhists reverence the ten moral precepts of Sakya Muni.

Those, however, whose aim is Buddhaship (i. e. those who propose to themselves the more richly developed ideal of northern Buddhists) claim the right to modify those precepts just as Jesus modified the Law of Moses.

While, therefore, we recognize that good has sometimes come even out of evil, we should also acknowledge the superiority of Buddhist countries and of India in the treatment both of other human beings and of the lower animals.

The Sangha, or Monastic Community, is the third treasure of Buddhism, and the satisfaction of the Buddhist laity with the monastic body is said to be very great.

At any rate, the cause of education in Burma owes much to the monks, but it is hard to realize how the Monastic Community can be in the same sense a 'refuge' from the miseries of the world as the Buddha or Dharmakâya.

The name Dharmakâya [Footnote: Johnston, _Buddhist China_, p. 77. ] (Body of Dharma, or system of rightness) may strike strangely upon our ears, but northern Buddhism makes much of it, and even though it may not go back to Sakya Muni himself, it is a development of germs latent in his teaching; and to my own mind there is no more wonderful conception in the great religions than that of Dharmakâya.

If any one attacks our Buddhist friends for atheism, they have only to refer (if they can admit a synthesis of northern and southern doctrines) to the conception of Dharmakâya, of Him who is 'for ever Divine and Eternal,' who is 'the One, devoid of all determinations.'

'This Body of Dharma,' we are told, 'has no boundary, no quarters, but is embodied in all bodies....

All forms of corporeality are involved therein; it is able to create all things.

Assuming any concrete material form, as required by the nature and condition of karma, it illuminates all creations....

There is no place in the universe where this Body does not prevail.

The universe becomes dust; this Body for ever remains.

It is free from all opposites and contraries, yet it is working in all things to lead them to Nirvana.'

[Footnote: Suzuki, _Outlines_, pp. 223-24. ] In fact, this Dharmakâya is the ultimate principle of cosmic energy.

We may call it principle, but it is not, like Brahman, absolutely impersonal.

Often it assumes personality, when it receives the name of Tathagata.

It has neither passions nor prejudices, but works for the salvation of all sentient beings universally.

Love (_karunâ_) and intelligence (_bodhi_) are equally its characteristics.

It is only the veil of illusion (_maya_) which prevents us from seeing Dharmakâya in its magnificence.

When this veil is lifted, individual existences as such will lose their significance; they will become sublimated and ennobled in the oneness of Dharmakâya.

[Footnote: _Ibid_.

p. 179. ] Will the reader forgive me if I mention some other jewels of the Buddhist faith?

One is the Buddha Ami'tābha, and the other Kuanyin or Kwannon, his son or daughter; others will be noted presently.

The latter is especially popular in China and Japan, and is generally spoken of by Europeans as the 'Goddess of Mercy.'

'Goddess,' however, is incorrect, [Footnote: Johnston, _Buddhist China_, p. 123. ] just as 'God' would be incorrect in the case of Ami'tābha.

Sakya Muni was considered greater than any of the gods.

All such Beings were saviours and helpers to man, just as Jesus is looked up to by Christian believers as a saviour and deliverer, and perhaps I might add, just as there are, according to the seer-poet Dante, three compassionate women (_donne_) in heaven.

[Footnote: Dante, _D.

C.

, Inf.

_ ii.

124 _f_.

The 'blessed women' seem to be Mary (the mother of Christ), Beatrice, and Lucia.

] Kwannon and her Father may surely be retained by Chinese and Japanese, not as gods, but as gracious _bodhisatts_ (i. e. Beings whose essence is intelligence).

I would also mention here as 'jewels' of the Buddhists (1) their tenderness for all living creatures.

Legend tells of Sakya Muni that in a previous state of existence he saved the life of a doe and her young one by offering his own life as a substitute.

In one of the priceless panels of Bôrôbudûr in Java this legend is beautifully used.

[Footnote: Havell, _Indian Sculpture and Painting_, p. 123. ] It must indeed have been almost more impressive to the Buddhists even than Buddha's precept.

E'en as a mother watcheth o'er her child, Her only child, as long as life doth last, So let us, for all creatures great or small, Develop such a boundless heart and mind, Ay, let us practise love for all the world, Upward and downward, yonder, thence, Uncramped, free from ill-will and enmity.

[a] [Footnote a: Mrs. Rhys Davids, _Buddhism_, p. 219. ] (2 and 3) Faith in the universality of inspiration and a hearty admission that spiritual pre-eminence is open to women.

As to the former, Suzuki has well pointed out that Christ is conceived of by Buddhists quite as the Buddha himself.

[Footnote: Suzuki, _Outlines of the Mahâyâna Buddhism_.

] 'The Dharmakâya revealed itself as Sakya Muni to the Indian mind, because that was in harmony with its needs.

The Dharmakâya appeared in the person of Christ on the Semitic stage, because it suited their taste best in this way.'

As to the latter, there were women in the ranks of the Arahats in early times;

and, as the _Psalms of the Brethren_ show, there were even child-Arahats, and, so one may presume, girl-Arahats.

And if it is objected that this refers to the earlier and more flourishing period of the Buddhist religion, yet it is in a perfectly modern summary of doctrine that we find these suggestive words, [Footnote: Omoro in _Oxford Congress of Religions, Transactions_, i. 152. ] 'With this desire even a maiden of seven summers [Footnote: 'The age of seven is assigned to all at their ordination' (_Psalms of the Brethren_, p. xxx.

) The reference is to child-Arahats.

] may be a leader of the four multitudes of beings.'

That spirituality has nothing to do with the sexes is the most wonderful law in the teachings of the Buddhas.'

India being the home of philosophy, it is not surprising either that Indian religion should take a predominantly philosophical form, or that there should be a great variety of forms of Indian religion.

This is not to say that the feelings were neglected by the framers of Indian theory, or that there is any essential difference between the forms of Indian religion.

On the contrary, love and intelligence are inseparably connected in that religion and there are fundamental ideas which impart a unity to all the forms of Hindu religion.

That form of religion, however, in which love (_karunâ_) receives the highest place, and becomes the centre conjointly with intelligence of a theory of emancipation and of perfect Buddhahood, is neither Vedantism nor primitive Buddhism, but that later development known as the Mahâyâna.

Germs indeed there are of the later theory; and how should there not be, considering the wisdom and goodness of those who framed those systems?

How beautiful is that ancient description of him who would win the joy of living in Brahma (Tagore, _Sadhanâ_, p. 106), and not much behind it is the following passage of the Bhagavad-Gita, 'He who hates no single being, who is friendly and compassionate to all ...

whose thought and reason are directed to Me, he who is [thus] devoted to Me is dear to Me' (Discourse xii.

13, 14).

This is a fine utterance, and there are others as fine.

One may therefore expect that most Indian Vedantists will, on entering the Bahai Society, make known as widely as they can the beauties of the Bhagavad-Gita.

I cannot myself profess that I admire the contents as much as some Western readers, but much is doubtless lost to me through my ignorance of Sanskrit.

Prof. Garbe and Prof. Hopkins, however, confirm me in my view that there is often a falling off in the immediateness of the inspiration, and that many passages have been interpolated.

It is important to mention this here because it is highly probable that in future the Scriptures of the various churches and sects will be honoured by being read, not less devotionally but more critically.

Not the Bibles as they stand at present are revealed, but the immanent Divine Wisdom.

Many things in the outward form of the Scriptures are, for us, obsolete.

It devolves upon us, in the spirit of filial respect, to criticize them, and so help to clear the ground for a new prophet.

A few more quotations from the fine Indian Scriptures shall be given.

Their number could be easily increased, and one cannot blame those Western admirers of the Gita who display almost as fervent an enthusiasm for the unknown author of the Gita as Dante had for his _savio duca_ in his fearsome pilgrimage.