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Unformatted text preview: Buddhism lael; oferaving for any ofthe live ltltaedlrri.
This final liberation that is eEetted here
and new eturfers perinlrt-Jne on the one
who is thus liberated. He will go on
living here until his body dies. but then.
because 'sueh a one’ {faith} delights in the
destruction of the three roots of unskil-
fulness he is free from all becomiugs
[Blenheim pp. 35—9}. and retitrdra is at an
end for him. Final liberation. though
attained here and now. entails no future
state. It is anupddisestt-rrilrlflttc. or the
suite of Mirrors that has no fuel or clinging
or basis for re—hirth remaining. With his energy strong to an even
pitch. he has left the hither shore of To translate as tgod. angel. divine or
celestial being' is misleading. A dean is
neitherananitnalnorahurnan being. hutis
a title attributed to beings that in certain
respects are regarded as above the human
level. e.g. in their splendour. beauty.
mobility. happiness or longevity. A ltina
ship With humanity is implied. there it
no complete brealt. decor and human
beings can hold converse; all deans have
been men and may become men again.
Meanwhile they are in one of the twenty-
sia: dove-lake. Worlds. spheres or planes
where deans have their being by reason of
some outstanding merit they have per-
formed earlier. But since no eidstetmo in a mutability and mortality. of fear and deuolehr is permanent. the deans are all
peril. and having etossed the great flood of still in Mtitid't‘tt, the circling on in life after
sense-desires. the process of becoming. life. and have still to get free of the
false views and ignorance. and having unending round. in no sense is a delta arrived Beyond on the Farther Shore which
is the unborn and undying Nita-Eire. he is
an Atheist who. crossed over and gone
beyond. is standing on .the dry land
[Seahyutt‘e—Niltd'ytr iv. tits}. the Isle of
Mrs-eta (Stamper. root} itself. 'These are the roots of teen. these are empty places. Meditate. he not slothful;
lot there he no remorse later. This is my instruction to you‘ [Millage—Nike”
i. 46. cm}. Various technical terms occurring in
this article have a long history. Some of
their salient meanings For Buddhism are
briefly explained as follows: I. Aryan {i} {social} noble. distinguished.
of high birth.
[ii] {ethical} pure. pure one; of
'nohle’ education. Mostly said of the
Buddha's Tmthing. his disciples. their
discipline and praou'ce. Hence the word
has such ineanin as ti ht. od. noble.
ideal. 3" E 3°
a. Deva. From a. root meaning to shine. so: a creator. onuripotent or omniscient.
but simply a detainee of a sieve-mid. 3. Bmhmdfil the delta Brahmi. chief of
the deans. also called Mahi't-Brahmi
[Great Btahtni}. {ii} the class of Btahmi tier-as.
happy and blameless brings on an extra-
terrestrial plane. denizens of the higher
‘heavens' or of a higher and better world
leuown as hrshnse—iolsa. the Brahma-world.
lie-birth heteis the outcome ofmetitotious
deeds. but does not endure for ever. is. Brahma-fining. A distinction probably
has to he made between the unstailine
Brahma {as above} and the neuter Brahman.
This the Pali Commentaries usually define
as best or highest. Originally hrehmeon‘iyo
{Brahma-faring} meant study or discipline.
It then meant the discipline for the
realisation of the Best and Highest. the
Walk [rariyo]: to it or with it. Hence it is
the life of purity. the good life. sometimes
translated as the Life Divine. Since this is
principally thought ofin Buddhism as the
monastic life. so hrehmacsriya came to have theaddeduremthrgofrhasdty. /' BUDDHISM: THE hdAHhYANh by Edward Gauze Introduction The word Mahayana. or ‘Gteat Vehicle'.
is the name generally given to those ideas
which dominated the second phase of
Buddhist thought. Dnespealts ofa 'vehicle'
became the Buddlust doctrine. or Dharma
(Pall. Dhatrtma. see pp. ad]. 1'34}. is
conoeived as a raft. or a ship. which carries
us across the ocuan of this world of
suffering to a ‘Beyoneli. to salvation. to
Nirvana. its adherents called it ‘great'
by way of praising the universality of its
tenets and intuitions. in opposition to the
narrurwness of the other Buddhist schools.
which they describe as the ‘HIrtayina'.
or the 'inferior' vehicle. a term naturally
not much cherished by those to whornthey
apply it. fit present the Mahiyina is
confined to the Northern half of the
Buddhist world. and the Buddhists of
Nepal. Tibet. China. Korea and Japan
are nearly all Mahiyinists. The South. on
the other hand. is entirely dominated by
fire Thetavidins. one of the eighteen
traditional sorts of the Hinayana. and their
form of Buddhism is the national religion
of Ceylon. Burma and Siam. The other
seventeen l-linayina sects disappeared one
years ago when the Muharumadans swept
into Northern India and destroyed its
flourishing Buddhist monasteries. In point ofe'me the rise of the Mahayana
coincides with the beginning of the
Christian era. it must have gathered
momentum in the firsf' peel-Christian
centuries. but many of its basis: ideas ED
back. as we shall see, to the fourth or
fifth eenmry no. if not to the Buddha
himself. But the literature which sets out the specific Mahiyina doctrines is attested
only for the beginning ofthe Christian
era. and this raises an interesting. and so far
unresolved. historical problem. How can
we account for the observation that
Buddhism. just at the time when
Christianity itself arose. underwent a
radical reform of its basic torets which
made it much more similar to Christianity
than it had been before? To show the
nature ofthc problem. i will mention just
three parallels betWeen the Maltiyina. and
Christianity. First of all. loving kindness
and compassion. subordinate virtues in
the older Buddhism. are stressed more and
more. and move right into the centre of
the picture. This may remind us of the
Christian emphasis on 'love'. Secondly.
we hear of compassionate beings. called
'Bodhisattvas'. whose main claim to our
gratitude lies in that they sacrifice their
lives for thewelfare ofall.'I'hismay remind
usoftheChristwho died forusallso
that our sins may be forgiven. And
thirdly. the Buddhists of this period show
eschatological interests, and fervently
hope for a Isecond comingI ofthe Buddha.
as Maitreya [Pali. Meeteyya. p. syn}, the
‘Ioin'ng One'. Thus we have at least three
innovations of the Mahayana. of which
each is as our to the spirit of early
Christianity as it is to the older Buddhism. Noristhisall. Occasionally wefindcluse.
verbal coincidences between the Christian
and the Mahiyina Scriptures. Just one
instance must suliioe. fit the time when the
Revelation ddt‘folltt was written. down in
Greek in the Eastern Mediterranean. the
Mahaylitisu produced in the South of 193 Buddhism India one of their most revered books.
The Prtfi'ttion [if Wisdom in glfl‘llll Litter.
Revelation {v. 1} refers to a book 'closely
sealedII with seven seals, and likewise the
chi‘isrtiou of Wisdom is called a book
'scaled with seven seal-2'. It is shown to a.
Bodhisattva by the name of 'Everwecping'
{Saddprantdito}. and StJohn 'weeps bitterly’
(v. 4} because he sees no one worthy to
open the book and to break its seals.
This can he done by the Lamb alone.
slaughtered in sacrifice lv. 9}. In the same
way. chapters 3e and 3: of the iviahiyina
boolt describe in detail how Everweeping
slaughtered himselfin sacrifice. and how he
thereby became Worthy of the Perfection
of Wisdom [see pp. 3fiz-fl. This parallel
is remarkable not only for the similarities of
the religious logic. but also for the fact that
both the number seven and the whole
notion ofa Fbook with sealsI point to the
J'udaco-lvlediterrancan rather than to the
lndian ta'aditon. Here is a fruitfiil field for
further study. At presentwe cannot account
for the parallels bemoan the Mediter-
tantan and Indian developments which
occur at the beginning of the Christian
era. For the interpretation ofthc Malfiyana
they are significant and should not be
ignored. It was in fact. geographically spcalting.
in the two regions of India which were in
contact with the Mediterranean that the
Mahayana seems to have originated. On
the one hand we have the South of India.
which Was in close trading relations with
the Roman Empire. as is shown by the
huge hoards ofRoman coins found there in
recent years. And itwasin the region round
Nigirjuniltondii. in the South. near the
temple of hmarivati. which has rightly
been called a 'Dravido-Aleitandrian syn-
thesis". that tradition places the develop-
ment of the first Mahayana Scriptures.
its. the Stirrin- on Perfect Wisdom, and
where also Nigirjuna it. mu. tool. the 194 greatest philosopher of the Mahiyfina.
appears to have lived. The second centre of
the incipient Mahayana was in the Nordi-
1|thrust oflndia. where the successor states of
filectandet the' rest kept open a'cotistant
channel for Ed enistic and Roman influ-
ences. as the art found in that region amply
demonstrates. Its openness to foreign. non-
lndian influences was indeed one of the
features which distinguished the Mahiyina
from the older forms of Buddhism. We know little about the actual
roots which brought about this revo-
lution in Buddhist drought. Two. how-
ever. seem certain, the exhaustion of the
flthant ideal. and the pressure of the laity. As for the first. the older Buddhism
was designed to produce a type of saint
known as Arhant—a person who has been
liberated once and for all from the cycle of
birth and death. Three or four centuries
after the Buddha's Niruir'na the mediodr
which had at first produced Arbants in
profusion lost their potency. fewer and
fewer monks reached the goal. and the
conviction gained ground that the time
for hrhants was over. 1Ii'i'hcn the expected
fruits were no longer forthcoming. it was
natural for a section of the community to
explore new avenues. and they replaced
the Arhant idea] by the Bodhisattva ideal
lpp- ass-305l- Relations of the monks with the laity
had always been precarious. Here at its
base was the Achilles: heel of the whole
soaring edifice. The Mahiyana gave much
greater weight to laymen. It could count
on much popular support for its emphasis
on active service. for its opinion that
people are as important as ‘dltamtar'
{Pali, diam-tiara, p. 285]. for its attacks on the
selfishness of monks who think. only of
their own welfare. for its censure of
‘haughty' and ‘conceited' monks. for in
stories of wealthy householders, such as
Vimalakirti. who surpassed the oldest and most venerable merits in the splendour of
their spiritual attainments. and for its
belicf that the saints should accept a
common fate with their fellow men.
Popular pressure would also induce the
monks to become more manifestly useful
to their lay followers. They increasingly
interested themselves in their daily prob-
lems. and. by acting as astrologers. exor-
cisets. weather makers, physicians. ctr...
inserted themselves into the magical side
of their liveS. The wishes of the dumb
common people. so despised by the
monkish party. in the end proved para-
mount. Dur knowledge of the Mahiy‘s'lna is
derived from its very extensive literature.
which was composed over about a.ooo
years. most ofit in Sanskrit. but some also
in Chinese. in Tibetan and in Central
Asian languages. Although many Mahd-
yina works have been lost. the bullt,
of what is left is so huge that no one
has ever read through it. Our views on
the subject must therefore remain tentative.
and future discoveries may compel their
revision. This literature falls into three
main classes—Entree. Shiites and Teams.
The Sorta; are the most authoritative.
and no follower of the Mahiyina would
wish openly to repudiate anything they
contain; the authority of the dishes is
more limited. and they are binding only on
the members of the philosophical school
which they represent; that oftht Trotter is
even more restricted. its range being
confined to the few adopts of a small
esoteric seer. Saints claim to be sayings of the Buddha
himself. and they always give at the
beginning the cstact place. either-on earth
orinheaven. where the Buddhaisbelieved
to have preached this particular sermon.
In the case of Mahayana Sands. written
more than five centuries after the historical Buddha’s death. this is obviously a pious The Mal-idyt'ma fiction. [fan historian were asked to define
a Sritru, he would have to say that it is an
anonymous docurnent elaborated usually
collectively over many ceruuries.whichhas
to be significant without being contro-
versial or sectarian. The most beautiful of
all Mahiyina Santos is the Lotti: of the
Good Law. a work of great power and
magnificence. There are a few European
translations. but none of them is even
remotely accurate. The most instructive
Stitres are those on The Perfection of
"Wisdom'. Of that we have about thirty
dilferent intentions, composed in the
course of six or seven centuries. Many
other Sitter are preserved, several hundred
of them. but there is little point in further
enumeration. The continuous. slow. and
measured growth of these Sinus makes
them appear as more than the works of
mere men. and some of their majesty is
still felt in Japan. Tibet. and even in
Europe. A .‘ltistta is a treatise written by a known
person. either in the form of a commen-
mry cm a Stilts. or in the form ofa syste-
matic text book. When I say 'a known
person'. I do not. ofcourse. mean that we
know the actual author. but only that it is
ascribed to some actual doctor of the
FChurch'. For there has been a tendency
to simplify matters by attributing the
worlts of many writers to a few big names.
The four biggest names are. about
Jun. 15o. Nigirjuna and firyadeva. antiJI
about am. soo. Vasubandhu and Asanga.
The first two are the founders of the
philosophical school of the Madhyamiltas.
while the second two initiated the rival
school of the Yogic-Erin: {see pp. yrs-13}. ‘
These two schools were engaged in
constant disputes. and the works of the
one have no authority for the other. The
limited anthority of a Fdoctor of the
IChurch" is based on three factors: a saintly life. great learning. and inspiration 2-95 Buddhism by one of the mythical Buddlua or
Bodhisattvas (p. tosifl. Wonder-working
pet-tetra, though desirable. are not in-
dispensable. Sitter and dishes are Public documents
availableto anyone sufficiently interested to
procure them. The Tonnes. by contrast.
are secret documents destined only for a
chosen few who are properly initiated. or
consecrated. by a properly initiated teacher
or putt-t. 'To let the uninitiated into their
secret is an unpardonable Crime. In order
more eifectively to hide their contents
from outsiders they employ a deliberately
mysterious and secretive language. Wida-
out the oral explanations of an irdtiated
master they are practically meaningless.
and reveal nothing of any importance.
Tattoos give to die initiated instructions
for the practical realisation of certain
Yogic practices. They were composed irt
profusion from about so. you onwards.
and we have literally thousands of them.
Their historical study has barely begun.
and as outsiders we seldom have a clue to
their meaning. Thousands and thousands-of
pages are filled with statements about
'eosmie tortoiscs’ and Fairy dogs'. or about
gods dressed in ‘fur coats. or Itiger sltins'.
living in‘iron palaces' or‘copp-er fortresses'.
and 'holding a black trident with four
heads stuclt on it and a blood—dripping
heart. at which two blaclt vipers ate
suclringII {see R. de Neheslty-Wojlrowitz.
Oracle: and Demons ty" Tiler. 1956}.
1IJt-I'hat are we no make of all that? In their
desire to shock the profane. the authors of
the Tantra: are prone to the use ofohscene
and sexually suggestive language. Again
We are at a loss to know what dieirjolres
really meant. We can Well imagine. to
give a parallel case. an earnest Japanese
anthropologist of the year s..o. 3142
pondering over a choice piece of ornitho-
logical htfoonation he has fmmd in an
English soldier'sletter of Iota. iT‘Wfl WIN-'15 aod went into the seal and four blue tits came
out again.I Some initiation into the lore of
the British Army would soon tell him the
meaning of that statement. In its absence
he would have to resort to wild guessts.
Without having much to go on. Most of
the words used in the Tenn-its can he found
in our dictionaries—hut then it does not
help very much to know that a 'retl
herringr is a "pink fish'. We can at present
form some idea ofthe gencral principles of
the Tattoos {see pp. grS—Iy} though the
concrete detail quite passer us by. The
authority of a Terrier is usually derived
from a mythical Buddha who is said to
have preached it in. the remote past to some
other mythical person. who transmitted it
to a human teacher who stands at the
beginning ofa long line of initiated gurus
who hand the secret wisdom down from
generation to generation. This ends the survey of the literary
sources. In addition. we can derive much
information from irtnurneralslc oaths tyros
which express the spirit of the doctrine
accurately and impressively. Buddhist
works of art allow little scope to the
arbitrary inventions of individual artists.
The images are too holy for that. for they
are supports. though inadequate, for
meditation. as well as reservoirs of super-
natural power. They are made according to
formulae elaborated by the scholars and
mystics. which the artist just invests with
a visible form. About the mythological
and ritual aspects of the Maltiyfina these
wotlts of art can teach us a great deal. The h-lahiniya is first of all a way of
life. with a clear-cut idea of spiritual
perfection and of the stages which lead to
it. In addition. it puts forth a number of
mythological concepts and ontological
doctrines. Finally. in. an clfort to maintain
itself agairtst hostile influences. ir enlists the help of female deities and magical
forces. These are the three sides of the Mahiyina which we shall now survey one
by one. The Bodhisattva Ideal The creation of the Bodhisattva ideal and
the elaboration of the doctrine of 'Empti—
ncss' are the two great contributions which
the Mahiyina has made to human
thought. While the philosophy of Empti-
ness has proved an unfailing source of
attraction to generations of scholars and
innel!ectuals. it was to its teaching: about
the 'liodl'tisattvar that the Mahayana
owed its success as a religion. and that it
proved capable ofconvcrting the whole of
Central and East Praia. and of winning.
for a time. more adherents than any other
religion. Here was the image of an ideal
man. who could 'stir the hearts of all.
whether rich or poor, learned or ignorant.
strong or wealt. monies or laymen. It
could easily win their admiration. for it
reflected what was best in them. It
could also become a basis for innnediate
action. because it could be adjusted to the
infinite variety of human circumstances.
Put forth with self—sacrificing real, with
all the resources of eloquence and all the
refinements of act, the Bodhisattva ideal
has been one of the most potent ideas of
Asian thought. So irresistible was its power
that even the I-Iinayina schools «were
prepared to incorporate it to some extent
into their owrt systems. "What then is a ‘Bodhisattva'? It will
be best first to explain the Sanskrit term:
hedltt' means 'enlightettrnenr'. and nerve
'beiug' or 'essencc'. Pt Bodhisattva is
thus a person who is in his essential being
is motivated by the desire to win full
enlightenment—to become a Buddha.
Destined to become a Buddlia. he nevctu
theless. in order to help suifering creaturfi.
selflessly postpones his entrance into the
bliss of Nit-nine and his escape from this
world of birds and death. The Mahayana From another angle a Bodhisattva is
said to be dominated by two forces—
compassion and wisdom. Compassion
governs his conduct towards his fellow
beings. wisdom his attitude to Reality.
The Mahayana teachings on compassion
are easy. those on wisdom hard to under-
stand. Everyone listens gladly when the
talk is about himself. but gets rather bored
when feeling hintselfignotod. So ...
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