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PART II

BUDDHISM IN HISTORY

Chapter 1

Gautama Buddha: the Founder of Buddhism

In many countries and at various times there have been men who, dissatisfied with the conditions of their society or disappointed in their expectations, fled the bustle and deceptive pleasures' and wickedness of the world in order to seek in solitude or in sympathetic company quietude and peace of mind. Societies such as the Pythagorean and Orphic brotherhoods in Greece were among those who kept moral precepts and practical asceticism, but nowhere are conditions so favorable for the development of individual religious life as in India. The climate, institutions, the contemplative bent of the national mind, all tended to facilitate the growth of a persuasion that the highest aims of human life and real felicity cannot be obtained but by seclusion from the busy world, by undisturbed pious exercises and by a certain amount of mortification. It was not necessary to form a group or a community to struggle for existence since nature had abundantiy provided the inhabitants with natural resources, and little effort was required for those raising crops in the warm climate throughout the year. This accordingly led to an introspective life as each sought his own happiness and understanding of life.

For the Greeks who visited there, this highly indivisualistic life must have seemed strange. Strabon, a Greek geographist, who spent his life in India in the Christian era, reported thus: "They always take their meals alone; no lunch time is definitely fixed. They take meals as they wish. For the Polistic life, the opposite would be much better." The only tie that bound such self-centered individuals was the caste system, in which people were by birth classified into four classes, namely, Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra. No one could escape from this bond if he was born on the soil of India. Besides this, the social conditions of the Buddha's days were unstable: the small countries of Maghada, Kosala and others in Central India were in vie with each other. The evidence shows that in those days there was a great deal of loose living. The power of Brahmins was gradually declining, and the Kshatriya warrior class was dominant. Wondering ascetics vied for the ears of those who sought reality, and hermits were to be found in caves who taught their own spiritual experience. Animism, polytheism, daulism, and even advanced monism; all competed for authority, and within the mess of this society could be found no new hope for those who sincerely wished for spiritual salvation.

It was in these circumstances that historical Buddha was born in 560 B.C. as the son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. His real name was Gautama Siddhartha. His father was a ruler of Sakya clan in northern Magadha which was constantly threatened by the surrounding kingdoms. Therefore, his father was anxious to have a son who would succeed to his throne. One day, the astrologer predicted that the baby to be born would either become the future ruler or the Buddha. Queen Maya gave birth to her child at Lumbini Garden on her way to her parents' home. Legend tells us that when he was born he took seven steps and pointed to heaven with his right hand and to the earth with his left hand, and proclaimed, "Here I am who is destined to be the most honorable one on this earth." Since his mother passed away seven days after his birth, he was brought up by his step mother who spared no pains in the training of this future ruler. However, as he grew older, his keen sensitivity made him ponder over the sophisticated court life, and his uneasiness never ceased but rather intensified even though he was married to the beautiful Yasodhara when he was nineteen. When a son was born to him, he sighed and named his son Rahula the fetter. Legend also tells us that one day he stole out from the walled palace, and saw for the first time an old man, an ill man and a dead man. This horrible sight made him appreciate his deep sense of impermanence. In order to seek the truth, at the age of twenty-nine he decided to renounce the world, and left the palace one dark night leaving behind him all his worldly fame and luxury. He wondered around as mendicant practicing samadhi and asceticism for six years. However he could only gain an exhausted mind and an emancipated body. Thereafter he gave up his austere practices, and went to Gaya where he sat under a pipphala tree and vowed not to rise from deep contemplation till he attained enlightenment. Legend tells us that while he was in deep contemplation he was tempted by Mara, but unfettered he finally attained enlightment and became a Buddha, the Awakened One, at the age of thirty-five.

Gautama Buddha remained at Gaya for seven days and then started for the Grove of Deer Park at Saranath where he met a goup of five ascetics and delivered them the first sermon. The Buddha's disciples were multiplied in number, and their communities were formed as Samgha. Many monasteries were built at the cities such as Sravasti, Kausambi, Nalanda and Vaisali with the help of wealthy merchants and landlords. He sent his disciples to various parts of India and preached to the people according to their abilities and without making any distinction of caste or class. As water drawn into the parched earth so his teaching attracted the distressed people who were yearning for peace of mind. He left his footprints over almost all of the Central Ganges area of India.

At the close of forty-five years of missionary activity, Gautama Buddha went to Kusinagara where he felt the pangs of illness. He felt his death was approaching but his mind was calm because he knew that he had done what he had set out to do. He also knew that his teaching was universally valid and did not depend on the lives of its leaders. At his deathbed, he gave his final exhortations to Ananda and other disciples who had surrounded him: "Therefore, O Ananda, be ye lamps unto yourselves. Be ye a refuge unto yourselves. Hold fast to the truth as a lamp. Hold fast as a refuge to the Truth. Look not for a refuge to anyone besides yourselves. Decay is inherent in all component things. Work out, therefore, your salvation with diligence!" Leaving these last words behind him, Gautama Buddha peacefully passed away at the age of eighty.

Chapter 2

A Short History of Early

Buddhism in India

What Gautama Buddha taught to his disciples was the deliverance of oneself from the bondage of this illusioned world and the attainment of enlightenment which always entails death to the profane condition followed by a new birth. His teaching was therefore addressed to all suffering people regardless of whether they were ascetics or householders. However, he seemed to assert that rapid progress was to be gained in spiritual life which was only compatible with a retired life. He once said, "Now I tell you of the life which a householder should lead, of the manner in which a disciple should conduct himself. Such duties as are peculiar to the mendicants cannot be fulfilled by one who has a family." Many disciples were reported to abandon their past life and joined the Buddha's community which was known as Samgha. They thought that spiritual life could not be fulfilled in any existing form of society, and therefore formed a confraternity where they were relieved of care for food and lodging and could concentrate on their spiritual life. It should be noted, however, that there was a peculiarity of Buddhist Samgha distinguishing it from other religious orders, that is, everyone was accepted into its community regardless of whatever their ranks in their previous caste might have been. Since they were equally treated, they abandoned their family name and became a "son of the Buddha". In due course, such Buddhist Samgha were expanded as there were many more converts coming into the community, and they set up their own regulations, called Vinaya, in order to maintain it and propagate the Buddha's teaching more widely than ever. Although the Buddha held the life of a mendicant to be necessary for rapid progress toward deliverance from suffering, he highly honored the laity and received the same attention as the monks. After the passing away of the Buddha, however, there were some objections among the disciples to giving the same position to the laity. The Theravadin disciples wanted to possess the priviledges of attaining the Truth by themselves, but the disciples who belonged to the Northern school of Uttarapathaka admitted the laity to the same priviledges. In later years, this controversy gave rise to the development of Mahayana Buddhism in China and Japan in contrast to the traditional Theravada Buddhism which is prevalent in the South East Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Whichever the case may be, it was the Buddha's Samgha rather than his teaching which first insured for his religion its great vitality and its rapid spread, and which afterwards became a stronghold against the deep-rooted caste system of India. It naturally excited the hostility of the Brahmins and consequently was driven out from Indian soil.

Chapter 3

A Short History of Buddhism in China

Buddhism was first introduced to China in 61 A.D. when the Han dynasty was powerless to control the subject and was exposed to external threats. In those days Confucian ideology and structure were collapsing and Taoism prevailed among the people. The Han government permitted the spread of Buddhism in order to comfort the people who had a seemingly homogeneous thought in Taoism. They were attracted by Buddhist novel formulas for the attainment of supernatural powers, immortality or salvation. Buddhist scriptures and ornaments were brought to China by the Indian monks who had travelled all the way through Central Asia.

With the downfall of the Han dynasty in 220 A.D., China was divided into two, one in the South and the other in the North. Northern China was governed by non-Chinese rulers who were free from the pressures of traditional Confucian ideology and encouraged their subjects to promote Buddhist practices. Southern China was governed by Chinese rulers but they also were dissatisfied with traditional Confucian ideology, so they began to take an interest in the Buddhist thought. Buddhism not only permeated to the common people but also to the government officials, and the rising popularity of the Buddhist community of monks soon gave rise to the problem between the community and the head of the state. In India, the Buddhist community were refrained from worldly affairs, while in China the emperor was considered to be supreme and everyone should be prostrated before him. When the Northern Wei absorbed all the kingdoms in north China, the emperor Wu-ti felt that the rising Buddhist community of monks had threatened the politics and economy of the state, so he carried out, in 446, the persecution of Buddhism, ordering all the temples, stupas, scriptures and paintings to be destroyed and all the monks to be executed. However, when he died, his orders were cancelled and Buddhism was ever more revived among the people. It was in the Sui dynasty that the emperor finally united north and south China in 589 and decided to utilize Buddhism as an ideology to knit the Chinese and non-Chinese of the entire country closer together. The government assisted in every way possible the building of temples, stupas, statues and in translating almost all the Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese.

When the T'ang dynasty was in power in the seventh and eighth centuries, Buddhism flourished along with the government embracing the whole of China and portions of Central Asia. The Buddhist community of monks also gained materialistic wealth through the acquisition of lands. Contributions of money and foods sometimes far exceeded the needs of the monastic community living in the temples, so were used for the furtherance of the religion and commercial transactions. This prosperity was however interrupted by the persecution of the T'ang emperor in 845. Ever since, the separation of the Buddhist community and the state has been enforced, and the former has independently persued its aim of universal salvation without the patronage of the succeeding governments. The Indian type of Buddhism gradually transformed itself to the Chinese environment and became more Chinese than Indian and finally became a Chinese religion. In the course of time, the new Buddhist schools of thought such as T'ien-t'ai (Tendai), Ch'an (Zen) and Pure Land were established in order to fulfill the religious aspirations of the Chinese, and the Buddhist community in China became more closely identified with the interests of the people. It finally neglected the anti-social and anti-family element of Indian Buddhism and rather emphasized the worldly unity of all life and the universality of salvation.

Chapter 4

A Short History of Buddhism in Japan

1. INTRODUCTION OF BUDDHISM INTO JAPAN

Buddhism was first made known to the Japanese in 552 A.D. when a Korean king presented brilliant Buddhist images, scripture-scrolls, and ornaments to the Japanese Emperor. In those days, Japan was ruled by the Emperor Kimmei and his court nobles. He immediately consulted the court for a decision as to whether or not Japan should accept the foreign cult of Buddhism. The orthodox Mononobe and Nakatomi families strongly opposed this on the ground that Japan already had the traditional religion of Shinto. On the other hand, the Soga family favored Buddhism since they thought it had something to offer for the enrichment of Japanese culture. Endless disputes took place, and the Emperor finally deferred the matter to the Soga family.

2. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BUDDHISM AS JAPANESE RELIGION

About forty years later when the Prince Regent Shotoku (574-622) succeeded to the throne after the Emperor Yomei's death, Buddhism was officially recognized as the Japanese religion. He was a great stateman and a devout Buddhist. He felt deeply that only with Buddhist teachings could he make Japan a centrally unified and culturally refined country. In order to carry out his plan, Prince Regent Shotoku issued the Seventeen-Article Constitution in 604 and stressed in it that every subject should faithfully respect the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma and Samgha) as the supreme and unmistakable guidance. He ordered the government to build many Buddhist temples among which the most famous one is Horyuji Temple, the world's oldest wooden structure now standing near the then capital of Nara. Besides his official work, he lectured on the Buddhist scriptures known as the Saddharma Pundarika (Hokkekyo in Japanese), Srimala (Shomangyo), and Vimalakirti (Yuimakyo). It was because of his patronage and devotion that Buddhism was firmly established on Japanese soil and became the national religion of the Japanese.

3. BUDDHISM IN THE NARA PERIOD

(710-783 A.D.)

After the death of Prince Regent Shotoku, Buddhism continued to flourish among the court nobles, monks and artisans. Buddhist temples, called Kokubunji, were built by the Emperor Shomu in every province, the headquarters of which was at Todaiji Temple in Nara. Buddhist scriptures were introduced from China and without much modification they were studied by the Japanese monks. Buddhist images and ornaments were made by the Japanese artisans, some of which can still be seen in the older temples in Japan. Buddhist temples in those days were the center of culture; they were not only used as places of worship, but also as schools, hospitals, dispensaries, orphanages, and refuges for older people. The monks were also school teachers, physicians, engineers, and developers of many construction projects. Therefore, the Japanese government encouraged and supported the Buddhist institutions and monks spiritually and materially, so that they could work with the government and the people more effectively.

As the numbers of monks increased, they were gradually classified into six Buddhist schools; namely, the Sanron, Hosso, Kegon, Ritsu, Kusha, and Jojitsu. These schools were direct importations from China and were studied at the various government-established temples. The main tenets of these schools can be summarized as follows:

(a) The Sanron School was introduced to Japan in 625 by the Korean monk, Ekwan. As its name implies [San meaning three] this school has three canonical texts; namely Nagarjuna's Madhyamika Shastra (Churon), Sata Shastra (Hyakuron), and the Aryadeva's Dvadasa-Nikqya-Shastra (Junimonron). This school teaches that only by negating the belief in existence as well as the non-existence of things can we approach the Middle Way where our spirit identifies itself with the Absolute Reality.

(b) The Hosso School was introduced to Japan in 652 by the Chinese monk, Dosho. Although the texts are numerous, the most important one is the Vijnaptimatrata-Siddhi-Shastra (Joyuishikiron). This school teaches that nothing exists but our thought. Because our thought creates the world, it is real, and therefore since the latter is a projection of thought it is only a dream.

(c) The Kegon School was introduced to Japan in 736 by Ryoben. The main text is the Avatamsaka Shastra (Kegonkyo). This school teaches that one speck of life, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is the manifestation of Buddha-nature, and has its meaning in the over-all universe.

(d) The Ritsu School was introduced to Japan in 738 by the Chinese monk, Ganjin. The main text is the Vinaya (Ritsu) of Tripitaka, the collection of Buddhist scriptures. This school teaches that the strict observance of Buddhist precepts is necessary in order to attain the state of Dhyana and Samadhi, the highest enlightenment. Ganjin established by himself, the Kaidan (ordination platform) at Todaiji Temple in Nara where ordinations for all Japanese Buddhist monks took place. Later on, two more Kaidans were established for the convenience of monks residing in the countryside.

(e) The Kusha School was introduced to Japan in 658 by Chitsu and Ghitatsu. The main text is Vasubandhu's Abhidharma-Kosa-Shastra (Abidarma Kusharon). This school teaches that our "ego" does not exist. It is merely an illusion. Man is only the aggregate of diverse elements such as sensation, memory, intelligence, which constitute reality. These elements are called dharmas which really exist. Therefore, the ego must be dissolved into the sea of dharmas although distinct from them.

(f) The Jojitsu School was introduced to Japan in 625 by the Korean monk, Ekwan. The main text is Harivarman's Satya-Siddhi-Shastra (Jojitsuron). This school teaches that the past and future state of things are not real, but only the present state is real. Therefore, each moment cannot be neglected, but should be lived meaningfully.

The front picture shows the image of Infant Buddha enshrined at Kofukuji Temple in Nara.

These six schools were not independent sects, but existed in one temple side by side just like various departments in a college, and each school contributed much to the development of later Buddhist thought in Japan.

4. BUDDHISM IN THE HEIAN PERIOD

(794-1185 A.D.)

In 782 the Japanese capital was transferred from Nara to Kyoto, and accordingly became the Buddhist center of Japan. Soon after, two new Buddhist sects were introduced from China, namely, Tendai and Shingon. The six Buddhist schools gradually lost their popularity and were over-shadowed by these two sects.

Saicho (767-822) established himself a Japanese Tendai Sect on Mt. Hiei, near Kyoto, and tried to synthesize all the then existing philosophical concepts. While in China, he studied Esoteric, Zen, and Joe Buddhism along with the T'ien T'ai Buddhism. He also studied the Brahmajala Sutra (Bonmokyo), a modification of Hinayana precepts. Upon his return to Japan he refuted the standpoints of all other schools, particularly of the Sanron and Hosso schools, and instead expounded the Ekayana doctrine based on the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra. It emphasized the belief that all forms of life stood on an equal basis in attaining Buddhahood, so that even conciliation between Buddhism and Shinto was made possible.

In those days all the Buddhist monks had to accept the Hinayana precepts at the Kaidan, otherwise they were not admitted or qualified as Buddhist monks. Saicho, dissatisfied with this rule, wanted to be recognized under the Mahayana precepts which were suitable for Japanese monks. Several times he submitted a petition to the Emperor Saga to open a Japanese Kaidan on Mt. Hiei, and only after his death was the request granted by the Emperor in 822. From this time on, the Tendai Sect gained independence from the older schools in Japan, and from the fetter of the Hinayana precepts.

Kukai (744—835) was a contemporary of Saicho, and he also studied Esoteric Buddhism in China. Upon his return to Japan, he established the Shingon Sect on Mt. Koya, and expounded the mystical teaching of Oneness with Vairochana Buddha based on the text of the Mahavairochana Sutra (Dainichikyo). Unlike Saicho, Kukai did not deny the validity of the Hinayana precepts. He accepted both the Hinayana and the Mahayana precepts and interpreted them according to his own esoteric teaching. He classified Buddhist thought into two parts: esoteric and exoteric, and taught that all sects other than the Shingon Sect were exoteric, because they were known and revealed by the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. On the other hand, in Esoteric Buddhism, truth is hidden and must be revealed. There are in the universe the knower and the known, and they must be identical with Vairochana Buddha through the mystical practices of mantra and mudra in order for the universe to be in harmony. Kukai also classified the then existing concepts into ten parts according to the degree of profundity: 1. No doctrines at all, 2. Confucianism and Taoism, 3. The Sankya and Vaiseshika schools, 4. The Kusha school, 5. The Jojitsu school, 6. The Hosso school, 7. The Sanron school, 8. The Tendai school, 9. The Kengon school, and 10. The Shingon school. According to him, the Shingon sect is the supreme and complete form of religion, while the other schools are lesser and incomplete.

However, the philosophical speculation of Tendai and the mystical ritualism of Shingon had only attracted the minds of court nobles, monks, and scholars who were weary of studying Buddhism theoretically. The mass of the people had nothing to do with these developments of thought. The monks, belonging to either the Tendai or Shingon sects, became independent from the six schools, and defended themselves from the influence of the government. Once they obtained the privilege of being monks, they lived together at the leading temples, and fought each other and sometimes against the government. The institutions lost sight of the original intention of saving suffering people, and became a third power standing against the Imperial government and its counterpart. The temple life became lax, and there was degeneration and corruption among the monks in Buddhist institutions. Seeing this, the ordinary people were greatly discouraged and deeply impressed by the impermanency and vicissitudes of life.

5. BUDDHISM IN THE KAMAKURA PERIOD

(1185-1333 A.D.)

Buddhism was confined to the priviledged classes of court nobles, monks, scholars, and artisans who had enough time to master the complicated philosophy and rituals of Buddhism. It was in the Kamakura Period that a drastic change took place in the field of religion; Buddhism became for the first time the religion of the masses. As the new military government was established by Yoritomo at Kamakura in 1192, three prominent Buddhist Sects were founded one by one, namely, the Joe, Zen, and Nichiren Sects. They had common standpoints; they were established on the foundation of the Tendai doctrine and yet transcended it in their own respective ways.

Honen (1133-1212) studied the Tendai doctrine thoroughly on Mt. Hiei, and yet he was dissatisfied with a teaching which only taught the definition of salvation and the superiority of the Tendai doctrine as opposed to other schools of thought. However, what he wanted was a way to relieve others from suffering and to gain salvation himself. One day he came across the Genshin's Ojoyoshu in which he found a passage by the Chinese monk, Shantao, "Only call the name of Amida Buddha with one's whole heart,—whether walking or standing still, whether sitting or lying, this is the practice which brings salvation without fail, for it is in accordance with the original vow of the Buddha." In this passage he at last found what he was seeking. He did not, however, deny the validity of other elaborate teachings and methods found in other schools. But he was convinced that this simple and straightforward calling of Amida Buddha was the only way for him and for everyone who needed relief in that turbulent and degenerate age, because it required no elaborate rituals or complicated philosophy, but only the calling or Namu Amida Butsu which anyone can do wherever and whoever he is.

In 1175 Honen established the independent Joe Sect which was based on three canonical texts, the Larger Sukhavativyuha Sutra (Muryojukyo), the Smaller Sukhavativyuha Sutra (Kan Muryojukyo), and the Amitayurdhyana Sutra (Amidakyo). He wrote the Senchakushu in order to defend his standpoint against the orthodox schools, and preached the teaching of the Nembutsu (calling of Namu Amida Butsu) to the mass of the people. However, his ever-increasing popularity among them encountered strong opposition from other schools and the government that in 1207 his teachings were prohibited and he was exiled to the Isle of Shikoku with a handful of disciples. Later he was permitted to return and his teachings were officially recognized. One of Honen's disciples, Shinran, further developed his teachings and established the Joe Shin Sect.

Shinran (1173-1262) deeply perceived the weak nature of human beings, and had become convinced that salvation could only be found in self-surrender and in complete reliance on the saving power of Amida Buddha. He totally abandoned the precepts of both Hinayana and Mahayana which were "musts" for all monks in those days. Instead he got married and called himself the most wicked man in the world. He simply wanted to identify himself with ordinary men in order to save his wretched self and to pave the way of relief for other suffering people.