FROM-THE- LIBRARY-OF

TR1NITYCOLLEGETORDNTO

Second Edition Revised and Enlarged.

The Praises of Amida.

SEVEN BUDDHIST SERMONS

TRANSLATED
FROM THE

JAPANESE
OF

TADA KANAI
REV. ARTHUR LLOYD, M. A.
LECTURER AT THE IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY, NAVAL ACADEMY, AND HIGHER COMMERCIAL SCHOOL IN TOKYO. FORMERLY FELLOW OF PETERHOUSE
CAMBRIDGE.

TOKYO.
Published by the Kyobunkwan,

YOKOHAMA: KELLY AND WALSH.

1907.

Printed nt the liikkyo Shn Printing

Office.

Preface to the Second Edition.

THE
of

readiness
Praises

with
of

which the

First Edition

the

Amida has been

second

sold

has

brought Z5
I

me
Tad a
a

to

Edition sooner than

expected.

Mr.
send

himself has
of
I

been kind enough to

me

list

corrections

and emendations
into

most of which

have

worked
I

the Text,

though
as notes

in

a few

instances

have added them

among
to

the

Addenda and Corrigenda

to
this

which
very

have appended
think

Edition.

am
may

glad

that

my

Translation

now

claim to be a fairly
s

accurate

rendering of

the original author

I

meaning.
referred
to

have

in

the

Addenda

my

in

debtedness for some information about the Nestorians to Mr.

R.Y. Saeki, an acknowledgement

I

which
to

ought to have made sooner.

venture
I

hope that the additional information which

have given touching Ryonin Shonin and the Yiid/.unembutsu

Sect
in

may
1

not
the
s

be

without

some

importance

estimating

affinity

between

Amida and

Christ.

Ryonin
visitant,

visitor

may have
firmly

been a supernatural
lieved.

as

he

be

Or he may have been an

01

unknown
was new

man, possessed
to
I

knowledge

which

Ryonin, though

familiar to us.
I

ought to add that

do not know Mr. Tada

he
is

even by sight and that

in

no wise
I

res

ponsible for any of the conclusions which

trying to
establish.
for

am
for

Indeed,
I

can
in

speak

none but myself;

am what

mediaeval

Japan would have been called a ronin, or eccle

siastical

free-lance, for the time being.

A. LL.
Tokyo,
15

June, 1907.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION
I.

SALVATION
IDOLS AND RELIGIOUS SYMKOLS

9
27
IN

II.

III.

THE VOICE OF AMIDA SPEAKING

THE HEART

46
63
82

IV.

THE TRUE HEART

PRESENT DUTIES
FJGHT

V.
VI.

THE

GOOD FIGHT WITH ALL

92

THY MIGHT
VII.

THE

WORLD
IT

AND

Ho\v

TO

PASS
,

THROUGH

no

INTRODUCTION.
I

read

AS
them

my

Translations of Rev. K.
I

Tada

Sermons,

feel

that they

sound so very

Christian in thought that a reader might

almost be tempted to suppose

that

had made and that

up

for

purposes

of

my
all.

own,

they were not translations at

ture of a few sen
is

on the original

The expendi book (its name

is

SJnido Koiva

fl^j|inj|;?5

and

it

published
will sho\v

by Bunmeidd) Hongo

S/iichdme,

Tokyo)

any person acquainted

translation,

with

Japanese that
perfect,
is

my
the

though

far

from

in

main
nal.

faithful,

at least

to the ideas of the origi

The Sermons
and

are written in a beautifully are

quite

clear Japanese,

worthy of being

made
It

subjects of linguistic study.

will

suffice,

by

way

of introduction,

if

say but a few words of the

in

Buddhist

Saviour

whose

honour Mr. Tada has

written.

Of
most

ancient

royal descent, this

B_ing, in the

remote Past, emptied Himself of the

splendour

The Praises of Amida.

His
rank
in

of

order

to

lead a religious

life.

His

own

salvation

had been completed, and

He
Pie

was on the brink of Nirvana, when

back and saw His suffering brethren,

He

looked

whom

was about

to leave

behind
their

in

the

miseiies

of
:

human

life.

For

sakes

He

turned back

He would
worked

not enter into His rest until

a
salvation
for
all

He had

out

mankind, one

which even the most ignorant and helpless could

lay hold of

and be saved, a
all

large

ship

which

should

take

men
and

safely across the tempes

deal!).
it

tuous waves of

life

It

was not done

;

without a struggle, but

the

was

clone

and when
last

Vow

had been accomplished, and the

ordeal endured, Paradise had

in

come

into existence

the Pure of

King

Land beyond the Setting Sun. that Land is Amida Who has
Paradise."

The
"

en

tered into His rest in

His
is

"

Name,

through
those

faith

in

His

Name,"

said to save

who

believe on

Him, and He comes both

of

now and
call

at the

hour

death

to

those

who

upon Him

with a thankful heart.

question of real significance, not merely to

Introduction*

the student of comparative religion, but,

cally, to the

practi

Christian^jmissionary, and
in
is

to every

one
day,

interested
is,

the religious

movement

of to

Who
be

Amida

The

points of resem

blance between
ing
to

Amida and
over

Christ are too strik

passed

unnoticed, even
stories in

by a

casual reader.

Can the two

any sense

be said to have a

common
ever

origin

No
Amida

attempt

has

been

made
it

to

give

a historical embodiment, and

that
in

must be

remembered
dhists,

there

are

very
place

many Bud
no
trust in

even

Japan,

who
I

Him
show
is

and His Paradise.

is

believe, however, that

such an embodiment
at

possible,

and

hope

to

some

future date that the

Amida

legend

an Oriental adaptation of the Life

is

of Christ.
said, in the
in

Amida

first

mentioned, so

it

is

writings of

As

vaghosha,

who

flourished

the

reign of the Indo-Scythian Sovereign Kanishka.

Kanishka

date
ist

is

sometimes assigned
;

to the

middle of the
darkar* of
Trans.

century A.D.

but Dr. Bhan-

Bombay

gives extremely
vol.

good reasons
(1900).

Bombay Branch R.A.S.

XX

4
for placing

The Praises of Ainida.

him

in

the

latter

half

of

the

3rd

century.

In either case, these was time for the

Gospel to have reached India, before

wrote, and

As vaghosha
fact,

we

know, as a matter of

that

Christ was preached in that land at a very early

date.
itself

The Indian Legend of Krishna (which may

be an adaptation of the Life of Christ) has
in a

been found
suit

Buddhicised form, re-wriiten to

if

the creed of Buddhist readers,* and

writer

one

Buddhist
sense,

edited

Krishna

in

Buddhist

why
be

should not another writer have done

Story of Christ
with
the
?

the

same

for the

Such a thing
and
best

might

done

purest

of

motives.

When

the Nestorian schism took place in the

all

Christian Church,

the
off

Bishops

East

of

the

Euphrates

were
of

cut

from

Unity

with the

Churches

Western

Asia and Europe.

afterwards

The

followers of these
in

men were
;

known

China as Nestorians

but there had probably

in

been Christian Missions

* Zeitschrift
vol.
cler

China

long

before

deulschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschafl,

L1II
j>.

25.

Introduction*

Nestorian days, and

it

was not before the mid

A. I), that the
pure
first
first

dle of the 4th century

sect

of

Amida
in

worshippers
China.

and

simple
to

was
conic
Ri-

formed

The

Christian

to Japan was a Nestorian physician,

mi,

named

who was
at

highly honoured

by the Imperial
Ncs~
i;i

Court

Nara during the ninth century.

is

torianism

known

in

Japan

as

Kcikyo;
as

China
gion

it

was sometimes spoken of

the

reli

that

came from

Tach .n,
TaisJiinji,

i.e.

the

Roman

Empire, and the name

there as
the
title

found here ami

of

some

ancient

temple

in

Japan, would seem

to point to the fact that the

remnants of Nestorianism had become gradually

amalgamated with the predominant

Buddhism.
i

The

history of Nestorianism seems to have bee

a history of the abandonment, one

by one, of

the

bulwarks that surround that Inner Citadel of the

Christian
Faith,

the Belief in God, the Creator,

the Saviour, the Sanctifier.

But there are certain differences between Chris

tianity

and Amida-ism

which must constantly

be borne iu mind.

In our simple Christian creed

The Praises of
are
able
to

Amida.
certain
distinction

we

make
of
the the

between
the

the

articles

our

Faith.

Sonic of

propositions
are

of

Apostles
outlying
it

Creed
forts

(for

instance)

like

of

beleaguered
fend with

city,

places which
s

is

right to de

all

one

might, and yet not

so vital

to the safety

of the

Fortress that their capture

by the enemy must involve the

render
for
in

immediate

sur

of the Citadel.

We
to

contend

earnestly
:

the ivholc

Faith as delivered to the Saints

some

cases,

we

try
to

repair breaches

that

have

been

made,

re-occupy

positions from

which we have been forced

establish

to retire,

and

to re

communications with batteries that have

been cut off and isolated; but we

know

that these

outworks are only of use so long as they guard

the

main

and

central

Citadel.

^And

in

the

Fortress of Christian Belief the

Citadel
is

mJn

and central
in
"

the

Faith

in

the Trinity,

God

the Father,
in
"

Who made me and all the God the Son, Who redeemed me
and
in
"

world,"

and

all

mankind,"

God

the

Holy Ghost,
of

Who
God."

sanctifieth

me and

all

the elect people

Introduction.

7
:

This
are

is

the inner Citadel of the Faith

the rest

outworks,

intended

to

secure

the

main
all

position,

outworks to be defended with

but outworks.

our

might,

Into this inner Citadel of

Our Faith Shinshu

spite of the

Amida-ism does not

striking resemblances

penetrate, in

between Amida and Christ,

it

and
that

in

spite of

(as I believe

to

be)

the

fact

the

two

are

in

their

origin

the

same

Person.

For

though Amida-ism speaks of a

it

Saviour,

whom
in

proclaims
all

to

be

the

Father
is

of Mankind, nay, of

that live,

Amida

not
;

the Father,

the sense

of being the Creator

and

it

is
"

our

glory as Christians to believe in

God
and

the

Father Almighty,

Makjr of Heaven
that,
in

Earth,"

and to maintain
unfettered

Creation,
pre-exist-

God was absolutely

cnt Matter, or
limitations
(if

by any

by any Law, but only by the

such
they

may

be

called) of Ilis
It
is

own
that

Infinite

Wisdom and Goodness.

falls

here

Amida-ism

short of the Highest Truth,

if
it

and that

in spite

of the fact that,

is

true,

as Christ said, that

He

that hath seen

me

hath

The Praises of Amida.

?een the Father
it

is

also true that he that has

caught but the glimpse of Christ that Amida-ism

gives,

has also caught a glimpse of the Father.

it

When
will

has
that

been

demonstrated,
is

as

hope

it

be,

Amida
we

none other than that

worship
reality

Person

Whom

Christians

as

our
to

Saviour-God, and

fur

Whose

we claim
will

have

historical evidence, then

Amida-ism
o
<*ain

rise
*

to the perfect

Truth, and

will

in

courage, in
>

livngth, in sweetness, in honesty,

It

and
our

in

truth.

was not

to destroy
:

Amid

that

Master
to

was revealed
idea
-

it

was to give

substance
it

the

which he expresses, and

will

some day be

.vn that the Gospels of Christianity are, in fact,

the records of the Earthly Life of

Amida

Nyorai.
or
to

In the meantime, whether Christians

dhists,

Bud
good
and
in
all

we

will

provoke

one

another
in

works, to

making the
particular,

world

general,

Japan

in

a purer, nobler,

and

ways a better

place,

and

if

we accomplish
in

so

much we

shall not

have laboured

vain.

A. LL.

The Praises of Amida.

i.

Salvation,
There
burning
is

no

rest

in

the
are

three
of

worlds.
all

They
of

are like

house.

They

full

manner

Confusion,

Pain, and Suffering. TVrth and

are

Old Age, Sickness, and Death,

burn like
a
fire

ever

in

them, and these things

which
Three
of his

nothing can quench. The Tathagata has

left
at:

the

Conflagration
in

of

the

Worlds, and
Forest
"are

is

welling

peace

the

tranquil ity
Worlds,"

Abode

(Paiadise).

"All

the three

saith

He,

my

pos^s^ion.
\

All the Living Beings that are in

them

are rny Children.

I,

he World

is

full

of

much

tribulation, but

by

Myself, will

work out

salvation."

HOKKEKYO.

I.

Suppose

were staying at an Inn, and

should turn to one of

my

fellow guests, and ask

him where he came from and whither he was

going, and suppose the

man

should

reply

that

he
tell.

had not
Should
folly

the

slightest

idea,

and could
hands
it

not
at

we
the

not

all
?

hold up our

the

of

man
men

And

yet

is

not an

even

more
of

astonishing
t :e

thought
that
live
?

that
in

we,

the

majority

the

world,

should be guilty of similar folly

io

17it

rntisc

2.

We
is

read

in

the

Holy Books

that

"the

fool

so ignorant that he thinketh himself wise,

and
from

that
at

he

knoweth
nor
is

neither

where
he
will

he came

birth,

whither

go

after

death."

The
it

text

not one to be
;

applied
is

to

others,

applies to ourselves

for

it

we our
to

selves
sqlvcs,
in

that

do not know with

to

regard
tip

our-

whence we came

take

our abode

this

human
left

life,

nor whither we shall go after

we have

this hostelry.

To
came
they

be

sure,

we do know
s*

that

our

bodies
that

forth from our mother

will

wombs, and
in
it

be resolved
is

into

dust

the grave.
is

But the body

real self that

not the self; and

not whence

of this

we know The

it

came nor
which we
is

whither

it

goeth.
is

past through

have come
dark
too.

dark, the future in front of us

And
its
it

we,

who

live

in

this hostelry

and enjoy
shall leave

protection,
to

know

not

when we

plunge into the thick darkness

of our further journey.

Darkness
is

is

always the

parent of fear
for

this

darkness

standing waiting

us with jaws widely opened, ready to swal-

S iti ation.
low us
hearts
3.

up.
us,

\\~hcn

we think

of

it

our

weak

fail

and we tremble

for terror.
fu

It

is

not only about the past and the

are absolutely ignorant
:

ture that

we

we know

nothing even of the present.

get up,

Day by day we
about,

we go

to bed,

we move

we

take
lives

our
the

rest.

And
same
at
is

then
life,

we

die.

Every one

very
live
it

and we do not know why

hold that the
it

we

all.

Some

end of

existence

happiness, others that

is

progress.
is

Can

it,

however,

be

said

that there

such a
In the
:

things as true happiness in the world

midst of joy we are overwhelmed with sorrow

behind pleasure

you always

find

some lurking

pain, and the shifting breezes of Impermanency,

sweeping over
flowers of

this

world,
as

shrivel

up the

fair

happiness,

the

Morning

Glory

shrivels under the Rising Sun.

Or, perhaps, you will say that progress

is

the
is

end of existence, and that

something that
is

its

ultimate

aim

above

us.

When

clouds

drift

over the sky, they really

move

neither backwards

nor

forwards.

And

we,

whose

Future

is

all

12

The Frals.s of Amuta.

darl<ness,

how

can

we have

a definite

aim before

us,

and how, lacking that aim, can we think of

?

making progress towards a goal

It

follows, therefore, that happiness

and pro
in

gress are, both of them,

empty expressions

capable of realization, and that we ourselves are

vainly

trying

to
is

realize

things that

cannot be
tell.

realized.
4.

Why
tell

that

We
it

cannot

Again,
will

you
you

will

sometimes
is

find

people
to
dis

who

that

impossible

cover the raison

the individual

etre of

life

by looking only

at
is

self.

The

individual, they say,

a portion of the State or of Society, and

apart

from these he

is

nothing.

If,

however, we look

upon the individual as a constituent member of

the whole body,

we

shall see that the

is

end which
or

the individual must aim at

the

happiness

the progress of the State or of Society.

A
word

man born
outside

blind can

know

nothing of the

and

cannot

therefore
it

become a

leader

of others.

How
not

is

possible then that

lies his

the man,

who does

know wherein

own

happiness

or advancement, can

understand the

Salvation.

secrets of the welfare

and progress of the State

the
life,

or of Society

Or how can
for

man, who has

set before his

no aim or object
country,
or

his

own

before society in general, a definite

object after

which to
it

strive

Or, again, can

be

said

that

tiic

life

of

State or of Society, as contrasted with that of an

individual,
is

eternal

Mas

the world ever seen

?

a State that has lasted for ten thousand years

And

cannot even the

life

of this Earth on which

we dwell be summed up by
figures?
It

short

row

of

will

not

be long ere things return

the

to their primeval chaos in

course

of

mun
offer

dane

revolutions.

Why

then
lives
?

should
for

we

ourselves
bears in
5.
it

or

sacrifice

our

that

which
tell,

the seeds of decay

We

cannot

Seeing, then, that

we do

not understand

the raison
it

d etre even
human

of the State or of Society,

the mean-

follows that
either of
$,

we cannot comprehend
life

incf

or of the Universe as a
:

whole.
is

Heaven

stretches high above us

Earth

at

our feet: the birds sing, the flowers bloom.

?

But why

We

camiot

-tell,--

-We -can only think

14
of

The Praises of

Am* da*
obscure
vision,
will

them

as the

shadows of an

which

we cannot understand, and which

Husband,
v/ife

presently vanish.

these are but

shadows
too,

in

the vision.

Parents, children,

these

are

but

shadows.

So

are rank

and fame,

wealth and achievement.

And we

ourselves are
vision
in

but shadows moving through the

the

midst of other
ing not

shadows of similar hue, and know

shall

when we

vanish

away.
not

We
when

are

standing upon shadows,

we know
the

the

shadows
"

will

shift

and

vision

be broken.

The laws governing motion and

all

rest

through

out the Universe are

of destruction

and

discontent."

phenomena significative I low can we

fear,
:

help
"

the

feeling

of loneliness,

and pain

The

three worlds* have no rest

house."

they are like

a burning

And we

are dwelling in the

burning house of pain.

6.

Yet, strange, to say,

that

the

majority

of us

forget

we dwell

in

a burning house, and

give ourselves up to pleasure and enjoyment, as

*
i.e.

the material world, the world of form, and the ab-

,ulme \\orld which transcends huim.n thought,

Salvation.

15
at
all.

though there were no danger

our eyes to the danger as

But shut
the fact
that
it,

we
is

will,

re
is

mains that a house on

being burned
our
life is
;

fire

house
in

we cannot
full

rest easily

and

always

of

discontent.

I,

you

everybody,
that
yet,
is

we

are

always desiring something

outside of us and

beyond our reach, and

rarely quite

when we
it

get

it,

it

is

what we
re

thought
alization

would

be.

And

even when the

it

meets our expectations,

it

is

of no real

use to us, for

is

but a

shadow

in

our Vision,

Hence
cause

it

comes

that each one of us has his

is

own
care,

of

discontent, and

troubled
or

by

despondency, anger,
cannot agree
tressed

hatred,

envy,

that

he

with others, nor avoid being dis

strife.

by bickerings and

Thus, though
that

men
in

shut their eyes to the

fact

they

live

burning house, yet the pains of the con

flagration

make them

writhe and quail.

that that

In spite
are not
are

of
in

all

this,
:

error

we go on insisting we flatter ourselves

boast
that

we

things

right,

we

our

views are the Truth,

and our doctrines the Way.

Can we avoid the

The Praises of A?n:da.

sharp reproof of the Tathagata,*

"

who

said

that

the

fool

is

so ignorant that he

deems himself

to be wise
7.
full

?"

It

is

quite true that the

Three Worlds are

think so or no.

of pain, whether

we

like to

The

pale, lightless, flames

of suffering are at this

side.

moment around
to time

us
it

on every
is

From

time

we may,

true,
it

enjoy some transient

the pleasure
of fresh
is

feeling of pleasure, but

is

of an

untrue vision, the precursor

pain,

and

when

it

has vanished,

nothing

left

but the

flames of suffering.

Furthermore, flame kindles flame, and the

burns on for ever
ing,
in
:

fire

suffering brings

forth suffer
full

endless
so
is

succession.

Yesterday was
will

of

pain,

to-day,

so
tears

be

to-morrow,
into this

With
*
writers
I

cries of pain

and

we came

have frequently noticed

to
limit

the

word

writers

use

the

expression

a tendency amongst Shinshu Such Tathagala (Jap. Nyorai). Shaknson to denote Sakyamuni,

whilst Nyorai, usc-d absolutely, almost always refers to Amida,

the Tathagata
ni.

par
not

excellence,

the Deing greater than Sakyaiv.uthe case, because one sometimes

Tins

is

absolutely

tinds the
r

term

also

used

of

Sakyamuni,

but

in

this senr.on

.\

vorai seems to

be

co: s stcr.tlv

used of Amida.

Salvation.

17

world, with the same

to

we

shall

again

go hence
the
life

meet

the
is

unknown sorrows of
true

to

come.

This

not only of ourselves

the

same flames of

suffering

envelope

our parents,
sisters,

our wives and children, our brothers and

our friends and acquaintances.

The whole hu

man

race

stands

surrounded by a conflagration

of suffering

and pain, the flames are quite near

to us, they take hold of our sleeves, they touch

our

faces.

We

can

hear around

us the cries

and groans of suffering humanity.

help seeking for some
8.

How
?

can we

way

of salvation.

At such

a time, Learning and Philosophy,

which are the

Ways

of the World, can give us

no help, try as they may.

unable to go a single foot
confines of this world.
s

For why
length

They

are

beyond the

They

arc themselves in

the

midst

of the
it ?

conflagration,

how

can they

save

men from

There are also many forms

of religion which are able to give

tain
tell

men no
Some
in

cer

grounds of hope.
us,

For why

of

them

poor feeble men that dwell

the midst

of Pain, to save ourselves from Pain by our

own

iS

The Praises of Amidct,

;

inefficient efforts

and

how can

we,

that

are

choked and blinded by the smoke and dust of

the
fire,

find
?

our

own way
forms

out from the Flames

of
religion,

of Suffering

Other

again,
after

exhort us to forsake our

virtue,

sins,

and follow

a
us,

thing,

alas!

beyond the

power of
by the
train,

most of

seeing that

we

are exhausted
in
its

sufferings

which Error has brought

and have no strength to leap over the surround

ing

wall

of flame

that

envelopes

the

house.
fol

How
low

can

we

of ourselves forsake our

sins,

after virtue,
It

and break through the Flames

is

of Suffering?
trust in

impossible for us to put our

in
if

Learning or Philosophy, or even

of religious

the

great majority

systems,

and
of

we
r

cannot
tion

find

some more

certain

means
are,

Salva

wo must remain where we

roaring

hopelessly
of Suffering

surrounded by the
that has no encl.\
9.
/

ilames

But what
of the

is

that glad

sound

It

is

the

name
to

Buddha
ascribe

of Endless Light and Life,

all

whom we

glory.

Surrounded by
below, and

die flames

of Suffering,

above,

on

Salvation.

19

every

hand,
of

we hear
Boundless
in

the

Holy Name of the

and
Life.

Buddha

Light

Three

thousand years
later

the past, three thousand years

now,

can

make
It

absolutely

no difference

to this

Name.

has precisely the same virtue,

India or in near Japan.

whether
is
it

in distant

Nor

a matter of three thousand years only, nor

of India and Japan only.

places,
it

At
This
of a
is

all

times,

and

in all

is

the same. the

One Name

stands

revealed

in

midst
it

world of Shadow

and Vision, and

Vision.
It
is

alone

neither

Shadow nor
it

revealed

in

the
It
is

World, but
Light.
It

belongs not to this

the

world.
It
is

is

Way.

It

is

Life.

Power.

This name
tlu
Finite

alone has
solute and

come down from Heaven,

Invisible,
It

Ab
and

to
is

Karth,
the

the

the

Visible.

alone

rope which can

fire

draw us out from the burning

land
bliss.

of pain, and

us

safely

in

place of pure and eternal

10.
it
:

Iron

is

iron,

however much you polish

but the ancients had a tale about the philo

s

sopher

stone

which

could

change

iron

into

2O
gold.

The Prate cs of Amida.

The

grove

of

iniir
anil

has

poisonous

smell, which exhales

far
let

wide, and cannot

be approached.
open, and lo
!

Yet

but one bud of sendan*

is

the whole grove

filled

with the

sweetest odour.

So runs

the tale.
is

We
iran.

are the iron.

This world

the grove of

The

Holy

Name

is

the

Philosopher

Stone, and the one bud of scniLin.

Let Visions

be Visions;
trust in
this

but

when once we have put our

is

Name, which

no Vision, then
a

our
part

hearts,

which have hitherto only formed

fleeting

of a

dream, enter into the realms

of Reality, of True Light and Life.

And
a

when,

with this changed heart, we

of the world, the world
sion,
itself

take

wide view

ceases to be a Vi

and comes

to

be a part of the

Kingdom
we cannot
that Sal

of Light and Life.

II.
If there
is

a
is

way

of Salvation,

doubt that there

vation

also a

Land where

can

be

fully

realized

and accomplished.
in the
all

That country we can see even now,

ture.

Fu

The Future which was once

darkness

Iran and Scndan are Ihc name of Indian plants

Salvation.

is

now

bright with

streak of light.

Thanks

to the rope of salvation

to us,

which

lias

been thrown
in

hope has come bubbling up

into a rest

our hearts,
is

and we have entered

description.

which
can
be

beyond
obtained
Present,

This

happiness

even now, at the present moment.

The
is

which was once so

cure from
peril.

full

of clangers,

now

se

But Present and Future are impossible with

out
a

Past

and

our Past,

we can
have

see,

has

been the staircase by which we

to

mounted

the happiness of the Present and the Future.

Past, which once
to

The

was so meaningless, has

of
this

now come
ficance.

be

full

most precious

signi
this

In

word,

human

life,

and

whole Universe, have become transfigured with

glory,
all

through the merits of that One

Name

only.
12.

And now we
true

can for the

"

first

time begin

to
left

make

progress.

The Tathagata has

world and
has

the burning mansion of the

into
"

entered
forest

rest

in

the

peaceful abode of his

home

(i.e.,

the Paradise

which

is

our

22
true goal).
into

The Praises of Amida.

This Tathagata,*

who

has
is

entered
the true

the rest of his Paradise (for that

literal

and

meaning of the

"

Forest

Mouse"),

we
His

turn to

Him and advance day by

This
is,

clay

in

foot-steps.

indeed, true progress in

falling back,

which

there

is

no danger of

and the hap

It

piness resulting from which can never change.

is

a happiness which reaches into the future,

is

which
can

has no bounds, and

a true happiness.

We
a

behold that true happiness, now,

13.

in the present.
is

Thus we
running

see

that

there

now

line

of

light

through

and

threading- to

gether our lives, past, present, and future, which

hitherto

seemed

to

be but the confused visions

life,

of a dream.

Our human
is

which was but a

it

waking dream,
which leads us
Tathagata.

one no longer:
to

is

the gate

the

precious

Land

of

the

AYe
so

ourselves,

who were
we
are the

but

dream,
the
the
gift

are

no

longer

Saved,

Sons of Buddha.

We

stand at the gate of

received as a

Happy Land, which we have

more precious than
*
i.e.

our

bodies,

and

we

Amida.

Salvation.

23
gratitude

labour
for

henceforth
great
gift.

only
If

to

show our

this

now our motive-power

to

be

gratitude,
it,

we must labour our utmost

should
perish
in

show

though we

the at

tempt, though our country, or the world, should

come

to

naught. o

The rainbow
it

is

fleeting, o
"

perishing thing, yet

sun,
shine.

receives the light of the

and,

receiving

it,

does
life

its

best
fail

to at

let

it

So

we,

whose

may

any

moment, have received the glory of the Divine

Name,
duty,

and,

having received
hearts,

it,

it

becomes our

with thankful

to

labour that the

glory
14.

may

shine forth through us.

this

But again,
which
is

showing forth of
duty,
is

grati

tude,

our

not

done
lips

by

our

own

stregnth
the

only.

These

which
hands
are
all

pronounce

Divine

Name,
our

these

which
parts

laboriously

perform

duty,

of

the

body derived

from

our
us,
t

parents.

We
in

have a country which protects

homes
up,

which
wives

we

have

been

broug

we

have

and children, brothers and

and
friends,
all

sisters,

neighbours

of

whom

stand

24

The Praises of Amida,

round

and encourage
\ve

us,

arid

it

is

with their
this

help that
of ours.

are

able

to

discharge

duty

But
the

behold,

these

persons

are
are

no

longer
the

shadows of a dream.
helpers
that

They
us

now
Nor

valuable

enable

to

discharge
are

this sacred

duty of shov/ing gratitude.

so.

they the only ones that do

ditary and personal,

Our

foes, here

who

can
?

tell

how

mightily
said

they
that

act

as

encouragements

Sakyamuni
teacher:

Devadalta

was

his

religious

my
;

enemy has become my teacher. A few moments ago we were surrounded by pain, so we said

now we

are surrounded

by mercies.
in

But a

little

while ago

we were involved
are
life

shadows and
in

dreams,
glory.

now we

enveloped
has

light

and
of
Is

Human
:

become

mass

mercy

the

world an abode
?

of brightness.

not that a happy thing

1

6.

The

teachings of Buddhism are extreme

ly wide: the way of man, the laws of thought,

all

are

comprised

within

it.

But

it

contains

nothing greater than the doctrine which admo-

Salvation.

2$
to

nishes

us,

which draws our attention

those
of
of

our

own
cuts

miseries and

human

life,

which

down

to

the root

Suffering,

and places us

mercifully in the
trine of the

Kingdom
either

of Light.

The Doc
refuses
to

World

purposely
life,

to
for
it

see the miseries of

human
labours

or

tries

get

them, or else

to
is

suppress what

cannot forget.
that.
It

Buddhism

quite the reverse of

looks Suffering
it

in
it,

the
it

face,
is

it

under

stands

it,

defends us from
cut
will

the

Way
and

by
lu

which we can
rid

Misery to the root

of

it.

Men

try to say that they see

it
:

no

Suffering, they have to see

it,

they try to forget

notice
:

but

it

forces

itself
it,

upon

their

they

try to suppress
up.

it

comes constantly cropping

at the root,

But cut Misery

:

and
die.

it

cannot

grow again

it

can only wither and

at

Sakyaroots
Ju

immi was extremely sharp

of Misery and delivering
lias

cutting
it.

the

men from
into

Anil

put
is

the
the

axe ready

our hands.

That

Axe
1

One Sacred Name

sharp sword truly
is

of our Salvation.
is

6,

A
It

the

Name
that

of

Amida."

our glory

to

hold

sham

26

The Praises of Amida.

.

sword now
the dark
all

in

our
of

own

hands.

"

It
It

cutteth
cutteth

all

trees

"

ignorance."
suffering."

off

the branches of

The glory
the
that

of this
:

sword
.shall

we spread through we remain

in

all

word

else
for

the

house

burneth

ever.
17.
<

"The

three
all

worlds,"

said the Tathagata

all

himself,
.ire

"are

mine own, and

the

men

that
at

therein are

my

sons."

Now He
and

stands
to

the gate of the burning

"

house,

calls

us

Come
alone

ye out
will

quickly."

"

make

salvation,"

saith lie,

and

for

our sakes hath

the
J

He

given us this

One Vehicle

of Salvation

Messed

Name,

and hath de
Let us not

livered us from the

Burning House.

delay to follow this teaching and order ourselves

in

accordance

with

the

meaning of the Sacred

Vehicle of Grateful
bring
us
to

Name
Trust,"

Let us mount

"the

which

may

speedily

that
h.

most blessed thing

of all, the

Garden of Tru

Idols

and

Religions Symbols.

II.

Idols
"Thus
.s

and Religious Symbols,

Buddha
,

.akc

to
:uul

u-<">:

The
is

Forest of
it

/;</

is

in
<>:

area ten

iv/<///(/.v

H[iiai<

there

in

out;

p!.;i:l

onlv

The stntlitii being as yel only a rout, and nut having sendan. appeared above-ground, the whole forest of Iran is foti! and devoid of fragrancy, so that when the iran is in flower and
fruit, all other plants and animals droop and die. But afterward-, when the sendan pushes up and grows into a bush, the air is filled with beauty, and all living creatures are

puts forth

renovated.

Then Buddha spake when living the Buddha

sence.
Tf

again
in

tu

Fu-0

It

is

just

the

sumo

creature^
in

the midst of
Tf
will

their

heart.

and without ceasing they

once they
pr.ss

and death, think of they meditate on Him -well certainly come into His pre
life
life,

from death unto

P^vil

then will they

put

away from them

Great Mercy.
of
sfiitfan,

and Sin and make perfect the The Meditation on Buddha i- like the plain
all
life

which puts new

into the

whole

forest of irnn.
Y<~>.

Kw AM-RUTSU-S \M-M.M-K
I.

In

the

days
the

before

the

Restoration

of

Meiji,

when

whole

country
"

was bubbling

over with talk about the

"

bringing back of the

of the
Shogunale,"

Mikado,"

the

up-holding

and other kindred subjects, there was a samurai

* Sendiin
at

d Iran

are the

name of

trees.

28
of Mito,

77/6"

Praises of Ainida.

Takeda Kounsai by name, who conceiv

his

ed a great desire to serve

distinguished

country by some

eed of valour or act of wisdom,

purpose, collected a

and who,

for that

band

of

like-minded knights and set out for Kyoto.

trie

But
lay

fear of the

Tokugawa Government

still

heavy on the majority of the clans, and travelling

fn>m

district
difficult,

to district

was both dangerous and

and

and so

it

came

to

pass

that

after
perils,

making

their

way

safely,

through many

as far as Kchi/en,

the

little

band was one day

clapped
into

suddenly
prison.
2.

arrested,

and

forthwith

At

this

the

whole of the samurai were

thrown
their

into

an agony of despair and indignation,

anger being especially furious

unjust

when they

thought of the
arrested
;

way

in

which had been

far
in

and once they went so

their

fury as to seize the

arm

of the officer
cell

who was
a little

passing their food into the

through

window, and
3.

to maltreat

it

shamefully.
in

But

must

tell

you that

this

band

of

wanderiiH

knights there

was one,

mere lad

Idols

and Religious Symbols.

of sonic twelve or thirteen years of age, who, in

spite of his youth,
self

won golden

opinions fur him

by the quiet dignity of

his

behaviour and

the practical

wisdom

of his sentiments, and who,

while the others were uproarious and insubordi

nate,

was always
authorities,

respectful

and obedient
turn,

to the to

prison

who,

in their

came

think very
It

highly of him.
after a while that

was noticed

the lad con

stantly carried with

him two

dolls.

These

dolls

were

at first

supposed to be mere playthings,

toys utterly unworthy of a

boy who aspired

to

be a knight-errant;
the ease.

but such was far from being

The

lad treated these dolls

with

the

utmost

reverence.

In

the
set

morning,

on

rising

from his bed, he would

reverently
fold
his

them before
greet

him,
as

hands, and

them

though they were

6.
"
"

his real parents.

Father,"

Good morning,
morning,

he would say,

Good

Mother."

When

meal-time

came, he
again
ence.

would

set

them before

his tray

and

bow down
"

to

them with

respectful rever

By your

leave,"

he would say to them,

30
"I

The Ihi. St
will

of

A liiitla.
I

now

take

my

dinner.
for
lie

thank you
me."

for

fur

what you have provided

Never a night passed but

well,

bade them sleep

his

and took them to bed

in

arms.
until

This
at
last

he did every day without change,

even
dolls

his

hard-hearted

gaolers
to

noticed

that
lad s

the

had something

do with the

con

stantly quiet and respectful

demeanour, and took

to treating his doll-playing (as they

had

at fust

deemed
4.
I

it

to be)
free

with sympathetic regard.

to say that
1

am
first

was much struck

when
the

heard this story.

Looked

at

from

point

of view of ethics alone, the extreme

reverence which this young lad had for his par

ents,

and the warmth of the

even
in

affection

which

led

him,

prison,

never to omit the

is

proper

expression of his regard for them,

this generation,

for us of

who

are so constantly guilty of

breaches

of

filial

piety, a
If

most excellent teach

a step further,

ing and example.

reflect

we go

and

on

this incident

from the point of view

that
it

of religion,

we

shall

find

also

contains

doctrinal elements of the greatest value.

Idols
It

and

Religious Symbols.

31

5.

was a saying among the Sages of old

that

the

body was a

prison.

By
his

this

they

meant that man, by reason of

tied

body,

was
lusts,

and bound with the chains of mean

for

and that his heart,

never have

the
its

same

reason, could

free play for

affections
if,

and

desires.

This

is

a self-evident truth;
it is

however, we en

large this thought,

not merely the individual

body
which

of
is

man,

but

the

whole

of

human

life*

a prison,
it

and a prison, moreover, the

impossible to break.

bars of which
6.

is

Why
are

this

should

be

is

a point

that can

be verified from our experience.

For consider.
within

We
*

hedged

in

on

all

sides,

and

without, so that

we cannot always do what we

ilie

This must be understood of course with reference to

is

doctrine of re-incarnations which

dhists.
It
is

universally held

difficult

thing,

they say, to

by Bud he horn a man.

fall

Once bom
into

as a

man

it

is,

of course, easy enough to

life.
It

back
a

one of the lower grades of sentient

requires

ceriain

amount of merit
it

to

keep

at

the

human

level: to

pass

beyond

into the higher ranges of life can only be

done by

a very great effort.

t/iti

But, says the Amida-ist theologian, a man,

in a position to receive the call of the Talha_jata, j man, is and then he C n urst through the prison-walls of human life and ri-e to higher planes.
1

32

The Praises of Andtfa.

should like to do.

Try

as

\ve

will,
:

we cannot
Indeed, to

alter the paths of stars

and seasons

come down from

not

great things to small,

we can

make our

friends

do what we would have

them do,
to

we cannot

force our brothers and sisters

tastes,

fashion themselves to our

parents,

nor guide
to

our

wives,

and

children,

conform

in all things to

our ways.
our

Nay, we cannot even

bodies or regulate

absolutely

control
hearts.

own
will

our

own

We

say
others

nothing
;

about
cannot,

exercising
\\ith all
sin,

influence
efforts,

over

we

our

drag ourselves away

from
:

or force

ourselves into the paths of virtue

the perverse tendency of our

pels

human

nature im
not,

us to

do the

evil

that

we would we
ill

and

to leave undone the

good

that

fain

would
flesh
is

do.

And

this

is

not the only

that

heir to: birth, age, disease,

all

and death, press upon

is

with an impartial severity which there

no

mitigating and no avoiding,

We may
it

wear the
dif

red garb of the convict or not,

ference
:

makes no

all

alike receive the sentence of death.

One

clay,

without

any

warning,

and

without

Idols

and

Religious Symbols.

33

chance of reprieve,

this sentence will

be executed
there,

upon

us,

and we
as
it

shall

stand

helplessly
of
us.

riveted,

were,
is

with

fetters

necessity,

whilst our
"

doom

fulfilled
cannot,"

upon
said

7.

The word

"

Napoleon,

is

only to be found
In

in

the dictionary of the

fool."

the

days

when our experience was

this

limited,

we

admired
truth.

sentence

as
in

containing

mighty

As we grew
found
that

wisdom

and

knowledge,

we

Napoleon

himself

ended

his clays a prisoner in St. Helena,

whence
that

escape was impossible, and so

the

we

learned
in

word cannot

is

certainly to be found

the

dictionary of the wise

man

as well as in that of that this

the fool.

We now
our

know

human

life,

which

in

youth seemed to us a pleasureat

will,
is

park through which we might roam

in

reality nought but a

find

prison-house, in

which

we

ourselves

cribbed

and

confined,
till

and
sen

from which we shall never escape

tence of death

the

comes

to set us free.

We may
us
to

say what we please about the justice or injustice

of the proceedings

which have brought

34
this place
fret

The Pra

scs of Aniia\i.

of confinement.
will,

We may
over
the

chafe

and

as

we

but

we cannot break through

encircling

the prison
wall.
8.

gate

nor climb

What

then are we to do?

get
the

y
lesson
s

Now we

excellent

to

be
1

learned from the lad in

of wandering knights.
seen,
in

Takeda Kounsai

bant;

The
of

lad was, as

we have
wrathful,

the

company

set

of

shouting, impatient, bravoes, and received exact

ly

the
f

same

treatment

as

they

did.

Young,

ho\vever

though

he

was,

he

was no partaker
but
his
re

with them in their turbulent behaviour,

mained patiently
It

in prison,

possessing
his

soul.

was the

dolls, the

symbols of

absent par
to bear
his
his

ents, that enabled

sufferings.

him thus meekly

helped

The

dolls

him

to

keep

mind

fixed on his parents,

and

whensoever he
its

thought

of

them

his

heart

broke through
to
his

prison-gates,

and transported him

to

distant
at

home,
father
s

and
and

the

happiness
s

of being
In

his

mother

side.

other

words,

the dolls were the

his
-

flying-machine which carried

the

heart

beyond

narrow

bounds of the

Ida
prison
cell.

and

Religious Symbols.

35
in

Just

as
is

the
able,

general,

besieged

an isolated
loon,
so,

fortress,

by means of a bal
his friends

to

communicate with
dolls,

outside,

by means of the
to
his

this

lad

was enabled

to fly

parents

side,

to be

warmed and
for

comforted by their tender love, and to forget

a while the pains of the cheerless dungeon.

We
"

men, living
a

in

the prison

of

human

life,

have likewise
"

need of similar

dolls.

We

need

dolls

to act as flying

machines to enable our

hearts
true

to

soar
of

to

the place
all,

where dwells the

Presence of the
to

Father

us

to

the

Buddha.

In other words,

we need

have some

representation

of the

Tathagata winch can be

senses.

apprehended
story,

by

the

The
got
the
:

lad
his

of our

he

was

only

lad,

pleasure

from the reverence he paid

symbolized
his

to

dolls

which
poor

earthly parents

and we,
the

prisoners, fretting and

chafing
as

in

dungeon
perfect

of

human

life,

need

aids

to

our

comfort, ease, and

bolic

spiritual

strength, some sym

true

representation

of

our

Father,

the

Tathagata,

36

The Praises of

Amida.
symbol of the
image or a
it

Now,

\vherc shall
?

we

get this

Tathagata from

Shall we get an

picture to represent

Him, and pay

is

reverence

We
is

may.

An
;

image

a precious thing,

and so

a picture

but
Is

ping them.

we cannot always be worship there any symbol that we can

if

always reverence, and

tlemen, there
is
:

so,
is

where? Yes, gen

there
all

the Sacred

Name
is

to

which we ascribe
the
true
"

honour.
real

That

for

us

doll,"

the

image of our

true

worship.
9.

Many

people,

w rio

do not understand our

is

beliefs,

say that Buddhism

it

a despicable faith,

because
pictures,

recognizes the use of religious images,

and symbols.
is
it

That
yet

is

but a shallow
are

criticism,

not?

And

there

some

people

who

are
to

afraid of this shall nv criticism,

and
faith,

who
or

try
to

deny

the

teachings
for
It
it.

of
it

their
is

make excuses
to
is

But

great
that
call
it
"

mistake

do

so.

cannot be denied
critics
it

Buddhism

what shallow
That
is

would
is,

idolatrous."

just

what

and

is

one of the most excellent features

of our

Idols

and

Religions Symbols.

37

religion that

it

teaches and sanctions the use of

sacred images.
zen, with his

That

lad in the prison in Echi-

images of his parents which none

had,

of

the

others

how

greatly he must

have

been comforted and

with him
!

cheered
in

by
the

their

presence
that

It

is

precisely

same way

we,

in

this
it

world of confusion, which, whether

from
without or

we view

from within,

is

world of pain and sorrow, are cheered and com

forted
ta

by
is

visible representations of the

Tathaga-

who
10.

the True Father of us

all.

We

need not trouble ourselves about the

in

material used

making

these images.

Half-an
paper,
a

inch of decayed wood, a sheet

of old

lump

of clay, a block
as
it

of metal,

anything

will

do so long

is

symbolical representation,

and prevents our

oblivious of the

forgetful hearts

from becoming

Tathagata.
in

Before these

sym

bols
are

we bow down, and

lifted

doing so our hearts

up

in

thought to the Great Heart of

the

Tathagata.

No

sooner

is

this

done

than

our hearts, confined though they are within the

prison
of the

body, break

through the strong

38
prison-gates

The Praises of
leap over the

Amida,
high dungeon-walls,

and
in

rise joyfully to

the enjoyment of Happiness

If
it

the

Buddha

land.

were not
as

for

them,
a
to

we might

forget

the

Buddha,

many
be

man
re

forgets his parents

when he has nothing

\Ve
should

mind

him

of

them.

like
in

the
the

turbulent,

quarrelsome,
:

vagrant-ktrghts

prison of Echizen
gata,

we should
hopelessly

forget the Tatha-

and

remain

involved

in

the

meshes of Suffering.
But some
will
"

say,

We

have no images, yet

:

we never

forget the
him."

Tathagata

our hearts

can
:

never forget

Such men are exceptions

we ordinary
do

beings,

who

are ahvays falling into

habits of forgetfulness, cannot possibly afford to

without

the

help
I

of

images

and symbols.
said, the flying

For they
machines

are, as

have already
our

which

transport

hearts

to

the

peaceful enjoyment of the Paradise of the

Pure

Land.
1 1.

Images of gold,

clay, or

wood, and painted

all

pictures,
all

we

reverence them

alike as being

equally precious.

We

stand on the top of a

Idols

and

Religions Symbols.
steps

39
to

flight

of moss-grown

that

lead

some

venerable, half-ruined temple

leaves,

embowered

in fallen

and there comes over us an indescribable

feeling of reverential

awe which

strikes

our

in

most

hearts.

This feeling comes to us from the

sight, in the shrine, of

some image or

picture in

which the

artist

has done his best to pourtray

the figure and heart of the Tathagata

Who
and a

has

saved

us.

It

is,

however, but an indirect, secon

dary, representation that

rect

we thus

get,

di

representation
portrait.

is

far

better than

any sym
write

bolic

And

therefore

we
all

the

Holy Name
take
it

to

which we ascribe

Glory, and

as

direct representation of the

Being

Whom

we

worship.

We

are, then,

no longer

concerned with the

artist s

conceptions about the

Tathagata
itself,

we

have before us the

revelation
of

Holy Name
chaiacter of
us
1 1

the direct
in

the

Him

Whom
the

we

trust.

In

giving

is

Name,

Tathagata

has

given

us a part jo

Himself,
serves,
It
is

and that, as the Sage of Concord

the truest of
all
gifts.

ob

is

perfectly true.

To

give oneself, and not

40

The Praises of

Amida.
oneself,
is

anything that merely

truest

represents

the
to
in

and best of
is

all gifts.

And

the best

way

give oneself
part.

to give oneself ivliolly

and not

When
the

a shepherd gives one of the sheep

that he has reared, he gives a part of himself:

when

young

girl

makes

a present of a

hand

kerchief which she herself has embroidered, she

is

giving a part of herself.

But when the Ta

thagata revealed to us His

us

was the Whole of

go on
can
living

Name, what He gave Himself. The shepherd

his
loss

can

without
the

sheep,

and the handker

maiden

survive

of

her

chief: but the

Tathagata cannot
contains
the

live

without His
of

Name,
vine

for

It

whole

His

Di

Heart,

and the
It

whole of His Boundless,

Ineffable,

Mercy.

was the Tathagata

for that

desire

to give us

Himself wholly, and

His
Sacred

purpose

He

revealed

Name,
it

the

revelation

of His Divine Heart, and gave

to us.

There

can be no representation of the Tathagata more

direct than this,
for

Rennyo Shonin spoke

that
a

the

truth

when He

said

picture

was better

than an image, but that the Divine

Name was

Idols

an

I Religious

Symbols.

41

better than a picture.

fore

When we bow down

of the Tathagata
s

be

an image or a picture we have a dim

realization
is

and
:

uncertain

Heart

the dimness

changed to bright certainty when

we hear
that the

the

Sacred

Name and

understand

all
is

Name

implies.

The Sacred Name

the

True

Image of the Tathagata, the

living

we can worship photograph. we contemplate it we can see it, and whenever

are
in
it
it

Wherever we

the rnovings of the Divine Heart.

Nor

is

the workmanship of some other

is

human hand

it

the picture of Himself which

He

Himself
:

has taken.
it

Nay,

it

is

not even
it

a
is

photograph
Plis

is

the Tathagata Himself,

very Di
pro

vine Heart.

And when we hear

is

the

Name

nounced,
to us.

it

the Tathagata Himself

who comes

Hence, when we

listen

to

the

import of the

Divine Name, and when we reverently bow our

selves before
fined
it,

though our bodies may be con

within the prison-walls of

s

human

life,

yet

the Tathagata
straight
into

Mercy and His

hearts,

Spirit descend

our

lighten

the

darkness

42
of our

The Praises of
captive
souls,

Amida.
our trembling

take from

minds the

fear of

impending doom, and deliver

of a
"

them

from the dread anticipation

torment
In

which knows
lowest depths
"

no end or
of
misery,"

cessation.

the

says

the

Scripture,

if

men have

but a glimpse of the glory of this

Name,

their sorrows

and pains
shall

shall

all

cease,

and the joy of salvation

happiness
is

be

theirs."

This

within our reach, by virtue of this

Name
12.

alone.

And now we

have a solid

reason for

rejoicing in this

prison-house of the
a

human
came
to

life.

Let us think

for

moment.
?

How
it

that

happiness to be ours

Was
of

not due

our

coming
which
is

into

possession
true

the of

Divine

Name

the

Image

the

Tathagata?

And why was this Divine Name communicated And why do we yearn for it and pay to us ?
it

reverence

Has

it

not

all

come from

the

contrast to the feelings

we had when we were

and tormented by
prison-house?

conscious
the pains

of being
of

confined
life,

human

as in a

And

if

so,

may we

not consider that these very

Idols
fjains of ours

and

Religious

Symbo

s.

43

have been the motive cause which

to this great

procured

for us access
is

joy?

If so,
:

the prison-house
is

more than

just a

prison
it

it

a place

full

of

meaning and import,

is

the

vestibule of Paradise.
sider that
us,
it

Much more,

if

we con
to

whenever the Divine

Name comes

is

the

Coming

of the Tathagata

Himself,

then the Prison becomes changed to the

diate Presence of the Tathagata.

imme
is

There

now

therefore

no

reason

why
to

we should

desire to
friends

leave

our prison-house.

When
escape

the

of

Socrates advised him

at

from the gaol

Athens, he declined to follow their counsel,

waited
quietly
for
like

but

the

execution

of tht
rest

death-sentence.
tranquilly
in

In

manner,

we can

our

wretched prison-house,

and

wait for the right

shall
13.

moment when
us to our
dolls

the Tathagata
rest.

come

to

summon
little

Two

poor

brought peace to

the lad in the Echizen prison.

.s^dfoft-flower
c .n affect

One

leaf of the

whole grove of the

poisonous

iran-i\ QQ.

The

One

Name
in the

of

the

Tathagata can bring peace to us

prison-

44
house of
life.

The Praises of Ainida.

The

lad paid worship and rever

his
dolls
:

ence morning and evening before

likewise

so

we,
lie

when we

rise

in

the

morning,
eat

when we

down

at night,

when we
are
in

and

when we work, when we

sorrow and
uii

when
Divine

we

are

in

joy,

ever

meditate
it

the

Name
The

and never

suffer

to be

absent
strength

from

us.

Name

is

to

us

the

wherewith

we conquer, and
foes.
It

the

sword

where

with we slay our

14

destroys Hell.

Consider

this.

Two

thousand four hun

dred years ago,

griha
in

in

the
India,

ancient palace of Raja-

Central

which was

his

prison,

Sakyamuni
>w

revealed this

name

to

Vaidehi the

Queen, and saved her from her Sufferings. O

likewise

So
us,

we,

with this
it

name committed
devotion,

to

and

worshipping

with

immured

though
desire

we
with

are

in

our
to

burning
feel

prison-house,
cool breezes

Vaidehi

the

of Sulvation blowing pleasantly around us, and,

together

with

all

the

Saved,

to

be
of

entrusted

with
Grace.

this

Sacramental

Symbol

Saving

Idols

and

Religions Symbols.

4$
are
us,
all

15.

The
:

fires

of the

conflagration
w.vlfc

around us
shall

but

if

our Father be
if

what
be

we
in

fear?
us,

And

the Tathagata

Name

always
ness

need we ever complain of loneli

or lack of courage?

46

7 he

Praises of Amida.

III.

The Voice
x
IIf>/.o/

of

Amida Speaking

to

the Heart.
five Kalpas (aeons or ages) conceived the desire for the turning of the heart of the Child ren to their Father and of the Father to the Children, and

having meditated for

when,
ment,

as

Amida, ten kalpas

created

later,

he manifested his Fnlight-

he

the

Children receive

on.e

power whereby the Father and his another. Ever since then, in accordance

with his gracious forty-eight-fold-vowj he has been calling for his lost children; but throughout the v\ hole twenty-five forms
of existence, there was no answer to his
call.

We

may imagine
thus yearned

how

grieved must have

been his

Heart which

with affection over his children.

But

now we have

recollected the
A

home from whence we

Came, and have begun to call U on the Name of our Father. Surely it must be a great joy to Him when he hears the cry
of

Namu Amida
* Hozo
is

Butsu.

FUSHI SOGO.
the

name of Amida

before he athvned to per

It

fection
"

and received the

fill

Name

above evjry Name.

means

the

filler

of

Righteousness."

The

fact that Jlre kalpas.

and the ten kalpas are mentioned shows that Ilojd cannot be
intended span for
to

be historical.
life.

Fifteen

million years

is

long

human

But

Buddhism

loves to deal with im

mense

numbers,

in a

meaningless fashion.

The book fushi

Scgp has never been translated into any European language and

was written

in

Japanese.
another."

The

title

means

"

Father and Son

sending for one

f For the details of

Amida s Vow,

see the valuable paper

by Mr.

J.

Troup On

the

Tenets of the Shinshu, in vol

XIV

of

the Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan..

Ike Voice of Amida.

1.

47

Nicholas
reign

II.

Emperor

of

Russia,

began

his

by

inaugurating
at the

the

International

Peace Conference

Hague, and then ended

up by being the spark which kindled the war

between Russia and Japan.
its

The world formed

own conclusions on
criticized

this glaring inconsistency,

and severely
crite.
I

His Majesty as a hypo

that

will

not

say

some

of the recent

(1905) criticisms were not deserved: only,

when

we allow

ourselves

to

make

criticisms

of this

kind, we must not forget that possibly the cap

may
2.

fit

our

own heads

also.

get up early in the morning, open

out.

my
be

window, and look

of clear sapphire
seen anywhere.

The sky
without a

is

one expanse
cloud
to

blue,

The

light of early day spreads

along the horizon like a rain-bow beam against

the purple
sky,
the

whole world seems to be

tranquilly resting, and a solemn feeling of peace

broods over the whole scene.

think,
at

You would
the

never

first

glance,

that

wind could

ever blow, or the rain-storms descend, on such a

peaceful world.

You

could not imagine that, over

48 such a

The Praises of Aiuida.

beautiful,
roll

peaceful,

sky,

thunder-clouds

could ever
play.
will

and crash, or lightnings dart and

an instant of time, the weather
rise

And

yet, in

change, clouds will

as

it

were from no

thing, here one

and there another, the sky be

before

comes overcast
growls on
flash.
all

your very eyes, the storm

roll

sides, thunders

and lightnings

The winds

are like angry devils, the rain

covers the road axle-deep in floods.

An

hour or

two ago the world looked

though
being
the
:

fresh

and sweet, as
into

it

had

just

come neat and new

it

now looks
of the
its

as the world will look on of

eve
all

Day

Mundane

Destruction,

when

elements shall be

for ever dissolved.

We

are asked,

whence came

this terrible

change

over the face of the earth,

reply?.

and what
it

shall

we
the

We

can but say that

of
a

came from
ago,
that
just

calm

weather

few

hours

the

quiet peaceful sky,

which we admired

now,

held within
pest

itself

the seeds of that terrible

tem

which frightened us so much.

We

cannot

guess at the

weather. underlying causes of the

in

Motion

lies

hidden

the

womb

of rest, confu-

The Voice of Amida.

sion
lurks

49
are

behind

clearness,

clouds
lie

born

from cloudless
in

skies,

hateful forms

concealed
All

the beautiful expanse of the

lie

firmament.
of
the

things

hidden

in

the

womb

Great

Chaos,

and

who knows when

?

that which lies

hidden shall not come forth

3.

There

is

a distinction between the Heart

find

and Nature, yet we

at

one and the same

there
is

law

work
to

in

both.

When
clear

no special

seed

produce Suffering, and when the blue

is

sky of the Heart

it

and calm, we look

if

at

with admiration, and ask

any where
else

in
is

the

world

we can
and

find

anything
tell

that

so

beautiful,
not.

our hearts

us

that

we can

The Heart

loves peace, and meditates up

on righteousness, the clouds of perverted thought

cannot arise
thought,
all
if
is

they would,
placid,

at le ast that
sti
it
l,

is

our

and
But
in
:

and translucent
is

as a well-cut diamond.

not

long ere

the serpent that lurks

the

waters
of

comes

to

trouble

the

quiet

pool

clouds

perverse
till,

thought steal suddenly over the heart,

one
s

by one, they have covered

it

all,

and the

man

5O

The Praises of AmiJa.

rising

hand

on the hori/on has become a great

overshadowing storm which blackens the whole

heart
sight.
till

its

beautiful nature

is

entirely lost

to

In

the

meanwhile,

the

thunders of lust

begin to roar, the lightnings of

play
;

anger

begin

to

envy, hatred, estrangement, violence,

effe

minacy, meanness, a quarrelsome disposition,

mind

that hates justice,

all

the blasts and

tem

pests of perverse thoughts,

come bursting across

as do not usual

our spiritual sky,

ly

Winds such

come from

the bags of the

Wind-God,
in

rains

such as are not ordinarily stored

of our firmament,
see a

the cisterns

come sweeping over u.v We man, and at once we despise him without
saying
that

reason,
that,

the

fellow

is

always

like

or the boastful feeling arises within us that

rate

at to

any

we
this

are

not

like

him.

It

is

hard
use
quite

describe

disposition,
for
it,

some

people

the

word

jiign

but that does not

express the underlying idea.

the heart which
is

The

idea includes
is

like a wolf,

which

like

fox, a baboon, a wild dog, the heart that hates

light like

an owl, that loves

filth

like a

maggot,

The Voice of Amida.

the

heart

that

is

crooked as a serpent, poison

these foul ideas

ous as a viper,
ing together.
floor of devils

all

come troop
dancingtheir

The mind becomes

and
evil
spirits,

like a

and when
tell.

dance
like

shall

cease
their

we cannot
revels

We

should
:

to

stop

but

we cannot
to

to
their

restrain

them, but they

refuse

slacken

speed

and

we

learn then,

by sad experience,
is

that the pool of sin and wickedness

less one, that
its

a bottom

dimensions defy measurement,

and

that,

however proud we

may

be

in

our

self-conceit,

we

are yet stupendously ignorant in

our shallow views of things.

Nor where

did

this

prodigious
?

mass

of

sin

and wickedness come from

that
it

We

can only
heart
of

say
ours

came

from that human

which but a short while ago was so

bright.

clear

and

We

can no more foretel the changes of

the

weather than we
heart which looks
is

can those
like
a,

of

the

heart.

The
pool,

calm and

placid

in

reality

the

abode

of countless
that

and

terrible
its

poisonous
;

dragons

dwell beneath
the

surlace

it

expands

itself

like

bright

52
sapphire
reservoir

The Ffjiscs of Amida.

vault
in

of

Heaven,
are

yet

it

is

but

the

which

stored

the

rains

and
tell

winds

of

perverse

thoughts.

We
will

cannot
to

when

the

poisonous

dragons

come

the

surface, nor

when

the floodgates will be opened,

and the

reservoir
in
it

discharge

its

foul

contents.

We
no

say

Buddhism
all

that a single thought con

all
is

tains in

Laws and
It

Nature, and this

a

is

mere verbiage.

weighty sentence,

teaching us the true depths of the

4.
It

human
to

heart.

cannot
II

therefore

suffice

dismiss
first

Nicholas

with contempt, as having been

the originator of the Veace Conference, and then

the author

of the

War

with

Japan.
to the

At

the

time

when he

issued

invitations

Hague

Conference, the

demon, which afterwards drove

declaration
of war,

him

to

make a

was lying

low, hidden at the bottom

versely,

of his
the

heart.

Con
of the

when he become
conflict,

instigator
light

Russo-Japanese

the

which had

turned his mind to peace, was similarly concealed

in the

same

place.
in

Hence,
the

if

Nicholas
case, he

II

was a

dissembler when,

first

advocated

The Voic

of Audda.

53

peace, he was equally a dissembler in the latter

case,

when he

instigated

war;

for

in

neither
in

case did he lay bare the whole of his heart

all
its

depths,

lint

if

we make allowances
should

for

him

in

the

first

case,
in the

we
?

not

equally

make allowances
Nay,
the
it

second

rather,

are

not

we
?

ourselves

guilty

of

same

sin of dissembling

For the moment,

is,

may

be, the

sky
all

is

clear,

that

heart,

mouth,

and body
the
are

may
all

be

righteous and pure.

Hut

germ of we
that

evil

lies

within us, and so

tell
it

weak
will
if

we cannot

when

the

evil

break out, nor what form

will take.

Nay,

we look back on
is

ourselves,

we

shall see that sin actuality,

not only a

possibility

but an

and
guil

that in

some degree
all

at least

we have been

ty

of

sins.

Why,

then, should

we be

so

proudly contemptuous of Nicholas

II ?

We
Ulling

call

him a
once

liar.

Could we
mouth,
say,

live

without

lie,

or

once
call

fortnight,. ..or

even once a day?

\Yc

him

hypocrite.

Are we never double-faced our

with

selves,

-dissemblers

many

faces?

The

54

The Praises of Autida.

Sadducees
brood
of

and
vipers.

Pharisees

were

not
are,

the
let

only
the the

We
the

ourselves

truth be spoken,

generation of vipers,

serpent

brood.

Therefore
that

we cannot
rely

but

recognize the
at

fact

we cannot

upon ourselves,

any

time, to say nothing of our being unreliable

when
us.
it

the

storms of

evil

thoughts are harrassing

is,

Hut even when the sky of our mind

were, entirely
clear

as

and perfectly cloudless, we

ourselves
in

can

not

depend

upon

the

least

degree.
their

There are some people who, trusting to

intellect,

own

declare that they are

trying

to cultivate their

own moral

natures

others give
for

out

that

they

are

courageously struggling

the advancement of their spiritual nature, basing

their

work upon
the
in

their

own

virtue.

But
is

they

forget

fact

that

dark shadow

always

lurking
clear
it

the

corner
be.

of our intellect,
are

however
that

may

They
is

unaware
in

the

seed

of

corruption

conceived

the

womb

of our moral nature,

it

however pure and unspotted

no absolute purity
in

may

be,

There

is

this

The Voice of AmiJa.

world, nor
ty,
is

55

there absolute light.

For

in puri

and

at the

bottom of

light,

lies

hidden some

darkness.

These two are constantly struggling,

:

one against the other

strife.

there

is

no end of the ground of op

wins,

Humanity
rivals.

is

the fencing

posing
but
at

Sometimes the one party

the

others

adversary
principles

gains

the

upper

hand.

The opposing
like a

turn round

and

round

wheeling lantern.

How
set our

can

we
at

rely upon such a fallacy,

and

minds

peace
6.

If this

is

the case

when our minds

can

are pura

and

enlightened,

how

we

rely

upon them

when they
a river
in

are in fact as

muddy

as the stream of

May,

or as cloudy as the sky in the

especially,

same month? To-day,

we

are growing
that

more muddy and cloudy, so much so

can
hardly

we

manage our own personal

is

affairs.

All over the country the war deal of noise, tears

the

causing a great
are

of sorrow

mixed

with
the

songs

of triumph.
if

How

can

we

get

Great Peace,

we

are relying

upon these selves

?

of ours, and upon this humanity

We

must look

56
for
in.

The Praise

si

of AviiJa.
rest

something above ourselves which we can

The storm
The

of

sin

is

blowing
is

great blasts
falling-

against us.
ly.

rain of delusion

fierce

The darkness

of doubt

is

growing thicker.
as

Where can we
seen
7.

find
?

a refuge such

we have

we need

And

then,

what happiness
to

it

is

for

us,

at

such

times,

hear

the

Sacred

Name
It
is

of

the

Tathagata,
of the

Namu

Ainida Butsu!

the

Name
known

Hotoke which we have heard from

and yet we have
If

our childhood,
its

perhaps never
to

meaning.

we

are

accept

the

teachings and explanations of teachers of olden

times,
this

Name

is

something

more than

mere name.
tains

The word Namu, we

"

are told, con

"

an invitation to

"

believe

and to

trust

":

Auridtit

which implies Boundless Life and Light,

contains the notions of Embrace, Help, Salvation.

Put these
that
the

meanings together, and you

will

see

Name
in
It,

implies
as
It

that

confidence
less

reveals

we must put our to us the Bound

Life and the Promise of the Tathagata

to

Who

desires-

save

us.

As Zendo D aishi

has well

The Voice of

Amida.
is

57
it

remarked, the Sacred

invitation

Name
come

as

were an

bidding

us

straight to

Amida

with a simple heart, for that

He

will protect us.

The Sacred Formula

more than
just the

is,

therefore,

something
it

Name
us.

of the Tathagata:

is

His Voice calling to

that

The Tathagata saw

rest,

we could

find

no haven of
beset

and that
sin

we were
and
evil,

constantly

by the storms of

and, thanks be to His Mercy,

He

has
us.

given

us

His

Name and

His Call to save

this
is

What

an inexpressible happiness
find

for

us

Here we
things

nothing but persons that vex us and

:

that give us pain

if

then,

in

the whole

Universe, and more especially in that Afterworld

to

which we must

all

soon go, there were no

Voice

to speak to us, joyful

it

how

black

it

would

all

be!

And how

all

becomes, when we hear the

Voice bidding us
us.
It
is

fear nothing, for tkat

He

sees

not,

moreover,

as

though, in calling
ful

us,
fil

He

bade us do some impossible task or

conditions.
to

some impossible
has had

On
"

the contrary,

He

regard

our weakness
Trust

and has
me,"

imposed on us no conditions.

He

58
<(

The Praises of Ainlda.

says,

Only

come,

and

will

protect

you.

How

can we help following that gracious Voice,

its

when once we understand

loving
find

import?
that

We
our

follow

it

once,

and

lo

we

we
for

have gained a place of refuge, and an aim

spiritual
life.

Our
:

feet

stand

on

firm
1

foundation

of

rock

how

can

we help being
?

conscious of a great feeling of restfulness

1

8.,

When
nor

the
at

Voice makes

itself

heard,
rain

the
clear

winds do not
off,

once cease, nor the

black

docs

the

sky forthwith become

lingers

bright
little

again.

The

darkness

on

for

longer, and the wind and rain

still

vex us
still

as they did before.

Our

eyes, moreover, are

see

holden,

and

we cannot
from
the

nor

worship

the

Form
less

of

Him

Whom
is

the Voice came,

much

behold

Country
to

wherein
hear

He

dwells.

All

we

can
it,

do

His

Voice,

and

hearing

our hearts a e at peace, and

we can

make
It

progress.
is

not for us, poor creatures, to behold the

Form

of the Tathagata, nor the Paradise

:

He He

has
in-

prepared

and, precisely for that reason,

The Voice of
vites

Am ida.
Name,
which

59
is

us

by

means

of

His

something that can we see and know.

therefore, everything that

We
the

have,

we want

in

Sac
:

red
the

Name.

It

is

the Voice of the

for

Our Father

it

is

Invitation
us,

wherewith

Tathagata sum

mons

and our warrant

It
is

coming

into

His
is

Presence.

the condition upon which

He
in

willing to save us.

We

hold the warrant

the conditions,
?

our

hands, we have

fulfilled

why do
and
lust,

we

hesitate to

go forward

Sin, evil,

may
but

for the present rule

us

with rods

of iron,
the

we know

that

it

will not

be long ere

rods are broken, and so

we make no

complaint.

We
for

have nothing to do but simply to put our

trust in the Sacred

the

Sacred

Name and go right forward; Name is the one direct path

Land where Our Father
is

leading us to the Bright

is
f

waiting for us.

that

The path
lead

a broad one,

all

ihe roads

might

us

back

to

Suffer

ing have been closed by the

thagata,

Mercy

of the

Ta

and
is

moreover the divine Strength of

over us to guide
to
us,

His Love
cannot
fail

so

that

we

reach

the

Holy

Country.

We

60
have
"

The Praises of Ainida.

the
is

words

of

the

Great Sutra* for

this.

There

a cross-wise cutting of the paths

of
;

evil,

which are spontaneously closed against us

enter the

when we

Way

there

remains

no ob
be few
fails.

stacle before us.

in

Though

the travellers

number, yet the Pure Land never

itself
spontaneously."

It

draws us to

creation should desert the

Though all Buddha, Buddha will

Land

never

forsake

His own,

though but few walk

will

-along the
fail

Way,

yet the Pure

never

them.

When

once a

man

has set his foot

on that road,

his salvation will

work
will

itself

out

spontaneously, and the

Buddha

draw him

unto Himself.
for

All things

work themselves out

Road, the
Divine
the

us

spontaneously,

the

Strength,

the closing of the Paths of Evil,

guiding of our footsteps to the Gates of Light.

9.

In

days

of old

we were
the

told of persons

who

forsook Buddhism, on
its

ground
it

that,

in

spite of

thousands of Precepts,

taught that
ones,
to

there were defiled hearts as well

* The Great Sntra (Dai Kyo)
(

as pure

is

the

name given

the

Ciieator Sukhavati V-iiha.

The Voice

of

Amida.
that just as

61 a pure

and they

feared,

therefore,

body might come from a

defiled one, so contrari

wise a defiled body might also

one.

come from

a pure
fear.
is

We may

certainly be free from

in

this

For even supposing that

defi
in

ourselves there

ed heart or a pure one, yet

:

we put our
trust

trust

neither of these
in

our whole
is

has been

placed

that

which

higher than our hearts,

that
is

whether defiled or pure,

in

the Sacred

Name.

The waves
in

of sin

and

evil
:

may

rage as

they will
not, for

our defiled

hearts

we

fear

them
Tabe

we

trust only in the

Name

of the

thagata.

The

clear
in

sunshine of purity

may

spread abroad
hearts.
It

the cloudless firmament of our

will

not

lull

us to a false security
is

for our sole

ground of confidence

the

Mighty
fair

Name
or

of the Tathagata.

Be

the

weather

foul,

those

who have once embarked on

so likewise, be

the

ship are free from anxiety hearts

fair

our

or foul, let us sail straight on to our

trusting
to

destination,

the

Divine Name, and

it.

being guided and protected by

10.

The

gales of

mistrust

and unbelief are

62

The Praises of Amida,

in

raging to-day
of

the

world;
the

for

the

majority

men
it

are ignorant of

Sacred Name, and

the
contrary,
to

treat

with contumely.

We, on

foolish

and faulty though we

are,

contrive

pass

through these storms with the help of the

divine

Name,

and, pray,

how

is
?

it
"

that so great

a happiness has fallen to our lot

the heart
joice

Rarely docs

of belief arise
in

within us, and

distant
a

we

re

from afar

our

home

of

rest."

Truly we cannot avoid

gratitude

feeling of the deepest

when we
to
us.

think

of the great mercies

will

vouchsafed

A
:
;

woman

adorn her

body
his

to please her lover

for his friend

a samurai will sacrifice

life

shall

we not take these

them
to the service

bodies of ours and consecrate

of the

Divine
us
life

Name?
and an

The Divine Name has

abundance
of
all

given
things.

good

Shall

we not make an
to

offering in return

of

all

our

good things
?

the Service

of
as

the

Divine

Name

This

will

be

acting

good

disciples,

as true followers of

Buddhism.

The 1 nte Heart.

63

IV.

The True Heart.

[The underlying thought
two
texts,

of this sermon,

which

is

founded

or,

taken,
a
later

the one

from the

YuikyogyV

ad
is

the
the

other from

Chinese

book named Sanzengi,

same

as in the following

poem by

the late Miss Ilavergal.]

UNDER THE SURFACE.

I.

On

the surface, foam and roar,

Restless heave and passionate dash, Shingle rattle along the shore,

Gathering

boom and thundering

crash.

Under the

surface, soft green light,

hush of peace and an endless calm,

a choral height,

Winds and waves, from

Falling sweet as a far-off psalm.

On

the surface, swell and swirl,

Tossing weed and drifting waif,

Broken spars

that the

ma

wives whirl,
rocks they chafe.

Where wreck-watching
Under the

surface, loveliest foims,

curl,

Feathery fronds with crimson

Treasures too deep for the raid of storms,

Delicate coral and hidden pearl,
II.

On
Sky

the surface,

lilies

white,

painted skiff with a singing crew,

reflections soft

and bright,

Tremulous c.imson, gold, and, blue

64

The Praises of
Under the

Ainitta.

surface, life in death,

Shiny tangle and oozy moans, Creeping things with watery breath, Blackening roots and whitening bones.

On

the

surfac",

a shining reach,
s

crystal

couch for the moon-beam

rest,

Starry ripp .es along the bsach,

Sunset songs from the breezy west.

Under the

surface,

glooms and

fears,

Treacherous currents, swift and strong.

Deafening ru-h

in

drowning

ears,

Have ye

rightly read

my

song?

A
(<?)

flattering
us,

heart
r

is

at

enmity with the

cultivate
flattering

Way.
of

It

be-

hoves

there ore,
also
that

to

uprightness
heait
is

heart.
ot

Know

this

the parent
lay
it

mistrust,

lie

that

cntereth

Re

igion

must

aside.

Therefoie do ye make an honest heait the basis

lives.

of

your

YUIKYoGYO.
(^)

Be ye
deceit,
fold.

careful not to

make

a display of exalted virtue, for

deceit lurks in all such display, and produces covetovsness,

and impure thought, which multiplies Truly, it is like the venomous serpent
:

a
it

hundred
produces

the

threefold workings, yet

is

it

rightly called
It

righteousness, deceitful activity.

poisoned cannot be called a true

SAN-ZEN-GI.

working.

I.

once read a story written by an Ameri

can

novelist, the hero of

which

was a young
reputa

Christian preacher
tion
for

who

enjoyed a great
his

holiness

among"

fellow-believers-

The Inte Heart.

This pure
of

65
of im

man had
relations

in

times past been guilty

with a young lady, the

his

memory
that
lie

which so tormented

conscience

could not never obtain for himself that Peace of

which he preached

to others.

His congregation,

however, knew nothing of

highly of their minister
s

this,

and thought so

piety and learning that

they almost worshipped him as though he were

Christ

come again

in

the

flesh.

All this was a

great source of trouble to him,

and the more he

flock,

saw himself honoured by

his

the

more

acute became his distress, until at last he could

bear his grief no longer, but

fession of his guilt to his

made an open con

assembled parishioners,

and died of a broken heart.

2.

The

first

time
it.

read

this

story
a

was

rather puzzled by

The man was

scholar

and a theologian, and, though there was nothing

strange about his being troubled
I

in

conscience,

felt

that he ought to

have known that Jesus

in

Whom
"

he believed had promised forgiveness

not seven tim
;"

of sins,

:s

only but unto seventy

not, therefore,

times seven

and

co

under-

66
stand

The Praises of Amida.

why he
to

should not have trusted to Christ

his
sin,

s
it

Mercy

pardon

grievous

though

undoubtedly was,
with
heartfelt

now

that he

had come to
open

Him
have

contrition

and

confession.

Nor was

there any reason

his

why

he should

troubled himself about

for

worldly

reputation;

when

man

enters the paths of religion

is

he

leaves these things behind him, and there

no
or

question about his having been a good

a bad one in the past.
therefore,
I

man

could not understand,

why
to

he

should

have

despaired,

or

given
3.
it

way

remorse and shame.

I

On

second thoughts, however,

quite so strange
;

saw that
cause

was not

for

the true
I

of his sorrow flashed

across

me, and
the

realized

that his pain

all

came from

deceitful

heart

within him.
felt
it

the

Deep down in his inmost soul, he shame of the sin he had committed, and
he, with

was an unbearable thought that

on
his

such

a load of guilt

conscience,

should enjoy
the

such a reputation fur sanctity

bers of his flock.

among

mem
his

But

for a

long time he lack

destroy

ed the courage to break

down and

The True Heart.

false reputation.

6;
failed

His resolution

him, time
still

and time again,

for in his heart there

false

lurk

ed the desire to preserve his

so,

glory.

And

on the one hand, he was conscious of being

sinner,
whilst,

a
to

on the other, he was anxious

of a
saint.

retain
I

the

reputation

This

is

what
ceitful

mean by saying
and
it

that his

heart

was de was

was

this deceitful heart that

the cause of his

4.

intolerable unrest.
to

What
case

have said does not apply only

the

of this
to

young Minister
all.

it

is

equally
full

applicable
Suffering

us

Human
but

life

is

of

and Unrest, of which there

causes,

may

be

many immediate
cause, the

which can almost

always be ultimately traced to the one principal

Lying Heart.
evil,

Falsehood

is

the foun

dation of

and

it

produces duplicity.
ugly

bad
tries

man

pretends to be good, an

woman
on the

to look pretty, a lustful person puts

airs
all,

of a prudish

man:
is

there

is

duplicity in
is is

them

and where there

peace.

duplicity there

no inward
disturbed,

The

tranquillity of the heart

strife

and continual

ensues.

68
5.

The Praises of

Amida.
for

We
free

need not look

a

far

illustrations

of

this.
lie
is

When
unless

poor man
;

lives as a
is

poor man,

from care
he
is

but he

often not satis

fied

reputed to be rich.

lie

will

borrow money
will
live

to

buy himself
sorts of

fine

clothes, and
in

stoop to
in
is

all

meanness

order

to

grand house.

man whose know

ledge

limited

may

get on very well, so long as

he does not pretend to be wiser than he actual

ly
is
;

but

let

him once go beyond the narrow

will

limits of his

knowledge, and he
difficulties
;

bring himself

into all

manner of

for

even

if

he a-

void actual

difficulties,

he

will certainly disturb his

own peace

of mind.

Sometimes, too, when a

man

has brought himself into trouble, he might,

his error,

by an open confession of

get

himself
little

out of his entanglement, with comparatively

inconvenience

either

to

himself or his friends.

face,

But no: he puts on a brave

mischief to himself,
till

and keeps the

he ends by bringing no

end of trouble on
he
finds
his

himself and others.

at

Or

else,

efforts

concealment
that buries

have been
its

like the

strules

of

afiea

head

The True Heart.

to conceal
find
its

69
tc

body, and he awakes one day

laughing-stock
that
all

himself the
I

of

his

neigh

bours.

think

my

hearers have
in

had
daily

some experience
lives.
6,

of such

cases

their

These things
is

may
the

be but

trifles

but

when
in

sin

added

to sin,

suffering

gradually

creases, and the load of rare grows heavier, un

til

the

man
and

is

at last

overwhelmed with

rest

lessness

fear that

he can no longer conceal.

The young
example
to

pastor in the
this.
is

American novel was an

of

Another instance that comes

in

my mind

Jean Valjcan

Les

Miserable*

who

could find no peace after he had escaped from

prison.

few

years

ago,

a
in

prisoner

escaped

from a

House

of Correction

Hokkaido, and
get

having done

so,

found that he could not

moment

peace, so great was his fear of being

taken and sentenced to another term of punish

ment.

When
it

the breeze rustled in the trees, he

detective

thought

was a

on

his

track,

the

sound of dropping water

filled

him with appre-

of a policeman on the watch, the bark

70
of

The Praises of Audda.

a

dog

set

him trembling, the shadow

shudders.
his

of a

man gave him the got so much on

broken by
fear,

The

thing at last

nerves that, with a spirit

prison

he concluded that

was

the right place for him, and quietly returned to

give case

himself up
in

to

the

authorities.

This

is

a
a

point.

The
on

man had been

putting

fictitious

value

himself,

and had considered

treated.

that he

was a good man unjustly

And
show

so he ran away.

Presently his conscience

his
real value,

ed

him what was

and then he

went back
/.

to prison,
is

and found peace.

which
"

There

another form of deceit

"

is

the exact opposite of the

fictitious
It
is

value
a

to

which
tries
is.

have

just

alluded.

when
he

man
really

to

make

himself out worse than

For
a

instance, a

man knows

that he

is

real

ly

good man, but he shows himself

:

off to
is

others in a bad light

right, but puts

he knows
airs of a

that he

up
:

on the

cunning knave

he
ter,

is

conscious of possessing a loveable charac

it.

but does his best to disguise

is

lie

oi

this sort

not

condemned by

the

world

on

The True PIcart.

the contrary, the world praises
it

71
as a

form

of

modesty, as a grace that becomes a man.

there
is

But

no
lies
it

grace
in

in

it.

and

no

modesty.
of
is

Modesty
sin

the true

acknowledgement
virtue lying,
sin,

when

exists,
this

and of
of of
if

when
which
cannot

it

found,

and
of

form
nature

itself

partakes

the

pos
right

sibly be a grace.

Nay,

we could look
puts on

into the heart of the

man who

this out find

it

ward show of mock-modesty, we should

full

of arrogance

and

pride,

and actuated by
of the

self-seeking

motives.
is

The

heart

mockas

modest

man
:

never
is

clear

and

bright

cloudless sky
is

there

always something that he

"

holding back, some

"

hidden root
It
is

of

bitter

ness

laid

up within.
this

true that the Suf

is

fering

caused by

mock-modesty

not

so

conspicuous as that caused by the deceit of which

I

spoke before.

There

is

always something
it
;

of

dimness and uncertainty about

very
the
reason,
it

but, for

that
:

is

more
it

difficult

to

do away

Suffering

which

causes

always

lies

deep down

in the

hidden recesses of the heart,

72

The Praises of Anilda.

is

and

the

secret

cause

of

constant

distress.

Any
his
8.

one

who

has had practical

experience

of

religious

or ethical work- will bear

me

out from

own knowledge,
Deceit, then, whether
it

take the form of

of
oneself
or
a.i

fictitiously

high
is

estimation

the
ill

reverse,

the

seed

that

produces
if

crop

of

Suffering.

And

we,

we

wou d

escape from Suffering and gain

peace of mind,

must

rid
in

ourselves

of

this
It
is

self-deceit

by

all

means

our
that

power.

above

all

things

necessary

we possess an honest and up

right heart.
9.

This honest and upright heart

It

is is

the key
the W-ll
ai, i

that unlocks the Gate of Peace.

within us from which flows rest to the soul,

it

is

through

this

honest and upright heart only

tlv/i

that
let

we can
there

enter into

Contented

Life.

But
tins

be

no

misunderstanding

about

When we
good man,

speak of honesty and uprightness, we

is

do not mean that the bad man

to turn

into a
a.

or the unloveable character into

man
of

of good report.

The honesty and uprightness

77/v

True Heart.
is

73
dif

which we arc speaking

ferent
:

something quite

we mean by

it

the opposite of falsehood,

the

unvarnished

truth,

the thing as

it

is.

The
the
just
1

good man shows

himself to the world

as the

as

good man, the bad man

as he
is,

bad

man,

that

is

what we mean by honesty an

and
in

uprightness.
his

Let every man show himseli

whether they be
that
is

true

colours,
foul,

fair,

or

whether they be
?ightness.
It
is

honesty and

up-

the nature of
:

snow

to be white,
its

of charcoal to be black
nature, and then there
ness.

let

each be true to

is

honesty

and

upright
is

When

the heart
:

is

like that, there

is

no
is

duplicity or discord
clearness,
-ioise,

there

harmony, there

there

is

an absence of confusion
of pain

and

and, therefore,
in

and

restlessness.

We
Tity.

can walk on

peace and spiritual tranqui-

10.

This

is

what the American

novelist

had
he

in

mind.

The

young

Minister

of

whom
in

wrote

ki;;\v

quite well that he

his

would incur the

;

contempt

of

congregation

but
the

the end

ho made up

his

mind

to

face

ordeal

and

74

The Praises of
in

A mida.
his true colours, as a

put himself before them

sinful

man, as

a religious

humbug, without con

over.

cealment, and without glossing things

A
the
s

convict in a prison at Ze/.e, in Goshiu, once said

to the
"

chaplain
outside,

So long

as

was

in

wurld

could
a

never get a
night
I

moment

peace, nor enjoy

.Since
I

single
here,

of quiet

rest.

have

been
is

have always slept

in point.

peacefully."

This

again a case
in

As

long

as

this

man was
false

the world outside, he

was
to

sailing

under
honest

colours,
it

and pretending

be

an

man, and

was no wonder

that he could not rest.

fore

In prison, he stood be

men

in

his right colours, as a convict, with

out

concealment

or

disguise,

and so he gained

peace of mind.

Veace

of mind, therefore, has, as

we

see,

no

connection
reputation
UK- outside

with pride of birth or station,

or

with
with
it

wealth,

with

life

or

death,
;

world, or the body of flesh

de
of

pends

entirely

on

the

presence

or absence

laisehood.

He our station
let

never so lowly,

our

rank never so mean,

our names be branded

The True Heart.

as
criminals
us
is

~$

or

rogues,
face,

let

poverty
as

ur

death

stare

in

the

so

long

our
shall

inmost

heart

free

from falsehood, so long

this

we be

at peace.

When

peace

is

attained the (rate

of

True Religion opens

11.

to us. a

When

\ve

go out of town on

snowy
of

day we are struck by the peaceful solemnity

the

ancient
is

trees
?

among
I

the

white mountains.
it is

Why
all

this

Need

say that

because the
of
?

mountains and trees are so absolutely devoid

adornments and adventitious aids to beaut)

cast aside the leaves, green
in

They have

and

red,

which they put on

through
stand
to

Spring,

and wore

right

the end of

Autumn, and now they

before
us.

there

openly

revealed

Aid
of

when we have
deceit,

torn off the

its

gaudy

trickeries

and
heart

cast aside all

embellishments, the
its

true

within

us

raises

head

and

comes
first

to the surface,

and we can then,

for the

time, put our foot inside the

Gate of True
self-revealment
life.

Religion,

The bare

winter

of

must
12.

precede the spring-time of spiritual

Religion does not, therefore, ask whether

/o
*ve

T/ic Praises

of Ainii/a.

arc

good
it,

or

bad.

The

saintliest

of nicn

conic to

but so do also
life

the

profligates;

the

sages of austere
less

come, and so do the care

Scholars
all

and

the

prodigal.

and

thieves,

gentlemen and beggars,

alike

come.
as

Men
:

come
the

to

it,

as

men,
with

women,
his

women
girt

soldier

comes

sword

on

him, the herdsman with his herds driven before

him,

all

alike
is

come

to the

Gate

of

Kelisiun. o
all

No
that

notice
is

taken
is

of wo; Idly

distinctions:

asked

whether we are honest or the

that has a
lie

reverse.

No man
kind,

about:

him,
:

of
for

my
hiit:

sort or
is

may

enter

into

religion

religion

the

country

where none may dwell

lies.

those

who

are free from

And

over
"

its

Kntrance-date are carved the t\vo words,

e.sty

Hon-

and

Uprightness."
first
is

13.

The

requisite

therefore

for

entering

upon religion
Jf

to ascertain

one

own

worth.

your self-examination reveals to you that you

a

aie

man

capable of work and free from

sin,

so

much

the better.

Go

forward, as a righteous

man, capable of

action,

and work out your own

The True Heart.

salvation bravely and thoroughly.
solutely

77

There

is

ab

no
of

need

for

you

to

hesitate

on the

ground

your

sinfulness

or

incoinpetency.
for

The Gate of Self-Help should

like

open

man

you.

Or

again,

if

you examine your own

neither a

heart,

and

find

yourself to be

good

man, nor one eapable of exertion, you had bet

ter not try to conceal the
fact,

you had better and

is

make an open avowal

incoinpetency.

of your wickedness
like

Fur a man
of
"

you there

al

ways the Gate

of-Another."

Salvation-through-the-helpif,

Hut

knowing

yourself to

be

weak and

sinful,

you make

a false estimation ot
to save

your own powers, and try

yourself by
the

your own
strength
that

exertions,

as

though
so,

you had

and virtue to do
will

you may

be sure
will

you

never

succeed.

You

see,

therefore, that he that

would save

his soul

must

before all things

make

a correct estimate of his

own
14.

powers.

And
-hall

now, which

of these
Shall

two alterna
upon
ior

tives

we choose
as

we look
of
the

ourselves

being

capable

exert

77/t

Praises of Aniiita.

required
selves,
for

to

work

out

our

salvation

for

our
virtue
that.

or

as

possessed
?

of the

requisite

doing
believe

so

Surely

we

cannot
to

do

We

that
in

we

ought

place

implicit

confidence

our
to

parents, yet there are

times
try
to

when we have
live

mistrust

them.
our

We

on brotherly
yet
there

terms with
are

brothers and
quarrel
to

sisters,

times
that

when we

with them.

We

believe

we ought

be

kind to our wives, yet there are

moments when

we

are at variance with them.

We

know

that

we ought to respect our teachers and friends, Our yet we mock and despise them at times.
tongues
very
to

talk

loudly
it

of patriotism, yet there

is

little

of

in

our hearts.

We

use our ptns

write
is

articles

about
of
it

human
in

kindness,

but

there

not

much

our actions.

When
and
break
;

we
we

think of these things in our secret chambers,

are
horrified
at

our

own

behaviour,

make
them.

resolutions

of
r

amendment,

and

How
our

can w e, knowing what we are

to

es

teem ourselves
ing

be good, or capable of work

salvation
?

out

own

It

is.

not pleasant

The True Heart.

to

79
persons and

have to

call

ourselves

ignorant

sinners, but for the present those are the

names
is

that

we must

take.

For, sad to say, there

deceit.

within us a

still

worse heart of

We

are

quite aware that

in

we ought

to

reckon ourselves

the

crowd of
is

sinners, but our great

aim and
are

endeavour

to appear to be

good men: we
us,
;

fully alive to

the
a

ignorance within

but

we

want

to

make

show

of being
a

wise
us,

and so

long as

we have such

mind

in

how can

we

cast off

Wickedness and Folly, and advance

It

along the road of Honesty and Uprightness?

is

this
in

spirit

of deceit

that

makes

us

dissemb

lers

learning, in conduct, in virtue,

and by so
us,

doing

troubles

our

hearts,

and robs

even

when
15.

asleep, of our pleasant dreams.

But carry your thoughts one step further,

and

you

will

see
at,

that

the

consciousness

that
sin

you have arrived

fulness,

of your

own

folly
in

and
its

brings

other

conclusions

train.

When you
it

can see dust flying about

that

in

room,
it.

means

ray

of

light

lias

entered

We

were once ignorant of our

sin,

we

are

new

So

The Praises of
it;

<

\ini<la.

aware of
see
it

we

did not
It is

know our

folly,

we now

clearly.

because a light from with

out

lias

entered our hearts, and enlightened our

minds.

The Great Mercy

:

of the Tathagata

has

looked upon us
us with

the Tathagata has enlightened

His Houndless Light

and

caused
is,

it

to

come over us; and where His Light

lie
is

there

Himself,
thus stand in

When we
Tathagata,
It
is

the

presence

of the

we

are absolutely
for

naked before Him.

trick

of

no use

us

to

ourselves
to

out

with

specious

adornment,

and

try

deceive

Him: He cannot be
do
is

thus deceived.
at

All

we can

to take ourselves

our

real

worth and
just as

without dissimulation of any kind,

are,"

we

as

sinners,

as

wicked men, as ignorant

and

foolish,

and, taking our stand on that con

to rely on the great
it

fession of an upright heart,

Mercy of the Tathagata,

our
eyes
in

as

is

held up before

the

Great
In

Name
light

which
of that

He

has

made His

own.

the

Mercy

shining on an upright heart

we may

see reflect

ed

our

own Nature and

that of the Tathagata

The True Heart.

Himself, and
sion of the

81

we come

at

once into the posses

;

Promised Lard
"

for

we

are told

in

the Scripture that

is

an honest and upright heart

BodhLsatva."

the Paradise of the

82

The Praises of Aniida.

V.

Present Duties,
"Our

cur .-houkl show forth day by day To never makes of conduct. Truth light daily gratitude \va-te no thought on oneself is the right principle of daily
daily
!

conduct

conduct."

SHUN YOGI.
1.

When Tenryu

no

Gazan

was

just

five

years old he entered the

Roku-\Yo Temple, and

Gido.
of
"

became
your

a pupil of the priest

Where
on

is

home?"

asked
"

Gido

the

lad
Sir,"

first

meeting him.
reply,

have forgotten,
priest

was the
joy
of

and the old

laughed

for sheer

at the sage

answer be
failed

received.

The

rest

the

company

to
yet,

understand
in

why Gido
had they

should laugh,

and

truth, all,

known

it,

had reason
s

to

laugh

with joy at the

sameness of the lad

2.
I

reply. So have we.

think

principal

we may say that one of the reasons why we cannot be contented

lot,
is

with

our

and spend

our

days

free

from

anxiety,

that

we cannot
lev.vcs

forget

our home.
a journey,

For

ii::

lance, a

man

home on

Present Ditties,

83

but his mind always keeps reverting to

its
"

home and

interests.

"

wonder,"
is

he says, to himself,

if

every

thing

going

on
as

well
1

at

home.
them?"

Are
Or,

the people at
"

home doing
I

bade

Dear me

forgot to leave n
a nuisance
!"

message
"

for

So and So.
not to have

What
left

Or,

ought
It

such and such directions.

I s

was
so."

very foolish

of me.

wish

had not done

And

so

the

man

anxieties

and troubles ac
goes:

company

him wherever

he

he

cannot

banish them from his mind,

and

the

consequ
his
trip,

ence

is

that
it

he

gets no

benefit

from

whether

be to the beautiful shores of

Suma

or

Akashi, or to the

Temples of Nara or Kyoto.

only
his

And
mind

he
is

loses

not

enjoyment.

His

worried
is

and

wearied

by

his anxieties,

his sleep

broken, and the next day he cannot

continue his journey.

Mis whole
he

trip

becomes
from
set
his

but labour
holiday

lost,

and
fogged

comes back

more

than

when

he

out.

And

all

because he could not forget his home.

is

Home-sickness
suffer

a miserable

thing

those

who

from

it

had better never leave home

at all,

84

The Praises of Ainlda.

or else they will have but a very poor time on

their
travels.

When we go
that
it

a-tra veiling

we

should leave our home- cares at home, we should

forget the things

are
is

behind.

Let home
to

take care of

itself:

our

wisdom
trouble

take

every

day

enjoyment

and

as

they

come, and
.hearts.

to

go on our journeys with tranquil

s

In Tolstoi

story of the

Two

Pilgrims,

the one

who went everywhere

so

with a worrying

anxious heart, and got no enjoyment out of his

adventures, was not nearly
his

wise

man

as

companion who was pleased

and went on
his

with

whatever

befel him,

way
to the
:

singing happy

songs of cheerfulness.
3.

These remarks apply

on mundane journeys

ordinary tra

vellers

but they

may

be

equally well applied to the

tliat

spiritual

pilgrimage

we

are called

upon

to

make.
of

Years and
fifty

yeais ago there lived a

man

some

years

of age,

who,

for

forty-nine

years,
this

had known
the

nothing but

sin.

At

fifty,

man made

discovery that
his past
it

whenever he looked back upon

filled

was

with

wickedness, and the

Present Duties.

85

thought so

terrified

him

that even in a remote

cave he would be
cut into the
air,

seized

with a desire to rush he

fancied himself

and

when

alone his
in

face

would stream with cold sweat,

His

thinking of his buried past.

to

whole

life

seemed

be

filled

with

nothing but innumer

able acts of injustice

his teachers,
his

and

wrong
his

done

against
his

friends,

parents, and

near kinsmen.

The path along which we have come

whatever present position,
the.
it

to out-

may
all

be,

is

exactly

same road

of sin

which

bad men
this

have

.trodden:

and the starting-point of which

journey
our

was the place

true native

we
That
like

call

our

home,
a

place.

home* was
it.

poor
it,

did not place, and we

So we

left

and
to

now we

are well advanced on our journey

a better

place.

We
Some

have, of course,
of

many

fellow-travellers.

them are already on

City of

the
*
ludes

into the point of entering

Flowers
al

i.

e.

the place to
sa; s
is

which

Word worth more

happily

when he

that

"trailing

clouds of glory do

we come

from God,

Who

our

home."

86

The Praises of Ainida.

lies

which

on the other side from their

others have only

just started

home, while others are

the
beauties
of their
to

so

much

taken up with

birthplace that they have only just

begun
There

make
all
all

tardy preparations to leave

it.

are

grades and kinds of travellers,

left

but

we have
to

our
it

hateful

home, or are about

a

do

so.

Is

then,
\vith
?

not

very
eyes,

strange

thing to look

back
return
4.

longing

and

contemplate

Of

course,

if

we
is

are

by disposition an

xious, there always

a seed from which anxiety

may
there

spring:

and
is

if

we

are

prone to remorse,
that

always

something
faults

we

may
for

feel

sorry about.

The

and

errors

we have
them
:

committed,

we must make amends

the wrongful actions

we have dune,
them.
If

we must
to

somehow atone
trouble
find

for

we

are going

ourselves
to

about

such

things,
for

we

shall

enough

worry
clone

about

ever.

Or we
or

wish

we had

something

differently,

not been so rude to So and So, or,

we wonder
again after

how we can look him

in

the

face

Present

Dut .cs.
If

8;

such inexcusable behaviour.

to

we

are

going
things,

be

troubled

by

remorse

for

such

iii-rain
fc>

matter we have enough O

life.

for

remorse to

last

us all our

But what
?

is

the

good of
or

all

this

worry and

remorse
to

If

my

worry

re

morse arp going

correct

som** ^rror,

giv me the strength to or make amends for some

in
it;

wrong, tivre
flesh
is

would be some use

but
for

my
the

too

weak

to

make atonement
saving
it

past,

and

besides,

the

labours

of the

Tathagata
therefore,

have

rendered

unnecessary,

And,
too

seeing that
;

we

of ourselves are
folly
it

weak

to help ourse)ves

what
!

is

to give

way
5.

to

remorse or worry
this

Moreover,

heavenward
is

journey

which

we

are

now
In

taking

not

one of our

own
found

devising.

our

distant

birth-place,
all

we
by

ourselves

encompassed
to

on

sides

the sins inherent

our

condition, so

that

we

were

utterly unable to

move

a foot to advance or

retreat.

When

our helplessness was most patent,

us,

the Tathagata, designing to save

called us

stood and

by means of His Sacred Name, and

88

The Praises of

A mida.
to
start
it

encouraged

and

enabled

us

on

our

heaven-ward journey.
will

Surely, then,
that

is

not the

of

the

Hotoke

we should
these

forever be

troubling

ourselves
this
is

with

anxieties

about

home, and

remorse

for past mistakes.

:

What
and
Is
it

He
let

desires

quite the contrary

that

we should

go our

griefs

and

lay aside our remorse,

rise

peacefully above our load of Sorrow.

not therefore a direct disobedience to His Will for

us to be for ever unmindful of His Mercy, to be

troubled with vain cares

or that?

and regrets about

this
is

The

object

of going on a journey

not that

we may be worried with home

cares,

but

that

we may enjoy our

journey
is

travelling.
in

The
order

heavenward
that
are

not undertaken

we may be
behind,

distressed

by

the

things that

but

that

every

step

may

give us

more and

more of
is

the
sin

pleasures of our road.

Behind us there
there
is

and darkness

in

front

goodness and

light.

The Hotoke does

not

tell

us to look behind, but calls us to

come
does

straight to

Him.

And Sakyamuni

tells

us,

he not? to keep our eyes straight

in

one

direct-

Present Duties.
ion,
i.

89

e.

earnestly

turned

towards the Hotoke,

and
(>.

to

see

Him
have
a

only.

We
the

proverb which says that

"

we

Ir-aw

shame of our journey behind

is

us."

The

proverb

perhaps

not

altogether
in

appli

cable to

our earthly journeys, for

them

the
us,

shame
and

which
us

we
at

have incurred sticks by

least

gives

certain

amount

of

trouble.

]->ut

the

shame which we may have

all

incurred on our heavenward journey has

left

been
called

behind.

The Tathagata,

Who

has

us,

and

Wiio has sent

us forth in this

life

on
that

our heavenward journey,

all
is

has so contrived
left

our shame

shall
in

be

behind: and
It
is

there

no mistake

what He does.

not with
skins

us a question of merely shedding our old

as

the

snakes do

we

are

entirely born again

and

made
one,

new

creatures,

once

and

for

all.

One by
as

we throw
we
find

off our

old habits, and,

we do

so,

the

new glory
gives.
to

of

the

garment which the Tathagata

brethren,
it

My
to

dear our

will

not do for us

cling

old robes and

weep because they

are taken from

90
us
:

The Praises of Amida.

we must not want

old
past

to

resume once more

off

the

rags
is

which we have cast

dead
self:

from

us.

My
that

my
self

the

Tathagata takes
of
ft

dead
then

and disposes
I

as

lie

likes.

Why
self,

should
is

look

back

on

that

dead

which

now
of

in
it

the hands of the Tathaga-

ta,

and

think
wish,
for

with
to

regret

and sorrow?
fretting

]f

you

brethren,
ever,
all

go on

and
is

worrying
resolve
in

you have
to set

to

do

to

your minds
which the

no store by the
gives

happiness
present.
7.
let

Hotoke

you

in

the

Ah!

let

the

Past be past, and

bury

it!

the Future be

the Future, and unknowable

Let us only

rest in that great, present,

Confidence
as

which
free

is

being offered for our

acceptance

gift,

and rejoicing

in

the exquisite beauties

let

of

Nature which show that thought of Faith,

^

us o eo on bravclv.

If

we

see the mist han^ino^->

t>

over the shore of Akashi,

let

us be intoxicated

by
near

its

beauties
the

if

we hear
Suma,
the

the
let

plover piping
us

village

of

dwell

\vitl?

fond contemplation

on

ruin of the ancient

Duties.
at

91

watch ho us-/.
over we go,
place gives
past
let

At Nara,

Kyoto, ur where-

us take the pleasure

which each

us.

Let us waste no tears over the

our
hearts with
all

nor break
:

anxiety

about

the future

let

us trust

things to the Tatha-

gata

hand, enjoying

the

present

as

it

conies,

and drinking

from

that

honey-well
his

of

divine

teaching, which bubbles up at

8.

Sacred Feet.
shall
full

If

we

can

do

this,

we

find

that

Heaven and Earth

light,

will

become

of radiant

and that we ourselves stand

all

in the centre,
If

with

the rays of
at
it

light focussed upon us.

we look
though

our past

we

shall

see that,

sinful

may have
out

been,

yet

our

sin

only

served to bring

more
If

clearly

the workings
at the Future,

of the Divine Mercy.

we look

we. shall
bright

see

its

darkness

illuminated

by

the.

beams of

that self-same mercy.

is

The

Past

has become precious, and the Future

too;

precious
fail

and we,

in

the Present,

must not

to

appreciate the deep import of

them both.

92

The Praises of Aniida.

VI.

Fight the good Fight with

all

Thy Might.
tlieic

should

be

Buddha.s

by

the

millions, and
iL

saints as

many
to

in

number
(he

as the

sand- of the C.angos,

.stand firm
in
all
it

\vuuld

he

better

seek

Way

and to

\\ithonl

rlinching, tlian to offer prayers

ings."

and worship to

these

Be-

I.

It

was a bright moonlight night

in

cow,

young man opened

window shaded

by

leafy plane-trees, looked at the .solemn beau

ty of the scene, and half- unconsciously muttered

to
"

himself",

How
s

"

beautiful

it

all

is

The
the
the

young man

name was Nehrodoff: he was

novel, the
life
<(

hero of Tolstoi
first

Resurrection,"

half of

whose
I

was so eventful and im

pressive that
is
I

could nut help feeling touched,

read

it,

with a feeling of deep sympathy.

This young
>f

strong

man was by nature a man He is described by a sentiments,

being

re viewer as
-n
r

nothing

out

of the

common,
a

fact

quite an ordinary

man.

He had

good

faght the good Fight with all Thy Might.

93

many weak
tations.
lost

points

in

his spiritual constitution,

and was consequently the victim of many temp

I

le

was a man of good

family,

had

his

father

very early and had been conse

entirely

quently

almost

brought
first

up

by

his

mother.

Indeed, he was at
lad.

a decidedly heal

thy-minded, loveable,

As

he grew older he

entered the University, where he

came under

the

influence of writers like Herbert Spencer,

through
in

whose teachings he became so visionary

ideas that he

his

ended by concluding that

to hold

private landed properly

was an

injustice;

and even

resolved to hand over to his peasants the whole

of his patrimonial estates.
sacrifices, the cruel

But, in spite of

all

his

waves of misfortune, so

inse

parably connected with this vale of tears,

made

no exception

in his

favour, and

in

due time he

became, pure and guileless though he was, the

slave

of adverse Fate,

lie discovered that

the

pure Idealism, which had hitherto been his guide,

was

but

poor

leader
:

through

the

intricate

mazes

of actual

life

almost simultaneously he
con"

arrived at the conclusion that the idealistic

94

The

Prciisfs of Ainiitn.

ceptions, principles,

and

beliefs,

which he

had
for

formed
al)

in

his

mind, were absolutely useless

practical purposes,

and

so,

renouncing

all

his

former principles of
to be guided only

life,

he determined henceforth

by the convenience of the im

his eyes.

mediate Present which lay before

consequence.,
all

As

his ideas

and conceptions under

went a

radical

change

He had

hitherto looked

upon the

World

as something solemn and

mar

vellous; but

now

he

deemed
lie

it

to be absolutely

worthless
a moral

and
life

trivial,

had hitherto deemed

and that one
of the
that

to

be

an

essential,

should

follow

implicitly

the

teachings

learned and the wise; he

there

now came
the

to feel

was

nothing

in

world

that

had

claim upon his implicit obedience and

faith. in

He
all

had

formerly
matters,

been
he
a

scrupulously

exact
his
his

money
about

now

Mjiiandered

wealth
feelings

him

with

careless

hand:

towards

women changed
s

from a reverential de
as the instru

ference to considering

them merely
;

ments of a man
leaving

pleasures

and

when,
the

after

the

University,

he entered

Army,

Fight the goo J Fight with

all.

Thy

J\

light.

95

and came

into

contact

with the rough,

proud,
at

ways

of

military

officers,

he

surrendered

discretion to

the

world

and from that moment

lusts

knew no law

but his

own

and became

dissolute, profligate,
at
first

man.

Me

did not feel

happy

in

his ne\v

life,

and
;

slid

uneasily

enough

down
lasf.ed

the decline of sin

but the uneasy feeling

and,

only for a

while,

when

that

was

lost,

he

went

down-hill with a reckless, head

long, speed.
3.

It

was

at this period

of his

life

that

he

was ordered
ness,

into the

country on regimental busi

and

visited an aunt of his his

line

who

lived
his

in

the
s

country, on

of journey.

In

aunt

house

Nehrodoff met an amiable

girl,

Cassia

by

name, the daughter of a low woman, who

adopted
her,
his

had been deserted by her mother, and

and

reared

by

his

aunt.

Nehrodoff saw
urged
the
girl.

became
lawless

enamoured
passions,

and,

on

by

seduced
her,

The next
for
;

morning

he

left

and afterwards
girl

many
h^

years never thought of the

]ed a wandering, roving,

again
to

for

life,

here

day and

gC)

Tlte Praise s

of

A nilda.
mother being dead
family,

there to-morrow.

At

last, Irs

and himself the head of the

he

settled

down

in

Moscow

as an assessor in the law-courts,

where he did
gate ways
all

not,
-\t

however, abandon

his

profli

once, but continued for a while

to live as Carelessly as before.

Not long

after

wards

it

was arranged that he should marry the

a

daughter of
,j.
[

wealthy man, Missha by name.

affected

was extraordinarily

by

this nar

ration.

Who

would

have

thought

that

this

young

student, so obedient to the Faith,

and so

desirous of good, would ever have proved a re

bel
at

and
the

an

impostor?
purity

was surprised myself

the

elevated
I

of

imaginations

of

his

youth,

could but admire the strength and

resolutions.

fervour

of his

And
and

yet,

a
stiff

white
piece

rord quickly becomes

of steel
is

defiled,

more

easily snapped than a piece of

more

pliant

me .al.
a

When
its

the Transient

World

comes over
the white

man, with

waves of Defilement,
is

thread

of Purity

soon
is

defiled,

and
in

the unbending steel of Resolution

a

snapped

moment.

Alas

when

the touch of Defilement

Fight the good Figlit

witti all

Thy Might.
"It

97

comes we make excuses

of the
to
it."

for

it.

world,"

we

say,

"and

way we must conform

is

the

Whether we
not
the

really

must conform or not

we do
before

stop

to

enquire.

We

just

cower

waves
to

of worldlmess,
its

and hold up
:

suppliant hands
as

advancing might
ourselves
s

all,

I
it.

well

as

you
exactly

prostrate

before
:

This

was

Nehrodoff

attitude

it

is

equally the attitude which most of us take

up.

And

the very fact that

we have thus bowed the

it

knee to the

Powers of Evil makes

doubtful

whether we can quietly pass through

as

this world,

we had hoped.
through
life

For
to

even

suppose we do
satisfaction,
?

get

our

present
in the

what good

will

that

do us

end

Or,

let

the pleasures of luxury and debauchery be never

so great,

is

not such a

life

nothing but a dream

And

is

there not an awakening to every

the

dream?

When
which

Awakening from our Dream comes,

we must

sink

down once more

is

into

Suffering

there
is all

no
is

describing

and

when

the

Dream
kening

there

of us, then certainly the

awa

will not

be Paradise, and

we

shall

remain

98
fast

The Praises of Arnida.

bound

to a
is

life

of endless

revolutions
to

and

unrest.
in.

There

no true happiness

be found
:

such dreams of the Transient World

it

can

only
the

be

found

in

following

the Great Will of

Divine Heart which

broods- in Light
It is

over
us.

our minds and consciences.

not wise for

therefore, to follow in the footsteps of

Nehrodoff
be.

such as he has

hitherto

shown

himself to

We
his

must

follow the the

teachings of the Sage

of

Concord,
life

Great
in

Man

is

one that spends

crowd."

alone

the
in

midst of a
others
:

We
re

must
solve
in

put
to

no
take
.

trust

we

must

a
"

firm stand on the Truth with

ourselves.

Be a

light unto thyself,

"

says

the
trust

"

Scripture,

be a house unto thyself, and

other houses.

not

thyself to

Make

the

Way
It

thy Lamp, and the

Way

thy

House, and

put thy confidence in these

is,

alone."*

of course, most

important to

use

this

Transient World as a place

of diligent training
life

and exercise, and to

treat the vicissitudes of to

as the tools of the potter

*
Dai-nehan-gyo. =
.SV//rrt

form

and mould

of the

Great Decease.

Fight the good Fig Jit with all Thy Might.

our characters.

99
are

But tools are

:

tools,

they

never the Master

tools
:

and we must not follow the

we must

follow one thing only, the Great

Will of our Tathagata

all.

who

is

the

One Lord

of

That one phrase of the objective Opportu

"

nist,

It

is

the

Way

of the
to
it,"

World, and we
contains
to
in
it

must conform ourselves

whole

the
of

principle of disobedience
:

the

Law

the Universe
curse.
5.

it

is,

in truth,

a great and terrible

But Nehrodoff had now reached a

life

crisis

in

his

when he would be
abandon
all

obliged to throw
principles

over

and

the

of

life

which had guided him

hitherto.

One

day,

ap

parently by chance, he happened to be in Court

as usual,

engaged

in

the examination of a

wo

man accused

of murder, and was sitting

on the

Bench along with the other lawyers concerned

in the trial

The accused was standing

in the

dock

in front of

him, surrounded by a large crowd of

spectators,

when Nehrodoff, catching

s

a glimpse of
that
it

the

woman
the

face,

suddenly

realized

was
so

Cassia,

woman whom

he

had

treated

ioo

The Praises of

Am Ida.
sight
sit

badly years before.

The

was

a.

terrible

shock to him: he could only

helplessly star

ing at her during the whole time that the cross-

examination was going on, and

it

was thus tint

girl s

he learned what had been the poor

since his base desertion of her.

history

Poor Cassia, who had been

lost

left

enceinte,

had

the esteem

of

Nehrodoffs aunt, had been

in
all

driven from the house, and had taken refuge

the

family

of

a
this

police-officer

as

maid

of

work.

From

house she had run away, be

cause she was unable to stand her

cruel

new Master

treatment
confinement,

^Then had come the hour of

which
:

her

was

miserable

and

wretched enough
died,

babe was born, but soon

the

and
to

after that

poor

girl

went

from

bad

worse,

without

home

or

resting-place,
until,

the sport and

contempt
affliction

of men,
to
its

having

drunk the cup of

dregs, she ended

up with a seven years bondage as a

prostitute.

common
happened

At

the end of that time

it

that a certain merchant committed suicide in the

house of

ill-fame in

which Cassia

lived,

and as

Fight the good fight

she was

ivitii

all

Thy Might. 101

with

known

to

have

had

intercourse

him, she was at once suspected of the crime of

murder, and, though innocent, had been arrested,

and

brought
I

up

for

trial

on the very day of

which

am now
with

speaking.
all

When
stupefied
trial

Nehrodoff heard
fear

this,

he was almost

and

astonishment, and the

his

proceeded
in
it,

without

taking

any

active

part

the prisoner being eventually found

guilty, in spile of the efforts her

lawyer made to
in

save her, and condemned

Siberia.

to

penal servitude
all

Nehrodoff trembled
to

over
!

as

he

listened

the

sentence.

Poor Cassia

She
which

had

of just received sentence for a crime

she was not guilty, and was banished to a dis

tant country

thousands of miles
all

away

And
Xehrcon

who was
odoff

the cause of
that
it

tins

misery?

knew

was himself,
that
his

his guilty

science
fc>

told

him
for

the
sins,
?

poor

woman was
he

beincr sacrificed

and how could he

dare to look on in

silence

He

felt

that

must

make an

effort

to

save Cassia from her

Fate, and with that thought he suddenly

awoke

IO2

The Praises of
his

Amida.
came
sin.

from

long

slumber,

and

to

himself

again from his long wandering in

science,

His con
so
long,

which

had

lain

hidden

for
in

began once more to

tion
;

raise its

head

self-asser

he saw

how

profligate,

how

lawless,

how

despicably mean, his whole

conduct

had been,
all

and the realization made him tremble

with uncontrollable terror.
6,

over

Then
If

a sudden thought flashed across his

mind.

he exerted himself to save the wretch

fate,

ed Cassia from her

the

fact

of his former

connexion with her must come

his

to the light,

and

own good name would be irretrievably lost. Then of course his projected marriage with Mis-

sha could never take place.

Was
to

it

incumbent
Cassia at

on him,

he

asked

himself,

save
it

the cost of such a sacrifice?

his

Was
project

not rather

duty to carry
Missha,

out

his

of marriage
his state
for

with

and honourably to meet

en
of

gagements

to Society?

He was

in

great perplexity and doubt, as

self see

you may

your
s

by consulting the pages

of Tolstoi

novel.

Fig Jit
7.

the

good FigJit
might,

witli all

Thy Might. 103

Come what
of
his

he determined, as the
meditations,

result

troubled

he would

follow the dictates of his conscience and turn a

deaf ear

to

the

whisperings

of

the

Devil of

Objective Compromise.

My

brethren, these were

brave wcrds, were they not?

the the

But brave, not

in

sense
rolling

of that of

bravery

which comes
the

with
of

gun-carriages,
flash

prancing

horses, and the

and

clatter of steel

and

iron.

They

were

brave,

because

the

strong power

of a determined will
a

was

stirring the

depths of

human

heart,

and our good

friend
will.

NehrodorT
It
is

was under the influence of that

that

true

the

fawning
with

spirit
its

of Compromise

came
to
will

once

more

Objective Opportunism
his

keep him back from

lose

resolution.
it

"

You
"

your

good

name,"

whispered.

The

marriage which you have so much

be broken
"

at heart will

off."

Your conduct has been no

worse than that

of

many

another

man."

But

the simple-hearted NehrodorT did

not

succumb

a second time to the blandishments of this evil

spirit.
It
is

true

that he feared and trembled,

IO4

The Praises of

Am!da.
which he had comwith the poison

as he contemplated the sin

nii

ted

he

was

still

infected

he had imbibed

from

the Spirit of Objectivism

which

had

hitherto

been

his

guide.

But the

man who

has once been delivered from a quag

fall

mire will do his best not to

time,

into

it

a second

and
and

Nehrodoff,
looking

his

eyes
to

straight

before
left,

him,

neither

right nor to

learned to look at things from a subjective stand

point,

assumed the attitude of a master, and step

ped boldly forward on the right path.

He would

no longer follow the world, he would follow the

light of conscience within him.
sult

He would
and

con

none but his conscience, he would do what

conscience
t<~.ld

his

him

was

right,

leave

undone what
"It

his conscience

condemned
to lie

as wrong.
that the

is

possible,"

he

said

himself,"

world

will

not

approve."

clearly
to

saw

that
in

there would be
the

many
he
s

obstacles

overcome
for

path
the

which
world

had

chosen
or

himself,

but

approval
It

disapproval

was

none of his business.

to

did
that

not concern him

know

the

difficulties

he

was

to

en-

Fight the good Fight

counter.

ivith all

Thy Might. 105

The only

thing

that

was

really

im

portant for him was that he should do what he

ought

to do.

And

this,

his

duty, he resolved
at

to attempt, at all hazards

and

any

cost.

Ah

there was

much
to

of pleasure in the world

which he was about

that there

renounce

But he knew

was something higher than the world.

He
of

sometimes wondered whether he would ever,

himself, have

the

strength

to carry out his

resolution,

and
not.

reflection

assured

him

that

he

would
;

He had

not

the

strength,

he knew

but yet he would attempt his

duty.

Then
of

he

bethought

himself

of

the

Father
of

Mercies,

and

straightway
of

the

Father

Mercies
turned
the

thought
his

him.
in

No
this

sooner had he
direction

thoughts

than

thing that

he

asked

for

was

immediately

given him.
8.

Ah

the

strength

with which

we ask

is

the

same strength with which we

in

receive.
is

To
same
us.

have the strength to turn

thing
as

prayer

the

having

the
that

grace

descend

upon

The very moment

Nehrodoff turned with

io6

The Praises of

Amida.

an honest and true heart, he received the strength that lie needed for his task.
"

The Grace
is

that giveth
likewise."

is faithful,

and the ask

ing

faithful

When

once we have
it

cut the cable of self-confidence

us,

and cast
in

from
of

and have put

all

our trust
further

the

Work
is

the Great Mercy,

for us to trust
is,

what

thing
of

there

do?

This

giving
that
in

up
is

our

whole

in fact, the

work
is,

required of us.
the

This thought of

faith

fact,
if

Very Heart
it

and Essence of Buddha, and what

plish
?

we possess

is

there

that

we cannot do and accom

NehrodorT perceived
again, he

this.

He had been korn

was no longer the slave of the world.

received the
heart,

He
into

had
his

work of the Great

felt

Spirit

and
"

that
is

he

was now an

uncrowned King.
self,

The Czar

a Czar to

him

and

am
this

C.wv to

myself."

At

point,

suddenly,

the

clouds

of

gloomy
over
his

restlessness,

which

had been brooding

heart,

were cleared away, and a glo

breezes
took-

rious sunset skv with gentle

their

Fight
place.

tht

good Pig Jit with

rose

all

Thy

? tight.

107
his

He
and

from
out
is!"

his
at

seat,

opened
moonlit

window
"

looked
it

the

sky.

How

beautiful

all

were the words which

lips,

came

involuntarily
It

to his

as he beheld the

peaceful scene.

was

not

the beauty of the

outer world only which brought this exclamation

to his
lips.

There

was, as

we have
to

seen,

an

inward reason
the

prompting
he
us,

him

acknowledge
understood,

beauty
there

which
is

beheld
too, a

and

and

for

great lesson to be

learned from his words.

10.

Nehrodoff was now

set out

fully

set in his

own

mind, and he
path of duty.
alized.

manfully

to

walk on the
fully
re

His anticipations were

at him.

The world jeered

His friends
exert

and

relatives said that the

man who would

himself on behalf of an out-cast prostitute must

be a doubtful
the prosecution

character
of
the

himself:
task

and had

when,

in

he

set before

him, he
burg, his

left

Moscow and

travelled to St. Peters

in

aristocratic

friends

the

metropolis
to

made

desperate efforts

to

tempt

him back

his old

ways of

life.

IO8

The Praises of
it

Amida.

But

-was

no longer the old NehrodofT, but

from the dead.

Nehrodoff
ear to

risen

He

turned a deaf

all their
It

blandishments and refused to be

set

tempted.
before

was a hard task that he had

and Cassia,
for

himself,

whom
it

he

was

doing
still

so

much, did not make

for

easier.

She
de

bore him a grudge

his

cruelty

in

serting her years before,

and from time to time

she would turn upon him with a flush of anger

on her cheek, and words of contumely

tongue.

on her

Poor Nehrodoff was but an ordinary

man, and he winced under her treatment.

He

was impatient

at times, cross, angry,

rise

sometimes
;

even the tears would

to

his

eyes

but he

always managed

to

recollect himself.

He

re

minded himself that she

a

had not always been

her
1

bad woman, and

that

having

fallen

so

low was due

to himself.

fe

would not there

he would
well.

fore allow himself to lose his temper,

do what he ought

to do,

and

all

would be

So he went on
ing

quietly doing his best,

and try

one plan

after

another;

but,

do

what he
for

would, he could not procure a pardon

Cassia.

Fight the good Fight with

all

Thy Might. 109

he
s

At
sent

last,

in despair

and as a
the

last resource,

petition

to
in

Czar.

But the Czar

in

reply

was slow

coming, and

the meantime
to

the day

was approaching on which Cassia was

be despatched with a gang of fellow-convicts to

Siberia.

Nehrodoff thought the matter well over,

to

and determined
ii.

accompany her
so,
it

into exile.

Before

doing

was

necessary for

him

to settle his property.

He had
had held

long since
for a

forgotten the
time, in the

opinion

he

short

days

of his

extravagant idealism,

about the sinfulness of private ownership of land,

but

he

now came back

best
to

to his old conclusions,

which seemed
activity of his

agree

with

the

revived

conscience.

He was

the

more
he

moved
had

to

this

by

an

acquaintance
the

which
of

since

made with
which
he

teachings

Henry

George,

accepted

with

enthusiasm.

He

gave up, therefore, the title-deeds of the lands

all

he owned and made them

over to the peasants

who were
some
fers

farming them

as his tenants.

He had

trouble and difficulty in getting the trans

;

properly executed

but he

was firmly con-

IO
that

7/vv

J-Y<i:st

of AniiJa.
to

vinced
right,

he

ought

do the thing

that

is

and

to

have

no thought
an

for himself,

and
Hut

so the task was

not

impossible

one.

when
sants,

the

transfer

was accomplished, the pea

that

sordid

materialists

they

were, and

destitute of all

generous

thoughts,

evinced

no

gratitude,

and e\en grumbled because he had not

done
to

more.
his

More

than

once he was tempted

lose

patience,

but

each
or

time

he

re-

llected

that their gratitude

ingratitude

were

nothing to him, that the only thing

that really

concerned
conscience

him
told

vas

to

do

the

thing

that

hi-.

him was

right,

and

with

this

thought he returned contentedly to Moscow.

12.

At

last

the

day came when the gang of

convicts

was

to be despatched to Siberia.
late

Xehin

mdoff had of
out of the

been
dates
a

very

frequently

and

Prison

on

Cassia

business,
life

and had learned

the

great deal about the

of

convicts,

for

whose
of

miserable

lot

he

had

the deepest
that

feelings

compassion.

Hut
with

now
them,
filled

he walked vith them, and ate

their circumstances better,

he

knew

and was

Fight the good Fight with all TJiy Might.

with
still

\ 1

greater

compassion
as

for

their

misery.

He

understood,

he

had

never done before,

of the

the harshness and severity

officials,

warders and
it

and yet he could see that

was often

unavoidable.

He came by

degrees to the con

clusion which has forced itself upon other minds

as well, that the

whole system needed

radical

reform.

He was

not

unmindful

of

Cassia

needs.

Whenever opportunity

offered

he

would walk

by her side and comfort her,

his kindness

and so great was

at
last

and consideration that

to

even

her icy heart began

trnw towards him, and

she began to look upon him with sentiments of

gratitude.

But she was always circumspect, and

friend into a false position.
t<

would not betray her

Whenever he began
subject

speak

to

her

on the
hi:n

of

marriage, she

always

stopped
at

abruptly, and before the

destination

gang had arrived

its

she
a

had

already secretly given her

political

promise to
in

young

offender

who was
dis

their

company.
at

NehrodofT was deeply

coldness
in

appointed

her

rejecting his ad-

112
vances,
behalf,
in

T/ie

Praises of

Amida.
labour

but

continued
of
all

to

on

her

spite

discouragements.

Soon

after his arrival at the

end

of the journey, the

Czar

pardon
in

for Cassia

reached him.
with
the

He
happy

lost
re

no time
sult

acquainting her

of his labours, and

farewell,

shortly

afterwards took

warm

and

went

his

way, rejoicing
not

that his efforts on her behalf

vain.
13.
I
felt

had

been

in

When

had read

this section of the

.

book,
;

myself deeply
of
it

moved by

the story
in

for

my
own

reading
life,

coincided with a crisis

my

which

made me more than

sorrow

usually
feelings.

sympathetic

with

and

noble
I

When
in a

had

finished the volume,

suddenly

re

membered having seen something very

very different type of bool
_

similar

the Discourses

of Epictetus.

The

story of Nehrodoff has a very

unmistakeable moral .^
get rid of that

\Ve

must

at all

hazards

despicable thing,

Objective

Op

portunism, and

come out under

:

the clear open

sky of Subjective Freedom

attitude of freemen

we must assume the

of

and masters, lords

ourselves

FigJit

tJic

good Fight
wills

ivlth

ah Thy

Alight.
is

and of our own

and

desires,
life

which

the

true spiritual principle of

and conduct.
plain, ordinary,

You
man.

see,

NehrodofT was just a

His passions and

lusts often

brought him
often

to the verge of despair,

and

his resolution

seemed
science

to

fail

him.

But
from

when once
the dead,

his

con no

had

risen

he

was

more under
for the

their dominion.

He

cared no more

adverse opinions
of
all

of

others, he

was ob

livious

considerations

of profit and loss

to himself.
to

lie

no longer troubled

himself as
not,

whether people noticed

what he did or
for

whether they were grateful or not

did for them.
to

what he

His

one

and only thought was

advance boldly along the right road, and do

thing
that
in

the

his

heart

he believed to be
like

the just thing to do.

bird of prey,
entirely

He was
taken

some

fierce

up and possessed

by the

spirit

which had come

its

down upon him,

and blindly following

to

behests without a look

right or

left.

What
did
It
it,

he did, you

might say

that Nehrodoff

but that would be only

half the

truth.

was no longer

NehrodofT

14
did
it,

The Praises
but

of

Amlda.

that

the Great Spirit that d \velt in

let

him.

We

too must

our

actions

be a part

of the workings of this Great Spirit.

14.
"Even

though a Buddha,

in

the Flesh,

or glorified,
this,

should preach another Gospel than

all

and should use

the powers of eloquence

to

persuade

me

that

Shaka
the
I

had

lied

when he

bade rae meditate upon

that
I

virtues

of

Amida
swerve

might

be

saved,

should not

from

this

my

firm conviction

and

faith."

Such

was
"

the

brave

confession

of

Zendo

Daishi.*

Not even
change

the fear of beheading

mind,"

would cause me

to

my

was the splendid testimony

his apostate
temples,"

of ITonen Shonin,t
disciple Saia.

when he reproved

"The
"

Buddhists of those

said Shinran,J
rines,

are ignorant of their

own

doct

and cannot distinguish the true Gate of Sal

vation from the false one.

The

Confucianists

of

* One of the seven patriarchs of Amidaism.

681.

A.D. 614in

Honen

Shonin,

founder

of

the

Jodo

Sect

Japan.

A-D. 1133-1207. | Shinran Shonin,

1173-1212.

founder

of

the

Shinshu

Sect.

A.D.

Fight tkc good FigJit with

the city (Kyoto) have

all

Thy

!\

light.

\ 1

wandered from the path, and

going."

know

not where they are

And

then he
"

went on, with out-spoken denunciations.

alike,

All

Sovereign, Ministers, People,

are trans

gressors of the
ness
:

Law

and violators of Righteous

they

are

influenced

by anger, and
hatred."

their

deeds are

productive

of

They were

bold words, but the mind which gave utterance

to

them was Mida

s

"

strong,

for

it

rested on the
its

Rock

of
in

Holy Vow, and merged

emotions

the great

Ocean

of the Inconceivable

Trans

cendent

Law."

Thus you
great

see that

in

the

minds

of

these

men

there

was neither
nor Saint,

State, nor Society,

neither Scholar

there were even no

Buddhas,

but
all,

Amida
above

the
all,

Lord

was
all,

alone,
in

and
all.

all
It

in

through

them

was
that

this Faith in,

and

this

following of

Amida,

gave

these

men

their

power and

influence in the world.

15.
It
is

impossible for us to
sitting.

move

the tataml

on which we are actually

How

can those

who

put their trust

in

the Nation or in Society,

Il6

T/ic

Praises of

Ami da.
?

ever be able to

move
off

either the one or the other

We

cannot wash

the

mud

from our bodies

so long as

we

stay sitting in the

mud

we can

not raise humanity from

the

mire,

so long as

we

ourselves

are

in
all

the the

mire
birds

of worldly con

formity.

Where

congregate

in

troops, the trees

lose

their foliage

and wither:

how

then can those

who

are tied and

of
this

bound by

the conflicting the strength

judgments
to

world obtain

acquire eternal

life ?

We

must

reach out to something higher than the Nation,

higher than Society,

higher

than Humanity,

we must reach
of the

out to the Great

Commandment

One Tathagata, from Whom we shall get the strength we need, and, having obtained that strength, we must break off once fur all with
lust

and

sin,

and do as the Great

Commanment

bids as to do.
1

6.

When men

have many masters

is

to teach

them

their duty, the result

but confusion, and

follow
the

consequently pain.
Rule,
find

When we
of the

One

the

One Law

One Buddha, we
Fountain-head

ourselves at the Spring and

Fight the good Fight with all Thy Might.

1 1

of happiness and courage, and are in a position

to

accomplish
17.

all

our duties.
is

The Hotoke
or

within
?

us.

Why

should

we be troubled
think
that

afraid
is

Or why should be
that

there

anything

we cannot
absolutely

do

Without the
:

Hotoke, we
the

are

helpless
faith
in

but

with

Hotoke,

and

through

Him, we get an
"

all-sufficient strength.

Consider.

If

attain

to

Supreme Enlighten
all,

ment and become the Lord of

doing
I

unless

by so
and

can
I

save
will

all

that

are

in

Misery

Suffering

not

accept the Buddha-hood."

Such

was

the

Vow
for
us.

which

our

Father

the

Tathagata took

And now we

see that

He

has accepted

his

Buddhahood, and that

He
all

has set before us His

others,
as

Name,

the

Name
that

above

a token
his

and pledge

He

has
Rest.

ascended to

well-earned

Kingdom and
that he has

The

fact that

the

Nyorai

Perfecting has been

revealed
plished

to

us

is

a proof

accom
been

his

Vow.

And
is
it

if

the

Vow
?

has

accomplished,

how

possible that Suffering

and Misery should

remain

unsaved

Advance

Ii8
therefore.

The Praises of

Amida.
lives.

The Tathagata

We

who

are
:

poor

in

strength can have strength given to us

are deficient in
life

we who
to us.

can have

life

given
get to

All things
satisfaction

that

we need we can
the

our

full

through
us

mercy of the

Tathagata,
in

Who
life

makes

more than conquerors

the battle.
1

8.

The

of true

Victory
put

is

a blessing
trust in

which they only obtain who

the Tathagata.

their

The World and Ilow

to

pass through

It.

19

VII.

The World and

the

How
It.

to pass

through
Ty following
to Naturalness.

Buddha with calm rejlu

is

ion
s

we
land.

attain

This

none other than Amida

H5JISAN.

I.

We
Inn.

are travellers.

This world
of

is

a way-side

In

this

Inn

Human
These

Life,

we

have,

through the
His
gracious

Name

of the

Tathagata,
are

received

invitation.

the

three

main points

in

our Life on Earth.

II.

I.

In this Inn there are

many

guests staying,

men, and women, old and young, high and low,

learned and ignorant.
nection

strange
is

point in con

with

these

guests

that the

mijority

of

them

neither

know nor

care where they are

going,
there
it.

and that some of them even

is

boast that

no need to trouble themselves

about

These men complain a great deal

and
food
in

that the

attendance

the

Inn

are

not

as

I2O

The Praises of Awida.

as they might be.

good
times
petty

Nay

they will some

of fuss over
let

make
detail

a strange
in

amount

some

the

management, and
seed

some
they

trifling

matter

be

the

from

which

raise
strife,

quite an abundant crop of quarrelling and

of party spirit

and anger, of rancour and

not

malice.
that, side

You
by

will

be

astonished

to

hear

side with these discontented spirits,

there are

some guests who

all.

are always laughing

to be

about nothing at
tears,
It
is

Are we
by
this

moved

to
?

or

to

smiles,

strange spectacle

hard to say.

2.

Now among
who
conduct.

these

guests

are

we our
virtue in

selves

exhibit neither

wisdom nor

our

We

have hitherto been just rude

uncouth
in

country

people,

with

rustic

manners,

living purposeless lives

some

out-of-the-way
the

hamlet; but
gata
s

we have now
through

received

Tathu-

invitation

His Name, and have

our
faces

set out

on our journey
the

with
Light.

turned
are

towards

City

of

All
rejoice,

these

resting in the Inn,

and they

as for one

and another the time approaches

to

enter

the

The World and Hoiv

City.
this

to

pass throng]i
:

It.

121 not

These men are

a

all

cur brethren
to

is

matter

for

congratulation

see

them

drawing near to
"

their

happy consummation?
which takes us to the

3.

Life

is

road

joys of the world to come, and the

Sun

is

shining
set

pleasantly

to-day."

With such thoughts we

to

ourselves cheerfully
duties.

work
life

to

fulfil

our daily
s

This

is

the

of

the

Tathagata

children.

III.

I.

Yet

we must

be

on our

guard

not to

despise
alone: o

those
the

men who go
of
life.

noisily

blustering

roads

Even

the

chance

brushing of our sleeves together

thoroughfare,
is,

in the
tells

crowded
us,

as

the

proverb

the

result of a far-reaching causation in other worlds;

and

if

that
in

be

so,

our
Inn,

lodging

together,

as

guests

the

same

may

lead to a series of
countless
centuries.

effects stretching

out

over

We
and

must therefore be constantly on our guard

behave
with
are

well-meant
in the

civility

towards

those

who

with us

Inn.

122
2.

The Praises of Ainida.

To

later arrivals

we show
them
to

ourselves kindly

sympathetic,

and
the

tell

of the

ways

of the
:

house
such
is

and
the

customs

be
is

observed
required

for

politeness

that

of

us

by the

rules

of the

hostelry.

And when we
we
our

remember
selves

that but a short while, ago,

like

were

these

persons,

rustic

and

boorish, thoughtless and rude,

e d to

we

feel

constrain-

behave

towards

them

without

pride

or

disdain.
3.

So

if

they come and

make

a noise close
their

to

where we are and annoy us with

up

roar,

we

shall

do our best
It
is

to bear

it

patiently.

Poor
in

men
Inn

only

during our short stay

the
life

the

that
noise.

we have
"

opportunity

of
its

making a

This

passeth away,
"

pains are but for

moment

and

surely,

if

our thoughts
the

are

directed
to

to

the happiness of
shall so

City
going,

of

Light

which we
for

soon
the

be

we can endure

moment

disturbance that goes on around us.

4.

We

shall

see

this

more
of

clearly

if

we

consider

that

the

Father

Mercies

forgives

The World and

us freely
for

How
sins,

to

pass through
the

It.

123

those
us

contemplation of

which

makes

shake and tremble, and that

He

takes us just as

we

are and

saves

us.

If

we have been
forgive

thus
It
is

forgiven,

should

not

we

others?
all

the will

of the Hotoke,

who

forgiveth

men, that

we

too should for

give as
5.

He
it

has forgiven.
not further true that
their

Is

the

opposition

of these

men,

slanders, oppressions,

and
that

want of sympathy, have

have drawn
to-day
?

been the

things

us

out

and made us what we are

of

The clouds
to

trouble

have

shown

themselves
fore,

be

lined

with

silver,

and there
but:

when we
thanks

think of those men,

we can

give

for

what they

have done

for us,

and pray that

the

Same Divine Hand which

be over them
at
also.

has been over us

6. It

may

must happen that

times

we

shall

have thunder-claps of anger bursting out against

some one

or other.

At

other times,

it

will

be

our duty to admonish

severity.

and reprove others with

But
as

let

our anger be based on Merc}/,

as

which

is

wide

Heaven,

and

on

Love

124

The Praises of Amida.

is

which
or

as comprehensive as

the

wide

ocean,
will

else

neither

reproof nor

angry words

long preserve their strength.

"

7.

There are many roads on which we

"

go,"

says the poem,

but

all

the travellers

whom we
my
fathers

meet going backward and forwards are

and
mothers."

Consider

all

old

men

as

your

fathers, all

old

women

as

mothers,

grown up
and the

persons as elder

brothers

and

sisters,
sisters.
all

young

as

younger brothers and

Go
so

step further, and think of

them

as

many
your

manifestations
benefit.

of
is

Buddha,

prepared
s

for

This

Sakyamuni
in

teaching.

You

may

find his

words

the Sutras.

IV.
I.

If

it

should ever happen that these people

should
for

cease
while,
to

from

their
I

noise,

and be quiet

we

should,
to

think, seize the op

portunity

speak

them of
are

the beauty of

the City to which

we

going, and to invite

us.

them

to

come along with

willing
to
listen,

If

once they
their

should be

and,

turning

The World and

hearts
to
this

Ilffiv to

pass through
should

h.

125

the

heavenly
they

City,
will

advance

along

road,

at

once obtain the

same

true peace, hope,

courage,
all,

and happiness

that \ve have.

More than

the Great Parent

their

who
as

dwells in that City will

lie
is

become

Father

ours,

and

will

await their coming to

Him,
2.

as lie awaits

ours.
into
all

Bind

all

men

Union by means of the

the

One Name.

Turn

men towards
all

One and
in

Only Buddha.

Make

seek
This

for
is

rest

the

One and Only

Idea.
"

Paradise.

our

Central

3.

To make
is

others believe as one believes

:

oneself
gate o
a

the hardest of hard tasks

*

to propa
is

Mercv and make

of

it

flourish

and abound

means

acknowledging the choice graces of

It

the

Buddha."

was Zenclo Daishi who taught

shall not forget

us these words,

and we

them.

V.
I.

Whilst we are thus staying

will

in

the hostelry

of Life, our fellow-guests

sometimes come
It will

and question us about ourselves.

be our

126

The Praises of

Amida.
the
truth.
at

desire at such times to

speak
if

We
the

might perhaps
Inn

fear

that

the

people

saw

us

claiming
a

wisdom

beyond

our

grasp, or asserting

dignity to

which we had
highly
if

no

right,

they
us

might

think

more
;

of

us and
told

pay

more reverence
but
just

whereas
truth

we

them

nothing

the

about

ourselves, they

might despise us and even take

away from
to
us,

us the

room which had been assigned

treat

and

generally

us

with contumely

and

insult.

But

let

us

not

be troubled about

such things.

Let us

boldly and openly speak

the truth about ourselves.

For the
His

Way

of the

Hotoke

is

the

Way

of

Name, and
I

our

True Father has not concealed

J

lis

True Name.
"

Ic

has told us that His

to

Name

is

Amida
:"

the

Buddha

have taken

whom belongs all Glory Him as our Father and

and we

are being
for

saved by Him.
us to defile

How
Name

then can

it

be right
"An

His

with a lie?

honest

heart

is

Paradise."

Let us speak the unvarnish

to

ed truth,
"

and say
is

those
"My

who
name

question
is
fool,"

us,

My

clan

sinner."

"My

The World and

rank
Sin,
is

How
"

tc

pass through

It,

127

the

lowest,"

There are no words but

Evil,

Krror,
then,

Ignorance, in

my
for

curriculum

I itae"

And

when the Motel people come

entries
is

and ask us
book, and

for further

the

visitor s

say

"Where

your
that

home?",

we
even

can answer with true pride

we

are

now

"

burghers of the
is

City

of
that

Light."

That,
to be

brethren,

the only thing

we have

proud about.
2.

It

is

written

in

the

Scriptures,

and

it

is

something about which

we may

rejoice, that

by

virtue of our Tathagata s

Vow
Saints
this

we, ordinary folk

who

are

neither

great
in

nor

yet

great

Scholars,

may

even

life,

and without

putting off our bodies of flesh, have our pleasure

in

Paradise.

This

is

the

peculiar

privilege of

those

who

are citizens of

the

Pure

Land, and

the sons of the Tathagata.

VI.
I.

But the people of the Inn

will

not under
of

stand us

when we say

that

we

are citizens

the City of Light, and, will probably slight us,

28

The Praises
treat us coldly in
let

of

Amida.

and
But

consequence of our words.

us beware that

we be not

like

others

and take to grumbling.

ourselves, that,
telry
if

Let us simply say to

there

had not been

at

this

Hos

to

come
the

to,

we might
of
all

the

present

moment be

sport

manner of storms
has

and tempests, and that

from many a trouble
things
in

the

Inn

saved

us
at

and

hardship.
shall

Look
that

this

way and we

sec

the

half-filled

soup-bowl, which the other guests are

about,
is

complaining
feast.

in

reality

sumptuous

That thin cotton

grumble
a

quilt,

which makes the

others
for

and grind
bed

their teeth,
finest
it

becomes

us

luxurious

of

silk.

And
poor

when we think
Inn that we
received
last
first

further that

was
s

in

this

heard our Father

Name, and

His

Invitation,

and

that

we
of a

are

at

reaping
in

here

the
lives

first-fruits

harvest

sown
shall

many
that

and

many
absolutely

worlds,

we

see

we

have

no

cause

for discontent,

even though

our

room be
liked
it

not
to

quite so
be.

good as

we should have

TJic

World and
us
listen

How
to

to

Pass through

//.

129

2.

Let

the

words of Rennyo
:

Shonin,* as taken from his Reminiscences

Walking along the corridor of the

tery,

monas

Rennyo
"

noticed a piece of paper lying on

the floor.
in

Why

should

we

despise anything

the realm of Buddha?" said he, and, picking the

up

paper,

held

it

to

his

forehead

with

reverence.

Even a

piece

of paper

he looked
s

upon
sions,
It

as forming a part of the

Hotoke

posses

and therefore
is

to be treated with reverence.

thing
things,

to

be

avoided to tread upon

as,
e.g.

one

own

such
to

clothes.

The
even

revered
his
his

Abbot

used

consider

that

him only in virtue of belonged sacred office, and would reverently pick up
clothes
to

any

garments

he

found

lying

about.

In

the

same way when

would cross

a meal was brought to

him he
"

his fingers before

him and

say,

have received food and clothing from him

I

whom

serve as

Shonin."

* The

Gobunsho
I

or

Ofumi
the

of

Rennyo Shonin
of

will be

found

in

Vol. XVII.

of

Transactions

the

Asiatic

Society of Japan.

130

llu Praises of AmiJa.

us,

Let

in

however small

a measure,

try

to

follow in these footsteps.

VII.
I.

We
we

can
is

now

see that this hostelry of the

fai

luman

Life

not a house of Suffering so

ns

are

concerned,

but the Gate of Mercy.

is

When

thus the Night of Life

over

and

the

Glorious
travellers

Morning begins

to

dawn, most of the

begin to bustle about and with

much

stamping, shouting, and parade, go out into the

outside
air.

But that

is

not what

we want

to do.

We
our
"

prefer to go out quietly after having

made

proper

adieux

to

the

people

of the Inn.
"takes

Even

the flying

bird,"

says the proverb,

care

not
she, 11

to pollute the

stream

as

it

passes."

And

we

fall

short of the birds in politeness

and good manners?

leave
will

The

sin

and

evil

which we

behind

us

when we

quit our rooms,

we

ask the

after us

TUhagata kindly to sweep away when we are gone, and so we shall be

able to
to those

go away with no words but of Kindness

who remain behind

us.

The
2.

1 1

arid

and

How

to

pass through
is

It.

131

Gratitude, thanks,

this
in

the only pay

ment which we
not

can
the

make

person.

We

can

send

it

by

hands of a

third

party.

The kindness which we have

our
stay

received

during

precludes

the possibility

of anything

but a personal expression of gratitude.

"

3.

The water

in the well,

from

which

we

are wont to draw,

"

may

be very

deep,"

says the

poet,

but
in

it

cannot be so deep as the wells of

Mercy

Paradise."

We

think

some times of
Stars,

the brightness of the

forget
all

Moon and

but

we
The

about the brightness of the Sun.

One
is

is

perennial, constant, unvarying, the other

fitful.

inconstant and
is

The Mercy
it

of the 11 othe
let

toke

forgotten,

because

is

like
Still

Sun,

perennial, constant, unvarying.

us not

forget the giving of thanks

whenever we invoke

the

Holy Name.
VIII.

r.

And

thing to

we go away. But there is one be borne in mind at the moment of

thus
It
is

our departure.

this, that

we must

preserve

132

The Praises of Amiaa.

the distinction between meuui and

try to take

tnum and not

away with

us

by mistake what be

longs to the Inn, or to any of the guests.

We
really

must take with us nothing but what

our

is

own.

When we

first

reached the Inn

we

had nothing of our

own

and

the

Inn-people

gave us clothing for our backs and food for our

bodies.

The
it

clothes, therefore,

and the food be

long to

also.

The

life

also of the

body be

longs to the Inn, and so does everything which

can be separated from ourselves.

All these we
not
think
of

must leave behind us

trying
to

we must
us.

take

them with

Many
Divine

of the

things which
ful,

we abandon

are extremely beauti

but we are going to get

the
is

Food

of the

Holy Name which

beyond
are

all

com
and

parison sweeter than what

the Garments of His

we

leaving,

Holy Name, which

fairer

are be

yond

all

comparison

than the robes which

It
is

v/e are

bidden to put off

true that, even

whilst staying in the Inn,

we received

the

Hea

venly
ness,

Food and
but
these

the Garments of His Righteous

did

not

belong

to

the

Inn.

The

H orld and tlow

to

pass through

It.

133

They were given to us for our very own, and we cannot be separated from them. We go
forth,

therefore, wearing

the

garments

of

His

Holy Name and

which comes
to us

rejoicing in the Divine

Food
and

from the same

source,

everything else

we

return to the inn, so that

we
a

may go
to

forth without

encumbrances.
return
left

If

it

is

praise for a

man

<;

to

in

rich

garments

the

home which he

in

a poor working
is
it

suit/
to

how much more

to

of a praise

for

us

return

our

first

home

in

garments more

beautiful than the rainbow, with treasures

more
home,
is

precious than gold or silver,

the

to our

first

Land

of

the

Divine
is

Light.

That
us.

the

great happiness that

2.

now

awaiting

The
:

three

worlds

are the
is

Abode

of Sin

and Evil
Heart

the Pure
Spirit.

Land

the

Home

of

the

and

We

shall

go

forth from the

spiritual

one to enter into the joy of our

"

home.

The

fire-girt

world, wherein

my

footsteps stray
see,

used to

deem my home.
is

But now, I

The

lonely mountain hamlet, which I found

Wandering by chance,

my

true native place.

(DoGiiN ZENJI.)

34
There
in

The Praises of

Amida.
still

the inmost heart of those

hills,

The mind s true citadel, where never reach The icy wind-storms, let me make my home. (Go Mi/a NO TENNO.)
*

3.

Come

then, and let us be on

the way.
to our

We
home
all

must
;

follow

the

Buddha and go
there

when we
desires

get

we

shall

find

that
fulfil
is

our

meet with a spontaneous

of
all

ment/
waiting

The
for us

fulfilment
in

our

desires

the

City

where the flowers

bloom of

their

own

accord.

IX.
i.

With
forth

this load of

happiness on our backs

we go
towards
to
it,

from the Inn, and turn

City

our

faces

the

of Light.

As we draw
we
travel
it

near

the road along which

becomes

wider,

and the

travellers along

are

more nu
arc,
like

merous.
ourselves,

We

find that all these

in

men
of

clad

the

garment

the

Holy

Name, and

sustained by the
all

Food

of that

Name.
Pilgrim

They come from

Songs, and sweep
Gate.

sides singing their

like

a bright cloud into the City

that
gate,

And beyond

what

is it

like ?

The World and

"

How

to

pass through

It.

135

With

their eyes

they behold the Nyorai and

look up at the Saints.

The more they

look, the

more

pleasant the organs of their

sight

grow.

The more they hear

the excellent law, the

more

pleasant the organ of their hearing grows.

their

With

noses

they

smell

the

incense

of Divine

grace, and the

more they

smell, the

more

plea
their

sant their organ of smelling grows.

With

tongue they

taste

Divine joy and Contemplative

it,

Ecstasy, and the more they taste

the

more
their

pleasant their organ of taste grows.

With

minds they engage

the

in

the state of pleasure, and

in
it,

more they engage

the

more pleasant

their spirits grow.

Every

state of the

World of

Paradise

is

a device for forsaking

pain and ac

quiring pleasure.
the

The wind
-

that
:

blows upon
the branches,

jewel

trees

brings

pleasure

leaves,

and

fruits, all

resound
that

with

permanent

pleasure.

The waves

wash

the golden shore

bring pleasure.

The

ripples

and whirling streams

spread the

four

virtues.

The

singing

of the

cranes over the shore brings pleasure.

As

it

is

the gate of Divine Truth for the enlightenment of

136

The Praises of
s

Amida.
life,

one
a

organs and the very strength of

passing
(to

even

mere

wild

goose

will

contribute

pleasure
Bliss).

the
is

inhabitants

of

the
for

Land

of

As

it

the Excellent

Law

medita

tion

upon Buddha,

the

Law and

the

Church,
bring

the

mere walking upon the

ground
is

will

pleasure.

The Heavenly Garment

bestowed

upon
Jewel

them and the

Palace
is

right of entering into the

is

another
in

pleasure.

Heavenly

music
2.

played
is

their

ears."

Such

the country
arrival.

which

lies

before

us

and awaits our

At

the present

moment

we
try.

are in the Inn, looking forward to the coun

But the Inn

:

is

not the whole of our exis

tence

it

is

only

part.

And

our principal
in

work
our

is

not to

make
:

ourselves

comfortable only

lodgings here

our

lodging

marks

one step further on our road to the Pure Land.

X.
r.

Some

of the lodgers in the Inn are weak-

hearted persons
co-ne out of
it.

who weep and lament

It
is

as

they

not quite unreasonable to

T/ie

World and

PIoiv to

pass through

It,

137

do

so,

for

our departure means a separation from

the friends

who have lodged

with us under the

friends

same

roof,

and not only from our mere

and acquaintances, but from those more specially

dear
to

ones

who have

shared
the

our

rooms,

and
of

whom we

have given

appellations

parents and children, husband and

wife, brother
se

and

sister.

Moreover, when once we have

not

parated,

we know
for

when
lie

or

how we
in

shall
dif

meet again;

our paths

possibly

ferent directions,
will

and

it

may

be that some of us

have to return

for

long wanderings

among

the mountains and

2.

fields of sin

and

vice.

But think again.

of

Granted, that there are

some

them

that

do not yet know the

is

Name
not

of the Hotoke
ours
;

Who

their father as well as

Granted, that there are some

the Divine

who do

know
that
for

Name

as yet

can we

believe

He

will

ever

forsake them, and not wait

give

His opportunity to
?

them

His

Saving
that,

Invitation
after

Nay

more,

do we not hope
that
City,

we have reached

Our Father
to

will give us

His permission to go ourselves

138

T/ic Praises

of Auiida.

seek our friends and bring them home, so that

ere long

we may
Therefore

all

be

gathered

around
tears
;

Mis

Knees.

we wipe away our

and

Jeave the world quietly and peacefully

for

what

we

see

before

us

is

the

light

of Universal

Salvation.

But
ject.

let

us turn to the other side of

is

the sub

There

Buddha who

is

both our father

apd

theirs, too.

Some
yet
it

of
is

them even do not

not possible for him
call

know His Name,

to forsake

them.

Me must
the

them

in

due time.

After

we have reached
to guide

Royal
to
it,

City,
if

we

will

come back

them

our Father
this parting

allows us to do so.
is

Thus, you see,

for
it

not an eternal parting;

all

is

arranged that

we should
Father.

be gathered

in the

bosom
start

of our
this

Therefore

we calmly

from

temporary residence of the world,

tears
off.

shaking

our

At

the bottom of these our tears of

light of a noble

sorrow there shines the

hope.
follows

onward

The
:

children of the kindergarten sing as

The World and I low

"

to

pass through
to day,

It.

139

Sparrow
the

Sparrow

Once more

All alone along the dark w. y

To

bamboo wood

in

Are you going back,

"

to

your distant hill, your lonelv cot?"

No No Lonely it is not, Father and Mother are waiting me, there,

! !

Tis

Home, Sweet Home,

to

which

repair.

3.

We,

children of the
in

Tathagata,

are

like

the

sparrows

this

poem.

On

the road of

death, where other

men
see

see nothing

but

dark

ness and fear,

us,

we

light

and pleasure before

and march boldly on.

for
it

How

can
?

we render

thanks
only do
ful

these

so

great

mercies

We

can

by the continual

repetition with thank

to

hearts of the

Holy Name

which we as

cribe all glory.

"

4.

When

living creatures betake themselves

to

religious

practices,
their
lips,

and
the

continually

invoke

Buddha with
to

Buddha

will

deign

hear

with

their
;

when they worship Him continually bodies, the Buddha will deign to
think
will

behold

when they

of

Him

constantly

with their hearts, they meditate on

He

deign to

know; when

Him

constantly in their inmost

The
souls

Praise*, of Ainida.

He

will

deign to meditate on

them."

By

means of the Sacred Name we can ever dwell with

the Tathagata,

who

ever dwells with

us.

Hence

comes
Sacred

strength,

hence
in

joy

bubbles

up.

The

Name
s

is,

truth,

the warsong of the

raised

Tathagata
this

Soldiers.

Sakyamuni once
that

song,

and

since

time,

for

ages and

generation?, thousands upon thousands of fellowpilgrims have joined their voices to

shall

His.
?

And
that

we not

join ourselves to
utter

them

In

case,

we
In

shall

The Holy and Reverend

evil-

Name
ing,

the .midst of this world of

hatred,,
n

speak

slander,

and

all

unkmdness, and

spread

Amida

glory from one end of the world

to another.
5.

Glory be to the Buddha of Boundless Life

!

and Light

With these words

course
to

humbly bring my
pray
that

dis

close,

and

His Divine
all

Light

may always

shine over and upon

faith,

those

who

hold the same

and worship the same

Being.

Postscript.

141

POSTSCRIPT,

have spoken

in

my

Introduction

about the

Nestorian Christians and their possible connec

tion

with

the

Buddhism

of
I

China and Japan. have been indebted

For the information given

to

Mr.
has
lie

Saeki Yoshio,
given
will at
full

of

Tokyo, a gentleman
to
this subject.
I

who
hope

much study
some
future

time

give

to

the

world the
will

results of his investigations,

which
in

have an important bearing

on

several

teresting chapters ol

Ecclesiastical History both

It

Buddhist and
task,
in

Christian.

will

be

difficult

which
;

he

will

have
of

but

few

fellow-

labourers

but every year

Oriental research

makes the task

accomplishment,

seem
and
the

to

be

more

capable

of

the

news

lately

received

from Europe

of

discovery

by French and
at

German

scholars,
in

who have been

work

for

some time

Tuifan

in Central Asia, of portions

14of a

The Praises of Amida.

Christian
in

Gospel,

written

in

Bactrian

dialect,

the midst of a
it

number

of Buddhist

Sutras,*

makes
of

increasingly

evident that the

Buddhists

China were

acquainted

with the
;

facts of Christ s Life at a

very early period

and
it

we may

infer

that,

if

they

knew

of Christ,

comes again within the range of

Japan

possibility that

may have

received

some knowledge

of the

Christian story at a comparatively early period.

Turfan

lies

on the

direct

route

of

travel

from

Tashkent

to Peking,
in

and there was certainly a

its

Nestorian diocese

neighbourhood during
of the Christian

the eighth and ninth centuries

* See Japan Times, June,
According
nicle,

14,

1907.
of the Daily Chro eminent philologist, has suc

to the Berlin

correspondent

Prof. Friedrich Mullcr, the

ui
I

ceeded in decipering some from Chinese Turkestan by

in the

the

manuscripts brought

home
buried

Jr.

Lecoq,

who found them

sand near Turfan.

of the

They

are in the language of Sodiana,

a province

ancient

Persian Empire, and afterwards a

province of the
the

OMK

nnd Jaxartes.

Greek Kingdom of Bactria, situated between The correspondent adds that the main

interest in the manuscripts lies in the fact that they are frag,

merits of

Books of the
to versions

New
all

had access
differ

which are now

Testament and that their copiers They totally unknown.

authoritative

considerrbly from
l.y

ancient versions re-

C"gniseiJ

the Greek and Catholic Churches.

Postscript
era.

143

We may

reasonably

hope now that time

will reveal the existence of

some Chinese version

of the Bactrian
Millet

Gospel

which Drs. Lecoq and

to light,

have just brought

the

and

it

is

quite

within

bounds
be

of

possibility
in

that

such

a
it

M.S. might even

should
differ
in

found

Japan.

That

some
the

respects

from the Four

of Asia Minor

Gospels used

in

Churches

and Europe would be nothing surprising.

The

early Christian Churches of Bactria and Turkes

tan

were

always

isolated

from the rest of the

Christian world,
at times to write

and

must have been obliged

for their

books

own

use.

In the

mean

time,

there

are

certain
(at

points

connected with the indentification

jective)

least
I

sub

of

Amida and
out
to

Christ

which

should
in this
all

like to point

anyone

interested
is

subject.

Granted that there

a Father of

mankind,
ly: does

Who
it

loves

all

his

children

impartial

not follow that

of them with
all

He

will

impartially

provide

all

the absolute neces

saries of

life

both temporal

and
It

spiritual,

and
be

especially with the latter?

can

scarcely

144

The Praises of
of

conceived that a God

Love should not

all

find

some way
all

to
is

communicate to

his creatures

that

it

really important for

them

spiritually

to

know.

It is

quite
find

in

accordance

with

this

thought that we
and intellectual

great

waves of

religious

illumination

sweeping simulta

neously over great portions of the world.

The

age of Sakyamuni was practically that of Con

fucius

and Laotse
in

in

China,

and
laid

of

the

great

philosophers
foundations

Greece

who
the

the

necessary
of

on

which

superstructure
erected.

Western Christian thought was

fucius,

Con
of

Sakyamuni,
were

and

the

fore-runners

Socrates,

practically

contemporaries,

but

certainly independent thinkers.

When

Christ

Our

Lord was born, a

nations.

similar

wave swept over the

Greece,

Syria, Asia

Minor,

and even

Rome, suddenly began to worship a mysterious being known as Mithras, who was the rival
of Christ for over a century, until the historical
facts of Christ s

work

of

Redemption drove out

of the field his purely subjective and imaginary

claims upon the worship

of

men.

The same

Postscript.

145

period saw

in

India the rise of the

Mahayana
religious

Buddhism

and

of

philosophic

and

Hinduism, both of which were characterized by

the Creation and multiplication of ideal Saviours

such

as, e.g.

Amida.
in

A
era.

third

wave swept over the world

the

twelfth and thirteenth centuries

It

of the Western

was the age

in

of the

Great Christian
St.

preachers

Europe,

St.

Francis,

Bernard,

and other great

saints, the
faith

sum and
in

substance of
In

whose teaching was

at

Christ.

India

the

same time there sprung up two great

the
that
as

/tf///l-religions,

worship
of
it

of

Rama
in

in

the

North,

and

Krishna
were,

the
rose

South.
to

Spontaneously

India

the

thought that

man

can

be
with

saved by no
the

efforts

of his own, but

outside being in

only

help

of

some

whom

he

may

place his trust.*

These

faiths,

rightly

viewed,

are a preparation

of India for the Light of the Gospel.

And now

listen to the
It

beginnings of the
at

Amida

Sects in Japan.
-::

was

noon on the I5th day

See the Journal of Royal Asiatic Society fov April 1907.

146
of the

TJic Praises

of Auiida.
fifth

loth

month
that

of the

year

of

Eikyu

(A.D. 1118),
of the

Ryonin

Shonin, the founder

now

insignificant sect

known
room

as
in

YTtdzu-

nembutsu,

was

sitting

in

his

the great

worldly monastery of Hieizan, where he received

an unknown
stery, as

visitor

who bade him

of

leave the

monforth

being a

Cave

Demons, and go
"

into

the

world to proclaim the Truth.

"

One

man,"

said the stranger,

is

the

representative
in

of

all

men, and

all

men

are

summed up
One

One
and
4

Man.
all

One

offering comprises all offerings,

offerings are

summed up

in

Offering."

~
:

The

e.\acl

words, which are given in Daijobukkyo Hyaku:

C..W,

published by Morie, Tokyo, run as follows

issainin
Ichinin,
is

ichinin issai-

Hin,

ic/ii^

rj

isstiigyo,

issaigyo ichigyo.

The

word gvo
sent
ctices
all

(or ohonai}

used in Buddhistic

Japanese to repre

the religious, moral and ceremonial actions and pra

which sum up the whole duty of man, and especially of The word could be very well applied to the religious man.

One
ill

Offering

wherein Christ hath perfected

if

for ever

them

at

are sanctified,

we remember
s
I

that the

One

Offering in

cludes not merelv Christ

Passion and Death but likewise the

year- of his

Holy

Life.

do

r.ot

say that Ryonin fully under

I

stood the meaning of the message.

as he
is

said to have received

it.

The whole
and more
(

only record the message account will be

fully in

found
JIf of

in

Daibukkyo
cyij

IIyaku*v(i % 87
J

volume

Jjub

Kakushitkoyo p

tnhn~ yeinbutsu\

Postscript.

147

second

visitor

bade him propagate the Truth

by great cycles of conjoint intercessory prayers

whereby many worshippers simultaneously should

be set to work to pray for one another.
nin

Ryo-

Shonin did as he was bidden, and

it

his sect,

overshadowed though

is

by the great Jodo

this day.

and Shinshu denominations, remains to

Alone among the

the
its

sects of

Japanese

Buddhism,
to trace

Yudzu-Nembutsu makes no attempt

descent from the great disciples

or Apostles
sufficiently

of

Sakyamuni.

It

considers

itself

based on the vision of Amida which was vouch

safed to

Ryonin Shonin, and supplemented

vision

(so

Ryonin believed) by another

of

Bisha-

m on -ten.
Ryonin did not know who was
visitant.

his

mysterious

He seemed
for

to be an ordinary traveller,

seeking
till

rest

and

shelter

and

it

was not

after

he

had

gone that Ryonin concluded

that he must

have been
of

honoured by a direct
himself.

manifestation

Amida Buddha

He

had never heard of Christ, and Amida was the

only Being he

knew

of

to

whom

he could

at-

I4<^

The Praises of Ainida.

tribute this mysterious visit.

Yet might

it

not

have been some

wayfaring Christian that thus

came
the

to

him

"

Heaven has no
"

mouth,"

says

Japanese
Is
1

proverb,

it

uses

the

mouth of
in

men."

it

impossible to conceive that

this

case,

leaven

may have
in

used the mouth of some

obscure believer
tention to the

Christ to direct
the

Ryonin

s at
?

One Man and

One

Offering

The

case was probably different

with

Honen

Shonin, the Founder

of the Jodo, and Shinran,

The above paragraph was

from
a

already in print
in

ceived
telling

missionary

long

resident

when Yokohama a
was
eras of

re

note

me

that in the
that,

Yasotenshikizenrokn

there

a state

ment
and

to the effect
Ileiji

somewhere about the

Hdgen

(A.D. 1156, 1159), a stranger arrived in Japan on a Kurobnne or black i. e. foreign ship, and preached in Japan
doctrine

a Christian

which met with

again.

so

little

encouragement
to the

that

he

went

away

The name given

doctrine

preached by the unknown stranger is JlororosJni (^J^S^;) n word which means Persian or Parthian Religion, and which
is used to denote the Nestorian Christians, who mostly came from that country. In the China AVrvV?. Vol VIII. P. 33. there is an article on Nestorians in Canton, based on certain
,

extracts from the

in

Custom House Registers abjut A. D. 850

entries

which there are several

respecting the

arrival

of

Persian ships during those years.

opportunities during the early of
into
its

Certainly Japan had

many

Buddhist history to come

contract with the great religion of the West,

Postscript.

49

the Founder of the Shinshii.

Both these teachers

made

their appeal to the testimony of the

Suk-

havati Treatises in which the Paradise and

Vow
in

of

Amida
s

are

described
it

and

enforced.

But

Ryonin
Faith

case

seems

quite
to

evident that his

in

in

Amida came

him

some way

which was not the regular method of the Trans

mission of doctrine.

There

is

no doubt that the Shinshii believer

conception of

Amida
s

is

very different from the

of Christ.
in

Catholic Christian
is

conception
differences

That

partly due to the

our religious

training and environment.

Had
dying

a vision of the

Saviour appeared

to

Japanese

and

dying Russian, as they lay side by side on some

battle-field
in

Manchuria, each would doubtless

in

have seen the vision

his

own way.

Had

St.

Paul had a Buddhist companion on his road to

Damascus, the companion would possibly

seen

have-

Amida where

St.

Paul saw Christ.

There are fundamental differences between the

Idea
of

Amida

as

seen

by the Buddhist, and

to the Christian.

the Person of Christ as

known

150

The
is

I raises

of Amida.
other a Person,
the

The One

an Idea,

the

one a Creature of theological Fancy, the other

a Being
is

whose History

is

well defined.

The One

subject to the will of His

Father,

Amida

is

spoken of as being the Father Himself, by virtue

of the

Merit he

has

acquired by long ages of

religious austerities.

The One

is

as

it

were im
fill

ported into Buddhism, as an after-thought, to

up what was lacking

the other
in
is

in

the

Work

of
:

Sakyamuni
for

His

own

Fulfilment

whereas,

the days

of His

Earthly

Humiliation

He

is

the counterpart of Shaka, in the Glories of His

Ascension
more.

He becomes

all

that

Amida

is

and

The One, moreover,

tells

us that the

mere

repetition,
will suffice

with a thankful heart, of a

to

Nembutsu

obtain

admission to a Paradise,
itself,

which

is

not an end in

but only a means

to obtaining a future Nirvana.

The Other

tells

us

that

the

man

that

would be His

disciple,

must take up

His Cross daily and follow Him,

that
daily

and

it

is

in

taking up of Christ

Cross and the constant penitence of a holy

that

life

mankind

gets

its

highest and best training,

Postscript.

both
the

for the duties

of the

present
life

life

and

for

unknown
and

activities

of the
in

to

come.
century
a
his

Christ

Mithras,

the

second

A.D.

and Christ won because

Being.

He was
in

torical
tieth,

Aniida and Christ

is

the twen

and the Person of Christ

more powerful

than the Amida-Idea.

the so-called
"

Not

Christ the
:"

Man,

of

Xew Theology
"

but

Christ the

Eternal

Son

God

of

God,

Light

of Light,
for us

Very God
and
for

of very

God"

"Who

men

our Salvation came

down from Heaven,

and
;

and was Incarnate

Virgin
crucified

by the Holy Ghost of the

was

Mary,
for

and
us

made Man,
Pontius

was

under

Pilate

Who
clay

suffered

and

was buried,
according
to

and
the

the

third

rose

again

Scriptures,
sitteth

and
the

ascended
right
shall

into

Heaven,
the

and

at

hand

of

Father.
with

From
to

thence

He
both

come again
quick

glory

judge

the
shall
will

and

the

dead.

Whose Kingdom
is

have no

end."

Such

the

Christ

that

draw Amida

into

Himself

a Christ His

torical yet

Idealized,

an

Objective Christ, Sub-

152
jectively

The Praises of Ainida.

Realized,

and Really Present.

is

If

one
a

considers

how high
the

the

esteem
it

in will

which
be

pious
that
it

Christian
is

holds
highest

Christ,

clear

honour

that

we could

possibly give to

Amida

to suppose

him capable
of

of identification with the Eternal

Son

God.

Addenda and Corrigenda.

153

ADDENDA AND CORRIGENDA,

I

have

to

thank Mr. Tada himself

list

for

most

of the notes that appear in this

of

Addenda

and Corrigenda.
Translation
therefore

They

will,

hope,

make my

of his Sermons more accurate, and

valuable.

more

SERMON
1.

I.

Salvation,

p.

ii.
is

lines

20 and 20.
:

The
"

sense of the
in

passage

rather as follows
" "

But

order
deter
that

to conceive of

progress
direction.

we must
If

first

mine

its

aim or

we cannot do
It

we
be

cannot conceive of progress

said

cannot

(of the clouds floating across the sky)

that they are

making progress
in

or the reverse,
motion."

because they have no aim

2.
hi)

their

p.

14.

line

12.

issai sckcn

no do fudo no
as

iva,

should not be translated

the

"

laws

governing motion
"

and

rest."

It

rather

means

all

things movable and

immovable."

The word
"

ho

does
it

not
is

here bear the meaning of

the

law,"

though

same character

that

is

used.

154
3.

^
f

LC

Praises of Ainida.
22.

p.

17.

line

The

last
:

sentence on this
"

page should read as follows

profess to save us from Pain

Some

of

them

by bidding us put
as

our trust on some

man
us)

as
in

feeble

ourselves,
of Pain.

and

dwelling

(like

the

midst

But how can we hope to

from
the

find

our

own way

out

Flames
in

of

Suffering,
is

by putting our
and

confidence

one

who

himself choked
the
fire?"

blinded by the

smoke and dust of

is

[The Japanese author

Saviours
these
;

here referring to

human

his

remarks are equally applicable to

purely

who preach a one who is above

human

Christ.

Only

the turmoil and darkness of

the world can really be a Saviour.]

4. p.

22 line 21.

"

At

this gate of the

rank."

Happy
The

Land, we have received a noble

picture here
is

that of courtiers crowding round

the palace of a great

King
their
this

in

order

to

obtain

an

audience or

make

greetings, and

who

have been arranged

for

purpose

in

accord

ance with their rank and standing.

mi no
"rank"

iiye

(above

the

body)

is

The phrase used to mean

or

"grade."

Addenda and Corrigenda.

5.

5 5

p. 25. line 17.

"

Sakyamuni has put ready

into our

hands an extremely sharp axe where

cut the roots

with
liver

we may

of

Misery and de

ourselves."

SERMON
6.

II.

Idols
line
i.

and Religious Symbols.

King (O) The person addressed is Sudlit.
"the

p.

27.

Fii-O

his

Father

(Fit)."

dhodhana, the Father of Sakyamuni.

Iran and

Sendan are
candana>

in

Sanskrit respectively eranda

and

and the area of the Iran grove should

ten.

be forty yojanas instead of only

SERMON
7.

III.

The Voice
14
20.

of Amida.
"

p.

50.

lines

Read,
at

We

have

seen a bad fellow

and

have

once

despised

him,

without he

any
to

reason,

and have wondered But the same bad

buds
also
in

how

came
that
is

be

such.
in
in

thought
(i.e.

works
a

him,
our

us

there

beam

own eye

as

well

156
as a

The Praises of Amida.

mote

in

our brother

s).

It

is

hard to des
call
"

cribe this disposition,

some people

it

the

brutal

self,"

but that does not quite express the

idea."

underlying

SERMON V.
8. p.

Present Duties,
text from the Shunyogi,
is

82.

The
this

full

upon which
lows
"

Sermon

based,

runs

as

fol

Our

daily conduct

is

the right

way
and

of

show
It

ing gratitude for the

Mercy
the

of Buddha.

be
to

hoves

us

to

practise
life

Truth,

not

waste our daily

"

on private needs.
spent a long
life

Though
one

we

may have

of

a hundred years, as slaves to our passions,

yet

day

of virtuous conduct will suffice to re

this

deem from worthlessness not only

of ours, but another
life,

long

life

too, even of a

hundred

years

in

length.
is

A
is

single today

full

of noble

use,

and

so

this

body of

ours.

Both deserve our worship

actions

and

reverence.

Our

serve

to-

fill

out

Addenda and Corrigenda.

and complete
the
to
is

157
of
all

victorious

deeds
their

the

Buddhas and
daily cond ct

accomplish
the

ways.
all

So
the

seed

from

which

Buddhas
9.
p.

are
82.

produced."

Tcnryu no Gazan,
Temple."

"

the Rev. Mr.

Gazan of the Tenryu

The Tenryuji
is

Temple
largest

in

the

village
in

of Saga
vicinity

one of the

temples
(see

the

of

Kyoto.

It

\vas founded,

Satow and Hawes, Guidebook

by Ashikaga Takauji
Godaigo
Ten.no,
in

to Japan, p. 360)

honour
he

of the

memory

of

whom

had deposed and hunted

tains of

to death in the

moun

Yoshino.

Its

first

abbot was the cele

1275
-1351),

brated
before

Muso Kokushi (AT).

its

and
it

consecration

to

religious purposes

had been the summer residence of two

perors, Go-saga

ex-em
the

and Kameyama.

In

186.4,

Tenriuji

was made the headquarters of the Choin

shiu men, and

their

the fighting that ensued upon

attempted coup ditat the buildings received

much damage.
10.
p.

84, line

"

8.

Years

and years

ago"

This should read as follows:

158
"

77/6

Praises of Amida.
certain
life

At

fifty

years of age a
that
is

man made
filled

the

discovery

his past

was

with

wickedness.

This only

a discovery which we, too,

make,

not

at fifty but
life.

whenever we look
ter

back upon our past

rifies

The thought so
a cave near by,
in
it
;

us

that

were
take

there
refuge

we
our

should like to
solitary

and

in

moments our
we

faces stream with

to

anxious
past.

perspiration as

call

mind our buried

Our whole

lives

seem

to be filled with

nothing

but innumerable acts of injustice and wrong done

against our teachers,

our

friends,

our

parents,

and our near

11.

kinsmen."

p. 89, line

6.

for in them etc.

The

sen

tence
"

may
if,

be more clearly expressed as follows:

for

on them,

we dare
it

to

be
to

guilty

of

any

shameful

conduct,

gives

others

certain

amount

of trouble.

But of the shame

during
the

which

we

may

have

incurred

course of our heavenward journey we need not

repent."

[Here,
ence

again,

we

find

a fundamental

differ

between

Christ

and Amida.

Repentance

Addenda and Corrigenda.

is

159
all
it

an essential

to religious

life,

and

our ex
is.]
"

perience shows us
12.
p.

how
8.

indispensible

90,

line

If yon

wish

etc.

My

brethren, concentrate your thoughts on the pre

sent.

All

you have
to

to

do

is

to resolve in

your

minds not
the

make

vain
in

the the

happiness
present."

which

Buddha gives you

SI.RMON VI.
13.

Fight the good Fight

line
19.
is,

etc.
etc.

p.

105,

All!
"

the

strcugtli

better

translation
is

The strength with

which we ask

one that has been given.

The

strength to turn to the

Buddha

is

one that has

that

descended

upon

us.

The very moment

Nehrodoff turned with an honest and true heart,

he had already
received
task."

the

strength

that

he

needed

for his

SERMON VII.
14.
etc. p.

The World and

"

How
"

etc.
"

123, line 13.

The clouds
would be
:

of trouble

better translation

The

inn

160

Hie Praises of Ainida.

keeper was very cool towards

but a cold
in
I

me and gave me
went away
in

reception.

So

a huff,

and entered a
all

cherry-orchard

where

found the trees

in

bloom,

with the

moon
heart

shining beautifully upon them.

Thus

my

became

full

of joy, and

discovered that the cold

treatment which the innkeeper had given

really
a blessing in disguise.

me was

Thus we can look

at

for the traces of the

Divine

Hand

work

in

the

hearts of our enemies, and

ful

for the 15.

p.

instruction
124. line

may learn to be grate which we then receive."

The
particular Sutra in
is

13.

which these words are found

sai)iinaikyo.
1

the Shuryogon-

6.

p.

131, line

8.

The water

in

the well
lie

from which we are wont to draw

deep,"

may

very
forget

says the poet,

In the

"but

use

makes us
wells of

its

depth.

same way, the

Mercy

in

Paradise

are extremely deep,

but we are so
their
depth."

accustomed to them that we forget

T

7-

P-

I
33>

ast f ur lines.

There are
both
first
is,

really

two

poems

and

not

one,

though

have

Dogen

Zenji as their author.

The

Addenda and Corrigenda.

"

161

The

fire-girt

world, wherein our footsteps

stray,

We
The

used to

deem our

home."

second,
"

But now

see
hills,

That yon lone hamlet midst the distant

To which my
Dogcn,

feet

do take me,
as

is

my

home."

otherwise

known

Shoyo

Taishi

(1200-1253) was originally a priest of the Tendai

Sect, having been

educated
eighth

at

Ilieizan,
his

where

he

lived

from

his

to

twenty-third

year.

He

then went to China where he studied

under Eisai, and embraced the doctrines known

as Zen.

Returning to Japan

in

1228
is

he began

to preach his

new
of the

doctrines

and

known

as

the

founder
of

Sodo

sect of Zen.

He was
him

man

good family, und famous

of

for his poetry.

The

title

Shoyo
in

Taishi
1880.
I.

was

given

by

Imperial decree
1

8.

p.

134,

line

iio-o,

or

Go-Mino-o,

The Emperor Go-Mirjucame to the throne A.D,

1612, at sixteen years of age, abdicated in 1629,

and died

in

1680.

w W
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KANAI
-

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77,

The praises of Amida

14 / K3

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1477-5K 3
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