CHAPTER XXVIII

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THE GROWTH OF BUDDHISM--THE BUDDHIST ORDER OF MENDICANTS.

What proud Emperors Carved his sweet words upon the rocks and caves; And how--in fullness of the times--it fell The Buddha died, the great Tathagato, Even as a man ’mongst men, fulfilling all: And how a thousand thousand crores[5] since then Have trod the Path which leads whither he went Unto NIRVANA where the Silence lives. EDWIN ARNOLD, IN THE “LIGHT OF ASIA.”

Buddhism is a missionary system. It has spread far beyond the land of its birth, all over Asia. The methods of its spread were entirely different from those of Mohammedanism, while they somewhat resembled those of Christianity. To-day Buddhism numbers about two-fifths of the world’s population among its adherents. It is still in vigorous life. It has been propagated mainly through the _Sangha_, or Buddhist Order of Mendicants. The dates usually assigned for the entrance of Buddhism into other lands are as follows: Into Ceylon, 250 B.C.; into China, 65 A.D.; into Corea, 372 A.D.; into Burmah, 450 A.D.; into Japan, 552 A.D.; into Thibet, about 625 A.D.; and into Siam, 638 A.D. While some of these have been questioned, no good reason has yet been given for accepting any others.

We shall at present discuss the character and constitution of the Buddhist brotherhood of the Sangha, leaving the stories of the introduction of Buddhism into the various countries to be told in their respective places.

THE SANGHA, OR BUDDHIST BROTHERHOOD.

All of Buddha’s disciples who had taken the vows of asceticism were known by the name of _Sangha_, meaning “congregation” or “church.” The organization of this order had the most to do with the spread of Buddhism. Keep in mind that, in common with almost all reformers, Gautama, the Buddha, did not intend to cut loose from his old faith. He hoped to make the new wine of his teachings go into the old bottles of Brahminism. We believe that he did not intend or expect that his religion should spread over Asia. Further, it was not so much due to his doctrine of the Dharma, or “law,” that his religion gained so wide an acceptance, as it was due to his establishment of the order of the Sangha. Here is one point of wide divergence from the missionary labors of Christianity. Its founder, Jesus Christ, did intend, and distinctly stated His intention of giving His religion to the world. The order of the Sangha was a _growth_. Little by little, as occasion demanded, Gautama laid down rules for those who would be his disciples, and unconsciously these disciples became more and more exclusive, shutting in themselves and shutting out all others. Finally, after Gautama’s death, they became a distinct body.

THE INITIATION CEREMONY.

Any one who was free from contagious disease, who was neither a slave, a debtor nor a soldier, and who had obtained the consent of his parents, might be admitted to the order. The following account of the ceremony of admission has been compiled by T. W. Rhys-David, late of the Ceylon civil service:

“The layman who wishes for entrance to the Order must be at least eight years old before obtaining the novitiate, and at least twenty before receiving full ordination. On the day appointed, a chapter is held, of not less than ten monks, the president being of at least ten years’ standing. The monks forming the chapter sit on mats, in two rows, facing each other, the president being at the head of one row. The candidate, in lay dress, but carrying the three yellow robes of a mendicant, is introduced by his proposer (always a monk), makes a salutation to the president, and offers him a small present as a token of respect. He then three times asks for admission as a novice. ‘Have pity on me, lord; take these robes, and let me be ordained, that I may escape from sorrow and experience Nirvāna.’ The president then takes the bundle of robes, and ties them around the candidate’s neck, repeating, meanwhile, a formula of meditation on the perishable nature of the human body. The candidate then retires, and changes his dress, repeating the while a formula to the effect that, though he wears robes, he does so only out of modesty, and as a protection from heat, cold, etc. When he reappears clad as a mendicant, he kneels before the president, and repeats after him three times two well-known Buddhist formulas. The first of these is that called the ‘Three Refuges.’

“‘I go for refuge to the Buddha.

“‘I go for refuge to the Law.

“‘I go for refuge to the Order.’

“The other is called the ‘Ten Precepts,’ which are as follows:

“‘1. I take the vow not to destroy life.

“‘2. I take the vow not to steal.

“‘3. I take the vow to abstain from impurity.

“‘4. I take the vow not to lie.

“‘5. I take the vow to abstain from intoxicating drinks, which hinder progress and virtue.

“‘6. I take the vow not to eat at forbidden times.

“‘7. I take the vow to abstain from dancing, singing, music and stage-plays.

“‘8. I take the vow not to use garlands, scents, unguents or ornaments.

“‘9. I take the vow not to use a high or broad bed.

“‘10. I take the vow not to receive gold or silver.’

“The candidate then rises, pays respect to the president, and retires a _novice_. Here, for the novitiate, the ceremony ends.”

RULES OF THE ORDER.

Solid food is forbidden, except between sunrise and noon, and total abstinence from intoxicating drinks is required. The monks, or brothers of the order, usually get their food by begging from door to door; each usually carries his brown earthenware begging-bowl. He says nothing, but only stands, waiting, at the open door of the hut. If something is given him, he mutters a prayer for the giver, but if nothing, he passes on in silence.

The monks generally live together in groves, gardens or monasteries. At first they led a lonely life, but afterwards they gathered together in communities. They were required to dress in simple garments of a dull orange color, first torn in pieces and then sewn together again, so that they had no salable value. They wear three robes; and, while the people of the warmer countries wear only the loin-cloth, the members of the order were required to keep their bodies covered. To “put off the robes” was equivalent to leaving the society.

Personal indulgence, theft and murder would cause the monk who committed them to be expelled from the order. No monk was allowed to possess more than eight articles--the three robes, a girdle for the loins, a begging-bowl, a razor, a needle and a water-strainer. The communities of monks, however, were permitted to own property. Unquestioning obedience to superiors is never required of a monk among the Buddhists.

DAILY LIFE OF A MONK.

According to the “Manual of Exercises,” the daily life of a monk should be as follows: He shall rise before daylight and wash; then sweep the wihāra or residence--as the clean little hut where the mendicant lives is called--then sweep round the Bo-tree, fetch the drinking-water for the day, filter it, and place it ready for use. Retiring to a solitary place, he shall then meditate on the regulations. Then he shall offer flowers before the sacred dāgaba--the solid dome-shaped shrine in which relics of the Buddha are buried--or before the Bo-tree, thinking of the great virtues of the Teacher and of his own faults. Soon after, taking the begging-bowl, he is to follow his superior in his daily round for food, and, on their return, is to bring water for his feet and place the alms-bowl before him. After the meal is over, he is to wash the alms-bowl, then again to worship Buddha and meditate on kindness and affection. About an hour afterwards, he is to begin his studies from the books, or copy one of them, asking his superior about passages he does not understand. At sunset, he is again to sweep the sacred places, and, lighting a lamp, to listen to the teaching of his superior, and repeat such passages from the canon that he has learned. If he finds he has committed any fault, he is to tell his superior; he is to be content with such things as he has, and, keeping under his senses, to grow in grace without haughtiness of body, speech or mind.

THE THREE GREAT BUDDHIST COUNCILS.

Soon after Buddha’s death a council of 500 members of the order was held in a cave, near the city of Rajagriha. This council met to form Buddha’s teachings into some sort of a system. A second council of 700 was held a hundred years later. This was to effect a settlement between certain heretics and the orthodox party. The Rules of the Order and the Doctrines of the Faith were passed in review and again settled. Then the heretics advanced still different opinions and called an opposition council. This was the first great schism. From this time sects multiplied among the Buddhists. The next council was the Great Council of King Asoka. Asoka was to the Buddhist Order what Constantine was to the early Christian Church. There are more men to honor him to-day than there are to honor Charlemagne or Cæsar. Yet Asoka really caused the downfall of Buddhism in India by the aid he gave it. As Dante had said:

“Ah! Constantine, of how much ill was cause, Not thy conversion, but those rich domains That the first wealthy Pope received of thee.”

Asoka built many monasteries and provided for the support of many monks. He became a very zealous supporter of Buddhism. Some of his edicts, based upon Gautama’s teachings, have been discovered within the last fifty years. In the eighteenth year of Asoka’s reign, a great council of 1,000 monks was held in Patna. This council finally determined the canon of the sacred Buddhist books. This council, held, probably, in the year 246 B.C., lasted nine months. Asoka was filled with an aggressive, missionary spirit, and at the close of this council missionaries were sent into various countries, or provinces of India, from Cashmere to Ceylon. The mission to Ceylon of Asoka’s own son, Mahinda, was the most important. In the year 62 A.D., the Chinese Emperor Ming-Ti sent to India and brought Buddhist books to China. From China Buddhism spread into Corea and Japan and Thibet. From Ceylon it spread to Burmah and Siam.

Of late years the sources of our information as to Buddhist teachings and history have greatly changed. Formerly only Ceylon was looked to for this information, but of late years the work of Bigandet in Burmah, Alabaster in Siam, Schlagintweit in Thibet, and Beal in China, have given more thorough knowledge of the facts of Buddhist doctrine and history.

BUDDHAGHOSHA, THE FAMOUS MONK AND MISSIONARY.

Buddhaghosha lived in the middle of the fifth century after Christ. He is, next to Asoka, the most celebrated man in Buddhist history. He visited Ceylon, where he greatly revived the Buddhist faith. He then went to Burmah, where he established Buddhism among the Burmese. From these people it spread into Arracan, Pegu, and finally into Siam. He wrote a famous commentary on the Buddhist Bible; some scholars believe that this is but a translation of older commentaries which Buddhaghosha made, and that his parables are but the parables of Mahinda or even of Gautama re-written. At any rate, they go by Buddhaghosha’s name among the Burmese Buddhists. His parables are very interesting, and are used by the monks and preachers in all their sermons. The accompanying story of King Kākavanna is quoted from Captain Rogers’ translation of Buddhaghosha’s Parables, and will serve as a fair specimen of the stories as a whole.

THE STORY OF KING KĀKAVANNA.

A Rahanda once preached the Law to Kākavanna, his queen and concubines, in the island of Ceylon. King Kākavanna, filled with love for the Law, resolved to make an offering of the putzo which he was wearing. In a spirit of niggardliness, however, he thought he would defer the offering until the next day. Two crows, a husband and wife, who were perched upon the tree at the foot of which the Law had been preached, knowing what was passing in the king’s mind, said to each other: “The king, from his niggardly spirit, excellent as the Law is, cannot make up his mind to make an offering of the putzo.” Neither the queen, nor the concubines, nor the nobles understood what the two crows were saying to each other; but the king, directly he heard the sound of the crows, knew what they said. “O you pair of crows,” he exclaimed, “how dare you speak so of a king like me?” The crows replied, “Your majesty, do not take the putzo you have at home, but make an offering of the one you are wearing, worth a hundred thousand pieces of gold. In seven days hence you will receive the five rewards.” The king smiled at the crows’ speech. My lord, the Rahanda, who had been preaching the Law, said to the king, “Why does your majesty smile at me?” “I was not smiling at my lord Rahanda,” replied the king; “I was smiling at what the two crows said.” The Rahanda, who possessed the Nat’s eye, which could behold eight past and eight future existences, and who saw the previous life of the king, said to him, “Great king, I will tell you something; will you be angry with me?” “My lord,” replied the king, “I shall not be angry with you; deign to tell it to me.” My lord, the Rahanda, proceeded: “When your majesty was a poor man in the Anurādha country, you used to collect firewood, and live by the sale of it. One day, when you went out to your work, you took with you a small cupful of boiled rice. Coming across a heap of white sand which looked like sheet-silver, you reflected that your poverty must have been occasioned by your not possessing the merit of having made offerings, and accordingly you raised a pagoda of the white sand, placed in front of it, as an offering, one-half of the rice you had with you, and gave the remaining half to the crows to eat, as an offering to the Rahans. These two crows, husband and wife, are the very same two crows who ate the rice of which you made the offering when you were a poor man.” When the king heard this, he exclaimed, “Oh, how unstable is prosperity! I have obtained the position of king only from making offerings at a sand pagoda!” So saying, he made an offering to the Law of the putzo he was wearing.

Seven days afterwards, the five rewards came to the king. The five rewards were these:

The Nats, wrapping up in a thingan the relics of an excellent Rahanda who had obtained Paranibbāna while he was up in the sky, and which were like a jasmine-bud, came and laid them down before the king. In front of his palace a mountain of gold arose. The Nats brought a virgin from the island of Uttarakuru. This woman was ten cubits in stature. She brought with her a kunsā of rice, which, though one were to cook it and eat it during a whole lifetime, would never be exhausted. An elephant of priceless value, which could travel a hundred yoganas even before breakfast. Seven vessels arrived at the port completely filled with valuable putzos.

BUDDHIST COUNTRIES OF THE PRESENT DAY.

Buddhism in India has almost died out. In Ceylon, and among the sect of the Jains, in Western India, it still remains; but, excepting these parts of the country, Brahminism has triumphed in putting down Buddhism. In Farther India, that is, in Burmah and Malacca, Buddhism is very strong. Among the Karens of Burmah, Buddhism never gained any acceptance. In Siam, Cambodia and Cochin China, Buddhism is prevalent. In China proper and in Corea it is associated with Confucianism and Taoism. In Thibet it has taken the peculiar form called Lamaism, a regular hierarchy having developed. In Japan it is often associated with Shintoism. The Loo Choo Islands are also Buddhist.

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