_Adoration to the Omniscient._
This is what I have heard. At one time the Blessed (Bhagavat, _i. e._
Buddha) dwelt at _S_râvastî,(135) in the _G_eta-grove, in the garden of
Anâthapi_nd_aka, together with(136) a large company of Bhikshus (mendicant
friars), viz. with thirteen hundred Bhikshus, all of them acquainted with
the five kinds of knowledge,(137) elders, great disciples,(138) and
Arhats,(139) such as _S_âriputra, the elder, Mahâmaudgalyâyana,
Mahâkâ_s_yapa, Mahâkapphi_n_a, Mahâkâtyâyana, Mahâkaush_th_ila, Revata,
_S_uddhipanthaka, Nanda, Ânanda, Râhula, Gavâmpati, Bharadvâ_g_a,
Kâlodayin, Vakkula, and Aniruddha. He dwelt together with these and many
other great disciples, and together with many noble-minded Bodhisattvas,
such as Ma_ñg_usrî, the prince, the Bodhisattva A_g_ita, the Bodhisattva
Gandhahastin, the Bodhisattva Nityodyukta, the Bodhisattva
Anikshiptadhura. He dwelt together with them and many other noble-minded
Bodhisattvas, and with _S_akra, the Indra or King(140) of the Devas, and
with Brahman Sahâmpati. With these and many other hundred thousands of
Nayutas(141) of sons of the gods, Bhagavat dwelt at _S_râvastî.
Then Bhagavat addressed the honored _S_âriputra and said: O _S_âriputra,
after you have passed from here over a hundred thousand Ko_t_is of
Buddha-countries there is in the Western part of a Buddha-country, a world
called Sukhavatî (the happy country). And there a Tathâgata, called
Amitâyus, an Arhat, fully enlightened, dwells now, and remains, and
supports himself, and teaches the Law.(142)
Now what do you think, _S_riputra, for what reason is that world called
Sukhavatî (the happy)? In that world Sukhavatî, O _S_riputra, there is
neither bodily nor mental pain for living beings. The sources of happiness
are innumerable there. For that reason is that world called Sukhavatî (the
happy).
And again, O _S_âriputra, that world Sukhavatî is adorned with seven
terraces, with seven rows of palm-trees, and with strings of bells.(143)
It is inclosed on every side,(144) beautiful, brilliant with the four
gems, viz. gold, silver, beryl, and crystal. With such arrays of
excellences peculiar to a Buddha-country is that Buddha-country adorned.
And again, O _S_âriputra, in that world Sukhavatî there are lotus lakes,
adorned with the seven gems, viz. gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red
pearls, diamonds, and corals as the seventh. They are full of water which
possesses the eight good qualities,(145) their waters rise as high as the
fords and bathing-places, so that even crows(146) may drink there; they
are full of golden sand, and of vast extent. And in these lotus lakes
there are all around on the four sides four stairs, beautiful and
brilliant with the four gems, viz. gold, silver, beryl, crystal. And on
every side of these lotus lakes gem trees are growing, beautiful and
brilliant with the seven gems, viz. gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red
pearls, diamonds, and corals as the seventh. And in those lotus lakes
lotus flowers are growing, blue, blue-colored, of blue splendor, blue to
behold; yellow, yellow-colored, of yellow splendor, yellow to behold; red,
red-colored, of red splendor, red to behold; white, white-colored, of
white splendor, white to behold; beautiful, beautifully-colored, of
beautiful splendor, beautiful to behold, and in circumference as large as
the wheel of a chariot.
And again, O _S_âriputra, in that Buddha-country there are heavenly
musical instruments always played on and the earth is lovely and of golden
color. And in that Buddha-country a flower-rain of heavenly Mândârava
blossoms pours down three times every day, and three times every night.
And the beings who are born there worship before their morning meal(147) a
hundred thousand Ko_t_is of Buddhas by going to other worlds; and having
showered a hundred thousand of Ko_t_is of flowers upon each Tathâgata,
they return to their own world in time for the afternoon rest.(148) With
such arrays of excellences peculiar to a Buddha-country is that
Buddha-country adorned.
And again, O _S_âriputra, there are in that Buddha-country swans,
curlews,(149) and peacocks. Three times every night, and three times every
day, they come together and perform a concert, each uttering his own note.
And from them thus uttering proceeds a sound proclaiming the five virtues,
the five powers, and the seven steps leading towards the highest
knowledge.(150) When the men there hear that sound, remembrance of Buddha,
remembrance of the Law, remembrance of the Assembly, rises in their mind.
Now, do you think, O _S_âriputra, that these are beings who have entered
into the nature of animals (birds, etc.)? This is not to be thought of.
The very name of hells is unknown in that Buddha-country, and likewise
that of (descent into) animal natures and of the realm of Yama (the four
apâyas).(151) No, these tribes of birds have been made on purpose by the
Tathâgata Amitâyus, and they utter the sound of the Law. With such arrays
of excellences, etc.
And again, O _S_âriputra, when those rows of palm-trees and strings of
bells in that Buddha-country are moved by the wind, a sweet and
enrapturing sound proceeds from them. Yes, O _S_âriputra, as from a
heavenly musical instrument consisting of a hundred thousand Ko_t_is of
sounds, when played by Âryas, a sweet and enrapturing sound proceeds, a
sweet and enrapturing sound proceeds from those rows of palm-trees and
strings of bells moved by the wind. And when the men hear that sound,
reflection on Buddha arises in their body, reflection on the Law,
reflection on the Assembly. With such arrays of excellences, etc.
Now what do you think, O _S_âriputra, for what reason is that Tathâgata
called Amitâyus? The length of life (âyus), O _S_âriputra, of that
Tathâgata and of those men there is immeasurable (amita). Therefore is
that Tathâgata called Amitâyus. And ten Kalpas have passed, O _S_âriputra,
since that Tathâgata awoke to perfect knowledge.
And what do you think, O _S_âriputra, for what reason is that Tathâgata
called Amitâbhâs? The splendor (âbhâs), O _S_âriputra, of that Tathâgata
is unimpeded over all Buddha-countries. Therefore is that Tathâgata called
Amitâbhâs.
And there is, O _S_âriputra, an innumerable assembly of disciples with
that Tathâgata, purified and venerable persons, whose number it is not
easy to count. With such arrays of excellences, etc.
And again, O _S_âriputra, of those beings also who are born in the
Buddha-country of the Tathâgata Amitâyus as purified Bodhisattvas, never
to return again and bound by one birth only, of those Bodhisattvas also, O
_S_âriputra, the number is not easy to count, except they are reckoned as
infinite in number.(152)
Then again all beings, O _S_âriputra, ought to make fervent prayer for
that Buddha-country. And why? Because they come together there with such
excellent men. Beings are not born in that Buddha-country of the Tathâgata
Amitâyus as a reward and result of good works performed in this present
life.(153) No, whatever son or daughter of a family shall hear the name of
the blessed Amitâyus, the Tathâgata, and having heard it, shall keep it in
mind, and with thoughts undisturbed shall keep it in mind for one, two,
three, four, five, six, or seven nights, that son or daughter of a family,
when he or she comes to die, then that Amitâyus, the Tathâgata, surrounded
by an assembly of disciples and followed by a host of Bodhisattvas, will
stand before them at their hour of death, and they will depart this life
with tranquil minds. After their death they will be born in the world
Sukhavatî, in the Buddha-country of the same Amitâyus, the Tathâgata.
Therefore, then, O _S_âriputra, having perceived this cause and
effect,(154) I with reverence say thus, Every son and every daughter of a
family ought to make with their whole mind fervent prayer for that
Buddha-country.
And now, O _S_âriputra, as I here at present glorify that world, thus in
the East, O _S_âriputra, other blessed Buddhas, led by the Tathâgata
Akshobhya, the Tathâgata Merudhva_g_a, the Tathâgata Mahâmeru, the
Tathâgata Meruprabhâsa, and the Tathâgata Ma_ñg_udhva_g_a, equal in number
to the sand of the river Gangâ, comprehend their own Buddha-countries in
their speech, and then reveal them.(155) Accept this repetition of the
Law, called the “Favor of all Buddhas,” which magnifies their
inconceivable excellences.
Thus also in the South, do other blessed Buddhas, led by the Tathâgata
_K_andrasûryapradîpa, the Tathâgata Yasa_h_prabha, the Tathâgata
Mahâr_k_iskandha, the Tathâgata Merupradîpa, the Tathâgata Anantavîrya,
equal in number to the sand of the river Gangâ, comprehend their own
Buddha-countries in their speech, and then reveal them. Accept, etc.
Thus also in the West do other blessed Buddhas, led by the Tathâgata
Amitâyus, the Tathâgata Amitaskandha, the Tathâgata Amitadhva_g_a, the
Tathâgata Mahâprabha, the Tathâgata Mahâratnaketu, the Tathagata
_S_uddhara_s_miprabha, equal in number to the sand of the river Gangâ,
comprehend, etc.
Thus also in the North do other blessed Buddhas, led by the Tathâgata
Mahâr_k_iskandha, the Tathâgata Vai_s_vânaranirghosha, the Tathâgata
Dundubhisvaranirghosha, the Tathâgata Dushpradharsha, the Tathâgata
Âdityasambhava, the Tathâgata _G_aleniprabha (_G_valanaprabha?), the
Tathâgata Prabhâkara, equal in number to the sand, etc.
Thus also in the Nadir do other blessed Buddhas, led by the Tathâgata
Si_m_ha, the Tathâgata Ya_s_as, the Tathâgata Ya_s_a_h_prabhâva, the
Tathâgata Dharma, the Tathâgata Dharmadhara, the Tathâgata Dharmadhva_g_a,
equal in number to the sand, etc.
Thus also in the Zenith do other blessed Buddhas, led by the Tathâgata
Brahmaghosha, the Tathâgata Nakshatrarâ_g_a, the Tathâgata
Indraketudhva_g_arâ_g_a, the Tathâgata Gandhottama, the Tathâgata
Gandhaprabhâsa, the Tathâgata Mahâr_k_iskandha, the Tathâgata
Ratnakusumasampushpitagâtra, the Tathâgata Sâlendrarâ_g_a, the Tathâgata
Ratnotpalasri, the Tathâgata Sarvâdarsa, the Tathâgata Sumerukalpa, equal
in number to the sand, etc.(156)
Now what do you think, O _S_âriputra, for what reason is that repetition
of the Law called the Favor of all Buddhas? Every son or daughter of a
family who shall hear the name of that repetition of the Law and retain in
their memory the names of those blessed Buddhas, will all be favored by
the Buddhas, and will never return again, being once in possession of the
transcendent true knowledge. Therefore, then, O _S_âriputra, believe,(157)
accept, and long for me and those blessed Buddhas!
Whatever sons or daughters of a family shall make mental prayer for the
Buddha-country of that blessed Amitâyus, the Tathâgata, or are making it
now or have made it formerly, all these will never return again, being
once in possession of the transcendent true knowledge. They will be born
in that Buddha-country, have been born, or are being born now. Therefore,
then, O _S_âriputra, mental prayer is to be made for that Buddha-country
by faithful sons and daughters of a family.
And as I at present magnify here the inconceivable excellences of those
blessed Buddhas, thus, O _S_âriputra, do those blessed Buddhas magnify my
own inconceivable excellences.
A very difficult work has been done by _S_âkyamuni, the sovereign of the
_S_âkyas. Having obtained the transcendent true knowledge in this world
Saha, he taught the Law which all the world is reluctant to accept, during
this corruption of the present Kalpa, during this corruption of mankind,
during this corruption of belief, during this corruption of life, during
this corruption of passions.
This is even for me, O _S_âriputra, an extremely difficult work that,
having obtained the transcendent true knowledge in this world Saha, I
taught the Law which all the world is reluctant to accept, during this
corruption of mankind, of belief, of passion, of life, and of this present
Kalpa.
Thus spoke Bhagavat joyful in his mind. And the honorable _S_âriputra, and
the Bhikshus and Bodhisattvas, and the whole world with the gods, men,
evil spirits, and genii, applauded the speech of Bhagavat.(158)
This is the Mahâyânasûtra called Sukhavatîvyûha.
This Sûtra sounds to us, no doubt, very different from the original
teaching of Buddha. And so it is. Nevertheless it is the most popular and
most widely read Sûtra in Japan, and the whole religion of the great mass
of the people may be said to be founded on it. “Repeat the name of
Amitâbha as often as you can, repeat it particularly in the hour of death,
and you will go straight to Sukhavatî and be happy forever;” this is what
Japanese Buddhists are asked to believe: this is what they are told was
the teaching of Buddha. There is one passage in our Sûtra which seems even
to be pointedly directed against the original teaching of Buddha. Buddha
taught that as a man soweth so shall he reap, and that by a stock of good
works accumulated on earth the way is opened to higher knowledge and
higher bliss. Our Sûtra says No; not by good works done on earth, but by a
mere repetition of the name of Amitâbha is an entrance gained into the
land of bliss. This is no better than what later Brahmanism teaches, viz.
“Repeat the name of Hari or of K_ri_sh_n_a, and you will be saved.” It is
no better than what even some Christian teachers are reported to teach. It
may be that in a lower stage of civilization even such teaching has
produced some kind of good.(159) But Japan is surely ripe for better
things. What the worship of Amitâbha may lead to we can learn from a
description given by Dr. Edkins in his “Trip to Ning-po and T’hëen-t’hae.”
“The next thing,” he writes, “shown to us was the prison, in which about a
dozen priests had allowed themselves to be shut up for a number of months
or years, during which they were to occupy themselves in repeating the
name of Amida Buddha,(160) day and night, without intermission. During the
day the whole number were to be thus engaged; and during the night they
took it by turns, and divided themselves into watches, so as to insure the
keeping up of the work till morning. We asked when they were to be let
out. To which it was replied, that they might be liberated at their own
request, but not before they had spent several months in seclusion. We
inquired what could be the use of such an endless repetition of the name
of Buddha. To which it was answered, that the constant repetition of the
sacred name had a tendency to purify the heart, to deaden the affections
towards the present world, and to prepare them for the state of Nirvâ_n_a.
It was further asked whether Buddha was likely to be pleased with such an
endless repetition of his name. To which it was answered, that in the
Western world it was considered a mark of respect to repeat the name of
any one whom we delighted to honor. The recluses seemed most of them young
men; some of whom came out to the bars of their cage to look at the
strangers, but kept on repeating the name of Buddha as they stood there.
It appeared to us that nothing was more calculated to produce idiocy than
such a perpetual repetition of a single name, and the stupid appearance of
many of the priests whom we have seen seems to have been induced by some
such process.”
Is it not high time that the millions who live in Japan, and profess a
faith in Buddha, should be told that this doctrine of Amitâbha and all the
Mahâyâna doctrine is a secondary form of Buddhism, a corruption of the
pure doctrine of the Royal Prince, and that if they really mean to be
Buddhists, they should return to the words of Buddha, as they are
preserved to us in the old Sûtras? Instead of depending, as they now do,
on Chinese translations, not always accurate, of degraded and degrading
Mahâyâna tracts, why should they not have Japanese translations of the
best portions of Buddha’s real doctrine, which would elevate their
character, and give them a religion of which they need not be ashamed?
There are Chinese translations of some of the better portions of the
Sacred Writings of Buddhism. They exist in Japan too, as may be seen in
that magnificent collection of the Buddhist Tripi_t_aka which was sent
from Japan as a present to the English Government, and of which Mr. Beal
has given us a very useful Catalogue. But they are evidently far less
considered in Japan than the silly and the mischievous stories of Amitâbha
and his Paradise, and those which I know from translations are far from
correct.
I hope that Mr. Bunyiu Nanjio and Mr. Kasawara, if they diligently
continue their study of Sanskrit and Pâli, will be able to do a really
great and good work, after their return to Japan. And if more young
Buddhist priests are coming over, I shall always, so far as my other
occupations allow it, be glad to teach them, and to help them in their
unselfish work. There is a great future in store, I believe, for those
Eastern Islands, which have been called prophetically “the England of the
East,” and to purify and reform their religion—that is, to bring it back
to its original form—is a work that must be done before anything else can
be attempted.
In return, I hope that they and their friends in Japan, and in Corea and
China too, will do all they can to discover, if possible, some more of the
ancient Sanskrit texts, and send them over to us. A beginning, at all
events, has been made, and if the members of this Society who have friends
in China or in Japan will help, if H. E. the Japanese Minister, Mori
Arinori, who has honored us by his presence today, will lend us his
powerful assistance, I have little doubt that the dream which passed
before the mind of your late President may still become a reality, and
that some of the MSS. which, beginning with the beginning of our era, were
carried from India to China, Corea, and Japan, may return to us, whether
in the original or in copies, like the one sent to me by Mr. Shuntai
Ishikawa.
With the help of such MSS. we shall be able all the better to show to
those devoted students who from the extreme East have come to the extreme
West in order to learn to read their sacred writings in the original
Sanskrit or Pâli, what difference there is between the simple teaching of
Buddha and the later developments and corruptions of Buddhism. Buddha
himself, I feel convinced, never knew even the names of Amitâbha,
Avalokite_s_vara, or Sukhavatî. Then, how can a nation call itself
Buddhist whose religion consists chiefly in a belief in a divine Amitâbha
and his son Avalokite_s_vara, and in a hope of eternal life in the
paradise of Sukhavatî?