Hinduism and Buddhism, Volume II
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Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. Charles Eliot Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. Table of Contents Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II...............................................................................................................1 Charles Eliot............................................................................................................................................1 BOOK IV. THE MAHAYANA...........................................................................................................................3 CHAPTER XVI. MAIN FEATURES OF THE MAHAYANA..............................................................3 CHAPTER XVII. BODHISATTVAS.....................................................................................................5 CHAPTER XVIII. THE BUDDHAS OF MAHAYANISM.................................................................17 CHAPTER XIX. MAHAYANIST METAPHYSICS............................................................................23 CHAPTER XX. MAHAYANIST SCRIPTURES.................................................................................28 CHAPTER XXI. CHRONOLOGY OF THE MAHAYANA................................................................38 CHAPTER XXII. FROM KANISHKA TO VASUBANDHU.............................................................45 CHAPTER XXIII. INDIAN BUDDHISM AS SEEN BY THE CHINESE PILGRIMS......................54 CHAPTER XXIV. DECADENCE OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA..........................................................64 BOOK V. HINDUISM.......................................................................................................................................78 CHAPTER XXV. SIVA AND VISHNU...............................................................................................79 CHAPTER XXVI. FEATURES OF HINDUISM: RITUAL, CASTE, SECT, FAITH........................96 CHAPTER XXVII. THE EVOLUTION OF HINDUISM. BHAGAVATAS AND PASUPATAS...107 CHAPTER XXVIII. SANKARA. SIVAISM IN SOUTHERN INDIA. KASHMIR. LINGAYATS......................................................................................................................................120 CHAPTER XXIX. VISHNUISM IN SOUTH INDIA........................................................................133 CHAPTER XXX. LATER VISHNUISM IN NORTH INDIA...........................................................141 CHAPTER XXXI. AMALGAMATION OF HINDUISM AND ISLAM. KABIR AND THE SIKHS.................................................................................................................................................153 CHAPTER XXXII. SAKTISM[680]...................................................................................................160 CHAPTER XXXIII. HINDU PHILOSOPHY.....................................................................................171 i Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. Charles Eliot This page formatted 2005 Blackmask Online. http://www.blackmask.com • BOOK IV. THE MAHAYANA • CHAPTER XVI. MAIN FEATURES OF THE MAHAYANA • CHAPTER XVII. BODHISATTVAS • CHAPTER XVIII. THE BUDDHAS OF MAHAYANISM • CHAPTER XIX. MAHAYANIST METAPHYSICS • CHAPTER XX. MAHAYANIST SCRIPTURES • CHAPTER XXI. CHRONOLOGY OF THE MAHAYANA • CHAPTER XXII. FROM KANISHKA TO VASUBANDHU • CHAPTER XXIII. INDIAN BUDDHISM AS SEEN BY THE CHINESE PILGRIMS • CHAPTER XXIV. DECADENCE OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA • BOOK V. HINDUISM • CHAPTER XXV. SIVA AND VISHNU • CHAPTER XXVI. FEATURES OF HINDUISM: RITUAL, CASTE, SECT, FAITH • CHAPTER XXVII. THE EVOLUTION OF HINDUISM. BHAGAVATAS AND PASUPATAS • CHAPTER XXVIII. SANKARA. SIVAISM IN SOUTHERN INDIA. KASHMIR. LINGAYATS • CHAPTER XXIX. VISHNUISM IN SOUTH INDIA • CHAPTER XXX. LATER VISHNUISM IN NORTH INDIA • CHAPTER XXXI. AMALGAMATION OF HINDUISM AND ISLAM. KABIR AND THE SIKHS • CHAPTER XXXII. SAKTISM[680] • CHAPTER XXXIII. HINDU PHILOSOPHY Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3) An Historical Sketch Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Sankar Viswanathan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Transcriber's Note: Excerpts from the Preface to the book from Volume 1, regarding the method of transcription used. "In the following pages I have occasion to transcribe words belonging to many oriental languages in Latin characters. Unfortunately a uniform system of transcription, applicable to all tongues, seems not to be practical at present. It was attempted in the Sacred Books of the East, but that system has fallen into disuse and is liable to be misunderstood. It therefore seems best to use for each language the method of Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. 1 Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. transcription adopted by standard works in English dealing with each, for French and German transcriptions, whatever their merits may be as representations of the original sounds, are often misleading to English readers, especially in Chinese. For Chinese I have adopted Wade's system as used in Giles's Dictionary, for Tibetan the system of Sarat Chandra Das, for Pali that of the Pali Text Society and for Sanskrit that of Monier−Williams's Sanskrit Dictionary, except that I write s instead of s. Indian languages however offer many difficulties: it is often hard to decide whether Sanskrit or vernacular forms are more suitable and in dealing with Buddhist subjects whether Sanskrit or Pali words should be used. I have found it convenient to vary the form of proper names according as my remarks are based on Sanskrit or on Pali literature, but this obliges me to write the same word differently in different places, e.g. sometimes Ajatasatru and sometimes Ajatasattu, just as in a book dealing with Greek and Latin mythology one might employ both Herakles and Hercules. Also many Indian names such as Ramayana, Krishna, nirvana have become Europeanized or at least are familiar to all Europeans interested in Indian literature. It seems pedantic to write them with their full and accurate complement of accents and dots and my general practice is to give such words in their accurate spelling (Ramayana, etc.) when they are first mentioned and also in the notes but usually to print them in their simpler and unaccented forms. I fear however that my practice in this matter is not entirely consistent since different parts of the book were written at different times." LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS [From Volume 1] The following are the principal abbreviations used: Ep. Ind. Epigraphia India. E.R.E. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (edited by Hastings). I.A. Indian Antiquary. J.A. Journal Asiatique. J.A.O.S. Journal of the American Oriental Society. J.R.A.S. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. P.T.S. Pali Text Society. S.B.E. Sacred Books of the East (Clarendon Press). HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. 2 Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. AN HISTORICAL SKETCH BY SIR CHARLES ELIOT In three volumes VOLUME II ROUTLEDGE &KEGAN PAUL LTD Broadway House, 68−74 Carter Lane, London, E.C.4. First published 1921 Reprinted 1954 Reprinted 1957 Reprinted 1962 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY LUND HUMPHRIES LONDON−−BRADFORD BOOK IV. THE MAHAYANA CHAPTER XVI. MAIN FEATURES OF THE MAHAYANA The obscurest period in the history of Buddhism is that which follows the reign of Asoka, but the enquirer cannot grope for long in these dark ages without stumbling upon the word Mahayana. This is the name given to a movement which in its various phases may be regarded as a philosophical school, a sect and a church, and though it is not always easy to define its relationship to other schools and sects it certainly became a prominent aspect of Buddhism in India about the beginning of our era besides achieving enduring triumphs in the Far East. The word[1] signifies Great Vehicle or Carriage, that is a means of conveyance to salvation, and is contrasted with Hinayana, the Little Vehicle, a name bestowed on the more conservative party though not willingly accepted by them. The simplest description of the two Vehicles is that given by the Chinese traveller I−Ching (635−713 A.D.) who saw them both as living realities in India. He says[2] "Those who worship Bodhisattvas and read Mahayana Sutras are called Mahayanists, while those who do not do this are called Hinayanists." In other words, the Mahayanists have scriptures of their own, not included in the Hinayanist Canon and adore superhuman beings in the stage of existence immediately below Buddhahood and practically differing little from Indian deities. Many characteristics could be added to I−Ching's description but they might not prove universally true of the Mahayana nor entirely absent from the Hinayana, for however divergent the two Vehicles may have become when separated geographically, for instance in Ceylon and Japan, it is clear that when they were in contact, as in India and China, the distinction was not always sharp. But in general the Mahayana was more popular, not in the sense of being simpler, for parts of its teaching were exceedingly abstruse, but in the sense of striving to invent or include doctrines agreeable to the masses. It was less monastic than the older Buddhism, and more emotional; warmer in charity, more personal in devotion, more ornate in art, literature and ritual, more disposed to evolution and development, whereas the BOOK IV. THE MAHAYANA 3 Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. Hinayana was conservative and rigid, secluded in its cloisters and open to the plausible if unjust accusation of selfishness. The two sections are sometimes described as northern and southern Buddhism, but except as a rough description of their