Art. XIV.— Buddhist Saint Worship

218 ART. XIV.—Buddhist Saint Worship. By ARTHUR LILLIE, M.R.A.S. A STUDENT of Buddhism cannot proceed very far in his inquiry without being confronted with a tremendous contra- diction. Perhaps I may be allowed here to speak from personal experience. I read Le Bouddha et sa Religion, by M. Barthelemy St.-Hilaire, and one or two well-known works; and soon learnt that annihilation (sunyata) was the lot of the Saint when he had reached the Bodhi or Highest Wisdom, and freed himself from the cycle of new births. I then came across Schlagintweit's Buddhism in Tibet, which contains a sort of litany called The Buddhas of Confession. In it is the following passage :— " I adore the Buddha Sa-la'i-rgyal-po. Once uttering this name shall purify from all sins of theft, robbery, and the like." This puzzled me. This being was a Buddha. In consequence he had suffered, or enjoyed, complete annihilation. Why then should the pronouncing the name Sa-la'i- rgyal-po purify from all sins of " theft, robbery, and the like ? " Then I remembered that in old religions very holy names like I.A.O., A.U.M., etc., had often got to be thought more potent than the God himself. I mention all this to show that I am not at all surprised at people clinging to the idea that the Bodhi in the earliest Buddhism meant annihilation in spite of the strong evidence that can be brought against it. I myself for some time did the same. But a further study of Buddhist litanies convinced me that my theory about holy names by no means met all the facts of the case. I will write down a few extracts from their litanies: " I worship continually The Buddhas of the ages that are past, I worship the Buddhas, the all-pitiful, I worship with bowed head."—Ancient Ritual of Ceylon.1 1 Patimokkha (Dickson), p. 5. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. INSEAD, on 10 Sep 2018 at 19:00:37, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00018219 BUDDHA APPEARING AT THE ALTAR DURING WORSHIP. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/coreFROM. INSEADAM AR Ay, on ATI. 10 Sep 2018 at 19:00:37, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00018219 PL. II. BUDDHA APPEARING AT THE AI.TAR DURING WORSHIP. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/coreFROM. INSEADAMAR4VATI,, on 10 Sep 2018 at 19:00:37, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00018219 BUDDHIST SAINT WOESHIP. 219 " All hail! Buddhas of the ten quarters."—Chinese Ritual. " I adore the Tathagata Ts'hi-pag-med, who dwells in the Buddha region Devachan (Sukhavati or Paradise)."—Tibetan Ritual.1 " I have no other refuge; Buddha is the best refuge! By the truth of these words May I conquer and win the victory ! I how my head to the ground and worship The sacred dust of his holy feet; If in aught I have sinned against Buddha, May Buddha forgive me my sin."—Ancient Ritual of Ceylon?1 '' I regard the sacred altar as a royal gem. In the midst of it appears the Shadow of S'akya Tathagata."—Chinese Ritual.3 In the presence of these quotations, my theory about the potency of a mere name breaks down; for the Buddhas of the past that are supposed to be annihilated dwell in Sukha- vati ; are able to forgive sin; are able to come down to the altar during worship. The Buddhism of the Sutras in their present form and the Buddhism of the Ritual are plainly irreconcileable. We are in the presence of two philosophies essentially antagonistic and internecine. This fact seems to have struck Eugene Burnouf, and he settled that the Saint Worship was an addition. As far as our limited space will admit, let us examine this question, beginning with the Brahminism of the date of Buddha. If we accept Lassen's chronology on the subject, the non-Vaishnava portions of the Mahabharata may be accepted as a fair guide here. It will give us a sketch of the creed that existed in India when the Buddhist movement occurred. Readers of that epic must be astonished on first perusing it to find no mention of temples. Forests with Rishis or Prophets dwelling in them, and performing the initiation of yoga under trees, are mentioned in almost every episode; but even in the long descriptions of sumptuous towns religious edifices seem conspicuous chiefly by their absence. Alongside 1 Schlagintweit, p. 129. 2 Patimokkha, p. 5. a Catena, p. 404. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. INSEAD, on 10 Sep 2018 at 19:00:37, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00018219 220 BUDDHIST SAINT WOKSHIP. of the Rishis and their forests, there is, however, the Tirtha. What is a Tirtha ? Our lexicographers tell us that it is a sacred tank. Col. Tod, who studied natives all his life amongst natives, calls it a shrine. At any rate, the Tirtha was of dominant importance in the ancient religion, for we read thus of it:— "It is the greatest mystery of the Rishis, excellent son of Bharata. The holy pilgrimage to the Tirthas is more important than sacrifices to the gods." 1 In another verse it is stated that five nights' sojourn at the Tirtha of Jambumarya is equal to the fruit of a Horse sacrifice.2 The Horse sacrifice was the most important of Aryan rites. A hundred performances of it raised the sacrificer to the level of Indra, the Supreme. Assisted by the Mahabharata, let us try and make out what was a Tirtha. Without doubt pilgrims bathed there:— " May the pilgrim bathe, 0 son of Bharata, in all the Tirthas." 3 Illustrious Saints resided in Tirthas, the dead as well as the living.4 Kapila has his Tirtha, the Bishi Matanga,5 the Saint Bhrigu.6 " Go where the greatest Eishis Valmiki and Kasyapa, Kunda- jathara, the son of Atri, Yisvamitra and Gautama, Asita Devala, Markandeya and Galava, Bharawaja and the Solitary Vasishtha, TTddalaka, S'aunaka, and his son Vyasa, the greatest of ascetics, Durvasas, the most virtuous of anchorites, Javali of the terrible macerations; go where these, the greatest of Saints, rich in penances, are waiting for thee."7 To gods, to dead saints, to ancestors, rites were performed in Tirthas. " The shining hero (Bhishma)," it says in one passage, "feasted the ancestors, the gods. He feasted the Eishis after the manner laid down in the S'astras." 8 All these passages occur in the book of the Mahahharata where King Yudhishthira, the eldest of the four sons of Pandu, is enjoined to make a round of pilgrimages to the Tirthas. 1 Mahab. Vana Parva, v. 4059. 5 Ibid. 8079. 2 Ibid. 4083. 6 Ibid. v. 8234. 3 Ibid. 4074. ' Ibid. TV. 8262, et seq. 4 Vana Parva, 8056. 8 v. 4035. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. INSEAD, on 10 Sep 2018 at 19:00:37, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0035869X00018219 BUDDHIST SAINT WORSHIP. 221 We have shown that Tirthas were places of pilgrimage with tanks. They were also shrines of dead saints. Does this mean that they were stone circles and sepulchral mounds like the Stennis stones in Orkney, like Avesbury, like Stonehenge ? I think this question must be answered in the affirmative for the following reasons : 1. The Western Aryas, the Norsemen, Goths, etc., invari- ably used the stone circles and the sepulchral mound (haug) for worship and also for burial. 2. In many parts of India these circles and mounds are still used by sections of the Hindoos, as an interesting set of papers by Dr. Stevenson in our Journal has shown. 3. These two institutions figure very prominently in Buddhism. And when one religion breaks away from another, it may make many changes, but must be credited with having retained a large number of the institutions of its parent creed. To dispose of the dead is a pressing need. This is scarcely the point at which a religious reformer would begin. I think also that there are passages in the Mahabharata that bear me out. " When King Suhotra governed this globe according to the laws of justice, columns of sacrifice and sacred trees were planted about the surface of the earth (jalonnaient la terre, Fauche) in hundreds of thousands. They shone every season with an abundant harvest of men and grains." 1 " He offered then, 0 most virtuous son of Bharata, an hundred solemn sacrifices, bidding gods and Brahmins. There were columns of sacrifice in precious stones and Chaityas (sepulchral mounds) of gold." 2 " The Long-Haired God gave by thousands and millions columns of sacrifice and Chaityas of great splendour." 3 It seems to me that these columns of sacrifice planted about by hundreds of thousands must be standing stones. Professor Whitney publishes the translation of a Vedic hymn 1 Mahabh. Adi Parya, v. 3717. 2 Ibid. Sabha Parva, v. 69. 3 Ibid. v. 74. Downloaded fromVOL https://www.cambridge.org/core. xiv.—[NEW SEKIES.] . INSEAD, on 10 Sep 2018 at 19:00:37, 1subject6 to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms.

Load more