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It is 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 deve- lopment, whereas the 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 distribution at the present day, this distinction is not accurate, for the Mahayana penetrated to Java, while the Hinayana rea- ched Central Asia and China. But it is true that the development of the Mahayana was due to influences pre- valent in Northern India and not equally prevalent in the South. The terms Pali and Sanskrit Buddhism are con- venient and as accurate as can be expected of any nomen- clature covering so large a field. Though European writers usually talk of zwo Yanas or Vehicles—the great and the little—and though this is clearly the important distinction for historical purposes, yet Indian and Chinese Buddhists frequently enumerate three. These are the Crdvakaydna, the vehicle of the ordinary Bhiksu who hopes to become an Arhat, the Pratyekabuddhajdna for the rare beings who are able to become Buddhas but do not preach the law to others, and in contrast to both of these the Mahayana or vehicle of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. As a rule these three Vehi- 68 BUDDHISM IN ENGLISH cles are not regarded as hostile or even incompatible. Thus the Zows Svzra, maintains that there is really but one vehicle, though by a wise concession to human weak- ness the Buddha lets it appear that there are three to suit diverse tastes. And the Mahayana is not a single vehicle but rather a train comprising many carriages of different classes. It has an unfortunate but distinct later phase known in Sanskrit as Mantrayana and Vajrayana but generally described by European as Tantrism. This phase took some of the worst features in Hinduism, such as spells, charms, and the worship of goddesses, and with misplaced ingenuity fitted them into Buddhism. I shall treat of it in a subsequent chapter, for it is chro- nologically late. The silence of Hsuan Chuang and I- Ching implies that in the seventh century it was nota noticeable aspect of Indian Buddhism. Although the record of the Mahayana in literature and art is clear and even brilliant, it is not easy either to trace its rise or connect its development with other events in India. Its annals are an interminable list of names and doctrines, but bring before us few living personalities and hence are dull. They are like a record of the Christian Church’s fight against Arians, Monophysites and Nesto- rians with all the great figures of Byzantine history omitted or called in question. Hence I fear that my readers (if I have any) may find these chapters repel- lent, a mist of hypotheses and a catalogue of ancient paradoxes. I can only urge that if the history of the MAHAYANA BUDDHISM 69 Mahayana is uncertain, its teaching fanciful and its scrip- tures tedious, yet it has been a force of the first magni- tude in the secular history and art of China, Japan and Tibet and even to-day the most metaphysical of its sacred books, the Diamond Cutter, has probably more readers than Kant and Hegel. Since the early history of the Mahayana is a matter for argument rather than precise statement, it will perhaps be best to begin with some account of its doctrines and literature and proceed afterwards to chronology. I may, however, mention that general tradition connects it with King Kaniska and asserts that the great doctors Ac¢vaghosa and Nagar- juna lived in and immediately after his reign. The atti- tude of Kaniska and of the Council. which he summoned towards the Mahayana is far from clear. Uufortunately his date is not beyond dispute for while a considerable consensus of opinion fixes his accession at about 78 A. D., some scholars place it earlier and others in the second century A. D. Apart from this, it appears established that the Sukhavati-vyiha which is definitely Mahayanist was translated into Chinese between 147 and 186 A, D. We may assume that it was then already well known and had been composed some time before, so that, whatever Kaniska’s date may have been, Mahayanist doc- trines must have been in existence about the time of the Christian era, and perhaps considerably earlier. Natural- ly no one date like a reign or a council can be selected to mark the beginning of a great school. Such a body 70 BUDDHISM IN ENGLISH of doctrine must have existed piecemeal and unauthoriz- ed before it was collected and recognized and some tenets are older than others. Enlarging I-Ching’s definition we may find in the Mahiydna seven lines of thought or prac- tice. All are not found in all sects and some are shared with the Hinayana but probably none are found fully developed outside the Mahayana. Many of them have parallels to the contemporary phases of Hinduism. 1. A belief in Bodhisattvas and in the power of human beings to become Bodhisattvas. 2. A code of altruistic ethics which teaches that every one must do good in the interest of the whole world and make over to others any merit he may acquire by his virtues. The aim of the religious life is to become a Bo- dhisattva, not to become an Arhat. 3. A doctrine that Buddhas are supernatural beings, distributed through infinite space and time, and innu- merable. In the language of later theology a Buddha has three bodies and still later is a group of five Buddhas. 4, Various systems Of idealist metaphysics, which tend to regard the Buddha essence or Nirvane much as Brahman is regarded in the Vedanta. 5. A canon composed in Sanskrit and apparently later than the Pali canon. 6. Habitual worship of images and elaboration of ritual. There is adangerous tendency to rely on formulee and charms. 7, A special doctrine of salvation by faith in a Budd- THE DREAM OF MING-TI 71 ha, usually Amitébha, and invocation of his name. Ma- hayanism can exist without this doctrine but it is tolerated by most sects and considered essential by some. — Sir Charles Eliot, “ Hinduism and Buddhism? — CHAPTER XVIII THE DREAM OF MING-TI It was in the reign of the Chinese Emperor Ming-ti —who came to the throne A. D. 58, and reigned until A. D. 76—that Buddhism was definitely introduced into the empire. The capital at this time was at Loyang, the present Honan-fu; and it was here that for many years afterwards the great Buddhist centre of work lay. The Emperor Ming-ti had probably heard of the pro- gress of Buddhism among the tribes bordering on China and India; and if, so early as the reign of Wu-ti, a golden image of the Indian saint had been set up in one of the small states bordering on the Chinese possessions, we may suppose with reason that the worship had spread in the interval, and some reports respecting the religion of Buddha come to the ears of the Chinese people. The emperor, at any rate, is said to have had a dream in the third year of his reign(A.D.61)in which he saw a golden figure flying from heaven and hovering over his palace, 72 BUDDHISM IN ENGLISH Its head was surrounded by a glory equal to that of the sun and moon. Being moved by his dream to inquire about its meaning, one of his ministers, Fu-yih, told him that he had ‘heard there was a divine person born in the west, called Buddha, and that probably his dseam was connected with that circumstance. This clearly shows that Fu-yih had received some intelligence about this religion, and we might venture to think that he himself had a partial belief in the truth of what he had learned. But, at any rate, the emperor was induced, on hearing the minister’s report, to send a mis- sion to India in search of books or correct tidings about this mysterious personage. We are told in the annals, that the mission, numbering in all eighteen men, arrived in India and came as far as the country of the Yuechi. It is probable that the district referred to under this name was the country of the Vajjis, or Vrijjis, who were in all probability an offshoot of the northern tribe of the Yue-chi, or White Huns. We are told by Sze-ma, that the languages spoken throughout the district where these tribes of northern people lived, from Ta-wan, 2 e, about Yarkand, as far went as Parthia, differed but slight- ly and were mutually intelligible. It would be easy, there- fore, for the Chinese mission to proceed through these territories and pursue their inquiries respecting Buddha ; and the special occurrences of the period would make their mission still more practicable, for at this time, pro- bably, Kaniska was rising in power and his hordes prepar- THE DREAM OF MING-TI 73 ing to invade India. They actually advanced as far as Magadha, south of the Ganges, and carried off from that country some of the sacred relics which were treasured there, as well as the persons of some eminent Buddhist teachers. At such a time, therefore, as this, the Chinese embassy penetrated to India and arrived among these Yue- chi, Here they collected books and pictures and relics, and, accompanied by two priests of the religion, they re- turned homewards and arrived at the capital, Loyang, a, D. 67. The emperor appears to have lent a ready ear the instruction of the foreigners, and in the end caused a temple to be built in which the books and relics might be stored. The temple was called after the name of the “white horse” on which the books, &c., had been brought from the west. Such is the account given of the introduction of Bud- dhism into China: there is nothing improbable in the narrative, so far as the outline is concerned; and it is accepted on every hand by the Chinese themselves.