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), and therefore he is called '' rightly come" (Tathagata) ; in going, he went from the middle (region ?), and therefore he is called " rightly gone" (Sugata). He came from the middle as from a state of rest ; he went from (or to) the middle as from a state of activity. Thus opposed to both conditions of rest or activity, he can neither be said to have come or have gone. This, indeed, is hard to understand : opposed to action and rest, yet at the same time active and at rest; neither coming nor going, yet both come and gone. This is the mysterious character of the universally diffused Nature (essence) : not coming, yet come ; although born, yet not taking a distinct substance ; not going, yet gone ; though dyiug, yet not ceasing to be. So that no mere words can express this wisdom of our Tathagata ; it cannot be predicated in such expressions as action and rest, coming and going, being and not being, birth and death. This wisdom defies num- ber, rejects antitheses or agreements, is unfathomable, in- conceivable, and beyond all description for excellence ! Now, there are some men who live by rivers that will not credit that sea-water is salt ; but only let them take one spoonful and let them try it, then they know that the whole is of similar taste ; — but yet it cannot be said that they have ex- hausted the ocean by tasting this one spoonful ! (8.) Respecting the Rishis or Genii. The Rishis (sien) are so called because they change (tsien) their appearance. They are spiritual beings in the form of men ; they have the power to translate or change themselves into other bodies without dying. The common name for them is " sien." They have various characters and powers. There are hea- venly Rishis, spirit Rishis, human Rishis, and demon Rishis. Some wander amongst men, some seek the deep mountain caves (such as Tien-Toi, Kw^ang Lu, Ku-shan, Chung-nan and others) ; some live in the isles of the sea (as at Pung- lai, Ying-cheou, Lung-yuen, and so on) ; some live under the earth. All of them are capable of living for a long time 30 A CATENA OF BUDDHIST without fear of death. In old times men spoke of these Rishis as frequently seen. In fact, from the natural love of long life which men have, and fear of early death, they spoke of every one who lived upwards of a hundred years or so, as being a Rishi ; how much more should those be called so who lived thousands of years ! And yet there is no perma- nence even in these cases, for they only " live long,^^ which is very different from " not dying." Compared with the life of men, such beings may be indeed called long-lived, but, compared with Devas, their life is short indeed. The years of Devas extend over many kalpas, compared to which those of the Rishis are but as the life of the May-fly. This mode of existence, therefore, though excellent, is not so de- sirable as that of the Devas. The Devas, although more ex- cellent, cannot be compared to the condition of the Buddhas (holy men) who, during countless kalpas, are ever joyous, assured of the non-recurrence of birth or death throughout eternity. The Avatansaka Sutra says : '^ Spirit-Rishis dwell in the mountains. Human Rishis live amongst men.'' (Heavenly Rishis dwell on the seven golden mountains.) The Suran- gama Sutra says : " Buddha declared that there are men who practise the power of spiritual ecstasy (samadhi), with- out any reliance on supreme wisdom (Bodhi). These adopt vain repetitions, and so preserve for themselves bodily shapes. They wander among the mountains and forests, and places inaccessible to man. There are ten kinds of such beings : 1. earth-walkers, who make use of prepared food, for the purpose of perfection; 2. space-flyers, who study the virtues of trees and plants, for the purpose of per- fecting themselves iu the use of medicines (by means of which their bodies are so light that they can fly). 3. Wan- derers, who study the nature of gold and stones, to perfect themselves in the art of transmutation (by the use of cinna- bar they pretend to change stones into gold), 4. Those who suppress the action of their vital functions (and uncon- sciously lose their bodily shapes, and pass invisibly through SCRIPTURES FROM THE CHINESE. 31 space). 5. Heavenly-ones, who gain the mastery over their fluid secretions (and so become perfectly pure). 6. Air-hke, who, by purifying and subliming their substance, become intangible (clothed with the rainbow, drinking dew, their essence purified, they become like air) . 7. Magicians, who, by certain incantations, are able to alter their condition at will. 8. Luminous-ones, who, by practising severe thought, perfect their memory (and produce a lambent flame from the top of their head, and by severe contemplation {lit., ob- serving the navel) refine the pill (i.e., become immortal). 9. Beneficent-ones, who, by sudden intervention, remove difiiculties in human aflairs. 10. Perfectly-enlightened-ones, who, by constantly studying the system of changes and con- versions, become thoroughly illuminated. All these, by human discipline, attain various degrees of sublime know- ledge, and extend their lives to a thousand or a myriad years. Dwelling in mountains or islands, beyond the habi- tations of men, they practise their various modes of life. But yet they are still involved in the wheel of transmigration, and not depending on the true method of emancipation ; after their term is expired they will return once more to the various forms of being, who are involved in the net of exist- ence." Again, how true is the remark of Long-shu (Nagardjuna) the lay disciple (kiu-sse, i.e., grihapati) : " We are told about the difierent kinds of Rishis, and their years of life ; but yet all these return to the common lot of constant transmigra- tions. What comparison, then, is there between this search after long life, and the blessedness of being born in one of the lands (pure lands) of Buddha ? Not to prepare for this and to seek after that is to fling away the pure gem, and to search for the common pebble.-'^ Again, a certain disciple called Hiang-shan, of the Tang dynasty, alluding to Wang the hermit, says in poetry : " I hear your Honour, sacrificing food and rest, Daily expects to hear the spirit Rishis tell The mode of being changed to move than mortal man, 32 A CATENA OF BUDDHIST And how to gain the mystery of lengthening life. The words ' long life' are but oj^posed to ' what is short.' No promise here of quitting birth and death for aye : How vain the search, then, merely after length of days ; For if your Honour should succeed in gaining it, And like the fir tree flourish for a thousand years. Yet, when expired, the flower that lives its little day Is just as good ! both end alike in nothingness ! What use to boast of years as lasting as the moon. When like the moon we ever tend to self -decay— The common destiny involved in ' birth and death !' How different from that birthless state of Mind Supreme Which never being born can never cease to Be !" (9.) On faith and unbelief. A want of faith is called doubt, from wliicb the numberless errors that exist in the world are produced. And so, from the absence of doubt, i.e., faith, come all the excellencies (virtues) that exist. Faith is the wide thoroughfare for entering on the path of Wisdom — doubt is the great enemy of Religion. Faith may be com- pared to a propitious wind wafting a boat down a river ; doubt to the whirhng eddies of the tide in which a boat, from morning till night, constantly revolves. Hence the Scripture says : '■' The Medicine-King can cure all diseases, but cannot heal a man already dead ; so Buddha can save all sentient creatures, but he cannot rescue men who have no faith. '^ So that the first requisite in arriving at supreme wisdom is faith, just as the irrigation of a field is necessary before the seed sown therein can sink down and germinate.