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But beyond this, though there be no " deadness" or " levity^' of heart, there may be a " momentary excitement,'^ or a " careless '^ condition. The first arises from some such cause as this. Whilst engaged in contemplation, the mind suddenly fixes on the idea, that now because of such or such an efi"ort " Samadhi" is coming on, and so there be a feeling of excitement or hysteria. Such a state of mind should be suppressed and overcome by reflecting that the influences of the animal spirits (or passion nature (hi)) all flow from the differences which exist in the inferior parts of our constitu- tion (?) If the heart is aff'ected with carelessness, resulting from an inward satisfaction on account of progress, then the body will be iU-adjusted, the mouth full of spittle, and, in con- sequence, a general bewilderment will ensue — to remedy this the body must be gathered up, and, by a sudden eff'ort, the mind centered in the subject that engages its attention. With regard to the llules which relate to the government 1 Wilson translates the corresponding Sanscrit term by "practitioner" (yoga yuj), Vish. Fur., 652; and this corresponds exactly witli the Chinese " hing che." 2 So also says Krishna in his sixth Lecture to Arjuaa, vide Spier, ut supra. • SCRIPTUKES FROM THE CHINESE. 273 of the mind when engaged in the actual enjoyment of Samadhij the only observation necessary is, to take care that neither body, breath, nor mind be allowed to relax from their state of discipline, so as to risk the interruption of the tranquillity enjoyed. On emerging* from Samadhi, a man ought first to scatter or dissipate the influences which bind his heart, by opening his mouth and letting go his bi^eath, and then loosen the hundred secret springs (pulses or feelings) within him. After this, let him gently move his brow and pass his hand over his head ; then separating his feet, he may stretch them in any direction, and afterwards rub the whole of his body with his hand. Then he may open his eyes and go free. Thus one should proceed on breaking the spell of '' medi- tation^^— by attending to trifles all deviation from the right standard is avoided. And so the Gatha says : " There are steps and grades in advancing towards a condition of rest, Not disregarding slight indiscretions, but by exact attention, Like a horse well broken in and trained, We stand still or we go on, as desired." The Lotus of the Good Law also says : " All the Bodhi- satwas of this great congregation have equally attained their present condition by diligent conduct, earnest persever- ance, rightly entering on, engaging in and quitting count- less myriads conditions of Samadhi, etc. [We have so far translated the work of Chi-Kai. It consists altogether of ten sections, but the four given above contain the method of his system.] 274 A CATENA OF BUDDHIST PAKT III. SCHOLASTIC PERIOD. In order to exhibit witliin moderate limits tlie principles of the doctrines taught during this period^ it will be as well to state once more the comprehensive classification of the whole Buddhist system, which is frequently insisted on in the Canon, and which, without embracing the dogmas of distinct schools, will supply a sufficiently clear division for our present purposes. In the fifth chapter of the Saudinir- motchana Sutra, for example, we find this statement : " At the time when Buddha turned the wheel of the Law in the Deer-garden, his doctrine of the four truths, astonishing as it was, yet was false (insufficient). A second time, when he turned the wheel and preached respecting the secret and mysterious signs (of true Being), founding his argument on the assertion that all things (subjects) are without any inherent properties of existence (i. e. that all things are ^^empty^^), this doctrine also, which is that of the Prajiia- paramita, was false and incomprehensible. But now for the third time, turning the wheel of the true Law, and explain- ing the doctrine respecting the clear and comprehensible marks (of Nirvana)^ — this is a true and intelHgible system of instruction.^ We have in the previous sections considered the first division of this threefold development, viz., the period of the " four truths," or the system known as that of the Hinayana, in which the aim was by moral discipline to attain a condition of Eest ; we shall in this chapter give some translations taken from works included in the second and third periods, during which the doctrines of an universal 1 That is, the four marks exiilaiucd in the ISIaha-pari-Nirvana Sutra — pernianency, iudividuality, purity, joy ; vide supra, p. 137, u. 4. ^ Wassiliof, p. 152, § 153. SCRIPTURES FROM THE CHINESE. 275 void and of an universally existing essence (Alaya or Atman) were successively taught. 2. PRAJNA PARAMITA SUTRAS. When the theory of an universal void became the leading feature of the Buddhist scholastic developnient_, the question pressed upon the mind was this : If all things around us are unreal and unsubstantial^ is there any thing in the universe real, or any true existence ? The answer to this question was, that " on the other shore," that is, in that condition which admits of no birth or death, no change or suffering, free from all mundane influences or aSections, there is an absolute and imperishable existence. There are several ways in which this state or condition is formulated. It is described as a state of the highest and most perfect enlightenment (anuttara samyak sambodhi) — as, for in- stance, in the second chapter of the Vajra-chhedika Sutra (a work of the Paramita class), it is asked, " how ought a disciple, who desires to attain to the condition of "the highest and most perfect enlightenment," to repress his sinful "heart ;" and on what ought he to fix his reliance ?" The answer, given in the next chapter, is this : " Subhuti ! whatever species of creatures there be, whether viviparous, oviparous, born from spawn, or by transformation, &c., all these I exhort to seek after the state of Pari-nirvana, and for ever to free themselves from the several conditions of being to which they belong." So that we conclude this condition of Pari-nirvana, and that known as "anuttara samyak sambodhi," both refer to the same ineSable state of existence, described generally as that enjoyed on " the other shore," in other words the condition of the " Absolute." This condition admits of no verbal definition ; it may be partially exhibited, however, by a course of negations. Consequently, in the Paramita works of the Buddhist Canon, the argument is a purely negative one. The difficulty of defining " the absolute" has always been T 2 27G A CATENA OF BUDDHIST acknowledged. "Diviua substantia in sua immensitate, non est cognoscibilis ab anima rationali cognitione positiva, sed est cognoscibilis cognitione privitiva."^ Again, a/cove w avOpoiire, ro fiev eZSo? tov ©eoO dpprjrov kol aveKcfypaarov" (Theopb. ad Autol., \, 3)." Again, "Imo vero me nihil aliud quam dicere voluisse seutio. Si auteni dixi, non est quod dicere volui. Hoc unde scio, nisi quia Deus ineifabilis est."^ The same difficulty presented itself to the Buddhist writers of the period we are describing. The twenty-first chapter of the Vadjra chhedika is headed thus: ''^Ou the impossibility of expressing this system of philosophy by any words ; that which can be so expressed is not agreeable to this body of doc- trine"; and in the chapter this remark occurs : '^ if a man say that Tathagata has a definitely-spoken system of doc- trine, that man does but malign Buddha^ for the Law which I declare cannot be explained in words. Subhuti ! that Law which can be explained in words is no Law, it is but an empty name." If we remember that the word " Law" (dharmaj means a condition of being or existence^ we here have the secret of the Avhole system stated in plain words, • Hagenbach, vol. i, 480. (The words are those of Alexander Hales.) ^ Hagenbach, vol. i, 101. 3 Augustine, De Doct. Christ.^ i, c. 6. So, also, Justin Martyr declares that God is not only above all names^ but above all existence (iireKeiva irjs ohaias) ; and yet he elsewlici'e speaks of the ohaia of God, but as entirely distinct from mundane existence. Clement of Alexandria shews very plainly (^Strom.^ vii, p. 689) that we can attain to a clear idea of God only by laying aside (5i' avaXvaii^s) all finite ideas of the Divine Nature, till at last nothing but the abstract idea of unity remains. Again, John of Damascus {De Fide Orthod.