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llow much more all Buddhas constantly do the same. So, there is no means to collect their preachings completly. (b) The transmission of the doctrine. '•^ No. 87. ' No78^r'~No^'8d. KE-GON-SPltJ. 59 The first patrlarcli Asvaghosha (Me-nij^o) com- posed the Mahayana 5ra(ldhotpada-sastra(Dai-jo-ki- sliin-roii)/ or ^ book on raising faith in tlie Mahaya- na.' The second patriarch Nagar^rana (EyQ-ju) com- posed the Mahatintya-sastra (Dai-fu-slii-gi-ron), or ^ book on the great inconceivableness.' There is now a translation of one part of this book, with the title of Dasabliami-vibhaslnWast ra (Ju-ju-bi-ba-sha-ron)/ or ^book on the ten stages fully explained.' The above two patriarchs were the Indian Bod- hisattvas; and the following five were the great Chinese teacliers. The third, To-jun Dai-shi; whose family name was To and his personal name llo-jun, first es- tablished the terms of the 'five doctrines ' (Go-kyo), and wrote two works, the Go-kyo-shi-kwan and the Ho-kai-kwan-mon.^ The fourth, Shi -so Dai-shi, whose family name was Oho and his personal name Chi-gon, produced the So-gen-ki and the Ku-moku-sho. The fifth, Gen-ju Dai-shi, whose family name was Ivo and his personal name Hozo, wrote the Go- kyo-sho, Tan-gen-ki, and some otlier works, and perfected the doctrine of this sect. When he lectur- ed on the sutra, there rained some wonderful heavenly flowers; and rays of white light came •"• Nos. :i.249,1250. •■■ i\^o.*1180. ' No. 1.096. 60 KE-GON-SHU. out from his month. The Empress Sohu-ten of the To dynasty (reigned 684-705 A. D.) gave him Ihe posthumous title of Gen-jn Bosatsii. The sixth, Sho-rj'o Dai-shi, whose family name was Ka-ho and his personal name Clio-kwan, lived on Mount Go-dai and com])iled the Dai-sho- sho,'"^ a great commentaly on the Ke gon-gyo in eighty volumes. The seventh, Kei-ho Zen-ji, whose family name was Ka and his personal name Shu-mitsU; lived in the So-do monastery on Mount Shu-nan and promulgated the doctrine. In 136 A. D., a Chinese Vinaya teacher, Do sen, came to Japan, and fiisfc brought the works of this sect. Four years later, Ryo-hen leporled to the Em- peror Slio-mu, and caused a Korean priest Shin-sho to lecture on the Ke-jjon-s^vo of sixty volumes, in the Kon-sho (^golden bell') hall of the To-dai ji, or the ^Eastern great monastery.' On the opening day, there was seen a cloud of purple colour, which the Empetor admired very much. The lecturer went through twenty volumes a year, and thus completed h's task at the end of three yeas. After that, lecturing on the Sutra has become one of the yearly services of the To-dai-ji. II. The doctrine of the Sect. ( a ) The time of Buddha's preaching the ~'~''Nos. 1589,'T89a KE-GON-SHIJ. 61 Ke-gon-gyo and its title. After /S'akyaraaiii attained to Buddhahood, he was silent for seven days. During that period, he meditated on the doctrine which he understood, and also contemplated upon the dispositions of beings, and upon the law to be preached to them. This is called the Sagara-mudra-samadhi (Kai-in-san~mai), or 'sea-seal-meditation.' As tlie four troops of the Asuras ('evil spirits') appear upon the great sea, as if it were sealed, so all ihings including the doctrines and beings appeared upon the wisdom of Buddha, the perfectly enlightened one He preached his doctr- ine just as it had appeared in the first meditation, but in accordance with the dispositions of hearers. Tiiese preachings numben-d more than three hundred 'assemblies' or times, which are characterized as the five doctrines of 'sn^allness (Sho), beginning (Shi), end (Ju), Suddenness (Ton), and completion' (En). In the second week after his enlightenment, Buddha preached the Ke-gon-gyo, which was therefore the beginning of the preachings of his whole life. Tliis ])reaching took place at peven different places, where eight assemblies were held, two of which were in the same room. Three of the seven places were in the human worhl, but the rest in the heavens. It is, however, not to he thought of, that he actually went to so many different places and meetings to discourse. He did not rise from the Jaku-raetsu-do-jo (the place 62 KE-GON-SHU. where he became Buddhs), yet he preached in those seven places ; because he spoke the doctrine of non- impediment of every thing and endlessness of degrees. Again some might doubt that this Sutra would not have been preached by Buddha as early as the second week after his attainment; because in the eighth assembly, the /Sravakas such as /S'ariputra (Sha-ri- hotsu) and Mahamaudgalyayana (Dai-moku-ken-ren) who became Buddha's disciples sometime later, were present. But this was done so by the power of the Dhara?zi or holding of Buddha. It is said in the Sutra, that *all Kalpas of the past are placed in the future, and those of the future are turned to the past.' Therefore it was the power of Buddha's Dliaram, which caused /S'ariputra and Maudg;ilyayana,the later converts, to appear in the assembly of the second week. The Ke-gon-gyo is the orginal sutra of Buddha's teachings of his whole life. All his teachings, therefore, sprang from this sutra. If we attribute, all the branches to the origin, we may say that there is no teaching of Buddha for his whole life, except this sutra. Now, wo shall explain the title of the sutra in the easiest way, in order to show the outline of the whole work, as the title is SLud to be a sign of the book. The title of the sutra in question consists of the seven characters, Dai-ho-ko-butsu-ke- gon-gyo, i. e. Buddhavata??2saka (Butsu-ke-gon)- maha (Dai)-vaiplya (ho-ko)-sutra (kyd). The first KE-GON-SIIU. 63 six characters of Dai-lio-lvO-butsii-kc-gon, lit ' great- sc[iiare-wi(le-Buddba-flower- adornment;' explain the law taught; and the last Kyo or siitra mems the ieaching. Again, among the first six characters, tljc four of Dai-ho-ko-huts'i mean the law or thing compared, while the two of Ke-gon mean a com- parison. Among I he first four characters, the three of Dai-ho-ko mean the reison understood, and the one of Butsu or Buddha the wisdom of undersfand- m^. The whole sutra is nothing^ but the reason and wisdom. The reison is Samantabhadra (Fu-gen), and the wisdom, Ma?Tr/u.sri (Mon-jn). The state where the reason and wisdom cease to be two, is called Vairo- Z^ana's Dharma-kaja (Bi-ru-sha-na-hosshin), or the ' Body of the law of the Great Enlightened,' i. e. Buddha. The word Dai or 'great' means to contain in; Ho, or 'square/ means rules; Ko or 'wide/ means to extend to. The one and true Dharma-kaya (' law- body ') lengthwise contains in it the three states of existence, and crosswise extends to the tea directions. It is free from untruth, so that it is called Dai-ho-ko, 'great-square-wide,' i. e. Maha-vaipulya, or 'great largeness.' Buddha understood this truth, by his wisdom and preached it just as he knew. This is the Ke-gon-gyo, or the ' flower-adornment -sutra,' i. e. Avata??^saka-sutra, or 'garland -book.' The Ke- gon or 'garland ' is a comparison. The thirty-four 64 KE-GON-SHU. cliaplers' preached in the eeveii places and eiglit assemhlies contain nothing but those in which Bud- dlia became enliglitened, just as a garland is made up beautiful by coll cting immeasurably excellent flowers. Therefore the Sutra is called the Dai-lio- l<o-butsu-ke-gon-gyo, i. e. the SSutra of Buddha's garland of great largeness.' (b) The division of the Five Doctrines (Go-kyo). As we have seen already, Buddha preached the perfect Sutra in the second week after his enlighten^ ment. But those of weak intellect, such as Siivi- piitra and Maudgalyayana were like deaf and dumb people, and nnable to understand even a word. Ac- cordingly Buddha preached the doclrine of Hina- yana(' small vehicle') with gvod means. He expla- ined the four truths (Shi-tai) to the 6'ravakas (Sho- mon), and the twelve chains of causation (Ju-ni- innen) to the Pratyekabuddhas (En-gaku). He also spoke of a long practice for three Asa?7zkhya or ' countless ' kalpas to the Bodhisattvas (Bo-satsu) of small intellect. This is only the means of calling in those of weak understanding, just as if it were to make a mirage appear in the space of three hundred Yo^anas in order to attract the people to one's own purpose. This is the first of the fi\e doctrines, characterised as ' small ness.' The second doctrine is described as ' the beginning' (Shi). This is the doctrine which Buddha taught KE-GON-SHU. 65 to those who had just entered the Mahayana, coming out from the Hinayaiia.