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Occasionally there may be one or more earnest and pious people who see that a performance of the ceremony is arranged for. The date for the feast is announced in plenty of time by the posting up of big yellow placards. People are urged to send in lists of all who may have died by drowning, murder, or other accident. Likewise, a request is sent out for money or other gifts. Great preparations are made for the feast. The city’s butcher-shops are often officially ordered to stop all slaughter and sale of meat. People are urged to fast (i. e., to refrain from partaking of all kinds of animal food). Along the river-banks great figures made of paper are set up, representing the gracious bodhisattvas of the lower world, Ti-ts‘ang, Kuan-yin, the “earth gods”’ of the place, and so on. Terrifying images of animals, whole rows of devil-hangmen from the lower world, with Tung-yii and Yen-lo at their head, as well as scenes of horror from the torture- chambers of hell are all represented, made of coloured paper, stretched ingeniously on bamboo sticks. The chief preparations are made on some open place, usually near a pond or a river. There terrace-like altars are set up, filled with incense burners, jars with flowers, inscribed pennants which flutter in the breeze, [94] MASSES FOR THE DEAD etc. Near the altar is placed a large house of paper, divided into five rooms. In the centre room stand two paper figures of the famous Yin-yang Ssu (2% #4), who conducts souls from this world into the other. He is represented with one side of his face white, the other black, for he is supposed to have access both to the land of the living and of the dead. The side rooms are supposed to be waiting-rooms for men and women, respectively, who are on their way to deliverance. In smaller paper houses stand figures which give out food and clothes to the hungry and freezing spirits. There are also thirty-six shops, where the spirits can provide themselves with all necessities. Money, con- sisting of stamped paper notes and imitation silver and gold bars, is sent over to the dead in immense quantities; this is burned. The other world is then notified that the ceremony is about to begin, by the burning of a large paper pen- nant. At the same time a paper horseman and horse are burned. This is the herald, who hurries off with the inscription to the land of the dead. Then begins the mass. Long sutras are read, often accompanied by the most ear-splitting music. Offer- ings of food, rice, tea, small cakes, etc., are set out. This is a very important part of the performance, really a sacramental act. Only monks with long practice can perform in a perfect way all the finger manipulations, the gracious sprinkling of water, and the throwing out of rice grains, etc., in connection with this ceremony. If there is a pond in the neighbourhood [95] TRUTH AND TRADITION IN BUDDHISM a small bridge is built over it. A priest stands with papers in his hand, and deals them out liberally to all the “poor people’? who are thought to be passing over the bridge of death. The papers are handed to the priest on the other side, who then burns them. Up on the central stage (the three-storey altar) stand a whole staff of Buddhist monks, who in long-drawn- out and high-pitched tones, chant the scripture and play musical instruments. The leading monk stands between two others on the central platform, holding an ivory staff in his hand. On the lowest platform stand five monks, who are especially occupied with the chanting. By the tones of the music, one who is initiated into the mystery will understand how far they have got in the advancing process of redemption. He will know when that great moment comes when they have “broken into hades” (p‘o-liao ti-yii, # J Hs ix), and when the way has been opened to the great pool of blood where the deeply sunk souls of women are specially tortured (p‘o-liao hsiieh-hu, # JT iff Wi). He will be able to follow the further development, as the saving procession presses in through the barred torture- chambers, and be present when the burst of triumph at the end announces the great victory. It is mid- night when these notes of victory are sounded. Then everything ceases at one stroke, for from that moment all things begin to move forward towards the dawn and daylight! The book which is especially connected with this ceremony is “The Ullambana Scripture’? (Chinese: [96] MASSES FOR THE DEAD ¢Yii-lan-p‘én Ching,” ih Ba 7 #), which we shall come back to later. It is said to have been translated into Chinese by Dharmarakcha (265-316). The ordinary Kuei Chieh, “ Feast of the Spirits”’ is held more regularly on the fifteenth of the seventh month. Then in the warm, late summer evenings one often sees a beautiful sight along the river-banks. A similar display of paper houses and figures, altars, and incense burners is set out, only smaller in size. Quite characteristic, also, is the setting afloat of small “candle boats” on the river. A candle is cleverly fastened on a piece of wood, and surrounded by coloured paper. As these hundreds and thousands of twinkling “candle boats’ drift down the stream in the still summer night, they turn one’s thoughts into solemn religious channels. One cannot but think of the many unfortunates who every year are drowned or killed in some other way along China’s many rivers and highways. Buddhism has made a remarkable impression upon the religious life of China, by means of these annual “spirit festivals,” and the realistic presentation of the horrors of perdition and the certainty of retribution; but perhaps most of all by means of the great masses for the dead. Through these things it causes this people, naturally a rather materialistic race, to stop = for a time in their restless chase after the things of 2 this life, and think of that life which is to come, and eof their sacred duty towards the needy. In contrast to the other festivals, there is much greater solemnity about the feasts on the birthdays of [97] ig TRUTH AND TRADITION IN BUDDHISM the great bodhisattvas. It is not common at that time to allow theatrical performances. We have already briefly described the masses for the dead where one, three, five, or ten monks take part. It remains now to describe the special performances which take place in the large temples and monasteries, for the release and redemption of more or less definite groups of the departed. These performances may be on behalf of one family or one individual, of some especially afflicted section of the country, of the whole land, or of all lost souls “‘ within the four seas.” In order to set this cumbersome machinery in mo- tion, the monasteries often make an appeal to the sympathies of well-to-do men and women, and these benefactors are memorialized with laudatory phrases written on decorative scrolls and tablets. If, however, the monastery is a rich one with large resources in land, they arrange the whole thing at their own expense. One cannot get away from the fact that in spite of all the “commercial spirit” and greed, in spite of the very stilted form and outward fuss of the performance, there are nevertheless many of the monks and their lay helpers who are fired by real spiritual zeal. A spirit of deep sympathy and fellowship in suffering is felt by them, both during the time of preparation and during the conduct of the mass itself. This was evidenced during the last terrible war which laid waste Europe and made itself felt to the uttermost parts of the earth. When the Buddhist monks in China read the newspapers and saw day after day telegrams giving news of the most terrible death rolls on all fronts, they [98] MASSES FOR THE DEAD decided on their own accord to hold special masses for the souls of those who had fallen in Europe. “For,” they said, “‘we see the kingdom of the dead filled with harried spirits from the field of battle, and something extra must be done for them.” The common form for these great performances in the temples is the well-known “Shui-lu tao-chang”’ (OK 38 3%), that is to say, “masses for the souls on sea and land.” It is reckoned in the temples that at least a thousand Chinese dollars is necessary to hold even a very modest “sea and land mass.”’ Enormous quantities of dishes with fruits and vegetables must be prepared. Rolls of silk and paper and other materials must be made ready. Immense quantities of paper objects, great heaps of paper money, etc., are required. At these times, one finds a number of the rooms in the second storey of the temple, which ordinarily stand empty, transformed into the most wonderful outfitting shops. Wall scrolls and banners inscribed with the finest quotations from the holy writings are found on all sides, and a great host of monks, often under the personal leadership of the abbot, take part in the masses. Part of the mass takes the form of a procession, when the monks pass in long rows from room to room. The mass goes on from sunset till midnight. Then suddenly everything is silent and still. The per- formance continues for a week, and sometimes even longer, especially in the “‘ Pure Land’’ School, where every year they hold a “seven times seven” mass forty-nine days and one closing day of solemn feasting. [99] TRUTH AND TRADITION IN BUDDHISM The most beautiful and really also the most affecting form of this labour of love for the redemption of lost souls in hades, is, however, associated with a simpler ceremony. This goes on in certain temples and monasteries quite regularly, in others ceaselessly, night and day.