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It is the reading of those portions of the scriptures which are especially connected with the “saviour of the lower world,” the great and radiant bodhisattva Ti-ts‘ang (i 3%). As there is much of special interest connected with him, we must accord him special attention. In the larger mon- asteries one often finds a special hall in his honour. Where they have not this, usually a small enclosure is partitioned off the main hall, where his image with an altar and an uncommonly big bell are placed. Oc- casionally this arrangement is found up in the tower, which then becomes a prayer tower. Often a little image of Ti-ts‘ang is placed just under the bell. Monks take it in turn to sit before this image and read the scriptures in a low voice, at certain intervals pulling a cord. This cord is connected with a wooden ram and every time the cord is pulled the ram strikes the bell with great force (Yu-ming chung, ly & #, the bell before the gloomy valley) and a deep long boom resounds through the rooms and out into the night. Many of these bells are exceedingly old. It is a mystery how the ancients were able to cast these colossal things, and get such deep, strong tones, so indescribably full of feeling and beauty. Only one who has lain awake and listened to the regular boom in a monastery in the small hours of the night can [100] MASSES FOR THE DEAD form any conception of the weirdly solemn, and yet indescribably reverent feeling which these simple “night masses”’ before the image of Ti-ts‘ang give one. it is no wonder that in Buddhist verse and poetry, the *‘sound of the bell, which quaveringly rings out in the darkness of night” has become one of the most com- monly used symbols for the deeper connection between human life and the “land of shadows.” The long, deep tone, lasting for one minute or more, is certainly well adapted to carry the thought of prayer and sympathy over to the other world. We have already mentioned the “mystical mantra scriptures,” which in the time of Amogha entered into the fabric of the masses for the dead. Later they developed on Chinese soil in a still wilder and more fantastic manner and the more serious-minded and careful monks have therefore a certain hesitancy about using them. Many of these serious Buddhist monks will have nothing whatever to do with official masses. Some of them on principle will not take part in any of these things, especially if there is an element of << busi- ness’ or financial speculation in it. They prefer to live in great poverty and devote themselves to medita- tion and the study of the scriptures, for they feel that it is difficult to preserve a ‘‘clean escutcheon” if they are mixed up with the questionable practices connected with the masses for the dead. The greater number of the monks, however, take part, and a few with particularly good voices and with a special inclination towards the melancholy, can carry the business to great lengths. [101] TRUTH AND TRADITION IN BUDDHISM The topmost point is reached by those who are really artists, in the special ‘ceremony of redemption,” which the Chinese call “fang yen-k‘ou (fk # 1); filling the hungry mouths. It is here that the “mystic mantras”’ have reached their climax in China. We shall therefore give a description of this ceremony. The technique and theory of this system has not yet been thoroughly investigated by any sinologue. We hope to come back to it later in a special detailed treatment.! This ceremony can also be “ordered” by grief- stricken people who wish to help their dear departed ones. ‘There are often, too, philanthropic people or those who wish to acquire special merit, who hire a little band of especially trained monks to perform this mass which usually takes three evenings or more. This may take place in the temple hall, or preferably in one of the side rooms. On an improvised platform sit the three leading monks before a large table. They are placed on specially constructed seats, and sit with their legs crossed under them, like living Buddha images. It is an important point that these three: shall represent the triune Buddha: Sakyamuni, the Buddhist doctrine, and the society. Naturally the central figure is the most important, as he represents Buddha himself. These three men must have a good ear, good singing voices, and must possess great 1There is much which reminds one of the holy pantomimes in the ancient church, in which the victims in purgatory were led forth to paradise, [102] MASSES FOR THE DEAD | dexterity of fingers, for, as we shall see, the fingers and hand movements play an important part. In front of these three, but lower down, sit the assistants. These are monks who join in the mass, with verses of song, and with musical instruments. There are, as a rule, four on each side of the oblong table. If they are well-trained monks they can recite the enormously long text of the mass, page after page, from memory. In case they are uncertain of the text, they have the book on the table before them. The scene begins with a fanfare of musical instru- ments. A little bell is rung, and then the “living Buddha” begins to sing the first verses of the mass in an endlessly long chant. Dressed in an especially beautiful costume with an arrangement resembling a halo round his head, he sings his verses with solemn and impressive expression. It is a high-pitched lament of woe over the hungering, thirsting, and freezing gouls, which flit about the gloomy chambers of the underworld, but it contains also a happy promise of redemption to be obtained through the compassionate Buddhas. Here the instrumental music strikes in. There is a perfect storm of tumultuous shouting and violent music, which is intended to burst open the doors of hell. One can see by the expressions of the three leaders that it is a serious business. Their counte- nances stiffen into a grim and iron-hard expression, and their hands, which now come into action, are clenched as if fora blow. With a loud knock on the table with [103] TRUTH AND TRADITION IN BUDDHISM a thick wooden implement, the “living Buddha” announces that the doors are opened. The second act is introduced by the ringing of a bell. One hears in the tones of the chant that the first shadowy vales of hades are passed. What is of Special interest in the succeeding acts is the hand and finger movements. Long and careful practice lies behind these manipulations and genuflections. Hand- books with illustrations of these movements are studied by generation after generation. Several of these books are before me as I write these lines and I recognize the - positions of the fingers, etc., as I have seen them many times while standing by, watching the monks during the conduct of this strange service. There is something hypnotic about the whole affair and one has a peculiarly unpleasant sensation as the performance proceeds, for in a remarkable way the practised monks bring out the various torments and terrors of hell through these movements of the hands: one sees the bound, the savage, the tortured; the glimmering tongues of fire and ice-cold showers of rain, the brutal scorn and dull self-abandonment of the lost souls. But in the midst of all these woes the presiding monks will begin the sacramental act of filling the burning (hungry and thirsty) mouths of the wandering spirits: the sprinkling of the water from the jar of the merciful Kuan-yin, the distribution of rice from the blessed bowl of Sakyamuni, the waving motion of the blessed lotus in the hand of Ta-shih-chih, the consoling sight of the golden tower in the hand of O-mi-t‘o Fu. [104] VAIROCANA : | a "s vasceen THE DEAD By these functions rays of hope steal in. One sees in the position of the fingers a pagoda rising up, one _ feels that one is led in through open temple doors, _ “Buddhas” acquire something of exalted repose and _ the light of great pity in their expressions. After the many scenes of frenzied despair which brought the paleness of fright into their faces to such a degree that drops of sweat ran from their foreheads, it is a great relief to come to these quiet and peaceful parts of the ceremony. There is, indeed, art and solemn earnestness in this ceremony, but it escapes into black magic and animistic exorcism. It is therefore quire natural that the more spiritual monks and the profound thinkers within the Buddhist society keep out of it, but for the many who have sunk so low as to take the whole business more or less as a means of making a living, this ceremony for “filling the hungry mouths” is a splendid source of income. Before we go on to further description of the central bodhisattva of these masses for the dead, Ti-ts‘ang (48 38), we shall very briefly describe another Buddha figure who has left his mark on the historical develop- ment of the masses for the dead. This is the famous Vairocana (Chinese: P‘i-lu-ché-na, FB Et w& #, or merely P‘i-lu, Hf i). According to the classic account, he belongs to the threefold incarnation of Buddha [105] TRUTH AND TRADITION IN BUDDHISM (Trikaya). As is well known, there are several ex- planations of this. We confine ourselves to that explanation which has quite finally been adopted by the great “interpreters of the law” (Fa-shih, 1: fifi) in the Buddhist society in China, namely, that Vairocana is the incarnation of Buddha’s law or doctrine (dharma; Chinese; fa, 7%). His image, therefore, is always found in the places where the law is to be proclaimed. Corresponding to Vairocana, one has also the other Buddha type which represents the society or the association of monks grouped in a monastery (sangha; Chinese: séng, {f).