English
This great, and in its own way remarkable, book, gives a very complete account of the anguish of perdi- tion and hades, as well as of the process of salvation as it is accomplished through endless kalpas, by Ti- ts‘ang, the compassionate bodhisattva of the lower world. There is much internal evidence to sustain the sup- position that the book dates among the latest sutras in the Chinese Tripitaka. This can be seen not least in the true Chinese colouring and the greatly developed [118] MASSES FOR THE DEAD hell-apparatus which is portrayed. Moreover, each section closes with a strong appeal to all good men and women to take part in building pagodas, images of Buddha, and temples, and to bring their offerings thither in the form of incense, paper money, etc. In brief, the “business atmosphere” appears very strongly. There are also parts of great beauty, however; as, for example, the description of the great scene when Buddha calls together all the dignitaries of heaven, together with the officials of the world and the lower regions, myriads of princely spirits and shining Buddha forms, gleaming white as the “snows of the Hi- malayas,’’ countless in number as “flying dust motes,” together with the multitudinous lost souls of hell. The different qualities are portrayed in the different tones of light and shade, and there is laid bare a panorama of the most fantastic character. Ti-ts‘ang’s great mission to hades gets its solemn authorization from Buddha himself in the following manner: It is recorded as a dialogue with Wén-shu (XX 7%) (Sanskrit: Manjusri), the bodhisattva of wisdom. Buddha gives his friend a glimpse into the future, and the latter asks, “‘ Who are all this great multitude?” Buddha answers: “This is the assembly of all those whom Ti-ts‘ang, the great bodhisattva has, through endless kalpas, brought to redemption (i-tu, E FE), those who are now in the process of salvation (tang-tu, a ye), and those who shall be saved in the future (wel- tu, # B).” [119] TRUTH AND TRADITION IN BUDDHISM Further on in the book an account is given of how Ti-ts‘ang happened to hit upon the idea of offering himself for the redemption of the Universe. He saw before him, in a vision the “all-embracing master,” who in a moment had acquired full knowledge of both the present and the future. Looking upon the noble and shining countenance of this Buddha, he was seized with an earnest desire to be like him. On asking what he should do to reach this point, the “all-embracing master” answered: ‘If you wish to reach this state of enlightenment you must through endlessly long periods of time help the many unfortunate creatures in hell to attain salvation.” Then it was that Ti- ts‘ang took the great vow: “In all the future days, through uncounted kalpas, I will apply myself to practising the various methods of salvation on behalf of all the unfortunate creatures who are in the dif- ferent stages of transmigration of wandering spirits. Until I have freed them all, I will not myself enter into the dignity of Buddhahood.” Under various names and characters Ti-ts‘ang now appears throughout the book as one who “exemplifies the most varied methods of saving the perishing.” One very common method is by preaching. It can be said, in a way, that he “established a work of preach- ing’ down in hades. He takes over the réle of Vairocana. There seems to be unmistakable influence here from the teaching and rites of the Nestorian Church. 10f. the clause in our creed **He descended into hell,” found in 1 Peter 3:19, 20 and 4:6. [120] MASSES FOR THE DEAD _ In several of the later sections of the book, Ti-ts‘ang appears also as teacher. There is, for example, the scene where the “holy mother” (Buddha’s mother, Maya, }if 3S in Chinese) asks Ti-ts‘ang to tell her what are the conditions down there in hades, for the people of Asia especially. In his answer, Ti-ts‘ang gives an account of the eternal law of recompense and the horrors of the punishment in hell. **¢This is the state of affairs in southern Asia, with regard to the recompense for sin,’ he says. ‘There are children who are disobedient to their parents even up to the point of killing their father and mother, and who therefore must sink down into that hell where the pangs have no relief and whence through countless kalpas they can never escape. *‘¢There are others who pierce Buddha’s messengers on the earth. Still others who speak with scorn of the three holy values, and have no reverence for the holy scriptures. All these must sink down to that hell where there is no cessation of anguish and whence through endless kalpas there is no escape. Or there may be people who devastate and destroy the holy collections of scriptures, who dishonour monks or nuns, or in the monastery buildings give themselves up to the lusts of the flesh, killing and hurting. All these must sink down into that hell where the pangs have no relief and whence, through countless kalpas, they can never escape. “¢Or there may be people who have become Buddhist monks under false pretences, for in their hearts they are not monks, and therefore misuse the monasteries, [121] TRUTH AND TRADITION IN BUDDHISM harass and deceive the laity, and commit all sorts of evil. These all must sink down to that hell where there is no cessation of anguish and from which, through endless kalpas, there is no chance of escape. ‘¢The people who have become guilty of any of these crimes must sink down into the five different hells where pain has no cessation, and where not even for a moment is there any relief in the anguish.’ ‘‘Once more the woman Maya spoke and asked Ti-ts‘ang: ‘Why are these places called the “endless hells”’ ?’ “Ti-ts‘ang said: ‘Holy mother, with regard to the various hells, there are eighteen large hells within the “Tron-Encircled Mountain” (‘T‘ieh-wei Shan, & EJ 11). Besides these, there are five hundred smaller ones, all with different names. In addition there are one thousand more, one hundredth part of the others in size, all with different names. In the large hells, there are great cities of eighty thousand li in circumference. The cities are entirely built of iron, with an iron wall that is ten thousand li high. From this wall there blazes up a mass of fire. Everywhere flames can be seen. In the centre of this city all the divisions of hell come together, each with hisown name. In the innermost circle is the “endless hell,’ eighteen thou- sand li in circumference and with a wall ten thousand li in height." “<Hverything is of iron, with tongues of flame which dart up and out on all sides. There are iron snakes 1The picture is taken from the ancient Chinese cities, where there often was an inner city, also surrounded by a wall. One li is about one-half of a kilometre, or one-third of an English mile. [122] MASSES FOR THE DEAD and iron dogs, from whose mouths dart tongues of fire. They reached out greedily after their victims and are in a ceaseless hurrying chase to east and west. In the middle of this hell is arranged an endless row of iron beds and on each bed one sees portrayed the various pains which the unhappy sinners must undergo. All see their own punishments clearly before their eyes. There are hundreds and thousands of hideous devil- hangmen with teeth as long and sharp as swords. Their eyes gleam like flashes of lightning. Their hands are changed to copper claws with which they seize their victims and hurry them off. There are other devils who carry long spears with which they bore through people, either piercing through mouth and nose, or through stomach and back, now casting them up in the air, now catching them again on the point of the lifted spear. ¢There are iron eagles, which pick out the eyes of sinners, and iron snakes which coil themselves round their necks. Every joint in the body is spiked through with iron nails. The tongue is drawn out, and the victim is pulled about by it, like a draught animal. The bowels are drawn out and hewn in pieces. Melted copper is poured down their throats, and glowing bits of iron are laid over their bodies. They die and live again in ceaseless torment, with new pains and tortures.’”’ From this nerve-racking description of the punish- ments of hell, it is a relief to come to more quiet and peaceful matters in the second section of the book which paints the “great meeting of the saved.” [123] TRUTH AND TRADITION IN BUDDHISM Here it is told how Ti-ts‘ang, like a true bodhisattva, has “divided his body,” i. e., incarnated himself in various kinds of beings in order to save men (Chinese: fén-shén, 4 JF). A translation runs as follows: *‘ At that time those beings who had seen saved from perdition, thanks to the compassionate heart of Tathagata (Ju-lai, a 28), met together with Ti-ts‘ang in the Tao-li heaven for a great assembly. In every section there were countless millions, They all came with incense and flowers, which they offered before the face of Buddha. These multitudes who now flocked around Ti-ts‘ang before the throne, never again need return to evil; for they have attained the highest and most all-embracing wisdom. These multitudes who have passed through endless kalpas of birth and death, birth and death, and have wandered through the two regions of pain, now stand in the Tao-liheaven (J) #) ®) with the proof of experience, for Ti-ts‘ang’s solemn pledges and his great all-embracing mercy have proved themselves effective. After having attained this place, their hearts are filled with the most unspeakable joy. “Now without turning away their eyes for a moment, they look up to Ju-lai, with holy veneration.