Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch Volume III Part 45

The Klacakra is mentioned as a special form of this cosmic wheel having six spokes[1027].

The peculiar doctrine of the Buddhist Klacakra is that there is an Adi-Buddha[1028], or primordial Buddha G.o.d, from whom all other Buddhas are derived. It is possible that it represents a last effort of Central Asian Buddhism to contend with Moslims, which instead of denying the bases of Mohammed's teaching tried to show that monotheism (like everything else) could be found in Buddhism--a method of argument frequent in India. The doctrine of the Adi-Buddha was not however new or really important. For the Indian mind it is implied in the dogma of the three bodies of Buddha, for the Sambhogakya is practically an Indian Deva and the Dharmakya is the pantheos or Brahm. Under the influence of the Klacakra the Lamas did not become theists in the sense of wors.h.i.+pping one supreme G.o.d but they identified with the Adi-Buddha some particular deity, varying according to the sects. Thus Samantabhadra, who usually ranks as a Bodhisattva--that is as inferior to a Buddha--was selected by some for the honour. The logic of this is hard to explain but it is clearly a.n.a.logous to the procedure, common to the oldest and newest phases of Hindu religion, by which a special deity is declared to be not only all the other G.o.ds but also the universal spirit[1029]. It does not appear that the Klacakra Tantra met with general acceptance. It is unknown in China and j.a.pan and not well known in Nepal[1030].

The Klacakra adopted all the extravagances of the Tantras and provided the princ.i.p.al Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with spouses, even giving one to the Adi-Buddha himself[1031]. Extraordinary as this is from a Buddhist point of view, it is little more than the Hindu idea that the Supreme Being became male and female for the purpose of producing the universe. But the general effect of the system on monastic and religious life was bad. Celibacy was not observed; morals, discipline and doctrine alike deteriorated. A striking instance is afforded by the ceremonies used by Pagspa when receiving Kublai into the Church. The Tibetan prelate presumably wished to give the Emperor what was best and most important in his creed and selected a formula for invoking a demoniac Buddha.

The latest phase of Lamaism was inaugurated by Tsong-kha-pa's reformation and is still vigorous. Politically and socially it was of capital importance, for it disciplined the priesthood and enabled the heads of the Church to rule Tibet. In doctrine it was not marked by the importation of new ideas, but it emphasized the wors.h.i.+p of Avalokita as the patron of Tibet, it systematized the existing beliefs about reincarnation, thereby creating a powerful hierarchy, and it restricted Tantrism, without abolis.h.i.+ng it. But many monasteries persistently refused to accept these reforms.

Tibetan mythology and ceremonial have been described in detail by Grnwedel, Waddell and others. The pantheon is probably the largest in the world. All heaven and h.e.l.l seem to meet in it. The originals of the deities are nearly all to be found in Nepalese Buddhism[1032] and the perplexing multiplicity of Tibet is chiefly due to the habit of representing one deity in many forms and aspects, thus making him a dozen or more personages both for art and for popular wors.h.i.+p. The adoration of saints and their images is also more developed than in Nepal and forms some counterpoise to the prevalent demonolatry.

I will not attempt to catalogue this fantastic host but will merely notice the princ.i.p.al elements in it.

The first of these may be called early Buddhist. The figure of Skyamuni is frequent in poses which ill.u.s.trate the familiar story of his life and the statue in the cathedral of Lhasa representing him as a young man is the most venerated image in all Tibet. The human Buddhas anterior to him also receive recognition together with Maitreya. The Pratimoksha is still known, the Uposatha days are observed and the details of the ordination services recall the prescriptions of the Pali Vinaya; formul such as the four truths, the eightfold path and the chain of causation are still in use and form the basis of ethics.

The later (but still not tantric) doctrines of Indian Mahayanism are naturally prominent. The three bodies of Buddha are well known and also the series of five Celestial Buddhas with corresponding Bodhisattvas and other manifestations. I feel doubtful whether the table given by Waddell[1033] can be accepted as a compendium of the Lamaist creed. The symmetry is spoiled by the existence of other groups such as the Thirty Buddhas, the Thousand Buddhas, and the Buddhas of Healing, and also by the habit just mentioned of representing deities in various forms. For instance Amoghapsa, theoretically a form of Avalokita, is in practice distinct. The fact is that Lamaism accepted the whole host of Indian Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, with additions of its own. The cla.s.sifications made by various stras and tantras were not sufficiently dogmatic to become articles of faith: chance and fancy determined the prominence and popularity of a given figure. Among the Buddhas those most wors.h.i.+pped are Amitbha, Skya and Bhaishajyaguru or the Buddha of Healing: among the Bodhisattvas, Avalokita, Maitreya and Majusr.

There is nothing in the above differing materially from Chinese or j.a.panese Buddhism. The peculiarities of Tibet are brought out by the tantric phase which those countries eschewed. Three characteristics of Tibetan Tantrism, which are all more or less Indian, may be mentioned.

Firstly, all deities, even the most august, become familiar spirits, who are not so much wors.h.i.+pped as coerced by spells. The neophyte is initiated into their mysteries by a special ceremonial[1034]: the adept can summon them, a.s.sume their attributes and attain union with them. Secondly, great prominence is given to G.o.ddesses, either as the counterparts of male deities or as independent. Thirdly, deities appear in various forms, described as mild, angry or fiendish. It is specially characteristic of Lamaism that naturally benevolent deities are represented as raging in furious frenzy.

Whether the superhuman beings of Tantrism are Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or Hindu G.o.ds like Mahkala, it is correct to describe them as deities, for they behave and are treated like Indian Devas. Besides the relatively old and simple forms of the various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, there are many others which are usually accommodated to the system by being described as protecting spirits, that is virtuous and religious fiends who expend their ferocity on the enemies of the Church.

Of these Protectors there are two cla.s.ses, which are not mutually exclusive, namely, the tutelary deities of individuals, and the defenders of the faith or tutelaries of the whole Church. The former, who are extremely important in the religious life of the Lamas, are called Yi-dam and may be compared with the Isht?a-devats of the Hindus: the latter or Chos Skyon? correspond to the Dharmaplas.

Every Lama selects a Yi-dam either for life or for a period. His choice must remain a secret but he himself has no doubts, as after fasting and meditation the deity will appear to him[1035]. Henceforth he every morning repeats formul which are supposed to give him the appearance of his tutelary and thus scare away hostile demons. The most efficacious tutelaries are tantric forms of the Dhyni Buddhas, especially Vajrasattva, Vajradhara and Amityus. The deity is represented not in the guise of a Buddha but crowned, robed, and holding a thunderbolt, and his attributes appear to be derived from those of Indra[1036]. In his arms he always clasps a Sakti.

A second cla.s.s of tutelaries is composed of so-called Buddhas, accompanied by Saktis and terrific in aspect, who are manifestations of the Buddhahood for special purposes. I do not know if this description is theologically correct, for these fantastic figures have no relation to anything deserving the name of Buddhism, but Grnwedel[1037] has shown that they are comparable with the various forms of Siva. This G.o.d does not become incarnate like Vishnu but manifests himself from time to time in many shapes accompanied by a retinue who are sometimes merely attendants and sometimes alternative forms of the Lord. Vrabhadra, the terrible being created by Siva from himself in order to confound Daksha's sacrifice, is a close parallel to the demoniac Buddhas of Lamaism. Some of them, such as Mahkla and Samvara, show their origin in their names and the rest, such as Hevajra, Buddhakapla and Yamntaka, are similar. This last is a common subject for art, a many headed and many limbed minotaur, convulsed by a paroxysm of devilish pa.s.sion. Among his heads the most conspicuous is the face of an ox, yet this grotesque demon is regarded as a manifestation of the benign and intellectual Majusri whose images in other lands are among the most gracious products of Buddhist sculpture.

Most tutelary deities of this cla.s.s act as defenders of the faith and each sect has one or two as its special guardians[1038]. The idea is ancient for even in the Pitakas, Sakka and other spirits respectfully protect the Buddha's disciples, and the Dharmaplas of Gandharan art are the ancestors of the Chos Skyon?. But in Tibet these a.s.sume monstrous and manifold disguises. The oldest is Vajrapn?i and nearly all the others are forms of Siva (such as Acala or Mi-gyo-ba who reappears in j.a.pan as Fudo) or personages of his retinue. Eight of them are often adored collectively under the name of the Eight Terrible Ones. Several of these are well-known figures in Hindu mythology, for though the Lamas usually give Buddhist t.i.tles to their princ.i.p.al deities, yet they also venerate Hindu G.o.ds, without any explanation of their status. Thus hJigs-med-nam-mkha says that he composed his history with the help of Siva[1039]. The members of this group vary in different enumerations but the following usually form part of it.

(_a_) Hayagrva[1040], the horse-necked G.o.d. In India he appears to be connected with Vishnu rather than Siva. The magic dagger with which Lamas believe they can stab demons is said to be a form of him. The Mongols regard him as the protector of horses. (_b_) Yama, the Indian G.o.d of the dead, accompanied by a h.e.l.lish retinue including living skeletons. (_c_) Mahkla, the form of Siva already mentioned. It was by his inspiration that Pagspa was able to convert Khubilai Khan.

(_d_) Lha-mo, the G.o.ddess, that is Dev, the spouse of Siva. (_e_) lCam-sran?, a war G.o.d of somewhat uncertain origin but perhaps a Tibetan form of Krtikeya. Other deities frequently included in this group are Yamntaka, mentioned above, Kubera or Vaisravana, the Hindu G.o.d of wealth, and a deity called the White Brahm (Thsangspa dKarpo). This last is an ordinary human figure riding on a white horse and brandis.h.i.+ng a sword. He wears white clothes and a crown or turban.

He is perhaps Kalk who, as suggested above, had some connection with the Klacakra. The Eight Terrible Ones and their attendants are represented by grotesquely masked figures in the dances and mystery plays enacted by Lamas. These performances are said to be still known among the vulgar as dances of the Red Tiger Devil, but in the hands of the Yellow Church have become a historical drama representing the persecution of Buddhism under King Lang-dar-ma and its ultimate triumph after he has been slain by the help of these ghostly champions.

Lamaist books mention numerous other Indian divinities, such as Brahm, the thirty-three Devas, the Kings of the four quarters, etc.

These have no particular place in the system but their appearance in art and literature is natural, since they are decorative though not essential parts of early Buddhism. The same may be said of all the host of Ngas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, etc. But though these mult.i.tudinous spirits have been rearranged and cla.s.sified in conformity with Hindu ideas they are not an importation but rather part of the old folklore of Tibet, in many ways identical with the same stratum of thought in India. Thus the snake demiG.o.ds or Ngas[1041] occupy in both countries a large place in the popular imagination. In the higher ranks of the Lamaist pantheon all the figures seem to be imported, but some indigenous G.o.dlings have retained a place in the lower cla.s.ses. Such are rDo-rje-legs, at first an opponent of Buddhism as preached by Padma-Sambhava but honoured as a deity after making due submission, and the Five Kings[1042], a group of fierce spirits, under the presidency of dPe-dkar.

It remains to say a word of the numerous G.o.ddesses who play an important part in Tibetan Buddhism, as in Hindu Tantrism. They are usually represented as the female counterparts or better halves of male deities, but some are self-sufficient. The greatest of these G.o.ddesses is Tr[1043]. Though Lamaist theology describes her as the spouse of Avalokita she is not a single personality but a generic name applied to a whole cla.s.s of female deities and, as in many other cases, no clear distinction is drawn between her attendants and the forms which she herself a.s.sumes. Originally benevolent and depicted with the attributes of Lakshm she is transformed by a turn of Tibetan imagination, with which the reader is now familiar, into various terrible shapes and is practically the same as the spouse of Siva, celebrated in the Tantras under countless names. Twenty-one Trs are often enumerated in a list said to be well known even to the laity[1044] and there are others.

Among them are (_a_) the Green Tr, the commonest form in Tibet. (_b_) The White Tr, much wors.h.i.+pped by Mongols and supposed to be incarnate in the Tsar of Russia, (_c_) Bhrikut, a dark blue, angry, frowning form, (_d_) Ushn?shavijay[1045], a graceful and benevolent form known to the j.a.panese. She is mentioned in the Horiuji palm-leaf ma.n.u.script which dates from at least 609 A.D. (_e_) Parn?asavar, represented as wearing a girdle of leaves and also called Gandhr, Pisc and Sarva-Savarn?m Bhagavat[1046]. She is apparently the G.o.ddess of an aboriginal tribe in India. (_f_) Kurukull, a G.o.ddess of riches, inhabiting caves. She is said to have given great wealth to the fifth Grand Lama, and though she might be suspected of being a native deity was known in Nepal and India[1047].

The G.o.ddess Marc, often depicted with Tr, appears to be distinct and in one form is represented with a sow's head and known as Vajravarh. As such she is incarnate in the abbesses of several monasteries, particularly Samding on lake Yamdok[1048].

A notice of Tibetan Buddhism can hardly avoid referring to the use of praying wheels and the celebrated formula Om man?i padme hum. Though these are among the most conspicuous and ubiquitous features of Lamaism their origin is strangely obscure[1049]. Attempts to connect the praying wheel with the wheel of the law, the cakravartin and other uses of the wheel in Indian symbolism, are irrelevant, for the object to be explained is not really a wheel but a barrel, large or small, containing written prayers, or even a whole library. Those who turn the barrel acquire all the merit arising from repeating the prayers or reading the books. In Tibet this form of devotion is a national mania. People carry small prayer wheels in their hands as they walk and place large ones in rivers to be turned by the current.

In China, j.a.pan and Korea we find revolving libraries and occasional praying machines, though not of quite the same form as in Tibet[1050], but, so far as I know, there is nothing to show that these were not introduced from Tibet into China and thence found their way further East. The hypothesis that they were known in India and thence exported to Tibet on one side and China on the other naturally suggests itself, but the total absence of praying machines in India as well as in the ruined cities of Central Asia and the general Hindu habit of regarding scriptures and spells as words rather than written doc.u.ments lend it no support. It may be that when the illiterate Tibetans first became acquainted with written prayers, they invented this singular method of utilizing them without reading them.

Equally obscure is the origin of the formula Om man?i padme[1051]

hum, which permeates Tibet, uttered by every human voice, revolved in countless machines, graven on the rocks, printed on flags. It is obviously a Dhran?[1052] and there is no reason to doubt that it came to Tibet with the first introduction of Buddhism, but also no record. The earliest pa.s.sage hitherto quoted for its occurrence is a Chinese translation made between 980 and 1001 A.D.[1053] and said to correspond with the Kanjur and the earliest historical mention of its use is found in Willelm de Rubruk (1254) and in the writings of Bu-ston[1054]. The first legend of its origin is contained in the Manikamb.u.m, a work of doubtful age and authors.h.i.+p but perhaps as old as the fifteenth century[1055]. The popularity of the prayer may date from the time when the pontiffs of Lhasa were recognized as incarnations of Avalokita. The first and last words are mystic syllables such as often occur in these formul. Man?i padme is generally interpreted to mean the jewel in the lotus[1056], but Thomas has pointed out that it is more consonant with grammar and usage to regard the syllables as one word and the vocative of a feminine t.i.tle similar to Padmapn?i, one of Avalokita's many names. The a.n.a.logy of similar spells supports this interpretation and it seems probable that the formula was originally an invocation of the Sakti under the t.i.tle of Man?ipadm, although so far as I know it is now regarded by the Tibetans as an address to the male Avalokita. It has also been suggested that the prominence of this prayer may be due to Manichan influence and the idea that it contained the name of Mani. The suggestion is not absurd for in many instances Manichism and Buddhism were mixed together, but if it were true we should expect to find the formula frequently used in the Tarim basin, but of such use there is no proof.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1012: The s.h.i.+ngon sect in j.a.pan depict benevolent deities in a raging form, Funnu. See Kokka, No. 292, p. 58. The idea goes back to India where the canons of sacred art recognize that deities can be represented in a pacific (snta or saumya) or in a terrific (ugra or raudra) form. See Gopinath Rao, _Hindu Iconography_, vol. I. p. 19, and vol. II of the same for a lengthy description of the aspects of Siva.]

[Footnote 1013: _E.g._ Grnwedel, _Buddhist art in India_, fig. 149, _id. Mythologie_, fig. 54.]

[Footnote 1014: But there is still a hereditary incarnation of Ganesa near Poona, which began in the seventeenth century. See _Asiatic Researches_, VII. 381.]

[Footnote 1015: See Waddell in _J.R.A.S._ 1909, p. 941.]

[Footnote 1016: See _e.g. J.A.S.B._ 1882, p. 41. The Svayambh Purna also states that Majusr lives in China. See _J. Buddhist Text Society_, 1894, vol. II. part II. p. 33.]

[Footnote 1017: See _T'oung Pao_, 1908, p. 13. For the Bn generally see also _J.A.S. Bengal_, 1881, p. 187; Rockhill, _Land of the Lamas_, pp. 217-218; and _T'oung Pao_, 1901, pp. 24-44.]

[Footnote 1018: The Lamas offer burnt sacrifices but it is not quite clear whether these are derived from the Indian _homa_ adopted by Tantric Buddhism or from Tibetan and Mongol ceremonies. See, for a description of this ceremony, _My Life in Mongolia_, by the Bishop of Norwich, pp. 108-114.]

[Footnote 1019: _Mythologie des Buddhismus_, p. 40.]

[Footnote 1020: In Tibetan Dus-kyi-hkhor-lo. Mongol, Tsagun krdn.]

[Footnote 1021: Announced in the _Bibliotheca Buddhica_.]

[Footnote 1022: See Pelliot, _Quelques transcriptions apparentees Cambhala dans les textes Chinois_ (in _T'oung Pao_, vol. XX. 1920, p.

73) for some conjectures. Kulika is translated into Tibetan as Rigs-Ldan. Tibetan texts speak of books coming from Sambhala, see Laufer in _T'oung Pao_, 1913, p. 596.]

[Footnote 1023: See Laufer in _T'oung Pao_, 1907, p. 402. In Sumpa's chronology, _J.A.S. Beng._ p. 46, the reign of a Kulika Emperor seems to be simply a designation for a century.]

[Footnote 1024: See _J.A.S.B._ 82, p. 225. The king is also (but apparently incorrectly) called Candra-Bhadra.]

[Footnote 1025: See Grnwedel, _Mythologie_, p. 41. Sarat Chandra Das in _J.A.S. Beng_. 1882, p. 15, and _J.A.S. Beng_. 1912, p. 21, being reprints of earlier articles by Csoma de Krs.]

[Footnote 1026: See Kalk Purna. Vishnu Purna, IV. XXIV, Bhg. Pur.

XII. ii. 18, and Norman in _Trans. III, Int. Congress Religions_, vol.

II. p. 85. Also Aufrecht, _Cat. Cod. Sansk._ 73A, 84B.]

[Footnote 1027: See Schrader, _Introd. to the Pncartra_, pp. 100-106 and 96.]

[Footnote 1028: See the article "Adi Buddha" by De la Valle Poussin in Hastings' _Encyc. of Religion and Ethics_.]

[Footnote 1029: See, for a modern example of this, the Ganestharvasirshopanishad (Annd srama edition, pp. 11 and 16) Tvam eva sarvam khalvidam Brahmsi ... Tvam Brahm Tvam Vishnus Tvam Rudras Tvam Indras Tvam Agnis Tvam Vyus Tvam Sryas Tvam Candrams Tvam _Brahma_. Here Gan?esa includes all the deities and the Pantheos. There is also a book called Gan?esadarsanam in which the Vedanta stras are rewritten and Gan?esa made equivalent to Brahma. See Madras, _Cat. of Sk. MSS_. 1910-1913, p. 1030.]

[Footnote 1030: It is just mentioned in S. Lvi's _Nepal II_, p. 385, but is not in Rajendralal Mitra's _Catalogue_.]

[Footnote 1031: Waddell, _Buddhism_, p. 131. Pander, _Pantheon_, p.

59, No. 56.]

[Footnote 1032: Nepalese Buddhism knows not only the Dhyni Buddhas, Saktis and Bodhisattvas including Vajrasattva and Vajradhara, but also deities like Hayagrva, Yamntaka, Bhrikut, Marc, Kurukull.

In both Nepal and Tibet are found pictures called Thsogs-sin? in which the deities of the Pantheon (or at least the princ.i.p.al of them) are grouped according to rank. See for an example containing 138 deities the frontispiece of Getty's _G.o.ds of Northern Buddhism_.]

[Footnote 1033: _Buddhism_, pp. 350-1.]

[Footnote 1034: For an outline of the method followed by Tibetans in studying the Tantras, see _Journal Buddhist Text Society_, 1893, vol.

I. part III. pp. 25-6.]