Chinese religion through Hindu eyes; a study in the tendencies of Asiatic mentality

Front matter

Strata. Sieta Qntk

THE GIFT OF

^.Drnell University Library BL 1801.S24

Preface

Neither historically nor philosophically does Asiatic mentality differ from the Eur- American. : It is only after the brilliant successes of a fraction of mankind subsequent to the Industrial Revolution of the last century that the alleged difference between the two mentalities has been first stated and since then grossly exaggerated. At the present day science is being vitiated by pseudo-scientific theories or fancies regarding race, religion, and culture. Such theories were unknown to the world down to the second or third decade of the 19th century.

Comparative Chronology and Comparative History will show that man, as an economic, political and fighting animal, has displayed the same strength and weakness both on the Asian theatre as well as on the extra- Asian.

Comparative Iviterature and Comparative Art will show that man, as "lover, lunatic and poet", has worked upon the same gamut of passions from Homer to Maeterlinck as from the Pharaonic Book of the Dead down to Gitajijali.

Comparative Philosophy and Comparative Metaphysics will show that man, as positivist and mystic, has attacked the "problems of the sphinx" in the selfsame way and with almost similar results under the guidance of intellectuals from Confucius to Swami Vivek-ananda as from Socrates to Bergson.

It has been held generally that the Orient is statical, and that the dynamic doctrine of Change is essentially non-Oriental. Thus, the following verses of Tennyson —

The old order changeth yielding place to new

And God fulfils himself in many ways

Lest one good custom should corrupt the world" are supposed to embody exclusively the spirit of the Occident.

Let us, however, take a bit from the Mind of China, which is the proverbial representative of "the unchanging East," and which, besides, is known to be "sicklied o'er by the pale cast of the Confucian tradition. " Even the Great Sage himself was an advocate of the "new order." The second article in what may be regarded as the

XU PKEFACE

Educational Creed of Confticius is thus worded by Mr. Ku Hung- Ming in his recent translation of the classic Ta Hsueh* :

"The object of a Higher Education is to make a new and better spci,et5r:.(Ut.- peiDple); %,':;-;'.: ' '.■ ;-

,. An old cOm-aientar-y. explains what 'to make a ■ new and better society,' means. : The following is , Mr. Ku's translation of the explanation: ,;,',■ - - .,

,, , ,1. "The Inscription on the Emperor Tang's bath says; ' Be a new man each day, from day to day be a new man, every day be a new-map/ , ; , j ■

\2. . The , Commission of Investiture to, Prince Kang says: ' Create a new Society.' ,.?,,, ■

■ '3.~ The Book of, Song & says: 'Although' the Royal House of Chow was on old state, a, new mission was given to it.' "

The, nature of .the relation between Order and Progress wis also well known to the Hindu thinkers of the Mahabh&rata-aycl^, Their Messianic conception, formulated in the- G&(J-section (6th century B.C. — 2nd century B.C. ) of this literature is pre-,emineritly dynamic. The doctrine of Yugdntdra, i.t. ''transformation of the age-spirit' ' or " revolution in Zeitgeist, ' '. is recorded in the following announcement of lyord Krishna regarding the occasions of His advent into the world of man : ■

"Whensoever into Order ' ' Corruption creeps in, Bharata,

And customs bad ascendant be, ..;

, ' ■ — Then Myself do I embody. •

For the advancement of the good And miscreants to overthrow •< And for setting up_ the Order Do I appear age by' age."

The Hindd' Messiah is Revolution, Progress and Optimism personifiedV His was the .message of Change and Hope. The idea of "God, fulfilling himself in many ways',' is thus neither an Occidental patent nor a modern discovery.

/'Hi^^her Education i't)x&S'has.ghai Metcxixy, X)\.A., Shanghai, 1915). This is one of the four books in the Confucian Bible and has been called The Great il,^a^»z«^ by Dr. Legge in his translation; ' , ' .'

PREFACE Xlll

Comparative Anthropology and Comparative Psycliology will show that man has everywhere and always been fundamentally a beast, aad that beneath a superficial varnish of so-called culture the ape and tiger" hold their majestic sway, — giving rise to superstitions, prejudices, idolas and avidyas under different guises and conventions. The brute-in-man is a fact, — the datum; but the god-in-man is only an idea, — the ideal to be realised.

Comparative Religion and Comparative Mythology will show that man in his desire to have " something afar from the sphere of our sorrow" has everywhere had recourse to the same modus operandi and has achieved the same grand failure which in his vanity he always chooses to call success. It would be found that, after all, divinity is but an invention of human imagination, in fact, the first postulate taken for granted. And on a broad view of all the forces that have inspired and governed elan and activity, some of which are miscalled religion, and some not, man has ever been essentially a pluralist and an idolist.

If anywhere there have been people professing a so-called monotheism in religion, a study of their daily life would indicate that they' have been polytheists with vengeance in every other sphere — indulging in thousand and one varieties, social, economic and political. These varieties which take away the monotony of life and give a zest to it, do not, "pragmatically" speaking, differ in the last analysis from the varied rites and practices underlying a so-called polytheistic faith. What the polytheists call religion, the monotheists call culture. Life demands variety; culture, therefore, is varied. If you abstract a millionth part of this kultur, e.g. , the unverifiable hypothesis of man about God, and choose to call it religion, every race can be proved to be monotheistic. But if you take the total inspiration of a human being or the chart of the whole life that a people lives, mankind has ever been polytheistic.

If, again, anywhere there have been people who have repudiated idols in religion, a study of their heart and feelings, their daily habits, their literary and artistic tastes, would indicate that they are paying the debt to "old Adam" in the shape of hero-worship, souvenir-cult, love-fetishes, "pathetic fallacy," mementos, memorials,

XIV PREFACE

relics, and what not. As formative principles of character, these "charms" are of the same genus as images erected in the temples by those who in their simplicity confess — ' ' We do not understand, we love."

If there is superstition in the one fprm of pluralism and idolism there is equal superstition in the others. These are really "human, all too human." In fact, the greatest and most abiding of all superstitions in world's history has been the human demand for that ambiguous term Religion.

Superstition is nothing but avidya or mdya, i.e., ignorance, rendered perceptible. Emancipation from this has been the highest ideal of man. The prayer of the most ancient Hindu Rishis or "seers" was —

A-sato m& sad-gamaya, Tamaso majyotir-gamaya, Mrityor ma amritam-gamaya.

From the non-existent {i.e. transitory, unreal)

me to the ever-existent {.i.e. permanent, truth, or reality) lead;

From darkness {i.e. ignorance)

me to light (j-e. knowledge) lead ;

From death me to immortality lead.

This has been the prayer of mankind ever since. Knowledge is the only truth — the ever-existent reality — the light — immortality itself. Whether it be called religion or not, man has ever wanted this knowledge — sat, jyoti, amritam.

The modern world congratulates itself on the thought that the Bastille of ignorance was demolished with the Papal Doctrine of Infallibility. The flood of light that was being thrown on worldquestions with the discovery of Sanskrit in the 18th century certainly heralded a new era. And the modern means of communication did really bring world-sense home to seekers of truth. Comparative philology, comparative mythology, and what Maxmuller hesitated to call comparative jurisprudence, were the first fruits, — the Synthetic Philosophy of Herbert Spencer, the Philosophy of History of Hegel, and Comte's Positive Philosophy were genuine attempts in the direction of sat, jyoti and amritam.

PREFACE XV

The holy quest of " enlightenment" is, however, always baffled by M&ras or Tempters. It is probably not given to man to have complete enlightenment at any stage of his history. He trusted God was love indeed And love creation 's final law. ' ' But — " Nature, red in tooth and claw

With ravine, shriek 'd against his creed."

The old avidya has only changed its guise. The guise of the modern idola or superstition has been the dogma : ' ' Nothing succeeds like success." The successful races of the last three generations have been interpreting world-culture and human civilisation from the standpoint of a new "infallibility." This is but the modern version of the mediaeval Romanist theory.

The twentieth century demands a new synthesis, — a fresh " transvaluation of values," and, as prolegomena to that, a New lyOgic. A complete over-hauling of the whole apparatus of thinking is urgently needed to carry forward the tendencies initiated by the discovery of Kalidasa for world-literature and by the application of steam to the furtherance of human needs.

The work owes its origin to the first two chapters which were read before the Royal Asiatic Society (North China Branch) in October, 1915, as "First Impressions of Chinese Religion," more than which it does not claim to be. It was taken up at the kind suggestion of the Society's learned Secretary and Editor, the most unassuming sinologue, Rev. Samuel. Couling.

A few chapters were read before the " International Institute" in connection with their studies in Comparative Religion. Rev. Dr. Gilbert Reid, Director-in-chief of the Institute, has placed me under great obligation by taking the trouble of interpreting the lectures in Chinese for those who did not understand English and also by publishing Chinese translations of the papers in the Institute Magazine.

I have made frequent use of the "Christian lyiterature Society's' Library, and take this opportunity of expressing my heait-felt thanks to the Director-Emeritus, Rev- Dr. Timothy Richard, who has been

XVI PREFACE

prominent in the Far East, as being, among other thiiigs, a keen student of Buddhism.

The Bibliography as well as the names of publications in the Index will indicate the nature and amount of my indebtedness, both direct and indirect. Footnotes with chapter and verse have, however, been avoided, as all interesting details, without which comparisons could not be instituted, have been given in full from the works of well-known authorities.

For the benefit of those to whom China with four hundred millions (?) and India with three hundred and fifty millions are still only geographical expressions learnt from school primers I venture here to single out two volumes :

1. Descriptive Sociology: Chinese — " compiled upon the plan organised by Herbert Spencer" by E-T.C. Werner,— H-I.B.M's Consul at Foochow, China (Williams and Norgate, London, 1910). It is really an Encyclopaedia Sinica made up of extracts from about 200 English, French and German publications besides Journals, and from over 700 Chinese works.

2. Early History of India (B.C. 600— A.D. 1200) by Vincent A. Smith, late of the Indian Civil Service (Third Edition, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1914). This is the only authoritative and systematic volume on ' ' the political vicissitudes of the land. " It is not a mere compilation but the work of one who has himself been one of the greatest figures in Indology.

A considerable portion of this work was published as articles in " The National Review" (Shanghai), "The Hindusthanee Student " (U.S.A.), and in the Indian periodicals,. " The Hindustan Review '' (Allahabad), " The Vedic Magazine" (Hardwar), " The Collegian" (Calcutta), and " The Modern Review" (Calcutta).

Dr. Wu Ting-fang, IvL.D., late Chinese Minister to Washington, D.C (U.S.A.), has kindly contributed his ideas on the Religion of the Chinese in the form of an Introduction to this work. The author is grateful for the favour thus accorded him by the veteran Confucianist scholar.

Shanghai, China, )

March 9, 1916- ) Bknoy Kumar Sarkar.

Introduction

We often have visitors coming to China from Europe and America on various missions ; some for scientific research ; some for economic investigation ; some for educational purpose, and others for art and general studies. It is the first time, if I am not mistaken, that a gentleman from India has come to China for such a purpose. Professor Benoy Kumar Sarkar is now on a visit to China to study the religion, literature and social institutions of the people, and the result of his earnest and laborious research extending over several months is seen in the following pages. Whether the reader will follow him and agree with all his views expressed in this book it must be conceded that he has not hastily come to his conclusions without personal study. The mass of facts collected by him and his views expressed thereon should afford the students of Sociology and Comparative Religion much food for thought and deserve their impartial consideration-

What is the religion of your people ? ' ' This question has often been put to us Chinese. If the answer "Confucianism" is given, it will be most likely retorted that Confucianism is not a religion, it being a set of morals only. Now let us see what is Religion. Webster defines it as " the outward act or form by which men indicate their recognition of the existence of a god or gods having power over their destiny, to whom obedience, service, and honour are due. ' ' Then let us ascertain what Confucianism is. The doctrine of the founder is to teach the duty and relations of man, between the Sovereign and the subject, between the parent and the son, between elder and younger brothers, and between friends; the "four books " which practically constitute the canon of Confucian philosophy minutely describe the sayings and instructions of the great philosopher. His principal aim was to inculcate loyalty to the Chief of the State, filial piety to parents and sincerity amongst friends. It must be admitted that the result of his teaching has been on the whole eminently successful. That he did not expressly instruct his disciples

XVlll INTRODUCTION

to worship God as enjoined by other religions cannot be denied; but his tenets, if observed, would lead men to become good, for they are in many instances along similar lines to the teachings given by other religions. Take, for instance, the excellent rule laid down by Confucius: — "What you do not want done to yourself do not do to others." This is the golden rule only in a negative form- Thus it will be seen that a real Confucianist is just as good a man as a sincere Christian.

It is sometimes alleged that Confucius was an atheist or a materialist; this accusation is not just considering that he believed in the existence of a Supreme God. In the " Classics " there are many passages which prove this. On one occasion when he was very sick, one of his disciples asked leave to pray for him, he answered that it was scarcely necessary because he had been praying for a long time. On another occasion he exhorted his disciples to shew respect to spiritual beings; then again he declared that to ofEer sacrifice to spirits indiscriminately is flattery. In ancient times, as it was customary in every nation, the people were superstitious and naturally religious. Confucius, being brought up under these surroundings, could not help being influenced by them, but he had the sagacity to warn his disciples that while respecting spiritual beings they should keep aloof from them. He considered his mission was to make men morally good and he did not consider it his duty to interfere with spiritual and theological subjects. It may be asked that if he really believed in the existence of the Supreme God to whom obedience, service, and honour are due, how is it that in all his lectures to his disciples he did not touch upon the subject of religious piety and service to God? The reason is not far to seek. He was a staunch conservative and an ardent admirer of antiquity. In his dialogues he is seen expounding his views upon the duty of not only shewing obedience to parents and to ruler but also reverence for antiquity and strict adherence to the traditional usages of ceremony. The direct worship of God was confined in the ancient religion, as it has always been, to the Sovereign as the parent and priest of the people, so it was not a subject that he as one of the "governed'' should touch upon. His silence on this point should not be construed that he was an atheist or a materialist.

INTRODUCTION xix

About the^ame time, or a little before there arose a great figure who was a contemporary of Confucius and who founded the religion of what is called ' 'Taoism." The founder was Lao Tan arid generally known as Lao Tsze, and the book left behind by him which was his own composition, is' well known as Tao Teh King, It contains only five thousand words but it is fully of gems. This work contains in substance his views on philosophy and expresses fully his doctrine. The author, it must be remeinbered, was a mystic, he expresses his views in symbolical and paradoxical language. His diction is simple but enigmatic in style. It is extremely difficult even for an earnest student to grasp his real meaning. It is generally supposed that his doctrine is Inaction, but this is not actually the case. He did not advise men to remain inert and do nothing, what he did advise was to purify the mind and cultivate a clear conscience. Its gist is reason and virttie, in other words, he exhorted men to distinguish between the real and the iinreal and to perceive things in their proper light. His mode of teaching is different to that of Confucius., He holds that nature provides an ample lesson for man to study and he takes for instance the vegetable kingdom as his ideal.- He advocates introspection for the purpose of self-reformation. He was opposed to the way of Confucius who was constantly on the move from one state to another with the view of inducing the chiefs of the state to employ him or to adopt his principles. In an interview sought by Confucius who praised reverence for the sages of antiquity he did not scruple to speak out his mind : " Those whom you talk about are dead, and their bones are mouldered to dust ; only their words remain. When the superior man gets his time, he mounts aloft ; but when the time is against him, he moves as if his feet were entangled. I have heard that a good merchant though he has rich treasures deeply stored, appears as if he were poor, and that the superior man whose virtue is complete is yet outwardly seeming stupid. Put away your proud air and many desires, your insinuating habit and will. These are of no advantage to you. This is all which I have to tell you." His deep and abstruse theory even Confucius was unable to understand, for soon after the celebrated interview he addressed his disciples, saying : "I know how birds can fly, how fishes can swim, and how animals can run. But the runner may be snared, the swimmer

XX INTRODUCTION

may be hocked, and the flier may be shot by the arrow. But there is the dragon. I cannot tell how he mounts on the wind through the clouds, and rises to heaven. To-day I have seen Lao Tsze, and can only compare him to the dragon." It is not strange that the deep doctrine of Lao Tsze has been misconstrued. The latitude allowed by the vagueness of his writings enabled and encouraged his disciples and adherents to graft upon the leading notions of his text, an entirely adventitious code of natural and physical philosophy which, on the one hand expanded into a system of religious belief, and on the other became devoloped into a school of mysticism apparently founded upon the early secrets of healing and divination. Nevertheless, Tao Teh King is a marvellous and unique production of a Chinese philosopher who flourished twenty-six centuries ago. It has excited the admiration and appreciation of the oriental scholars who have studied his pages. Victor von Strauss says that it contains ' ' a grasp of thought, a height of contemplation, and a purity of conception in the things of God such as we seek in vain anywhere in pre-Christian times except in the Jewish Scriptures." According to Dr. Paul Carus, " Lao Tsze was one of the greatest men that ever trod our earth, one of the most remarkable thinkers of mankind. The Tao Teh King is an indispensable book and no one who is interested in religion can afford to leave it unread." No wonder Lao Tsze is greatly revered in China and his doctrine has been accepted by a large majority of the Chinese.

Numerous European translations of the Tao Teh King have been made from time to time by eminent Oriental scholars. They must have spent much valuable time and mental labour in poring over this terse and obscure work and great credit is due to all of them. But to understand the mystic author and not to misinterpret his meaning, it requires a mystic translator and the publication of another translation by Mr. C S. Medhurst who is well versed in mysticism is a welcome and valuable contribution.

There is another religion which must be mentioned although it is of foreign origin. Buddhism was imported to China in the year A.D. 61 . It was done at the instance of the Emperor who had dreamt of a gigantic image of gold and had sent imperial messengers to India in

INTRODUCTION XXI

search of this new religion: It is said by some that it was known in China before that time. The first century of its arrival was marked by numerous translations of Buddhistic works into Chinese. Under such favourable auspices it attracted universal attention in China ; the people were eager to learn its tenets and many became proselytes. It was said that in the fourth century nine-tenths of the inhabitants of China were Buddhists. It is not surprising that this later religion has made such wonderful rapid progress in China. iThe principles of its doctrine are so grand that no earnest student could help being captivated by it. The teaching is suited to the literati and the illiterate, and the law of Karma and the hope of eternal bliss are so beautiful that nearly all the women of China are believers. The observance of formal rites and other external practices are contrary to the spirit of the doctrine.

Coming back to the original question, ' ' What is the "religion of the Chinese? "the answer can be given in a few words. Confucianism is acknowledged by almost every Chinese ' to be his creed. He is, however,, practical and broadminded enough not to be opposed to, but most friendly to, any other religion which he thinks can be of benefit to him. It is therefore taken for granted that Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism form a combination of his religion. Let us take the case of an ordinary Chinese family. When the head of the family dies, the funeral services are conducted in a most cosmopolitan way, for the Taoist priests and the Buddhist monks as well as nuns are usually called in to recite prayers for the dead in addition to the performance of ceremonies in conformity with the Confucian rules of propriety. The general idea is that there are several ways of ascend; ing.to Heaven or the place of happiness; and if the deceased should not succeed by the Confucian ladder, he can take either of the other two.

TJie long existence of ancient China as a nation has generally been attributed by Christians to its obedience to one of God's ten commandments which is ' ' Honour thy father and thy mother that thydays may be long in the land." I believe, however, that is not the only cause. Toleration of religious .beliefs and the embracing of three rieligions have done much to keep China coherent and icxu Introduction

hitact. This tiiay appear to be paradoxical, but if I read the history of the world aright, a iiatioh embracing one solitary religion, however excellent it might be, and prohibiting all others is not likely to exist permanently. The people of such a nation are naturally narrowminded and bigoted, and believing that their religion is the best in the world, they are self-sufficient and intolerant, and will not condescend to hear or learn better religious truths. When the people are in such condition, theii" mental activity lies dormant and their minds are stagnant and instead of progressing they will degenerate, hence the downfall of the nation is natural.

It may be contended that the fact of a nation having a State Rel,igion should induce its citizens to become more religious and orderly. This opens a big question which I do not wish to discuss at length. It may be conceded that a State Religion from some point of view may possess certain advantages; but if it is looked at in its larger aspect, it is open to grave doubt whether it works for the ultimate good of the nation. It confers special privileges such as eligibility for office; and people with no strict moral principles would not scruple to become members of the 'State Church for selfinterest. It curbs freedom of thought and compels people to be sub- Servieiit to the Church on religious matters, even against their better judgment.

It should be remembered that a religion cannot monopolize all the truth; at best it is like a spectrum presenting one side of it. The founder of every good religion promulgated certain portions of the truth to suit the conditions and habits of the people and it will be too presumptuous to assume that one religion contains whole truth. Truth is like light, men first used oil to light their houses and then they manufactured candles and used them. Recently gas was invented and we now have electric light. Should we still be contended ■with the light supplied by oil or candles and reject the ■ brijghter illumination furnished by gas or electricity ? lyight is open to all, so is truth. Truth cannot be exhausted: like a deep bottomless spring or well,, the lower we go the more water we find. We cannot have enough of the truth, the more we investigate and discover, the better it is for mankind. The wise mau will use the light he has to

INTRODUCTION xxm receive more light. He will constantly advance to the knowledge of the truth.

China, as it is well known, has been exceedingly conservative, but with respect to religion she has not been stubborn and exclusive, she has not waged war on account of any religious faith, and so far as I can remember, she has not spilt a drop of blood on that account.

In addition to three religions above mentioned, Muhammadanism has a firm hold in China; and many millions of her inhabitants are its believers. Then again, Christianity is not only tolerated but openly preached everywhere and Christian missionaries are found in every province of China. Toleration of every creed is her policy and we welcome all messengers of good religions who preach the eternal truth. We hope the day will soon come when the believers and adherents of all religions and creeds not only in China but in all other nations of the world will live in peace and concord without malice or hatred.

With these few words on the Religion of the Chinese I have great pleasure in introducing this Hindu Study in the Tendencies of Asiatic Mentality to the students of Chinese civilisation.

Shanghai, Feb. 29, 1916

Dedication

Preface

Introduction by Dr. Wu Ting=fang Bibliography . .

PAGE

ix

xi

xvii

xxix

- CHAPTER I The Hypothesis

CHAPTER II The Cult of World=Porces in Pre=Confucian China and

Pre=Sakyan India ( B.C. 700)

Yajna (Sacrifice) . .

Pitris (Ancestors)

(«) (3) (^)

ie)

Sdnatanism (Eternal Order)

Ekam (The One Supreme Being)

Pluralism in God-lore

Folk-Religion

Idealism as a phase of spirituality

"Through Nature up to Nature's God"

Section 2. Confucius and Sakyasimha in Contemporary Asia {a) " Higher Criticism"

( 3 ) The Peers of Confucius . . • • ,

(c) The Peer? of Salcyasimha , .. .. .. ..

Sectiop 3. development . pf Traditional Socio-Religious Lite

{a) Relativity of Religion to Environment. .

{b). Chinese Religion in the Age of Confucius

( c ) Indian Religion in the Age of Sakyasimha . . ,' • • Section 4. Asiatic Positivism' . . .'. •■ •• • • .- ••

6 11 13 15 20 25 29 31

41 44 50

53 57 65 73

XXVI

CONTENTS

,CHAP,TE,R IV"

The Religion of Empire^Building — Neutrality and Eclecticism

Sectiotf 1. The Political -yJ/t'&M '

■ " (a) Imperialism and'Laiss'er jFaire. . ' .."'.. .. 80

(a) Western Asia and India • • • • • • • • • ■ 92

r (d) Central Asia and .China ... ... .. .. ■• 96

Section 3. General Culture

(a) Physical and Positive Sciences ^ . . . . . . . 101

C3) Metaphysical Thought •:. . ..106

{c) Idealism and Supernaturalism in Literature .. .. 110

The God^Iore of China and India under the First Emperors

Sectio°ri 1. Progress in Hagiolo^'y and Mythology

(h) InVentiofi "of New Deities '.. .. .. .. 116

(?) Siniultarie'ous Development of Diverse God-lores • . 120