;bl
1451
. C26
1896
e Dharma
OR
ligion of Enlightenment
THE DHARMA
OR
THE RELIGION OF ENLIGHTENMENT
AN
EXPOSITION OF BUDDHISM
BY
DR. PAUL CARUS
[Third Edition, Enlarged]
CHICAGO
THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING COMPANY
(London: 17 Johnson's Court, Fleet Street, E. C.)
1896
Copyright, 1896
BY
The Open Court Publishing Company
CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. The Four Noble Truths 3
II. Preach the Doctrine that is Glorious. . 6
III. The Ten Commandments 7
IV. The Seven Jewels of the Law 9
V. The Abhidharma Outlined 13
Karma 13
Samskara 16
The Anatman 18
Transiency and Permanence 25
The Soul 29
Reincarnation not Soul Transmi-
gration 31
Selfhood and Enlightenment 34
Nirvana 37
VI. A Summary of the Tenets of Buddhism. 41
VII. Explanations 45
I.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS.
DHARMA means truth, especially re-
ligious truth, or briefly, religion.
The Dharma taught by the Buddha (the
Enlightened One) and held by the Sangha
(the Buddhist Brotherhood) is formulated
in four statements, called " the four noble
truths."
The first noble truth is on the existence
of suffering.
Birth is suffering, old age is suffering,
disease is suffering, and death is suffering.
Sad it is to be joined with that which we
abhor. Sad is the separation from that
which we love, and sad is the craving for
that which cannot be obtained.
The second noble truth is on the origin
of suffering.
The origin of suffering is desire. It is
3
4 THE DHARMA.
that lust of becoming which, leading from
incarnation to incarnation, begets the illu-
sion of self. It is that thirst for pleasure
which finds delight here and there and is
constantly clamoring for satisfaction. It
is the craving for the gratification of the
senses, the clinging to life for the sake of
self; the longing for self-destruction for
the sake of escape ; or, briefly, all cleaving
to self and selfishness.
The third noble truth is on the emanci-
pation from suffering.
The emancipation from suffering is ac-
complished by the utter cessation of lust,
of craving, of thirst. He who abandons
all lust, all craving, all thirst, will be free
from passions and cut himself off from all
thought of self. Thus he will be emanci-
pated from the origin of suffering.
The fourth noble truth is on the eight-
fold path that leads to the emancipation
from suffering.
The eightfold path is (i) right compre-
hension ; (2) right aspirations ; (3) right
speech ; (4) right conduct ; (5) right living ;
THE DHARMA. 5
(6) right endeavor; (7) right self-disci-
pline ; and (8) the attainment of the right
bliss.
There is salvation for him whose self
disappears before Truth, whose will is
bent upon what he ought to do, whose sole
desire is the performance of his duty. His
interest is in that which endures, not in
that which is transient. He lives, but
does not cling to life, and thus, when he
dies, death does not touch him.
He who is wise will enter the path and
make an end of suffering.
#
The formula in which those take refuge
who accept the four noble truths as their
norm of life, reads as follows :
" I take my refuge in the Buddha.
" I take my refuge in the Dharma.
" I take my refuge in the Sangha."
II.
PREACH THE DOCTRINE THAT IS
GLORIOUS.
VX7E READ in the Mahavagga (I, II)
* * that the Tathagata, the Blessed One,
the Holy Buddha, said to his disciples :
" Go ye now, O disciples, and wander
forth for the benefit of the many, for the
welfare of mankind, out of compassion for
the world. Preach the doctrine which is
glorious in the beginning, glorious in the
middle, and glorious in the end, in the
spirit as well as in the letter. There are
beings whose eyes are scarcely covered
with dust, but if the doctrine is not
preached to them they cannot attain sal-
vation. Proclaim to them a life of holi-
ness. They will understand the doctrine
and accept it."
6
III.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
D Y TEN THINGS all acts of living crea-
*-' tures become bad, and by avoiding ten
things they become good. There are three
sins of the body, four sins of the tongue,
and three sins of the mind.
The sins of the body are murder, theft,
and adultery ; of the tongue, lying, slander,
abuse, and gossip ; of the mind, envy,
hatred, and error.
These are the commandments :
I. Kill not, but have regard for life.
II. Steal not, neither rob ; but help
everybody to be master of the fruits of his
labor.
III. Abstain from impurity, and lead a
life of chastity.
IV. Lie not, but be truthful. Speak the
7
8 THE DHARMA.
truth with discretion, fearlessly and with a
loving heart.
V. Invent not evil reports, nor repeat
them. Carp not, but look for the good
sides of your fellow-beings, so that you
may with sincerity defend them against
their enemies.
VI. Swear not, but speak with propriety
and dignity.
VII. Waste not your time in gossip, but
speak to the purpose or keep silence.
VIII. Covet not, nor envy, but rejoice at
the good fortune of others.
IX. Cleanse your heart of malice and
cherish no hatred, not even against your
enemies ; but embrace all living beings
with impartial and unlimited kindness.
X. Free your mind from ignorance and
seek to learn the truth, especially in the one
thing that is needful, lest you fall a prey
either to scepticism or to errors. Scepti-
cism will make you indifferent, and errors
will lead you astray so that you shall not
find the noble path that leads to emanci-
pation.
IV.
THE SEVEN JEWELS OF THE LAW.
SEVEN are the jewels of the law which
when united form the bright diadem
of Nirvana :
(i) Purity; (2) calmness; (3) compre-
hension ; (4) bliss ; (5) wisdom ; (6) per-
fection ; and (7) enlightenment.
They manifest themselves in seven
ways.
(1) In earnest meditation ; (2) in the
great struggle against sin ; (3) in the aspira-
tion for saintship ; (4) in moral power ; (5)
in producing the organs of spiritual sense ;
(6) in wisdom ; (7) in righteousness.
I. There are four earnest meditations 011
impermanence : (1) The meditation on the
body ; (2) the meditation on sensation ; (3)
9
io THE DHARMA.
the meditation on ideas ; and (4) the medi-
tation on the nature of things.
The four earnest meditations are prac-
tised to teach the emptiness of all indivi-
dual existence. All forms of individual
existence considered as individuals, are
transient, the body, the sensations, the
mind, and the factors of being ; none of
them constitutes a permanent self ; in none
of them can be sought the purpose and
aim of life. When considered in them-
selves we find them impermanent, impure,
and disgusting.
Hence the four earnest meditations teach
us : (1) bodily impurity ; (2) the dangers
that lurk in sensuality ; (3) the illusions of
the mind ; and (4) the instability of all com-
pound things. Salvation consists not in
clinging to any of these four things, but in
devoting life to the attainment of enlight-
enment.
II. There is a foiwfold great struggle
agaifist sin : (1) The struggle to prevent sin
from arising ; (2) the struggle to put away
sin that has arisen ; (3) the struggle to
THE DHARMA. II
produce goodness that does not as yet
exist ; and (4) the struggle to increase the
goodness that exists.
III. There are four roads to saintship
which must be united to earnest meditation
and to the struggle against sin. They are :
(1) the will to acquire saintship ; (2) the
necessary exertion ; (3) a thorough pre-
paration of the heart; and (4) self-dis-
cipline.
IV. There are five moral powers : (1)
self-reliance; (2) indefatigableness ; (3)
watchfulness ; (4) concentration ; and (5)
self-control.
V. To the five moral powers, as the
functions of the soul, correspond the five
organs of spiritual sense. They are: (1)
faithfulness; (2) activity; (3) though tful-
ness; (4) attention ; and (5) discretion. 1
1 Although the fourth and fifth of the jewels are
distinguished as " the five moral powers " and " the
five organs of spiritual sense," their names in Pali
are in both cases the same. Our translation gives
our interpretation. The fifth jewel consists of the
faculties that correspond to analogous activities
enumerated under the heading of the fourth jewel.
12 THE D HARM A.
VI. There are seven kinds of wisdom :
(i) energy; (2) thought; (3) contempla-
tion; (4) investigation; (5) cheerfulness;
(6) repose ; and (7) serenity.
VII. Righteousness is attained by enter-
ing the eightfold path that leads to the
cessation of suffering, consisting (as stated
above) in : (1) right comprehension ; (2)
right aspirations ; (3) right speech ; (4)
right conduct ; (5) right living ; (6) right
endeavor ; (7) right self-discipline : and (8)
the attainment of the right bliss.
V.
THE ABHIDHARMA OUTLINED
A BHIDHA RMA is the Buddhist philo-
**• sophy which explains the nature of
existence and especially of the soul. Its
cardinal tenet has been called " the law of
Karma."
Karma.
Karma (Pali, kamma) means deed, and
every deed is a definite form of activity.
Mr. Warren r says, " the word * Karma '
covers two distinct ideas, namely, the deed
itself and the effects of that deed in modi-
fying the subsequent character and for-
tunes of the doer."
While the doing of a deed is transient, its
form is permanent. The sight of an ob-
ject, the thinking of a thought, the per-
1 Buddhism in Translations, Harvard Oriental
Series, Vol. III.
■3
14 THE DHARMA.
formance of an act, all these things pass
away, but they leave traces which endure.
The products of a man's work in the out-
side world are of great importance, but
more important still are the traces that re-
main in his mind. They are called in San-
skrit samskaras, in Pali sankharas, words
which mean " memory-structures, disposi-
tions, soul-forms."
The character of a man consists of his
samskaras, which are the product of his
Karma. 1
All beings originate through Karma ;
they are inheritors of a peculiar Karma,
belong to the race of their special Karma,
and are kin to it. Each being is deter-
mined by its own Karma. It is Karma
which produces all differences and divi-
sions. 2
x The same truth in terms of western science is
expressed in a brilliant and concise exposition by
Prof. E. Hering in his essay " On Memory." (Pub-
lished by The Open Court Publishing Co., in the
Religion of Science Library, No. 16.)
^Questions of King Milinda, Sacred Books of the
East, XXXV., p. 101.
THE D HARM A. 15
Huxley expresses the same truth as fol-
lows : " Everyday experience familiarizes us
with the facts which are grouped under the
name of heredity. Every one of us bears
upon him obvious marks of his parentage,
perhaps of remoter relationships. More
particularly, the sum of tendencies to act
in a certain way, which we call ' character,'
is often to be traced through a long series
of progenitors and collaterals. So we
may justly say that this 'Character' — this
moral and intellectual essence of a man —
does veritably pass over from one fleshly
tabernacle to another and does really trans-
migrate from generation to generation.
In the new-born infant, the character of the
stock lies latent and the Ego is little more
than a bundle of potentialities. But, very
early, these become actualities ; from child-
hood to age they manifest themselves in
dulness or brightness, weakness or strength,
viciousness or uprightness ; and with each
feature modified by confluence with another
character, if by nothing else, the character
passes on to its incarnation in new bodies.
1 6 THE DHARMA.
"The Indian philosophers called char-
acter, as thus defined, ' karma.' It is this
karma which passed from life to life and
linked them in the chain of transmigra-
tions ; and they held that it is modified in
each life, not merely by confluence of par-
entage, but by its own acts.
" In the theory of evolution, the tend-
ency of a germ to develop according to a
certain specific type, e. g., of the kidney-
bean seed to grow into a plant having all
the characters of Phaseolus vulgaris is its
1 Karma.' It is the ' last inheritor and the
last result ' of all the conditions that have
affected a line of ancestrv which goes back
for many millions of years to the time
when life first appeared on the earth. . . .
The snowdrop is a snowdrop and not an
oak, and just that kind of a snowdrop,
because it is the outcome of the Karma
of an endless series of past existences."
{Hibbert Lectures, p. 114.)
Samskara.
A few quotations will render the term
samskara clear.
THE DHARMA.
*7
Prof. Richard Garbe says (Mondschein
der Samkhya Wahrheit, p. 14): " With
the Samkhyas the term samskara means
" disposition, "the__existence of which is
explained as being due to the impressions
which experiences, perceptions, sensations,
etc., of the present and of former exist-
ences produce in the inner organ. . . ( It
is that which makes that which exists such
as it is."
Professor Oldenberg says (English trans-
lation of his Buddha, p. 242) : " The
word Sankhara [Sanskrit samskara] is
derived from a verb which signifies to
arrange, adorn, prepare. Sankhara is both
the act of preparation and that which is
prepared ; but these two coincide in Bud-
dhist conceptions much more than in ours,
for to the Buddhist mind the made has
existence only and solely in the process of
being made ; whatever is, is not so much a
something which is, as the process rather
of a self-generating and self-again-consum-
ing being."
Considering the fact that samskara is a
18 THE DHARMA.
term which has reference to organized life
alone and not to formations of inorganic
substances, the Buddhistic usage of iden-
tifying a function with that which func-
tions is quite legitimate, for the eye is the
organ of sight and as such it is the activity
of seeing. The eye is a product of the
inherited habit of seeing. It consists in
sight-dispositions. It is the function of
seeing incarnated in the organ of seeing.
Oldenberg translates samskdra (sank-
hard) in German by Gestaltung, in English
by confection or conformation. We prefer
the translation forms or formations. If
there is any need of rendering the term
more distinct, it may be translated by deed-
forms or soul forms.
The Anatman.
The Vedanta teaches that man's self,
(the atman) is his soul ; and the atman
is characterized as an absolute being, im-
mutable and eternal, which is invested with
the various faculties of man's existence.
The self of the Vedanta philosopher is
THE DHARMA.
l 9
what Kant would call " the thing-in-itself '
of man's soul. It is a mysterious being
which is erroneously identified with the
ego-idea that finds expression in such
phrases as " I am," and " This is mine."
This theory, frequently called metaphy-
sicism, would make us believe all beings
and objects are things-in-themselves pos-
sessed of various qualities and performing
certain actions. Thus there would be
tables-in-themselves, having the form of
tables, and possessing properties of color,
weight, materiality, etc. ; there would be
rivers-in-themselves possessed of water and
making the water flow ; there would be
" the wind-in-itself " performing the act of
blowing ; there would be the self of a man
endowed with certain qualities of mind
and body and performing certain deeds,
etc., etc. This dualistic view is rejected
in Buddhism. Things and beings are re-
garded as the compounds of their qualities,
and the terms actor and agent are con-
sidered as mere modes of speech designat-
ing certain aspects of actions. A table
2o THE DHARMA.
consists of its form and material, and the
wind does not blow but is the blowing of
air. In thzjataka (Birth-story, 244) the
following question is put to Bodhisattva :
" What is the Ganges ? Is the sand the
Ganges ? Is the water the Ganges ? Is
the hither bank the Ganges ? Is the fur-
ther bank the Ganges ? "
Bodhisattva replied :
" If you except the water, the sand, the
hither bank, and the further bank, where
can you find any Ganges ? "
Buddhism rejects the theory that there
are" things-in-themselves " and teaches
the doctrine of anatman or the non-exist-
ence of an atman. It denies the assump-
tion that there is " a self-in-itself," a sep-
arate individuality that is distinct from the
character of a man, a permanent ego-entity
which remains immutable as the thing-in-
itself of metaphysical philosophers.
Buddhism further insists on the sorrow
which is inherent in all individuality ; and
salvation consists in overcoming the illu-
sion of a separate selfhood.
THE D HARM A. 21
Since the word atman is frequently trans-
lated by " soul," the doctrine of the anat-
man has been misinterpreted as meaning
a denial of the existence of the soul. But
Buddhism does not deny the existence of
the soul ; it rejects only the theory of a
soul-in-itself. Buddhism does not deny
individuality, not the ego but the independ-
ent existence of an ego ; not the self but
the idea of an absolute self. Buddhism
denies the duality of things ; there is not
(i) the atman and (2) the karma ; it declares
that there is one thing, which is karma or
deed ; and what is called atman is the
karma as it presents itself at a given mo-
ment. Indeed the word " self " (atman),
where it cannot be misinterpreted in the
sense of an "absolute self," is frequently
used in Buddhist scriptures. We read in
the Samyutta Nikaya : " Let a man who
holds self dear keep that self free from
wickedness." And the Dhammapada
devotes a whole chapter (xii.) to the
contemplation of " self." Concerning the
non-existence of a separate self-individuality
22 THE DHARMA.
according to the tenets of Buddhism, Rhys
Davids says :
" We may put a new and deeper mean-
ing into the words of the poet :
" ' Our deeds follow us from afar ;
And what we have been makes us what we are.'
(P. 13O.
" There is no such thing as an individ-
uality^which is permanent ; — even were a
permanent individuality to be possible, it
would not be desirable, for it is not desir-
able to be separate. The effort to keep
oneself separate may succeed indeed for a
time ; but so long as it is successful it in-
volves limitation, and therefore ignorance,
and therefore pain. " No ! it is not
separateness you should hope and long
for," says the Buddhist, " it is union— the
sense of oneness with all that now is, that
has ever been, that can ever be — the sense
that shall enlarge the horizon of your being
to the limits of the universe, to the bound-
aries of time and space, that shall lift you
up into a new plane far beyond, outside all
THE DHARMA. 23
mean and miserable care for self. Why
stand shrinking there ? Give up the fool's
paradise of ' This is I,' and ' This is
mine.' It is a real fact — the greatest of
realities — that you are asked to grasp.
Leap forward without fear ! You shall
find yourself in the ambrosial waters of
Nirvana, and sport with the Arhats who
have conquered birth and death !
" So long as a man harbors any of these
delusions of self which are the heritage of
the thoughtless, so long is it impossible
for him even to enter upon the path. So
long as a man does not realize the identity
of himself with those incalculable causes
in the past, which have produced his pres-
ent temporary fleeting individuality, so
long as he considers himself to be a perma-
nent being, and is accustomed to use the
expressions ' This is I ' and ' This is
mine,' without a full knowledge of the
limitations w r hich the actual facts of exist-
ence impose upon their meaning, so long is
it impossible for him to make any progress
along the line of Buddhist self-culture and
24 THE DHARMA.
self-control. Until he has become fully
conscious of the sorrow that is inherent in
individuality, it will be impossible for him
to begin to walk along the path which is
the destruction of sorrow, and the end
whereof is peace."
Incidentally it may be remarked that
Buddhism sheds a new light on Christian
doctrines. Thus the continuity in the
evolution of life, which does away with a
wrong conception of a separate self, ex-
plains and justifies the Christian idea of
original sin (or as it ought to be called " in-
herited sin "), for men inherit not only the
curse of their ancestors' sins, but actually
consist of their sinful dispositions ; every
man is a reincarnation of previous deeds,
and represents, for good and for evil, their
legitimate continuation. Thus it is that (as
we read in the Dhammapada, verse 127),
" Neither in the sky, nor in the midst of the
sea, nor if we enter into the clefts of the
mountains is there known a spot in the whole
world where a man might be freed from
an evil deed." Yet at the same time it is
THE DHARMA. 25
true also that nothing perishes that is
good. " As kinsmen, friends, and lovers
salute a man who has been long away, and
returns safe from afar, in like manner his
good works receive him who has done
good, and has gone from this world to the
other ; — as kinsmen receive a friend on
his return" {Dhammapada, verses 219-
220).
Tra?isiency and Permaiience.
As there is no atman, there is no atman
that dies ; or in other words, life, death
and rebirth are simultaneous and continu-
ous. Every event that happens passes for-
ever away while it happens ; it dies yet it
continues for all eternity in the effect it
produces.
Life is fleeting but life's work which is
the essential feature of life, its form and
formative faculty, remains. This is true
of the whole life of any being as well as of
every single moment, as we read in the
Visuddhi-Magga (Chap. VIII.):
" Strictly speaking, the duration of the
26 THE DHARMA.
life of a living being is exceedingly brief,
lasting only while a thought lasts. Just as
a chariot-wheel in rolling rolls only at one
point of the tire and in resting rests only
at one point ; in exactly the same way, the
life of a living being lasts only for the
period of one thought. As soon as that
thought has ceased the being is said to
have ceased. As it has been said : —
" ' The being of a past moment of
thought has lived, but does not live, nor
will it live.
" ' The being of a future moment of
thought will live, but has not lived, nor
does it live.
"'The being of the present moment of
thought does live, but has not lived nor
will it live.' "
Nagasena, the Buddhist saint and phil-
ospher, explains the problem of transiency
and permanence by the illustration of a
man who during the night wants to send a
letter. He calls his clerk, has a lamp lit
and dictates the letter. That being done,
he ceases dictating, the clerk ceases writ-
THE D HARM A. 27
ing and the lamp is extinguished. Though
the lamp is put out, the letter remains.
Thus reasoning ceases but wisdom per-
sists. The deeds of life are transient, but
the traces which they leave and the forms
which they mould are permanent. {Ques-
tions of King Mi /in da, p. 67.)
There is a constant change taking place
in the world, yet there is a preservation of
the character of all the events that happen
and of all the deeds that are done. The
preservation of the soul-forms of all
former Karmas makes rebirth possible and
constitutes the immortality of the soul and
its evolution to ever higher planes of
being.
Continuity and Evolution.
The boy that goes to school is a different
person from the young man who has com-
pleted his education ; and yet in a certain
sense we are justified in speaking of him
as being one and the same. For there is a
continuity such as obtains between sowing
and harvesting. In the same way a crim-
28 THE DHARMA.
9
inal who commits a crime is different from
and the same as the convict who receives
punishment at the hands of the hangman.
(Q. of K. M., p. 63.) If a man sitting in a
garret carelessly allows an open lamp to
blaze up and set fire to the thatch, the fire
is different from the flame of the lamp ; and
yet it is the flame of the lamp which burns
down the house. {lb., p. 73.) Every deed
has its consequences, and the consequences
are called its fruit.
Reincarnations appear as new individuals,
yet they are the same as the former in-
carnations from which they spring, accord-
ing to the law of Karma. The soul-forms
(samskaras) originate in a process of evolu-
tion {id., pp. 84, 85). Nothing springs into
being without a gradual becoming (ib., p.
84). Deeds, good or evil, are done by a
certain person, and another person, inherit-
ing their fruits, is born (ib., p. 73). One
comes into being, another passes away (ib.,
p. 65). There is a continuity of deeds and
reincarnations, as milk turns to curds, and
curds to butter (ib., p. 64).
THE DHARMA. 29
The Soul.
By soul-activities (such as seeing, hear-
ing, feeling, tasting, etc.) soul-fonns are
established; soul-forms constitute soul-
groups, such as the senses and the other
organs of the body ; the interaction of the
senses (viz., thinking) produces mind as the
organ of thought. The various actions of
life harden into habits, and habits into
character. Sensations, thoughts, and
words are deeds or karma ; and deeds
immortalize themselves in deed-forms or
samskaras. They produce man's person-
ality by gradual growth.
The senses are not united indiscrimin-
ately one to another ; they combine accord-
ing to cause and effect as the sensations
are brought into play. There is not an
atman, not a self-in-itself, that sees, but the
eye sees. First is sight, then thought.
First sensation, then mind. Thought arises
from sense-activity by a natural slope, by
habit, by association. As rain runs down
hill, so all that happens takes its course
30 THE DHARMA.
through natural slope. 1 Thus thought
arises where sight is, because of habit. And
thought grows by the association that is
established, just as a beginner in the art of
writing is at first awkward, but with atten-
tion and practice in time becomes an
expert. 2
There is thought, but not a thought-
entity ; there is soul, but not a soul-sub-
stance ; there is mind, but no mind-stuff ;
there is personality, but no atman.
Just as a chariot is not the axle, nor the
wheels, nor the framework, nor the ropes,
nor the yoke, nor all of these things sev-
erally, but a peculiar combination of them,
so a person is not the body, nor the sense-
organs, nor the thoughts, nor his words, nor
his deeds, nor his several soul-forms, but a
definite co-operation of all of them (pp. 40-
45). As there is no chariot-in-itself, so
1 Modern philosophers speak of the path of least
resistance in a similar sense.
2 This paragraph is condensed from the Questions
of Ki7ig Milinda. pp. 86-89. The other quotations
are from the same source.
THE DHARMA. 31
there is no individual person-in-itself.
Nevertheless, persons are not for that
reason less real than chariots.
Reincarnation not Soul-Transmigration.
As there is no soul-substance, there can
be no soul-transmigration ; yet there is
rebirth and reincarnation ; there is a con-
tinuance of soul-forms beyond the dissolu-
tion of the individual in death. When a
lamp is lit at a burning lamp, there is a
kindling of the wick, but no transmigration
of the flame. And when a boy learns a
verse from his teacher, the verse is incar-
nated in the boy's mind, but there is no
transmigration of the verse in the proper
sense of transmigration. The verse is im-
pressed into the boy's mind, but there is
no material transfer. Not a single element
of being passes over from a previous
existence into the present existence, nor
hence into the next existence; and yet the
soul is reborn. Thus, the features of a
face do not pass into the glass, and never-
theless the image of the face reappears
32 THE D HARM A.
( Visuddhi Magga, XIX.) The reappearance
of the soul depends upon Karma and is
analogous to the repetition of words in an
echo and to the impression of seals in seal-
ing wax {ib. Chap. XVII.). Thus, the
character of a person does not migrate, and
yet it is reproduced by impression : it con-
tinues by heredity and education, and is
reborn (that is to say, it reappears) in new
incarnations.
Rebirth (i. e.,) reincarnation, is the reap-
pearance of the same character, but it is
no transmigration, either in the sense of a
transfer of any soul-substance or physio-
logical conditions. Always we have a
preservation of form impressed through the
Karma (or actions) of the prior life accord-
ing to the law of causation. Savs Bud-
dhagosha in the Visuddhi-Magga x :
" As illustrations of how consciousness
does not come over from the last exist-
tence into the present, and how it springs
up by means of causes belonging to the
former existence, here may serve echoes,
1 See Warren, ibid., p. 239.
THE DHARMA. 2>Z
light, the impression of a seal, and reflec-
tions in a mirror. For as echoes, light, the
impressions of a seal, and shadows have
sound, etc., for their causes, and exist with-
out having come from elsewhere, just so is
it with this mind."
A modern Buddhist can add other illus-
trations such as the transfer of a speech to
a phonograph, the reproduction of pictures
on the photographer's plate, the reprint of
new editions of books, and so forth. All
these similes are illustrations of the way in
which the mind of a man is reproduced
(i. e., reincarnated) in the minds of others.
Death is dissolution, but the man who
dies continues to live and is reincarnated
according to his deeds. The same charac-
ter of deeds reappears wherever his deeds
have impressed themselves in other minds.
In explanation of death as mere dissolu-
tion, and rebirth as the reappearance of
the same groups of elements of existence,
Buddhagosha says * :
"He, then, that has no clear idea of
1 Warren, ibid., p. 241.
3
34 THE D HARM A.
death and does not master the fact that
death everywhere consists in the dissolu-
tion of the Groups, he comes to a variety
of conclusions, such as, ' A living entity
dies and transmigrates into another body.'
" He that has no clear idea of rebirth
and does not master the fact that the ap-
pearance of the Groups everywhere con-
stitutes rebirth, he comes to a variety of
conclusions, such as, ' A living entity is
born and has obtained a new body. '
Every state of existence is the sum-
marized result of all the various activities
of its past, which the present has the
power of adding to and modifying, and so
it will continue in the future.
Selfhood and Enlightenment.
When the illusion of selfhood is dis-
pelled, the state of Nirvana is attained;
and it can be attained in this life.
Mara, the personification of evil, says in
the Samyutta-Nikaya :
" Of what, 'tis said ' This is of me*
Of what, 'tis said, 'These are the /,'
THE DHARMA. 35
If thou inclin'st thy mind to them,
Then monk, thou shalt not me escape."
Trans I. by Warren.
But he who has overcome the error of self-
hood exhibits a disposition of heart in which
the thoughts, I, me, mine, have disappeared.
He says :
" Not so with me ; naught is of vie ;
Not so with me ; they're * not the I :
Thus, Wicked One, declare I thee
The path I tread thou ne'er canst find."
Transl. by Warren.
But the annihilation of selfhood (sak-
kaya) does not imply an annihilation of
personality. A follower of the Enlightened
One regards his property as property, but
not as his ; he regards his body as body,
but not as his ; he regards his sensations
as sensations, but not as his ; he regards
his thoughts as thoughts, but not as his ; he
regards his sentiments as sentiments, but
not as his. For all these things are tran-
sient, and he knows there is no truth in the
* " They " signifies all the various constituents of
being.
36 THE DHARMA.
ideas, " this is mine, or I am this and that,
or I have all these things." Bearing in
mind the fruit of deeds, he abstains from
all passions, from hatred, and ill-will, but
energetically and untiringly performs all
those deeds which tend toward enlighten-
ment. Pie endeavors to attain the truth and
spreads it ; and his life is in good deeds.
If there is anything that man can call his
own, it is not what he possesses, but what
he does. What he does constitutes his
character, what he does lives after him,
what he does is the reality of his existence
that endures. This truth was expressed
by the Blessed One in these verses : x
" Not grain, nor wealth, nor store of gold,
Not one amongst his family,
Not wife, nor daughters, nor his sons,
Nor any one that eats his bread,
Can follow him who leaves this life,
For all thinsrs must be left behind.
*&-
But every deed a man performs,
With body, or with voice, or mind,
1 Quoted from Warren, Buddhism in Transla-
tions, p. 228.
THE D HARM A. 37
Tis this that he can call his own,
This with him take as he goes hence,
This is what follows after him,
And like a shadow ne'er departs.
Let all, then, noble deeds perform,
A treasure-store for future weal ;
For merit gained this life within
Will yield a blessing in the next."
Nirvana.
"Wherein does Nirvana consist?"
" And to him, whose mind was already
averse to passion, the answer came :
1 When the fire of lust is extinct, that is
Nirvana ; when the fires of hatred and
infatuation are extinct, that is Nirvana;
when pride, false belief, and all other
passions and torments are extinct, that is
Nirvana.' " — quoted from the Jataka.
He who has attained Nirvana, lives no
longer a life of selfhood limited to individ-
ual purposes, but he becomes one with all
good and noble aspirations without dis-
criminating between one individuality and
the other.
We read in the Maha-Nidana-Sutta
38 THE DHARMA.
(256, 21) of the Digha-Nikaya that he who
surrenders the error of self " ceases to
attach himself to anything in the world,
and being free from attachment, he is
never agitated, and being never agitated,
he attains to Nirvana in his own person."
He who has entered Nirvana is not
annihilated, on the contrary, he has at-
tained the Deathless and continues to live.
He lives but does not cling ; he is ener-
getic but free from passion ; he aspires but
is not ambitious or vainglorious. Says
Nagasena (Q. of K. M.) :
" He that is not free from passion ex-
periences both the taste of food, and also
passion due to that taste, while he who is
free from passion experiences the taste of
food, but no passion due to that taste."
Salvation does not consist in going to
Heaven or in attaining individual bliss of
any kind : it is simply and solely the de-
liverance from error, especially from the
illusion of selfhood with all the sin at-
tached to it. The legend goes that when
friends tried to comfort a dying Buddhist
THE DHARMA. 39
with the thought of his entering now upon
a state of rest and bliss, the saint rallied
his strength and said: " No, never, so long
as there is misery in the world, shall I
enter upon a state of bliss and rest. I will
be reborn where the suffering is greatest
and the need of salvation most needed. I
wish to be reborn in the deepest depths of
Hell. That is the place to enlighten the
world, to rescue those who have gone
astray, and to point out the path that leads
to deliverance."
His sympathy is universal, his love goes
out for all beings. His selfhood has
passed away by that passing-away in
which nothing remains which could tend
to the formation of another individual
selfhood, and yet he continues to exist ;
he exists as a flame that is united to a
great body of blazing fire. He exists in
all life, manifesting himself in the sym-
pathy for suffering. As a mother, even at
the risk of her own life, protects her son,
her only son : so he who has recognized
the truth, cultivates good-will without
40 THE DHARMA.
measure among all beings. He cultivates
good-will without measure toward the
whole world, above, below, around, un-
stinted, unmixed with any feeling of mak-
ing distinctions or of showing preferences.
Thus, the Buddha has passed away in
that passing-away in which nothing remains
that would tend to the formation of an-
other individual selfhood. Nevertheless,
the Buddha lives still, although it is impos-
sible to point out that he in his complete
individuality is here or there. He can be
found in the doctrine w r hich he has re-
vealed {Questions of King Milinda, p. 114).
And whosoever comprehends the truth of
his doctrine, he sees the Blessed One, for
the truth was preached by the Blessed One
(id., p. no).
VI.
A SUMMARY OF THE TENETS OF BUD-
DHISM.
i. DUDDHISM is the religion of de-
*— ' liverance from evil by enlighten-
ment.
2. Enlightenment means recognition of
the truth affecting one's whole personality ;
it illumines the head, warms the heart, and
guides the hand.
3. The truth that imparts enlightenment
can be gained only through energetic
effort ; it must be acquired by personal
experience, through trials in the emotional
life of the soul, and by a close investiga-
tion of the facts of existence.
4. Enlightenment teaches that the law
of cause and effect is irrefragable in the
moral world not less than in the physical
world, that everv evil deed has its evil
41
42 THE DHARMA.
effects and every good deed its good
effects.
5. By enlightenment we learn that the
main evil, indeed the sole absolute evil, is
moral badness, and that its cause is self-
hood.
6. Selfhood consists in the notion that
there is an independent and separate self,
and that the welfare of self is the main
purpose of existence.
7. There is no self in itself, no atman in
the sense of a separate ego-entity, the true
self of a man is the combination of his
whole personality, which is name and form,
consisting mainly of the character of a man,
his mind, his aspirations and modes of
thought.
8. Every being in its present existence
is the exact product of all its deeds in for-
mer existences ; and according to its deeds
it will continue in future existences.
9. Selfhood is an illusion but the illu-
sion is dispelled by enlightenment.
10. Enlightenment recognizing the inter-
connection of all life, imparts an all-corn-
THE D HARM A. 43
prehensive kindness towards all living be-
ings and a deep compassion with every
creature that suffers.
n. Enlightenment is more than knowl-
edge, more than morality, more than good-
ness. It is wisdom, virtue, and an all-
comprehensive love in one. It is truth
manifesting itself in motor ideas as power.
Enlightenment is perfect only when it dom-
inates our thoughts, stimulates our senti-
ments, and regulates our conduct.
12. Thus truth is like a lamp. It re-
veals the good law and points out the
noble path of righteousness, leading to
Nirvana.
13. Nirvana is a state of mind in which
the limitations of individuality disappear,
and the eternity of truth is contemplated.
It renders one's own individuality as much
objective as other individualities. Individ-
ual existence as a purpose ceases, and
one's existence, one's self and soul, is iden-
tified with the truths of which it con-
sists ; and these truths are that something
which would remain even though the whole
44 THE DHARMA.
world should break to pieces. In brief,
Nirvana is the entire surrender of selfhood
to truth. It is deliverance from evil and
the highest bliss attainable.
14. He who has attained to perfect en-
lightenment so as to be a teacher of man-
kind, is called a Buddha, which means the
Enlightened One.
15. Buddhists revere Gautama Siddhar-
tha as the Buddha, for he for the first
time most clearly pointed out the truth
which proved an unspeakable blessing to
many hundreds of millions of suffering
beings.
EXPLANATIONS.
THE following explanations will serve to
remove some of the most important
misconceptions :
i. Buddhism has no dogmas and is not
based upon a revelation in the sense in
which the words " dogma " and " revela-
tion " are commonly used. Every Bud-
dhist is free to investigate for himself the
facts from which the Buddhist doctrines
have been derived. Buddha had no other
revelation than the experience which every
human being is confronted with ; however,
he had a deeper insight into the nature of
things than any other man, and could,
therefore, trace the cause of evil and pro-
pose a remedy.
2. A conflict between religion and
science is impossible in Buddhism. Ac-
cording to Buddha's injunctions we must
45
46 THE DHARMA.
accept all propositions which have been
proved to be true by careful scientific in-
vestigation. Buddha taught only those
truths which are necessary for salvation ;
yet it is noteworthy that modern psychol-
ogy, as worked out by the most advanced
western scientists who have heard little of
Buddha, confirm Buddha's doctrines of the
soul.
3. Buddhism is commonly said to deny
the existence of the soul. This statement
is correct or incorrect according to the
sense in which the word soul is used.
Buddhism denies the reality of the self-
hood of the soul. It denies the existence
of a soul-substratum, of a metaphysical
soul-entity behind the soul ; but not of the
feeling, thinking, aspiring soul, such as
from experience we know ourselves to be.
To deny the existence of the soul in the
latter sense would be a denial of the surest
facts of the existence of which we have the
most direct and most reliable knowledge.
4. Buddhism does not propose the doc-
trine of the annihilation of the soul in
THE D HARM A.
47
death, but teaches the continuance of
the soul in reincarnations according to the
deeds done during life, which is called the
law of Karma.
Enlightenment is the cessation of igno-
rance, not of thinking ; the suppression of
lust, not of love ; the quiescence of pas-
sion, not of life.
Nirvana is not self-annihilation, but the
extinction of sin ; it is not non-existence,
but the destruction of selfishness ; it is not
dissolution into nothing, but the attain-
ment of truth ; it is not resignation, but
bliss.
5. Buddhism is commonly said to deny
the existence of God. This, too, is true
or not true, according to the definition of
God. While Buddhists do not believe that
God is an individual being like ourselves
they recognize that the Christian God-idea
contains an important truth, which, how-
ever, is differently expressed in Buddhism.
Buddhism teaches that Bodhi, or Sam-
bodhi, or Amitabha, 1 i. e. , that which
1 Bddhi (wisdom), Sambddhi (perfect wisdom),
48 THE D HARM A.
gives enlightenment, or, in other words
those verities the recognition of which is
Nirvana (constituting Buddhahood), is
omnipresent and eternal. Bodhi is that
which conditions the cosmic order of the
world and the uniformities of reality.
Bodhi is the everlasting prototype of truth,
partial aspects of which are formulated by
scientists in the various laws of nature.
Above all, Bodhi is the basis of the
Dharma ; it is the foundation of religion ;
it is the objective reality in the constitu-
tion of being from which the good law of
righteousness is derived ; it is the ultimate
authority for moral conduct.
6. Buddhism is not pessimism. Bud-
dhism, it is true, boldly and squarely faces
the problem of evil, and recognizes the
existence of evil ; but it does so in order
to show to mankind the way of escape.
Buddhism does not preach annihilation,
but salvation ; it does not teach death, but
Amitdbha (infinite light), remind one of the Chris-
tian term Logos, word: and the Chinese Tao, word,
path, reason.
THE DHARMA.
49
life. Buddhism would abolish lust, not
love ; it does not enjoin asceticism or self-
mortification, but preaches the right way of
living ; its aim is Nirvana, the abandon-
ment of selfhood and the leading of a life
of truth, which is attainable here upon
earth in this life of ours.
7. Buddhists do not believe that they
alone are in possession of truth, and hail
truth and purity wherever they find it, be
it in the prophets of Israel, in the New
Testament, or in the Dharmapada. We
read in the twelfth edict of Ashoka :
"There ought to be reverence for one's
own faith and no reviling of that of
others." x
8. While Buddhists would not accept
dogmas which stand in contradiction to
science, they gladly recognize many re-
markable resemblances of their own faith
with other religions ; especially the ethics
of Christ are truly elevating and remind
Buddhists of the noble injunctions of
Buddha.
1 See Sir M. M. William's Buddhism, p. 90.
5°
THE DHARMA.
9. Buddhists are all those who, like
Buddha, seek salvation in enlightenment.
There are Buddhists who officially join the
Buddhist brotherhood by voluntarily tak-
ing the vows with the purpose of leading a
life of perfect holiness. There are others
who by a solemn pronunciation of the
refuge-formula join the Buddhist Church
as lay-members, and lay members may,
equally with those who have taken the
vows, attain the bliss of salvation. In
addition there are unconscious followers of
Buddha who without any external connec-
tion with Buddhist communities accept the
truths of Buddhism, and walk in the noble
eightfold path.
A TERSE STATEMENT OF BUDDHISM.
" The Gospel of Buddha, According to Old Rec-
ords," told by Paul Carus, is a brief and faithful
compilation extracted from the sacred books of the
Buddhistic canon. The book is heartily recom-
mended by His Majesty, the King of Siam, and all
representative Buddhists who served as delegates
to the Chicago Parliament of Religions ; among
them H. Dharmapala, editor of the Maha-Bodhi
Journal ; His Royal Highness, Prince Chandradat
Chudhadharn, official delegate of Siamese Bud-
dhism ; C. A. Seelakkhandha, Buddhist high priest
of Dodanduwa, Ceylon ; A. E. Buultjens, Principal
of Ananda College, Colombo, Ceylon ; Mr. Tan
Tek Soon, of Singapore ; and other teachers hold-
ing prominent positions in the Buddhist schools.
A Japanese translation by T. Suzuki appeared
under the auspices of the RL Rev. Shaku Soyen,
abbot of the Zen sect, in Kamakura, Japan ; and a
Chinese translation was made and published by
Mr. K. Ohara of Otsu, editor of the Shi Do Kwai Ho
Kokn, which means "Journal of the Society for the
Propagation of the Doctrine of Enlightenment !
WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
Primer of Philosophy. Pages vi., 232. Cloth $1.00. Paper
25 cts.
The Religion of Science. Pages vi., 103. Cloth 50 cts.
Paper 25 cts.
Homilies of Science. Pages x., 317. Cloth, gilt top,$i.so.
The Idea of God. Third edition. Pages 31. Paper 15 cts.
The Nature of the State. Pages xii., 56. Paper 15 cts.
The Philosophy of the Tool. Pages 24. Paper, illus-
trated cover, 10 cts.
The Gospel of Buddha. Pages xvi., 275. Cloth, gilt top,
$1.00. Paper 35 cts.
The Ethical Problem. Three Lectures. Pages xv., 90.
Cloth, 50 cts.
Truth in Fiction. Tales with a Moral. Bound in white
and gold. Gilt edges. Pages n 1., $1.00.
Goethe and Schiller's Xentons. Selected and translated.
Pages 162. Cloth, gilt edges, $1.00.
Fundamental Problems. The Method of Philosophy as a
Systematic Arrangement of Knowledge. Second edition,
enlarged and revised. Cloth, $1.50. Paper, 50 cts.
The Soul of Man. An Investigation of the Facts of Physio-
logical and Experimental Psychology. With 152 illustra-
tive cuts and diagrams. Pages xvi., 45S. Cloth, #3.00.
Other publications of The Open Court Publishing Co., are
works by prominent scientists, such as F. Max Miiller of Ox-
ford, George John Romanes, the friend and literary executor of
Charles Darwin, E. D. Cope, the American evolutionist, Th.
Ribot, the French psychologist, Ernst Mach, the German phy-
sicist and philosopher, C. H. Cornill, a representative scholar of
Bible criticism, Richard Garbe, the Sanscrit scholar, Gen.
M. M. Trumbull, a vigorous American writer on topics of
social economy, and Gustav Freytag, the German novelist.
Apply for catalogue to
THE OPEN COURT PUBLISHING CO.,
Post Office Drawer F., Chicago, 111.
BOOKS ON BUDDHISM.
The following books are recommended as most
valuable in the study of Buddhism :
Rhys Davids, T. W. Buddhism ; Being a sketch of
the Life and Teachings of Gotama, the Buddha.
London and New York, 1804. (A brief and con-
venient summary, in inexpensive form.)
Khys Davids, T. W. Buddhism, Its History and
Literature. (American Lectures. 1896.)
Warren, H. C. Buddhism in Translations. Cam-
bridge, 1896. (Third volume of the Harvard
Oriental Series. It consists of over a hundred ex-
tracts from the Pali Scriptures, done into English
and so arranged as to give a general view of Cey-
lonese Buddhism. Chapter i. gives the Buddha
legend; chapters ii., iii., and iv. give the Doctrine;
and chapter v. treats of the Order and the monastic
life.)
Williams, Sir Monier Monier.* Buddhism. New
York : Macraillan & Co.
Oldenberg, H.* Buddha; His Life, His Doctrine,
His Order. Translated from the German by William
Hoey. London, 1882.
Bhikshu. Subhadra. A Buddhist Catechism.
Arnold, Sir Edwin. The Light of Asia, or the
Great Renunciation. With Illustrations. Boston :
Roberts Brothers. 1890.
Carus, Paul. Karma, A Story of Early Buddhism.
Carus, Paul. Nirvana, a Story of Buddhist Psycho-
logy. In Preparation.
The original Pali texts are published in the Journal
of the Pali Text Society. London, Henry Frowde.
For translations of the Buddhist Scriptures. See Max
Muller's " Sacred Books of the East." The Vinaya
is given in vols, xiii., xvii., and xx. ; Buddhist Sut-
tas, in vol. xi. ; Questions of Milinda, in vols. xxxv.
and xxxvi. ; the Dhammapada and Sutta Nipata
(old and important), in vol. x. See also vols, xix.,
xxi., and xlix. Max Muller has just begun a new
series, "The Sacred Books of the Buddhists," with
a translation of the first volume of the Harvard
Oriental Series, the Jataka Mala. A translation of
the great collection of Buddhist folklore called the
Jataka is now appearing at Cambridge, England,
under the editorship of Professor Cowell. Two
volumes are out.
* These books are scholarlv but written from the
Christian standpoint and Buddhists do not recognise
them as representing th(X f;,,f * <-orr«*otly.
THE AMERICAN MAHA-BODHI SOCIETY
The purpose of the American Maha-Bodhi Society is :
To encourage a sympathetic exchange of thought between
Buddhists and Christians.
The American Maha-Bodhi Society is in fellowship with the
Maha-Bodhi Society of India and Ceylon, which is patronized
by the most prominent and scholarly Buddhist Highpriests and
has made it its special aim to conserve the sacred places in
India famous in the history of Buddhism.
The American Maha-Bodhi Society proposes to secure a
better mutual understanding between Christians and Buddhists
not only by the publication of appropriate literature, but also
by creating facilities for Eastern Buddhists to pursue a course of
studies at Western universities, whence they would take back
to their various homes the advantages of modern science and
the lessons that Christianity can teach them.
The Society is international and unsectarian in its character.
Membership is open to all without distinction of creed or color.
Initiation fee, $5.00. Yearly assessment, $1.00.
The Maha-Bodhi Journal is published monthly as the organ
of the Society by its local branch at Calcutta. Subscription,
yearly, $1.00.
The seal of the Maha-Bodhi Society is a faithful repro-
duction of an old seal used centuries
ago by the Abbot of the Monaster}' of
Benares in his official capacity. It shows
in the centre the three jewels (the Bud-
dha, the Dharma, and the Sangha)
covered by a halo and guarded by two
devas. Underneath, between two deer,
is the wheel of truth which the Buddha
set a-rolling in the deer-park at Benares.
II. Dharmapala, secretary to the
Maha-Bodhi Society of India and Ceylon,
is at present in America and is now open
to engagements for lectures. As he belongs to the order of
Anagarikas he neither possesses funds nor accepts any per-
sonal remuneration, but he will be pleased if clubs or societies
that engage him would send voluntary contributions, however
little it may be, to support the work of the Maha-Bodhi So-
ciety. The money thus collected will belong to the American
Maha-Bodhi Society.
Letters to Anagarika H. Dharmapfila will be forwarded by
M. A. Sacksteder,
Treasurer of the Chicago branch of the M. B. S.
Post Office Drawer F., Chicago, 111.
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Library Bureau Cat. no. 1137
BL 1451 . C26 1896
Carus, Paul, 1852-1919.
The dharma, or The religion
of enlightenment
llt—W—l
The Dharma
OR
The Religion of Enlightenment
