BISHOP COPLESTON ON BUDDHISM.*

A FEW years ago we remarked (Spectator, September 22nd, 1888) that "no satisfactory book has yet been published on the question,—What is the Buddhism of the present day in any particular place (Ceylon, for instance, where the purest form survives to some extent), and how much of the original Buddhism, which is so fascinating a literary study, is believed in by, anclinfluences the lives of, the common people of that country P The Bishop of Colombo, in the Nineteenth Century (July, 1888), deals partially but inadequately with this ques- tion; his conclusions require to be illustrated and expanded." The Bishop has, in the volume now before us, very fully ex- panded his Nineteenth Century article, and has provided exactly the kind of book which we then indicated as required. Many books have been written about primitive Buddhism, and others about various forms of modern Buddhism ; but the special value of the present treatise consists in its being a systematic attempt to trace, as it were, a straight line down the ages, from Gotama in Maga.clha to Sumangala, now 4r Principal of the Pali College in Colombo, and High-Priest of Adam's Peak," without making any unnecessary digres- sions into the more ornate or complex systems prevailing in China, Japan, or Tibet. In his account of the primitive religion and its founder, Bishop Copleston goes over well- trodden ground, and naturally makes few, if any, fresh dis- coveries. But his treatment of the subject is clearly arranged, and his judgment well balanced between the extremes of -credulity and scepticism in regard to the traditional story. He notices that the two qualities whim!) unite to make up the ideal of Buddhist morality (not only of the books, but * Primitive and Present, in Magadha and Ceylon. By R. S.

Copleston, C.D., Biehop of Colombo. London ; Longman% Green, and Co. 1892.

actually in every age) are gentleness and calm, and that these two qualities were specially prominent in the founder's

character :— • " In their degenerate form they both pass into apathy, and there are passages of the Pitakas which recommend what is hardly better than that ; but the general tone is nearer to the ideal, and recommends a gentleness that rises into positive love, and a calm which is based upon strength and resolution. The picture which is given to us of Gotama represents a character not only calm and gentle, but active, genial, not devoid of humour, deeply sym- pathetic, and intensely human. In utter isolation from all other beings, except by feeling kindly to them all, such is the ideal conqueror of Buddhism."

As AL St. Hilaire wrote of him, his constant heroism equalled his conviction ; his self-denial, his charity, his unalterable

sweetness, failed not for a single instant." His sympathy for suffering humanity was almost modern in its intensity and its pessimism, but was far from modern in its lack of practical expedients for relieving, or even palliating, the all-prevalent pain. His famous four Truths, as to the universality of sorrow, the cause of Borrow, the extinction of sorrow, and the

path to the extinction of sorrow, and the other connected formulaa, are, as Bishop Copleston well points out, nowhere brought into any clear connection with conduct. The excel- lent moral system of Buddhism seems to most outsiders—

and apparently, also, to most professing Buddhists—to stand and flourish quite apart from, and independently of, the philo- sophical formulse.

In tracing the story down from the days of the founder of the religion, the figure that looms largest out of the dim miets of past centuries is that of the great Asoka, the royal defender and apostle of the faith, whose edicts, written in stone, remain to tell the world of to-day what magnificent efforts he made to spread and enforce the religion which had 'laid its spell" upon him. He is supposed to have sent his son, Mahinda, to Ceylon to convert the people of that island. Bishop Copleston gives reasons for thinking this tradition true, notwithstanding the doubts thrown upon it by Pro-

fessor Oldenberg and others. The story is "decorated in the chronicle with innumerable embellishments—the sea was covered with flowers, deities danced before the King, &ea &c,—but these are but decorations which can be dropped out of notice, without injury to the substance of the record." For instance, "we are not to doubt that a meeting was held, because it is said that 84,000 monks attended it, or

to doubt that many monks came, because it is said that they came through the air." These highly decorated chronicles of Ceylon Buddhism, from Asoka's time to the beginning of this century, are contained in the Mahavansa, an English transla- tion of which was completed a few years ago, and published with the assistance of the Ceylon Government. The history tells of Kings and Generals, but very little about the influence of the religion on the common people. The Bishop, however, draws one inference from the records :—" The complete collapse of the religious system, which seems to have followed every royal defection or Tamil usurpation, indicates that slight hold on the heart of the people, which one would expect to be the result of excessive dependence on a court."

Buddhism, apparently, never died out in Ceylon, though from time to time its vitality fell to a very low ebb. There is good reason to believe that the old customs and teaching are seen to-day almost in their pristine purity, but the existing

Community is of late date. The different sects "repre- sent comparatively recent revivals of Buddhism by suc- cessive importations of monks from Siam and from Burectah. The Siamese is the oldest, and dates its origin from about A.D. 1750, when Kb: ti Sri Raja obtained twenty monks from Siam to revive the succession said to have been lost in Ceylon." The latest revival is of a different type, though, like the earlier ones, it is partly imported, or at least due to foreign influences. Stimulated by the example of European scholars, many Buddhists have in recent years enteral seriously upon the study of the Pali language, and of their sacred books. Moreover, the students of the Pali Col- lege, in Colombo, show in another direction their indebtedness to European thought; "what is clearly fabulous or super- etitions in the old system is boldly thrown overboard, and Buddhism claims to be in alliance with modern discoveries, and the philosophy of the West." The influence of this Colombo school has to some extent spread to other parts of the island, as monks with some knowledge of the religion they profess are being sent out in all directions; but Bishop

• Copleston seems to think that the movement has not involved any general revival; "it is rather academic than national," 1 and "as a popular force it is already passing by." It is important to notice that neither in this school nor among any body of Buddhists in Ceylon, " is there any pre- tence of, or expectation of, supernatural powers. The Ceylon Buddhists always laugh with utter incredulity at the stories of 'Esoteric Buddhism,' and say, 'perhaps there may be such things in Tibet.'" Bishop Copleston refers to a Buddhist Catechism, as practically the text-book of the Colombo school of Buddhists, which was published "in 1881 for use in Buddhist schools, and bears the imprimatur of the learned Sumangala ; " but he omits to mention that it was compiled by an American, Colonel Okott. This Catechism was followed by another, written by a genuine Buddhist, Subhildra Bhiksu, on similar lines, but slightly modified to suit European readers, published in German (Brunswick, 1888) and in English (London, 1890), the latter edition having been noticed in. the Spectator (January 31st, 1891). A French translation of the main part of Subbildra's Catechism, with criticisms by Professor C. de Harlez, of Louvain, has recently been published.* Professor de Harlez respects the piety and earnestness of Subleildra, but has not much respect for non- Orientals like Colonel Olcott, who try to propagate Buddhism in Europe and America, and boldly (may we add, ignorantly?) vouch for an essential identity between Buddhist philosophy and modern science :—" Qua dire de cent qui cherchent It pro. Pager ces doctrines en pays chrftien P S'ils sent sinceres, nous lea plaignons sinaerement aussi. Et s'ils no le sent pas ! Alors, taisons nous."

The character which Bishop Copleston gives of the monks generally is not a high one. Theoretically, the monk lives on such daily supplies of food and other necessaries as he can obtain by begging from the faithful laymen ; and in certain districts, where the people are very poor, or where the in- fluence of Buddhism is weak, his life is very hard. Even in Colombo, young men, who have come "to attend the Pali College, have sometimes, if they have no friends in the city, a really hard life ; and bear it," we are told, "for the sake of learning, with an enthusiasm which is extremely touching." But many of the monks have been spoiled by the too great liberality of royal donors in past generations ; they live on their properties, and do not hesitate to receive rents in money, with which they not only buy necessaries for themselves, but also provide for their relations. "The power to benefit their relations" in this way is "believed to be the cause of enlist- ment in the monastic life in a large proportion of cases ;" and the Bishop quotes as "the opinion of men, who are well able to judge, that if—as the Buddhist Temporalities Bill proposes— the temple properties are placed in lay hands and administered only for the common benefit, not one in a hundred of those who now join the Community in Ceylon will do so." Surely this must be an exaggeration ; moreover, the "Bill" referred to Las already, three years ago, been passed into law, and only awaits the voluntary action of the Buddhist laymen of any district to bring it into effective operation. The influence of Buddhism on the morals of the laity is, according to Bishop Copleston, very slight ; their religion is generally limited to the endeavour to obtain merit by making presents to the monks, or attending "a 33ana Pinkama, or

kind for recitation of the Sacred Books." This is a /1Ind af preaching festival, lasting several days. Often, if the moon is full, the reading and exposition are continued through the whole night, and one of the most popular readings on

sue,h4loccasions appears to be a very long and difficult Sutra :—

ex_ es, sto the difficulty, that is neither here nor there, for no one te„,11e.„1. ,.t.? understand much of any Sutra ; but the fun lies in its beginning nThe readers have to read very fast, for the fastest readers, the morning at G P.131" cannot finish much before half-past seven in pleasure tang-. And it is in witnessing their efforts that the com-

mentary or tram. 1 •

consists original, and the other the Sinhalese com-

One reads There are two readers, who sit side by side.

the one 'Lotion. Each word of Pali, as it is shouted by

Sinhales reader, is followed with lightning speed by its echo in Ler

hearers aerer"). the other. It is exactly like a race, and the delighted. Every amusement too." word carries 'merit' with it, and Bishop Copleston remarks that "the acquaintance of the common people with the classical Sinhalese, in which as a rule the commentaries are written, and that of the monks with the Pali original, is far too small for any meaning to be

* Le Malawi do Buddlyame d'apr

Par Mgr. C. do Harloz. ils is Catechism° do SiOltddin Bhikshu,

to Louvain : Uystpruyst-Diondonnd. 1852.

conveyed in the majority of cases by the reading and inter- pretation of the Pitaka books." But the late Sir Frederick Dickson, formerly of the Ceylon Civil Service, in a paper read before the Asiatic Society of Ceylon in 1883, described a " night-preaching " more fully ; and while his account agrees with the Bishop's in saying that the commentaries are given "in learned language which only a few understand," he adds that, at intervals in the all-night service, the expounder "preaches to the people in plain and simple language, taking the Sutra that has been read as his text ; " and opportunity is even given to the congregation to ask questions about any difficulty. So the night is not so entirely wasted, as one might gather was the case from Bishop Copleston's account.