Page:A history of Chinese literature - Giles.djvu/431

 and Buddhism are now so mixed up that it is impossible to draw any sharp line of demarcation between the two. As Chu Hsi snys, " Buddhism stole the best features of Taoism, and Taoism stole the worst features of Bud- dhism ; it is as though the one stole a jewel from the other, and the loser recouped the loss with a stone." Prefixed to the Kan Ying P l ien will be found Buddhist formulae for cleansing the mouth and body before beginning to read the text, and appeals to Maitreya Buddha and Avalokitesvara. Married women and girls are advised not to frequent temples to be a spectacle for men. " If you must worship Buddha, worship the two living Buddhas (parents) you have at home ; and if you must burn incense, burn it at the family altar." We are further told that there is no time at which this book may not be read ; no place in which it may not be read ; and no person by whom it may not be read with profit. We are advised to study it when fasting, and not necessarily to shout it aloud, so as to be heard of men, but rather to ponder over it in the heart. The text consists of a com- mination said to have been uttered by Lao Tzu, and directed against evil-doers of all kinds. In the opening paragraphs attention is drawn to various spiritual beings who note down the good deeds and crimes of men, and lengthen or shorten their lives accordingly. Then follows a long list of wicked acts which will inevitably bring retribution in their train. These include the ordi- nary offences recognised by moral codes all over the world, every form of injustice and oppression, falsehood, and theft, together with not a few others of a more venial character to Western minds. Among the latter are birds'-nesting, stepping across food or human beings, cooking with dirty firewood, spitting at shooting stars

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