Page:China- Its State and Prospects.djvu/231

Rh the metempsychosis, he was annihilated, B.C. 948. Before his absorption into nothing, he delivered the following stanza:—

In the eighth year of the reign of Ming-te, of the Han dynasty, A.D. 66, the religion of Buddha first entered China. The emperor, hearing that there was a divine personage in the west, of the name of Buddha, sent messengers to India, to inquire into his doctrines, obtain his books, and bring some of his priests to China. The historian tells us that "the general scope of these books was to exhalt annihilation, and promote compassion by not killing animals, affirming that when men die, their spirits do not scatter, but, assuming another form, receive the recompence of all the good and evil they have ever committed. Hence they constantly aim to cultivate and improve their spirits, till they become amalgamated into Buddha."

The empire is now full of Buddhist temples, and the priests of this sect actually swarm. They profess to renounce all family connections—take a vow of celibacy—shave their heads—dwell in temples—abstain from animal food—and subsist on the voluntary contributions of the people. The gods they worship are the three precious Buddhas—the past, present, and future; Kwan-yin, the goddess of mercy, the goddess of the small-pox, the patroness of barren women, the god of wealth, &c. The three Buddhas are generally represented half-naked, with woolly hair, in a sitting