04.7 The Silk Road, part 1 of 3 ~-
Toxic Zen Anthology
Invasions & Kamikaze, Inquisitions, Torquemada, Tokugawas, Jesuits,
and Dharma Debates.
part 1 of 3.
"No One Expects The Spanish Inquisition !!!! " - Monty Python. Right?
Actually, there is a causal explanation for the Spanish Inquisition,
but it is not observable as a sequential chain of causes and effects,
that our deluded view of time and causality is most accustomed to
seeing.
It's more like the simultaneity of cause and effect - view of life in
the three existences, where causal chains can be pulled, as well as
pushed ... more on that later ...
____ Preface _____________________________________________
Zen is the snake that bites it's own tail. If you embrace the void and
acausality, you will find yourself later in the midst of catastrophic
emptiness saying "how'd that happen?".
Under Prajnatara (Perfect Wisdom Shining Star) of India, there was a
disciple named Bodhidharma (Buddha Law). Under these grandiose names,
they studied the Buddha's teachings, after Buddhism had traveled East
to China. The Buddha foretold that Buddhism would fall into a Hellish
path in India, after the Buddha's highest teachings had moved on.
When Bodhidharma traveled from India and arrived at Ching-Ling (now
Nanking) to meet with the Emperor's emissary (some say Emperor Wu of
the Liang Dynasty, see footnote), where they discussed the Sutras.
As Bodhidharma (also called Da Mo, or Ta Mo in China, and Daruma in
Japan) believed in dhyana or meditation upon the emptiness at the
heart of life, and as the Lotus Sutra had been translated into
Chinese by Kumarajiva who traveled from India a century earlier and
had served the Liang Dynasty well, the lesser teaching of dhyana was
rejected by practitioners of the highest teaching, and Bodhidharma
was banished from Imperial territory.
As an icchantika, or incorrigible disbeliever in the Lotus Sutra, he
could not be allowed to spread his teachings in the Emperor's domain
(they wished to live happily, you see). But by banishing him, they
did not act as bodhisattvas, to thoroughly refute his evil and not
let him slip away to corrupt others, and thusly fall into the hell of
incessant sufferings (Aviichi Hell) for countless lifetimes. Out of
this single uncompassionate act, much of the suffering of the world
has come.
Bodhidharma's school was known as Dhyana (from the Mahayana source),
or as Cha'an in China, and eventually as Zen in Japan. It comes to
flower in many different forms, in many different places down through
the ages.
Bodhidharma's very existence is denied by the Zen community,
rendering the life of their founder as itself a void. This allows no
one to be responsible, and the Zen community to walk away from the
train wreck. So let's assume that the history is true, and hold
Bodhidharma and Zen accountable, just this once. There was surely a
founder who brought Dhyana from India, however many names he is
called.
Footnote:
Concerning Emperor Wu: from "The Selection of the Time - Nichiren,
disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha", Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, p.
544:
'Those concerned about their next life would do better to be common
people in this, the Latter Day of the Law, than be mighty rulers
during the two thousand years of the Former and Middle Days of the
Law. Why won't people believe this? Rather than be the chief priest of
the Tendai school, it is better to be a leper who chants
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo! As Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty said in his
vow, "I would rather be Devadatta and sink into the hell of incessant
suffering than be the non-Buddhist sage Udraka Ramaputra."'
This reference is to a document in which Emperor Wu (464--549), the
first ruler of the Liang dynasty, pledged not to follow the way of
Taoism. It actually says that he would rather sink into the evil paths
for a long period of time for going against Buddhism (yet nevertheless
forming a bond with it) than be reborn in heaven by embracing the
non-Buddhist teachings. This story appears in The Annotations on
"Great Concentration and Insight." Udraka Ramaputra was a hermit and
master of yogic meditation, the second teacher under whom Shakyamuni
practiced. He is said to have been reborn in the highest of the four
realms in the world of formlessness.
__________________________________________________________
There is a hierarchy of Zen, in power and toxicity. The lesser forms
of Zen pave the way in societies and cultures for the greater forms.
Once a society or culture is corrupted, in even the tiniest way, by
any form of Zen, the tendency will be to move inevitably towards
greater corruption by more variants of the more powerful and toxic
forms. In this way, Zen undermines everything that can be undermined
in the world, leaving only that which is incorruptible (the correct
practice of the Lotus Sutra). The hierachy of Zen is as follows, in
general terms:
Physical Zen: All of the martial arts are based on Zen, starting
with Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Karate, Aikido, JiuJitsu,
Judo, Kendo, Bushido, Ninjitsu, etc. Tai Chi came from
Shaolin Qigong, which also led to Acupuncture,
Acupressure and Falun Gong. As the chaos in society
grows, people need to feel they can protect themselves and
their loved ones, and in this way they are corrupted further.
Christian Zen, Jewish Zen, Hindu Zen, Islamic Zen: These are
basically mixtures, wherein the monotheist believer in a
deity, feels they can practice Zen meditation without a
problem, since it is not theistic. While this reasoning is true,
it ignores the absolutely ovewhelming corruption produced
by Zen, which will ultimately undermine their belief system
and every facet of their life, by bringing all of the negatives
in the Zen adherant's daily life and environment to the
forefront, with increasing amplification and psychotic
effect.
Nuremberg Zen: The widespread belief by a population, that
the purpose of the Buddha's advent in the world was to
teach Zen: that Zen is Buddhism. This is, of course, an
absolutely distorted view of the Buddha's life and teachings.
Shakyamuni made it transparently clear, at the very end of
his life in the Nirvana Sutra, wherein he states that the Lotus
Sutra is his highest teaching in the past, present and future,
and is the purpose of his advent on this Earth, and that his
followers should honestly discard provisional teachings
(teachings other than the Lotus Sutra).
Nuremberg Zen was promulgated first by D.T. Suzuki's
work with Paul Carus, then by Eugen Herrigel's Zen in the
Art of Archery (and the many who copies: Zen in the Art
of Marketing, Sales, Bakery, etc.) and finally by Alan Watts,
the Norman Vincent Peale of Zen. Nuremberg Zen creates
the environment of chaos and widespread misery that are
the preconditions for the spread of more toxic forms of
Zen.
Stanford Zen: This is the Lay organization of Zen. It was
developed in conjunction with the activites of Frederic
Spiegelberg, a Lutheran who taught theology at the
University of Dresden, and fleeing the effects of Nuremberg
Zen in Germany, came to teach at Stanford, and founded
the American Academy of Asian Studies with Alan Watts
and others, which became the California Institute of Integral
Studies, after it spawned Esalen with Richard Price and
Michael Murphy. Esalen was the proving ground for the
Large Group Awareness Therapy organizations, of which
Werner Erhard's EST was most prominent. EST morphed
into a business school executive training seminar
organization called the Landmark Forum, or Landmark
Education, which has now become the de facto Lay
organization for Zen, projecting itself onto Wall Street and
the Fortune 500.
Green Dragon Zen: In this category I place Soto, which is the
parent of the Green Dragon Society, Rinzai, Fuke, Northern
and Southern Chinese Ch'an sects, Vietnamese and Korean
sects, and all the variant sects which practice the most toxic
forms of Zen: those which actually use the Lotus Sutra as a
means to promulgate their distorted views of Buddhism.
This is the greatest slander of the Lotus Sutra which is
possible. I lump them all under the Green Dragon banner
(I'm sure they do not appreciate this, but that is not a
concern), because Green Dragon has had a tradition of
secret propagation, and penetration of new areas with the
most aggressive intent to build a lasting foothold in every
society it touches. All of the other sects in any locale, will
orient themselves to the Green Dragon.
Nuremberg Zen, Physical Zen and the monotheist Zen mixtures will all
eventually pave the way for Stanford Zen and the Green Dragon, if they
are not themselves undermined by the king of sutras, the Lotus Sutra.
(Zen believers cannot resist the allure of greater power. When they
try the Lotus Sutra and find that it fills the void inside, they will
find they like it.)
__________________________________________________________
There is a principle which is central to the Buddhism of the Lotus
Sutra: Oneness of Person and Law, known as Nimpo-ikka in Japanese.
It is eternally true that the Law and the Buddha are fused, to make
life as we know it.
Since, according to Nichiren in the Ongi Kyuden (The Oral Teachings,
or class notes from his lectures on the Lotus Sutra, taken by Nikko),
one meaning of "Myoho" is that delusion and enlightenment are fused
(this is also explained in the essential teachings of the Lotus Sutra,
in the Juryo or Life Span chapter) ...
This means that even for deluded mortals, there is always a condition
of oneness of person and Law.
The implication of this, is that wherever there is a slander of the
Law, then nearby and coincident with it, there is a slander of
humanity, by the principle of the simultaneity of cause and effect.
Hence, wherever Zen is propagated widely, there will be in each and
every instance, Toxic Zen Stories to tell.
What follows is one of these ...
____ Introduction ________________________________________
The Silk Road was the only route for trade and cultural exchange
between the West and China for many centuries, until sea routes were
established and ships were constructed that could weather the trip
around the Southern tip of Africa.
From "The SIlk Road" (http://www.ama.pp.fi/silk_road_chronology.htm):
'The region separating China from Europe and Western Asia is not
the most hospitable in the world. Much of it is taken up by the
Taklimakan desert, one of the most hostile environments on our planet.
There is very little vegetation, and almost no rainfall; sandstorms
are very common, and have claimed the lives of countless people. The
locals have a very great respect for this `Land of Death'; few
travellers in the past have had anything good to say about it. It
covers a vast area, through which few roads pass; caravans throughout
history have skirted its edges, from one isolated oasis to the next.
The climate is harsh; in the summer the daytime temperatures are in
the 40's, with temperatures greater than 50 degrees Celsius measured
not infrequently in the sub-sealevel basin of Turfan. In winter the
temperatures dip below minus 20 degrees. Temperatures soar in the sun,
but drop very rapidly at dusk. Sand storms here are very common, and
particularly dangerous due to the strength of the winds and the nature
of the surface. Unlike the Gobi desert, where there there are a
relatively large number of oases, and water can be found not too far
below the surface, the Taklimakan has much sparser resources. '
'The land surrounding the Taklimakan is equally hostile. To the
northeast lies the Gobi desert, almost as harsh in climate as the
Taklimakan itself; on the remaining three sides lie some of the
highest mountains in the world. To the South are the Himalaya,
Karakorum and Kunlun ranges, which provide an effective barrier
separating Central Asia from the Indian sub-continent. Only a few icy
passes cross these ranges, and they are some of the most difficult in
the world; they are mostly over 5000 metres in altitude, and are
dangerously narrow, with precipitous drops into deep ravines. To the
north and west lie the Tianshan and Pamir ranges; though greener and
less high, the passes crossing these have still provided more than
enough problems for the travellers of the past. Approaching the area
from the east, the least difficult entry is along the `Gansu
Corridor', a relatively fertile strip running along the base of the
Qilian mountains, separating the great Mongolian plateau and the Gobi
from the Tibetan High Plateau. Coming from the west or south, the only
way in is over the passes. '
Maps are located at:
http://www.silk-road.com/newsletter/january/images/a2.gif
http://www.bangorschools.net/hs/SR/travelers_files/1000li0Map.jpg
The early history of "The Silk Road"
'On the eastern and western sides of the continent, the
civilisations of China and the West developed. The western end of the
trade route appears to have developed earlier than the eastern end,
principally because of the development of the the empires in the west,
and the easier terrain of Persia and Syria. The Iranian empire of
Persia was in control of a large area of the Middle East, extending as
far as the Indian Kingdoms to the east. Trade between these two
neighbours was already starting to influence the cultures of these
regions. '
'This region was taken over by Alexander the Great of Macedon, who
finally conquered the Iranian empire, and colonised the area in about
330 B.C., superimposing the culture of the Greeks. Although he only
ruled the area until 325 B.C., the effect of the Greek invasion was
quite considerable. The Greek language was brought to the area, and
Greek mythology was introduced. The aesthetics of Greek sculpture were
merged with the ideas developed from the Indian kingdoms, and a
separate local school of art emerged. By the third century B.C., the
area had already become a crossroads of Asia, where Persian, Indian
and Greek ideas met. It is believed that the residents of the Hunza
valley in the Karakorum are the direct descendents of the army of
Alexander; this valley is now followed by the Karakorum Highway, on
its way from Pakistan over to Kashgar, and indicates how close to the
Taklimakan Alexander may have got. '
'This `crossroads' region, covering the area to the south of the
Hindu Kush and Karakorum ranges, now Pakistan and Afghanistan, was
overrun by a number of different peoples. After the Greeks, the tribes
from Palmyra, in Syria, and then Parthia, to the east of the
Mediterranean, took over the region. These peoples were less
sophisticated than the Greeks, and adopted the Greek language and coin
system in this region, introducing their own influences in the fields
of sculpture and art. '
'Close on the heels of the Parthians came the Yuezhi people from
the Northern borders of the Taklimakan. They had been driven from
their traditional homeland by the Xiongnu tribe (who later became the
Huns and transfered their attentions towards Europe), and settled in
Northern India. Their descendents became the Kushan people, and in the
first century A.D. they moved into this crossroads area, bringing
their adopted Buddhist religion with them. Like the other tribes
before them, they adopted much of the Greek system that existed in the
region. The product of this marriage of cultures was the Gandhara
culture, based in what is now the Peshawar region of northwest
Pakistan. This fused Greek and Buddhist art into a unique form, many
of the sculptures of Buddhist deities bearing strong resemblances to
the Greek mythological figure Heracles. The Kushan people were the
first to show Buddha in human form, as before this time artists had
preferred symbols such as the footprint, stupa or tree of
enlightenment, either out of a sense of sacrilege or simply to avoid
persecution. '
And finally, how the Silk Road route runs its course:
'The description of this route to the west as the `Silk Road' is
somewhat misleading. Firstly, no single route was taken; crossing
Central Asia several different branches developed, passing through
different oasis settlements. The routes all started from the capital
in Changan, headed up the Gansu corridor, and reached Dunhuang on the
edge of the Taklimakan. The northern route then passed through Yumen
Guan (Jade Gate Pass) and crossed the neck of the Gobi desert to Hami
(Kumul), before following the Tianshan mountains round the northern
fringes of the Taklimakan. It passed through the major oases of Turfan
and Kuqa before arriving at Kashgar, at the foot of the Pamirs. The
southern route branched off at Dunhuang, passing through the Yang Guan
and skirting the southern edges of the desert, via Miran, Hetian
(Khotan) and Shache (Yarkand), finally turning north again to meet the
other route at Kashgar. Numerous other routes were also used to a
lesser extent; one branched off from the southern route and headed
through the Eastern end of the Taklimakan to the city of Loulan,
before joining the Northern route at Korla. Kashgar became the new
crossroads of Asia; from here the routes again divided, heading across
the Pamirs to Samarkand and to the south of the Caspian Sea, or to the
South, over the Karakorum into India; a further route split from the
northern route after Kuqa and headed across the Tianshan range to
eventually reach the shores of the Caspian Sea, via Tashkent. '
'Secondly, the Silk Road was not a trade route that existed solely
for the purpose of trading in silk; many other commodities were also
traded, from gold and ivory to exotic animals and plants. Of all the
precious goods crossing this area, silk was perhaps the most
remarkable for the people of the West. It is often thought that the
Romans had first encountered silk in one of their campaigns against
the Parthians in 53 B.C, and realised that it could not have been
produced by this relatively unsophisticated people. They reputedly
learnt from Parthian prisoners that it came from a mysterious tribe in
the east, who they came to refer to as the silk people, `Seres'. In
practice, it is likely that silk and other goods were beginning to
filter into Europe before this time, though only in very small
quantities. The Romans obtained samples of this new material, and it
quickly became very popular in Rome, for its soft texture and
attractiveness. The Parthians quickly realised that there was money to
be made from trading the material, and sent trade missions towards the
east. The Romans also sent their own agents out to explore the route,
and to try to obtain silk at a lower price than that set by the
Parthians. For this reason, the trade route to the East was seen by
the Romans as a route for silk rather than the other goods that were
traded. The name `Silk Road' itself does not originate from the
Romans, however, but is a nineteenth century term, coined by the
German scholar, von Richthofen. '
'In addition to silk, the route carried many other precious
commodities. Caravans heading towards China carried gold and other
precious metals, ivory, precious stones, and glass, which was not
manufactured in China until the fifth century. In the opposite
direction furs, ceramics, jade, bronze objects, lacquer and iron were
carried. Many of these goods were bartered for others along the way,
and objects often changed hands several times. There are no records of
Roman traders being seen in Changan, nor Chinese merchants in Rome,
though their goods were appreciated in both places. This would
obviously have been in the interests of the Parthians and other
middlemen, who took as large a profit from the change of hands as they
could. '
Hence the SIlk Road made a possible, though difficult medium for the
transmission of Buddhism, beginning with Theravada Buddhism in many
forms (asceticism, precepts, assiduous practices, Buddhist idolatry)
Then Mahayana Buddhism in all of its variations (Nirvana worship,
occultism, hypnotism, dhyana-meditation).
____ Toxic Zen Story ______________________________
I have merged some timelines, which demonstrate exchanges of culture
(and corruption) along the Silk Road in both directions, and which
serve as a neural connection between the Inquisitions in the West and
the East.
There are interesting patterns that emerge from viewing this Timeline:
__________________________________________________________
<<< Pattern #1.>>>
Every few hundred years there is a major event in the history of the
Lotus Sutra, which causes Lotus Sutra Buddhism to either blossom, or
go into decline.
480 BCE: Shakyamuni teaches the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law . The
title in Sanskrit is: "Saddharma-Pundarika-Sutra".
450 BCE: The First Council meets and the Buddhist Canon is fixed, as a
set of orally transmitted sutras.
370 BCE: The Second Council meets and the schism between Hinayana and
Mahayana develops.
300-200 BCE: King Ashoka unites all of India under the Buddhism of the
Lotus Sutra. The Teachings, the People and the Land of India thrive.
100-20 BCE: The Lotus Sutra is finally written down in Sankrit and
Pali.
406 CE: Kumarajiva translates the Lotus Sutra into classical Chinese
verse in 28 chapters. The Teachings, the People and the Land of China
thrive. The title at the heading of all 28 chapters, in Classical
Chinese is: "Miao-fa-lien-hua-ching"
587 CE: Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai of China debates the teachers from
the ten schools at the behest of the Emperor of China, and refutes
them, establishing the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha's highest teaching in
China, with the authority of the ruler. The Teachings, the People and
the Land of China thrive.
760-780 CE: Great Teacher Miao-lo reasserts the supremacy of the Lotus
Sutra in his many writings, but not through public debate. Buddhism of
the Lotus Sutra goes into decline in China after this point. During
this time the teachings survive.
802 CE: Great Teacher Dengyo debates the teachers from the six schools
at the behest of the Emperor of Japan, and refutes them, establishing
the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha's highest teaching in Japan, with the
authority of the ruler. The title at the heading of all 28 chapters,
pronounced in Japanese is: "Myoho-Renge-Kyo".
1272 CE: Nichiren Daishonin, during his exile to Sado Island, debates
the teachers from the ten schools at Tsukahara, at the behest of Lord
Rokuro Saemon, and refutes them, establishing the Lotus Sutra as the
Buddha's highest teaching in Japan. He also predicts the First and
Second Mongol Invasions. Sado is a remote locale, and the priests he
debates are not the major priests of the other schools. Nichiren
states " They were far inferior even to the True Word, Zen, Nembutsu,
and Tendai priests in Kamakura, so you can imagine how the debate
went. I overturned them as easily as a sharp sword cutting through a
melon or a gale bending the grass. They not only were poorly versed in
the Buddhist teachings but contradicted themselves. They confused
sutras with treatises or commentaries with treatises. " Since Nichiren
did not get the opportunity to debate in front of the ruler of the
nation at Kamakura, due to overwhelming religious oppression, the
authority of the ruler is never placed behind his Buddhism. Because of
Nichiren's elucidation of the essential practice of chanting
"Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo", his inscription of the Gohonzon mandala, and
his writings in the Gosho (Writings of Nichiren Daishonin), the
Teachings flourish, but the People and the Land of Japan do not.
1333 CE: Nichimoku Shonin, the 3rd High Priest of Nichiren Shu Komon
Shu (The Fuji School at Taisekiji), after Nitta Yoshisada's army
defeats the ruling Hojo clan of the Kamakura Shogunate and Emperor
Godaigo re-establishes the imperial government at Kyoto, decides to
remonstrate with the new government, which might bring on a new
opportunity to refute the other schools of Buddhism in front of the
ruler of the nation. Tragically, he is old and dies during the trip,
with no capable successors. The Fuji School goes into decline. During
this time the Teachings survive, although the People and the Land of
Japan suffer terribly. Seven years after his death, Zen becomes the
official school of the Shogunate at Kyoto.
1579 CE: The Ohmi debate. Before the Tokugawa period, Oda Nobunaga
also demonstrated his supremacy over religious authority. Oda summoned
the doctrinal debate between the Ikko sect and the Nichiren sect in
Ohmi in 1579. He intentionally declared the defeat of the Nichiren
sect, and forced the Nichiren Buddhists to stop its aggressive
propagation. See Ooms, Tokugawa Ideology, (1985) Nichiin is the 13th
High Priest at this time, he had assumed the position at the age of
nine and was the designated successor of Nitchen, who became 12th High
Priest at the age of thirteen. Clearly, preparation for the position
of High Priest at the Fuji School was not a requirement during this
period. The Fuji School goes into further decline. During this time
the Teachings survive, although the People and the Land of Japan
suffer terribly.
1725 CE: Nichikan Shonin, the 26th High Priest of Nichiren Shu Komon
Shu (The Fuji School at Taisekiji) reforms the Fuji School and
completes the Six-Volume Writings, containing everything required to
refute all other Nichiren sects, and other sects of Buddhism in Japan.
He stated, "With these volumes of writing, which are like the lion
king, you need not be afraid of the various sets and schools in the
nation even if they all come to this temple for debate like a pack of
foxes ..." (Essential Writings of the Fuji School, vol. 5, pp.
355-56). However, public debates are illegal under the Tokugawa
Shogunate: it is illegal to do propagation, or to encroach on the
territory of another Temple (they are like controlled franchises).
Even though he is capable of refuting all the other schools at the
time, he is never given the opportunity to do that in front of the
ruler of the nation at Edo, the seat of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The
Fuji School dwindles down to near death. During this time the
Teachings survive, although the People and the Land of Japan suffer
terribly. Nembutsu mixed with Zen and Shingon is the major religion
under the umbrella Buddhism of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
1867 CE During the Meiji Reformation, the Fuji School is merged with
all of the other Nichiren schools (founded by the priests who betrayed
Nikko, who was the designated successor of Nichiren, and the founder
of Nichiren Shu Komon Shu, the Fuji School). They are merged under the
original name of the Fuji School, Nichiren Shu Komon Shu, so that even
the name cannot be reclaimed. The Fuji School of Nikko Shonin is now
all but dead, although it will come back in limited form as Nichiren
Shoshu in 1912. During this time the Teachings survive, although the
People and the Land of Japan suffer terribly. Shinto becomes the state
religion.
1945 CE: After refusing to merge with State Shinto, the founder of the
Soka Gakkai (Lotus Sutra Buddhist lay organtization) Tsuneseburo
Makiguchi dies in prison at the Tokyo Detention Center.Thanks to the
postwar adminstration of General Douglas MacArthur, there is no state
religion in Japan after the war. Josei Toda, Makiguchi's successor
emerges from prison and the Soka Gakkai in the next 13 years grows to
750,000 households in Japan. Daisaku Ikeda, his successor, guides the
Soka Gakkai to more than 10 million households around the world, in
over 180 countries today. The People and the Land of Japan start to
flourish again.
__________________________________________________________
<<< Pattern #2.>>>
Nichiren Daishonin is born in 1222 in Japan, as the First Papal
Inquisition is surging in Europe.
That great evil was a purging of ascetic sects of Christianity
(Cathars, Waldensians, Fraticelli -a splinter group of the
Franciscans, the Knights Templar), by the accepted ascetic sects of
Christianity (Dominicans, Franciscans).
24 years later, one of the founders of the Franciscans, Giovanni da
Pian del Carpini, carries this evil with him as he travels the Silk
Road to visit the Mongol Rulers, in an attempt to convert the Khan to
Christianity in 1246. The Khan, a Buddhist, sends him packing with the
admonition that he would convert only if the European rulers bowed to
the Khan.
Subsequently, the Mongols invade Japan in 1274 and 1281, fulfilling
Nichiren's very specific prophecy.
Inverting the arrow of time, we can see that the source of his
prediction (through the process of evil in Europe) appears like a
storm on the other side of the world at the time of Nichiren's birth,
which gathered evil and swept along the Silk Road, to stir up the
Khan's Court, and make Nichiren's prediction of the Mongol Invasion,
which was based purely on the slander of the Lotus Sutra by the
schools of Buddhism accepted by the ruler of the nation, come to pass
within the scope of his one lifetime.
This kind of causality demonstrates the unity of the three existences
(past, present, future), and is what I like to call "pull causality".
"Pull causality" , operates from a profound cause, whose effects are
felt in the past, and which draws the flow of events, fanning-in to
focus onto the causal moment. This is counter-intuitive, but modern
views of causality in Physics, for instance, support this model. See
the Footnote below.
"Push causality" is more intuitive, since it moves through the time
sequence that we can easily recognize. It generates a flow of events
from the causal moment and fans-out to the world.
__________________________________________________________
<<< Pattern #3.>>>
Nitchen, the 12th High Priest of Nichiren Shu Komon Shu (Nikko's Fuji
School) is born in 1469 CE. He becomes High Priest at the age of
thirteen. His successor, Nichin, becomes High Priest at the age of
nine, and presides over a catastrophic debate with the Ikko sect in
front of Oda Nobunaga at Ohmi in 1579 CE, which leads to the
restriction against aggressive propagation of the Law (Shakubuku).
Basically, any poaching of believers from any Temple franchise,
irrespective of type, is considered aggressive. The next year, Oda
destroyed the Ikko sect. Two years later, he was betrayed and murdered
by his own supporter. This leads to three hundred years of oppression
of the Nichiren Sect under Oda, Toyotomi, and the Tokugawas, until the
Meiji Reformation in 1867 CE.
At 1478 CE, around the time of Nitchen's birth and continuing until
1869 CE is the Spanish Inquisition. First knowledge of the Inquisition
and associated practices of religious oppression arrive with a founder
of the Jesuits, Francis Xavier in 1549 CE, when he founds the first
Jesuit Monastery in Japan. The Jesuits were among the foot soldiers of
the Spanish Inquisition. Oda used the Jesuits to help him burn the
Enryaku-ji Temple (Tendai, founded by Dengyo) at Mt. Hiei, where they
massacred all 1,600 men and women, children and elders. The Spanish
Inquisition continued until 1869 CE, when the principle of religious
toleration was incorporated into the Spanish constitution, just after
the Meiji Reformation.
Having served their purpose the Christians wer disposed of: In 1638
CE, Tokugawa Iemitsu crushes a ronin and peasant revolt on the
Shimabara peninsula, in Japan. In 1639 CE, Blaming Christianity for
the Shimabara revolt, Tokugawa Iemitsu orders all daimyo to destroy
Christianity in their clans. He issues the Final Isolation Edict. The
Portuguese are expelled from Japan. In 1640 CE, Tokugawa terminates
Christianity from Japan. All Europeans are expelled from Japan.
Portuguese envoys from Macao are beheaded. Reischauer and Craig
estimate that "there were 150,000 Japanese converts around 1582, some
300,000 by the end of the century, and perhaps as many as 500,000 in
1615". By 1650 there were no Christians in Japan.
This is another example of "pull causality". Inverting the arrow of
time, we can see that the source of the religious oppression of
Nichiren Buddhism (through the process of evil acting in the
Inquisition of Spain) appears like a storm on the other side of the
world at the time of Nitchen's birth, which gathered evil and swept
along the Sea Route to Asia, to embed itself in the minds of Oda and
the daimyo Lords of Japan. This resonance was sustained, even after
the Jesuits and their Christian converts were out of Japan. Until that
oppression and the Inquisition ceased almost simultaneously in the
late 1860s CE.
As a gift of evil back from Japan, in 1636, at the same moment that
Nichiren Buddhism is being crushed by the Tokugawas, with help from
the corrupted High Priest Nissei 17th, one Christovao Ferreira
(1580-1650), a Portuguese missionary in Japan who renounced his faith
during the Christian persecutions and became a Zen priest, published a
Zen-based pamphlet against Christianity in 1636. This is the first
corruption of Zen to enter Europe, as a document in a European
language.
__________________________________________________________
Footnote: Simultaneity of Cause and Effect.
In the Lotus Sutra, cause and effect are simultaneous. There is no
settling time. The perception by a deluded mortal of time-sequenced
causality completely misses the big picture, and is one of the sources
of that delusion.
This simultaneity of causality has been supported by scientific
experiment in quantum physics. The direction of linear causality
cannot be determined by a reproducible experiment to point forwards or
backwards. Indeed, no experiment can show any observable difference
between the "special qualities" of any one time and any other, and
that includes the current moment.
A nice visual for this can be found in Paul Davie's article in the
September 2002 Scientific American on time ... see the plot of the
earth's orbit over time and his description of "block time". That
block time is the "place" where all causes occur and all effects are
felt. The two factors of "latent effect" and "inherent cause" of the
ten factors, hold the entire past, present and future in their True
Aspect.
As an example of what I mean, when I walk outside at night, and my
cheek is warmed by a radio-frequency photon emitted just as the
universe became clear after the big bang (3 degree black body
radiation) at the beginning of the current calpa, a molecule of my
cheek and a free nucleus of the superheated plasma fifteen (or so)
billion years ago synchronize together to have that interaction. My
cheek observes that plasma, across fifteen billion years, and both the
observer cell (heated) and the observed plasma (cooled) are
fundamentally changed by that synchronization. Otherwise the
interaction would never occur: my cheek and the early plasma are
effectively exchanging information, and are aligned in such a way as
to have that exchange occur, without the world being deterministic.
This can be no other way, according to the experiments which have been
run over and over in Quantum Physics, looking for any conceivable hole
in Uncertainty Theory.
Buddhism explains this as the Three Existences: the Past, Present and
Future are one and inseparable.
__________________________________________________________
THE TIMELINE ( SILK ROAD, INQUISITIONS, DHARMA DEBATES )
============================================================
959 BCE: King Mu (Mu Wang), West Chou king and the earliest reputed
Silk Road traveller. His travel account Mu tianzi zhuan, written in
the 5th-4th century BC, is the first known travel book on the Silk
Road. It tells of his journey to the Tarim basin, the Pamir mountains
and further into today's Iran region, where the legendary meeting with
Xiwangmu was taken place. Returned via the Southern route. The book no
longer exists but is referenced in Shan Hai Zin, Leizi: Mu Wang Zhuan,
and Shiji.
__________________________________________________________
560 BCE (1029 BCE according to the Chinese tradition): Shakyamuni is
born as Prince Siddharta of the Shakya clan.
__________________________________________________________
530 BCE: Shakyamuni is awakened under the pipal tree (later called the
Bodhi Tree) at Buddhagaya. During his awakening, he recalls that he
originally attained enlightenment in the beginningless past (Kuon
Ganjo).
__________________________________________________________
488-480 BCE: After teaching for 42 years, Shakyamuni expounds his
highest teaching, the Lotus Sutra, in which he states the purpose of
his advent. This takes eight years.
__________________________________________________________
480 BCE (949 BCE according to the Chinese tradition): Shakyamuni dies
at Kushinagara after his last teaching, the Nirvana Sutra. Preceding
him in death are Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, his two foremost
disciples.
__________________________________________________________
450 BCE: The First Council meets 30 years after the death of
Shakyamuni. The followers of Shakyamuni are led by Mahakashkyapa and
Ananda. Ananda recites the 80,000 sutras from memory, and the sutras
are organized and the Buddhist Canon is fixed. It is maintained as an
oral teaching.
__________________________________________________________
370 BCE: The Second Council meets 110 years after the Buddha's death.
During the Second Council the schism between the Hinayana and Mahayana
teachings develops.
__________________________________________________________
138-116 BCE: Zhang Qian (Chang Ch'ien). Chinese general and envoy
credited with opening the Silk Road after his mission from the Han
Emperor Wudi to recruit the Yueh-chih people to form an alliance
against the Xiongnu. First trip (138-125) skirted the Taklamakan
desert via the northern route, passed the Pamir, then reached
Ferghana. Returned via the southern route. His second trip (119-115),
a mission to seek alliance with Wu-sun people, took him to Dunhuang,
Loulan, Kucha, then the capital of Wu-sun kingdom in the Ili river.
His missions to the west led to the formalization of trade, especially
the silk trade, between China and Persia.
Map: http://www.bangorschools.net/hs/SR/zhangqian_files/HanMap.jpg
__________________________________________________________
80 BCE (or thereabouts): The Buddha's orally preserved teachings are
put into written form, among them the Buddha's highest teaching, the
Lotus Sutra. It is written in both Pali and Sanskrit, according to
later translators.
__________________________________________________________
40-70 CE: Anonymous author of the Periplus of the Erythraen (=Red)
Sea. A merchant handbook, written apparently by an Egyptian Greek,
about trade routes through the Red Sea and involving both East Africa
and India. One of the most important sources for Roman Eastern trade,
compiled after the discovery of how to use the monsoon winds to make
the round trip to India. Includes extensive information on ports and
products.
__________________________________________________________
57 CE: A King of Kyushu (Japan) receives official seal from China.
__________________________________________________________
73-102 CE: Ban Chao (Pan Ch'ao). Chinese general restoring the Tarim
basin under Han's power and maintaining whole control of the area as
west as Kashgar during his career there. He sent out emissaries to the
area west and beyond the Tarim basin, including the area of modern-day
Iran and the Persian Gulf.
__________________________________________________________
97 CE: Gan Ying (Kan Ying). First Chinese envoy to Ta-Ts'in (the Roman
Orient) sent by general Ban Chao from Kashgaria in 97 AD. Journeyed
through the Pamir mountains, Parthia, and reached as far as the the
coast of the Persian Gulf. However he was dissuaded from continuing
further west. The first known Chinese visited the Middle East as west
as T'iao-chih, near the present Nedjef, Iraq.
__________________________________________________________
107 CE: A King of Kyushu (Japan) sends 160 slaves as tribute to China.
__________________________________________________________
150 CE: Jimmu, the First King, founds the Japanese State. Yamato's
Civil Wars last 70-80 years .
__________________________________________________________
230 CE: Queen Himiko unifies the Japanese Nation.
__________________________________________________________
240 CE: Queen Himiko sends envoy to China and authorized the
rulership.
__________________________________________________________
266 CE: Queen Toyo (Japan) sends the envoy to China.
__________________________________________________________
365 CE: Queen Jingu (Japan) invades Silla of Korea.
__________________________________________________________
399-413 CE: Faxian (Fa-hsien). First Chinese monk reaching Indian and
returning with a knowledge of Buddhism. Traveled the southern route
through Shenshen, Dunhuang, Khotan, and then over the Himalayas, to
Gandhara, Peshawur then India. He journeyed most of the way on foot
and was the first known traveler passing through the Taklamakan desert
from Woo-e to Khoten. Returned to China via the sea route.
__________________________________________________________
400 CE: Koguryo of Korea defeats the Japanese navy at the Yalu River.
__________________________________________________________
401-411 CE: Tripitaka Master Kumarajiva, who was taken prisoner by
General Lu Kuang and his army at the behest of Fu Chien, ruler of the
Ch'in Dynasty, translated the 28 Chapter Lotus Sutra, the Buddha's
highest teaching of his last 8 years, from Sanskrit into classical
Chinese at Ch'ang-an. In all he translated 35 works in 294 volumes, in
a mere ten years. He stated that if his tongue burned when he was
cremated, that all of his translations should be discarded. It didn't
and they weren't. His translation of the Lotus Sutra, is now
translated into English by Burton Watson.
From "The Selection of the Time - Nichiren, disciple of Shakyamuni
Buddha", the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin pp. 554-555:
'When both old and new translations (80) are taken into
consideration, we find that there are 186 persons who have brought
sutras and treatises from India and introduced them to China in
translation. With the exception of one man, the Tripitaka Master
Kumarajiva, all of these translators have made errors of some kind.
But among them, Pu-k'ung is remarkable for the large number of his
errors. It is clear that he deliberately set out to confuse and
mislead others.'
'Question: How do you know that the translators other than
Kumarajiva made errors? Do you mean not only to destroy the Zen,
Nembutsu, True Word, and the others of the seven major schools, but to
discredit all the works of the translators that have been introduced
to China and Japan?'
'Answer: This is a highly confidential matter, and I should discuss
it in detail only when I am face to face with the inquirer. However, I
will make a few comments here. Kumarajiva himself said: "When I
examine the various sutras in use in China, I find that all of them
differ from the Sanskrit originals. How can I make people understand
this? I have only one great wish. My body is unclean, for I have taken
a wife. But my tongue alone is pure and could never speak false words
concerning the teachings of Buddhism. After I die, make certain that I
am cremated. If at that time my tongue is consumed by the flames, then
you may discard all the sutras that I have translated." Such were the
words that he spoke again and again from his lecture platform. As a
result, everyone from the ruler on down to the common people hoped
they would not die before Kumarajiva [so that they might see what
happened].'
'Eventually Kumarajiva died and was cremated, and his impure body
was completely reduced to ashes. Only his tongue remained, resting
atop a blue lotus that had sprung up in the midst of the flames. It
sent out shining rays of five-colored light that made the night as
bright as day and in the daytime outshone the rays of the sun. This,
then, is why the sutras translated by all the other scholars came to
be held in little esteem, while those translated by Kumarajiva,
particularly his translation of the Lotus Sutra, spread rapidly
throughout China.(81)'
'Question: That tells us about the translators who lived at the
time of Kumarajiva or before. But what about later translators such as
Shan-wu-wei or Pu-k'ung?'
'Answer: Even in the case of translators who lived after
Kumarajiva, if their tongues burned up when they were cremated, it
means that there are errors in their work. The Dharma Characteristics
school in earlier times enjoyed a great popularity in Japan. But the
Great Teacher Dengyo attacked it, pointing out that, though the tongue
of Kumarajiva was not consumed by the flames, those of Hsüan-tsang and
Tz'u-en burned along with their bodies. Emperor Kammu, impressed by
his argument, transferred his allegiance to the Tendai Lotus school.'
'In the third and ninth volumes of the Nirvana Sutra, we find the
Buddha predicting that when his teachings are transmitted from India
to other countries many errors will be introduced into them, and the
chances for people to gain enlightenment through them will be reduced.
Therefore, the Great Teacher Miao-lo remarks: "Whether or not the
teachings are grasped correctly depends upon the persons who transmit
them. It is not determined by the sage's original
pronouncements."(82)'
'He is saying that no matter how the people of today may follow the
teachings of the sutras in hopes of a better life in the hereafter, if
the sutras they follow are in error, then they can never attain
enlightenment. But that is not to be attributed to any fault of the
Buddha.'
'In studying the teachings of Buddhism, apart from the distinctions
between Hinayana and Mahayana, provisional and true, and exoteric and
esoteric teachings, this question of the reliability of the sutra
translation is the most important of all.'
Footnotes:
80. The translations made before Hsüantsang (602--664) are called "old
translations." His and subsequent translations are known as "new
translations."
81. The Liang Dynasty Biographies of Eminent Priests.
82. On "The Words and Phrases." "The sage" referred to here is
Vasubandhu. Miaolo attributed an error in Vasubandhu's commentary on
the Lotus Sutra, The Treatise on the Lotus Sutra, to the translator.
In this context, the Daishonin employs Miao-lo's statement to indicate
the Buddha. Thus, he says in the following paragraph, "that is not to
be attributed to any fault of the Buddha."
After this point in history the Buddha's highest teaching (Lotus
Sutra) had passed from India to China, and the prediction of
Shakyamuni was that Buddhism would go into decline in India, and
become corrupted.
__________________________________________________________
421 CE: King San (Nintoku) of Japan sends his envoy to China.
__________________________________________________________
478 CE: King Yuryaku (Japan) sends his envoy to China, with a
memorial.
__________________________________________________________
500-600 CE: It is uncertain when Jews first settled in China. Some
scholars have dated the transmission of Judaism into China as early as
the 6th century of the Christian era. The earliest existing evidence
of a Jewish presence is a letter written in the 8th century in Persian
Hebrew by a Jewish merchant in China. The 9th century was a turbulent
period for outsiders in China. A rebellion in 878/9 in Canton led to
the massacre of some 120,000 Jews, Christians, Muslims and other
foreigners. This atrocity did not force the Jews out of China; they
continued to trade with the Chinese and established a small Jewish
community in Kaifung during the 9th and 10th centuries. The permanence
of the Jewish presence was confirmed by the construction of a
synagogue in Kaifung in 1163.
It is clear at this point, that Jewish merchants are traveling the
Silk Road from, trading all the way from Europe to China. This gives
them access to Eastern goods which are completely unavailable in the
West, like silk (which the Chinese protected the secret of making),
gemstones not found in the West and jade.
__________________________________________________________
518-521 CE: Song Yun (Sung Yun)/Huisheng. Sung Yun of Dunhuang went
with a monk Huisheng on a mission sent by the Empress Dowager to
obtain the Buddhist scriptures in India in 518. Travled through the
Taklamakan desert via the southern route passing Shanshan, Charkhlik,
Khotan, then further west into the Hindu Kush, Kabul, Peshawar. The
most interesting account is their visit to the Ephthalites (the White
Hun) kingdom, who centered in eastern Afghanistan and controlled much
of the Central Asia during the 5th and 6th centuries. Both wrote a
travel account but none remained.
__________________________________________________________
530 CE: Approximate time of the Indian Buddhist monk Bodhidharma's
journey to China, where he joins the Shaolin monastery and begins the
Cha'an Buddhist lineage (later known in Japan as "Zen").
__________________________________________________________
538 CE: Buddhism makes first contact with Japan, though it would not
become solidly entrenched, in the Zen lineage, for another 700 years.
__________________________________________________________
587 CE: Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai of China debates the teachers from
the ten schools at the behest of the Emperor of China, and refutes
them, establishing the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha's highest teaching.
From "The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings" - Writings of Nichiren
Daishonin pp 1129-1130:
'As the Buddhist teachings spread more widely and one doctrine
after another was introduced from India, some persons who had earlier
seemed discerning now appeared, in the light of more recently
introduced sutras and treatises, to have been foolish. There were also
some who had earlier been thought foolish, but who were now seen to
have been wise. In the end, ten different schools (2) developed, and a
thousand or ten thousand different interpretations were propounded.
Ignorant people did not know which to adhere to, while the attachment
to their own views of those thought to be wise was extreme.'
'In the end, however, there was one opinion that all agreed upon.
It was, in short, that of all the teachings set forth in the course of
the Buddha's lifetime the Flower Garland Sutra ranked first, the
Nirvana Sutra, second, and the Lotus Sutra, third. No one from the
ruler on down to the common people disputed this interpretation,
because it was shared by the Dharma Teacher Fa-yün, the Dharma Teacher
Chihtsang, and the other leaders of the ten schools, who were all
looked up to as great sages.'
'Then, in the time of the Ch'en and Su dynasties during the Middle
Day of the Law, there appeared a young priest named Chih-i, who was
later to be known as the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai Chih-che. Although
he taught many doctrines, his teachings ultimately centered upon this
single issue of the relative superiority of the Lotus, Nirvana, and
Flower Garland sutras.'
'The Dharma Teacher Chih-i declared that the teachers of Buddhism
had these three works ranked upside down. The ruler of the Ch'en
dynasty, in order to determine the truth of the matter, thereupon
summoned a group of more than a hundred men, including the
Administrator of Priests Huiheng, the Supervisor of Priests Huik'uang,
the Dharma Teacher Hui-jung, and the Dharma Teacher Fa-sui, (3) all
among the most eminent leaders of the ten schools of the north and
south, and had them confront Chih-i in debate.'
'The Dharma Teacher Chih-i said: "The Lotus Sutra itself says,
'among the sutras, it holds the highest place.'(4) It also says,
'Among the sutras I [Shakyamuni] have preached, now preach, and will
preach, this Lotus Sutra is the most difficult to believe and the most
difficult to understand.'(5) The Immeasurable Meanings Sutra makes
clear that the sutras the Buddha already 'has preached' here refer to
'the teaching of great wisdom and the Flower Garland teaching of the
ocean-imprint meditation' and so forth. And with regard to the sutras
he 'will preach,' the Nirvana Sutra says, '. . . from the
prajna-paramita (the teachings of the perfection of wisdom) he brought
forth the Nirvana Sutra.' These scriptural passages show that the
Lotus Sutra is superior to the Flower Garland and Nirvana sutras; they
make it abundantly clear, clear as could possibly be. You should
understand accordingly."'
'Rebuked in this manner, some of his opponents simply shut their
mouths, others spewed out abuse, while still others turned pale. The
Ch'en ruler then rose from his seat and bowed three times, and all the
hundred officials pressed their palms together in reverence. Powerless
to prevail, the leaders of the other schools conceded defeat. Thus it
was established that the Lotus Sutra holds the highest place among the
teachings of the Buddha's lifetime.'
Footnotes:
2. Three schools of southern China and seven schools of northern
China.
3. Hui-heng (515--589), Hui-k'uang (534--613), and Hui-jung (d. 586)
were priests of the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. Hui-heng
was appointed general administrator of priests in 586. His debate with
the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai is mentioned in The Continued Biographies
of Eminent Priests. According to the work, Hui-k'uang was instrumental
in propagating the teachings of The Summary of the Mahayana and The
Treatise on the Consciousness-Only Doctrine translated by Paramartha.
Hui-jung was a disciple of Fayün, who was revered as one of the three
great teachers of the Liang dynasty. Fa-sui (n.d.) was a priest of
Ting-lin-ssu temple, who lived during the Ch'en and the Sui dynasties.
According to The Biography of the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai Chih-che of
the Sui Dynasty, when T'ien-t'ai lectured on the title of the Lotus
Sutra at Wa-kuan-ssu temple in Chin-ling, the capital of the Ch'en,
Fa-sui attended it in his capacity as the chief priest of Ting-lin-ssu
and, deeply affected by T'ien-t'ai's doctrine, became his follower on
the spot.
4. Lotus Sutra, chap. 14.
5. Ibid., chap. 10.
The ten schools refuted at this time were described by T'ien-t'ai as
the "three schools of the South and the seven schools of the North".
From the Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism:
'Three Schools of the South and Seven Schools of the North: (Jpn
nansan-hokushichi): Also, three schools of southern China and seven
schools of northern China. Though generally referred to as schools,
they are actually the ten principal systems of classification of the
Buddhist sutras set forth by various Buddhist teachers in China,
during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period (439-589). Hence
there are no specific names for the respective schools. T'ien-t'ai
(538-597) employed this generic designation and outlined these systems
in his Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra.'
'All three southern schools classified the Buddhist sutras into
three categories-the sudden teaching, the gradual teaching, and the
indeterminate teaching. The sudden teaching as defined by these
schools corresponds to the Flower Garland Sutra; the gradual teaching,
to the Agama sutras, Correct and Equal sutras, Wisdom sutras, Lotus
Sutra, and Nirvana Sutra; and the indeterminate teaching, to the
Shrimala and Golden Light sutras. The difference among the three
southern schools ties in their arrangement of the sutras included in
the gradual teaching. One school subdivides the gradual teaching into
three divisions: the teaching of the reality of things (Agama
sutras), the teaching of the non-substantiality of things (Correct and
Equal sutras, Wisdom sutras, and Lotus Sutra), and the teaching of the
eternity of the Buddha nature (Nirvana Sutra). Another of the three
schools places the Lotus Sutra in an additional category by itself
called the teaching uniting all teachings in the one vehicle, thus
making four divisions within the gradual teaching. A third school adds
a fifth division to the gradual teaching, establishing a separate
category for the Vimalakirti Sutra, the Brahma Excellent Thought
Sutra, and other sutras. This is called the division of the teaching
extolling the bodhisattva practice.'
'The classifications by the seven northern schools are as follows:
(1) A division of the Buddhist sutras into five categories called the
teaching of human and heavenly beings (ethical teachings), the
teaching of the reality of things, the teaching of the
non-substantiality of things, the teaching uniting all teachings in
the one vehicle, and the teaching of the eternity of the Buddha
nature. (2) A twofold classification established by Bodhiruchi
dividing Buddhism into the incomplete word teaching (Hinayana or Agama
sutras) and the complete word teaching (Mahayana). (3) A
classification established by Hui-kuang, arranging the Buddhist
teachings into four doctrines: causes and conditions (the doctrine of
abhidharma works), temporary name (the doctrine of The Treatise so the
Establishment of Truth), denial of the reality of things (the doctrine
of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra and of the three treatises ---
Treatise on the Middle Way, The Treatise on the Twelve Gates, and The
One-Hundred- Verse Treatise), and the eternity of the Buddha nature
(the doctrine of the Nirvana Sutra and the Flower Garland Sutra). (4)
A five-division system, identical to Hui-kuang's, except that the
Flower Garland Sutra occupies an additional category of its own
called the doctrine of the phenomenal world. (5) A classification into
six doctrines, which adds to Hui-kuang's four-division system the two
categories of the true teaching (Lotus Sutra) and the perfect teaching
(Great Collection Sutra) (6) A division of Mahayana into two types:
one that holds phenomena to be real, and the other that views them as
non-substantial. (7) The one voice teaching, which maintains that the
Buddha expounds only the one Buddha vehicle and there is no other
teaching but this one Buddha vehicle that represents all his lifetime
teachings.'
'T'ien-t'ai refuted these systems of classification and, refining
and integrating all existing systems, formulated the classification of
the "five periods and eight teachings" to assert the superiority of
the Lotus Sutra over all other sutras.'
'Five Periods (Jpn go-ji): Also, five periods of preaching or five
periods of teachings. A classification by T'ien-t'ai (538-597) of
Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings according to the order in which he
believed they had been expounded. They are as follows: (1) The Flower
Garland period, or the period of the Flower Garland Sutra, which
according to T'ien-t'ai was the first teaching Shakyamuni expounded
after his enlightenment. The Flower Garland teaching represents a very
high level of teaching, second only to the teachings of the Lotus and
Nirvana period. With this teaching, the Buddha awakens his listeners
to the greatness of Buddhism, though it was too profound for them to
grasp. The Flower Garland period is also referred to as the Flower
Ornament period or the Avatamsaka period. The Avatarnsaka Sutra is the
Sanskrit title of the Flower Garland Sutra. (2) The Agama period, or
the period of the Agama sutras. Perceiving that his disciples'
capacity was not yet ready for the Flower Garland teaching, Shakyamuni
next expounded the Agama teachings as a means to develop their
capacity. These teachings reveal the four noble truths-the truth of
suffering, the truth of the origin of suffering, the truth of the
cessation of suffering, and the truth of the path to the cessation of
suffering-that free people from the six paths and correspond to the
Hinayana teachings. The Agama period is also called the Deer Park
period, or the period of the sermon in Deer Park, because the Buddha
preached the Agama teachings at Deer Park. (3) The Correct and Equal
period, or the period of the introductory Mahayana sutras. In this
period, Shakyamuni refuted his disciples' attachment to Hinayana
doctrines and directed them toward provisional Mahayana with such
teachings as the Amida, Mahdvairochana, and Vimalakirti sutras. The
Correct and Equal period is also referred to as the Vaipulya period or
the Extended period. The Sanskrit word vaipulya means largeness or
spaciousness. (4) The Wisdom period, or the period of the Wisdom
sutras. In this period, Shakyamuni expounded a higher level of
provisional Mahayana and refuted his disciples' attachment to the
distinction between Hinayana and Mahayana by teaching the doctrine of
non-substantiality. The Wisdom period is also referred to as the
Prajna period because in this period the Prajna-paramita, or
Perfection of Wisdom, sutras were preached. (5) The Lotus and Nirvana
period, or period of the Lotus and Nirvana sutras, in which Shakyamuni
taught directly from the standpoint of his enlightenment, fully
revealing the truth. In this eight-year interval, he expounded the
Lotus Sutra and the Nirvana Sutra, the latter a restatement of the
teachings in the Lotus Sutra.'
'According to T'ien-t'ai, the Flower Garland period lasted for
twenty-one days, the Agama period for twelve years, the Correct and
Equal period for eight or sixteen years, the Wisdom period for
twenty-two or fourteen years, and the Lotus and Nirvana period for
eight years. In fact there is no way to verify the historical accuracy
of these figures or, for that matter, of the order of the five
periods. The five periods could perhaps best be described as
T'ien-t'ai's account of the process by which Shakyamuni led his
disciples to an understanding of his ultimate teaching.'
'Five Periods and Eight Teachings (Jpn goji-hakkyo): A system of
classification of the Buddhist teachings set forth by T'ien-t'ai (53
8-597) in The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra to demonstrate the
superiority of the Lotus Sutra over all the other sutras. The five
periods is a classification of Shakyamuni Buddha's sutras according to
the order in which they were expounded and consists of the Flower
Garland, Agama, Correct and Equal, Wisdom, and Lotus and Nirvana
periods. The eight teachings is an organization of the Buddha's
teachings by content and method of presentation. It consists of two
sub-classifications -- the four teachings of doctrine and the four
teachings of method. The four teachings of doctrine, a classification
by content, are the Tripitaka teaching, the connecting teaching, the
specific teaching, and the perfect teaching. The four teachings of
method, a classification by method of teaching, are the sudden
teaching, the gradual teaching, the secret teaching, and the
indeterminate teaching. '
Hence during T'ien-t'ai's debate, he refuted all of these schools,
whose leading teachers had to concede defeat to the ruler: That the
Lotus Sutra is the highest teaching of Shakyamuni.
__________________________________________________________
594 CE: Prince Shotoku introduces Buddhism to Japan.
__________________________________________________________
623 CE: The regulation of monk and nun issued in Japan.
The rulership of hereditary charisma, however, meant the minimization
of secular power of the emperor. The emperor had to struggle against
the nobles, which exercised their own hereditary rights disregarding
the will of the emperor. The able nobles often took the actual
political power from the powerless Imperial successor.
To restore its actual political power from the nobles, the Imperial
House attempted to introduce a patrimonial administration time and
again, though they were not successful. Among such attempts, the
introduction of monastic Buddhism made a lasting influence. Prince
Shotoku (574-622) introduced Buddhist literary administrators as a
counter-weight to the noble clans. The monks were more reliable and
the less dangerous staff than nobles and warriors.
Weber writes: "If the political ruler wants to create an apparatus of
officials and a counter weight against the nobility, the natural
opponent of such a patrimonial or bureaucratic rationalization, he
cannot wish for a more reliable support than the influence of the
monks" (1968).
__________________________________________________________
629-645 CE: Xuanzang (pronounced Shwan-dzang) Chinese Buddhist monk
and translator traveling across the Tarim basin via the northern
route, Turfan, Kucha, Tashkent, Samarkand, Bactria, then over the
Kindu Kush to India. Returned via the southern route. He spent his
remaining life translating sutras into Chinese. He was an important
intermediary between China and India. Travel was forbidden at this
time by the Chinese Emperor, and dangerous as well.
Map: http://www.bangorschools.net/hs/SR/Xuanzang_files/T'angMap.jpg
__________________________________________________________
673 CE: Emperor Temmu institutionalizes the state cult (Shinto) in
Japan.
The growing authority and influence of Buddhism, however, did not
provide the legitimacy of the ruling class. Only the emperor's
charisma as the descendant of the Sun Goddess could legitimized the
possession of the ruling class. To solidify the connection with the
deities, the court institutionalized the state sacrificial rite and
the sanctuaries of the deities, i.e., Shinto, in the early 8th
century. By the coronation ceremony, the new emperor magically
succeeded the throne and, as the highest priest (pontifex), offered
the great sacrifice.
Weber writes: "The sovereign, descending from the spirit of the sun
was, as in China, supreme priest" (1958).
By the institutionalization of the state cult, the original rite of
great sacrifice (oho nie no matsuri) was divided into the coronation
ceremony (daijo sai), the new food propitiation (nie name sai), and
the godly festival (kan name sai). See Abukuma, An Origin of Shinto.
Institutionalized priesthood constituted the hereditary clan of the
state cult. It functioned as a ritual and oracle department of the
rulership. Weber writes:
In a manner similar to that found elsewhere, the ordeal and oracle
functioned in political decision-making. Among the mass of deities,
the majority, even today, are apotheosized heroes and benefactors
(1958).
They were a magical and non-orgiastic cult of the state. Weber
describes the characteristics of Shinto
The official cult bore the typical stamp of the refined ritualism of a
stratum of knights. The essential elements consisted in the recitation
of hymns and food propitiations.... Ritual impurity meant blood guilt
and incest as well as bodily defects. Very strict prescriptions for
ritual purity compensated for the lack of a religious "ethic." Any
sort of compensation in the beyond was lacking (1958).
But the Shinto priesthood did not have own doctrine, religious ethic,
priestly way of life, and priestly education. It was controlled by
secular authority and had no independent authority of religion.
The Department of Shinto (Jingikan) "supervised all the officially
sponsored shrines" and "controlled all aspects of Shinto" (Kitagawa
1987).
"Its duty was to oversee the registers of the entire priesthood and of
the religious corporation, the personnel of the Jingikan [Shinto
official] itself and the staffing of the principal shrines" (Bock
1970).
__________________________________________________________
710 CE: The Capital Nara established in Japan
__________________________________________________________
712 CE: The Kojiki (the oldest chronicle of Japanese rulership)
compiled.
__________________________________________________________
713-741CE: Hwi Chao. Korean monk but grew up in China. Traveled to
India via sea route (route unclear). Lived there for several years and
visited various Buddhist kingdoms in India, Persia and Afghanistan. On
the returning journey, traveled to Kashmir, Kabul, passed the Pamirs
and entered Xinjiang from Tashkurgan, then skirted around the
Taklamakan desert from the northern towns, Kucha, Turfan and Hami. His
account Wang wou t'ien tchou kquo tch'ouan or The Record to Five
Indian Kingdoms provided vaulable information on the Islamic and
Buddhist distribution among the Central Asian kingdoms during the 8th
century. His book had been lost since Tang dynasty until an incomplete
copy (14 pages, ~6000 words) was miraculously discovered by the French
explorer, Paul Pelliot at Dunhuang cave in 1908.
__________________________________________________________
741 CE: Emperor Shomu institutes State Buddhist monasteries
(Kokubun-ji) to domesticate the temperament of the subjects and
thereby nourish the obedience to the authority. The monks could
domesticate the temper and attitude of the subject by their conduct of
life.
Weber describes the distinctive conduct of life of the monk and its
influence to the lay people: "The monk lived in a methodical fashion,
he scheduled his time, practiced continuous self-control, rejected all
spontaneous enjoyments and all personal obligations that did not serve
the purposes of his vocation. Thus he was predestined to serve as the
principal tool of bureaucratic centralization and rationalization in
the church [and also the state] and, through his influence as priest
and educator, to spread corresponding attitudes among the religious
laymen" (1968).
With the administrative power of monk literates, the court could found
an enduring capital (Nara) and a tax administration (Kubunden).
Hajime Nakamura argues: "It was within the framework of their own
peculiar nationalistic standpoint and orientation that the Japanese
accepted Buddhism. They were inclined to utilize it as a means and an
instrument to realize a certain socio-political end. They were not
converted to Buddhism. They converted Buddhism to their own tribalism"
(1964).
__________________________________________________________
745 CE: Wandering monk Gyogi appointed to the Archbishop in Japan.
The monks' prestige and authority among the people, however, goes
beyond the control of secular power when itinerant monks established
the spiritual authority among the people. Therefore, the court
strictly regulated the order and ordination of Buddhist monks within
the hands of secular power. In particular, the court had to prohibit
wandering monks (hijiri and ubasoku) to prevent them from the
establishment of their magico-religious authority.
The court issued the edict of the prohibition of wandering monks in
701, 717, 729, 764, and 807. To maintain its control, like the
Catholic church, the Imperial court took the same alternative
measures: either to incorporate the itinerant monk into the office, or
to banish (or execute) the monk. The former measure was taken for
Gyogi (670-749) who was given the highest post in the monk hierarchy.
(Gyogi was once arrested in 717.)
The latter measure was take for En-no-Shokaku who was banished to the
Izu island in the early 8th century.
__________________________________________________________
760-780 CE: Great Teacher Miao-lo reasserts the supremacy of the Lotus
Sutra in his many writings, but not through public debate.
From "The Bodies and Minds of Ordinary Beings" - Writings of Nichiren
Daishonin p. 1131:
'Still later, the Great Teacher Miao-lo produced refutations of the
Dharma Characteristics, Flower Garland, and True Word schools, schools
that the Great Teacher T'ien-t'ai had of course not criticized. But he
did not carry out his refutations in a public debate, as the Great
Teacher T'ien-t'ai had done. Thus the Lotus Sutra became like a piece
of fine brocade worn in the dark of night, while the mudras and
mantras, which are not to be found in the Lotus Sutra, were clearly
visible before people's eyes. Therefore, everyone believed the True
Word school to be superior.'
Hence, since Miao-lo did not refute all of the other schools of
Buddhism extant in China at the time, in public debate, the Buddha's
highest teaching was not protected in China and so Buddhism began its
decline there. But the teachings survive.
__________________________________________________________
788 CE: Saicho (Great Teacher Dengyo) founds Enryaku monastery at Mt.
Hiei in Japan. Dengyo was the cause of the spread of Kumarajiva's
translation of the Lotus Sutra: from the original Indian language
(believed to be like Pali) into classical Chinese verse form in 28
chapters.
802 CE: Great Teacher Dengyo debates the teachers from the six schools
at the behest of the Emperor of Japan, and refutes them, establishing
the Lotus Sutra as the Buddha's highest teaching in Japan.
From "The Selection of the Time - Nichiren, disciple of Shakyamuni
Buddha" - The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin pp. 548-549
'Eight hundred years after the beginning of the Middle Day of the
Law, in the reign of the fiftieth sovereign, Emperor Kammu (r.
781--806), there appeared a young priest without reputation named
Saicho, who was later to be known as the Great Teacher Dengyo. At
first he studied the doctrines of the six schools---Three Treatises,
Dharma Characteristics, Flower Garland, Dharma Analysis Treasury,
Establishment of Truth, and Precepts---as well as the Zen teaching,
under the Administrator of Priests Gyohyo and others. Later he founded
a temple called Kokusho-ji, which in time came to be known as Mount
Hiei. There he pored over the sutras and treatises of the six schools,
as well as the commentaries written by their leaders. But he found
that these commentaries often contradicted the sutras and treatises
upon which these schools relied and were replete with one-sided
opinions. It became apparent to him that if people were to accept such
teachings they would all fall into the evil paths of existence. In
addition, though the leaders of each of the different schools
proclaimed that they had understood the true meaning of the Lotus
Sutra and praised their own particular interpretation, none of them
had in fact understood its teachings correctly. Saicho felt that if he
were to state this opinion openly it would surely lead to quarrels and
disputes. But if he remained silent, he would be going against the
spirit of the Buddha's vow. (52) He agonized over what course to take,
but in the end, fearful of violating the Buddha's admonition, made
known his views to Emperor Kammu.'
'Emperor Kammu, startled at his declaration, summoned the leading
authorities of the six schools to engage in debate. (53) At first
these scholars in their pride were similar to banners raised aloft
like mountains, and their evil minds worked like poisonous snakes, but
in the end they were forced to bow in defeat in the presence of the
ruler, and each and every person of the six schools and the seven
major temples of Nara acknowledged himself a disciple of Saicho.'
'It was like that earlier occasion when the Buddhist scholars of
northern and southern China gathered in the palace of the Ch'en
dynasty and, having been bested in debate by the Great Teacher
T'ien-t'ai, became his disciples. But [of the three types of learning]
T'ient'ai had employed only perfect meditation and perfect wisdom.
(54) The Great Teacher Dengyo, by contrast, attacked the Hinayana
specific ordination for administering the precepts, which T'ient'ai
had failed to controvert, and administered the Mahayana specific
ordination (55) described in the Brahma Net Sutra to eight eminent
priests of the six schools. In addition, he established on Mount Hiei
a specific ordination platform for administering the precepts of the
perfect and immediate enlightenment of the Lotus Sutra. Thus the
specific ordination in the precepts of perfect and immediate
enlightenment at Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei was not only the foremost
ordination ceremony in Japan, but a great ordination in the precepts
of Eagle Peak such as had never been known either in India or China or
anywhere else in Jambudvipa during the eighteen hundred or more years
since the Buddha's passing. This ceremony of ordination had its
beginning in Japan.'
'If we examine the merit achieved by the Great Teacher Dengyo, we
would have to say that he is a sage who surpasses Nagarjuna and
Vasubandhu and who excels both T'ien-t'ai and Miaolo. If so, then what
priest in Japan today could turn his back on the perfect precepts of
the Great Teacher Dengyo, whether he belongs to To-ji, Onjo-ji, or the
seven major temples of Nara, or whether he is a follower of one of the
eight schools or of the Pure Land, Zen, or Precepts school in whatever
corner of the land? The priests of the nine regions of China became
the disciples of the Great Teacher T'ient'ai with respect to the
perfect meditation and perfect wisdom that he taught. But since no
ordination platform for universally administering the precepts of
perfect and immediate enlightenment was ever established in China,
some of them might not have become his disciples with regard to the
precepts. In Japan, however, [because Dengyo in fact established such
an ordination platform] any priests who fail to become disciples of
the Great Teacher Dengyo can only be regarded as non-Buddhists and men
of evil.'
'As to the question of which of the two newer schools brought from
China is superior, the Tendai or the True Word, the Great Teacher
Dengyo was perfectly clear in his mind. But he did not demonstrate
which was superior in public debate, as he had done previously with
regard to the relative merit of the Tendai school in comparison to the
six older schools. Perhaps on that account, after the passing of the
Great Teacher Dengyo, To-ji, the seven major temples of Nara, Onjo-ji,
and other temples throughout the provinces of Japan all began
proclaiming that the True Word school is superior to the Tendai
school, until everyone from the ruler on down to the common people
believed that such was the case.'
'Thus the true spirit of the Tendai Lotus school really flourished
only during the lifetime of the Great Teacher Dengyo. Dengyo lived at
the end of the Middle Day of the Law, during the period described in
the Great Collection Sutra as the age of building temples and stupas.
The time had not yet arrived when, as the Great Collection Sutra says,
"Quarrels and disputes will arise among the adherents to my teachings,
and the pure Law will become obscured and lost."'
Footnotes:
52. The vow is to spread the correct teaching of Buddhism and lead the
people to enlightenment.
53. This debate was held at Takaosan-ji temple in Kyoto in 802.
54. With "perfect meditation" and "perfect wisdom," the Daishonin
refers to the three types of learning: precepts, meditation, and
wisdom. T'ien-t'ai devoted himself to meditation and wisdom based on
the Lotus Sutra, yet continued to employ the Hinayana precepts.
55. The ordination ceremony in which one receives the ten major
precepts and forty-eight minor precepts, as set forth in the Brahma
Net Sutra. This ordination ceremony was held at Takaosan-ji temple in
805 for eight priests including Dosho and Shuen.
The six schools refuted at this time were described by Dengyo as the
"six schools of Nara". From the Soka Gakkai Dictionary of Buddhism
(Zen was also refuted, although not considered one of the six schools
of Nara):
'Six Schools of Nara (Jpn nanto-rokusha): Also, six schools. Six
schools of Buddhism that flourished in Nara, the capital of Japan,
during the Nara period (710-794). They are the Dharma Analysis
Treasury (Kusha), Establishment of Truth (Jojitsu), Three Treatises
(Sanron), Precepts (Ritsu), Dharma Characteristics (Hosso), and Flower
Garland (Kegon) schools. These were not so much independent religious
schools as philosophical or doctrinal systems, and more than one of
these traditions were usually studied at each of the seven major
temples of Nara. At Todai-ji temple, for example, all six were
studied. Later, however, when the great statue of Vairochana Buddha,
the principal Buddha of the Flower Garland teachings, was completed
and enshrined there, the Flower Garland school became preeminent at
Todai-ji. The Three Treatises school was based primarily at Daian-)i
and Gango-ji temples, and the Dharma Characteristics school at
Gango-ji and Kofuku-ji. Though Establishment of Truth and Dharma
Analysis Treasury are called schools also, their doctrines were
studied in conjunction with the doctrines of the Three Treatises and
Dharma Characteristics schools, respectively, and they did not become
independent schools. The Precepts school was established in Japan by
the Chinese priest Chien-chen (Jpn Ganjin) who arrived there in 753.'
Hence during Dengyo's debate, he refuted all of these schools, whose
leading teachers had to concede defeat to the ruler: That the Lotus
Sutra is the highest teaching of Shakyamuni.
Dengyo's Enryaku-ji monastery at Mt. Hiei changed the political
climate of Buddhism in Japan in a profound way.
Since its foundation, the Buddhist monastery gained ever increasing
prestige and influence and accumulated donations of lands. By the end
of the 11th century, the monasteries accumulated considerable
landholdings. The temple land served as the protection of private
landholdings because secular powers could not seize such temple land
without committing sacrilege (Weber 1968).
Yosaburo Takekoshi writes about the power of sacrilege: "Nobody had
yet committed such sacrilege. Kiyomori [1118-1181] was the first to
have shot at the sanctuary" (1930).
By the donation of their land to the monastery, the aristocratic
families could secure the revenue of the land.
Takekoshi describes a reason for the growing monastic land: "People
soon began to think it to their advantage to offer their land to the
temples, becoming soji [danka] (manorial governor), who took charge of
the land and received a certain percentage of the return. Many avail
themselves of it, not from any particular love of Buddhism, but to
protect themselves from the illegal interference and lawless taxation
of the local governors. A tacit understanding made the post of soji
[danka] hereditary in the family of the contributor" (1930).
Weber explains: Not only the secular administration of the monastery
is reserved to the [temple] founder's family, but also --and this is
far more important-- the surplus of the increasing revenues over the
fixed expenditures (1968).
The more the monastery accumulated lands, the more the
aristocratization of the monastery advanced. At the end of the 12
century, the Imperial House and the nobles monopolized almost all
higher position of the prominent monasteries (Inoue 1986). Weber
writes:
Monasteries and other foundations were always exposed to aristocratic
attempt at utilizing them for the maintenance of the younger nobles
(1968).
Kitagawa writes: "Many aristocratic families donated quarters to the
clergy as well as land to temples in order to maintain de facto
control over properties" (1966).
With the growing aristocratization of the monastery and the
accumulation of the temple land, the monastery became autonomous and
independent from the emperor. It went beyond the control of the court.
__________________________________________________________
794 CE: The Japanese Capital established at Kyoto.
__________________________________________________________
900 CE: Enryaku monastery introduces monk-soldier to Japan.
__________________________________________________________
1086 CE: Emperor Shirakawa introduces warrior officials to Japan.
The transition from a hereditary state to a feudal state had taken
place between the 10th and 12th centuries since the emperors ruled
from their cloister office with the aid of the warriors. The decisive
motivation of this transition is the emperor's restoration of his
secular power. Weber describes:
The transition from this condition [the hereditary state] to the
feudal state is regularly motivated by the ruler's interest in
destroying the autonomous legitimacy of hereditary clans and in
replacing it with a feudal legitimacy derived from his own person"
(1968).
Weber also says: "In Japan the ruler [the emperor] attempted in this
fashion to emancipate himself from the dominance of aristocratic
families which had hereditary charisma" (1968).
Due to the frequent civil wars among warrior lords, however, the
emperor lost almost its actual power to control over warrior lords and
monasteries.
__________________________________________________________
1095 CE: First Christian Crusade, initiated by Pope Urban II, into the
Holy Lands of the Middle East.
__________________________________________________________
1119 CE: Founding of "Knight's Templar", a semi-mystical and
semi-military private society initially intended to protect Crusaders,
but eventually developing into a powerful faction in its own right.
__________________________________________________________
1185 CE: Warrior Minamoto establishes Japanese Feudal domination
Shogun caesaro-papism began when Yoritomo Minamoto defeated the Taira
warrior clan, the former power-holder, in 1185. He established feudal
rulership under the title Shogun ("the Generalissimo") and took
secular power from the emperor. The Minamoto Shogunate, however, kept
the emperor's religious authority (pontifex) as the descendant of the
deity.
Weber writes: "the powerlessness of the insulated monarch [the
emperor], who is an incarnation, resulted ... in the seizure of power
by a family that was not encumbered with the monarch's charismatic
obligations and hence can provide the real ruler (major domus,
Shogun)" (1968).
The charismatic quality of the Imperial House was essential for the
legitimacy of the Shogunate. Weber writes:
Here too, the formal ruler must be retained because only his specific
charisma can guarantee the proper relation to the deities, which is
indispensable for the legitimacy of the whole political structure,
including the position of the actual ruler (1968).
The power struggle, then, shifted to between the Shogun and his
vassals. Since both the Shogun and his vassals could depend on their
own military power, frequent usurpation of power took place and
thereby weakened secular authority over the religious authority. This
transition was followed by the decline of the Imperial authority and
opened an opportunity for the autonomous and independent development
of religion.
__________________________________________________________
1197 CE: The sacking of the Buddhist university Nalanda in north
India, the culminating act of Islamic aggressions, resulting in the
complete elimination of Buddhism, in any form, from India.
__________________________________________________________
1206 CE: Genghis Khan proclaimed supreme ruler of Mongolian tribes.
__________________________________________________________
1209 CE: St. Francis of Assisi founds the Franciscan Order.
__________________________________________________________
1209-1229 CE: The 1st Papal Inquisition. By the 13th century, the
dream of a lasting crusader kingdom in the Holy Lands was starting to
fade. Pope Innocent III then turned the zeal of the crusaders against
fellow Christians. In 1202, the Fourth Crusade was launched which
later captured Constantinople. Next, in 1209, Innocent III launched a
crusade against the Cathars in southern France (Languedoc region).
This bloody action, known to history as the Albigensian Crusade, would
directly lead to the establishment of the first Inquisition.
The Albigensian Crusade (so named, because the French city of Albi was
a Cathar stronghold), lasted for 20 years, from 1209 to 1229. While
authorized by the pope, the actual fighting was carried out primarily
by secular forces, especially under Simon de Montfort. The suppression
of the Cathar heresy established new "standards" for ferocity for the
Roman Church in dealing with its own flock. Perhaps the most famous
example was on July 22, 1209, when the city of Beziers was sacked,
with over 20,000 men, women and children killed by crusaders. The
event will forever be framed in history by the words of papal legate
Arnaud, whom, when asked if Catholics should be spared during the
assault, answered "Kill them all, for God knows His own".
Wholesale burnings of Cathars were carried out during the Crusade,
including 400 burnt after the fall of Lavaur in 1211, and 94 burnt
after the fall of Casses in the same year. It was against this
backdrop that Pope Gregory IX instituted the Papal Inquisition in
1227/31. While the Albigensian Crusade had wiped out most of the
Cathar strongholds, there were still heretics to be hunted down and
burned -- many of whom had gone into hiding during the years of the
Crusade. Examples of post-Crusade slaughter of the Cathars include 183
burned in Montwimer (Marne) in 1239, and the burning of 215 Cathar
perfecti at the Castle of Montsegur in 1244 (sometimes referred to as
the Massacre at Montsegur.)
And while the Cathars were the initial targets of the Inquisition (so
much so that, for many years, the term "Cathar" was used synonymously
with "heretic"), the scope of the Papal Inquisition would eventually
range much wider and further than the Cathars. Ultimately, it would
include victims such as the Waldensians, Fraticelli (a splinter group
of the Franciscans), the Knights Templar, and (much later) --
Protestants.
By 1233, the Dominicans (the order founded by St. Dominic in 1217)
were given the primary charter to act as Inquisitors, joined shortly
after by the Franciscans (founded by St. Francis of Assisi in
1209/10). Curiously, the first 100 years of the Papal Inquisition
could be said to have been a battle between ascetic groups. Many of
the members of these groups were referred to as mendicant friars,
meaning they received sustenance by begging.
By the 12th/13th centuries, many members of the Roman Catholic clergy
were known for their rather profligate living styles, including many
monastics. A number of groups rose up during this period that believed
that the church should return to the example set by the apostles in
Acts -- the church should own no possessions. Further, they believed
that clergy should earn the respect of the people by giving up worldly
goods, and going out into the world to preach the gospel. (The
argument between the ascetics and the status-quo-Church is well laid
out in the book (and resulting movie) The Name of the Rose, by Umberto
Eco).
Today, it can initially be difficult to understand why some ascetic
groups (such as the Dominicans and Franciscans) were openly welcomed
by the church (and indeed, were the first Inquisitors), while other
ascetic groups (the Waldensians, the Cathars, the Fraticelli) were
hunted down and burned at the stake. The answer, though, is rather
clear -- the former groups submitted to the authority of the Church,
while the latter groups ultimately rejected the authority of pope and
clergy.
It should be noted that prior to the institution of the Papal
Inquisition in 1227/31, local bishops had the authority to
investigate, and try heretics in local ecclesiastical courts. What
made the Inquisition distinctive is that the Inquisitors theoretically
answered only to the pope -- not to the local bishop, nor even to the
heads of their Order. This autonomy allowed the Inquisition to act as
an independent tribunal, able to go where it wanted, when it wanted,
and try whom it wanted -- with no interference allowed from local
secular or ecclesiastical authorities. (Those that tried to interfere
with the autonomy of the Inquisition were, of course, branded as
heretics themselves).
The Use of Torture
The use of torture was authorized in 1252 by Pope Innocent IV. In
Spain, it is estimated that torture was used in about 1/3 of all
cases. (Hroch, p. 146) The purpose of torture was to exact
confessions. Since some people questioned whether confessions received
under torture were valid, the accused would be asked to verify what
they had admitted under torture several hours later. If they refused
to validate their confession, they would be subject to more torture.
Popular methods of torture included flogging, burning, the rack, and
the roasting of feet over burning coals. In Spain and Italy, the
garrucha was popular -- the victim's hands would be tied behind their
back, and they'd be lifted off the ground by a rope tied around the
wrists.
In Spain, another method of torture was oft employed - the water
torture (tortura del'agua). In this scenario, the victim would be
bound to the rack, with his head lower than rest of his body. The
mouth would then be forced open (sometimes with cloth), and water
would be forced into the mouth. The victim would risk suffocation if
he did not "confess".
Methodologies of the Inquisition
"Their form of proceeding is an infallible way to destroy whomsoever
the inquisitors wish. The prisoners are not confronted with the
accuser or informer. Nor is there any informer or witness who is not
listened to. A public convict, a notorious malefactor, an infamous
person, a common prostitute, a child, are in the holy office, though
no where else, credible accusers and witnesses. Even the son may
depose against his father, the wife against her husband." - Voltaire
(Jones, p. 88)
To late-20th century Americans, the methodologies of the Inquisition
are understandably horrifying. The Inquisition created an atmosphere
where the denouncing of real or imagined sins of neighbors, business
partners, even family members was encouraged. The accused had almost
no rights -- no right to a lawyer, no right to know who their accusers
were, and no right to know the nature of the charges leveled against
them. Torture was used in many cases to extract confessions. The
methodologies and the ferocity of the Inquisition stood as unique in
the history of Western civilization until the Nazis and Communists of
the 20th century.
In this section we'll examine how the Inquisitor went about his job,
and what the experience of the accused might have been.
The Edict of Faith
"Listen to me, citizen! I am no heretic: I have a wife, and sleep with
her, and she has born me sons. I eat meat, I tell lies and swear
[activities forbidden to Cathar perfecti], and I am a good Christian."
-- Jean Tisseyre, Toulouse (Oldenbourg, p. 288)
Typically, the cycle of the Inquisition would start with the
Inquisitor and his entourage (Tomas Torquemada traveled with 50
mounted bodyguards, and 200 foot soldiers) visiting a particular town
or parrish. The Inquisitor would often preach to the population in the
town square or church about the sin of heresy. An Edict of Faith was
often published by the Inquisitor, giving detailed instructions as to
how to spot a heretic (either in other people, or in yourself!)
Typically, a 1-4 week Term of Grace followed in which voluntary
confessions were sought. Those that stepped forward voluntarily and
admitted to their heresy were often given limited punishment. Also
during this period the Inquisitor would start accumulating information
from denouncers -- those that were reporting heresy in others. This
was, of course, a covenient way to do away with a business or personal
rival (although there was one safeguard, which will be described
later). Sometimes the Inquisitor would call upon a whole parish or
city to testify. In 1245/6 inquisitors in the Toulouse area called on
8,000-10,000 people to testify! (Hamilton, p. 42)
After the period of grace, everyone in the parish or city that had not
voluntarily confessed was at risk of being denounced. The Inquisition
only required evidence of two witnesses for prosecution. And, as
pointed out by Voltaire in the preamble of this section, the
inquisitors were not very choosy about who could bring the
denunciation. Wives and husbands could testify against each other.
Convicted heretics and convicted criminals could denounce others.
The experience of the accused
Once a person had been accused, he or she was politely summoned to
appear before the Inquisition. Such an appearance was not a
requirement, but failure to appear was taken as evidence of guilt.
During the Inquisiton, several inquisitors wrote "handbooks" for
budding inquisitors. The excerpt below gives advice to the inquisitor
on how to handle an early interrogation of a suspect:
"The inquisitor should behave in a friendly manner and act as though
he already knows the whole story. He should glance at his papers and
say: 'It's quite clear you are not telling the truth' or should pick
up a document and look surprised, saying: 'How can you lie to me like
this when what I've got written down here contradicts everything
you've told me?' He should then continue: 'Just confess -- you can see
that I know the whole story already'". - Nicholas Eymeric, Directorium
inquisitorium (Hroch, p. 145)
Inquisition trials were held in secret. Suspects were not told the
names of their accusers; however, they would be asked for a list of
people that might bear them ill will. If the names of the denouncers
were on the list, the accused was often set free (clever suspects
would often present very long lists!)
The accused were not able to call witnesses in their own defense, nor
(during most of the Inquisition) were they allowed to have counsel
present. (In some areas, lawyers for the accused were allowed, but if
the accused were found guilty of heresy, the lawyer could also be so
charged, for having defended them!)
The accused were often put into Inquisitorial prisons during the time
between arrest and sentence. In Spain, this period would often last
for 3-4 years. During imprisonment, the accused usually had to pay
their own expenses. This fact, and the fact that suspects found guilt
of heresy often had to forfeit their property, meant that the
Inquisition was often targeted against the wealthy rather than the
poor. During the period of imprisonment, the accused was not allowed
to talk to anyone other than the inquisitors.
Since the primary stated goal of the Inquisition was to save souls,
suspects were continually encouraged to confess to their heresy. Those
that admitted their "guilt", and were willing to give the Inquisition
names of other potential heretics, were often let off with penances.
Penances could include:
-Pilgrimages to local shrines, or to Rome, Compostella, Canterbury,
etc.
-Being forced to wear large yellow crosses on their clothing. In
Spain, these were referred to as sanbenito.
-Imprisonment in Inquisitorial prisons
-Scourging or lashing (Spain)
-The harshest sentences (such as complete confiscation of property or
burning at the stake) were reserved for two types of offenders - those
that refused to recant of their heresy (often the case, for example,
with Cathar perfecti), and "relapsed" heretics. Relapsed heretics
could be those that had been charged by the Inquisition at an earlier
time, and had recanted of their heresy, or, in Spain, baptized Jews or
Moslems that continued to secretly practice their faith might
automatically be considered "relapsed" heretics.
Once a relapsed or unrepentant heretic was found guilty, they were
handed over (or "relaxed") to the secular authorities for punishment.
This was not just an jurisdictional issue. The Church had a motto -
"the Church shrinks from blood" (ecclesia abhorret a sanguine). Based
on this motto, the Church itself would not administer the death
sentence. Rather, this was left to local secular authorities. The
chosen method for administering capital punishment -- burning at the
stake, was partially chosen because it did not shed blood.
The families of heretics that were burned typically had their property
confiscated by the secular authorities. In Spain, descendents of
heretics could not serve in public office, couldn't enter holy orders,
and couldn't become physicians, tutors of the young, or advocates.
The Act Of Faith
The final scene of the Inquisitorial process was the Act of Faith (an
auto-da-fé in Spain and 16th-century Italy, sermo generalis in the
early days of the Papal Inquisition). Often, the accused did not hear
their sentence until the day of the auto (those that were sentenced to
death would be told the night before).
The Act of Faith was held in public, typically in a town square or (in
Italy), inside a local church. They were often huge public spectacles.
In 1660, an auto-da-fé held in Seville lasted for three days, and was
attended by 100,000 people. On June 30, 1680, an auto-da-fé held in
Madrid lasted for 14 hours, and had 50,000 spectators. The longest
part of the auto-da-fé was the reading of sentences. With often
hundreds of convicted heretics, the sentencing could take many hours.
Once the sentences had been read, those sentenced to death were led to
the place of burning (quemadero in Spanish). Those that repented after
being sentenced to death would be offered the courtesy of being
garroted to death before being burned. Those that refused to recant
(often Cathar perfecti, Lutherans and Calvinists in Italy and Spain,
etc.) were burned alive.
Those burned at the stake would often have ghoulish company. It was
common practice to sentence the dead to burning. The dead would
dutifully be disinterred and placed next to the still living victims.
As horrifying as this spectacle might seem, there was a pragmatic
reason for charging, sentencing, disinterring, and burning the dead --
the goods of their families could be confiscated.
__________________________________________________________
end of part 1, continued in part 2 of 3 ...
The full 28 Chapters of the Lotus Sutra are online at the
SGI website:
http://www.sgi-usa.org/buddhism/library/Buddhism/LotusSutra/index.html
This anthology:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=author:q0r9s8t7u6%40aol.com+