Pataraporn Sirikanchana

THE IMPACT OF THE BUDDHIST DOCTRINE OF KARMA ON THE CHINESE WAY OF LIFE Pataraporn Sirikanchana I. Introduction In Buddhism, the Law of Karma is the supreme law of causation which, without any divine intervention, determines the result of one s action. Here, god is not the initiator nor the goal of one s meritorious deed. When Buddhism entered China, the concept of Karma was somewhat differently taken by the Chinese because of the interaction of the Chinese culture and the Indian Buddhism. This research paper is intended to examine the meaning and the role of Karma in Chinese context, to assert the influence of Buddhism on Chinese society by showing the Chinese situation before and after the introduction of Buddhism and to demonstrate how Buddhism can be well accepted among Chinese people despite their own traditional beliefs. II. The Doctrine of Karma in Mahāyāna Buddhism and in Theravāda Buddhism and Its Impact on Chinese Scholars. The definitions of karma in Mahāyāna Buddhism and in Theravāda Buddhism are generally the same. The Mahāyānists define karma as action, work, deed, performance, service and duty. 1 The Theravadins define kamma as a volitional action, action, deed and good & bad volition. 2 Because kamma has both general meaning and specific meaning, its definitions are debated among scholars. Christmas Humphreys indicates that, in C.E. 1945, the Buddhist Society in London needed a brief summary of Buddhism. Thus, the leading Buddhists from China, Japan, Burma, Ceylon, Thailand and Tibet had considered and approved the Twelves principles of 1 The Chinese Buddhist Order of Sangha in Thailand. A Dictionary of Buddhism (Bangkok: Chan Patana Printing, 1976), p.605. 2 Phra Rājvaramunī, A Dictionary of Buddhism (Bangkok: Religious Printing, 1977), p. 291. 88 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

Buddhism of which karma was explained in the fourth Principle as follows: The universe is the expression of law. All effects have causes, and man s soul or character is the sum total of his previous thoughts and acts. Karma, meaning action-reaction, governs all existence, and man is the sole creator of his circumstances and his reaction to them, his future condition, and his final destiny. By right thought and action, he can gradually purify his inner nature, and so, by self-realization, attain in time liberation from rebirth. The process covers great periods of time, involving life after life on earth, but ultimately every form of life will reach enlightenment. 3 Karma, here is emphasized as the law of causation created by the doers. This law implies the endless birth-and-death cycle of human life and it will be broken by enlightenment. By this definition, karma is differentiated from the state of Nirvāṇa, i.e. in Nirvāṇa, there is no karma and those who perform karma have not yet attained Nirvāṇa. Humphreys further explains that whereas Theravada Buddhism asserts the theory of anattā, Mahāyāna Buddhism tends to support the theory of reincarnation: The body dies at death, but the individual s karma, the resultant of all the causes generated by him in the past, lives on. This complex soul, the product of ten thousand lives, is clothed, as we have seen, with divers attributes or qualities, called skandhas. This it is which, in the intervening and subjective worlds, digests the lessons of the previous life until such causes as can take effect subjectively have been transmuted into faculty and innate tendency. That which remains to 3 Christmas Humphreys, Buddhism (Great Britain: Cox & Wyman Ltd., 1979), p.74. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 89

incarnate afresh may be regarded as an individual, as in the Northern School of Buddhism, or as a nameless complex residuum of karma, as in the southern School. The danger of the former viewpoint lies in the tendency to look upon this individual as a separated soul eternally distinct from other forms of life. The Southern viewpoint, on the other hand, anxious to enforce the doctrine of anattā in its literal sense, keeps to the letter rather than to the spirit of the Buddha s metaphors. 4 The tendency of Mahāyanā Buddhism to support the theory of reincarnation may be observed in the conception of the Triple Form in which the Buddha is an Earthly Body, a Nirmāṇā-kāya, and an incarnation of the Universal Buddha. Thus, when Buddhism entered China, the doctrine of karma and rebirth was taken by the masses as the theory of reincarnation. Nevertheless, when the doctrine of karma and rebirth was preached to the masses, calling their attention to the woes of human life, it could not help becoming objectivized and vulgarized. The majority of the Chinese took from Buddhism first and foremost the strange, yet easily understood, objectivized doctrine of reincarnation in the six states of existence - as denizens of hell, hungry demons, beasts, spirits, human beings, or gods. The Indian doctrine of reincarnation was accepted by the Chinese masses as the most representative doctrine of Buddhism and spread rapidly among them. It became identified with the family 4 Ibid., p. 106-7. 90 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

system, the very basis of Confucian society, and with the obligations of filial piety 5. Because the Chinese people already believed in deities and ancestor worship, it was easy for them to take some aspects of Buddhist doctrine as a support of the theory of eternal soul and reincarnation. These beliefs are quite the same among people in Theravāda countries. Buddhist scholars, on the other hand, do not commonly agree with this public opinion. Apart from being the law of causation, karma in Buddhism can be defined as volitional actions. By this definition, intention is the criterion of what is called karma. Kenneth Ch en, a Mahāyāna scholar, explains its meaning as follows: Karma to the Indians means the deed performed and the results that arise from it. To this conception of karma the Buddha made a significant addition. He taught that karma involved not just the deed and the reward but also the intention behind the deed. For karma to be generated there must be intention, and he considered this intention to be much important than the deed. If the deed is unintentional, he said, no karma is generated, but if intention is present, then karma is produced even though the deed itself is not actually performed. 6 U. Thittila, a Theravāda scholar, also agrees with this definition. He affirms that : Kamma (karma in Sanskrit) is a Pāli word meaning action. In its general sense, kamma means all good and bad actions. Kamma refers to all kinds of 5 Zenryu tsukamoto, Buddhism in China and Korea, trans. by Leon Hurvitz in Kenneth W. Morgan (ed.), The Path of the Buddha (N.Y. : The Ronald Press Company, 1956), p. 230-1. 6 Kenneth Ch en, Buddhism in China (N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1964), p.4-5. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 91

intentional actions whether mental, verbal, or physical, that is, all thoughts, words, and deeds. In its ultimate sense kamma means all moral and immoral volition. The Buddha says, Mental volition, O Bhikkhus, is what I call action (kamma). Having volition, one acts by body, speech, and thought (Aṅguttara Nikāya III. 415). 7 Nevertheless, the meaning of karma is not quite a consensus among Buddhist scholar. Hajime Nakamura, a Mahāyāna scholar, thinks that karma does not necessarily include intention within itself and it always yields some results: All acts, whether mental or physical, tend to produce like acts in a continuing series. Good acts increase in a man a tendency to similar good actions, and bad acts create a tendency toward continuing evil acts of a similar nature. The karma committed with or without previous intention will come to fruition. Some karmas bear fruit in the same life in which they are committed, others in the immediately succeeding one, and others in future lives more remote 8. These different interpretations of karma may be due to some explanation in Visuddhimagga which was a commentary on the Tripiṭaka compiled by Buddhaghosa in early fifth century C.E. In Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa had classified all meanings of karma into three categories, according to the time or ripening or taking effect, function and the order of ripening. In the last category, there is a kind of karma called katattākamma or katattāvāpanakamma which means reserve karma or casual act. This kind of karma is performed with no 7 U. Thittila, The Fundamental Principles of Theravāda Buddhism, in Kenneth W. Morgan (ed.), op.cit, p.85. 8 Hajime Nakamura, Unity and Diversity in Buddhism, in Ibid., p.378. 92 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

specific intention or with no intention, e.g. a doctor tries to help a patient but accidentally becomes the cause of his death. Katattākamma has the weakest power in yielding its effect. 9 The exact date of the arrival of Buddhism in China is still debated. Tsukamoto believes that it may be some time around the first century C.E.: It is no longer possible to determine with precision the time of the Introduction of Buddhism into China, but one may be reasonably certain in view of the political situation which existed in China and the circumstances of the Buddhist community in India, that the event took place at a time at least not much this or that side of the beginning of the first century C.E. 10 The problem of the exact date may be due to several causes, There was a tale of the Emperor Ming of the Latter Han Dynasty (58-75 C.E.) who dreamt about a golden man who was supposed to be the Buddha. He then sent an envoy to India to bring the Buddhist teachings to China. The envoy came back with two Indian monks, images of the Buddha and the Buddhist scriptures in 67 C.E. Thus, it was believed that Buddhism was known in China by that time. Many scholars, however, believe that this tale was originated in 200 C.E. in order to spread Buddhism in China while Confucianism and Taoism were very powerful. 11 Besides, the arrival of Buddhism in China may be dated in 200 B.C.E. when the Chinese empire adopted a political and commercial policy which brought about the opening of the silk routes that could link India to China. These silk routes were over the Sinkiang desert, north of Tibet. It was along these routes that Buddhist teachings were expanded over central Asia by pilgrims 9 Phra Rājvaramunī, op. cit., p.216. 10 Zenryu Tsukamoto, op.cit., p.185. 11 Ibid., p. 184, also in Kenneth Ch en op.cit., p.30. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 93

and merchants. There was also a supposition that Buddhism might enter China in 200 C.E. when Buddhist scriptures were widely translated into Chinese and made known to the people. 12 Of all the three assumptions, the one which indicates that Buddhism probably came to China in 200 B.C.E. sounds most sensible. All forms of civilizations, as we can observe, are usually transmitted from one place to another through routes of communication. When the silk routes were opened to bridge China and India, though for commercial and political policy, probably, religion, arts, literature and so on in both countries could certainly find their ways in mutual exchange. Thus, the Indian Buddhism, a form of Indian civilization could enter China through pilgrims, merchants and so on after the opening of these routes. By this way, the Chinese in the frontier, not the townspeople nor the rulers, were the first who could witness the teachings of the new religion. Buddhism in China by this time was therefore understood and interpreted by the illiterate folks and was different from the version of the learned. The explanation that Buddhism was made known in China in 67 C.E. emphasized only the official acceptance of Buddhism by a Chinese ruler as a state religion. The latest possible period which was 200 C.E. concerned only with the translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese version which signified the scholarly studying of Buddhist teachings but did not prove that, without textual translation, Buddhism could not be made known among people. In the beginning, Buddhism was introduced to China both in Mahāyāna and Theravāda traditions. The difference of opinions in both doctrines caused much difficulties in translation and compilation of the Buddhist texts. For example, Chu Tao-sheng (365-434) and his contemporaries were troubled by some conflicting doctrines of salvation offered in the Theravāda and Mahāyāna texts that had by then translated. The Theravāda texts affirmed a long period of ardous accumulation of positive karma leading to Nirvāṇa. The Mahāyāna 12 Ibid., p.185-7 94 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

texts, on the other hand, suggested salvation by faith of the believers and the mercy of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who could provide the way towards Nirvāṇa. Chinese Buddhists thus saw the two paths towards truth and liberation in Buddhism. 13 According to the Theravāda texts, karma is one s own responsibility. It is what one created. If one performs a good deed, one will have a good return and if one performs evil, then one will surely get an evil result. No person or thing can interfere with this truth. On the contrary, Mahāyāna Buddhism proposes the role of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as saviors of human beings. Thus, karma in Mahāyāna Buddhism is universal rather than individual, i.e. man can depend on other beings, instead of on himself alone for salvation. According to Buddhism, both Mahāyāna and Theravāda, there are five states of existence: deity, man, animal, hungry ghost, and denizen of hell. Only deity and man are the products of good karma. According to the Pāli Canon, existence is caused by the unceasing accumulation of karma. It involves all sorts of sufferings. Salvation can be attained only by means of putting an end to the sufferings or by the cessation of karma. The cessation of karma is possible when a person has right understanding of life and is free from desires and attachments. Salvation in Theravāda context, however, is different from that the Mahāyāna. Fung Yu-Lan has pointed out the distinctions of the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna (Theravāda) interpretations of salvation and has indicated the reason why Mahāyāna Buddhism is more acceptable than Hīnayāna Buddhism in China: In Hīnayāna Buddhism salvation is a personal matter; the individual concerned must work out his own salvation and can do little to help others to achieve theirs. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, on the contrary, the concept of the Bodhisattva is prominent. This is the being who seeks Buddhahood but seeks it 13 Arthur F. Wright, Buddhism in Chinese history (U.S.A. : Stanford University Press, 1959), p.47-8. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 95

altruistically; he wants enlightenment, but wants it to enlighten others; he willingly sacrifices himself for these others, and therefore, even after enlightenment, voluntarily remains within the wheel of life and death. Because of this distinction, Nirvāṇa, for the Mahāyānists, loses its original meaning of extinction and simply designates the state of the enlightened being. Such a being continues to live in this world, where he works for the salvation of sentient beings but, because of his enlightenment, he has no attachments and therefore no karma. He is in the wheel of life and death, yet is immune to its effects. These distinctions between Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna doctrine perhaps in part reflect the differences between the thisworldliness of Chinese thought and otherworldliness of that of India. 14 During the so-called Period of Disunity in China (221-589), there were many, especially the Confucianists and the Taoists, who strongly opposed the Buddhist theories. Buddhism, however, continued to influence many Chinese during the Han Dynasty and, in this period, the Chinese began to have a systematic understanding of the Buddhist doctrine. At the same time, the Chinese and scholars faced some difficulties in the interpretation and translation of the Buddhist texts. There was no consensus in their understanding of Buddhist concepts. Seng-chao (384-414), one of Kumārajīva s disciples, who was impressed by Vimalakirti Sūtra, a major sūtra in Mahāyāna Buddhism, has compiled a collection entitled Book of Chao (Chao Lun) which was a combination of Buddhism and Neo Taoism. In his book, Seng-Chao insisted that the Law of Karma was eternal. 14 Fung Yu-Lan, A history of Chinese Philosophy trans. by Derk Bodde (U.S.A.: Princeton University Press, 1967), Vol. II, p. 238. 96 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

That is why the good karma of the Tathāgata (the Buddha) eternally remains even after the course of ten thousand generations, and his teaching becomes increasingly firm after passing through a hundred aeons. The reason is that karma can never decay. It never decays, and therefore, though lying in the past, does not undergo change. It does not undergo change, and therefore is immutable. 15 Another scholar who also believed that the Law of Karma was universal was Hui-yüan (334-416). Hui-yüan was a brilliant disciple of Tao-an (312-385) and was knowledgeable in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra. In 404 C.E., he had a contact with Kumārajīva to whom he posed the question of momentariness. Hui-yüan believed in the immortality of the soul. This immortal soul was the reaper of good and bad results of all deeds on earth. The belief in immortality of the soul was probably due to the preachings of some Buddhist monks in China at that time and the belief in immortal spirits in Confuncianism and Taoism which was predominant in China before the arrival of Buddhism. During the Han period the main tenets of Buddhism were the indestructibility of the soul and the cycle of rebirth and karma. This idea of the Buddhists that a soul lives forever in accordance with karma fitted in with prevalent later Han Taoist beliefs, namely, that a man upon death becomes a spirit with knowledge and feeling, and can assume human shape to harm people. Followers of the Confucian tradition also share in this belief of a spirit s surviving after death, as indicated by their practice of mounting the roof top and calling the 15 Seng-chao, Book of Chao, p. 54. Quoted in Ibid., p. 262. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 97

name of a person who had just died. Such a practice was known as Recall of the Departed Spirit. 16 Hui-yüan did not think that transmigration was in the form of evolution of the seed of life which was determined and cherished by the owner s karma. He firmly believed that the entire soul could infinitely pass from one body to another unless one entered Nirvāṇa Fan Chen (ca. 450-515), a Confucianist who attacked Buddhism, did not agree with Hui-yüan. He thought that Buddhism was wrong in teaching that souls lived through endless transmigration. He was the author of a famous Essay on the Extinction of the Soul which was intended to attack Hui-yüan s treatise, On the Indestructibility of the Soul (Shen-pu-mieh-lun). In his essay, Fan Chen explained that: Man s substance is substance which possesses consciousness. That of the tree is substance which lacks consciousness. Thus mans substance is not the substance of the tree, nor is the tree s substance the substance of the man. For how, in the case of a substance like that of a tree, could there be a consciousness which differentiates it from that tree. 17 Thus, what differentiated man from other natural beings was consciousness not soul. Fan Chen also believed that, after death, man no longer had consciousness. Fan Chen also thought that the vicissitude of human lives were accidental. Lives were not subject to kamma. Human lives are like flowers blossoming forth from the same tree. They are blown by the wind and fall from the tree. Some brush against screens and 16 Kenneth Ch en, op.cit., pp.46-7. 17 Fan Chen, Essay on the Extinction of the Soul (Hung-ming Chi) quoted in Kenneth Ch en, op.cit., 290. 98 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

curtains and fall on rugs and mats, some are stopped by fence and wall and fall on the manure pile. Those that fall on rugs and mats become Your Highness. Those that fall on the manure pile become my humble self. The high and low follow different paths; where does the operation of karma come in? 18 Though Fan Chen, as a Confucianist, denied the immortality of the soul, the practice of filial piety to the bygone ancestors implied that traditional Chinese thought also acknowledged the immortality of the soul and results of former deeds. III. The Doctrine of Karma and the Belief in the Immortality of the Soul A. Karma and Salvation by Faith Fung Yu-Lan, one of the eminent Chinese scholars in Mahāyāna Buddhism, explains that karma in Mahāyāna Buddhism is not considered entirely personal as in Hīnayāna (Theravāda) Buddhism: Hīnayāna Buddhism conceived of karma as being entirely personal and individual; only the doer himself could shape his future destiny through his karma. Therefore the early teachings of Buddha were all directed toward self-reliance and selfemancipation, Be ye lamps unto yourselves, be ye a refuge unto yourselves, runs a passage in the Pāli canon. Yet in this Pure Land Sūtra emphasis is placed not on one s own effort but on the power of Amitābha to effect salvation; the shift was from 18 Ibid., p.141. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 99

jiriki, self-power, to tariki, other-power, as the Japanese put it. 19 By this explanation, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who take the role of divine saviors can interfere in the process of karma of the believers, while in Theravāda Buddhism, karma is a personal commitment which causes its own law without external interference. Salvation by Faith is a new concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism of the Pure Land School. The interference of the divine savior in a person s salvation is clearly expressed in the Pure Land Sutra: Beings are not born in that Buddha country of the Tathāgata Amitāyus as a reward and result of good works performed in this present life. No, whatever son or daughter of a family shall hear the name of the Blessed Amitāyus, the Tathāgata, and having heard it, shall keep it in mind, and with thoughts undisturbed shall keep it in mind, after their death, they will be reborn in the world Sukhāvatī, in the Buddha country of the same Amitāyus, the Tathāgata. 20 According to the Pure Land Sutra, faith in divine saviors who are external beings is more important for salvation than one s own karma. Nevertheless, Nakamura, another Mahāyāna scholar, does not think that the divine saviors can entirely help the followers to salvation without depending on their own karma: Neither the spiritual inspiration and power of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas nor transcendental influence of the Supreme Truth can deliver us from natural calamities; they can only help indirectly by 19 Fung Yu-Lan, The Spirit of Chinese Philosophy in Allie M. Frazier (ed.), Chinese and Japanese Religions (U.S.A. : The Westminster Press, 1969), p.339. 20 Loc.cit. 100 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

accumulating our merits or by bringing our merits to maturity so that the good karmic effects of those merits may give us whatever protection we need. 21 Humphreys also agrees with this explanation. He asserts that: For though each has reached the end of his own immediate journey and attained his own Release, yet he may not interfere with another s Karma, nor would it help him if he could. From the beginning to the end of the journey man must travel alone, but he travels guarded, guided and in some way protected from his folly, and it is the aim of the noblest of mankind to add to that Guardian Wall. 22 The problem concerning the role of divine saviors and the individual s karma in Pure Land Buddhism is still under discussion. If the divine saviors can help people to salvation regardless of their own karma, there will be nor real authority of karma as the universal law of causation. Human deeds cannot be evaluated as good or evil because man has no responsibility in his own decision and has to rely on another power. But if there is no divine savior, the path to Nirvāṇa may seem too difficult for mankind to pursue. The doctrine of the Pure land school did not originate in China. The longer Sukhāvatīvyuha which was translated into Chinese before 186 C.E. indicated that the sūtra existed in Sanskrit some time previously. 23 It was once taught in India with the basic Indian texts. Wing-Tsit Chan has commented that the Pure Land doctrine is truly 21 Hajime Nakamura, op.cit., p.397. 22 Christmas Humphreys, Karma and Rebirth (Great Britain: Lewis Reprints limited, 1972), p. 109. 23 Sir Charles Eliot, Hinduism and Buddhism (N.Y. : Barnes & Noble Inc., 1968), Vol. III, p.313. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 101

Chinese in spirit and character and it exists nowhere else but in China and Japan. Nevertheless, in India, rebirth in Pure land meant a complete break with earthly life, which was considered a life of suffering. In the Chinese Pure land School, rebirth in the Pure Land means an extension of earthly living. Human relations are continued in the Pure Land. Thus, a person can transfer his merits to his ancestors and continue his filial duty. 24 Generally speaking, Chinese philosophy emphasizes life on earth while the Indian philosophy portrays a pleasant life in another world, e.g. in heaven. Taking all into consideration, we can say that the desire for rebirth in the Pure Land is only an extension of the Chinese search for everlasting life on earth. B. Karma and Ancestor Worship In Chinese Buddhism, ancestor worship and karma are related to each other. If we believe that karma is limited to the deeds of an individual, it will be problematic as to how one can share one s meritorious deeds with one s ancestor. Ancestor worship was commonly practiced before the time of Confucius. When Confucius appeared on the scene in the fifth century B.C.E., he emphasized the ethical and social significance of filial piety. He taught that one should show respect to one s parents not only while they are alive but also after they had passed away by preparing a proper burial for them and appropriately making sacrificial offerings. Though Confucius had a skeptical attitude towards spirits and supernatural beings, he did not object to offerings made to departed ancestors. This practice reinforced the belief in a soul after death and paved the way for Buddhism to play a significant part in the religious service to the dead. 25 Chinese 24 Wing-Tsit Chan, Transformation of Buddhism in China, Philosophy East and West (U.S.A.: The University Press of Hawaii), Vol. VII, no. 3-4, p.109. 25 W.Pashow, The Controversy over the Immortality of the Soul in Chinese Buddhism, The Journal of Oriental Studies (Hong Kong: Libra Press Limited, 1978), Vol. XVI, no. 1-2, pp.28-9. 102 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

Buddhism admits the concept of life in another world and the transference of merits. For example, if one does something good, one may have good in return and can also share this good result with others. In a family, the meritorious karma of a son can effect both himself and his parents. Thus, if the parents do something bad and go to hell after their death, the meritorious karma of the son in performing his filial piety can eliminate or mitigate the sufferings of the parents. In the Collection of Pien Wen from Tun-huang 26, there is a story concerning filial piety of Mahā Maudgalyāyana, a chief disciple of the Buddha, who rescued his mother from the Avici purgatory. This is interesting because it implies that karma of ancestors can be negotiated with the karma of their descendants. Besides, it is worth noting that belief in Heaven and Hell was unknown in Chinese history until Buddhism introduced it into China. If Theravada Buddhism is somewhat ambiguous concerning the existence and behavior of superhuman beings, Confucianism is much less ambiguous. Although the latter does not explicitly deny the existence of such beings, it certainly ignores their role in human affairs. It is more than interesting to note, therefore, that when Mahāyāna Buddhism was introduced into China, it was precisely its gods (including the Bodhisattvas), demons, heavens, and hells that, according to many scholars, accounted for its dramatic conquest of China. 27 26 Ibid., p. 29. 27 Melford E. Spiro, Religion: Problems of Definition and Explanation, in Michael Banton (ed.), Anthropological Approaches to the Study of Religion (Edinburgh: T.&A. Constable Ltd., 1966), p. 94. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 103

IV. The Doctrine of Karma in Buddhism and the Concept of Retribution in Chinese Philosophy Karma is translated in Chinese as Yeh and both mean action or deed. In fact, karma is not restricted only to outward action. Buddhism classifies karma into three categories: karma by action, by speech and by thought. In Chinese Buddhism, there are two terms which deal with the concepts of reward and punishment, good and bad, meritorious and evil and so on. These two terms are karma and retribution. Some scholar give the same explanation to these two terms. But some may define them differently, e.g. karma is the cause and retribution is its effect. Fung Yu-Lan explains that: Whenever he acts, speaks, or even thinks, his mind is doing something, and that something must produce its results, no matter how far in the future. This result is the retribution of Karma. The Karma is the cause and its retribution is the effect. The being of an individual is made up of a chain of causes and effects. 28 The concept of karma can be indicated as an import from Indian culture while the concept of retribution is the Chinese property. Buddhism, introduces the idea of karmic causation which was limited to individuals. The concept of retribution in China, on the other hand, asserts that the results of one s deed can fall upon one s family. Besides, the doer is not the only author of his own retribution. Some other external forces such as Heaven and so on can determine punishment or reward for the doer. Human institutions were believed by the early Chinese to be controlled by a T ien and a Ti or Heaven and Earth. The Shu Ching or Book of History which is a collection of religious and philosophical thought of the period prior to, and 28 Fung Yu-Lan, A Short History of Chinese Philosophy (N.Y. : The Macmillan Company, 1960), p. 243. 104 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

including the time of, Confucius and was compiled about 1000 B.C. or earlier, in its section on The Counsel of Kao Yao, says: Let him not have his various officers cumberers of their places. Men must act for the work of Heaven! From Heaven come the relationships with their several duties; we are charged with those five duties, and lo! We have the five courses of honorable conduct! From Heaven come several ceremonies; from us come the observances of these five ceremonies, and lo! They appear in regular practice!...heaven confers its decree on the virtuous, and there are the five habiliments and five decorations! Heaven punishes the guilty, and there are the five punishments to be severally used for that purpose! 29 The five duties referred here are the duties of five relationships: duties to one s parents, relatives, rulers teachers, and friends. The ideas of karma in Buddhism had assimilated in the idea of retribution in Chinese philosophy and became a new idea, since the sung Dynasty (beginning 960 C.E.), that divine retribution worked on a family basis and through a chain of lives. 30 In Neo-Confucianism, thus, reward and punishment were believed to be caused by both one s own karma and divine work. Generally, Chinese people were illiterate and mostly were farmers and fishermen. They worshipped idols, deities and natural objects which they believed to have some supernatural powers. When Buddhism first entered China, the Buddha was also worshipped as a deity. The ignorant people were fatalistic. They believed in Fate which was the Mandate of Heaven. They went to deities primarily to seek blessings, wealth and long life while the scholars and the enlightened 29 Shu Ching, pp. 55-6 quoted in Fung Yu-Lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, Vol. I, p.33. 30 Arthur F. Wright, op. cit., p.105. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 105

people worshipped deities not to seek favors but only to pay respect. The idea of Heavenly Mandate was not originated by Confucius but it was prevalent at his time. By the time of the arrival of Buddhism in China, there were some arguments and discussions between Buddhist scholars and the scholars of other religious schools in the topic of terminological interpretation. When the Taoists argued that man was justified in leading any sort of life so long as it was in accordance with his nature, Chi Tun (314-366) who came from a Buddhist family and was influenced by the Prajñāpāramitā texts felt that they opposed the Buddhist moral law and thus attempted to refute them. He affirmed that, according to the doctrine of karma, man could improve his destiny by his own efforts. Later, His Ch ao (336-377), a disciple of Chih Tun, who came from a Taoist family and then turned to Buddhism wrote a treatise entitled Feng-fa-yao or Essentials of the Dharma. In this treatise, Ch ao discussed the concept of karma: If the father performs some evil deed, the son does not suffer the consequences for him; if the son performs some evil deed, the father does not suffer the consequences for him. A good deed naturally brings about its own blessings, an evil deed its own calamity. 31 In the Confucian concept, human deeds are collective responsibility; and in the Taoist concept, they are the transmission of burden which means that good or evil performed by ancestors would influence the destiny of the descendants. His Ch ao could well differentiate the doctrine of karma from the concept of retribution in the Chinese traditions. Besides, he indicated that mind or will took an important role in the way of karma. It is said in the scriptures, the mind makes one a deity, the mind makes one a human being or an inhabitant of hell or a domestic animal, even the state 31 Hsi Ch ao, Feng-fa-yao (Essentials of the Dharma) quoted in Kenneth Ch en, op.cit., p. 70. 106 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

of one who has gained the way in the result of the mind. Each and every thought that springs from the mind is subject to retribution; even if the fact or act has not been realized, the hidden response of karma has been built up in the dark. 32 Hui-yüan, a Chinese Buddhist monk scholar, used the doctrine of karma and the concept of retribution in order to form an appropriate way of Chinese life. He argued strongly that a subject who became a monk had cut his ties with the world of material gain and personal reward and thus should not be obliged to pay homage to the rulers. But the lay-people who still led their lives at home and enjoyed the world profits should submit themselves to the rulers. He explained that: The retribution of evil karma is regard as punishment; it makes people fearful and thus circumspect. The halls of heaven are regarded as a reward; this makes them think of the pleasures of heaven and act accordingly. Therefore they who rejoice in the way of Sākya invariably first serve their parents and respect their lords. 33 Further, in is San-pao-lun ( Treatise on the Three Rewards ), Hui-yüan had explained that karma could produce its results not only in this present life but also in the next and in late lives. Though some people who had committed evil deeds still seemed fortunate in this existence, it could not be taken that bad karma had good results. Those people would surely be subject to their own karma in their future lives. 32 Loc.cit. 33 Hui-yüan, Hung-ming chi 5, in Taisho, LII, p. 30. Quoted in Arthur F. Wright, op.cit., p.50. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 107

An auspicious omen meets with misfortune, and ill omen encounters blessings. The reason why such views arise lies in the fact that the literature of the world considers one existence as the limit, and does not understand what is outside that one existence. Thus those who seek the truth confine themselves to what can be seen or heard. 34 There is another similarity between Buddhism and Taoism on the idea of fruitless karma. In Taoism, there are ideas of wu-wei and wu-hsin. Wu-wei literally means non-action which signifies action that takes place without effort. When one acts spontaneously without any deliberation, one is practicing non-action. Wu-hsin literally means no mind. Hui-yüan declares these ides in his treatise, On the Explanation of Retribution, that when one practice wu-wei in that manner, one is also practicing wu-hsin. This Taoist idea is quite similar to the idea of fruitless karma in Buddhism which affirms that effect or retribution of one s karma is due to one s craving and attachment and that one s karma with no mind (without intention or desire) will not entail any retribution. In Chinese Buddhism, especially in the Ch an school, there is a belief that the best method of spiritual cultivation is to do one s tasks without deliberate effort or purposed mind. When all one s actions entail no effect, then after the effects or previously accumulated karma have exhausted themselves, one will gain emancipation from the Wheel of Birth and Death and attain Nirvāṇa. 35 V. The Doctrine of Karma and Chinese Religious Practices In Chinese social practices and religious practices, the Buddhist doctrine of karma introduces a ceremony in the services for the dead which is led by a state of reaping the results of their former 34 Hui-yüan, San-pao-lun ( Treatise on the Three Rewards ) quoted in the Kenneth Ch en, op.cit., p.111. 35 Fung Yu-Lan, A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, p. 249. 108 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

deeds. Their relatives, therefore, try their best to help them out of their sufferings (for fear that they had done something bad while they were alive). Besides, the concept of karma also leads to the vegetarian feast in which the taking of only lifeless nutriment is the affirmation of notkilling and the avoidance of harming one s own ancestors who may take the forms of those preys of carnivorous beings. In politics, the idea of kingly behavior or Cakravartin-rāja is encouraged by the doctrine of karma. Before the introduction of Buddhism in China, there had already been a service for the dead suggested by Confucianism but it was mostly performed by people who were the relatives of the dead. Buddhism came to make the ceremony more sacred through the performance of the monks and to assure the relatives that their offerings would reach the dead. As to the vegetarian feast and the idea of Cakravartin-rāja, however, it is worth nothing that there were no such beliefs among the Chinese before the expansion of Buddhism in China. A. Services for the Dead In Confucianism, the concept of filial piety and ancestor worship are widely stated. The descendants are obliged to be grateful to their ancestors. After the death of one s parents, the son has to give them a sacrifice. Confucius said that Sacrifice to spirits which are not those of one s own deed is a flattery. 36 Thus, sacrificial offerings should be confined to the kinship group. Mahāyāna Buddhism, which considers karma collective and universal rather than personal and restrictedly individual as did Theravāda Buddhism, supports these traditional practices of the Chinese people. The Chinese are more convinced that with their sacrificial offerings to their ancestors, though the latter had accumulated bad karma while they were alive, the descendants meritorious deeds can give them a chance to relieve their own sufferings if, by that time, they repent and appreciate the virtue of merits. When Taoism became Taoist religion, the funeral rites were 36 Confucius, Analects I, 24.1, quoted in Lawrence G. Thompson, Chinese Religion: An Introduction (U.S.A. :Dickenson Publishing Company, 1975), p.44. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 109

participated by the Buddhist and the Taoist priests. Following death, there services continue for seven weeks, which was a Buddhist innovation, with the presence of the priests who performed on certain instruments, chanted sutras, and prayed for quick passage of the soul through purgatory to enjoy the offerings. B. The Kingly Behavior In India, Buddhism had taken an important role in encouraging a virtuous ruler by its ethical precepts. King Asoka was portrayed as a Dharma-rāja or a king who ruled by Dharma. In China, Buddhism also offered a new model for kingly behavior or Cakravartin-rāja which inherited in Indian Dharma-rāja. Cakravartin-rāja was the king who rules well and successful through Buddhist doctrine. Besides, he was the great Buddhist supporter or the Mahā-dānapatī which made him a living bodhisattva. By the end of the period of disunion, Buddhism was the important instrument for combining the cultures of the Sui Dynasty and the T ang Dynasty with its concept of Cakravartin-rāja. the Sui founder presented himself as a mahādānapatī in his Edict of 581 C.E.: With the armed might of a Cakravartin king, We spread the ideals of the ultimately enlightened one. With a hundred victories in a hundred battles, We promote the practice of the ten Buddhist virtues. Therefore We regard the weapons of war as having become like the offerings of incense and flowers presented to Buddha, and the fields of this world as becoming forever identical with the Buddha-land. 37 By the Edict, the duty of the king is considered justifiable even by means of war. The fulfillment of this kingly duty is a meritorious karma which is believed by the performer to yield a good result, e.g. a more fortunate life, a promise of being born in the heaven and so on. 37 Li-tai san-pao chi, ch.12, Taisho, XLIX, 107c. quoted in Arthur F. Wright, op.cit., p. 67. 110 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

C. The Vegetarian Feast The Buddhist doctrine of karma also encouraged the idea of Vegetarian Feast among Chinese people. The Chinese word for vegetarian feast is chai. It denotes the fasting periods after high noon when monks were not supposed to eat. During the Sui Dynasty (581-618) and the T ang dynasty (618-907), the fasting days assumed national importance, for during the three long fasting months (the first fifteen days of January, May, and September) and the six fasting days (the eight, fourteenth, fifteenth, twenty-third, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth of each month), killing of living animals and execution of criminals were prohibited. The exact date of fasting is not specified. It may be on the Buddha s birthday, the birthday of the emperor and so on. Kenneth Ch en explains that: Sometimes such vegetarian feast would be arranged as an example of gratitude for hospitality rendered, benefits received, recovery from illness, completing of some meritorious project, deliverance from some calamity, or as a welcome or farewell party for visiting monks. 38 Formerly, Buddhism forbade killing living beings but not eating them. When it entered China, it encountered the idea of unity in Chinese philosophy and thus the Chinese Buddhism also considered the abstinence from eating meat. There are the Five precepts in Buddhism, and not to kill is the first. Man exists for only a few scores of years and should not become an enemy of animals. The main thing is of course universal salvation. There are, I am afraid, cases where a person is not free (to abstain) and because of his vegetarianism his cultivation of the Way is sometimes hampered. Therefore while the disciple is there, its application 38 Kenneth Ch en, op.cit., p.283-4. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 111

must be flexible. Nevertheless, people who are cultivation the Way must hold compassion as fundamental. An insect or a bird shares with us the same heavenly nature it is only because they differed in merits and demerits in their previous lives that they have changed in this. If we kill and eat them, we are obstructing the principle of Heaven. 39 Hence, eating meat implies the encouragement of killing which is forbidden in the Buddhist doctrine and the principle of Heaven in Chinese philosophy. Besides, vegetarianism or the Vegetarian Feast also arises from the belief in the effect of karma. Chinese Buddhism admits the concept of the cycle of life and rebirth while Confucianism supports the idea of filial piety and ancestor worship. The combination of the two traditions then encourages vegetarianism. When life is not ended in this existence, those ancestors may be reborn in the form of animals or other living creatures. When we eat meat, we may accidentally destroy our ancestors lives which abide in animal forms and thus violate our filial duty. Vegetarianism is therefore a new phenomenon in Chinese Buddhism that strongly affirms the Law of Karma. VI. Conclusion The Buddhist doctrine of karma has been compatible with the Chinese way of life in general. According to the doctrine of Confucius, the Chinese should respect their ancestors. The principle of filial piety and gratitude is expressed by respectful service to the parents when they are alive and sacrificial offerings after their death. Buddhism has strengthened this belief by showing that human life is subject to the Law of Karma. It is difficult to detect all karmas of ancestors. Nevertheless, sacrificial offerings to the dead and meritorious deeds of the descendants can be an expression of gratitude in relieving their ancestors sufferings and in consoling their lives. Buddhism therefore 39 Wing-Tsit Chan, Religions of China, p.224. 112 WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2

does not reject Confucian doctrine of filial piety. Furthermore, the Chinese are familiar with the teachings of Lao-Tze on the Law of Nature or the Way of Tao and are accustomed to the concept of the Mandate of Heaven in Confucianism. These doctrines emphasize the concept of retribution, i.e. reward and punishment by an Authoritative Agent. Buddhism also preaches the Law of Karma that rules human life. The Law of Karma is our own product, not a gift from others. Thus, the doctrine of karma does not contradict the Law of Nature. If even encourages more responsibility and self-confidence in humanbeings. Apart from this, Confucianism and Taoism have no concept of salvation. Though Taoism teaches the ideal life which is the harmony with Tao, it does not clearly explain the method of practice. Buddhism introduces the idea of salvation by faith and the means to this end which can be taken as a consolation for sufferings in the present life and hope for better life in the future. The impact of the Buddhist doctrine of karma on the Chinese way of life, therefore, is constructive to the whole Chinese community. And because Buddhist doctrine does not oppose other religions and the belief in traditional doctrines, it can be well accepted in China and has finally become a part of Chinese culture. WBU Journal Vol. 10 No.2 113