Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan Read Online Free Page A

Buddhist?'
'Not exactly.'
'Why do you make offerings if you do not believe in Buddha?'
'I revere the beauty of his teaching, and the faith of those who
     follow it.'
'Are there Buddhists in England and America?'
'There are, at least, a great many interested in Buddhist
     philosophy.'
    And he takes from an alcove a little book, and gives it to me to
examine. It is an English copy of Olcott's Buddhist Catechism.
    'Why is there no image of Buddha in your temple?' I ask.
'There is a small one in the shrine upon the altar,' the student
answers; 'but the shrine is closed. And we have several large ones. But
the image of Buddha is not exposed here every day—only upon festal
days. And some images are exposed only once or twice a year.
    From my place, I can see, between the open paper screens, men and women
ascending the steps, to kneel and pray before the entrance of the
temple. They kneel with such naive reverence, so gracefully and so
naturally, that the kneeling of our Occidental devotees seems a clumsy
stumbling by comparison. Some only join their hands; others clap them
three times loudly and slowly; then they bow their heads, pray silently
for a moment, and rise and depart. The shortness of the prayers
impresses me as something novel and interesting. From time to time I
hear the clink and rattle of brazen coin cast into the great wooden
money-box at the entrance.
    I turn to the young student, and ask him:
'Why do they clap their hands three times before they pray?'
    He answers:
'Three times for the Sansai, the Three Powers: Heaven, Earth, Man.'
    'But do they clap their hands to call the Gods, as Japanese clap their
hands to summon their attendants?'
    'Oh, no!' he replied. 'The clapping of hands represents only the
awakening from the Dream of the Long Night.'
[3]
    'What night? what dream?'
    He hesitates some moments before making answer:
'The Buddha said: All beings are only dreaming in this fleeting world
of unhappiness.'
    'Then the clapping of hands signifies that in prayer the soul awakens
from such dreaming?'
    'Yes.'
    'You understand what I mean by the word "soul"?'
    'Oh, yes! Buddhists believe the soul always was—always will be.'
    'Even in Nirvana?'
    'Yes.'
    While we are thus chatting the Chief Priest of the temple enters—a
very aged man-accompanied by two young priests, and I am presented to
them; and the three bow very low, showing me the glossy crowns of their
smoothly-shaven heads, before seating themselves in the fashion of gods
upon the floor. I observe they do not smile; these are the first
Japanese I have seen who do not smile: their faces are impassive as the
faces of images. But their long eyes observe me very closely, while the
student interprets their questions, and while I attempt to tell them
something about the translations of the Sutras in our Sacred Books of
the East, and about the labours of Beal and Burnouf and Feer and Davids
and Kern, and others. They listen without change of countenance, and
utter no word in response to the young student's translation of my
remarks. Tea, however, is brought in and set before me in a tiny cup,
placed in a little brazen saucer, shaped like a lotus-leaf; and I am
invited to partake of some little sugar-cakes (kwashi), stamped with a
figure which I recognise as the Swastika, the ancient Indian symbol of
the Wheel of the Law.
    As I rise to go, all rise with me; and at the steps the student asks for
my name and address. 'For,' he adds, 'you will not see me here again, as
I am going to leave the temple. But I will visit you.'
    'And your name?' I ask.
    'Call me Akira,' he answers.
    At the threshold I bow my good-bye; and they all bow very, very low,-
one blue-black head, three glossy heads like balls of ivory. And as I
go, only Akira smiles.
Sec. 8
    'Tera?' queries Cha, with his immense white hat in his hand, as I resume
my seat in the jinricksha at the foot of the steps. Which no doubt
means, do I want to see any more temples? Most certainly I do: I have
not yet seen