Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-03-06
MANY BUDDHIST srcr.


% is said, something Uka f-o 66o iIe.
christians IN Japan today. ''''
MANY BUDDHIST sEcrs
Shintoism and Buddhism. ,t
are pract.scd IN Japan. hava ai,.....
many socts as Christianity shnt.I.s
mas eNla'ed in Japan longer Cham arr
one cuu remember 10 recora,I..' .b
Immortality of tho soul aud III. .,.'
tcuce of supernatural power Do fa..t'
reverence for ancestors and cIo8nli,''
Of soul and bodyp It's ideas oft ..t4,.
are honesty and straightforvari,'.
II especially teaches revorpnr. f..
emperor and the children ig
schools are taught that their I,,..,,.
60 him Is q part of their ref.rIon
There Is one sect which makes
speciality Of reverence for tho irrr...,
family. another I'M which tho siIr ....eel
dess Is the principal object OF v8r'i,I,
and a third. the Jikko. which Iei.,l,
that Mount Full is the soul .f a.
globe and which vows 90 pray fs, t
eternal existence OF the Imperial r.'
~ and the nation ''''-
Tho Buddhists have twelve df,.....
with forty-nine subdivision ON.
the most advanced Of these is "a. sf..l
sect, which teaches that mor4I.I. y
as important as faith. and which 5,
clares that women may be saved MA
shin priests believe in education -rb..
arc allowed TO marry and To- oat 0r.L
and fish. Many Of the other sort. ,-'
Vcgetarians, IL being "a general prir
clple Of the religion that no one eb,.l1
kill any living thing, some r,.
straining their drinking water. I'm o,
der that they may not unkuovIr-i,
swallow a Ash or a frog
Among the most intelligent Buddhist,
OF japan are the Gems, whose follow.
ers are largely among the intellectual
classes. They believe in education ord
aim at salvation by an undcrstap5
ing OF the principles OF non-cxigfarco
With them meditation and introynoc.
ton are the means Of attaiuiue frrs
wisdom.
And then thoro S. the Shingon s,rt
one OF whom Invented the Japanase
alphabet: the Kcgon sect. whose Iaaa-
quarters e. at Nara, and the Jod1 eo.i
which has doctrines for the initiated
and doctrines for the masses. Noarrv
all Of the sects tolerate q beHer iB
other religions. and a large pI1Bor.
don OF the Japanese people have
sacrihcial affairs in their homes f.r
both tho Buddhists and shinto faftbs
! Many of them are Confucianists ae
we'll.
WHAT A FAMOUS PRIEST SAYS
one OF the most noted RuddhIe
priests OF Japan is RonjO Alumatu
who was educated in Europe and WHO
studied there as a pupil Of Max Muller
He IS connected with the big Hong
wanii temple here in kyoto. He makes
no bones Of saying that religious t1I.
erance ia growing IN Japan and that
Fn
here. He SAYS that there Is mo- reason
why tho two religions should NOT eY-
ist without friction. because both au-
peal to the hearts and minds OF men
and that one is better suited TO soma
men than the other.
Akamatzu teaches his students that
they should study Christianity. saving
| that Il will make them broadmiudad
He does not believe Ia prosclyting
| and says that violence in defending re.
ligious doctrines is contrary 20 the
| teachings of both Christ and Buddha
During a talk with Mr.. Akamatzu he
told me he believed I'm the doctrine OF
] transmigratiOn and those who aid well
in this world would rise step by step
| until they reached the nirvaua-
I asked him what he meant by the
| nirvana. He replied:
1t Is hard 10 explain that ln Eng
| lish. II does not mean soul aunihila-
| don. as many suppose II Is not a
| negative state but a positive one. IL
! means eternal happiness, a state Ir
which all the bad in man is eliminated
4 and the good continues 10 grow. The
| man I'm uirvana appreciates the true,
/ the beautiful and the good in its per-
/ lection, the vices have an gone The
| virtues alone are left"
FRANK @. CARPENTER