This Yi-king,
which Professor Terrien de Laeouporie declares is only a very ancient
book of pronunciation of comparative Accadian and Chinese Syllabaries,
has been the cause of incredible waste of labor, time, and brains in
China--enough to have diked the Yellow River or drained the swamps of
the Empire. It is the chief basis of Chinese superstition, and the
greatest literary barrier to the advance of civilization. It has also
made much mischief in Japan. Deguchi explained the myths of the age of
the gods by divination or eki, based on the Chinese books. As late as
1893 there was published in T[=o]ki[=o] a work in Japanese, with good
translation info English, on Scientific Morality, or the practical
guidance of life by means of divination--The Takashima Ekidan (or
Monograph on the Eki of Mr. Takashima), by S. Sugiura.
The Jikko sect, according to its representative at the World's
Parliament of Religions at Chicago, is "the practical." It lays stress
less upon speculation and ritual, and more upon the realization of the
best teachings of Shint[=o]. It was founded by Hasegawa Kakugi[=o], who
was born at Nagasaki in 1541. Living in a cave in Fuji-yama, "he
received inspiration through the miraculous power of the mountain.
Pages:
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497