" In the diagram called
the eight-leaf enclosure, by which the mysteries of Shingon are
explained, Maha-Vairokana is in the centre, and on the eight petals are
such names as Amitabha, Manjusri, Maitreya, and Avalokitesvara; in a
word, all are purely speculative beings, phantoms of the brain, the
mushrooms of decayed Brahmanism, and the mould of primitive Buddhism
disintegrated by scholasticism.]
[Footnote 24: S. and H., p. 31.]
[Footnote 25: B.N., p. 115.]
[Footnote 26: Here let me add that in my studies of oriental and ancient
religion, I have never found one real Trinity, though triads, or
tri-murti, are common. None of these when carefully analyzed yield the
Christian idea of the Trinity.]
CHAPTER IX
THE BUDDHISM OF THE JAPANESE
[Footnote 1: Tathagata is one of the titles of the Buddha, meaning "thus
come," i.e., He comes bringing human nature as it truly is, with perfect
knowledge and high intelligence, and thus manifests himself. Amitabha is
the Sanskrit of Amida, or the deification of boundless light.]
[Footnote 2: B.N., p. 104.]
[Footnote 3: Literally, I yield to, or I adore the Boundless or the
Immeasurable Buddha.]
[Footnote 4: A Chinese or Japanese volume is much smaller than the
average printed volume in Europe.
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