as the Wu-wei-tau-jen, "Religious man who maintains the principle of non-action." The foreign priests asked him why he assumed this name. "By means of it," he replied, "I shall be able to overturn your brass Buddha of three thousand pounds weight to-day. Men do not know this principle, and therefore they seek for false doctrine. My method is clear and perfect; it is suited for the whole world." To this it was replied by the foreign priest, "Do not use boastful words; I can make a gourd sink to the bottom of the sea and iron tongs swim on the surface. Can you do so?" The foreign priest expects that our hero will not be able to explain his riddle, but he is mistaken. A ready reply is given, "Man's nature is like the full moon, which, when it emerges from the horizon, shines to the bottom of the sea, across the surface, and everywhere. To sink and to swim, then, become the same. When my 'nature' (sing), like the moon, shines bright and clear, my life returns to the bottom of the sea. In the view of my spiritual nature, born directly from heaven, iron may swim and the gourd may sink."

The foreign priest then asked him why he did not chant books of prayers. He answered "That the great doctrine is spontaneous, man's nature is the same with heaven. The true unwritten book is always rotating. All heaven and earth are repeating words of truth. The true book is not outside of man's self. But the deceived are ignorant of this, and they therefore chant books of prayers. The law that is invisible manifests itself spontaneously, and needs no book. The flowing of water, the rushing of the winds, constitute a great chant. Why, then, recite prayers from books?"

The founder of the Wu-wei religion was again asked why he did not worship images of Buddha. He answered,

[paragraph continues] "A brazen Buddha melts, and a wooden Buddha burns, when exposed to the fire. An earthen Buddha cannot save itself from water. It cannot save itself; then how can it save me? In every particle of dust there is a kingdom ruled by Buddha. In every temple the king of the law resides. The mountains, the rivers, and the great earth form Buddha's image. Why, then, carve or mould an image?"

I remark here, in passing, that at this point we must consider Buddha as God in the view of these religionists. He is to them that Being whose glory and whose acts are seen in every object of nature. But, then, this Buddha is not a personal being, the ruler and father of the world. He cannot be prayed to. He cannot love me, or be the object of my love. When religionists of this class say they see Buddha everywhere, it is only the reflection of the thoughts and emotions of their own minds that they refer to.