Only birth and no death is far worse than only death and no birth. "The dead," says Chwang Tsz, "have no tyrannical king about, no slavish subject to meet; no change of seasons overtakes them. The heaven and the earth take the places of Spring and Autumn. The king or emperor of a great nation cannot be happier than they." How would you be if death should never overtake you when ugly decrepitude makes you blind and deaf, bodily and mentally, and deprives you of all possible pleasures? How would you be if you should not die when your body is broken to pieces or terribly burned by an accident--say, by a violent earthquake followed by a great conflagration? Just imagine Satan, immortal Satan, thrown down by the ire of God into Hell's fiery gulf, rolling himself in dreadful torture to the end of time. You cannot but conclude that it is only death which relieves you of extreme sufferings, incurable diseases, and it is one of the blessings you ought to be thankful for.

The believer of Buddha is thankful even for death itself, the which is the sole means of conquering death. If he be thankful even for death, how much more for the rest of things! He can find a meaning in every form of life. He can perceive a blessing in every change of fortune. He can acknowledge a mission for every individual. He can live in contentment and joy under any conditions. Therefore Lin Tsi (Rin-zai) says: "All the Buddhas might appear before me and I would not be glad. All the Three Regions[1] and Hells might suddenly present themselves before me, and I would not fear. . . . He (an Enlightened person)

[1. (1) Naraka, or Hell; (2) Pretas, or hungry demons; (3) beasts.]

might get into the fire, and it would not burn him. He might got into water, and it would not drown him. He might be born in Hell, and he would be happy as if he were in a fair garden. He might be born among Pretas and beasts, and he would not suffer from pain. How can he be so? Because be can enjoy everything."

[1. Lin Tsi Luk (Rin-zai-roku).]

APPENDIX

ORIGIN OF MAN

(GEN-NIN-RON)

BY

KWEI FUNG TSUNG MIH

THE SEVENTH PATRIARCH OF THE KEGON SECT

TRANSLATED BY

KAITEN NUKARIYA

PREFACE