and stimulus to
pictorial art.[28] He sees further that instead of the monochrome of
Chinese exotic art, or the first rude attempts of the native pencil,
Buddhism began Japanese sculpture, carving and nearly every other form
of plastic or pictorial representation, in which are all the elements of
Northern Buddhism, as so lavishly represented, for example, in that
great sutra which is the book, _par excellence_, of Japanese Buddhism,
the Saddharma Pundarika.

Turning from text to art, we behold the golden lakes of joy, the
mountain of gems, the floating female angels with their marvellous
drapery and lovely faces, the gentle benignity of the goddesses of
mercy, the rays of light and the glory streaming from face and head of
the holy ones, the splendors of costume, the varied beauties of the
lotus, the hosts of ministering intelligences, the luxuriant symbolism,
the purple clouds, the wheel of the law, the swastika[29] or double
cross, and the vagra,[30] or diamond trefoil. All that color, perfume,
sensuous delights, art and luxury can suggest, are here, together with
all the various orders of beings that inhabit the Buddhist universe; and
these are set forth in their fulness and detail. In the six conditions
of sentient existence are devas or gods, men, asuras or monsters, pretas
or demons, beasts, and beings in hell. In portraying these, the artists
and sculptors do not always slavishly follow tradition or uniformity.
The critical eye notes nearly as much genius, wit and variety as in the
mediaeval cathedral architecture of Europe. Probably the most popular
groups of idols are those of the seven or the thirty-three Kuannon, of
the six Jizo[31] or compassionate helpers, and of the sixteen or the
five hundred Rakan[32] or circles of primitive disciples of Gautama. The
angelic beings and sweetly singing birds of Paradise are also favorite
subjects of the artists.

One who has lived alongside the great temples; who knows the daily
routine and sees what powerful engines of popular instruction they are;
who has been present at the great festivals and looked upon the mighty
kitchens and refectories in operation; and who has gone in and out among
their monasteries and examined their records, their genealogies and
their relics, can see how powerfully Buddhism has moulded the whole life
of the people through long ages. The village temple is often the epitome
and repository of the social life of the people now living, and of the