igious observance, but it is equally prevalent
among the Hindus, though less prominent because it is only one among the
many rites which engage the attention of that most devout nation. It is
one of the main constituents in the religions of Indo-China and Japan,
though the best authorities think that it was not the predominant
element in the oldest form of Shinto. It is less prominent among the
Tibeto-Burmese tribes but not absent, for in Tibet there are both good
and evil ghosts who demand recognition by appropriate rites. It is
sometimes hard to distinguish it from the worship of natural forces. For
instance in China and southern India most villages have a local deity
who is often nameless. The origin of such deities may be found either in
a departed worthy or in some striking phenomenon or in the association
of the two.

The cult of ghosts may be due to either fear or affection, and both
motives are found in Eastern Asia. But though abundant examples of the
propitiation of angry spirits can be cited, respect and consideration
for the dead are the feelings which usually inspire these ceremonies at
the present day and form the chief basis of family religion. There is no
need to explain this sentiment. It is much stronger in Asia than in
Europe but some of its manifestations may be paralleled by masses and
prayers for the dead, others by the care bestowed on graves and by
notices _in memoriam_. As a rule both in China and India only the last
three generations are honoured in these ceremonies. The reason is
obvious: the more ancient ancestors have ceased to be living memories.
But it might be hard to find a theoretical justification for neglecting
them and it is remarkable that in all parts of Asia the cult of the dead
fits very awkwardly into the official creeds. It is not really
consistent with any doctrine of metempsychosis or with Buddhist teaching
as to the impermanence of the Ego. In China may be found the further
inconsistency that the spirit of a departed relative may receive the
tribute of offerings and salutations called ancestor worship, while at
the same time Buddhist services are being performed for his deliverance
from hell. But of the wide distribution, antiquity and strength of the
cult there can be no doubt. It is anterior not only to Brahmanism but to
the doctrines of transmigration and karma, and the main occupation of
Buddhist priests in China and Japan is the performance of ceremonies
supposed to ben