profundis_, discover any vital or historical connection between the two
faiths, Christianity and Buddhism. In his theology the Christian says
God is all; but the Buddhist says All is god. Buddhism says destroy the
passions: Christianity says control them. The Buddhist's watchword is
Nirvana. The Christian's is Eternal Life in Christ Jesus.[25]


The Temples and Their Symbolism.


In the vast airy halls of a Buddhist temple one will often see columns
made of whole tree-trunks, sheeted with gold and supporting massive
ceilings which are empanelled and gorgeous with every hue and tint known
to the palette. Besides the coloring, carving and gilding, the rich
symbolism strikes the eye and touches the imagination. It is a pleasing
study for one familiar with the background and world of Buddhism, to
note their revelation and expression in art, as well as to discern what
the varying sects accept or reject. There is the lotus, in leaf, bud,
flower and calyx;[26] the diamond in every form, real and imaginary,
with the vagra or emblem of conquest; while on the altars, beside the
central image, be it that of Shaka or of Amida, are Bodhisattvas or
Buddhas by brevet, beings in every state of existence, as well as
deities of many names and forms. Abstract ideas and attributes are
expressed in the art language not only of Japan, Korea and China, but
also in that of India and even of Persia and Greece,[27] until one
wonders how an Aryan religion, like Buddhism, could have so conquered
and unified the many nations of Chinese Asia. He wonders, indeed, until
he remembers how it has itself been transformed and changed in popular
substance, from lofty metaphysics and ethics into pantheism for the
shorn, and into polytheism for the unshorn.