Taixu however was not the first Buddhist in China to write a letter to Adolph Hitler, on January 8, 1934 another participant of the same Knapp Putch Ludendorf and Hitler where part of his name was Trebish Lincoln (alias Patrick Keelan) and of course it was ignored. The original of this letter to Hitler is held in politischen Archiv des Auswärtigen Amtes (AA PA)as “ Martin Fischer (Shanghai) an das deutsche Außenministerium 5. 2. 1941 - AA PA Pol. IM, Mil. Po. 15g” Band (volume)18.Age 52 the in-famous adventurer was the first European to become a Chinese Buddhist near Nanking where he was given the role of a ‘Bodhitsattva’, hence named Chao Kung.
An article in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung - 5. 1. 1990 - Nr. 6, 19 -by Carlos Widmann „Schnorrer, Schwindler, Mönch, Putschist“ pointed out that Trebish Lincoln in fact most probably was the middle man between General Ludendorff and the Chinese Nationalists before And although the Head of the Gestapo Heydrich refused to have anything to do with him, although he later had contact with the office of Canaris in Shanghai and also the Japanese Secret Service.
As for Taixu we will start with a two part study describing the environment and devellopments of Chinese Buddhism during this period, that might explain why such a letter to Hitler could have come about.
Foreign invasions and humiliations of defeat, beginning in the 1840s, and especially after the first Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), caused Chinese intellectuals to awaken to their nationhood and national identity. Nationalism thus gradually replaced culturalism, which had dominated Chinese view of self identity for centuries that China was the nation of advanced civilization. In fact, popular identification with "China" is essentially a twentieth-century phenomenon that in time would permeate all classes and areas of China proper and extend even into the original homeland of the Qing, Manchuria. (For a good overview see C. X. George Wei and Yiaoyuan Liu, eds., Chinese Nationalism in Perspective: Historical and Recent Cayes, 2001)
The metaphorical expression of the waking lion in relating the Chinese nation was somehow attributed to Napoleon, and often quoted by Chinese political leaders and intellectuals. However, according to John Fitzgerald, it is unlikely that Napoleon uttered this phrase first (John Fitzgerald, Awakening China: Politics, Culture, and Class in the Nationalist Revolution, 1996: 62-63).
With the social Darwinist concept of the survival of the fittest, many intellectuals and revolutionaries began to construct the ideas of the new Chinese nation and endeavored to enlighten other Chinese people about "Chineseness." The awaking of modem nationalism culminated in the overthrow of the Manchu Qing dynasty, which came to be regarded as alien to "Chineseness."
After the establishment of the Republic in 1912, the "Chinese people" was expanded to include five ethnic nationalities-Han, Tibetan, Mongolian, Muslim, and Manchu-in China as a whole, and to uphold its inherited empire together to make a Chinese national state, and to unite all these peoples against foreign invasion and occupation. The Chinese nation was thus said to have finally begun to awaken. It was predicted that the awakening of China would eventually shake Asia as well as the world. The spirit of nationalism further developed in the New Culture Movement in 1915 and the May Fourth Movement in 1919, and reached its peak during the time of the Anti-Japanese War.
This reflected itself also in Chinese Buddhism when in early 1912 lay Buddhist intellectuals, including OuyangRan, Li Zhenggan, and Gui Bohua, organized. the Buddhist Society in Nanjing and obtained an endorsement letter from Sun Yatsen, the first President of the Republic of China (Chengkong, "Minguo fojiao nianji", in Zhang Mantao, cd., Minguofojiao (Buddhism during the Republic of China; Taibei: Mahayana Culture, 1979): 167-68).
During the next several decades, monks and lay people founded dozens of national or regional Buddhist organizations. The most important one, the Nationalist “Chinese Buddhist Society” (Zhongguofqjiao hui ) established in 1929, is still functioning in Taiwan to the present day.
One of the most devastating challenges Buddhist institutions faced was the Christian-inspired military movements. In the 1920s, Feng Yuxiang, a Christian general and warlord, ordered his troops in Henan to destroy ali Buddhist temples and to confiscate Buddhist property for military usage. More than 300,000 monks and nuns were driven out of their temples, and Buddhism was almost entirely eliminated from the region (Dongchu, Zhongguofqjiaojindai shi (History of Modem Chinese Buddhism); Taibei: Zhonghua fojiao wenhuaguan, 1974: 134. Interesting discussion on anti-Christian movement in 1920s can be found in Ka-che Yip, Religion, Nationalism and Chinese Students, 1980).
So just as many political and social reformers at the time attempted to strengthen Chinese nation and wake up Chinese people through adopting Western science and technology in conjunction with the essence of Chinese culture; Buddhist monks reexamined Buddhist philosophy in the hope of revitalizing Buddhism by recreating Buddhist tradition to meet the intrusion of the Western religion and to defy the pressure form state persecution.
At the very beginning, the primary aim of organizing Buddhist schools in temples was to prevent an attempt to appropriate temple property; providing education for young monks was considered secondary (Yang Wenhui "Zbina fojiao zhenxing ce yi" (A Proposal for Chinese Buddhist Revival), in Huang Xianian, ed. Yang Renshan X (Collection of Yang Renshan; Beijing: Zhongguo shchui kexue chubanshe, 1995:7).
Initially the Buddhist reformer Taixu, toured Japan twice in 1917 and 1925, and formulated modem monastic education based on what he observed in Japan and opened the Wuchang Buddhist College in Wuhan. His Buddhist reform, aimed at bringing monks and nuns into social and political life, reveals certain influence of Japanese Buddhism. However, after the military conflict between Chinese and Japanese troops in Jinan in 1928, Taixu became a critic of Japanese Buddhists who, according to him, had detracted from the true Buddhist path by conniving with and supporting Japanese aggression against China, yet he spared no effort to persuade them against Japanese imperialistic policy. Meanwhile he urged Chinese Buddhists to prepare themselves for and participate in resisting Japanese invasion, and justified his call as the way to revive Buddhism. Although, such justification may be regarded as rhetoric excuse for his strong nationalism, the reader should also keep in mind that he believed that monks and nuns, by involving in the resistance war, could bring a new opportunity for Buddhism. After the war ended, he would receive a mandate from the government for carrying out Buddhist reform (For a chronological Biography of Taixu see Yingshun, Taim dashi nianpu Beijing: Zongjiao wenhua chubanshe, 1995).
While earlier , Buddhism was criticized by Confucians for disregarding the value of the family and state, Chinese monks now recreated Buddhist tradition so that the sangha should neither entirely depend on society nor completely isolate from it. In the middle of the first half of the twentieth century, Buddhist reforms could be regarded as an attempt to recreate Buddhist tradition to reestablish close relationship with society. In the 1930s, the young monks, who were products of such reform, discussed among themselves whether monks and nuns should participate in national protection.
For example Taixu, in "The Buddhist History of Chinese National Heroes", in Taixu quan shu, described how in the Ming dynasty, Hangzhou was frequently plundered by Japanese pirates. In 1553, when a gang of pirates attacked Hangzhou again, the Ming court, according to a legend, appointed Tianzheng and Tianchi as generals, two monks proficient in Chinese
martial arts from the Shaolin Temple. The two masters together with forty other Shaolin monks arrived in Hangzhou launched attacks on the Japanese, killing many of them and forcing the others back to sea. Subsequently, another group of monks from the Shaolin Temple marched to Shanghai; the two groups then encircled the Japanese and killed all of them.These accounts from Buddhist literature were cited by young monks of the 1930s as precedents for monks using military force to protect the nation. Although the incidents that the monks in the past had participated in violence for a variety of reasons are not in a large number, the young monks eagerly repeated these stories to support their claims that those monks had done so for the sake of state and people. In the 1930s, the preparation for war to defend the nation grew to be national campaign and dominated the Chinese lives.
Thus while criticizing Japanese Buddhists for supporting the Japanese and puppet governments, some Chinese monks politicized their own activities and offered their services to their own government. All these efforts may indicate that Chinese Buddhists tried everything possible for the resistance war. However, some Buddhists still believed that Buddhist moral teachings diametrically reject violence and can not be used directly to justify Buddhist participation in the war; some revisions, such as "killing one for the sake of saving many" and "justified self-defense," had to be created to defuse the apparent violation of the precept of no killing. Some Buddhists, realizing Buddhist morality might be detrimental to the war effort, straightforwardly advocated the complete abandonment of "old" Buddhism in order to create a new tradition that would unequivocally provide strong and effective ways for Chinese Buddhists to resist the Japanese invasion. It would be unthinkable at normal time that such proposal could appear in Buddhist journal, but at this time of national crisis, all Buddhists are legitimately urged to give the priority to the war of resistance. Such proposal, although extreme, may have manifested actual situation Buddhism faced at the time that monks and nuns had to fight the war and fight for the survival of Buddhism simultaneously. Chinese monks also participated more directly in war activities, beginning with military training of clergy that prepared monks and nuns for the war activities.
The positive aspects of military training of clergy were highlighted in many reports that both government officials and members of the sangha praised training as the way of benefiting self and others. No one complained that they had to neglect their religious practice for the sake of training. However, the reports available imply that not all monks and nuns who participated in the training looked it in the same way or took it seriously; some thought that the training was just a show like many social and political movements.
After three months of training and political studies, the clergy had learned nothing; some of them could still not recognize the national flag, yet all of them were certified for graduation by an army instructor. At the end, the leading monk who was in charge of the training revealed the secret of the training:
In some areas however the military training was not undertaken voluntarily, but was imposed on the monks and nuns by the government or by the leaders of the Buddhist community. On the first page of the Buddhist Daily News of April 28, 1937, a report relates the story of how Buddhist monks and nuns in Nanjing changed their monastic robes into military uniforms and zealously participated in the training in the Buddhist spirit of serving the world. In contrast, another report, immediately following, reveals how the abbots of the temples in Nanjing reluctantly and helplessly accepted the training. The monks and nuns of Nanjing complained that municipal government officials made use of training as an opportunity to extract contributions from them. At first, the
Nationalist government promised that military instructors as well as their assistants would train monks and nuns free of charge, although the temples should provide meals.A few days later, another order ruled that instructors should be paid, but not more than fifty Yuan per person. Nevertheless, the monks and nuns in Nanjing were asked to pay a salary of one hundred fifty Yuan and a transportation fee of eleven Yuan to the instructor, twenty Yuan to each of three assistants, and twelve Yuan to a military bugler, altogether three hundred and thirty three Yuan.' When the clergy complained that they were overcharged, the government officials explained that the fee of fifty Yuan was specified in an old regulation that had been recently suspended.
The clergy also had to supply their own military uniforms even though the central government's order unambiguously had stated that they could use their robes during the training. (Fojiao xinwen (Buddhist News): April 28 1937: p.3.)
When they protested this irregularity, the local government officials told them that the old order had been replaced by a new one to the effect that all trainees must wear military uniforms. As some monks and nuns could not afford to buy the uniforms, the training was delayed again and again even though the government repeatedly sent memoranda urging them to solve the problem. Meanwhile, the municipal government persuaded temples in Nanjing to donate nine hundred and ten Yuan each month to the military training programs of the five districts of the city. The Buddhist Society in Nanjing, on behalf of all temples, petitioned the government to reduce the amount. In the end, the sum was reduced to five hundred Yuan on the condition that monks and nuns had to purchase training tools, such as stretchers and other medical equipment for the training centers in the five districts. In order to pay the contributions and the fees for the military training, it was suggested in a meeting of abbots in Nanjing that all monks and nuns, except those over eighty and below sixteen years of age, should donate one Yuan every month. In the discussion, this suggestion was replaced by another proposal, which was unanimously endorsed by the abbots that those who took part in the training might pay a half Yuan per month, while those who were old or sick should pay one Yuan per month; in this way they would be able to get certificates of training from the Buddhist Society in Nanjing.
Nevertheless, despite such problems as the resistance of clergy and abuse of power by government officials, the military training of the sangha was an extraordinary phenomenon, which not only prepared clergy trainees for war but also shortened the distance between the sangba and society. Monks and nuns realized that they were members of society and would not be able to remain inside temples without being affected by the changes outside.
The military training of monks and nuns was expanded after the eruption of the war in 1937. Local Buddhist organizations in provinces and cities gradually adapted the popular Buddhist practice of forming sangha rescue teams to save and assist wounded soldiers. Sixty monks and nuns in Yunnan and forty in Chongqing were selected to undertake military training at the beginning of the war. Some monks and lamas even entered military training centers run by the government and received formal training as military officers. After one or two months training, these monks and nuns marched to the front and transported injured soldiers between the battle and hospitals. In October 1937, the monks in the Chinese-Tibetan Buddhist College in Chongqing began their training. This college was the only Buddhist institution of learning financially supported by the Nationalist government. In their daily routine, besides classes on Buddhist studies, the students assembled to raise the national flag and sing Nationalist party anthem. (Zhonghua Minguo shi dangan ziliao huibian,1991, v. 5, pt. 2, sect.5, n.2:p. 786.)
The training, which encompassed twenty other monks from nearby temples, was divided into two groups. The monks of one group specialized in rescue work in battlefields, while the monks of another group learned how to provide security, and to safeguard social order in the unoccupied areas. At the end of 1938, Sichuan Sangha Rescue Team was founded in Wenshu Si, in Chengdu; one hundred and twenty monks and nuns were trained at one time.
Although some clergy were inspired by the rising nationalism and patriotism, others may have acted spontaneously out of the Buddhist ideal of great compassion to save the lives of Chinese soldiers. In many areas where clergy made contributions to the war, it is difficult to categorize their motivation one way or the other. Nevertheless, whether inspired by nationalism and patriotism or influenced by Buddhist compassion to save lives, the clergy made their contributions to the war through expedient ways and means. The most conventional method of Buddhist protection of the nation was ritual performance, yet, as was discussed earlier, many young monks doubted the immediate efficacy of saving the nation by performing Buddhist rituals, although they did not completely reject the idea.
No one knows exactly when the Buddhist tradition of conducting rituals on the behalf of the nation began, but it is certain that the practice was regularly performed in the Sui and Tang dynasty. During the Kaiyuan Period (713-741) three great monks, Subhakarasimha, VaJrabodhi, and Amoghavajra, frequently performed esoteric rituals for imperial Tang state. Later on, the practice evolved alongside the ancient Chinese tradition of sacrifice and prayer, and became integrated with Daoist practices of exorcising evil and inviting good fortune. The tradition gained further popularity in the Qing court. Whenever there were rebellions, the court would have monks, especially lamas, perform such rituals.
In the early 1930's, it was widely speculated in Chinese society, especially among Buddhists, that 1936 would be the year when disasters for human beings began. In May 1936, Buddhists in Shanghai voluntarily organized rituals for eliminating national disasters and praying for the return of peace.
In the fall of 1936,when Chinese troops led by Fu Zuoyi - successfully repelled the invasion of Suiyuan by Japanese and Inner Mongolian troops, the victory encouraged the Chinese to resist foreign invasion. In support of the Chinese soldiers and to pray for Chinese victory, Yuanying and other well-known lay Buddhists in Shanghai organized a ritual ceremony on a grand scale from the November 22 to 29, 1936. Yinguang , a master of the Pure Land School, was invited to leave his religious confinement to give lectures on the Pure Land School in Shanghai. As it was expected, the participation of Yinguang, whose fame and virtue were well-known to Chinese Buddhists, attracted generous donations from Buddhists to the national defense fund. (You Youwei, "Reminiscence of Master Yinguan," in Zhonghua wenshi ziliao,p. 478.)
Dai Jitao (1891-1949), one of the staunchest followers and theorists of Sun Yatsen's Three People's Principles, showed special interest in organizing such rituals on behalf of the Nationalist government. Dai Jitao was a devoted and committed lay Buddhist in the Nationalist government, and provided valuable service for the development of Buddhist institutions in the Republican era. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Nationalist party and the Minister of the Examination Yuan. During the 1920's and early 1930's when property confiscations threatened Buddhist institutions, he became convinced that the contemporary social and political instability of China to a great extent was caused by the collective karma of all the Chinese people. In order to get rid of such negative karmic force, everyone would have to sincerely repent through religious practices and rituals. He also strongly believed that the world was blessed by Buddhas and bodhisattvas who frequently manifested themselves in human society to save people from suffering and to subdue evils. On November 16, 1931, shortly after the Mukden Incident, Dai Jitao sponsored the Buddhist Assembly of [Reciting] Humane Kings [Sutra] for National Protection (See Dai Jitao xianshengfoxue lunji ,Buddhist Articles by Mr. Dai Jitao; Taibei: Zhougguo fojiao, wenhuaguan, 1967).
In September, 1937, Guanzong Si in Ningbo began to perform a national protection ritual in its daily religious activities. On behalf of the more than four hundred monks residing in the temple, the abbot Baojing appealed to all Chinese monks and nuns to immediately contribute their service to the nation by performing religious rituals. In a telegram to all temples in China Baojing recounted crimes and murders committed by the Japanese who had occupied Chinese territory. He reminded the Chinese clergy of the legend that the Buddha once intervened in a war between w4uras and gods. The ferocious "uras overwhelmed the gods, who ran away, from their palaces and came to the Buddha for help. The Buddha told them to recite the Prajaparamita Sutra, which would be powerful enough to expel the invasion of the asuras. (Asuras and gods are two kinds of living beings within the six realms of existence, Asuras, the semi-gods, are wellknown for their hot temper and war-spirit.)The gods followed the Buddha's instruction and successfully repelled the enemies, recovering their palaces.
Baojing also warned beforehand that the performance of rituals should be seen not as fulfilling the daily routine of the clergy, but as the fulfilling the duty of each monk and nun to the nation. The rituals should be conducted with sincerity and honesty so that its ment could be transformed into powerful forces to bring the war to an end, and to change national disaster into national rebuilding. If the rituals were conducted properly, Baojing said, the blessing power of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas would surely subdue the evil of the invaders. "The enemy's warplanes and warships will miss their targets; the Japanese soldiers and officers will suddenly repent of what they have done and return to Japan peacefully(Hai chaoyin, v. 18 n. 10 (1937): 955.)
After 1937, Buddhist rituals and ceremonies aimed at invoking blessings on the nation and achieving victory in the war were frequently organized in Nationalist
controlled areas.On September 29, Dai Jitao, jointly supported by the leaders of the Nationalist government, military generals, and Mongolian and Tibetan nobles-altogether one thousand five hundred peopleorganized grand esoteric rituals in Chengdu to pray for the nation. One hundred and eight monks and lamas took part in a ritual to generate and transfer merit to those killed in the war. The whole ceremony lasted forty-nine days and was attended by thousands of people. Many high government officials and generals, such as general Deng Xihou and Yang Quanyu, the mayor of Chengdu, also attended the rituals.
One of the most significant exoteric rituals sponsored by the state was held continuously in both Chongqing at Ciyun Si and Huayan Si from December 9, 1942 through January 26, 1943. Xuyun, one of the most eminent Chan monks in modem China, was invited from Guangdong to preside over the rituals. (Lu Kuanxian, Xuyun heshang nianpu (The Chronological Biography of Xuyun; Hong Kong: Xianggang fojing hutongchu, 1977): 137-38.)
During these forty-nine days, ahnost all the government and military leaders of Chongqing, including Lin Sen and Jiang Jieshi, participated in the ceremony. At the end of the rituals, Dai Jitao on behalf of the government read out the text of prayer, which reflected on the dangerous situation of the nation and suffering of the people. The text alleged that ever since September 18, 1931, Japanese had caused enormous damage to China. The rituals, therefore, were aimed at achieving the recovery and prosperity of the nation and the happiness of people, and at receiving blessings from the Buddhas and bodhisattvas so that China would triumph over the invasion. Finally, Dai Jitao called upon all Chinese, both Buddhists and nonBuddhists, to redouble their efforts for final victory. It is reported that on this occasion, many government officials, military generals, and social leaders took part in the rituals. They presented Xuyun with five suitcases of valuables such as paintings and calligraphy. Xuyun did not keep any, but distributed these antiquities to temples on his way back to Guangzhm( Shi Ming, "Remiruscence of Xuyun' ', in Zhonggwo wenshi ziliao wenku, p 468.).
Although it is difficult to know how much contribution such rituals made to the resistance war, we must not underestimate their significance. For monks and nuns, performance of such rituals demonstrated their patriotic enthusiasm in serving the nation. Government leaders who organized or participated in such rituals showed that the government tried all possible ways to deal with the war, even if many of them might not believe that the rituals were effective in defending the nation. For the ordinary members of resistance forces, the rituals could be regarded as a psychological consultation and spiritual investment to seek the blessings of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and deities for their struggle against enemies.
Some monks were not content with serving the nation through ritual performance; they preferred to serve the nation through material donations. Traditionally, monks and nuns had been receivers of gifts from society; however it became common practice during the war for monks and nuns to donate materials to Chinese soldiers. This change took place when national resources were almost exhausted and ordinary Chinese were asked to help the government with material donations. In October of 1937, the students from the Chaoan Buddhist School in Zhenjiang formed the Propaganda Group of the Chaoan Buddhist School to Solicit Donations for the National Salvation Bond in Jiangsu. They went into streets and distributed anti-Japanese pamphlets, urging people to purchase the bonds and thereby support the soldiers. The group also broadcast propaganda programs on local radio. Their enthusiasm and hard work won support from the general public and within a short period they received a large sum in the form of money, clothes, and cotton quilts, from people in all walks of fife. In order to make sure that Chinese soldiers could effectively fight in the war by releasing them from worrying their families, the monks in Sichuan organized medical teams and went to remote villages to provide treatment to the families of these soldiers. In the summer of 1938, a group of monks from Liangshan toured the villages and treated 8522 members of soldiers' families. During these services, they composed songs and poems in popular forms that called upon all the Chinese to fight for the freedom of the nation(Hal chao yin, Y. 20, n. 7-8 (1939): 207)
Perhaps the most significant wartime donation was "Buddhist airplanes" for Chinese soldiers. In August 1941, both clergy and lay Buddhists initiated a movement that called on Buddhists in China to donate money to the purchase of airplanes.
Their call was supported by Taixu, who in turn urged Buddhists to actively participate in the movement. Those who sponsored and supported the campaign held that Buddhists at this time should not differentiate between the love of institutional Buddhism and that of the nation, because those who showed patriotism to the nation were actually performing their duty of protecting Buddhist institutions.
In Yunnan, the campaign that called on every Buddhist to donate "one yuan for the Buddhist airplanes" was zealously carried out, and by the end of 1941, about 250,000 yuan had been collected, more than enough for two airplanes.
The similar events also happened in Japan throughout the war that many Buddhist sects donated money to purchase airplanes and war boats for Japanese soldiers. During the Korean War (1950-1953), in a similar movement all over China monks and rams donated to purchase airplanes for Chinese soldiers.
Due to a lack of records and the general disorder of the times, no one knows exactly how many clergy directly engaged in warfare. But the available information shows that monks from big temples in the south were organized and sent to the front. Having exchanged their religious robes for military uniforms, they served Chinese troops and rescued the wounded as did other Chinese. Their special identity as clergy disappeared as they merged into the resistance forces as a whole. To some monks, concealing their monastic identity could make their participation in the war less controversial and in that sense more convenient. Nevertheless, many others felt that by wearing a military, uniform instead of Buddhist robes the significance of their participation in the war might be undermined.
The war was without mercy to everyone, yet it appeared even more ruthless to the monks, who had been used to a peaceful environment far from the turmoil of the world. Even more difficult, they had to face the reality of killing and being killed. Evidently these young monks in their early twenties humbly and dutifully performed their work, attending soldiers, cleaning their wounds, and changing their dirty clothes without complaint. Due to insufficient medical care and poor facilities in the hospitals, some of which were just temporary tents in open areas, the soldiers in their gloomy rooms and deadly atmosphere were exposed to both physical and mental pain, experiencing the trauma and terror of war. They were easily agitated and their temper often exploded; the monks needed extreme care and patience to pacify and console them.
Yunnan, which used to be called the backdoor of China, became the front gate of the Nationalist government in communicating with the outside world. The clergy in Yunnan, under the leadership of Taixu, played an active role in supporting the resistance war. The Ciji Hospital of the Yunnan Buddhist Society and the Yunnan Sangha Rescue Team were founded in the middle of 1939.
Taixu's devotion to the nation, condemnation of Japanese invasion, and steadfast support for the Chinese government were closely watched and duly appreciated by the Nationalist leaders. In 1939, the government invited Taixu to be a member of the Committee of National General Mobilization (see Chonghua Minguo shi dangan zilaio huibian, Y.5 pt.2 sect6 no. 1 ,1991: 4850).
In turn the Japanese Buddhist Union issued a statement to justify Japanese military action in China on July 28 1937, saying that Japan, inculcated by great love and compassion of Buddhism, was exercising its benevolent forcefulness of "killing one so that many may live (issatsu tashd):
We believe it is time to effect a major change in the course of human history, which has been centered on Caucasians and inequality among humanity. To realize the true happiness of a peaceful humanity and construct a new civilization, it is necessary to redirect the path of world history's advance from this false path to the true path. Rooted in this sublime view of history, the mission and responsibility of Mahayana Buddhists is to bring into being true friendship between Japan and
China (Huang Xianian, ed., Yuanying X (The Collection of Yuanying; Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kne chubanshe, 1995): 144).
As the war intensified, Buddhist propaganda changed from persuasion to condemnation. After the eruption of the war, some clergy were now involved in encouraging Chinese soldiers to fight against the Japanese. Zongyue a well-known monk in Beiping, told
Chinese soldiers to kill the Japanese without hesitation, and when Beiping a military commander and his battalion visited the monk before marching to the battlefield. Zongyue warmly received them and conducted Buddhist rituals to bless these soldiers. In his sermon, Zongyue advised them:Killing one in order to warn a hundred (shayijingbai) is not a violation of the precept of non-killing. It is a meritorious action to save the lives of human beings. For the sake of the nation, don't be frightened. Be brave and the Buddha will bless you (Shuyi "Zongyue dashi" (Master Zongyue), in Zhonghua wenshi ziliao wenku (Storehouse Materials on Chinese History, Beijing: Zhongguo wenshi, 1996): 497).
In November 1939, after the several months of preparation, a Chinese Buddhist delegation by Buddhist monks for the sake of the resistance war headed by Taixu and including four of his disciples was ready to leave Chongqing. Although it was publicly announced as voluntary Buddhist pilgrimage, the delegation was financed by the government, and its political importance was obvious.
On December 4, 1939, when Taixu arrived at a Burmese city near the Chinese border, two thousand monks and ten thousand lay Buddhists welcomed the delegation. 77 On December 10, the delegation reached Rangoon, where more than thirty thousand people received Taixu at the train station. In the afternoon, the prime minister, and minister of the Forests, mayor o f Rangoon, and four hundred other politicians, businessmen, and cultural elites attended a reception to welcome the delegation. For almost one month in Burma, Taixu held extensive talks with several government ministers, Buddhist leaders, overseas Chinese, and other Burmese people.
On January 12, 1940, when Taixu arrived at Bodhagaya in India, where the Buddha had attained enlightenment about 2500 years earlier, more than two hundred intellectual and political celebrities ftom China, India, Sri Lanka, and British participated in a reception held by the Maha Bodhi Society. Taixu presented the society a gold-and silver gilded pagoda-shaped casket, a gift from Jiang Jieshi.
On January 30, the president of People's Congress Party in Benarase bosted a reception in honor of Taixu. On this occasion, Taixu met Nehru, and the two discussed religion and the war in China. The next day, one hundred thousand people turned out in the streets for a parade to welcome the visit of the delegation. Before leaving India for Sri Lanka, Taixu also paid a visit to Gandhi, who was then on a hunger strike against British rule in India.
When the delegation arrived in Colombo on February 24, 1940, the prime minister of Sri Lanka, the mayor of Colombo, and other social and political leaders came to the port to receive Taixu. During his stay, Taixu discussed world Buddhism and the China-Sri Lanka relationship extensively with G. P. Malalasekera. When he visited Kandy and paid respect to the Buddha's Tooth Relic, a Sangharaj a (king of monks) entrusted Taixu with a golden pagoda-shaped reliquary to be presented to Jiang Jieshi, hoping that China would be blessed by the Buddha and soon win freedom. Before leaving Colombo, Taixu gave a speech, entitled "The Dream that Should be Broken and the Enlighteriment that Should Be Aroused'’(Yingpo zhi mimon yu yingsheng zhijuewu) on the national radio of Ceylon.80 In the speech, he emphasized that, in order to change the world of war to the world of peace, two dreams must be crushed: the dream of those who attempt to trample the peoples of other nations by using advanced weapons and the dream of those who invade other nations for the sake of their selfish own interests.
The political mission of Taixu's delegation to invoke Buddhist support of China from Asian countries was achieved. Taixu. met the leaders of these countries and discussed political and military situation in China. When Taixu and his delegation returned to Chongqing after a six month visit, 81 a number of ceremonies were organized to receive them. In May 1940, more than fifty organizations and government departments, joined by many social and political leaders, held a grand reception party in honor of Taixu. On this occasion, Taixu told the audience that he had delivered two messages to the world during the visit: first, that Buddhism was still active in China; and second, that Chinese Buddhists, including monks and nuns, supported the government and joined with the rest of Chinese people in the Anti Japanese War. (The details of the visits can be referred to inYingshun, Taim dashi nianpu, 243-258. Taixu, Taixu quanshu, v. 30; 445744.)
In his report to the Propaganda Ministry and the Social Ministry, Taixu described the activities of the delegation and summarized its achievements. In order to provide guidelines for the government in dealing with the neighboring countries, Taixu made six suggestions inspired by his idea that Buddhism, if correctly supervised, could make great contributions to the nation and the government. Zhonghua minguoshi dangan ziliao huibian, v. 5 pt. 2 sect 5 n. 2 (1995): 795-800.
Chinese Buddhists were in a unique position to play a diplomatic role in arousing the sympathy of Buddhists in other countries, such as Burma. In September 1940, three monks led by Fafang received scholarships from the Education Ministry and made a study-tour to Burma. There, they became acquainted with leading monks and launched Buddhist propaganda against Japan among Burmese Buddhists, soliciting support for the Chinese government. They claimed that they convinced Burmese monks and lay Buddhists that Japan was not a true Buddhist country or it would never have attempted to destroy human lives and the sanglia in China.
The success of these Buddhist delegations to other southern Asia inspired Leguan to send a letter to the Social Affairs Ministry on October 13, 1940, pledging that he would organize "A Chinese Buddhist International Propaganda Walking Team" to tour Burma, India and Thailand, and to expose the inhuman crimes committed by Japan. Within a week, the ministry endorsed Leguan's proposal and four young monks, were recruited after undergoing careful political background checks.
The original plan had been to travel on foot from Chongqing all the way to Burma, in order that they could arrive in Burma earlier, the Propaganda Ministry had the department of transportation in the southwest region give them a ride to Burma. On November 11, 1940, the four members started their journey, carrying with them a number of pictures of temples and Buddha icons destroyed by Japanese air raids, as well as various propaganda pamphlets. In January 1941, the team arrived in Rangoon and the members changed to Theravada robes. Once they had settled in, Leguan and the others paid visits to Burmese government officials, eminent monks, and the leaders of overseas Chinese, explaining why Chinese monks and nuns were participating in the war of resistance. They distributed a large number of booklets in English, Chinese, and Burmese that contained photos and articles depicting how the Japanese had bombarded Chinese temples and killed clergy.
In an interview with the Burmese New Star News, Leguan insisted that China was still a Buddhist country, and that the heads of four of the five branches of the Nationalist government were Buddhists. They conveyed political messages of the Chinesc government for the resistance war, just as some Japanese Buddhist missionaries were there to deliver the messages of the Japanese government why Japan invaded China. Both insisted that their governments, either in incursion or resistance, were engaged in protecting Buddhism.
On April 20, 1941, a leading member of the sangha in Burma, U Thusin Ta, wrote an article entitled, "Japan is a Counterfeit Buddhist Country and published it in Juemin Ribao in Rangoon.This was a daily newspaper in Burmesc language. The interview was first published in January 18, 1941. The article was originally written in Burmese language and was translated into Chinese by Leguan. Eventually Leguan and his team members had to abandon their work in Burma and return to Chongqing after Burma was occupied by Japan in 1941.