all to be collected.[17]

A New Chinese Sect.

In its formal organization the Ten-dai sect is of Chinese origin. It is
named after Tien Tai,[18] a mountain in China about fifty miles south of
Ningpo, on which the book which forms the basis of its tenets was
composed by Chi-sha, now canonized as a Dai Shi or Great teacher. Its
special doctrine of completion and suddenness was, however, transmitted
directly from Shaka to Vairokana and thence to Maitreya, so that the
apostolical succession of its orthodoxy cannot be questioned.

The metaphysics of this sect are thought to be the most profound of the
Greater Vehicle, combining into a system the two opposite ideas of being
and not being. The teachers encourage all men, whether quick or slow in
understanding, to exercise the principle of "completion" and
"suddenness," together with four doctrinal divisions, one or all of
which are taught to men according to their ability. The object of the
doctrine is to make men get an excellent understanding, practise good
discipline and attain to the great fruit of Enlightenment or
Buddha-hood.

Out of compassion, Gautama appeared in the world and preached the truth
in several forms, according to the circumstances of time and place.
There are four doctrinal divisions of "completion," "secrecy,"
"meditation," and "moral precept," which are the means of knowing the
principle of "completion." From Gautama, Vairokana and Maitreya the
doctrine passed through more than twenty Buddhas elect, and arrived in
China on the twentieth day of the twelfth month, A.D. 401. The delivery
to disciples was secret, and the term used for this esoteric
transmission means "handed over within the tower."

In A.D. 805, two Japanese pilgrims went to China, and received orthodox
training. With twenty others, they brought the Ten-dai doctrines into
Japan. During this century, other Japanese disciples of the same sect
crossed the seas to study at Mount Tien Tai. On coming back to Japan
they propagated the various shades of doctrine, so that this main sect
has many branches. It was chiefly through these pilgrims from the West
that the Sanskrit letters, writing and literature were imported. In our
day, evidences of Sanskrit learning, long since neglected and forgotten,
are seen chiefly in the graveyards and in charms and amulets.

Although the philosophical doctrines of Ten-dai are much the same as
those of the Ke-gon sect, being based on pantheistic realism,