he state of cosmic consciousness in both
Occidental and Oriental instances of this perception, have reported an
abiding sense of rest and peace and satisfaction--a condition which we
associate with accepted ideals of heaven as taught in Occidental creeds
and among some schools of Oriental philosophers, and sects of religious
worship.

There is a far greater unity of idea between the Oriental and the
Occidental methods and systems, as to the _goal_ of ultimate attainment
than is generally believed, or understood.

The highest expression of Japanese Buddhism differs from Hindu Buddhism and
from Vedanta, and the many other forms of Hindu philosophy and religion, in
the same way that the Japanese, as a nation, differ from their Hindu
brothers.

The Japanese emphasize, more than do the Hindus, the preservation of the
nation, and to this end, they are called more "practical" minded, but with
the Japanese, as with all the Orientals, we find an intense contempt for
any one who would seek to preserve his physical existence, or hesitate at
any personal sacrifice.

This unwritten code has its origin, as have all Oriental traditions and
concepts, in the teachings of religious systems. According to Oriental
ethics, the person is very low in the scale of consciousness, when he
considers his physical body as of comparative consequence, when the
question of expediency, or of the welfare of his country, is in the
balance.

Nevertheless, Japan has offered, far more than has India, a fertile field
for the growth of materialism, owing to the fact that underlying the
apparent observance of and loyalty to, religious practices, the Japanese
temperament inclines to a practical application of the wisdom attained
through religious instruction.

Therefore we find among the Illumined Ones of Japanese history, sages who
taught the attainment of liberation through paths which are not generally
accepted by interpreters of Hinduism.

For example, among the orthodox Sintoists, (the original religion of the
Japanese, before the advent of Buddhism), we find that cleanliness of mind
and body, was taught as the prime essential to attainment of unity with
_Kami_, rather than contemplation, meditation and isolation, as with the
Hindus.

And in the Christian world we have a corresponding admonition in the phrase
"cleanliness is next to godliness."

Simple as this rule of conduct is, it nevertheless embodies the key to the
situation, inasmuch as we