seventh world of chan buddhism - Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun

continue to use its influence to enhance and not worsen the lives of its kin, the living made a
great show of their high regard for the dear departed. All kinds of costly items went into the
hole with the loved one. Funeral expenses were a frequent cause of bankruptcy.
(In the later years of Hua prosperity, if the deceased happened to be of rich or royal
stock and was used to being waited on and entertained, scores of living servants, poets,
musicians and, of course, virgins and courtesans, where applicable, went into the hole, too, to
keep the loved one eternally in the style to which he had become temporally accustomed.)
But filial sacrifice did not end with the funeral. It was necessary to fete the ghost
upon anniversaries of the auspicious occasion of his birth. Since all of his descendants were
obligatory guests, birthday parties for the dead could easily keep living families hungry and in
debt.
In order to maintain good relations with the dead, it was necessary to consult them, to
get their advice and learn their preferences. Ghost-talk, to the entrepreneurial shamans,
became a growth industry; for a surprising number of people who had been sullen or
uncommunicative in life turned out to be absolutely gregarious in death. Ancestral spirits
always had a lot on their minds.
And so, in those early days of religious development, every community bristled with
imps, nixies, pixies, fairies, genii, ghosts and spirits of every creed and denomination.
As each area's airways became clogged with squadrons of destructive spirits and
shaman interceptors, the Sky's suzerainty became a matter of some urgency. This supreme
spirit and god above gods not only contained all other spirits but could, if it so desired, direct
them. And it was high time, indeed, to charge it with maintaining some kind of order.
Just as a man whose flocks multiplied upon a mountain was believed to be favored by
that mountain's god, a man whose tribal leadership brought prosperity to his people was
believed to be favored by the great leader, the sky god.
But then... the more such a leader and his tribesmen thought about it... the more
`favored' seemed insufficient. `Fathered' was deemed closer to the truth.
And so the sky, the fate-decreeing god above gods, using as his medium of
insemination the comestible pearl-white seeds of a wild grass - known to us as Job's tears -
proceeded to impregnate a human female who was and remained a virgin. Their offspring,
not noticeably inconvenienced by the impediment, burst into the world as a human male. So
began the Xia Dynasty, (2000 - l500 B.C.) the first of China's three ancient ruling families.
The Son of Heaven was naturally more than just a head of state. He was a pontiff, a
bridge between earth and sky, an arbiter of conflict between flesh and spirit, and a mediator
between man and all other gods. He alone possessed the majesty to confront his father and
CHAPTER 2 CHINA
S EVENTH W ORLD O F C HAN B UDDHISM
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