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2. The Budso, or foreign pagan worship introduced into Japan, probably owes its origin to Budha, whom the bramins of India believe to be Wisthnu, their deity; who, they say, made his ninth appearance in the world, under the form of a man of that name. The most essential points of this religion are: That the souls of men and animals are immortal, and both of the same substance, differing only according to the bodies in which they are placed; and that after the souls of mankind have left their bodies, they shall be rewarded or punished according to their behaviour in this life, by being introduced into a state of happiness or misery: that the degrees of both are proportioned to the different degrees of virtue and vice.

They call their heaven a state of eternal pleasure. Their god Armida is the sovereign commander of this blissful region; and is considered as the patron and protector of human souls, especially of those who are removed to a state of felicity. These maintain, that leading a virtuous life, and doing nothing contrary to the five commandments, is the only way to become agreeable to Armida, and to render themselves worthy of eternal happiness. On the other hand, all the vicious, whether priests or laymen, are, after death, sent to a place of misery, to be tormented for a certain indefinite time, where every one is to be punished according to the nature and number of his crimes, the number of years he lived upon earth, his station there, and his opportunities for becoming good and virtuous. Yet they suppose the miseries of these unhappy souls may be greatly alleviated by the virtuous lives of their relations and friends, and still more by the prayers and offerings of the priests to their great god Amida, who can prevail on the almost inexorable judge to treat the imprisoned souls with somewhat

Payne, vol. ii. p. 41. ↑ Ibid, p. 31.

+ Those five commandinents are not to kill any thing that has life-not to steal-not to commit fornication-to avoid lies, and all falsehood-not to drink strong liquore.

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less severity than their crimes deserve, and to send them speedily again into the world. For they believe, that when vicious souls have expiated their crimes, they are sent back to animate such vile animals as resembled them in their former state of existence. From the vilest of these transmigrating into others and nobler, they, at last, are suffered again to enter human bodies; and thus have it in their power, either by their virtue and piety to obtain an uninterrupted state of felicity; or by a new course of vices, once more to expose themselves to all the miseries of confinement in a place of torment, succeeded by a new unhappy transmigration.*

There are several sects of the Budso religion, all of whom have their temples, their convents, and their priests.

3. The religion of the philosophers and moralists is very different from that of the two former; for they pay no regard to any of the forms of worship practised in the country. The supreme good, say they, consists in the pleasure and delight which arise from the steady practice of virtue. They maintain, that men are obliged to be virtuous, because

nature has endowed them with reason; that, by living according to its dictates, they might shew their superiority to the irrational inhabitants of the earth. They do not admit of the transmigration of souls; but believe that there is a universal soul diffused through all nature, which animates all things, and which reassumes departed souls as the sea does the rivers. This universal spirit they confound with the Supreme Being.

These philosophers not only admit of self-murder, but consider it as an heroic and commendable action, when it is the only means of avoiding a shameful death, or of escaping from the hands of a victorious enemy. They conform to the general custom of their country, in commemorating their deceased parents and relations, by placing all sorts of provisions on a table provided. for the purpose; but they celebrate no other festivals, nor pay any respect to the gods of the country.t

There are innumerable temples and idols in this island, among which the temples of those who profess the Budso religion are the most remarkable, being distinguished by their stately height, curious roofs, and numerous orna

* Payne, vol, ii. p. 53, + Ibid, p. 56.

ments. One of the temples erected at Miaco is esteemed the most sumptuous in the empire. This temple is said to be as large as the church of St. Paul in London, and contains many idols, among which is one of gilt copper, of a prodigious size, seated in a chair eighty feet broad and seventy feet high. The festivals of the Japanese are as numerous as their deities. The number of monasteries is scarcely credible. The monks are either regulars or seculars. The regulars live in convents, some of which contain upwards of a thousand monks. The seculars are dispersed abroad, and live in private houses. The former are exceedingly abstemious, but the latter live in luxury and idleness.

The Roman Catholic religion once made a considerable progress in this country, in consequence of a mission conducted by the Portuguese and Spanish jesuits in 1549, amongst whom the famous Saint Francis Xavier was employed, but soon relinquished the service. There were also some Franciscan. friars of Spain engaged at last. At first the undertaking proceeded with the most rapid success, but ended in a most tragical manner, owing, it is said, to the misconduct of the

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jesuits, and their conspiracy against the emperor. A persecution commenced of forty years' duration, which terminated by a most terrible. and bloody massacre not to be paralleled in history. After this the Portuguese, as likewise the christian religion, were totally expelled the country, and the most effectual means taken for preventing their return.*

LADRONE ISLANDS. The inhabitants of the Ladrone Islands believe that heaven is a region under the earth, filled with cocoa-trees, sugar-canes, and a variety of other delicious fruits; and that hell is a vast furnace, constantly red-hot-those who die a natural death go straight to heaven. They may sin freely, if they can but preserve their bodies against violence; but war and bloodshed are their aversion.†

FORMOSA..

The inhabitants of this island recognize two deities in company, the one a male, god of the men; the other female, goddess of the women. The bulk of their inferior. deities are the souls of upright men, who are constantly doing good; and the souls of wicked men, who are constantly doing evil.

Encyclopædia, vol, ix. p. 66.

The people of Formosa be† Kaims, vol. iv. p. 235.

lieve there is a kind of hell; but that it is to punish those who at certain seasons have gone naked; who have dressed in calico, and not in silk; who have presumed to look for oysters; or who have undertaken any business without consulting the song of birds; while drunkenness and debauchery are not regarded as crimes. They even believe the debaucheries of their children are agreeable to the gods.*

MOLUCCA ISLANDS.

The inhabitants of these islands are pagans and mahometans. Those pagans believe the existence of malevolent invisible beings, subordinate to the supreme benevolent Being, confine their worship to the former, in order to avert their wrath and one branch of their worship is to set meat before them, hoping that when their bellies are full they will be less inclined to mischief.+

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. The inhabitants of these islands are generally pagans and mahometans. A small part of the inhabitants are Roman Catholics.

CELEBES.

The inhabitants of this island are professed mahometans, who retain many Chinese ceremonies.

The religion of this people was formerly idolatry. They worshipped the sun and moon, and sacrificed to them in the public squares, having no materials which they thought valuable enough to be employed in raising temples. About two centuries past, some christians and mahometans, having brought their opinions to Celebes, the king of the country, he took a dislike to the national worship. Having convened a general assembly, he ascended an emi. nence, when, spreading out his hands towards heaven, he told the Deity that he would acknowledge for truth that doctrine whose ministers should first arrive in his dominigns; and, as the winds and waves were at his command, the Almighty would have himself to blame, if he embraced a falsehood. assembly broke up, determined to wait the orders of heaven, and to obey the first missionaries that should arrive. The mahometans were the most active, and their religion accordingly prevailed ‡

SUNDA ISLANDS;

The

Containing Borneo, Sumatra,
Java, &c.

The inhabitants of these islands, who reside on the sea coast, are generally mahome

* Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws, vol, iv. p. 185.

+ Middleton's Geography, p. 41. Encyclopædia, vol. iv. p. 279.

tans; but the natives, who reside in the inland parts, are pagans. .* The Iduans, a people in the island of Borneo, believe that every person they put to death must attend them as a slave in the other world. The worship of the inhabitants of Java is similar to that of the Molucca Islands +

CEYLON.

The inhabitants of this island acknowledge an allpowerful Being, and imagine their deities of a second and

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third order are subordinate to him, and act as his agents. Agriculture is the peculiar province of one, navigation of another. Buddow is revered as the mediator between God and man. Another of their favourite deities is the tooth of a monkey.-There is a number of Dutch christians in this island.

MALDIVE ISLANDS.

The inhabitants of these islands are mahometans, who retain many pagan ceremonies.§

Broughton's Historical Library, vol. ii. p. 330.
+ Kaims, vol. iv. p, 152. + Ibid,
Middleton's Geography. See Maldives.

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