THE EFFECT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF RELIGIONS IN JAPAN.
THOSE who opposed the Parliament of Religions as against the Christianity of the Bible have been considered narrow and bigoted. Those who favored it were sure that it would tell greatly in favor of Christianity upon the representatives of the great foreign or historic religions of the world, and would greatly favor Christian missionaries in the oriental countries. Just how much it has done the following, in a recent number of the Independent, from the pen of an American Baptist missionary, Rev. J. L. Dearing, of Yokohama, will tell (Italics ours):— The Buddhist representatives from Japan who were in attendance at the Parliament of Religions have returned, and their reports are interesting as showing what effect the great convention really had upon the representatives of the various religions there assembled, and as also showing what the second-hand effect is upon the people who listen to the reports brought back. Soon after the return of the Buddhist orators and representative men, a public meeting was called, under the auspices of the Buddhist Young Men's Association, in Yokohama, an organization copied after the Y. M. C. A. Some seven hundred people were gathered in one of the largest theaters in town, and from ten o'clock in the morning till about seven at night continuous addresses were given by one after another, recounting the reception they had received and the impression the meetings had made upon them. The two chief speakers were Bourju Yatsubuchi and Shaku Soyen. The former is a priest of Kamakura, and a graduate of the college of which Mr. Fukuzawa is the head in Tokio, a man well versed in modern learning and a scholar of no mean ability. He was one of the speakers at the Parliament in Chicago. Shaku Soyen, also one of the speakers at Chicago, is a great scholar, and is regarded as the most talented priest in Kiushiu. Some eight others occupied some time in giving their impressions. Among the statements that were made by the priests were the following:— "When we received the invitation to attend the Parliament of Religions, our Buddhist organization would not send us as representatives of the sect. The great majority believed that it was a shrewd move on the part of Christians to get us there and then hold us up to ridicule or try to convert us. We accordingly went as individuals. But it was a wonderful surprise which awaited us. Our ideas were all mistaken. The Parliament was called because the Western nations have come to realize the weakness and folly of Christianity, and they really wished to hear from us of our religion, and to learn what the best religion is. There is no better place in the world to propagate the teachings of Buddhism than in America. During the meetings one very wealthy man from New York became a convert of Buddhism, and was initiated into its rites. He is a man of great influence, and his conversion may be said to mean more than the conversion of ten thousand ordinary men, so we may say truthfully that we made ten thousand converts at that meeting. Christianity is merely an adornment of society in America. It is deeply believed in by very few. The great majority of Christians drink and commit various gross sins, and live very dissolute lives, although it is a very common belief, and serves as a social adornment. Its lack of power proves its weakness. The meetings showed the great superiority of Buddhism over Christianity, and the mere fact of calling the meetings showed that the Americans and other Western peoples had lost their faith in Christianity, and were ready to accept the teachings of our superior religion." These remarks and more like them were received with great applause by the enthusiastic audience. They will be thoroughly believed by the masses of the people, for whose benefit meetings are to be held here and there throughout Japan to spread these interesting reports. The educated classes, as a rule, know too much to believe such statements, but the effect upon the lower classes will be to strengthen the147power of Buddhism and to neutralize the influence of missionaries and native Christians. Said an earnest, intelligent young Japanese Christian man, "How could American Christians make so great a mistake as to hold such a meeting and injure Christianity as the influence of those meetings will do in Japan?"