name being an invention of later Buddhists, who call their doctrine
Mahayana in contradistinction to the earlier form of Buddhism. We
have to notice that the word Hinayana frequently occurs in Mahayana
books, while it does not in Hinayana books.

[FN#4] A catalogue of the Buddhist Canon, K'-yuen-luh, gives the
titles of 897 Mahayana sutras, yet the most important books often
quoted by Northern Buddhist teachers amount to little more than
twenty. There exist the English translation of Larger
Sukhavati-vyuha-sutra, Smaller Sukhavati-vyuha-sutra,
Vajracchedika-sutra, Larger Prajna-paramita-hradya-sutra, Smaller
Prajna-paramita-hrdaya-sutra, by Max M?ller, and
Amitayur-dhyana-sutra, by J. Takakusu, in 'Sacred Books of the East,'
vol. xlix. An English translation of Saddharma-pundarika-sutra, by
Kern, is given in 'Sacred Books of the East,' Vol. xxi. Compare
these books with 'Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism,' by D. Suzuki.


It is hardly justifiable to cover the whole system of Buddhism with a
single epithet[FN#5] 'pessimistic' or 'nihilistic,' because Buddhism,
having been adopted by savage tribes as well as civilized nations, by
quiet, enervated people as well as by warlike, sturdy hordes, during
some twenty-five hundred years, has developed itself into beliefs
widely divergent and even diametrically opposed. Even in Japan alone
it has differentiated itself into thirteen main sects and forty-four
sub-sects[FN#6] and is still in full vigour, though in other
countries it has already passed its prime. Thus Japan seems to be
the best representative of the Buddhist countries where the majority
of people abides by the guiding principle of the Northern School. To
study her religion, therefore, is to penetrate into Mahayanism, which