,,buddhism ,,and ,,christianity         
,a ,,parallel ,,and ,a ,,contrast       
,,buddhism ,,and ,,christianity         
,a ,,parallel ,,and ,a ,,contrast       
,,being                         ,,the   
,,croall ,,lecture ,,for #ahhi-ij       
,,by                                    
,,archibald ,,scott1 ,d4,d4             
,,minister ,,of ,,st4 ,,george',s       
,,parish1 ,,edinburgh                   
,,edinburgh3 ,,david ,,douglas          
,,mdcccxc                               
,all rights reserved4                   
,,preface      ,in endeavouring to      
sketch in so limited a space even the   
most salient  features of the many-sided
 religion of ,buddhism it is possible   
that here  and there ,i may have        
misrepresented it4    ,if so1 ,i hope   
the fault will be attributed to         
inadvertence1 or rather to              
disadvantages under which ,i have       
worked4 ,the sacred beliefs of any      
section of mankind are entitled to      
receive at our hands not only justice   

but kindly consideration1 and a religion
 so vast and in some respects so        
wonderful as ,buddhism ought to have    
much to commend it to our sympathy4     
,long and patient study of it has indeed
 greatly modified opinions  originally  
formed concerning it1 but it has only   
tended to increase  respect for so      
earnest an effort of the intellect to   
solve the mystery  of human life and    
destiny4 ,even ,christians may have     
something to learn  from ,buddhists4    
,the divers and seemingly antagonistic  
,churches of  ,christendom help to      
educate and reform each other1 and      
non-,christian  religions may perform a 
similar office to ,christianity in      
bringing into  prominence some universal
 truths which its creeds have allowed to
 slip  into forgetfulness4 ,our         
perception and apprehension of what     
,christianity  really is will be all the
 clearer and firmer for an impartial    
study of  the system formulated so long 
ago by ,gotama the ,buddha4    ,the aim 

of the ,lecture has not been to use the 
extravagances of ,buddhism  as a foil to
 set off the excellencies of            
,christianity4 ,that ,christianity  as a
 religion is immensely superior to      
,buddhism goes without saying1  unless  
in the case of a very small and         
conceited and purblind minority4  ,i    
have tried by a fair exposition of what 
is best and highest in this  religion to
 discover its feeling after something   
better and higher  still1 and to suggest
 rather than indicate the place which it
 occupies  in the religious education of
 humanity4 ,as                   8,man  
hath all which nature hath1 but more1   
,and in that more lie all his hopes of  
good10    so ,christianity1 while having
 in it in fuller measure and clearer    
form  every truth that has vivified any 
other religion1 has in it1 as the new   
creation to which the long travail of   
the soul under every form of faith  has 
from the first been pointing1 something 
peculiar and  contrasted--which is the  

,divine answer to all their aspirations4
 ,this we  do not need to demonstrate3  
indeed it may be a verity1 as incapable 
of  demonstration as is that of the     
existence of ,deity or the immortality  
of  the soul4 ,it is sure eventually to 
be almost universally recognised1 and   
meanwhile1 whether accepted or denied1  
we may say--,e pur si muove4            
99       99       99       99       99  
,very gratefully would ,i acknowledge my
 profound obligations to all who  have  
instructed me in this subject4 ,though  
we no longer regard the                 
,saddharma-,pundarika and ,lalita       
,vistara as good specimens of ,buddhism1
 we  still venerate the great scholars  
who first introduced them to our        
notice4 ,the splendid productions of    
,burnouf1 ,foucaux1 ,kppen1 ,stanislas  
,julien1 ,hodgson and ,turnour2 the     
excellent works of ,spence ,hardy1      
,gogerly1 ,bigandet and ,h4 ,h4 ,wilson1
 and1 among the best of all1 the        
laborious and faithful ,dictionary of   

,professor ,childers1 though several  of
 them are unfortunately out of print1   
are not likely to be soon out of  date4 
,it is with pleasure that we find them  
so frequently quoted or  referred to by 
our latest and best authorities4 ,still1
 ever since  ,professor ,max ,mller     
organised his truly catholic enterprise 
of the  translation of the ,sacred      
,books of the ,east1 he has brought us  
very  considerably nearer to real       
,buddhist teachers themselves4 ,to      
praise the  scholarship of himself1 and 
,oldenberg1 and ,rhys ,davids1 and      
,kern1 and  ,fausbll1 and others of his 
collaborateurs1 would be unwarrantable  
presumption on my part2 but as a humble 
disciple very willing to learn1  ,i am  
glad to have this opportunity of        
publicly expressing my  appreciation of 
the great services which in their       
editions of old  ,eastern texts1 and in 
these series of translations1 they are  
rendering  to the cause of religion4    
,the lectures were drafted and in great 

part written before ,i read the  very   
valuable works of ,sir ,monier ,williams
 on ,buddhism and of ,dr4  ,kellogg on  
the ,light of ,asia and the ,light of   
the ,world4 ,i specially  mention these 
books as likely to prove very useful    
guides to any one  desirous of          
prosecuting the subject of the present  
,lecture4 ,in the notes  ,i have marked 
my indebtedness to them1 and to many    
authors of what has  already become a   
great literature4 ,many others whose    
works have been of  service to me in a  
course of reading extending over many   
years are not  noted1 simply because in 
the caprices of memory my peculiar      
obligations  to them could not at the   
time be recalled4    ,for in regard to  
,buddhism ,i do not profess to add any  
original  information to the stock      
already acquired4 ,others have extracted
 the ore  from these old and interesting
 fields1 and minted it into gold and    
silver4 ,what has thus been rendered    
available many like myself can only     

reduce into copper or bronze1 but if    
only our work be faithfully done1  we   
may thus help in increasing the currency
 and in extending its  circulation4     
,with this in view ,i accepted the      
honour which the ,croall  ,trustees     
conferred upon me in calling me to      
undertake this ,lecture1 and  if the    
only effect of my efforts be to         
stimulate other ministers of the        
,church more advantageously situated to 
prosecute their researches to  much     
better purpose1 no one will be more     
pleased than myself4    ,,archibald     
,,scott4    ,,edinburgh1 #beth ,december
 #ahhi4                                 
,,contents      ,,lecture ,i4           
,,introductory3 ,,necessity ,,for ,a    
,,proper ,,comparison ,,of ,,buddhism   
,,and  ,,christianity4                  
,schopenhauer's prediction as to the    
influence of ,oriental studies upon     
,european religion and philosophy--,new 
science of ,comparative ,theology--,its 
value to the expounders of              

,christianity--,study of all religions  
binding  upon ,christians--,special     
claims of ,buddhism--,its duration and  
wide-spread  diffusion--,the quality of 
its doctrinal and ethical system--,the  
correspondences between it and          
,christianity--,instructive parallels of
  historical development--,resemblances1
 if granted or assumed1 not to be       
accounted for by theory of              
derivation--,renan--,e4                 
,burnouf--,ernest de  ,bunsen--,both    
religions independent in origin1 though 
analogous in  development--,what the    
significance of this--,true answer to be
 found1 not  by examining alleged       
resemblances between the religions1 but 
their  points of contradiction and      
contrast--,unity of humanity involves   
organic  unity of language and of       
religion--,what is meant by organic     
unity and  development of               
religion--,declarations of              
,scripture--,christianity as the        
universal religion has much in common   

with all--has something peculiar to     
itself which it possesses in            
contrast--,in this will be found not    
only its  superiority to all the rest1  
but the answer to all their cravings and
  aspirations1 ,pages #a-eh             
,,lecture ,,ii4    ,,the ,,historical   
,,antecedents ,,of ,,buddhism ,,and     
,,christianity1 ,,and ,,the             
,,evidential ,,value ,,of ,,their       
,,respective ,,scriptures4    ,both     
religions inherited and produced        
scriptures--,christian scriptures       
criticised for eighteen                 
centuries--,buddhist scriptures as yet  
only in  part available for             
examination--,admissions made by        
translators in regard  to them--,strong 
contrasts between two sets of           
scriptures1 in respect of  authenticity 
and genuineness--,impossible to regard  
the two as of similar  canonical or     
authoritative value--,in ,buddhism only 
oral traditions for  centuries--,effect 
of the lack of a real canon in primitive

  ,buddhism--,effect of a fixed and     
written canon in the development of     
,christianity--,antecedents of          
,buddhism--,vedic ,india--,brahmanic    
,india--,development of ,brahmanic      
speculation--,its highest reach in      
philosophical ,brahmanism--,the         
,upanishads--,pursuit of                
,atman--,antecedents of                 
,christianity--,patriarchal belief in   
,deity--,mosaic stage of religious      
belief--,the religion of ,moses and the 
prophets too pure for the people  under 
the kings--,destruction of the          
kingdom--,effect of ,captivity on the   
prophets--on the people--,difference    
between the beliefs and hopes of the    
,diaspora and those of the returned     
,palestinian ,jews--,preparation of the 
,empire and world beyond it for the dawn
 of ,christianity1 ,pages #ei-abe       
,,lecture ,,iii4    ,,the ,,buddha ,,of 
,,the ,,pitakas3 ,,the ,,christ ,,of    
,,the ,,new ,,testament4    ,palestine  
at the birth of ,christ--,india at the  

birth of ,gotama--,like1 yet            
unlike--,analogies in development of    
previous beliefs and                    
speculation--,contrasts--,gotama's life 
and ministry contrasted with the  life  
and ministry of ,jesus--,the difference 
between their personal  relations to the
 religions which they founded--8,i take 
refuge  in ,buddha0--8,i believe in     
,christ0--,the supernatural in both     
religions--,pre-existence1 incarnation1 
and miracles ascribed to                
,buddha--,sources of information as to  
these beliefs examined and compared     
with the ,gospel accounts--,relation of 
the miracles to each  religion--,nature 
of the miracles themselves--,growth of  
,buddhist legends  described by ,t4 ,w4 
,rhys ,davids--,implied growth of the   
,christian legends  examined--,essential
 contrasts manifest all through--,buddha
 can be  accounted for1 but ,christ is  
the ,miracle of ,history1 ,pages        
#abf-aia      ,,lecture ,,iv4    ,,the  
,,dharma ,,of ,,buddha3 ,,the ,,gospel  

,,of ,,christ4    ,gotama's discovery at
 ,bohimanda--,the ,four ,sacred         
,verities--,the noble  ,eightfold       
,way--,his theory of life different from
 but not wholly  antagonistic to that of
 speculative ,brahmanism--,existence not
 illusion1  but essentially             
evil--,transmigration--8,modern         
,buddhists'0 defence of the             
dogma--,contrast between it and         
,christian doctrine of the              
,fall--,christianity in its sorest      
struggle with evil hopeful--,buddhism   
hopeless--atheistic--materialistic1 yet 
has its own way1 not of victory1  but of
 retreat and escape--,doctrine of ,karma
 analogous to ,christian  doctrine of   
,heredity1 yet really contrasted--,goal 
of all ,buddhist  aspiration and        
effort--,nirvana1 point-blank           
contradiction to ,christian  goal1 yet  
way to it analogous--,arhatship as      
essential in ,buddhism as  holiness is  
in ,christianity--,noble quality of     
,buddhist ethical code--,its  approach  

to the ,christian rule--,a law not for  
all--,its degrees or paths of           
perfection--,uprightness--,meditation--,
enlightenment--,christ's way of         
salvation and sanctification by the     
,holy ,spirit through the               
truth--,essential defects of ,buddhist  
scheme1 ,pages #aib-beb      ,,lecture  
,v4    ,,the ,,buddhist ,,sangha3 ,,the 
,,christian ,,church4    ,the ,church   
the fruit of ,christianity1 the ,sangha 
the root out of which  ,buddhism        
sprang--,the ,sangha not a ,church but  
an ,order--,different from the  many    
,orders then existing1 yet with a       
likeness to them which it never         
lost--,renunciation of secular life an  
indispensable qualification for         
membership--,analogous to yet           
essentially different from ,monachism in
  ,christianity1 and in utter contrast  
to the idea and reality of the          
,christian ,church--,the ,sangha as     
theoretically open to all1 and          
propagandist in its purpose1 a precursor

 of the ,church--,actual                
disqualifications for                   
membership--,ceremonial of              
admission--,the 8outgoing0  from the    
world--,ceremonial of                   
,confirmation--,the 8arrival0--,the     
novitiate or  tutelage--,the rule of the
 ,sangha--,no vows of obedience to      
superiors--,stringent vows of poverty   
and chastity--,difference between a     
,buddhist ,vihara and a ,christian      
monastery--,favourable features of      
,buddhist monastic life--,the ,uposatha 
gathering--,the ,ptimokkha              
catechising--,the ,pavrna               
invitation--,relation of women to the   
,sangha--,institution of ,order of      
,bikkhuni--,the relation of the laity to
 the  ,sangha--,the ,buddhist layman's  
only possible 8merit10 and his only     
hope1  ,pages #bec-cac      ,,lecture   
,,vi4    ,,the ,,religions ,,in         
,,history4    ,external diffusion--,both
 religions missionary--,vastly different
 in respect  of their                   

messages--,buddhist endeavour to        
perpetuate a system--,christian         
endeavour to set forth and interpret the
 facts of a miraculous  life--,effect of
 belief in ,christ's continued presence 
upon the  ,church--,rapid diffusion of  
,christianity during the first four     
centuries--,condition of ,buddhism      
during a similar period--,spread of     
,christianity after                     
,constantine--,spread of ,buddhism after
 ,asoka--,difference  in the peoples    
affected by both                        
religions--,inferences--,internal       
history--,buddhism and                  
,brahmanism--,christianity and          
,judaism--,in ,buddhism an  early       
abandonment of fundamental principles   
manifest--,recoil of human  nature from 
its ,atheism into ,polytheism and       
,tantrism--,degradation of  ,southern   
and ,northern ,buddhism--,buddhism in   
,tibet--,christianity in                
,abyssinia--,history of ,chinese        
,buddhism from fourth century ,a4,d4    

analogous  to that of ,christianity in  
,europe from same date--,deterioration  
of both  religions similarly            
indicated--,bdiharma--,modern           
,neo-,buddhism--,the  ,t'ien-t'ai       
,school--,reformed ,buddhism in         
,china--in ,japan--,its most modern     
attitude--,difference between ,buddhism 
and ,christianity--,alike in  their     
tendency to deteriorate--,christianity  
alone manifests a  reforming and        
progressive power--,resources of        
,buddhism manifestly                    
exhausted--,christianity apparently in  
only an initial stage of  development1  
,pages #cad-chf      ,,postscript1      
,pages #chg-cia                         
,,lecture ,i4          ,,necessity ,,for
 ,a ,,proper ,,comparison ,,of ,,the    
,,two ,,religions4      ,early in this  
century ,schopenhauer1 fascinated by the
 contents of the  ,upanishads1 which had
 been translated from the ,persian into 
,latin by the  illustrious discoverer of
 the ,zend-,avesta1 ventured to predict 

that the  influence of the newly-found  
,sanskrit literature upon the philosophy
 of  the future would not be less       
profound than was that of the revival of
  ,greek upon the religion of the       
fourteenth century4#a ,that century was 
marked by the close of the medival age1 
and the beginning of the times  of      
,reformation in which we are privileged 
to live4 ,the ,reformation was  not an  
event1 but the inauguration of a period4
 ,its significance was far  deeper than 
that of a revolt from ecclesiastical    
superstition and  corruption4 ,it meant 
a quickening of the human spirit1 and a 
consequent  awakening of the human      
intellect1 to which many forces other   
than the  leading religious ones1       
contributed2 and its effects are visible
 not  simply in the changes which it    
immediately produced1 but in the        
revolution which is still actively      
progressing in all our social1          
political1 and religious relations4 ,the
 movement designated by the             

,reformation is manifestly far from     
having exhausted itself1 and there  can 
be no question that its course has been 
greatly accelerated by the  studies to  
which ,schopenhauer referred4    ,the   
re-discovery of ,india1 lost to ,europe 
for centuries after the  beginning of   
the ,christian era1 almost as completely
 as ,america was  hidden from it1 was a 
fact of even greater import than the    
resurrection  of ,greece4 ,it was no    
wilderness of ruins which was thus      
disclosed1 from  which only the shards  
of a long-buried civilisation could be  
exhumed1  but a living and cultured     
world1 whose institutions were rooted in
 an  antiquity more profound than       
,greece could claim1 and whose language 
and  manners and religion were separated
 from the ,west by far more than a      
hemisphere4 ,so totally unlike to the   
,western world was it1 that the  labours
 and sacrifices of several generations  
of the finest intellects  of ,europe    
were required before a key could be     

found to interpret its  significance4   
,since the days when ,anquetil          
,duperron1 after many  adventures and   
hardships1 succeeded in breaking through
 the tangled  thicket which guarded its 
treasures1 the scholars of all nations  
have  pressed into it1 each one         
announcing1 as he emerged1 the dawn or  
the  progress of another ,renaissance1  
whose meaning and direction and         
ultimate issues only the rash will      
venture to predict or pretend to        
foresee4    ,one of the first-fruits of 
their combined or independent researches
 is  the new science of ,religion4 ,by a
 careful collection1 analysis1 and      
comparison of all the beliefs of mankind
 available1 with the view of  eliciting 
what is peculiar to each1 and what they 
all share in common1  its professors aim
 at discovering what may be the real    
nature and origin  and purpose of all   
religion4#b ,as yet it should hardly be 
designated a  science1 for though the   
elements for it undoubtedly exist1 they 

are too  widely scattered to be of      
service for immediate induction4 ,the   
materials  already collected have not   
been sufficiently sifted1 and moreover1 
it  requires the assistance of other    
sciences1 as yet too immature1 to       
render it effective support4 ,the title 
may not be a 8misnomer10#c but  only a  
somewhat inflated expression by which an
 age1 rather wise in its  own conceit1  
proclaims the discovery of a new field  
of learning which it  means assiduously 
to cultivate4 ,the discovery however is 
a solid one1  and the assiduity of those
 who would improve it is unmistakable2  
year by  year their numbers increase1   
their implements improve in quality1 and
  this generation may not pass away     
before an abundant harvest has been     
reaped4    ,another indication of the   
change that is coming over the world is 
the  attitude which ,christian divines  
now assume toward other religions4      
,fifty years ago the attempt to compare 
our ,bible and our ,creed with the      

scriptures of other religions would have
 been regarded as a sacrilegious        
surrender of what was holy to the dogs4 
,this was due not so much to  prejudice 
on the part of the expounders of        
,christianity as to aversion  to the    
avowedly anti-christian spirit in which 
these researches were  prosecuted4 ,the 
,comparative method was then frequently 
employed1 as it  had been by the        
,encyclopdists of last century1 for the 
purpose of  discrediting and degrading  
,christianity4 ,the conclusion was often
  foregone before the process began2 and
 so it was natural that reverent  but   
timid minds jealous for their religion1 
and anxious to guard it from  insult1   
should decline such encounters4 ,now1   
however1 orthodox  theologians are quite
 aware that in this matter they have to 
reckon with  other than the professed   
enemies of ,christianity4 ,the ablest   
advocates  of ,comparative ,theology are
 not only free from antichristian       
prejudice1  but they protest against it 

as inimical to the science itself4#d ,it
 is  not infidelity1 but ,providence1   
that is forcing us to investigate the   
origin of our religion1 and to search   
its scriptures in the fuller light      
which we now enjoy4 ,we are being       
divinely taught that we cease to revere 
a heavenly gift the moment we begin to  
idolise it2 that the disposition  most  
fatal to ourselves1 most dishonouring to
 our religion1 is that  which would     
regard its scriptures as charmed relics 
too sacred to be  examined1 and only to 
be brought by an undevout and apostate  
,church1 in  the moment of its extreme  
peril1 into the field of battle with the
  ,philistines4 ,to shrink from the     
comparison of our ,faith with the       
religious beliefs of those whom we      
acknowledge to be bone of our bone1  and
 flesh of our flesh1 is to manifest a   
cowardly lack of confidence in  its     
,author4 ,it is at the judgment-bar of  
all the ages that ,he means to  make    
good ,his claim to be the ,judge of all 

mankind4 ,the more ,he is  tried1 the   
more will ,his authority be confessed to
 be divine4 ,he  certainly invited      
inspection and comparison1 and ,he may  
have had other  than ,hebrew scriptures 
in ,his view when ,he instructed us to  
8search  them1 for they testify of      
,me40#e    ,the comparative study of    
other religions1 so far from being      
prejudicial  to the claims of           
,christianity1 will be helpful in       
establishing its  sublime pre-eminence  
among them1 and in enabling us to       
discharge to  their adherents the duty  
which its ,founder has imposed upon us4 
,it may  modify considerably our        
theology1 but it will strengthen our    
fundamental  beliefs4 ,as a general     
rule1 we may assert that the strength of
 a man's  faith will be found to be in  
direct proportion to his knowledge of   
the  everlasting and unchangeable laws  
by which the universe is governed4 ,it  
is our theology alone that is assailed1 
and we are learning that  theology1 as a

 system of reasoning upon materials     
furnished not only by  religion itself1 
but also by some other 8ologies10 must  
be based on  other and higher authority 
than that of an infallible ,council1 or 
that  of a chapter whose significance   
was supposed to be unalterably fixed two
  or three thousand years ago4 ,the     
religion which revolted against the     
assumption of the ,scribe in our ,lord's
 day1 and which disallowed the  claim of
 the ,pope some three centuries ago to  
be the sole interpreters  of revelation1
 is not only testing the authenticity of
 the texts to  which the appeal was then
 made1 but is inquiring into their      
actual  significance by collating them  
with the truths of another revelation as
  divine4 ,it is not that men want to   
get rid of dogma1 for dogma of some     
kind there must ever be4 ,there will    
always be a vast deal which we must     
believe1 because there is much that can 
only thus be known2 but a  satisfactory 
dogmatic foundation must henceforth be  

sought in facts  anterior to any        
scriptures1 or to any church that would 
interpret them1  viz41 in the elemental 
necessities and aspirations of our      
common human  nature4 ,it has been      
wisely said that 8the theology which    
fails to meet  the demands of the whole 
man is simply doomed40#f ,what is wanted
  therefore for theology is some broad  
and solid basis1 to be laid by          
analysing1 comparing1 and co-ordinating 
all religious beliefs within our  reach4
 ,in each of them we may hope to find   
some truth--it may be very  feebly and  
very partially expressed--of no more    
value by itself than a  flake of gold   
found in an immense drift of sand or    
mass of quartz1 but  yet of immense     
value as indicating the source from     
which it came and the  substance to     
which it claims affinity4 ,all separate 
and imperfect truths  point towards some
 higher truth which will unite and      
fulfil and  interpret them4 ,and so     
every religion1 however erroneous it may

 be1 is  prophetic--because found in a  
humanity that is essentially one--of a  
universal religion1 a faith which is not
 just one of the faiths of the  nations1
 but is the divine answer1 unchanged and
 inexhaustible1 to all  the aspirations 
of mankind4 ,the study of other         
religions therefore1 even  of those of  
the most degraded peoples1 and of those 
most contradictory  of our own1 is as   
binding upon us as is the study of our  
,bibles4 ,for us  8history0 has been    
truly said 8to stand in the place of    
prophecy10#g  and it is only by         
gathering up and considering its        
testimony that we can  appreciate the   
worth of the treasure which has been    
given to us1 that we  may communicate it
 to all the world4    ,prominent among  
the religions that challenge our        
consideration is the  one which1        
following authorities acknowledged to be
 the best1 we will  endeavour briefly to
 sketch and to expound4 ,it is not an   
obsolete  system1 appealing only to the 

poetic sentiment from a vanished past1  
like the religion of ,greece1 but one   
which confronts us with vitality        
sufficient to overshadow a considerable 
portion of the populous ,east4  ,two    
thousand four hundred years have passed 
since it was first  proclaimed1 and     
though it disappeared long ago from the 
land of its  birth1 it still reigns in  
many kingdoms1 and continues to spread  
its  influence in several directions in 
,central and ,northern ,asia4 ,to tell  
its story completely would be to write  
the history of nearly the whole  of     
,china1 ,india1 and the countries that  
lie around or between them4 ,till  very 
recently it was generally computed that 
quite one-third of the  human family1   
though widely separated geographically  
and otherwise1  professed to find in    
,buddhism consolation sufficient to     
strengthen them  to do the work and     
endure the sufferings of life1 and to   
confront with  calmness the necessity of
 death4    ,were this computation       

correct1 ,buddhism would have to be     
accounted by  far the most widely       
accepted of all the religions of        
mankind4 ,it has  however been seriously
 challenged by those whose experience   
and candour  are beyond question4       
,according to their enumeration1        
,buddhism must rank  only fourth in the 
scale of numerical comparison among the 
great faiths  of the world1 for instead 
of there being five hundred millions of 
adherents1 as we were previously led to 
believe1 probably not more than  one    
hundred millions of professing          
,buddhists can be found in all the      
world4#h ,the question in dispute after 
all is one of only secondary            
importance1 for we can hardly conceive  
of any one other than some  democratic  
fanatic who would propose to settle the 
truth of a religion  by a reckoning of  
the suffrages which it could command4   
,numerical  statistics of religious     
adherence furnish only an indirect test 
even of  influence4 ,it is impossible to

 indicate even geographically the range 
of  a religion4 ,we are very properly   
reminded that 8the influence of         
,buddhism in ,india may be immense1     
though not a single ,buddhist temple    
exists in it1 while its influence in    
,china and ,ceylon may be vastly        
over-stated in figures1 for many        
,chinese ,buddhists may be called       
,confucianists and ,taoists1 and many   
,singhalese worshippers at ,buddha's    
shrines are far from being only or      
altogether ,buddhists40#i ,indeed       
everywhere1 though chiefly in ,thibet1  
,nepaul1 and ,mongolia1 the religion    
which is called ,buddhism is no more    
,buddhist than the survivals of ,pagan  
worship and belief which are found in   
some extreme forms of ,romanism can  be 
called ,christian4    ,the rapidity with
 which and the extent to which a        
religion has spread is  no certain      
indication of its capability to meet and
 satisfy the real  spiritual necessities
 of mankind4 ,a religion may rapidly    

gain1 and  retain for long1 an          
ascendency over many men1 without       
possessing any of  the qualities        
essential to its being recognised as the
 one religion of  all men4 ,the         
catholicity of a faith is indicated not 
by the extent of  the supremacy which it
 has acquired1 but by the quality of its
 contents4  ,universal truths are not   
necessarily the truths which have won   
the  consent of the greatest numbers4   
,the test of quod ubique1 semper1 et ab 
omnibus1 if thoroughly applied1 would   
have established the truth of  many a   
degrading superstition in former times4 
8,it is not that which is  common to    
barbarism and civilisation which is most
 truly human1 but  precisely that in    
which civilisation differs from         
barbarism40#aj ,the  divinity of a      
religion1 instead of being attested by  
the readiness with  which it is         
accepted1 may be indicated by the       
antagonism which it at  first evokes4   
,truth at no time depends upon          

majorities1 at least in this  world1 for
 here truth of any kind1 when first     
proclaimed1 instead of  meeting a       
generally friendly reception1 has to win
 its victory by  conflict and lay in    
martyrdom the foundation of its         
throne4#aa    ,it is not on account of  
its adherents1 however1 nor of the      
superficial  extent of its              
supremacy--though such facts have indeed
 a very pathetic  significance--but it  
is in respect of the quality of its     
original faith1  that ,buddhism is      
considered worthy of comparison with    
,christianity4 ,we  must not be repelled
 by the childish superstitions and gross
 absurdities  with which it is          
incrusted1 for in a religion so ancient 
and extensive  this is just what we     
might expect to find2 nor should we be  
surprised at  the marvellous and        
grotesque legends which profess to      
relate its origin  and early history1   
for these1 as ,professor ,mller has very
 properly  reminded us1 8are the clouds1

 not alway rosy1 that gather round the  
sunrise of any religion40#ab ,in the    
estimation of its severest critics1     
,buddhism must occupy a grand and       
exalted place in the general history of 
religions4#ac ,among the various systems
 of the non-,christian world1  ancient  
or modern1 none can compare with it in  
respect of its ethical  code1 its spirit
 of toleration and gentleness1 and its  
beneficent  influence upon many wild    
populations that have embraced it4      
,neither ,zeno  nor ,marcus ,aurelius   
conceived a higher theory of morals1 in 
which  justice and temperance were      
infused by kindness1 than that which the
  founder of ,buddhism successfully     
reduced to practice4 ,it was the most   
natural of all things therefore1 that it
 had only to be introduced to  the      
notice of ,christendom to win for itself
 a degree of admiration  accorded to no 
other heathen faith4    ,we would be    
understating its claims1 however1 if we 
referred to it as  appealing only to our

 ,christian consideration and sympathy4 
,it has been  brought into the lists of 
criticism as the rival of ,christianity4
 ,modern  unbelief is forcing it upon   
our notice as a much truer philosophy of
  existence and a more satisfactory     
theory of the universe than that        
furnished by ,christianity4 ,we cannot  
let it alone1 were it for no other      
reason that it will not let us alone4   
,in the civilised and  semi-civilised   
portions of the ,east its disciples have
 long ago ceased  to propagate it1 and  
as a form of belief it may be said that 
there not  only has it reached the      
limits of its extension1 but that its   
present  condition is one of 8increasing
 disintegration and decay40#ad ,even in 
the ,east1 however1 among the classes   
who have most come under the  influence 
of ,western culture1 the spirit of      
,buddhism shows considerable  vitality1 
and there its spirit is coming into     
constant and active  collision with     
,christianity every day4 ,the educated  

or intelligent  ,buddhist of ,burmah or 
,siam tells us plainly that he will not 
give up his  ancient faith for          
,christianity2 for notwithstanding the  
manifold and  manifest absurdities of   
his ancestral religion1 he professes to 
find the  same in the forms in which    
,christianity has been presented to him4
 ,by  the light of our science we have  
helped him to weed out his old          
superstitions1 and he will not accept   
from us any new ones4 ,in language      
marvellously akin to that of the founder
 of ,buddhism1 he discards every        
religion as involving the worship of    
deity1 and he professes to find in      
,suttas more ancient than our ,gospels a
 morality as sublime1 a charity as      
comprehensive1 and a system of faith    
sufficient to bear the strain of  all   
his necessities1 whether present or     
future4#ae ,in short1 ,buddhism  as     
professed by a modern ,oriental with any
 pretension to culture1 is  almost      
identical with that paradoxical         

condition of thought or belief  which   
maintains1 and indeed professes to be   
spreading in ,christendom as  modern    
,agnosticism4    ,but it is not in an   
attitude of resistance only that        
,buddhism confronts  ,christianity even 
in the ,east4 ,in ,ceylon1 if we are to 
trust the ,times  of ,india1#af it      
numbers among its typical gains 8a young
 highly  educated ,european lady and a  
clergyman of the ,english ,church10 and 
these1 it is averred1 8are not the      
first1 and are not likely to be the     
last of its direct converts from the    
,christian churches40 ,in ,europe and   
,america also1 not among the lower and  
less educated1 but among the  higher    
ranks of society1 among people affecting
 culture and new light1  are to be found
 not a few professing admirers1 if not  
practical  followers1 of ,buddha and his
 law4 ,the admiration of many of these  
dilettanti may sometimes be found to be 
in exact proportion to their  ignorance 
of ,buddhism4 ,their information is     

drawn almost exclusively  from such     
sources as are supplied by the romance  
of ,sir ,edwin ,arnold and  works like  
those produced by ,mr4 ,sinnett and     
,colonel ,olcott2#ag but  even when we  
discount all these1 we must own that    
here and there we find  some thoughtful 
and earnest people who profess to have  
come out from  bondage to the beggarly  
elements of the ,church's faith to      
gentle  ,buddha's better gospel of      
liberty4 ,mr4 ,alabaster's ,modern      
,buddhist  finds a co-religionist not   
only in the disciples of ,feuerbach and 
,von  ,hartmann1 but in every 8fervent  
atheist0 who1 acknowledging nothing in  
the universe save man1 and a system of  
unbending law in which he is  involved1 
and with which he is sometimes          
confounded1 has been compelled  to deify
 humanity and to demand for its idol a  
service worthy of a  divine object of   
faith4    ,so another prediction of     
,schopenhauer's1 uttered in the         
beginning of the  century1 seems to be  

repeated in many publications at its    
close4 8,in  ,india10 he affirmed1 8our 
religion will never strike root2 the    
primitive  wisdom of the human race will
 never be pushed aside by any incidents 
in  ,galilee4 ,on the contrary1 ,indian 
wisdom will flow back upon ,europe1 and 
produce a thorough change in our knowing
 and thinking40#ah ,he certainly        
laboured hard to bring about the        
fulfilment of his prophecy1 preaching   
,nirvana as the goal of moral effort1   
though confessing that his own  animal  
propensities allowed him no hope of     
attaining it4 ,in his lifetime  his     
strenuous endeavours were unsuccessful1 
and he died in #ahfj in  comparative    
neglect4 ,since then1 and especially    
since the publication of  his book ,die 
,welt als ,wille und ,vorstellung1 the  
doctrine painfully  planted1 has taken  
root in the congenial soil prepared for 
it by ,comte  and his disciples4        
,spiritualism again--which1 though      
originating only in  #ahdh1 in          

circumstances almost ludicrous1 has     
spread so rapidly and  extensively that 
it now claims to count its converts by  
millions all  over the world--has       
obviously contributed to the            
dissemination and growth  of            
pseudo-,buddhist ideas4 ,with a         
literature of over five hundred         
psychological works--many of them       
voluminous and very costly--and with    
forty-six periodicals regularly         
published in ,europe and ,america1 it   
not  only assails ,christianity1 but    
supports the doctrine that 8the ,reign  
of  ,law has supplanted the ,reign of   
,god2 that just as we have ceased to    
embody the conception of the ,state in a
 person1 it is time we should  cease    
similarly to embody the conception of   
the universe1 for loyalty to  a personal
 ruler is an anachronism in the         
nineteenth century1 and will  some day  
become extinct40#ai ,its apostles       
profess to find in the  ,christian faith
 many signs of disintegration1 and they 

look 8to the  bloodless and innocent    
record of ,buddhism for the             
reconstruction of true  religious faith 
upon a permanent basis40#bj ,this they  
expound in a  so-called theosophy in    
phraseology largely borrowed from the   
,new  ,testament1 but descriptive of a  
curious amalgam of later ,buddhist and  
,hindu doctrines utterly contradictory  
to the essential teaching of            
,christianity4    ,occultism1 ,esoteric 
,buddhism1 which professes to supplant  
the religion  of ,jesus1 and to prepare 
the way of the twelfth of the ,messiahs1
 whose  mission is to harmonise the     
perverted teaching of his               
predecessors1#ba  and thus establish the
 universal religion of humanity1 is not 
likely to  occasion serious concern4 ,it
 is just another of those instances in  
which  the diseases of a lower          
civilisation are communicated to one    
superior  and more robust4 ,just as     
plagues originating in the ruined or    
degraded  populations of the ,east have 

repeatedly desolated large portions of  
,europe1 where they found physical      
conditions favourable to their spread1  
so there are mental and moral epidemics 
which1 generated among inferior         
religions1 propagate themselves in the  
very highest1 for reasons almost        
similar4 ,there are modern conditions   
which present very close affinities  to 
those out of which ,buddhism arose4 ,it 
has been truly called the  religion of  
despair1 and it seems suited to that    
intellectual ennui in  which many       
profess to live who find themselves     
confronted by problems  which they are  
unable to solve4 ,the enervating        
agnosticism and  sentimental pessimism  
of our generation furnish the very soil 
in which  the germs of ,buddhism are    
most likely to mature2 but the spiritual
 life  of ,christendom is too robust to 
succumb to its heresy of inertion and   
moral defeat4 ,the system of ,buddha1   
even as laid out by himself1 is not  at 
all likely to entrap any considerable   

number of ,western  nineteenth-century  
thinkers2 and this mongrel system of    
,neo-,buddhism1  though professing to be
 founded on that ancient creed1 will    
only find  adherents among peculiar     
people4 ,there is always a tendency in  
the most  advanced civilisation1 on the 
part of some who are freed from the     
necessity of industry1 so essential to  
man's mental and moral as well as  to   
his physical health1 to revert to       
beliefs and customs peculiar to  earlier
 and inferior stages of culture4 ,it is 
a curious and significant  fact1#bb that
 not among the working and professional 
classes1 but among  the upper and       
fashionable ranks of modern society1    
such survivals of  ancient superstition 
as intercourse with spirits and         
palmistry are  chiefly now to be found4 
,for such unstable souls as have been or
 may be  tempted to be drawn into these 
practices by an appeal to the authority 
of the beautiful character limned for   
our generation in the ,light of  ,asia1 

,i know no better restorative than a    
plain exposition of primitive           
,buddhism4 ,it will be seen then that   
this modern fungus is a growth  almost  
as foreign in its nature to real        
,buddhism as it is to true              
,christianity4 ,the degenerate ,buddhism
 from which it borrows its largest      
stock of ideas bears the same relation  
to the actual teaching of ,buddha  that 
the ,cabbala bear to the prophecies of  
the ,old ,testament1 and the  doctrines 
which it counts upon as most popular and
 attractive are  precisely those which  
,buddha would have treated with his most
 withering  scorn4    ,there is yet     
another characteristic of this religion 
which has commended  it more to the     
unbelief than the belief of our age4    
,many agreements are  alleged to subsist
 between the contents of the ,new       
,testament and those  of the sacred     
books which profess to record the life  
and express the  teaching of ,buddha4   
,its ancient ,pitakas are said to be    

filled with  stories resembling the     
narratives of the ,evangelists1 with    
sayings which  recall the parables1 and 
miracles reflecting the signs and       
wonders which  signalised the ministry  
of ,jesus4 ,it is averred that with the 
single  exception of the                
,crucifixion--and how immense is the    
significance of that  exception ,i shall
 endeavour in a subsequent lecture to   
show1--it would be  easy to find in them
 a parallel to almost every incident    
related in the  ,gospel4 ,most startling
 of all are said to be the resemblances 
between  the central figures in both    
sets of scriptures4 ,for ,buddhism1 as  
truly  as ,christianity1 has its ideal  
of a perfect human life1 illustrated in 
one who1 like unto the ,son of ,man1    
went about doing good1 and enforcing  by
 his example the pure morality which he 
preached1 but who1 most unlike  the ,son
 of ,man1 without any sustaining belief 
in deity1 or hope of  sympathy or help  
from any divine being1 professed to have

 made good his  own salvation1 and to   
teach all whom he could reach the way to
 work out  theirs4    ,when we come to  
examine its history1 we find that it has
 followed a line  of development        
strikingly parallel to that of          
,christianity1 and the  parallels thus  
furnished by its antecedents and        
progress1 and by the  external and      
foreign influences which encountered and
 modified it1 are  those which have the 
most interest and instruction for the   
student of  ,religion4 ,in order1       
however1 to ascertain their             
significance1 we must  examine these    
alleged correspondences of story and of 
doctrine2 for  these have powerfully    
influenced a certain class of thinkers1 
as  supplying confirmation of a charge  
brought against our religion in  almost 
the beginning of its history1 that after
 all there was nothing  original in     
,christ1 and nothing new in ,his        
teaching4 ,that resemblances  do exist1 
not only between the forms in which     

,buddhism confronts us in  some quarters
 of the world and the ritual and        
organisation of a large  section of the 
,christian ,church1 but between the     
contents of the  ,buddhist scriptures as
 we have them now1 and those of the ,new
 ,testament1  all must admit4 ,as we    
cast a hasty and general glance over    
them we see  how natural and how        
pardonable was the old rough and ready  
method of  accounting for them by the   
supposition of direct transference of   
the  various lineaments from the one to 
the other4 ,the early ,jesuit           
missionaries did not hesitate to assert 
that the ,buddhists1 by  assimilating   
and incorporating the rites and         
doctrines of the primitive              
missionaries1 had succeeded in producing
 a caricature of ,christianity4  ,in    
like manner1 when in ,central           
,america--till then as independent of   
,europe as if it had been separated not 
by untraversed oceans1 but by the       
immensities that divide the planets--the

 ,spaniards found to their  amazement a 
most complex religion1 with priests1 and
 monasteries1 and  temples adorned with 
the cross and statues of a goddess with 
an infant  in her arms1 they could only 
explain the mystery by averring that it 
was  a gigantic mimetic ruse of the     
devil to lead the unhappy nations       
astray4  ,the suppositions in both cases
 are not likely to be seriously         
supported  now4 ,indeed1 it is far more 
likely1 as the author of ,ancient       
,christianity and ,dr4 ,prinsep and     
others have attempted to show1 that in  
the ,east we have to seek for the origin
 of several institutions and  rites once
 considered the peculiar growth of      
,greek or ,latin  ,christianity4 ,there 
can be little doubt that as these       
religions spread  they would come in    
contact with and react upon each        
other4#bc ,it is  difficult in the      
present state of our knowledge to       
indicate their first  conjunction1 or to
 trace their various                    

intercommunications1 but that  they have
 been mutually indebted to each other is
 sufficiently attested  by their        
histories4 ,in later ,hinduism and      
,buddhism and ,lamaism there are  plain 
indications of the action of the        
,western upon the ,eastern  religions4  
,romanism1 on the other hand1 has set   
its official seal upon  the             
relationship1 by incorporating a legend 
of ,buddha among its 8,lives  of the    
,saints10 by canonising the founder of  
this most antichristian of  all         
religions1 and by consecrating the #bgth
 ,november as a day on which  he may be 
invoked for intercession4#bd    ,though 
as yet the field is only opening out1   
and its exploration is only  beginning1 
there can be little doubt that it will  
be found that in their  advanced stages 
,buddhism and ,greek and ,latin         
,christianity have  contributed to each 
other's resources2 but it is quite      
another matter to  assert that the      
existence of the one religion accounts  

for the origin of  the other1 and that  
,christianity1 as the junior of the two1
 is simply 8a  product of ,india spoiled
 in its route to ,palestine40#be ,those 
who  allege that the sources of         
,christianity may be discovered in      
,buddhism  are bound not to assume but  
clearly to trace and demonstrate the    
medium  of communication between the    
two4 ,as yet the allegation1 though     
frequently made1 appears to be incapable
 of proof4 ,renan's picture of          
8wandering ,buddhist monks who overran  
the whole world1 and converted on  the  
banks of the ,jordan1 by their garb and 
manners1 people who did not  understand 
their language1 like the ,franciscan    
monks in later days10 is  only a pious  
imagination4#bf ,and so are the theories
 elaborated by ,m4  ,emile ,burnouf in  
the ,science of ,religions and by ,m4   
,ernest de ,bunsen  in his ,angel       
,messiah of the ,buddhists4 ,both these 
authors have  explained to their own    
satisfaction the derivation of          

,christianity from  old ,indian or      
,aryan beliefs1 which1 transmitted      
through ,parthia to the  ,babylonian    
,jews1 by them communicated to the      
,essenes ,john ,baptist and  ,jesus of  
,nazareth1 and from them again passed on
 to the ,therapeut  ,stephen1 were      
formulated in the plastic mind of ,paul 
of ,tarsus into the  ,christian dogmas  
which we now revere4 ,the scheme is     
devised with  thoroughly ,french        
precision1 and the treatises in which it
 is  elaborated1 full as they are of    
indications of great ingenuity and      
laborious research1 are interesting as  
any romance4 ,for scientific  purposes1 
however1 they have hardly more historic 
worth than a romance4  ,based upon      
assumptions1 they are constructed almost
 entirely of  hypotheses3 when a        
difficulty emerges1 it is solved by a   
supposition  which further on is        
confirmed by a 8reasonable expectation0 
of something  else1 so that by and by   
the supposition meets us as an          

established  result4 ,they abound in    
analogies1 some of which transgress as  
flagrantly  the laws of time as the     
theory once advanced that the story of  
,christ is  only a reflection of the    
legend of ,krishna1 seeing that belief  
in  ,krishna did not arise in ,india    
till centuries after ,christianity had  
reached its shores4 8,the laws of       
language#bg are also violated as  openly
 as they were by the discovery that the 
mysterious word #8,om' of  the          
,upanishads is the equivalent of the    
#8,amen' in ancient ,hebrew  worship40  
,it may be as possible by this method to
 prove the connection  between the      
,vedic and ,levitical institutions1 as  
it is possible to  establish the        
conclusion that the old ,aryan symbol of
 the fire sticks is  the fontal idea of 
the ,cross1 or that the ,vedic word     
8,agni0 is  equivalent to the ,latin    
8,agnus ,dei40 ,dr4 ,j4 ,estlin         
,carpenter#bh and  ,professor ,kuenen#bi
 have most exhaustively and decisively  

exposed the  vanity of such             
speculations1 which1 on the whole1 may  
be regarded as a  good confirmation of a
 saying uttered by ,professor ,h4 ,h4   
,wilson some  thirty years ago1 in      
reference to those who would derive     
,christianity  from ,indian sources1    
that 8the disposition to draw impossible
 analogies  is not yet wholly extinct40 
,as far as the history of ,buddhism can 
be traced it presents no actual  point  
of contact with either ,syria or ,egypt 
or ,europe4 ,even after it  became a    
missionary religion its progress was    
never westwards1 and at no  period did  
it reach further in this direction than 
the region now known  as ,afghanistan4  
,the civilisation of the ,west offered  
no opportunity for  its enthusiasm1 and 
none of the great ,western cities appear
 in its  records4 ,in the few scattered 
extracts which survive of the writings  
of  those ,greeks who visited ,india    
during or subsequent to the period of   
,alexander's invasion1 there is no      

indication of a knowledge of ,buddhism1 
nor any allusion to ,buddha by name4 ,we
 have to come down to the times of      
,clement of ,alexandria#cj and of       
,bardesanes the ,syrian before we have  
any tangible evidence of the slightest  
acquaintance on the part of the  ,west  
with ,buddhism4 ,the first writer       
mentions ,buddha by name1 the second    
distinguishes his monks from the        
,brahmans1 and gives some details as to 
their customs1 but it is impossible from
 their statements to conjecture  how    
much they knew of the faith to which    
they alluded1 and most absurd  to infer 
from them that they were affected with  
the slightest admiration  for it4#ca    
,if ,christianity be the offspring of   
,buddhism1 or even if ,buddhism         
exercised any direct influence upon its 
earliest development1 some  indications 
of that influence should be traceable in
 the ,jewish and  ,greek literature of  
that period4 ,yet in spite of the most  
searching  examination none have as yet 

been found1 and it is not at all likely 
that they ever will be found4#cb ,our   
religion was well advanced in its       
course before we find in the works of   
its defenders any sign of  acquaintance 
with the ,buddhist legend1 or any       
expression of suspicion1  as on the part
 of ,cyril and ,ephraim of ,jerusalem in
 the fourth century1  that the taint of 
some of the heresies which had infected 
the ,church  might be traced to its     
contagion4 ,then1 unfortunately for the 
ingeniously constructed theory that the 
doctrines were secretly  transmitted by 
the channel already indicated till they 
reached ,st4 ,paul  through ,stephen the
 ,therapeut1 the only passage on which  
the existence  of ,therapeuts in        
,apostolic times could be founded has   
been recently  proved to be a spurious  
interpolation in the writings of ,philo 
of a  treatise forged several centuries 
after his death4#cc ,research can find  
no trace of ,therapeuts in ,alexandria  
nor anywhere else till ,monachism  had  

become the fashion in the ,christian    
,church4 ,bishop ,lightfoot has         
convincingly proved that the theory of  
the transmission of ,christian  doctrine
 from the ,buddhists of ,india through  
the ,babylonian ,jews to the  ,essenes  
has not the slightest trace of evidence 
to support it1 but that1  on the        
contrary1 the weight of evidence and    
probability is all against  it4#cd      
,again1 any one who compares the ,gospel
 account of the life of  the ,baptist   
with the description given in           
,josephus#ce of the manners  and tenets 
of the ,essenes will find that just as  
the ,essenes owed  nothing to ,buddha1  
so ,christ1 and even ,john ,baptist1    
owed nothing to  them4 ,though similar  
in a few external points1 the ,baptist's
 preaching  and manner of living were   
essentially antagonistic to those of the
  little ,jewish sect which had severed 
itself not only from ,jewish society    
but from ,jewish hopes4 ,the teaching of
 ,christ1 again1 whose manner of  life1 

notoriously in contrast to that of ,his 
herald1 was throughout a  powerful      
though silent contradiction to every    
doctrine which the ,essenes  held1 and  
it would be extravagant to assert that  
,he owed to it even an  illustration of 
,his own4#cf ,it may be safely asserted 
that the theory  of the derivation of   
,christianity from ,buddhism breaks down
 at every  point at which it is tested4 
,we may dismiss it in the words of      
,professor  ,kuenen1 that the 8so-called
 connection between ,essenism and       
,christianity  cannot bear serious      
inquiry for a moment10 and in those of  
the learned  ,bishop1#cg 8that though   
the ,essenes may have had some          
connection with  ,persia1 their system  
was antagonistic to that of ,buddhism in
 everything  save the spirit of despair 
which called both into existence40      
,the whole supposition of ,burnouf and  
,de ,bunsen1 and writers of the  school 
to which they belong1 is based upon a   
most exaggerated and indeed  fictitious 

estimate of the ,indian contribution to 
the sum of human  knowledge4 ,it assumes
 that ,india was the cradle of all      
wisdom1 and that  from that favoured    
land of primeval light went forth from  
time to time  the apostles of religion  
and the expounders of all philosophy4   
,yet  history reveals not the slightest 
trace of any such propaganda westward   
before the coming of ,christ1 and though
 centuries after we have slight  notices
 of ,indian travellers to the ,west1 we 
do not find a missionary  among them4   
,we have historic evidence1 however1 of 
the ,western races  reaching ,india     
certainly before the coming of ,christ1 
and probably long  before the birth of  
the founder of ,buddhism1 and we can    
hardly suppose  that races with         
enterprise and intelligence sufficient  
to discover and  conquer the ,hindus    
would appear only before them as beggars
 to receive  their alms4 ,we forget that
 the wave of ,aryan humanity that poured
  downward into ,india really deflected 

from the path of progress1 and that     
under climatic and other unfavourable   
conditions1 and through  intermixture   
with inferior races1 it stagnated1 while
 that which  proceeded westward improved
 the more the farther it advanced4 ,we  
have a  tolerably clear idea of the     
civilisation of ,western ,asia in the   
time of  ,solomon1 whose navy is        
supposed to have traded with ,india4 ,it
  comprehended capitals with magnificent
 buildings1 public works1 and           
well-guarded highways2 commerce         
protected and encouraged2 law           
administered2 religion observed1 and    
learning cultivated4 ,what ,indian      
civilisation meant at the same period we
 can only conjecturally infer  from the 
literature that is extant1 but we have  
clearer glimpses of it  five centuries  
later as the home of a mixed race1      
geographically severed  from the rest of
 the world1 living in village           
settlements1 which only  here and there 
were large enough to be called towns1   

divided into clans  whose wealth        
consisted chiefly in pasture and tillage
 lands1 and flocks  and herds4#ch ,a    
kingdom in the sense in which ,solomon  
would have used  the word did not exist4
 ,in respect of civilisation ,palestine 
was far  ahead of ,india1 and in respect
 of religious development1 its theology1
  though greatly tainted with heathen   
superstitions1 was sufficiently pure    
and strong to save the ,hebrew from     
requiring instruction at the wattle     
huts of a race that confounded ,god with
 ,his works4 ,if ,ophir be the name  of 
an ,indian port1 then ,solomon's navy   
brought back from it gold1 and  ivory1  
and curious things indicated by         
,sanskrit words for which the  ,hebrew  
chronicler could find no equivalent4    
,the sailors may have picked  up a few  
fables and riddles and proverbs1 but    
surely in regard to  religion and       
philosophy1 the superior and stronger   
race would be more  likely to impart of 
their abundance to the lower and weaker 

than to  enrich themselves out of their 
poverty4    ,when we come to the ,greek 
invasion we move on more solid ground1  
and we  can handle events which have    
left permanent and very traceable       
effects2  but in the historic notices   
that remain1 we have no trace of ,hindu 
influence upon ,greek civilisation4     
,instead of ,greek religion and         
philosophy being enriched by the        
,indian1 the opposite is more likely to 
have been the case4 ,the invasion of    
,alexander must have originated a  host 
of new thoughts in ,india1 which may yet
 be traced in the works of  the prolific
 ,buddhist scholars1 who are said to    
have lived in the ,punjab  during the   
period of the ,greek domination4#ci ,it 
is alleged with fair  show of reason to 
have given rise to some new products1   
such as the art  of writing1 a currency 
in coin1 stone sculpture1 none of which 
have as  yet been traced in ,india in   
any previous period4#dj ,the appearance 
in  ,india of the drama1 the epic1 of   

new views of mathematics1 astronomy1    
physics1 are all said to be subsequent  
to and consequences of the ,greek       
invasion4 ,and this is what we might    
expect1 for all through the  historical 
ages the ,hindu1 instead of enriching   
,western nations1 has  been a needy     
borrower from them4 ,he has always been 
more ready to absorb  than impart1 ever 
greedy of foreign ideas1 and ever ready 
to be modified  by external culture4    
,the beneficent influence of ,india is  
indeed  traceable in ,china1 whose      
science it undoubtedly improved1 and    
whose  literature it has greatly        
enriched2 but with the exception of the 
cipher  so useful in our arithmetical   
notation1 it is questionable whether    
,india  has contributed to the stock of 
,western wisdom one single religious or 
philosophic or scientific truth4#da     
,the wealthy are more likely to lend to 
than to borrow from the poor2 the  wise 
more likely to teach1 though they do    
sometimes learn from the less           

instructed4 ,the strong may be infected 
by the diseases of the feeble1  but     
generally the contagion of health       
radiates from the more robust to  the   
weaker vitalities4 ,the 8power0 which   
the touch of the ,east has 8made  to go 
forth from us0#db no doubt flows back in
 quickened life upon  ourselves4 ,as    
these ,oriental studies proceed1 the    
tables will perhaps be  turned upon the 
school that would derive all our        
philosophy and religion  from old       
,indian sources4 ,we have seen that two 
successive waves of  ,western life      
flowed eastwards upon the shores of     
,india4 ,another rich  stream of        
,semitic thought in pre-,buddhistic     
times1 represented by such  religious   
teachers as the second ,isaiah and      
,jeremiah and ,ezekiel1  reached the    
,tigris1 and we may ask1 ,was the ,indus
 unknown to them8 ,we do  not assert    
that they knew it1 but surely it was    
just as easy for a ,jew  to reach ,india
 as for ,burnouf or de ,bunsen's        

,buddhists to reach ,babylon4  ,it was  
just as probable that a ,jewish pedlar  
found his way eastward  through ,parthia
 to ,india1 with other and more precious
 goods in his  possession than the      
,babylonian wares in his pack1 as it was
 that ,renan's  wandering ,buddhist monk
 found his way to the ,jordan4 ,later on
 there is a  tradition--and though it is
 only a tradition1 what a find to       
,messieurs  ,renan1 ,burnouf1 and de    
,bunsen would one similar ,buddhist     
tradition  be6--that one of the original
 twelve apostles of ,jesus evangelised a
  portion of the western shores of      
,india4 ,so1 founding on all these data1
  only assuming--as we are entitled to  
assume--that the ,east was well         
connected with the ,west by the sea     
routes from ,arabia and by the land     
route through ,persia1 and remembering  
that there is nothing so volatile  and  
permeating as thought1 is the           
speculation so very extravagant that    
old ,indian philosophy and religion1    

though following their own course1  may 
have been modified and purified by      
contact with the thoughts of the  ,west8
 ,what if the conjecture be hazarded    
that from the ,west a thousand  years   
,b4,c4 was communicated the theistic    
impulse which produced what is  best in 
the ,upanishads--the truth1 viz41 of the
 unity which is behind and  above all   
variety1 the ,one ,absolute into which  
all thought and all being  is           
resolved8#dc ,what if it be some day    
asserted that the teaching of  the      
,hebrew prophets before the ,diaspora1  
as to the worthlessness of  sacrifice to
 put away sin and to promote communion  
with ,god1 may have  insinuated itself  
into the reveries of ,indian ascetics in
 their forest  retreats1 and made the   
teaching of reformers like ,buddha      
possible8 ,and  what if to ,st4 ,thomas 
may be indirectly traced that influence 
which made  later ,buddhism differ so   
materially from the primitive1 and      
approach in  the similarities of its    

legends so close to the ,gospel         
narratives8 ,dr4  ,kellogg already      
proclaims that 8it may be affirmed with 
certainty that  no man can show that the
 legend of ,buddha1 in a form containing
 any  coincidence which could be held to
 argue a borrowing from it by           
,christians1 was in existence before the
 ,christian era02 8that all the  various
 versions of the legend in any language 
date from a time later  than the        
,christian era02 8that the chief        
,sanskrit authority for it  cannot be   
proved in the judgment of the most      
competent critics to have  existed in   
its present form nearly as far back as  
the ,christian era02  and though he does
 not allege any actual transference from
 the ,gospel to  the ,buddha legend1 he 
avers with justifiable confidence that  
the  opportunity for 8such a            
transference before the ,sanskrit       
version assumed  its present form is an 
indubitable fact40#dd    ,these         
suggestions1 though just as worthy of   

consideration and support as  the theory
 that ,christianity is either an        
offshoot of ,vedic ,brahminism  or a    
direct product of ,buddhist speculation1
 need not be discussed at  present4 ,we 
may content ourselves with the          
conclusions formed by our  most reliable
 authorities1 that ,buddhism and        
,christianity in their  origin and      
earliest development were perfectly     
independent of each  other4 ,the births 
of their founders were separated by     
centuries1 and the  spheres of their    
ministry by almost the whole extent of  
,asia4 ,while thus  sundered by the     
conditions of both time and space1 they 
were still more  so by their            
intellectual peculiarities and          
antecedents4 ,the ,indian  differed very
 widely from the ,jew in his way of     
looking at and reasoning  about things4 
,he would be very differently impressed 
by the same or  similar phenomena1 and  
he would communicate his impressions by 
a very  different method4               

,geographically ,india was shut up from 
the rest of the  world1 and the ,aryans 
who went down into it were left in a    
manner hardly  paralleled by other      
peoples to develop their own life out of
 itself1 and  according to its own laws4
 ,in far less favourable circumstances1 
and far  removed from the educational   
stimulus of contact with alien or       
cognate  nations1 they came to stand    
alone as a people scarcely intelligible 
by  others4 ,the ,jews1 on the other    
hand1 were early brought into the stream
  of human movement4 ,mingled with many 
peoples1 sent from land to land1  they  
became in spite of their passionate love
 for their own country the              
cosmopolitans of the world4             
,consequently when the two races came in
  contact1 the circles of thought and   
feeling in which they moved could       
hardly be said to touch4 ,solomon's     
sailors1 as regards religious or        
philosophical treasures1 could neither  
give nor take away4 ,they had  almost   

nothing in common with the strange      
people whom they met4 ,the  ,sanskrit   
words which they took home to designate 
the peculiar products  obtained in      
,ophir indicated how helpless they would
 have been to  understand the           
metaphysics of ,india even had they     
inquired about them4  ,the natives of   
,western ,india a thousand years before 
,christ were as  helpless to understand 
the ,jew4 ,you have only to compare a   
prophecy of  ,israel of the eighth      
century ,b4,c4 with the earliest of the 
,upanishads to  find how widely         
separated at that date was the ,semite  
from the ,aryan of  ,india4 ,even when  
their own kinsmen visited them1 when the
 descendants of  sires who had occupied 
the same cradle and had heard the same  
stories  told over them in the one      
primeval home1 met for deadly strife in 
the  wars of ,alexander on the plains of
 the ,punjab1 they were aliens in       
almost everything4 ,later on1 when      
,christian missionaries1 anxious to     

teach them better ways1 succeeded in    
influencing their religious             
conceptions1 the ,hindus always modified
 what of our faith they adopted4  ,the  
question how far the early proclamation 
of the ,gospel in ,india  influenced the
 development of ,hinduism is by the best
 of judges  considered not yet          
settled1#de but even those who affirm   
the reality of  this influence admit    
that ,hinduism did not so much          
incorporate the  doctrines as assimilate
 the ideas of ,christianity4 ,the       
ultimate decision  of this question1    
however1 does not in any way affect the 
one before us4  ,we may be almost       
certain that the great mass of ,indian  
speculation on  man and his relations to
 the infinite1 for many centuries before
 our  era1 was developed originally from
 the resources of the ,indian mind      
quite apart from foreign influences4    
,the same assertion will hold good  as  
to the rise of ,greek philosophy and of 
the ,christian religion4 ,not  one of   

the three can be understood without     
careful reference to their  particular  
antecedents1 but they can never be      
accounted for by any  theory of         
derivation of the one from the other4   
,it is the fact of this complete        
independence of each other in origin1   
coupled with their analogous            
development1 and the many supposed      
agreements in their systems1 which makes
 the study of ,buddhism so  interesting4
 ,what does this signify8 ,what         
important law in providence  does it    
indicate or illustrate8 ,our best guides
 content themselves with  calling       
attention to the analogies1 and they are
 chary as yet of drawing  inferences    
from them4 ,the wisdom of such caution  
is apparent when we  find that the      
supposed coincidences require to be     
examined and  discussed4 ,most of them  
have been found to be superficial and   
accidental1 and1 when probed1 very      
essential and fundamental contrasts  are
 discovered beneath them4 ,now to judge 

correctly concerning these  religions we
 must try not their analogies but their 
contradictions4 ,the  analogies may be  
only seeming1 and the contrasts may be  
very real and  profound4 ,on every point
 that is truly characteristic the two   
religions  may be separated as widely as
 the zenith is from the nadir4 ,all     
religions are parallel in their         
tendencies1 and every approach to truth 
must inevitably produce resemblances in 
religious belief4 ,the  resemblances may
 indicate the aspirations of a moral and
 religious  nature common to all men2   
and in what is peculiar to              
,christianity1 what  it possesses in    
contrast1 may be found the divine answer
 to these  aspirations4 ,the two        
religions may proceed in parallel lines1
 but on  very different planes1 and from
 quite opposite directions4 ,thus the   
morality of ,buddhism so deservedly     
admired is in no sense peculiar to      
,buddhism1 for much of it was taught in 
,india before ,buddha appeared1 and  in 

,china before his law was proclaimed in 
it4 ,it is the natural  outgrowth of the
 moral sense of mankind where           
circumstances are  favourable to its    
development4 ,but high as the law of    
,buddha is1 it only  8approaches1 swings
 toward10 as ,oldenberg tells us1 but   
never reaches or  touches the law of    
,christ4#df ,there is in the ,christian 
,gospel  something which the ,buddhist  
system plainly lacks1 and which         
,buddhism  out of any evolution of its  
own inherent energy could never produce4
  ,christianity seems to be superior to 
it1 not in the sense that the  infant is
 superior to the embryo1 but as man is  
superior to the animal1  which yet may  
be said of very necessity to precede    
him4 ,the lower  organism in creation1  
though not accounting for the higher1   
may reach  out after and indicate the   
necessity for it1 and the higher by     
fulfilling the lower will interpret it4 
,just as the mineral1 vegetable1  and   
animal world all point to some higher   

creative fact1 which in man is  to sum  
up and perfect them1 so the many lower  
religions of the human  race all point  
to a higher1 which is to annul and      
fulfil them4 ,no theory  of evolution   
has yet accounted for man4 ,he appears  
in the universe as a  new creature while
 part of a very old system of creation1 
and related to  all its inferior forms4 
,so ,christianity1 in one sense as old  
as human  history1 and related to every 
form of religion by which man has tried 
to  satisfy his spiritual cravings1 may 
not be elaborated out of any of them  as
 their products1 but confronts us as a  
new fact of history to satisfy  and     
complete them4    ,this conclusion is   
one which many students of the science  
of religion  are not prepared to accept4
 ,to them ,christianity is simply one of
 the  natural religions1 and at best    
their highest but necessary outgrowth4  
,just as they allege that the origin of 
man is to be found in the lowest  type  
of the savage1 so they seek for the     

genesis of his religious  consciousness 
in his lowest animal wants and fears1   
and they profess to  trace the          
development of that consciousness from  
its first almost  shapeless forms1      
through the monstrosities of ,fetichism1
 then of  ,animism1 ,polytheism1        
,monotheism1 till it finds its ultimate 
culmination  in ,christ4 ,now           
,christianity is indeed a natural       
religion2 were it  otherwise1 it would  
cease to be divine4 ,it supplies all    
man's natural  wants1 and it satisfies  
and educates all man's natural          
aspirations4  ,while1 however1 there is 
nothing unnatural in it1 we aver that   
there  is something supranatural in its 
ideal1 fitting it to answer the         
necessities of a being who has in him   
all that nature has1 and a great  deal  
more4 ,man is a being akin on one side  
of his nature to both the ape  and the  
worm1 but he is also what they are not4 
8,the pressure of the  infinite on his  
senses0 awakens feelings1 and originates

 a train of  thought in which he soon   
becomes conscious of relations to a     
higher than  nature his inferior1 and to
 other than men his equals4 ,there is   
that in  him which once it is aroused   
refuses to believe that what he sees or 
handles or tastes is all1 and that there
 can be no higher being than  himself4  
,if his own most perfect machine does   
not express all his  intelligence1 he   
cannot believe that all possible        
intelligence is  comprehended and       
expressed in the world of nature4       
,behind and beyond all  these physical  
arrangements of the world1 which seem   
fully to meet the  lower wants of his   
being1 he feels that there must be      
higher  arrangements corresponding to   
his peculiar wants4 ,just because he    
finds  every appetite has its           
corresponding object1 and every organ   
implies an  element for which it is     
fitted1--so that if there be an eye     
there must be  light1 and if lungs there
 must be air1--so this feeling or       

instinct which  impels him to seek the  
unknown ,power1 8for whose sake he feels
  constrained to do what he does not    
like to do1 or to abstain from what  he 
would like to do10#dg is the pledge not 
only that ,he exists1 but  that he has  
already and always been found by ,him1  
as ,one who understands  perfectly his  
thoughts and wants1 and is freely       
communicating with him4    ,it is not in
 the anthropoid ape that we may hope to 
find the origin of  man1 and it is not  
in the terror of the savage cowering    
before the  majesty and mystery of      
nature that we are likely to find the   
genesis of  his religion4 ,even if      
anthropology succeeded in proving that  
savagery  was the first type in which   
humanity was expressed1 and that its    
bestial  rites inspired by terror was   
the first form of human religion1 it    
would  not then have accounted for their
 origin4 ,the gulf between the religious
  savage and the non-religious          
speechless ape would remain as vast as  

ever4 ,the first manifested beginning of
 a work may be rude enough1 8as  is the 
rough block which receives the first    
stroke of the sculptor who  has designed
 to produce a statue2 but the real      
beginning10 as we have  been eloquently 
reminded1 8is in the plan of the artist1
 and to perceive  his ideal we have to  
wait for the final result40#dh ,it is in
 the end  therefore that we may be said 
to find and understand the author4 ,so  
the  origin of man1 and the genesis of  
his religion1 is more likely to be      
indicated by that divine fiat which one 
of the ancient authors of  ,genesis has 
dared to formulate1 8,let us make man in
 our image1 and after  our likeness40   
,according to that conception1 man is a 
creature1 neither  equal with1 nor      
perfect as the ,being who conceived him1
 but having  affinity with his ,creator1
 and from the very first manifesting    
capacity  and potentiality of indefinite
 progress to be gained by the divine    
education to which he is everlastingly  

subjected4    ,it is not in the plan of 
our lecture to discuss these momentous  
questions1 or to enter the lists against
 the representatives of the  sciences of
 ,anthropology or ,religion4            
,anthropology is not sufficiently       
advanced to scatter the mystery that    
surrounds the cradle of the human  race3
 and it would be rash for the apostles  
of the other science to  maintain that  
they have succeeded in tracing the lines
 of that process1  out of which         
,christianity or even ,buddhism is      
alleged to have evolved  from the       
shapeless superstitions of the primitive
 savage1 before they  confront us as    
facts in the history of human thought4  
,observation and  experience alike seem 
to counsel greater caution in making our
  deductions and drawing our inferences4
 ,indeed there seems to be almost  as   
much evidence in favour of the theory of
 degradation as there is in  favour of  
that of evolution4 ,there is no inherent
 tendency in human  society to pass ever

 on and ever up to something better and 
nobler4 ,no  race1 by its own inherent  
strength1 seems to have raised itself   
from  barbarism into anything that can  
be called true civilisation2 but we     
have abundant proof in the ,aztecs of   
former generations1 and the negroes  of 
the ,black ,republic in the present day1
 that races can terribly  decline4 ,a   
state of civilisation is very difficult 
to keep1 as well as  difficult to       
gain4#di ,and so far as observation     
goes1 savage life and  religion appear  
to be 8not the dawning of a society     
about to rise1 but  the fading remains  
of one sinking in storms1 overthrown and
 shattered by  overwhelming             
catastrophes40 ,humboldt and ,niebuhr1  
quoted by ,whately in  his lecture on   
the ,origin of ,civilisation1 both      
protest as strongly as  he did himself  
against those who profess to find in the
 wreck of the  civilised and religious  
man his original representative1#ej and 
our  best authority in the science of   

religion assures us that ,fetichism1 far
  from being the initial of an upward   
course1 marks the very last stage in    
the downward course of religion4#ea ,it 
should content us1 in the  present state
 of our knowledge1 to find that humanity
 is capable both of  development and    
degradation4 ,savagery and civilisation 
are not separated  from each other by   
impassable barriers3 savagery is at     
least a  possibility to a civilised     
race2#eb civilisation is not beyond the 
reach of the savage4 ,on the surface of 
the very highest civilisation  many     
things appear which are also to be seen 
in the lowest3 and just as  in the      
lowest organisms certain rudimentary    
traces are found of members  which are  
perfected in organisms above them1 so   
the very lowest savagery  seems to      
exhibit an upward tendency4 ,in the same
 way the very purest  religions have    
clinging to them traces of the lowest   
superstitions4 ,not  in ,buddhism only1 
but even in ,christianity1 we find forms

 of ,animism and  ,fetichism2 but the   
question whether both religions first   
manifested  themselves in these lower   
forms1 with which they are still partly 
incrusted1 must not be held to be       
settled in the affirmative because      
these traces of them exist4 ,instead of 
being survivals which they have  not yet
 sloughed off or outgrown1 they may be  
parasitical growths  indicating         
degradation and disease4    ,though the 
researches hitherto prosecuted have not 
resulted in the  discovery of a law     
regulating the development of           
religion1#ec they all  point to a common
 religious faculty peculiar to man1 and 
indicate that  the religious instinct is
 co-extensive with the human race4      
,nothing1 it  is true1 in the nature of 
things forbids the discovery of tribes  
absolutely without religion2 but as     
matter of fact1 no such have been       
found4 ,and as ,tylor remarks1 8those   
who assert the contrary disprove  their 
theories by the facts which they allege 

in support of them40#ed  ,now1 if we    
find in all sections of humanity1 even  
far apart from each  other1 the same    
groping after an ,author and ,governor  
of our being1 and  the same forecasting 
of our destiny1 though in most          
contradictory1 and1  alas6 often        
fearfully perverted ways1 we may safely 
infer as a  fundamental truth that      
humanity1 though broken up into many    
fragments1  is really an organic unity1 
and that the ,christian dogma simply    
expresses a scientific fact1 8that ,god 
hath made of one all nations on  the    
face of the earth40    ,if the organic  
unity of humanity be granted1 the       
organic unity of  language and of       
religion too would seem to be deducible 
from it as  simple corollaries4 ,but we 
must be careful in defining wherein this
  organic unity consists4 ,we may assume
 that in regard to language it does  not
 consist in a perfect primitive speech1 
broken up at later times into           
numberless forms to be used richly and  

copiously by some civilised1 but        
scantily by barbarous peoples4#ee ,in   
regard to religion it does not  mean a  
complete compendium of truth            
supernaturally given to the fathers  of 
the human race1 from which1 while all   
men have erred more or less1  some have 
fearfully fallen away4 ,such a view1    
though held generally  once1 would be   
condemned by ,christian theologians now 
as irreligious in  principle1 for it    
would seek for the roots of religion not
 in the nature  of man1 but in some     
external enactment1 and would make      
religion1 which  is essentially         
spontaneous1 to be something mechanical 
or compulsory in  action4#ef ,the unity 
of language does not consist in a common
  vocabulary1 but in a common faculty   
which all men have of expressing  their 
feelings and their thoughts2 and the    
unity of religion does not  consist in a
 number of fundamental beliefs which all
 men have in common2  but in the        
universal instinct to believe in1 and   

reverence and obey1 a  power higher and 
better than ourselves4 ,the faculty1 the
 instinct in  each case is one2 yet it  
has been developed1 if we are to use    
that word1  in very different degrees4  
,in some tribes the faculty of reckoning
 is so  weak1 that they have numerals   
only to five1 and their vocabulary is so
  poor as to express only objects around
 them or their own sensuous wants4  ,in 
the same way in some peoples the        
religious faculty is so stunted as      
almost to be amorphous4 ,it exists as it
 were in embryo2 in other peoples  it   
perplexes us by the monstrosities in    
which it is expressed1 but the          
monstrosity1 as we are reminded1#eg may 
mark a further growth which  also points
 onward to something more complete1 and 
may be in itself a  type of things not  
seen as yet4 ,observation therefore     
seems to detect a  religious tendency in
 process of evolution1 and if so1 the   
only question  is as to whether that    
tendency develops by its own inherent   

power1 or by  a process of education    
intelligently conducted2 in other words1
 whether  man grows into his religion1  
or whether he is instructed in it by the
  revelation of a mind higher than his  
own4    ,the ,new ,testament writers1   
while proclaiming the organic unity of  
humanity1 proclaim as clearly that the  
organic development of religion         
proceeds under ,divine control4 ,the    
phrase 8organic development of          
religion0 may only be a modern way of   
designating that long continuous        
process by which ,god reveals ,his mind 
and will for the education of the  human
 race1 which culminated when ,he 8who at
 sundry times and in divers  manners10  
in various ways and in different        
measures1 8spake unto the  fathers by   
the prophets10 spoke unto us by ,his    
,son4 ,holy ,scripture from  first to   
last is consistent in its teaching as to
 this4 ,it tells of a  ,divine ,spirit  
not operative only in one race or in one
 part of the world  during a few        

centuries of its history1 but striving  
with human souls  always and everywhere4
 ,it tells us that ,god never left the  
world without  a witness of ,himself2 it
 reminds us of prophets--certainly not  
all of the  one nation--who1 trained to 
grasp and to proclaim moral and         
spiritual  truths1 were sent to lead    
among their fellow-men lives so pure and
  unselfish as profoundly to affect the 
moral progress of the whole human  race4
 ,in a word1 it reveals ,deity not as   
apart from man and uninterested  in him1
 but as an everlasting agent in human   
history1--working out an  eternal       
purpose hid as a mystery from all ages1 
but now manifested in  the last times to
 us2 the purpose of gathering together  
not only the  scattered and alienated   
nations1 but 8all things which are in   
heaven and  which are on earth in ,one10
 even in ,christ4    ,the proclamation  
of this universality of the ,divine     
purpose is one of  the chief distinctive
 characteristics of ,christianity4 ,its 

canonical  ,scriptures from beginning to
 end contradict the ,jewish heresy1 that
 ,god1  though ,he has made of one all  
nations1 has only taken one or two under
  ,his protection1 and has no care for  
the rest4 ,they tell us that ,god  cares
 for the sparrow that flits over the    
heads of the most degraded of  the human
 race1 and for the worm that crawls     
under their feet2 and by  implication   
they warn us that to assert that ,he who
 has provided for the  wants of the     
reptile and the bird has made no        
provision for the  spiritual wants of   
those whom ,he is said to have made in  
,his image1 is  blasphemy more heinous  
than ever heathen or atheist has        
uttered4 8,the  same ,lord over all is  
rich in mercy unto all10 and 8,he is not
 far from  any one0 of them4 ,he has    
left none 8without a witness40 ,though  
,he has  given some more than others1   
,he has left no one without something4  
,the  religious instinct in some ,he has
 specially trained and illuminated1 not 

because ,he regards them as             
favourites--for ,he is no respecter of  
persons--but because through them ,he   
would work out ,his beneficent plan  for
 all4 ,a few are indeed chosen1 but that
 many may be called1 and when  one      
individual or one people is selected and
 peculiarised1 it is that  through them 
all nations may be blessed4    ,st4     
,paul1 quoting to the ,athenians from   
one of their own poets1 reminded  them  
that 8we are all ,his offspring10 and as
 such we are all divinely  cared for4   
,it is true that ,he does not deal with 
all after the same  fashion1 and ,his   
dealings will always be perplexing if we
 apply to them  only the standard of man
 and the measures of time2 but if we    
remember  that 8,he is ,god1 and not    
man10 that 8,his years are throughout   
all  generations10 and that we 8can see 
only a portion of ,his ways10 we may    
trust that by-and-by ,he will show that 
,he has wasted neither ,his own         
patience nor ,his creatures' strength4  

,for though ,he may not be dealing  with
 us after the same fashion1 ,he is      
dealing with all toward the same        
blessed end1 the end which ,he has      
revealed in ,christ1 through whom1 and  
by whom1 and in whom1 all men and things
 are to be reconciled4    ,we can only  
judge of ,his purpose by what of it has 
been disclosed4  ,humanity1 essentially 
and fundamentally one1 exhibits most    
manifold  variety4 ,while the unity of  
the race secures its sympathy with all  
its  members1 in its variety there is   
secured its indefinite expansion and    
progress4 ,no family could always keep  
together in one spot3 the  differences  
of disposition and character among its  
members demand their  separation as the 
condition of harmony4 ,the family of man
 is a scattered  one1 not merely to     
prevent jealousy and hostility between  
its members1  but to promote their      
education4 ,the training of the race    
seems to  proceed on principles somewhat
 analogous to those which we ourselves  

have adopted in the education of our    
children4 ,we never could hope to       
educate a large number of children of   
various ages and mental  capacities1 by 
keeping them all in one class2 so we    
break them up1 and  isolate1 and grade  
them1 and train some of them specially  
for the sake  of all1 that they may be  
their leaders and teachers4 ,even so1 we
 find  nations widely separated by      
natural barriers1 that the              
characteristic  energies of each may be 
developed1 till the time comes when one 
or other  of them is needed for the     
elevation or reformation of the rest4   
,that the  division of nations and the  
separate training of nations entered    
deeply  into the counsels of            
,providence1 may be learned by a glance 
at the  configuration of the world1 and 
the influences which are exercised by   
soil and climate and circumstance upon  
any single nation4 ,the blessed  effect 
of this division may be seen by the     
slightest survey of history  in the     

corrective1 educative1 redemptive       
influence which they have  exercised    
upon each other4#eh ,and yet a survey of
 the history of the  last eighteen      
centuries will just as plainly indicate 
a ,divine purpose  of drawing the       
nations toward unity4 ,babel may mark   
the ,divine purpose  of the primeval    
economy1 and ,pentecost may be the sign 
of the present4  ,the wonder in the     
plain of ,shinar was1 that through      
diversity of speech  men were ceasing to
 understand each other4 ,the wonder in  
,jerusalem was1  that men of the most   
widely separate nationalities heard1    
each in their  own tongue1 ,christian   
evangelists proclaim the marvellous     
works of ,god4  ,religion1 which up till
 the coming of ,christ1 had proved a    
repellent and  divisive force1 began at 
that time to prove an attractive1       
harmonising1  and transforming power4 ,a
 new spring-tide dawned upon man's      
religious  conceptions1 and truths after
 which all had been groping1 but which  

none  had attained to1 emerged grandly  
into prominence4 ,the ,fatherhood of the
  ,one living and eternal ,god1 the     
,divine ,son1 in whom all men are       
brethren1 and the ,holy ,spirit1 dealing
 with every man1 working upon him  and  
in him to conform him to the likeness of
 the highest and best1 began  to be     
revealed2 and the more that revelation  
is accepted the more the  reconciliation
 of the race advances4    ,it is not our
 interest1 therefore1 to sever          
,christianity from all  connection with 
the manifold forms in which the         
religious instinct and  faculty of man  
has found expression4 ,if it could be   
proved that our  religion stands in no  
relation to anything which men in other 
religions  thought or believed1 it would
 be discovered defective1 and we would  
have  to abandon the claim that it is   
the universal religion of humanity4 ,to 
assert that all previous religious ideas
 must be expunged as erroneous  or      
false1 so that an entirely new message  

might be written1 is to  contradict the 
evangelical doctrine as to the nature of
 ,christ and the  purpose of ,his       
mission to the world4 ,the ,new         
,testament writers assert  that ,christ 
is the source of all the truth that was 
ever uttered1 the  inspirer of all the  
goodness that was ever seen1 and that   
,he is the  stimulator and educator of  
man's every reaching out after ,god4    
,the  noblest thinkers1 it is true1     
failed to comprehend the truth1 and     
their  highest religion failed to       
satisfy them2 but we must not think of  
them  as divinely permitted to fail to  
teach us the glory of ,christ as the    
ultimate revelation of ,god4 ,here1 as  
in all similar cases1 failure was       
rather a partial success2 for by the    
effort to reach it the mind was  trained
 to receive and grasp the reality when  
it was disclosed4 ,some one  has said   
that all pre-,christian religions are   
just ,christ partially--very  very      
partially--realised4 ,certainly they all

 point to ,him1 and but for  ,him they  
would have been abortive4 ,they all     
suggest ,him1 in respect that  they each
 claim something to satisfy and unite   
them4 ,christianity thus  proves itself 
,divine1 not in being absolutely        
different from1 nor even  in being      
vastly superior to1 but in the fact that
 it harmonises and  completes them4     
,instead1 therefore1 of being scared by 
the resemblances  to ,christianity which
 we meet in other religions1 we should  
be thankful  for their discovery4 ,the  
early ,apologists were not frightened   
when  ,celsus1#ei in the second century1
 submitted his alleged parallels to     
,christian doctrine and ethics1 in order
 to prove that what ,christians  called 
revelation had already been attained by 
the unassisted efforts of  heathen      
minds4 ,anticipating the language of the
 eighteenth century  ,deists1 he        
proclaimed that 8,christianity was as   
old as creation40 ,his  parallels were  
often found to be defective1 and many of

 them had only to  be looked at to show 
the immense superiority of the          
,christian  quotations4 ,augustine      
turned them against himself1 when he    
showed that  to claim entire originality
 for ,christianity1 to deny the         
existence of  any light before ,christ  
came1 and the possibility of any silent 
universal revelation through reason and 
conscience1 was to contradict  ,his     
,messiahship4 ,to ignore what ,god had  
done before1 would have cut ,him  off   
from ,god and man4 ,we would expect the 
,son of ,man to confirm the  deepest    
convictions of the human race4 ,we would
 expect the ,son of ,god to  claim and  
utilise all the truth ,god's ,spirit had
 spoken in ages past4  8,siquis vera    
loquitur1 prior est quam ipse veritas8  
,o ,homo1 attende  ,christum1 non quando
 ad te venerit1 sed quando te           
fecerit40#fj    ,the more of ,christian 
doctrine and ethics we find in other    
religions1  the more ,divine will       
,christianity appear4 ,there is not a   

truth which has  verified and sustained 
any other religion which is not found in
  ,christianity1 in fuller amount and in
 clearer form4 ,christianity differs    
from all other religions1 not because it
 is a purer system of moral  truth1 but 
because it is the manifestation of a    
,divine life1 and because  in that life 
it reveals the power which alone can    
reconcile the  knowing with the doing of
 duty4 ,it professes only to have one   
original1  one distinctive element2 but 
how much is involved in that profession8
  for this original is ,christ ,himself1
 and all its doctrines and precepts  are
 vital only because of their connection 
with ,christ4 ,whole libraries  of moral
 and doctrinal anthologies would not    
make up for the  obliteration of ,his   
likeness from the religious             
consciousness of the  world3 8,it would 
be like consoling ourselves for the loss
 of the sun by  the kindling of ten     
thousand artificial lamps40#fa ,he      
confronts the  ages1 as the ,one to whom

 all religions point1 of whom all true  
prophets  of the human race have        
unconsciously testified4 ,they1 like the
 ,founder  of this great religion1 whose
 alleged resemblances will be found1 as 
we  examine them1 to be rather          
point-blank contradictions and contrasts
 to  the ,christian doctrines and story1
 may have indeed been burning and       
shining lights1 and men were willing for
 a season to rejoice in their  light4   
,they were 8not that ,light10 but as    
voices crying in the night for  its     
arising they came to 8bear witness of   
it03 the ,light not of ,asia  only1 nor 
yet only of ,europe1 but the 8,light    
which lighteth every man  that cometh   
into the world40    ,footnote #a3       
,die ,welt als ,wille und ,vorstellung1 
,pref4 xiii4    ,footnote #b3           
,professor ,max ,mller1 ,gifford        
,lectures for #ahhh1 on ,natural        
,religion1 p4 #aa4    ,footnote #c3     
,t4 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids1 ,hibbert         
,lectures1 #ahha1 8,on the ,origin and  

,growth    of ,religion as illustrated  
by some points in the ,history of       
,indian    ,buddhism10 p4 #aj4          
,footnote #d3      ,max ,mller1         
,introduction to the ,science of        
,religion1 p4 #ch4    ,footnote #e3     
,john v4 #ci4    ,footnote #f3          
,baring ,gould1 ,origin and ,development
 of ,religious ,belief1 vol4 i4 p4      
#aba4    ,footnote #g3      ,westcott1  
,victory of the ,cross1 pp4 #c1 #f4     
,footnote #h3      ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids
 estimates the number at five hundred   
millions    7,handbook of ,buddhism1 p4 
#f74 ,the previous general estimate was 
about four hundred millions2 but ,dr4   
,a4 ,j4 ,happer1 missionary at          
,canton for forty-five years1 reduces   
this number to seventy-three            
millions4 ,sir ,monier ,williams1 in his
 recent book on ,buddhism1 quoting      
,professor ,legge's introduction to     
,travels of ,fa-,hian1 calculates the   
number at one hundred millions1 and     
claims for ,christianity1 with its      

four hundred and thirty millions of     
adherents1 the numerical                
preponderance over all others4          
,footnote #i3      ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys        
,davids1 ,buddhism1 pp4 #d1 #g2 ,sir    
,monier ,williams1    ,buddhism1 p4     
#aga4    ,footnote #aj3      ,dr4       
,caird1 ,introduction to the ,philosophy
 of ,religion1 ,croall    ,lectures1    
#ahgh-i1 pp4 #hb seq42 ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys    
,davids1 ,hibbert ,lectures1    #ahha1  
,on the ,origin and ,growth of ,religion
 as illustrated by    ,buddhism1 p4 #g4 
,footnote #aa3      ,to draw proper     
inferences from statistics of the spread
 and supremacy    of a religion1 we must
 first investigate the circumstances in 
which it    was propagated1 and the     
intellectual and moral conditions of the
    peoples whom it has converted4 ,if  
it has gained only the belief of    one 
section of the human race1 it is        
evidently not entitled to rank    with  
another which proves itself influential 
among all sections4 ,a    religion      

dominant only over inferior races is    
manifestly of less    value than another
 which1 while satisfying the wants of   
the lowest and    most degraded peoples1
 is yet fulfilling the spiritual        
aspirations of    the highest4 ,the     
first1 if in any way related to the     
second1 can    only be so as preparatory
 and prophetic of the mission which the 
second alone can accomplish4            
,footnote #ab3      ,sacred ,books of   
the ,east1 vol4 i4 ,introd4    ,footnote
 #ac3      ,kppen1 ,die ,religion des   
,buddha1 s4 #bca2 ,j4 ,barthelemy       
,saint-,hilaire1 ,le ,bouddha1 etc41 pp4
 #gh1 #add1 #aha2 ,spence ,hardy1       
,manual of ,buddhism1 p4 #ceh4          
,footnote #ad3      ,sir ,monier        
,williams1 ,buddhism1 p4 xv1 ,introd4   
,footnote #ae3      ,alabaster1 ,modern 
,buddhist2 in the ,wheel of the ,law1 p4
 #gc2 ,trbner    and ,co41 #ahga4       
,footnote #af3      #eth ,april #ahhe4  
,in the ,madras ,times for ,october #bi1
 #ahhf1 a meeting    of the ,society for

 the ,propagation of ,true ,religion is 
advertised1 for    reading and          
exposition of the ,bhagavad-,gita4      
,footnote #ag3      ,the ,light of      
,asia2 ,the ,occult ,world2 ,esoteric   
,buddhism2    ,theosophy of ,archaic    
,religions4    ,footnote #ah3           
,parerga1 #c;d ed4 i4 #ei4    ,footnote 
#ai3      ,westminster ,review1 ,new    
,series1 vol4 xlviii4 p4 #dfi4          
,footnote #bj3      ,gerald ,massey1    
,light1 #afth ,june #ahhc4    ,footnote 
#ba3      ,among these are reckoned     
,adam1 ,fohi1 ,laotze1 ,jesus1          
,mohammed1 and    ,jenghiz              
,khn4--,kinnealy1 ,commentary on the    
,apocalypse1 p4 #fhe4    ,footnote #bb3 
,pember1 ,earth's ,earlier ,ages1 p4    
#cbf4    ,footnote #bc3      ,h4 ,h4    
,wilson1 ,essays1 vol4 ii4 p4 #cgf2 ,huc
 and ,gabet1 ,travel in    ,tartary and 
,thibet2 translated by ,mrs4 p4 ,sinnett
 and ,w4 ,hazlitt4    ,footnote #bd3    
,buddhist ,birth ,stories1 translated by
 ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids1 vol4 i          

,introd4 p4 xli4    ,footnote #be3      
,foucher de ,careil1 ,hegel et          
,schopenhauer1 p4 #cjf4    ,footnote    
#bf3      ,vie de ,jsus1 p4 #ih1 #dth   
ed42 ,paris1 #ahfc4    ,footnote #bg3   
,the ,buddhists1 as ,professor ,kuenen  
remarks1 do not believe in angels1      
and they have no ,messiah4 ,tathagata1  
which ,mr4 de ,bunsen translates        
8,the ,coming ,one10 i4e4 ,messiah1     
means 8,one who has gone0 or 8has       
arrived at0 7,nirvana71 like his        
predecessors4 ,so ,oldenberg1 ,rhys     
,davids1 ,bigandet1 ,edkins1            
,rajendralal ,mitra3 see too ,dr4       
,kellogg1    ,light of ,asia and the    
,light of the ,world1 pp4 #ajf1 #ajg4   
,footnote #bh3      ,see for these and  
other curious instances his article on  
8,the    ,obligations of the ,new       
,testament to ,buddhism10 ,nineteenth   
,century1    ,dec4 #ahhj4    ,footnote  
#bi3      ,natural and ,universal       
,religions1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 #ahhb4  
,footnote #cj3      ,strom4 i4 #ae2     

,porphyry1 de ,abstin4 iv4 #ag4         
,footnote #ca3      ,schwanbeck1        
,megasthenes ,indica1 p4 #bj2 ,lassen1  
,ind4    ,alterthumskunde1 #bji2 ,h4 ,h4
 ,wilson1 ,essays1 ii4 p4 #cad seq42    
,reinaud1 ,relations ,politiques et     
,commerciales de l',empire ,romain avec 
l',asie ,central1 ,paris1 #ahfc2        
,priaulx1 ,travels of ,apollonius and   
the    ,indian ,embassies to ,rome1     
,paris1 #ahgc4    ,footnote #cb3        
,the question of the disciples in ,john 
ix4 #b1 concerning the man who    was   
born blind1 8,who did sin1 this man or  
his parents1 that he was    born blind80
 is alleged by ,professor ,seydel 7,das 
,evangelium von ,jesu    in seinen      
,verhltnissen zu ,buddha-,sage und      
,buddha-,lehre7 to indicate    an idea  
introduced into the ,gospel from a      
foreign source1 as the    doctrine of   
the pre-existence of souls was then     
unknown among the    ,jews4 ,meyer in   
his critical and exegetical ,handbook to
 ,st4 ,john's    ,gospel has shown that 

no one required to go outside the sphere
 of    ,jewish thought for an           
explanation of this part of the         
disciples'    question4 ,in addition to 
his quotations from the ,rabbinical     
books    illustrating this ,jewish      
belief1 ,kuenen in his brief criticism  
of    ,seydel adduces another from the  
,wisdom of ,solomon viii4 #bj1 as also  
rendering the ,buddhist derivation of   
this 8thought quite superfluous0        
7,hibbert ,lectures1 #ahhb1 ,appendix74 
,many instances of agreement in         
thought and phraseology with the        
,gospels in passages in ,buddhist works 
are adduced by ,dr4 ,kellogg1 ,light of 
,asia1 etc41 p4 #acg seq41 and    are   
satisfactorily accounted for by the     
similarity of circumstances    under    
which ,buddha and the ,saviour taught   
and the condition of men    which they  
both perceived and described4           
,footnote #cc3      ,lucius1 ,die       
,therapeuten und ihre ,stellung in der  
,geschichte der    ,askese1 ,strassburg1

 #ahhj2 also ,der ,essenismus in seinem 
,verhltniss    zum ,judenthum1          
,strassburg1 #ahha4    ,footnote #cd3   
,dissertation in ,commentary on         
,colossians1 pp4 #aai1 #aeg4            
,footnote #ce3      ,jewish ,wars1 ii4  
#h4 #b-ac2 ,antiq4 xiii4 #e4 #i2 xv4    
#aj4 #d1 #e2 xviii4    #a4 #b-f4        
,footnote #cf3      ,edersheim1 ,life   
and ,times of ,jesus the ,messiah1 vol4 
i4 p4 #cbe4    ,footnote #cg3           
,hibbert ,lectures1 #ahhb1 p4 #bjc4     
,footnote #ch3      ,oldenberg1 ,buddha1
 sein ,leben1 seine ,lehre1 seine       
,gemeinde1    translated by ,w4 ,hoey1  
#ahhb1 p4 #f2 ,williams and ,norgate4   
,footnote #ci3      ,dr4 ,joseph        
,edkins1 ,chinese ,buddhism1 pp4 #bej1  
#cdc2 ,trbner1 #ahhj4    ,footnote #dj3 
,fergusson1 ,tree and ,serpent ,worship1
 ,introduction1 p4 #gg4    ,footnote    
#da3      ,this must be read in the     
light of ,professor ,max ,mller's ,what 
can    ,india teach us8    ,footnote    
#db3      ,luke viii4 #df4    ,footnote 

#dc3      ,even ,kuenen and ,wellhausen 
assume as established that ,monotheism  
shows    itself with unmistakable       
distinctness in ,hebrew prophecies of   
the    eighth century ,b4,c4 7,hibbert  
,lectures1 #ahhb1 p4 #aai2 ,theological 
,review1 #ahgd1 pp4 #cbi1 #ccf2 ,encyc4 
,brit41 art4 ,,israel74 ,professor      
,h4 ,schultz maintains that ,monotheism 
was established in ,israel from    the  
time of ,moses downward1 among the      
leaders of thought at least4            
7,alttest4 ,theolog41 #b;d ed41 #ahgh1  
pp4 #ddj1 #deg47    ,footnote #dd3      
,light of ,asia and ,light of the       
,world1 pp4 #dj1 #ajb1 #afa4            
,footnote #de3      ,weber1 ,indische   
,studien1 vol4 i4 p4 #djj2 ,j4 ,muir1   
,sanskrit ,texts1    p4 xxxiv2          
,lorinser1 ,bhagavadgit1 ,appendix1     
translated by ,muir in    ,ind4 ,antiq4 
vol4 ii4 p4 #bhc4    ,footnote #df3     
,buddha1 sein ,leben1 seine ,lehre1     
seine ,gemeinde1 translated by ,wm4     
,hoey1 #ahhb1 p4 #bib4    ,footnote #dg3

      ,mller1 ,gifford ,lectures1       
,natural ,religion1 p4 #afi4            
,footnote #dh3      ,dr4 ,caird1        
,introduction to the ,philosophy of     
,religion1 p4 #cdc seq4    ,footnote    
#di3      ,sir ,a4 ,mitchell1 ,rhind    
,lectures for #ahgf and #ahgh1 ,the     
,past in the    ,present1 pp4 #bjg1     
#bad2 ,edinburgh1 ,douglas1 #ahhj4      
,footnote #ej3      ,whately1 ,political
 ,economy1 p4 #fh4    ,footnote #ea3    
,max ,mller1 ,gifford ,lectures1        
,natural ,religion1 p4 #ed4    ,footnote
 #eb3      ,the savagery of a great city
 is in some aspects more awful than that
    of ,africa4    ,footnote #ec3       
,t4 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids1 ,hibbert         
,lectures1 p4 #aj4    ,footnote #ed3    
,tylor1 ,primitive ,culture1 vol4 i4 p4 
#chj4    ,footnote #ee3      ,mller1    
,introduction to the ,science of        
,religion1 p4 #da2 ,chips from    a     
,german ,workshop1 vol4 ii4 p4 #bed4    
,footnote #ef3      ,fairbairn1 ,studies
 in ,religion and ,philosophy1 p4 #ac4  

,footnote #eg3      ,baring ,gould1     
,origin and ,development of ,religious  
,belief1 vol4 i4 p4    #aji4            
,footnote #eh3      8,nations10 says    
,professor ,goldwin ,smith1 8redeem each
 other4 ,they    preserve for each other
 principles1 truths1 and hopes1 and     
aspirations    which1 committed to the  
keeping of one1 might become extinct for
 ever4    ,they thus not only raise each
 other again when fallen1 but they      
prevent each other from                 
falling40--,lectures on the ,study of   
,history1    delivered in ,oxford       
#ahei-fa1 p4 #ga4    ,footnote #ei3     
,celsus1 quoting our ,lord's saying1    
,matt4 xix4 #bd1 and the exhortation    
to forgive our enemies1 ,matt4 v4 #dc1  
#de1 alleged they were transferred      
and coarsely perverted from ,plato1 de  
,legibus1 and ,crito4--,origen1         
contra ,celsum1 ,book vi4 chaps4 #ae1   
#af1 and ,book vii4 chap4 #fa4          
,footnote #fj3      ,enarr4 in ,psalm4  
cxl4 #f4 ,clement of ,alexandria        

regarded ,greek    philosophy as a  or  
preparatory discipline for the reception
    of ,christian truth1 ,strom4 vi4    
chap4 #h1 and as a step to something    
higher1      1 ,strom4 vi4    chap4 #ag4
    ,footnote #fa3      ,trench1        
,hulsean ,lectures for #ahdf1 p4 #aec4  
,,lecture ,,ii4      ,,the ,,historical 
,,antecedents ,,of ,,buddhism ,,and     
,,christianity1 ,,and ,,the             
,,evidential ,,value ,,of ,,their       
,,respective ,,scriptures4      ,it     
should be an advantage to the study of  
,buddhism that even in its  origin it   
confronts us as the religion of a people
 sufficiently advanced  in civilisation 
to be able to formulate their           
metaphysical conceptions  and present us
 with their religious beliefs organised 
in a system4 ,like  ,christianity it not
 only inherited but also produced a     
considerable and  very miscellaneous    
literature1 whose contents throw        
valuable light upon  the past from which
 it emerged and upon the course which it

 followed1  and like ,christianity it   
has left its stamp on most of the       
institutions  of the peoples among whom 
it was successfully propagated4 ,when   
all these  sources of information have  
been properly investigated1 we may hope 
that  the story of the rise and progress
 of ,buddhism in the ,east will be      
revealed with something at least of the 
clearness with which the history  of    
,christianity is disclosed by the       
literature and art of the ,west4    ,to 
trace1 however1 the dawn and spread of  
,buddhism with anything like  historical
 accuracy for the first six or seven    
hundred years of its  course1 is a task 
as yet beyond the literary ability of   
the times4 ,it is  doubtful whether the 
materials for such a work have as yet   
been  collected1 and he would be a bold 
man who would claim for the task of     
sifting what has already been furnished 
more than an earnest beginning4  ,not   
even ,saint-,hilaire would now repeat   
the assertion so confidently  made      

thirty years ago1#fb that 8no new       
discoveries can change our  conclusions 
regarding it02 for during the past      
generation the effect of  fuller        
information has been not only to modify1
 but in several instances  to           
revolutionise the theories formed       
concerning it4 ,discoveries are         
multiplying every year2 and1 though the 
knowledge thus acquired serves  often   
more to reveal difficulties than to     
solve them1 we may be thankful  that the
 examination of them is engaging the    
attention of the highest  order of      
scholarship1 and hopeful1 yea1 even     
confident that since so  many of the    
ablest and most patient minds are turned
 in this direction1  the aggregate of   
progress will speedily be immense4      
,all that we know of ,buddhism1 and all 
that we are likely to know of it1  is to
 be gathered from its own ,scriptures2  
and a comparison of these  with the     
,christian ,scriptures reveals at the   
very outset a difference  amounting to a

 vast contrast between them4 ,the       
original ,scriptures of  ,christianity  
have been before the tribunal of the    
world's keenest and  most hostile       
criticism for #ahjj years2 but we are   
only now beginning to  make the         
acquaintance of the ,scriptures of      
,buddhism1 which have hardly  been      
subjected to any cross-questioning      
worthy of the name4 ,those who  have    
ventured to assail have only published  
their inability to  understand them1 and
 those most competent to criticise may  
be pardoned  if they handle tenderly the
 fragments which they are collecting and
  translating for our use4 ,the services
 which they are thus rendering to       
religion as well as to science are very 
great4 ,previously we had only          
anthologies extracted often without     
reference to date or authorship or      
connection to judge from1 but now these 
learned pundits are furnishing  us with 
books containing not only the wisdom and
 beauties of ,eastern  literature1 but  

its follies and blemishes as well4      
,omitting only what is  obscene and     
offensive to the moral sense1#fc they   
are giving us  specimens of several     
strata of ,oriental thought and belief1 
vertically  and thoroughly cut1 from    
which a correct understanding of the    
essential  features of this very        
peculiar religion may with considerable 
probability be ascertained4    ,only a  
portion of the ,buddhist ,scriptures are
 as yet available1 and  these we are    
certainly not at liberty to place side  
by side as of equal  evidential value   
with the contents of the ,new           
,testament4 ,it is said that  two       
thousand manuscripts of the ,new        
,testament1 or of portions of it1  have 
been discovered1 several of which are of
 great antiquity1 and  notwithstanding  
the immense number of various readings  
on points of  detail1 the text of the   
oldest corresponds substantially with   
that of  the books as we have them      
to-day4 ,we are informed1 however1 on   

the best  authority1 that 8all ,indian  
manuscripts are comparatively modern1   
that  no manuscript written one thousand
 years ago is now existent in ,india1   
and that it is almost impossible to find
 one written five hundred years  ago2   
for most manuscripts which claim to be  
of that date are merely  copies of old  
ones1 the dates of which are repeated by
 the  copyists40#fd ,it is admitted1    
moreover1 that the literary honesty of  
these ,indian translators and copyists  
is very questionable1 that the  books of
 the ,buddhists have undergone wholesale
 textual alterations1  that none of the 
,sanskrit works as yet known to us are  
unadulterated  specimens of transmitted 
doctrines1 that the oldest and most     
reliable  authorities for the life of   
,buddha exaggerate greatly events which 
are  said to have happened1 and ascribe 
to him long discourses of which the     
writers themselves were the             
composers4#fe ,in respect1 therefore1 of
  literary accuracy and faithfulness of 

purpose1 these old compilers and        
re-editors of the ,buddhist books are   
far below the standard which  criticism 
has inexorably applied to the           
versionists of the ,christian           
,scriptures4    ,the faithfulness of our
 ,english versions is vouched for by the
 names of  the translators1 and yet they
 admit that their translations are only 
approximations4#ff ,from the very nature
 of the case they must be so4  ,the     
,east is very far distant from the      
,west2 its ways are not our ways2  its  
thoughts are not our thoughts4 ,some one
 has said that 8the ,iliad  is separated
 from the ,rig ,veda by an interval of  
several  civilisations02 and if so1 how 
vast must be the gulf separating ,vedic 
and even ,buddhist metaphysicians from  
the ,british philosopher of to-day6  ,it
 is simply impossible for the most      
impartial translator to put himself  in 
the place of the ancient ,indian sage1  
and to prevent his own  preconceptions  
from insinuating themselves among the   

data with which he  has to deal4 ,he has
 to express1 as we have been reminded1  
8a lower order  of ideas in a higher    
order of terms1 and use words suggesting
 a wealth  of analysis and association  
quite foreign to the thought to be      
reproduced4 ,translation from a lower to
 a higher language is thus a  process of
 elevation40#fg ,in reading these       
translations and the books  founded upon
 them1 we have constantly to guard      
against giving to such  terms as 8sin10 
8lust10 8salvation10 8law10 8church10   
and many others1  our ,christian        
conceptions of them4 ,we are often      
perplexed whether the  phrases employed1
 and even the very titles of the        
treatises1 be really  the equivalents of
 the ancient texts and titles1 or       
nineteenth century  conceptions of what 
they may be made to mean4 ,a ,european  
scholar  inheriting the results of ages 
of ,christian culture may be more likely
  to interpret the reach of an old      
,buddhist expression than the monk who  

first used it2 but he is always in      
danger of confounding that reach with   
his own firm grasp of truth1 and of     
expressing his conceptions by           
phraseology which1 if it could be       
explained to the ancient1 would be      
rejected by him as inconsistent with his
 original meaning4    ,another strong   
contrast between the two sets of        
scriptures emerges when  we attempt to  
fix the dates at which the earliest     
,buddhist works were  produced4 ,the    
,new ,testament is admitted by          
authorities who cannot be  accused of   
prejudice in favour of ,christianity and
 even by antichristian  critics1 to     
contain the actual writings of some of  
the original  disciples of ,jesus4 ,the 
very latest of the books which compose  
it was in  circulation within a century 
after ,his death1 while the great bulk  
of  them were accepted before half a    
century had passed as the testimonies   
of those who were eye-witnesses of the  
rise of our religion4#fh ,m4  ,renan    

admits that the three ,synoptical       
,gospels are the 8tender  remembrances  
and simple narratives of the first and  
second generations  of ,christians1     
written in substantially their present  
form by the men  whose names they       
bear40#fi ,the epistle of ,st4 ,james   
and several of the  epistles of ,st4    
,paul are almost now unanimously        
accepted as the products  of the first  
generation4 ,mons4 ,e4 ,burnouf         
therefore may safely aver that  8the    
history of ,christian doctrine and      
worship bears the crown over all  others
 in respect that its records are        
complete40#gj ,what of these  records   
are comprised in the ,new ,testament1   
though tried by the severest  of tests1 
continues to-day as they were eighteen  
centuries ago delivered  to the ,church4
 ,though the various readings in the    
mss4 are said to be  counted by         
#bjj1jjj1 hardly one of them can be said
 to affect a  fundamental doctrinal or  
historical statement2 and so outstanding

 and  distinct is their canonical       
character that it requires no external  
authority1 but only comparison with     
them1 to disclose what of early         
,christian literature is to be regarded 
as apocryphal4    ,the evidence on which
 ,orientalists have to rely in fixing   
the date of  the ,buddhist scriptures is
 confessedly such 8that we must not be  
surprised if those who are accustomed to
 test historical and  chronological     
evidence in reference to ,greece and    
,rome declined to be  convinced by      
it40#ga ,for centuries after the death  
of ,buddha his  followers assure us that
 they had no written books constituting 
their  rules of faith and manners4 ,the 
earliest written collection of which in 
their own records we have any historical
 trace is that of ,ceylon1 and  all that
 can be said of it is 8that there is    
nothing improbable0 that  part of it may
 have been reduced to writing about the 
first century  ,b4,c41 but the whole was
 only fixed about #dbj ,a4,d4 ,the      

,nepaulese  collection is said to date  
only from the first ,christian century2 
but it  is not alleged that the whole of
 the works now in it were even then in  
existence4 ,according to their own      
tradition1 they had no written          
biography of ,buddha till about the     
first century of our era1 and no one    
who has examined that narrative or read 
the opinions expressed by  ,orientalists
 as to the date when it was             
produced--opinions so divergent  as to  
indicate a difference of several        
centuries--would ever dream of          
employing it as evidence of what is     
alleged in it to have happened4 ,it  is 
simply impossible1 therefore1 to regard 
the ,buddhist's ,pitakas as if  they    
were of similar authoritative value with
 the ,new ,testament1 for1 in  fact1 in 
respect of canonical worth they do not  
deserve to be ranked  with much of our  
later patristic literature4    ,a very  
high antiquity1 however1 is claimed by  
,buddhists for these  collections4      

,according to the ,dipavanso1 their     
earliest available  chronicle1 dating   
only from the fifth century ,a4,d41 the 
doctrines orally  communicated by       
,buddha to his disciples were by them   
immediately after  his death revised and
 classified under the three divisions of
 ,vinaya1  ,abhidharma1 and ,sutta1 in  
which they have always since then been  
preserved4 ,this collection having      
passed through the crucible of a        
council held at ,vaisali a hundred years
 later1 was fixed as canonical at       
another held in the reign of ,asoka     
about #bdb ,b4,c4 ,it is urged that a   
canon1 to be authoritative1 does not    
require to be written1 and that         
,indians claim for one orally           
transmitted higher authority than for   
one  transcribed4 ,the art of writing   
was probably unknown in ,india in       
,buddha's time1 and so1 thrown back upon
 their resources1 memory was by  the    
,indians cultivated to an extent which  
enabled them to dispense with  methods  

deemed by nearly all other peoples to be
 essential to accuracy4  ,eminent       
,orientalists therefore1 while regarding
 the account of the first  council as   
apocryphal1 are yet inclined to         
admit--from the identity of  the        
threefold division in all the schools   
that have been tested1 from  the        
similarity of the titles of the contents
 of all the various  collections1 and   
especially from the quality of the      
writings  themselves--that the tradition
 recorded in the ,dipavanso is well     
founded1  and that considerable portions
 of the ,vinaya and ,sutta literature   
may  date from a hundred years after the
 death of ,buddha4    ,in assuming so   
much1 however1 these scholars by no     
means believe that  they have found in  
these texts the actual teaching of      
,buddha in an  unadulterated condition4 
,while not thinking it possible to      
impugn the  substantial accuracy of the 
,vinaya texts1 though given in ,pali    
translations of the lost dialect in     

which they were originally preached1    
they tell us that the oldest of the     
,sutta texts are 8not his teachings  nor
 the teachings of his immediate         
disciples1 who could not have spoken  of
 him in the manner in which he is there 
described4 ,they are only  founded on   
his teachings1 and record existing      
beliefs as to the  doctrines which he   
actually taught40#gb ,for 8the          
fundamental and  original doctrines they
 may be accepted as fairly trustworthy  
authorities10 but for the facts of his  
life they are even at the best  very    
questionable guides4 ,nearer to the     
origin of ,buddhism and of the  person  
of its founder we are not likely to get 
than in the book entitled  by its       
translator the ,sutta of the ,great     
,decease2 but he confesses that  even in
 it we are standing on anything but     
solid ground1 and that we are  only able
 to catch a distant and most uncertain  
glimpse of the figure of  the great     
,teacher as he comes out at rare        

intervals from the mist of  legends     
which1 designed to adorn and magnify1   
have in reality diminished  and obscured
 his real personality4    ,for our      
knowledge of ,buddhism1 therefore1 we   
have for centuries only  oral traditions
 to rely upon4 ,of these traditions only
 a portion may be  traced approximately 
to the times of ,buddha1 and of the     
fragments which  can possibly be traced 
not one contains a narrative nor any    
historical  reference to passing events4
 ,on the contrary1 our knowledge of the 
origin of ,christianity is derived not  
from fragments of oral tradition1  but  
from a set of canonical writings1 many  
of them traceable close to  the         
generation that witnessed ,christ's     
death1 in which the story of ,his       
ministry is set in historical relation  
to the age in which ,he appeared1  and  
,his peculiar doctrines are so fixed    
that any addition to them is at  once   
recognised as spurious4 ,between the    
extremes of criticism as to the  period 

covered by the life of ,christ there is 
a difference of only half  a dozen      
years2 but there is a difference in     
,buddhist traditions of more  than a    
thousand years as to the date of        
,buddha's birth1 and even  ,european    
scholars1 after carefully sifting       
traditions and writings1 have  only been
 able approximately to fix dates for his
 death ranging over a  period of #age   
years4#gc    ,for historical accuracy1  
therefore1 the traditions are as        
worthless as  they are for any          
photographic presentation of the various
 persons who  figure in them4 ,in truth 
we have in them neither chronology nor  
biography4 ,events and actors are       
equally indistinct2 we have only a      
background without any perspective1 and 
pasteboard puppets projected  against it
 which might be designated by any name  
whatever4 ,even in  respect of          
transmission of doctrine1 oral tradition
 was found very early  to have failed4  
,the reason given in their chronicles   

for resorting to  writing is confession 
sufficient that they considered that    
method of  preserving the deposit of the
 faith a safer one4#gd ,so divergent had
  the renderings and so corrupt had the 
texts become--8for even the monks  of   
the great council were blamed for       
turning the religion upside down1  for  
distorting the sense and teaching of the
 five ,nikayas1 for casting  aside that 
,sutta and ,vinaya1 and making          
imitations of them changing this  to    
that#ge--that the profoundly wise       
priests1 foreseeing the perdition  of   
the people 7from the perversion of the  
doctrines71 and in order that  the      
religion might endure for ages1 wrote   
the same in books40#gf ,before  this    
time the many schisms which had arisen  
were powerful illustrations  of the     
evils which the 8profoundly wise0       
transcribers deplored1 and of  that     
falling away from the original creed    
which this religion had  already        
suffered for lack of a secured basis of 

faith4#gg    ,for the want of an        
authoritative standard told very        
severely against the  early history of  
,buddhism4 ,its rapid and widespread    
extension was due1  not so much to the  
natural development of its own          
principles as to its  assimilation of   
the external and foreign influences with
 which it came  in contact4 ,its advance
 was the result more of compromise than 
of  conquest4#gh ,it welcomed or        
tolerated1 at least it could not or did 
not  defend itself against the          
introduction of many parasitical germs  
which  were destined to arrest its      
growth and pass into its life4 ,as the  
ivy  covers and adorns the oak only to  
suck away with its million mouths its   
strength1 so the popular beliefs which  
,buddhism incorporated from  without1 as
 well as the defections from the        
original teaching which took  place     
within it1 produced very soon upon it   
alterations so extensive  that its      
founder would have disclaimed or would  

have been really unable  to recognise it
 as his own4    ,no temptation happened 
to ,buddhism1 however1 but such as is   
common to  all the higher religions4 ,as
 far as observation and experience go1  
the  lower types of religion continue   
unchanged2 but those that confront us   
upon a higher level are in a perpetual  
flux1 in which change does not  always  
indicate progress4 ,instead of tracing  
their path by the  superstitions which  
they have outgrown1 their course may be 
indicated by  those which they have     
incorporated4 ,man1 in his exodus of    
faith1 is  always tempted to go back to 
the condition from which he has emerged1
 or  to fall away to the religions by   
which he is surrounded4 ,mosaism and    
,christianity had to pass through this  
trial1 and certainly they did not  pass 
through it unscathed4 ,they suffered    
from the corruption of popular          
superstitions and of ,pagan rites1 all  
of which1 as in the case of  ,buddhism1 
were defended by an appeal to tradition4

 ,just as every  ,buddhist innovator was
 ready with some forgotten saying or    
,sutta alleged  to have been delivered  
by the 8,blessed ,one10 sometimes       
miraculously  preserved through the ages
 till the necessity for the revelation  
arose1  so the ,popes and the ,fathers  
of ,christendom were never at a loss for
  authorities when1 professing to       
develop and define1 they in reality were
  adding to the faith and the worship   
and the claims of the ,church4    ,but  
,christianity from the very earliest    
possessed what ,buddhism for a  long    
period lacked4 ,in its canonical        
writings it conserved not only a  check 
upon this apostasy1 but a security for  
reformation4 ,mechanical  though it     
seems1 there was a providence in the    
early committal to  writing of such     
books as compose our ,bibles4 ,in the   
fact that their  successive disclosures 
of truth were thus registered there is  
more  significance than at first        
appears4 ,it is admitted by all that    

man's  progress depends in no small     
degree on his ability to secure and hand
  down the treasures of his wisdom and  
experience4 ,the art of writing is  thus
 recognised to be one of the most moving
 powers in the world4 ,the  nations that
 have depended upon it for the          
transmission of knowledge  inherited or 
acquired1 have certainly made more      
progress in religion and  civilisation  
than those that have neglected or       
despised it4 ,it is  significant that   
the writers of the ,bible have all      
recognised this  condition of human     
progress1 and that many of them have    
represented  themselves as instructed by
 the ,divine authority1 from whom they  
profess  to have received their         
communications1 to make them permanent  
in popular  language and in plain       
written form4#gi    ,in the history of  
the ,hebrews there is not a single      
recorded instance of  religious         
reformation in which the law and the    
testimony1 or the scrolls  of the       

prophets1 did not play an important     
part4 ,in like manner the ,new          
,testament1 which embodies the ideals   
and perpetuates the standard which  is  
to regulate its course1 not only saved  
,christianity from the perils  which    
threatened its earliest spread1 but has 
often rescued it from the  degradation  
into which it has fallen4 ,canonical    
books may only give1 as  it has been    
said1 8the reflected image of the real  
doctrines of the  founder of a religion1
 an image always blurred and distorted  
by the  medium through which it has to  
pass02#hj but in the case of the ,new   
,testament the ,church has never        
developed1 or thought it possible to    
develop1 a purer reflection4 ,advance as
 it may1 the ,church never can  outgrow 
the ideals of its youth1 and change what
 it pleases1 it never  can improve them4
 ,whenever the ,church assumed supremacy
 over its law1  and whenever tradition  
superseded its testimony1 it yielded to 
the  disintegrating influences of       

heathenism4 ,it was rapidly lapsing into
  polytheism when ,mohammed rose with a 
spurious and mutilated version of  the  
,scriptures to recall it to the witness 
of true ,scriptures to the  unity and   
sovereignty of ,god4 ,later on1 when    
sinking through formalism  into         
superstition and sorcery almost as      
degrading as any ,indian1 ,luther1  by  
the re-discovery of the ,greek          
,testament1 brought about a reformation 
which not only saved ,europe1 but has   
created a new ,western and ,southern    
world4 ,in every revival and every      
advance which has taken place since     
then there may be traced1 directly or   
indirectly1 the regenerative  influences
 of the ,christian originals4 ,on its   
human side the ,christian  ,church will 
always be in danger of losing its pure  
conceptions and noble  aims in grosser  
forms of belief and in lower ambitions2 
but high over  all its degradation      
towers in its early ,scriptures the     
majesty and  spirituality of its ,divine

 authority1 and we have only to look up 
to be  first convicted1 then attracted  
and redeemed4 ,the purest sections of   
the  ,christian ,church1 the surest and 
the first to outgrow all unworthy       
expressions of ,christianity1 are those 
which adhere most closely to the        
original rule of faith and worship4 ,it 
is quite possible that we 8may be  only 
too apt to make a fetich of our sacred  
books02#ha but somehow the  ,christian  
communities that most revere their      
sacred books show that they  are least  
likely to fall into this danger4 ,the   
more we obey the  ,scriptures1 the less 
likely are we to idolise them4 ,the ,new
 ,testament1  so far from attaching any 
mystical or talismanic value to its     
contents1  tells us that the letter     
killeth1 and the spirit alone giveth    
life4 ,it  is otherwise with the        
,buddhist ,tripitaka4 ,its authors claim
 meritorious  efficacy not only for the 
repetition of its sentences1 but for the
 very  sound of its words1 8as if they  

were capable of elevating every one who 
hears them to heavenly abodes in future 
existence40 ,sir ,monier ,williams  has 
illustrated this by a legend long       
current1 not in northern ,buddhist      
countries1 but in ,ceylon1 where a purer
 ,buddhism prevails4 ,according to  it1 
two monks were heard by five hundred    
bats reciting in a cave the law  of     
,buddha1 and they by merely hearing     
gained such merit that in death  they   
were re-born as men1 and ultimately     
through successive re-births  were      
raised to the fellowship of the gods4#hb
 ,of course this is simply  a legend1 a 
thing of hay or straw that has got mixed
 with the purer  primitive faith2 but it
 indicates that the course of the       
current flows  in quite an opposite     
direction from the faith which allows   
itself to be  dominated and guided by   
the canon of ,holy ,scriptures4    ,the 
quality of the contents of the two sets 
of writings is not under  discussion1   
but we cannot help remarking one        

characteristic of the  ,christian       
,scriptures which is not likely to      
emerge in our longest  acquaintance with
 the ,buddhist books4 ,no one ever      
expects that the  genuineness of the    
contents of the ,tripitaka will ever be 
discussed with  anything like the       
intensity and acerbity with which we    
have discussed  the genuineness of the  
books of the ,bible4 ,the long and      
fierce  contendings that have been waged
 over each portion of the ,gospels will 
never take place over any of the        
,suttas4 ,we have been working for five 
centuries to secure a proper ,english   
translation of the ,holy ,bible1 and  we
 are not satisfied with it yet3 does any
 one expect a similar  expenditure of   
labour to secure a proper version of the
 ,tripitaka8 ,it is  possible that      
scholarship will by and by exhaust this 
particular field  of ,oriental research1
 and 8having catalogued its discoveries 
will put  them aside and proceed to more
 interesting studies02 but though men   

have  quarrelled about and questioned   
the ,holy ,scriptures for eighteen      
centuries they are not likely to come to
 a term of their hostility or           
curiosity4 ,the ceaseless endeavour to  
disprove1 refute1 shows that we  cannot 
get rid of them4 ,there must be         
something either in the history of      
their production or the quality of their
 contents1 or the range of their        
influence1 which separates them from all
 sacred books of the type of the        
,buddhist ,tripitaka4 ,certainly we     
cannot conceive it possible that any of 
these so-called ,bibles of other        
religions will ever among any civilised 
people supplant the ,christian ,bible4  
8,one chapter of ,isaiah10 says         
,quinet1#hc 8has more in it than a whole
 ,republic of ,plato40 ,one ,psalm  of  
,david will outweigh all the religious  
lore of the ,vedas4 ,one sentence  of   
,moses1 8,the ,lord our ,god is one     
,lord3 ,i the ,lord am holy10 is worth  
all the speculations of the devout and  

learned authors of the  ,upanishads4    
,not that the ,republic1 the ,vedas1 the
 ,upanishads are to be  despised4 ,on   
the contrary1 the more they are studied 
the more likely is  the ,bible to be    
revered1 for the truth that is in them  
is only prophetic  of truth which could 
not then be revealed and received4 ,we  
may outlive  and outgrow the teaching of
 these wise ancients1 but we have not   
yet  transcended the originals of       
,christianity1 and it is not at all     
likely  that we ever shall4 ,there is an
 end to the perfection of all other     
systems1 but here is 8a commandment     
exceeding broad10 8whose line has  gone 
through all the earth1 and its word to  
the end of the world40    ,from this    
slight notice of the literature which   
,buddhism has produced  let us proceed  
to glance at the literature which it    
inherited1 with the  view of catching a 
glimpse of the conditions out of which  
it arose4 ,as  with man's language1 so  
is it with his other distinctive        

birthright3 we  can only understand a   
religion when we have ascertained its   
antecedents4  ,christianity emerged from
 a previous religion of which it        
professed to  be the complement4 ,our   
,lord appeared among a people whose     
spiritual  history extended over several
 thousand years4 ,they had a sacred     
canon1  professing to register the      
successive ,divine revelations made to  
their  ancestors1 which was fixed as we 
have it now at least two1 and perhaps   
more1 centuries before ,he came4        
,instead of breaking with the past ,he  
acknowledged and appropriated it2       
instead of abrogating their law1 ,he    
fulfilled it2 instead of disowning their
 prophets ,he claimed them as ,his      
witnesses4 ,in prosecuting ,his mission 
,he brought upon ,himself the fierce    
antagonism of the existing ,church1     
whose leaders in less than three  years 
succeeded in having ,him crucified2 but 
,his constant appeal was to  their      
ever-venerated ,scriptures4 ,his        

apostles again record and expound  the  
incidents of ,his ministry and ,his     
death as realising the  pre-intimations 
of their ancient rites1 and as          
fulfilling all their  prophecies2 and   
all along faith in the ,divine origin of
 ,christianity is  never supposed to be 
weakened but to be greatly confirmed by 
an appeal  to the religion which it     
annulled and supplanted4    ,now        
,buddhism grew out of ,brahmanism1 but  
however divergent their  relations      
eventually became1 it was originally    
accepted as a natural  consequence of   
it4 ,unlike ,christianity and ,judaism1 
there was for long  no trace of serious 
antagonism between the ,brahmans and    
many generations  of the successors of  
,buddha4 ,brahmans formed a considerable
 portion of  his followers1 and in      
regard to his teaching1 his doctrines1  
where not  identical1 were not likely to
 offend them4 ,st4 ,paul scandalised the
  ,pharisees by preaching that outward  
,jewish connection marked by the seal   

of circumcision profited nothing1 but   
long before ,buddha's time ,brahman     
teachers had declared1 as he did1 to    
that most exclusive of the ,indian      
elect1 that the true ,brahman was not a 
person born within the sacred  caste1   
but only the thoughtful and             
self-controlled man3#hd that a bad  mind
 and wicked deeds are what defile a man1
 and that no outward  observances can   
purify him4#he ,buddha has been         
designated as the best  and wisest and  
greatest of ,hindus2 8a reformer of     
,hinduism who ignored  its superstitions
 and follies1 and sought to elevate and 
refine its  dogmas40#hf ,it is now      
considered very questionable whether the
  difference between the two systems    
ever grew into hostility involving      
persecution of the new religion by the  
old4 ,the two streams of ,hindu  belief 
seem for long in their course in ,india 
to have flowed peaceably  side by side1 
and if ,buddhism eventually disappeared 
from ,india as a  separate and distinct 

system1 it was not altogether because it
 was  crushed by persecution1 but       
because it returned to enrich and modify
 the  religion from which it originally 
parted4#hg    ,buddhism was thus an     
offspring of ,brahmanism1 but           
,brahmanism was itself  the product of a
 religion older still4 ,behind ,buddhism
 lies a great and  undefined past1 a    
past with no history in the proper sense
 of the word1  and absolutely without   
chronology2 but out of this vast and    
nebulous era  there has been extracted a
 rich traditional literature1 and       
,oriental  scholars working on          
principles similar to those by which    
geologic  periods are determined1#hh are
 endeavouring by an examination of the  
various civilisations reflected in that 
literature to establish the  leading    
stages in the growth of prehistoric     
,indian thought4 ,the sacred  books of  
,india disclose sufficiently in outline 
the social and religious  progress of   
the people from a period of great       

antiquity4 ,no one can tell  when the   
oldest fragments of them were originally
 composed1 but some of  them are said to
 have been in circulation among the     
,aryans when one  immigrant contingent  
of them had arrived at the confluence of
 ,jumna with  the ,ganges1#hi and if so1
 they image for us the life and beliefs 
of a  people who must have been         
contemporaries with ,moses some fifteen 
centuries at latest before the coming of
 ,christ4    ,it is now asserted that   
this ,aryan immigration had been        
preceded from  the same quarter by an   
earlier one1 in a past so very remote   
that the  ,indians had lost completely  
the memory of it1 and that by the time  
this  second wave had reached the       
north-west ,gangetic tracts1 the first  
had  pushed its way as far east as the  
delta1 where first vanquishing it       
finally amalgamated with the aboriginal 
tribes4 ,it is supposed that from  out  
of this earliest section arose the      
natural ancestors of ,buddha1  while in 

the second and intellectually superior  
section we must look for  the religious 
teachers from whom his spiritual lineage
 is to be  traced4#ij ,for with them    
were introduced the ,vedas1 revealing   
the  earliest forms of civilisation and 
religion in that great section of the   
human family to which we ourselves      
belong4 ,we see pictured in the         
,rig-,veda a people who1 in complexion1 
manner1 and rites1 were at first  as    
distinct from the native ,indian races  
as were the ,israelites from  those of  
,canaan4 ,patriarchal in their          
institutions1 pastoral or  agricultural 
in their pursuits1 they confront us as a
 primitive but  certainly not a         
barbarous folk4 ,nurtured by the        
invigorating climate and  magnificent   
scenery of an ancestral home 8on the    
very roof of the  world10 they had      
reached a social condition in which1 in 
a language  fitly called 8polished10 or 
8carefully made0 7,sanskrita71 they were
 as  fitly called 8,aryan0 or 8noble40  

,they practised the arts of ,jabal and  
,jubal1 venerated their sages and poets1
 and called their wives and  daughters  
by names of beauty and grace like that  
of ,naamah4 ,their  religion1 though    
polytheistic1 was not inspired by dread 
of evil spirits  or awe of ancestral    
shades1 but by wonder of the world      
around them and  their own awakening    
instincts4 ,man in these ancient        
fragments1 as in the  first pages of our
 ,bible1 is evidently a creature        
transcending the  savage1 and made in a 
diviner image than the type from which  
it is  maintained he must have sprung4  
,instead of consorting with or          
worshipping the animals1 he exercises   
dominion over them2 he questions        
himself and the heavens and the earth   
concerning their origin and  author1 and
 with some divine authentic instinct    
which he has never lost1  he seems to be
 growing into the feeling that not only 
the trinity of  supernatural powers     
which he worshipped1 but his very self1 

are the  children of some primordial and
 eternal ,dyaus1 the father of all4     
,while the earliest light that falls    
upon our ancestors reveals them as a    
religious people1 whose worship1 simple 
and rudimentary as it was1  indicated a 
sense of inferiority1 and also1 as one  
who ought to know  informs us1 8some    
sense of flaw in the relationship1 some 
concept of sin  and guilt10#ia to the   
deities worshipped1 it is to be noted   
that gods  and men were felt to be too  
much akin to allow of spiritual         
aspiration1  or of high moral           
significance in man's religious acts4   
,the ethical or  rather spiritual       
elements so vital to the ,biblical      
conceptions of  religion may not be     
quite foreign to the earliest ,veda1 but
 they are  scantily1 if at all1         
represented in it4 ,no prayer can be    
said to have  ever been directed to     
obtain forgiveness1 or growth in        
goodness1 in the  ,bible sense4 ,the    
sinner was for the most part only a     

defaulter in  respect of offerings1 and 
his guilt was that of a person who      
refused to  render homage4 ,that the    
gods might be able to watch over and    
enrich  mankind1 they had to be fed and 
sustained4 ,the worshipper was thus in a
  certain degree necessary to the       
worshipped4 ,the sense of submissive    
gratitude to the ,deity which meets us  
in the earliest fragments of the  ,bible
 is not expressed1 for religion was     
conceived of as a kind of  exchange in  
which men purchased a right to divine   
help by service  rendered1 and 8each man
 satisfied his higher instinct according
 to his  own conception of the character
 of the being on whose favour his       
welfare  was thought to depend40#ib     
,centuries later1 in another strata of  
sacred literature1 composed in  prose1  
dogmatic and liturgic in character1 and 
designated ,brahmanas1#ic  we behold the
 same branch of the ,aryan family in a  
further stage of  their history4 ,their 
patriarchal age has vanished1 and their 

heroic  seems passing into the          
aristocratic and hierarchic4 ,caste has 
appeared  as the invariable attendant   
upon conquest1 when the victor is       
separated  from the vanquished by       
language1 complexion1 and religion4 ,it 
is not so  much caste1 however1 in the  
ordinary sense of the word1 as class1   
sternly prohibiting marriage not only   
with the aboriginal tribes1 but  between
 persons of unequal rank1 and           
anticipating the organisation of        
,european society in the middle ages4   
,in the nobles1 who were subordinate    
only to the ,church1 the burghers or    
merchants socially distinct from and    
inferior to the nobles1 and in the      
villeins or serfs of the conquered      
territories1 we have an exact parallel  
to the old ,indian system1 in  which    
,sudra1 ,vaisya1 ,kshatrya1 all formed  
steps in a social pyramid1 on  the top  
of which the ,brahman was throned4#id   
,thus early in the history of the       
,indian people emerged that sacerdotal  

institution which was to exercise so    
powerful and eventually so sinister  an 
influence upon their religious progress4
 ,in ,vedic times the father of  the    
family and the rajah of the clan were   
the celebrants of the  religious rites1 
but as life became more complicated     
ceremonies became  more laborious1 and  
men who had preserved the knowledge of  
the old  hymns1 and the religious       
formularies which had died out from the 
common  people1 gradually took the      
rajah's place4 ,as thought widened1 men 
refused to be satisfied with guardian   
deities that could be fed with  rice and
 butter4 ,the sense of human law        
reflected itself in the  conception of  
divine rulers governing men1 and        
penalties inflicted by  man for         
wrong-doing suggested expiation for the 
infringed laws of deity4  ,this idea of 
sacrifice1 of which there is said to be 
no trace in the  flesh feasts of earlier
 times1 becomes prominent in the        
offerings of the  period4 8,the shedding

 of blood1 the burning of a limb of the 
victim in  the fire1 by some at least   
was believed to atone for transgression1
 and  it is probable that at one time   
the religious instinct expressed itself 
in human sacrifice4#ie0 ,in any case1   
the development of the idea of the      
great efficacy of sacrifice as a means  
of compelling the gods to do the  will  
of the worshipper--yea1 of elevating the
 worshipper to their  privileges and    
rank1--must soon have had the effect of 
making a  priesthood1 at first only     
helpful1 to be necessary as the sole    
agents  between man and deity4 ,by      
preserving the memory of what had faded 
from  the vulgar1 by transmitting to    
their families a lore which became the  
more sacred the more it was forgotten1  
the professional liturgists or          
sacrificers1 at first satirised by the  
poets as was the ,romish friar by  the  
minstrel in the middle ages1            
imperceptibly grew into an order whose  
privileges were more exclusive and whose

 pretensions were higher than  were ever
 asserted in ,israel by the descendants 
of ,aaron4 ,among the  ,hebrews the     
priesthood was never allowed to gain    
complete ascendency4  ,its              
representatives were subordinated to the
 king1 who was the fountain  of all law1
 and they were kept in check by the     
prophets as the ministers  of ,divine   
revelation2 but the ,brahmans came to be
 regarded as not only  the guardians of 
religion1 but the teachers of all       
knowledge and the  source of all        
authority4 ,they owned no superior1 were
 subject to no law  in the state3 each  
one was a pope in himself1 more         
independent of the  crown and the       
commonwealth than a ,christian pope ever
 pretended to be1  and had a faith in   
his personal infallibility which no     
,christian pope  affected to have4 ,in  
,india there resulted from the          
ascendency all the  evils that were     
manifested in ,judaism and in ,latin    
,christianity2 and in  ,india far worse 

results were produced4 ,for1 left to    
themselves as  superior beings apart    
from the actual world1 who never could  
err1 they  gave their minds that licence
 which too often in the history of      
thought  has been confounded with       
liberty1 and1 as always happens when    
self-restraint is disregarded1 the      
result in this instance was the         
production1 not of a system of          
philosophy1 but a crude conglomerate of 
incongruous phantasies more resembling a
 chaos than a cosmos4#if    ,let us not 
suppose that the ,brahmans were         
originally1 or even  eventually1 the    
vain and greedy and self-seeking bigots 
which the name  unfortunately suggests  
to a ,european4 ,they gained the        
ascendency because  they cultivated the 
power to rise2 they represent what many 
are inclined  to revere as the ideal    
aristocracy1 that of ,intellect4 ,they  
were not  ignorant priests1 but learned 
philosophers1 from whom sprung again and
  again the reformers who headed the    

revolt from an overdone ritual1 and     
from a faith which expressed itself     
wholly in metaphysical speculations4    
,by them were excogitated the           
,upanishads and the laws of ,manu1 two  
of the  most wonderful literary         
productions of mankind4 ,from there too 
came the  great epic poems of the       
,rmyana and the ,mahbhrata1 poems in    
some  respects equal to the ,homeric1   
and in cleverness of purpose1 which is  
said to be that of arresting the        
progress of ,buddhism1 equalling        
anything which the ,society of ,jesus   
ever produced to counteract the         
,reformation4 ,in its complexity and    
adaptability and many-sidedness         
,brahmanism is unrivalled by any human  
system1 and the men who first gave  it  
expression and directed its earliest    
movements must rank among the  most     
original and daring of thinkers4    ,but
 they were ,indians living in the period
 beginning about the tenth  century     
,b4,c41 in a land as completely cut off 

from the rest of the world  as they were
 severed from the practical life of     
their countrymen4 ,they  had the same   
earnest and inquisitive mind which their
 westward-moving  kinsmen had inherited 
with them from their trans-,himalayan   
ancestors1  but in them it had to work  
out its advances in more adverse        
conditions4  ,the tribes that went      
westward marched along the uplands1 in  
zones of  climate and through scenery   
and conditions stimulating effort1 both 
mental and physical4 ,consequently they 
went on improving their beliefs1  till  
they apprehended the truth which lies at
 the base of all true  systems of faith1
 the immortality of the soul1 and       
developed a  philosophy which represents
 man's most successful attempt to grasp 
that  divine unity after which man in   
his polytheism is ever feeling4 ,it was 
otherwise with the branch that went     
southwards4 ,they had to live under     
physical conditions not conducive to    
energy1 under burning skies which       

repressed1 and on soils which rendered  
industry unnecessary4 ,as they  gained  
ascendency over the aborigines the vices
 of the vanquished race  told fatally   
upon them4 ,their sensual worship1      
customs like polygamy and  sutteeism1   
ascetic practices and sorcerous rites1  
took possession of  them2 and1 most     
marked of all1 a belief very widely     
spread among the  lower tribes of       
mankind so terribly bewitched them that 
to this day the  ,indian mind has never 
been able to break away from its        
fascination4    ,this belief in         
transmigration1 with the pessimism which
 is its  inevitable concomitant1 was    
wholly absent from their ancient ,vedic 
faith4 ,at intervals from the times of  
,pythagoras it has infected the         
religion and philosophy of the ,western 
,aryans1 but never to any extent  or    
with any serious result4 ,its true      
habitat and breeding-place1 like  that  
of the cholera1 is among the degraded   
and broken-down populations  of the     

,east4 ,it was communicated from the    
native ,indian races to the  ,hindus1   
who unfortunately were prepared to      
receive it through the  depressing and  
degenerating influences of tropical life
 on a  northern-born family4 ,anyway1   
while their more fortunate brethren were
  eagerly groping after1 in their       
westward progress1 the truth of         
immortality1 and thirsting for more life
 and fuller1 they in their fat          
,gangetic plains1 wearied of life as    
something not worth having1 yet         
dreading death because it was appointed 
unto man not once but many times  to    
die1 were seeking some way of           
deliverance from this inherited curse4  
,and the ,brahmans professed to point to
 it4 ,their earliest popular  conception
 of deliverance was simply that of      
re-birth in a happier  world1 perchance 
secured by sacrificial rites and        
religious acts1 but  such a conception  
could not long satisfy1 and eventually  
it gave way in  the higher class of     

minds to nobler views4 ,in ,india1 as   
elsewhere1 men  soon became conscious of
 the more solid security of merit       
procured by a  life of justice and      
mercy4 ,man's future was in his own and 
not in the  hands of a priest3 its      
happiness or misery would be no         
accident1 but the  sure result of good  
or evil done here and now4 ,therefore   
the wise man  endeavoured laboriously   
and continuously to collect merit by    
good deeds1  8as the white ant builds   
her house1 for with these as his guide  
he could  hope to traverse a gloom hard 
to be crossed40    ,but by and by even  
this belief ceased to satisfy them1 for 
how could man  hope to liberate himself 
from the bondage of endless change as   
long as1  seeking only a happier        
existence1 he was content to be a       
citizen of the  changeable8 ,let him    
seek reunion with ,brahma1 of which he  
is an  emanation4 ,so here again1 while 
the ,westerns were finding the path     
which  would lead them from polytheism  

to theism1 and were growing into nobler 
conceptions of what the individual self 
should be1 the speculative  ascetics of 
the ,east1 in a life of meditation far  
apart1 were trying to  subside rather   
than rise into ,brahma the ,absolute as 
a river reunites  with the ocean4 ,in   
their earlier ,brahmanas their fathers  
knew nothing of  ,brahma as deity1 and  
at no time did ,brahma mean to the      
,indian what deity  meant to the        
,western ,aryan4 ,polytheism in ,india  
never became theism in  the old ,greek  
sense1 nor even ,pantheism in our       
nineteenth-century sense4  ,the         
mysterious all-pervading ,presence was  
indeed early detected by the  ,indians  
as the 8,breath0 of all things1 but the 
name employed by them to  distinguish it
 signified only the universal self4 ,in 
no sense was it the  conscious author1  
but only the irrepressible source of    
things because  reflected upon by       
illusion4 ,brahma ,atman was neither the
 infinitely  intelligent nor the        

perfectly blessed1 in our sense of the  
word4 ,it was  simply thought without   
cognition1 beatitude without            
consciousness4 8,the  ,hindu never      
thinks of asserting that ,brahma knows  
or even has  consciousness1 but always  
that ,brahma is knowledge40 8,it is     
simply  impersonal being1 absolute unity
 contrasted with disruption1 from which 
existence1 as an emanation wholly and   
only evil1 because originating in  a    
mistake1 must move through endless      
cycles of change1 until the way of      
escape be discovered and followed by    
which the erratic spark may be  absorbed
 in the central fire40#ig    ,such a    
speculation was manifestly an advance   
upon ,vedic materialism1  which sought  
to bring down the gods to the side of   
man as useful  guardians1 and upon early
 ,brahmanism which sought by sacrifice  
to force  them to do man's will1 and by 
and by to elevate man to their level4   
,in  endeavouring1 however1 to abstract 
its disciples from the superstitions  of

 the priests1 it tampered with the      
foundations of religion4 ,it never      
attempted to propitiate the gods--for1  
even if superior to man1 they were  as  
much involved in the labyrinth of       
transmigration as he was  himself1--but 
it professed in a universe of illusion  
to have discovered  the only real4 ,it  
dared to name the ,absolute2 so1        
withdrawing from the  world1 it         
practiced austerities for the sake of   
illumination1 gave  itself up to        
meditation to reduce the personal self  
to an abstraction1  and endeavoured thus
 to escape from the necessity of        
existence in time  and space into       
8passionless1 characterless being40     
,all this is expounded in the           
,upanishads1 the special scriptures of  
philosophical ,brahmanism4#ih ,though   
translated by ,professor ,max ,mller1   
and lucidly interpreted by ,professor   
,gough1 readers of ordinary             
philosophical culture find them very    
hard to understand1 and in spite of  the

 high commendation of them by ,rammohun 
,roy and ,schopenhauer1 they  will be   
inclined to question whether these      
8beginnings of thought10  8conceptions  
hardly formed10 though essential to a   
proper knowledge of  ,indian philosophy1
 8should be ranked among the outstanding
 productions  of the human mind40#ii    
,throughout their long and most tedious 
verbiage1  however1 one dominant idea is
 ever discoverable--that the chief end  
of  the wise man is to know1 not the    
forms of things1 but the great self of  
all things1 and seek his deliverance not
 by practice of religion but by  pursuit
 of ,gnosis4#ajj ,religion would indeed 
secure rewards1 but they  would only be 
transient2 religion might regulate and  
modify the course  of migration1 but    
only ,gnosis could break its adamantine 
chain4 8,the  vision of ,atman is the   
only deliverance1 for by it all ties are
  loosened02 8the vision of the self is 
the light of the world1 to which  only  
the purest minds attain40 ,to reach it  

not only the bonds of desire  must be   
broken1 but of ignorance too4 8,for     
,atman is highly exalted above  all     
reverence and effort1 above holiness and
 unholiness40 8,it1 the  uncreated1 is  
beyond all good and evil10 and upon     
rewards and  punishments1 upon both good
 and evil1 the sage must turn his back1 
for  he alone who knows the ,universal  
is free1 from ,karman and from ,kma     
7action and desire7 which hold captive  
the self in the net of the              
impermanent4#aja    ,this is said to be 
the last outcome of ,brahmanic belief1  
and 8indeed the  highest point reached  
by ,indian philosophy40#ajb ,manifestly1
 it can  never be designated a gospel4  
,it was a deliverance impossible for the
  many1 and possible only for the few2 a
 promise not to the suffering  millions1
 but to the mystic and the sage1 and to 
them it came not with  the hope of a    
nobler character to be attained1 and of 
a purer1 higher  life to be reached1 but
 only with that of a dreamless          

repose--8the sleep  eternal in an       
eternal night0--when the soul ceases to 
be soul1 merged  8like the weariest     
river0 in a shoreless and waveless sea4 
,and this was  the system in which the  
wisest and saintliest in ,buddha's days 
were  nurtured4 ,he was no ,brahman by  
caste1 but as pure ,kshatrya he would be
  instructed in his youth by ,brahmans1 
and in early manhood he for long        
consorted with them4 ,he had mental     
capacity1 and spiritual energy1 more    
than adequate to the task of            
comprehending as fully as they did their
  very abstruse theosophies4 ,from their
 speculation he derived much of his     
terminology1 like ,karma and ,nirvana2  
and even ,buddha1 words which1 till     
recently1 it was considered he had to   
coin4 ,many doctrines which were  once  
regarded as peculiarly his own were     
taught in their jungle schools  by      
learned ,brahmans centuries before he   
was born4 ,without the ,brahmans  he    
could not have been produced1 and yet   

his system will be found to be  original
 and distinct4 ,they furnished the      
phraseology in which he  expressed      
himself1 the methods by which he        
wrought1 the institutions  like that of 
the wandering ,bikkhu1 by which his     
system was spread2 but  in essentials we
 will find that his teaching was not    
only different from  but antagonistic to
 theirs1 and that1 had the principles   
which he  enunciated been truly accepted
 and consistently carried out1 this     
noblest of the ,reformers of ,hinduism  
would have reformed it out of           
existence4    ,during this              
pre-,buddhistic era1 much longer1       
perhaps1 than is generally  supposed1   
another process of development was going
 on among one section  of the ,semitic  
stock1 in a small handbreadth of a land 
on the eastern  shore of the            
,mediterranean4 ,the several stages of  
that development have  also been        
unconsciously recorded in a literature  
so peculiar in its  motive1 and method1 

and character1 as to separate it from   
the national  literatures of all the    
world4 ,it is not that it claims to be  
inspired1  for the same claim is        
advanced by the ,indian1 and indeed by  
or for every  collection of religious   
writings extant2 but while in the       
literature of  ,india we see represented
 the struggles of man to reach the      
,deity1 that  of ,palestine professes to
 represent the endeavour of ,deity to   
reach and  to communicate with men4     
,intensely patriotic as a people1 the   
sacred  literature of the ,hebrews is   
essentially religious4 ,their historians
 are  not permitted to record1 and the  
poets are not allowed to sing their own 
national achievements1 but only the     
mighty works and the praises of         
,jehovah their ,god4 ,the shame of their
 many defeats1 and of their final       
destruction1 is ascribed always to their
 own sin1 but any national  success or  
prosperity is due to the ,divine favour4
 ,alike through all  their victories and

 disasters1 an ,almighty ,hand is       
acknowledged to be  shaping their       
destiny1 and to be working out a purpose
 which1 often  entirely hidden1 and at  
best only very imperfectly understood by
 them1  is seen toward the close of     
their sad and eventful history1 to      
comprehend the larger destinies of      
mankind in a salvation of ,god which    
8all the ends of the earth0 were to see4
    ,the relative antiquity of the      
,hebrew and ,indian scriptures is not a 
matter which we are called upon to      
discuss4 ,it is possible that some      
hymns in the ,rig-,veda may be older    
than anything which we possess in the   
,bible1 but it is almost absolutely     
certain that most of the books of the   
,hebrew ,bible were in circulation as   
scriptures1 and that the whole of it    
was in the shape in which we have it    
now1 before any ancient ,indian  sacred 
book was reduced to writing4 ,the       
,pentateuch1 in the form in which  we   
have it now1 is probably not the most   

ancient of the ,hebrew writings4  ,it   
appears to be a very composite          
production1 containing works of         
different authors1 written originally at
 different places and at  different     
times4 ,the most destructive criticism1 
however1 admits that it  embodies very  
ancient traditions--many of them not    
peculiar to the  ,hebrews1--which were  
open to a succession of very talented   
narrators4  ,these traditions may       
indicate their derivation from a once   
common  ancestral home1 or acquirement  
by later contact with foreign nations1  
but they are in nowise incorporations2  
for in the ,hebrew books they are  not  
only presented in forms far more        
refined1 but they are employed to       
suggest or to unfold a spiritual        
teaching quite beyond the capacity of   
the peoples among whom it is alleged    
they originated4 ,no one denies that  we
 have in the ,pentateuch writings as old
 as the time of ,moses1 and  probably   
fragments of writings much older still4 

,ewald#ajc ascribes an  important       
portion of it to the times of the later 
judges1 another still  more important   
section to a priest of ,solomon's reign1
 and the ,book of  ,deuteronomy to the  
time of ,hezekiah4 ,even if we are      
compelled to accept  later dates than   
these1 it follows that they are older   
than any  ,upanishad1 or even any of the
 ,brahmanas4 ,there was a ,law1 a ,book 
of the  ,covenant1 a ,book of ,origins1 
in currency probably before the authors 
of  any of the ,brahmanas was born2 and 
even if we are to regard the contents   
of these works as only traditional1 we  
may surely assume that the ,hebrew      
traditions are as credible as the       
,indian4 ,it is quite true 8that        
religion exists long before it is       
expressed in a canon1 and that law  runs
 and rules long before it is written in 
a code10#ajd but in regard  to accuracy 
neither suffers from being so definitely
 registered4  ,hitherto the maxim       
affecting such matters has been1 and for

 a long time  henceforth we may be      
certain it will be1 not litera locuta1  
but  litera scripta manet4    ,again1 we
 are not called upon to maintain in this
 lecture the  chronological exactness or
 the historical faithfulness of the     
sacred  annals of ,israel2 all that is  
asserted is that in them we have as     
faithful a mirror of the ages which they
 profess to reflect as we have  in the  
,indian4 ,the characters in the scenes  
which they produce are  neither puppets 
nor shadows1 but very living and        
substantial realities4  ,the personages 
at least are men whose idiosyncrasies   
are sharply but  naturally defined1 and 
whose speech1 and manners1 and conduct1 
and  beliefs1 accord wonderfully well   
with the places and the periods in      
which they meet us4 ,we have to examine 
the ,hebrew annals however1 not to      
verify the details of ancient           
transactions which they record1 but     
simply  to ascertain the beliefs which  
they contain and illustrate4 ,the truth 

or  the error of these beliefs we need  
not discuss1 for the beliefs  themselves
 are facts of great importance1 and so  
are the consequences  that flowed from  
them2 and when we compare these beliefs 
with those  which we have been          
considering1 we will find a development 
parallel  indeed1 but of an entirely    
different class of ideas or religious   
thoughts4    ,in the ,rig-,veda we have 
reflected the immigration of a higher   
race into  what has been called the     
,holy ,land of ,india4 ,the ,rig-,veda  
dates from  about the times of the      
,exodus or the invasion of the ,holy    
,land of  ,palestine4 ,the ,hebrew      
traditions1 like the ,indian1 tell of an
 earlier  immigration of their fathers  
into the same ,palestine some five      
centuries  previous4 ,when we examine   
the narratives in which this earlier    
immigration is recorded1 we find the    
patriarchs moving along among  similar  
conditions1 but representing a much     
higher level of religious  thought than 

the ,aryans when they reached the       
,ganges4 ,though everywhere  living     
among nature-worshippers1 and though    
showing the taint of that  worship in   
their own conduct1 their religion is    
neither that of  physiolatry nor        
idolatry4#aje ,abraham was not a        
polytheist2 he came out  of ,ur of the  
,chaldees--whether that be a designation
 of a geographical  region or a         
description of a religious state--not as
 one who trembled  before the forces of 
,nature1 afraid to inquire what they    
meant or whence  they came2 not as one  
who had discovered behind them the      
,infinite ,self1  out of which1 because 
of ignorance or illusion1 he and they   
had  emanated1 but as a man who believed
 in a ,personal ,deity who had created  
and continued to control them1 and who1 
though ,el-,elion and ,shaddai1 yet     
watched over and communicated with      
,abraham as his best of friends4 ,we    
need not ascribe to the patriarch an    
intelligence which he did not  possess4 

,god may have been in his thought too   
much the almighty  ,protector of himself
 and of his descendants--for in that age
 the family  of the chief would be      
all-important1 and the idea even of the 
nation had  not yet germinated1--but    
that he apprehended ,god under a        
strictly moral  aspect is vouched for by
 his life1 as the founder of a new epoch
 to  which his latest descendant looked 
back with thankfulness4#ajf ,we may  not
 be able to prove that ,abraham's       
conception of ,deity was monotheistic   
in our conception of the word4 ,it      
lacked the sublimity of ,isaiah's       
conception and the definiteness of that 
of ,moses4 ,there was naturally a  great
 deal of darkness clinging about it1 but
 his ideas of duty and  religion and    
worship were far higher than entered the
 thoughts of a  ,vedic or ,brahmanic    
sage4 ,the rite of ,blood ,covenant1    
universal in the  ,semitic tribes1 he   
felt divinely impelled to offer         
,godward2 and the same  impulse is said 

to have led him to offer in proof of his
 allegiance to  his unseen and almighty 
,friend the sacrifice of his only son4  
,but there  was unmistakably imparted by
 ,abraham to the ancient rite of        
circumcision  a far higher and more     
spiritual idea1 and it is noteworthy    
that while  the spiritual part of his   
awful sacrifice was accepted1 the       
slaying of  the son was rejected1 with  
the effect of stamping1 in the very     
morning  of ,hebrew history1 the ,divine
 abhorrence upon that form of           
propitiation  to which the unrestrained 
instinct of man has everywhere been     
prone4 ,his  worship1 his sacrifice1 his
 whole service1 instead of being        
regarded as  a means of making ,deity   
serviceable to man1 or of raising man to
 the  comfortable condition of ,deity1  
meant the surrender of the heart and of 
the whole life to ,his will1 not as only
 mightier1 but juster and more  merciful
 than he was himself1 and therefore     
perfectly worthy of trust  and love4    

,and so it is plain that whether the    
patriarchs represent a  race fallen     
because of sin1 from purer knowledge and
 more intimate  communion with ,god1 or 
one providentially educated from the    
very lowest  animalism1 they indicate a 
religious stage to which the greatest   
things  became possible4 ,they are      
stammering at least the glorious ,name1 
comprised in three letters1 whose       
significance millennial ages of study   
can never exhaust4 ,they believe in     
,god1 who1 behind and beyond ,nature1   
and greater than it1 is revealing       
,himself as one infinitely worthy of    
their allegiance and adoration1 and     
their faith becomes righteousness4      
,when we reach the ,mosaic period we    
find that though clouds and darkness    
are round the throne of the ,eternal1   
the light that streams from it into  the
 minds of men reveals1 just more        
clearly1 the same one living and  true  
,god4 ,according to the ,book of        
,origins1 a period of four hundred and  

eighty years separated the patriarchal  
from the ,mosaic age1 and during  that  
period the ,hebrew tribes had first been
 sheltered1 and then for  long enslaved1
 by the most civilised of all peoples in
 the ancient  world4 ,astonished by the 
grandeur of ,egypt1 they at last        
succumbed to  its religion2 and while   
oppression in the pent-up ,egyptian     
cities  deteriorated fearfully their    
physical condition1 slavery and idolatry
  wrought with terrible effect upon     
their character4 ,they came out of      
,egypt a cowardly horde1 leprous in     
body1 childish and brutish in their     
disposition4 ,their children however    
entered ,palestine1 more than a         
generation after1 a powerful and        
consolidated and victorious force1      
whose fear was upon all the surrounding 
tribes2 and their annals ascribe  all   
this to revival and reformation due to  
,divine revelation and  training under  
the plastic genius of one of ,egypt's   
wisest men1 and one  of the greatest    

prophets of the human race4    ,the     
oldest ,hebrew historian states that    
,moses wrote two tables of the          
,covenant1 and one entire1 though small1
 ,book of ,laws besides2 and though  it 
were proved to universal satisfaction   
that he never wrote anything  else than 
the ,ten ,words1 and the preface#ajg3   
8,hear1 ,o ,israel1 the ,lord  our ,god 
is one10 it will be admitted that no one
 in all the old world  has ever         
contributed more than he did to man's   
stock of the highest of  all knowledge4 
,the truth communicated by the          
patriarchs in the word  ,creator was of 
supreme moment and promise for the human
 race1 for by it  man was saved from the
 sin and folly of confounding the ,deity
 with ,his  works4 ,the idea of a       
,creator occurs indeed in the           
,vedas1#ajh but not as  an idea that    
ever got hold of the popular mind1 or   
ever ripened into the  conception of    
,creator which we have in the ,bible4   
,the ,brahman expounders  of ,vedic     

thought made deity the sum of all that  
is1 a being that is ever  becoming1 a   
universe that is never completed4 ,the  
,hebrew1 on the  contrary1 conceived of 
the universe as ,god's work--not ,god4  
,it was but a  part of ,his ways1 and as
 nothing before ,him4 ,in the ,indian   
creed  emanation continues indefinitely1
 and their sacred books record a        
never-ending genesis4 ,in the ,hebrew   
,bible two pages suffice to relate  the 
genesis of the world and man4 ,between  
the deities of the ,vedas and  the      
,jehovah of ,moses there is no natural  
progression1 and we never in  any       
series1 however prolonged1 can reach    
from the one to the other4 ,the  ,indian
 deities are simply one with ,nature1   
and like its forces they are            
multitudinous1 capricious1 evanescent2  
but the ,deity of ,moses is ,one1       
,supreme1 ,invisible1 not to be likened 
to anything we can see or  hear--eternal
 as ,one who alone is1 and causes to be3
 8,i ,am that ,i ,am60  ,the effect of  

such a belief was to raise all men who  
learned of ,moses  above the worship and
 tyranny of ,nature1 before which so    
many of the  tribes of mankind have     
prostrated themselves4 ,it made them    
regard the  animal creation especially  
as existing not for their adoration but 
for  their use2 and ,nature itself and  
all its forces as powers to be studied1 
subdued1 and governed4 ,the germs of    
man's faith in his own                  
imperishableness1 implanted from the    
first1 began to sprout the moment  he   
found himself capable of knowing and    
serving this ,eternal and  ,invisible   
,one as the ,author and ,controller of  
his being4    ,comparisons are often    
instituted between the ,mosaic ethical  
code and  that of other religions1 with 
the view of showing that there is       
nothing  peculiar in it1 and that       
instead of being fuller it appears to be
 even  defective when placed side by    
side with some of them4 ,the peculiarity
 of  the ,mosaic code is in its first   

table1 which nearly all the others lack4
  ,the ,mosaic is an interpretation of  
the law written in men's hearts by  the 
light of religion3 it is the            
manifestation of religious truth as the 
real foundation of ethics4 ,morality has
 so long been associated with  religion 
in our thought that we speak at times as
 if it had been always  so2 but among no
 ancient people1 save among the         
,hebrews1 did any  worshipper expect    
morality from their deities4 ,on the    
contrary1 they  conceived of them as    
having all their own appetites and      
passions and  vices1 so that as         
civilisation advanced men were often far
 nobler and  purer than the gods which  
they worshipped4 ,when we remember that 
physiolatry1 from its lowest to its     
highest form1 tolerates and even        
consecrates the vilest impurities by its
 worship1 we can realise what a  new and
 creative power was communicated when   
the conviction had laid  hold of man    
that ,deity is one who is ,himself all  

that man ought to be1  one who can only 
be propitiated by righteousness and     
appeased by truth4  ,human progress     
became not only possible then1 but it   
was secured4 ,so  pure an idea of ,god  
meant a loftier idea of man4 ,it        
involved the poorest  and the humblest  
of men in vast responsibilities1 and    
therefore it  implied for them rights   
and dignities equal to those of the     
highest of  men2 for the supreme        
all-holy ,lord ,god was no respecter of 
persons1 and  the beggar on the dunghill
 was in ,his eyes as precious as the    
prince  upon the throne4#aji    ,from   
the period when ,vedic speculation first
 began its course to that in  which it  
produced its earliest ,upanishad1 these 
moral and spiritual  truths were not    
kept secret among the philosophic few1  
but were  prophesied in the gates and   
streets of every ,hebrew city4 ,no one  
can say  that they were thankfully      
received and loyally obeyed by the      
people of  ,israel2 on the contrary1    

their whole history represents the      
struggle of  a stubborn and rebellious  
race against a revelation too pure and  
spiritual to be acceptable to them4     
,their religion was always higher  than 
themselves1 but while towering above    
them1 it perpetually hovered  round     
them1 contradicting their most cherished
 inclinations1 and  condemning their    
most deeply rooted habits4 ,the         
invisible ,god1 of whom  no likeness was
 to be tolerated1 who was not to be     
worshipped even in  the greatest of ,his
 works1 was too far removed from their  
sympathies4 ,it  took centuries of      
severe handling to uproot their strong  
tendency to  ,nature-worship2 yea1 the  
,divine detestation of it had to be     
branded in  the national conscience by  
their final overthrow4 ,eventually1     
however1  the truth got rooted in the   
mind of a 8remnant0 of them that ,god is
 not  to be worshipped under any symbol1
 and cannot be enshrined in temples     
made with hands2 that the heaven of     

heavens cannot contain ,him2 that in    
gifts and offerings ,he takes no        
pleasure1 but that ,he dwells with the  
meek and lowly1 and finds a pleasing    
sacrifice in the contrite spirit  and   
broken heart4 ,the divinity of the      
revelation seems attested by the  fact  
that it continued all throughout their  
history above them1 rebuking  and       
condemning1 but never suffering them    
altogether to fall away from  it4 ,and  
this is still its relation to ourselves3
 it is a creed  contradicting our life1 
a ,divine law in direct opposition to   
all that  claims to be popular2 for     
where even yet is the ,christian who can
 be  said fully to realise all that is  
summed up in the truth1 8,god is not to 
be worshipped by man as though ,he      
needed anything20 8,god is a spirit1    
and they that worship ,him must worship 
,him in spirit and in truth08    ,the   
universality as well as the purity and  
spirituality of this  fundamental       
article of the ,hebrew faith separates  

it from and elevates  it above the      
,indian beliefs4 ,nature-worship has    
always been local and  ethnic in its    
range2 the gods of the hills are not the
 gods of the  valleys1 and the deities  
of ,assyria command no reverence in     
,egypt4 ,to  the ,hebrew was first      
communicated the catholic faith that the
 one ,lord  over all is rich in mercy   
unto all4 ,the treasure was received1 it
 is  true1 in an earthen vessel1 by a   
people who could only apprehend as      
children what we are expected to hold in
 the comprehensions of men4#aaj  ,in    
patriarchal times by the people         
generally the ,one ,lord was conceived  
of too much as just the protector of the
 family4 ,in ,mosaic times the  great   
and terrible ,god who avenged ,himself  
on ,egypt was thought of too  much as   
the champion of the tribes4 ,under      
,david and the kings ,he was too  much  
the sovereign of the nation and of the  
,holy ,land2 and so it was  down to the 
times of the ,captivity4 ,all throughout

 this period1 however1  there were      
perpetual protests against this attempt 
to ethnicise a faith  essentially       
catholic4 ,they were reminded that the  
,holy ,one was ,lord over  all the      
earth2 that though they were a peculiar 
people1 they were not  ,his only people4
 ,the prophets of other nations were    
brought to testify  to them2 their own  
prophets were sent to warn the heathen  
that they  should not die4 ,all through 
their history they were admonished that 
their gift was too large for their      
little nation to contain2 that it was   
theirs only in proportion as it was     
imparted or shared1 and that as a       
nation they could only exist if all     
nations were blessed in them4    ,alas  
however for them1 all this seemed in    
vain in its effect upon the  nation at  
large2 the treasure was forgotten in    
their estimate of the  vessel2 their own
 destiny loomed largest in their        
conceptions of  ,providence4 ,it was not
 the holy ,lord ,god who was to have    

universal  dominion1 but they ,his      
favourites1 and therefore their king    
would reign  over all lands and keep his
 feet on the neck of their foes4 ,out of
 this  fatal error1 and out of the      
childish superstition akin to it1 that  
material prosperity was the sole or     
chief reward of devotion1 came all      
their unbelief and apostasy1 and so when
 the succession of prophets had  in vain
 testified to them that the ,lord alone 
was to be exalted--that  before ,him1   
not before them1 must all peoples       
bow1--the threatenings long  uttered    
were fulfilled3 the nation was          
shattered1 its palladium1 the  temple1  
was destroyed1 and they were driven     
beyond the ,euphrates4    ,then however 
ensued a course of events which must be 
regarded as among  the greatest         
surprises of history2 for just when they
 and their religion  might have been    
expected to vanish as completely as the 
ten tribes  previously deported had     
vanished1 they are found to be          

preserved2 and  the worship of ,jehovah1
 instead of being extinguished by the   
dominant  worship of ,babylon1 is seen  
to emerge in the course of two          
generations  more vigorous and          
considerably purer than ever it had been
 before4 ,it  was during the ,exile that
 the real nature of the religion of     
,israel1 as  one adapted and destined to
 enlighten and sanctify far more than a 
single people1 began to be truly        
discerned4#aaa ,the ,jewish people had a
  great deal to learn from ,babylon and 
,persia1 and they returned to their  own
 land with clearer conceptions of       
immortality1 the resurrection1 the      
spiritual world and judgment to come1   
than any of their forefathers had       
gained4 ,scholars1 however1 who enlarge 
upon their indebtedness to their        
conquerors1 seem to forget how much they
 had to communicate to them4 ,in  the   
psalms of the pre-,exilian period1 and  
in the doctrines of ,moses and  the     
prophets1 they carried with them a      

treasure richer than the whole  wisdom  
of the ,east4 ,so though they learned   
much from ,babylon1 they also  learned  
in it to appreciate the gifts which they
 had previously  despised4 ,sorrow and  
penitence helped to clear their         
spiritual vision1  and prepared them for
 the prophecies of ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel1 
and ,isaiah4  ,they learned that though 
banished from the ,holy ,land they were 
not  thereby cast out--as their fathers 
imagined--from the presence of ,jehovah2
  that1 though the temple had been      
destroyed and sacrifice had been        
suspended1 ,god could still be          
worshipped with sincerity and truth4    
,the  teachings of their prophets       
brought home with conviction to them the
  oracles of their earlier seers1 that  
obedience was better than  sacrifice1   
and contrition than sin-offering1--8that
 he that doeth  repentance1 it is       
imputed to him as if he went to         
,jerusalem1 built a  temple and altar1  
and wrought all the sacrifices of the   

law40#aab    ,with the destruction of   
the temple there arose the synagogue1   
which1  with its reading of the ,law and
 the ,prophets1 its chanting of the     
,psalms1 its offering of prayer1 and the
 giving heed to the voices of the       
elders1 represented a far higher and    
more spiritual service than temple      
courts reeking with sacrifices and      
steaming with incense4 ,it is true  that
 they were still fascinated by the      
material splendours of the former  days2
 for after their return they restored   
,jerusalem1 rebuilt the  temple1 and    
re-appointed its services4 ,a revival   
led to a reformation1  which1 following 
the old lines as closely as possible1   
assumed the form  of a retrogression    
rather than advance4 ,the new energies  
of the nation  were repressed by a      
,levitical domination as rigid and      
intolerant as  ,brahmanism ever was in  
,india4 ,it was not the spirit of the   
,living ,god  but the hand of the long  
dead ,moses that was to rule their      

conscience  and mould their history4    
,the consequence was just what might    
have been  anticipated4 ,human nature   
revolted from subjugation to a system   
which  had served its day4 ,religion1   
where it was earnest1 stiffened into    
formalism1 and formalism in many cases  
congealed into hypocrisy1 and1 as       
inevitably happens1 intellect raised its
 protest against this  irreligious      
religion in many anti-religious and even
 atheistic forms4  ,meanwhile synagogues
 rose all over the land1 promoting      
doctrine rather  than ritual1           
stimulating rather than repressing      
discussion1 and thus  conserving and    
propagating the truths that prepared the
 ways of the  ,lord4 ,only a handful    
however1 had returned2 the majority of  
the exiles  prospered and multiplied1   
and1 unlike the ten tribes1 were not    
absorbed  among the ,gentiles4 ,at the  
beginning of the ,christian era1 for one
 ,jew  living in ,palestine there would 
be a hundred living beyond it1 not only 

in ,babylonia1 but in ,greece1 and      
,egypt1 and ,italy1 and all over the    
,empire4 ,there were many ,jews in      
,spain1 in ,britain1 and in the dark    
territories beyond the ,danube2 and     
though they adapted themselves to       
foreign ways1 and became all things to  
all men1 in regard to their  religion   
and their intimate connection with      
,jerusalem they still  continued to be  
,jews4#aac ,as their nationality        
declined their faith  arose4 ,by and by1
 not content with the heathen toleration
 for their  religion as only one of the 
many in the world1 they began to spread 
it  abroad4 ,judaism1 with the temple   
and the ,levitical law1 would in        
,palestine eventually have petrified1   
but the ,diaspora1 with the  ,synagogue 
and the ,septuagint1 enabled ,israel to 
play their proper parts  as the         
religious teachers of mankind4          
,proselytism gradually became very      
vigorous and successful2 devout men and 
women everywhere1 unable to find  peace 

of conscience in the intoxicating and   
demoralising rites of ,pagan  temples1  
turned from them to take hold of the    
skirts of the man who was  a ,jew4 ,in a
 manner and to an extent which even the 
youthful ,isaiah never  could have      
dreamed1 ,jerusalem began to attract out
 of every nation under  heaven the kind 
of people who were found in its streets 
at  ,pentecost1--,parthians and ,medes1 
and dwellers in ,pontus and ,arabia1 and
  the eunuch of far distant             
,ethiopia4#aad    ,as we have noticed   
the highest outcome of ,vedic thought in
 pursuit of  ,atman1 let us also notice 
the highest development of ,hebrew      
belief in  their hope of ,messiah1 whose
 germs are traceable in their faith from
 the  first4 ,for example1 one of the   
earliest and most lasting effects of    
their conception of ,deity was the      
conviction of their own unworthiness    
and inability to live in the presence of
 the holy ,god4 ,though they were  to be
 a kingdom of priests for other nations1

 they dared not enter into  the         
relationship which priest implied4 ,they
 required a mediator like  ,moses1 who  
could speak to the ,holy ,one for them1 
and receive for them  ,his message4     
,their whole worship was based on this  
feeling1 and the  purer and higher rose 
their conceptions of ,god1 the more     
intense became  their self-abasement4   
,between ,him and the noblest of ,his   
creatures there  was an impassable gulf4
 ,though ,he was far1 far off from them1
 ,he was far  too near--so near that    
they could not go anywhither from ,his  
presence1  and yet in their dread there 
was a yearning to come near to ,him and 
to  see ,him face to face4 ,the ,brahman
 aspired to lose himself in the         
,absolute1 in the pure light of         
characterless knowledge2 the ,hebrew1   
mastered by the personality of ,god1    
longed to see ,him as ,he is4 ,and      
never more earnest was this longing in  
the ,hebrew to behold the beauty  of the
 ,lord1 and to be satisfied with ,his   

likeness1 than in the times of  his     
deepest self-humiliation and keenest    
contrition4 8,i pray ,thee1  pardon the 
iniquity of ,thy people20 8,i beseech   
,thee1 show us ,thy  glory20 8and these 
two pangs so counter and so keen10 shame
 and  reverence akin to dread1 aspiring 
love1 were to prove not only the        
purification of their own faith1 but the
 birth-throe of a better hope  for the  
world4    ,for their dread and shame    
sprang from their consciousness of their
 own  evil1 and their aspiration from an
 instinct which whispered that evil1    
though deeply ingrained in1 was not     
essential to the being of man4 ,their   
sense of sin was very poignant1 more so 
than in the case of any other  people4  
,the ,hindus had a conception of merit1 
but a very poor and weak  conception of 
sin4 ,they were more impressed by life's
 suffering than by  the taint of which  
it was only the consequence4 ,but the   
,hebrews felt the  shame and the curse  
of that taint as no people ever felt it4

 ,they had  quite a vocabulary to       
express the many shades and degrees of  
the feeling  of it2 yet in their        
speculations they were led to believe   
that this  taint was not inherent in    
their nature nor ineradicable from it4  
,there  was a time when sin was not2    
there might be a time when it would not 
be4  ,the dominion of evil was an       
interlude1 and though terribly prolonged
 in  human experience1 it might have an 
end4 ,that was the central ideal of  the
 ,fall which they pictured on the first 
page of their ,bible1 and  conserved in 
their seventh-day ,sabbath4#aae ,in the 
fact of man's  creation they felt that  
his redemption was involved1 and so the 
,hebrew  dread of and longing for ,god  
were reconciled by a hope that though to
  man belongeth shame1 to ,god belongeth
 mercy as the ,god of salvation4  ,there
 was another and a better covenant than 
that which had been  concluded with     
their ancestors at ,sinai1 or with the  
first father of  their tribes long      

before4 ,it was made not with ,moses or 
,abraham for  ,israel1 but for all      
nations with a ,divine ,mediator1 who1  
behind all that  was of man1 though yet 
the seed of the woman1 would1 in a way  
that  neither ,moses nor any of the     
prophets could understand1 eventually   
make  an end of sin4    ,the history and
 the literature of the ,hebrews would be
 a perplexing  enigma without this hope4
 ,like their faith1 it was too pure and 
spiritual for them to receive1 and to   
the very latest it always appears  with 
something of the defilement of their    
religious condition clinging  to it4    
,during the ,exile1 however1 this hope  
became purer and stronger1  and the     
imagery in which they embodied it became
 more evangelical and  spiritual than   
that employed by earlier poets and      
prophets4 ,the section  of the ,hebrews 
that returned to ,palestine held it in  
increased strength1  but with the old   
national taint upon it4 ,their own      
restoration and the  favour of ,persia  

kindled anew the foolish dreams of their
 ancestors1  and1 alas6 when ,persia    
disappointed them1 and its favour was   
supplanted  by oppression1 and the      
kingdom1 instead of rising ,phnix-like  
out of its  ashes1 became the           
battlefield or the gage of foreign      
nations1 there  broke out in ,palestine 
the bitterest plague of unbelief and    
apostasy  that had ever assailed the    
nation4 ,for idolatry1 for overlaying or
  corrupting the worship of ,jehovah1   
their forefathers had often been        
severely chastised1 but no prophet had  
as yet complained of a temple  deserted 
and an altar defiled by unworthy        
offerings4 ,and this was  because men   
professed to have discovered in the     
destruction of their  national hopes    
that after all religion was vain1 and   
there was no profit  in serving ,god4   
,any one who has intelligently read     
,malachi1 or the sayings of ,agur the   
proverb-collector1#aaf or the ,book of  
,ecclesiastes1 will see to what a  depth

 of scepticism1 if not indeed of        
atheism1 their perverted ,messianic     
hopes had brought the ,jews of          
,palestine4 ,we appreciate the criticism
  which regards ,coheleth1 so alien to  
the healthy and joyous spirit of the    
,hebrew religion1 as the natural        
outgrowth of this period4#aag ,when     
faith in ,israel's imperishable kingdom 
seemed to be completely wrecked1  when  
ministers of religion led the revolt    
from it1 and unrighteous  rulers and    
corrupt society made life in ,palestine1
 as in ,rome in ,nero's  day1 not worth 
the living1 it is not to be wondered    
that this one which  has survived1 but  
that 8many books0#aah should have been  
written to  echo the cry1 8,all is      
vanity40 ,we may listen to it as a note 
of despair  from a pessimist in whose   
people religion had died1 because       
disappointed  political ambition had    
shown them that 8no earthly good0 came  
of serving  ,god2 or we may read it as  
the protest of some healthy-minded ,jew 

against  that orthodox asceticism which 
after the ,captivity invaded religion1  
and  led to the rise of ,pharisaism and 
,essenism4 ,in any case1 it seems to    
mark the proper close in ,palestine of  
an age of national perverted faith  and 
hope4 ,the ,essenes like the ,indian    
ascetics had hope neither for the       
nation's recovery nor for the           
establishment anywhere of a kingdom of  
,god4 ,the ,pharisees1 on the contrary1 
had hope1 but it was the old  political 
hope1 and in them1 though ,egyptian and 
,syrian and ,greek and  ,roman had      
trodden the nation under foot1 and      
though the ,maccabees had  suffered and 
poured out their blood in vain1 it      
seemed to grow stronger  and stronger4  
,ready to believe any impostor1 and to  
rise at the faintest  call1 their       
fanaticism more than once betrayed the  
people into  ineffectual and most       
sanguinary revolts2 but it had one      
result that was  not wholly evil1 for   
they drew after them the multitudes to  

the desert1  when the thunder of the    
,baptist's cry reached ,jerusalem1 8,the
 kingdom of  ,god is at hand40#aai      
,so was it in ,palestine2 but among the 
,diaspora all over the ,empire the  hope
 of ,messiah assumed a purer and more   
catholic form4 ,everywhere it  was      
strong1 but the broader horizons by     
which they were surrounded saved  them  
from the delusions which intoxicated the
 ,palestinian ,jew4 ,in  classical      
literature there are tokens that it had 
filtered into ,gentile  minds4 ,it was  
undoubtedly vague and shadowy even at   
its brightest1 but  in the ,sibyl and   
,pollio its fulfilment signified        
something more  important than a        
successful revolution in ,palestine4 ,it
 meant mighty  changes impending that   
would bring good to all the world1 the  
augury of  a star that would soon       
glimmer in the eastern horizon1 and grow
 and  brighten till it would be seen to 
be not a light for ,asia only1 but the  
,sun of ,righteousness with healing in  

,his beams for every nation under       
heaven4    ,we have thus been following 
two lines of religious movement1        
perfectly  independent of each other1   
far apart geographically1 still further 
apart  in the beliefs which inspired    
them4 ,we have seen how the melody of   
joy  and health which the ,indians      
brought with them from our common       
primeval  home ended in a sigh of       
despair4 ,individual existence1 at first
 so full  of wonder and delight1 lost   
soon its freshness and glory1 and came  
to be  felt to be such a burden that    
emancipation from it by absorption into 
the ,absolute was hailed as a boon4 ,the
 human mind1 leaving its childhood      
behind it1 and advancing to question    
itself and the universe1 after a  season
 of movement and sense of freedom and   
power1 somehow lost or  missed the way4 
,oppressed in the toils of the jungle1  
and wandering ever  further from        
practical life as it proceeded1 it lay  
down vanquished1  longing only to be at 

rest and in quiet as infants that never 
saw the  light4    ,the other line of   
development marks not the course of a   
speculation1 but  the growth of a faith 
laying hold of mankind with creative and
  transforming power4 ,this faith1 never
 dissociated from1 but seeking to       
dominate and reform actual life1        
condemned inertion1 and fostered hope   
for a race working out its salvation1   
because convinced that ,god is  working 
in them both to will and to do4 ,we see 
a light streaming from  above into the  
darkness of man1 paining and blinding at
 first the organs  which it seeks to    
purify4 ,we see a struggle on the part  
of the creatures  to bring the ,most    
,high down to their level1 and make ,him
 their servant1  and a striving of the  
,divine ,spirit to train them as        
children4 ,we see a  mighty ,hand laid  
ever on a peculiar people1 at times so  
softly that they  hardly felt it1 at    
times with conscious guiding and        
sustaining power2 at  times chastising  

them sorely by the sword of the enemy   
and the  heart-hunger of exile1 but     
never giving them over unto death4 ,not 
for  forty years1 but for twice forty   
generations we see ,him leading and     
humbling and proving them1 till in the  
souls of the aptest--though only  8a    
remnant0 of them--,he had rooted ideals 
of human destiny which never  can       
perish4 ,then1 that all might be ready  
in the fulness of time1 ,he  scattered  
them among the nations1 and lo6 when    
required they are  everywhere1 crying in
 the crowded capitals of the ,east and  
of the ,west1  in the darkness of the   
,north and the brightness of the ,south1
 8,prepare  ye in the desert an highway 
for the ,lord40    ,footnote #fb3       
,introduction to ,le ,bouddha et sa     
,religion2 ,paris1 #aheh4    ,footnote  
#fc3      ,mller1 ,introd4 to ,sacred   
,books of the ,east1 vol4 i4 p4 xxi4    
,footnote #fd3      ,a4 ,burnell1       
,indian ,antiq41 #ahhj1 p4 #bbc1 quoted 
by ,prof4 ,max ,mller    in             

,introduction to vol4 x4 of ,sacred     
,books of the ,east1 p4 xi4    ,footnote
 #fe3      ,frankfurter1 ,appendix to   
,wordsworth's ,bampton ,lectures for    
#ahha2 ,the    ,one ,religion1 p4 #cdj2 
,eitel ,lectures on ,buddhism1 p4 #dd2  
,edkins1    ,chinese ,buddhism1 p4 #bcb4
    ,footnote #ff3      ,prof4 ,max     
,mller1 ,introduction to vol4 i4 of     
,sacred ,books of the    ,east1 p4      
xxvii4    ,footnote #fg3      ,a4 ,e4   
,gough1 ,philosophy of the ,upanishads1 
etc41 p4 #e2 ,trbner's    ,oriental     
,series4    ,footnote #fh3      ,this   
statement is hazarded1 notwithstanding  
the recent reply of the    author of    
,supernatural ,religion to ,bishop      
,lightfoot's ,essays4 ,it    will be    
generally conceded that he has adopted  
an untenable position1    and that1     
though his rejoinder to the learned     
,bishop may be a vigorous    assault1 it
 is weak criticism4 ,sanday's work on   
,the ,gospels in the    ,second ,century
 is on the whole a better reply than the

 ,bishop's to    the allegations of the 
author of ,supernatural ,religion1 whose
    extreme scepticism of literary      
evidence is quite equalled by his       
dogmatic extravagance of statement4     
,footnote #fi3      ,vie de ,jsus1      
,introd4 pp4 xv1 xvii1 #dth ed42 ,paris1
 #ahfc4    ,footnote #gj3      ,science 
de ,religions1 pp4 #ab1 #bj4            
,footnote #ga3      ,professor ,max     
,mller1 ,introd4 to ,dhammapada1 ,sacred
 ,books of the    ,east1 vol4 x4 p4 x4  
,footnote #gb3      ,sacred ,books of   
the ,east1 vol4 xiii4 p4 #cg2 ,introd41 
vol4 xi4 p4 xx4    ,footnote #gc3       
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4 #bg4      
,footnote #gd3      ,mahavansa1 by      
,turnour2 ,dipavansa1 xx4 #bj1 quoted by
 ,professor ,max    ,mller in ,sacred   
,books of the ,east1 vols4 x4 p4 xxiv1  
and xiii4 p4    xxxv4    ,footnote #ge3 
,buddhist ,birth ,stories1 vol4 i4 p4   
lvii2 ,trbner's ,oriental ,series4      
,footnote #gf3      ,weber1 ,indian     
,literature1 p4 #bid2 ibid4    ,footnote

 #gg3      ,we may safely assert that in
 the mass of ,buddhist literature       
already    available nothing has been   
found1 nor is anything at all likely to 
be    found1 corresponding in character 
and evidential value to the             
,christian ,scriptures4 ,what would the 
,new ,testament have been1 asks         
,professor ,mller1 8if the spurious     
,gospels1 the pseudo-apostolic and      
post-apostolic productions1 the debates 
of the ,councils1 the    commentaries of
 the ,fathers1 and the lives of the     
saints1 had all been    bound and mixed 
up with it08 7,sacred ,books of the     
,east1 vol4 i41    ,introd41 pp4 xv1    
xvi47 ,and yet this is a parallel to the
 confusion    represented by the        
so-called ,buddhist ,bible4 ,in truth1  
it is not a    ,bible1 but a library1   
containing not only the earliest        
treatises1 but    the commentaries upon 
them made in later ages1 and extracts   
and    repetitions from itself so       
extensive and numerous that were they   

omitted this portentous collection--four
 times as voluminous as our             
,christian ,bible--would be found to be 
much shorter than it4 ,when the         
original ,bible of ,buddhism has been   
disinterred from this pile it will    be
 found to resemble almost in nothing our
 ,new ,testament1 but it may    present 
many analogies to the ,talmud and       
,targums1 and perhaps some    very      
interesting resemblances to isolated    
portions of the ,old    ,testament4 ,as 
far as it has been translated to us1 the
 ,tripitaka    contain neither prophecy 
nor history2 but one division of it     
presents    suggestive coincidences with
 portions of the apocryphal ,scriptures2
    and scholars may find a comparison  
of some of the texts of ,job1           
,proverbs1 and ,ecclesiastes with those 
of the ,dhammapada and some of    the   
,suttas an agreeable and not            
unprofitable study1 without in the      
least being tempted to transfer their   
allegiance from the ,hebrew to    the   

,indian sages4    ,footnote #gh3        
,eitel1 ,lectures on ,buddhism1 p4 #f2  
,hunter1 8,historical ,aspects of       
,indian ,geography10 ,scot4 ,geog4      
,mag41 ,dec4 #ahhh4    ,footnote #gi3   
,rogers1 ,superhuman ,origin of the     
,bible1 ,lecture v4    ,footnote #hj3   
,professor ,max ,mller1 ,introduction to
 the ,science of ,religion1 p4    #ajc4 
,footnote #ha3      ,professor ,mller1  
,gifford ,lectures1 ,natural ,religion1 
p4 #efd4    ,footnote #hb3      ,record 
of ,missionary ,conference in ,london1  
#ahhh1 vol4 i4 p4 #ci2 also    his      
,buddhism1 p4 #eeh4    ,footnote #hc3   
,le ,gnie des ,religions4    ,footnote  
#hd3      ,sutta ,nipata1 translated by 
,fausbll in vol4 x4 of ,sacred ,books of
    the ,east1 ,part ii4 pp4 #bc1 #gf1  
#aji1 #aac4    ,footnote #he3           
,ibid4 vol4 x41 ibid4 ,part ii4 p4 #dj4 
,we are also reminded that a    man is  
not a ,bikkhu because he puts on yellow 
robes1 unless he has    cleansed himself
 from evil 7,dhammapada1 i4 #i1 #aj74   

,footnote #hf3      ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys       
,davids1 ,buddhism1 pp4 #e1 #ade4       
,footnote #hg3      ,sir ,monier        
,williams1 ,buddhism1 pp4 #afb1 #afc4   
,footnote #hh3      mile ,burnouf1      
,science de ,religions1 p4 #bd4         
,footnote #hi3      ,m4 ,vivien de ,st4 
,martin1 ,mmoires sur les contres       
occidentales4    ,footnote #ij3         
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4 #aj4      
,footnote #ia3      ,sacred ,books of   
the ,east1 vol4 i4 p4 xxii4    ,footnote
 #ib3      ,tylor1 ,primitive ,culture1 
vol4 ii4 p4 #cch2 ,weber1 ,indian       
,literature1 p4 #ch2 ,sir ,monier       
,williams1 ,religious ,thought and ,life
    in ,india1 p4 #ah4    ,footnote #ic3
      ,see ,satapatha-,brhmana1         
translated by ,professor ,eggeling in   
vols4 xii4    and xxvi4 of ,sacred      
,books of the ,east4 ,max ,mller places 
the age of    these books within the    
ninth and seventh centuries ,b4,c4      
,footnote #id3      ,e4 ,quinet1 ,le    
,gnie des ,religions1 p4 #ahe2 ,paris1  

#aheg4    ,footnote #ie3      ,sir      
,monier ,williams1 ,religious ,thought  
and ,life in ,india1 p4 #bd1            
referring to the ,aitareya-,brahmana1   
vii4 #ac4    ,footnote #if3             
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4 #ae2 ,t4  
,w4 ,rhys ,davids1 ,hibbert ,lectures1  
p4 #be4    ,footnote #ig3      ,gough1  
,philosophy of the ,upanishads1 pp4 #da1
 #db4    ,footnote #ih3      ,sacred    
,books of the ,east1 vols4 i4 and xv4   
,no one has dated any of    the         
,upanishads earlier than #fjj ,b4,c41   
and some of them are very late4         
,footnote #ii3      ,sacred ,books of   
the ,east1 vol4 i4 p4 lxvi4    ,footnote
 #ajj3      ,svetsvatara-,upanishad1    
iii4 #g1 iv4 #ad1 #af1 v4 #ac1 vi4 #g1  
#i1 ,sacred    ,books of the ,east1 vol4
 xv4    ,footnote #aja3      ,oldenberg1
 ,buddha1 etc41 pp4 #dg1 #dh2 ,gough1   
,phil4 ,upan4 pp4 #fa1    #fg4          
,footnote #ajb3      ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys      
,davids1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 p4 #bh4    
,footnote #ajc3      ,history of        

,israel1 vol4 i4 pp4 #da1 #dg4          
,footnote #ajd3      ,gifford ,lectures1
 ,natural ,religion1 p4 #efc4           
,footnote #aje3      ,it is significant 
that in the beginning of the ,bible     
,nature-worship    seems stamped as     
accursed in its symbol1 the serpent1 and
 that the    whole ,bible from beginning
 to end is a ,divine protest against    
that    worship in all its forms4       
,mankind in all ages is tempted to      
become as    the gods1 and in a low     
condition he has almost everywhere      
succumbed to    the temptation4 ,he     
feasts his gods1 compels them to serve  
him1 is    really higher than they1 and 
thus he degrades himself or falls from  
the ideal of one made in the image and  
after the likeness of ,god4    ,footnote
 #ajf3      ,ewald1 ,history of ,israel1
 vol4 i4 pp4 #cbj-cbb4    ,footnote     
#ajg3      ,some ascribe it to the      
,deuteronomist1 ch4 vi4 #d4    ,footnote
 #ajh3      ,professor ,mller finds the 
first traces of a ,maker or ,creator in 

the    ,vedic deity ,tvashtar1 the      
carpenter--the clever workman1 even     
smith1    forging bolts for ,indra      
therein1 ,rig-,ved4 iii4 #ee4 #ai4      
8,tvashtar1 the    enlivener1 endowed   
with many forms1 has nourished the      
creatures and    produced them in many  
ways2 all these worlds are his40 ,of    
another god1    latterly called         
,pragpati1 he quotes ,rig-,ved4 x4 #ha4 
#b1 as one who1    8creating the earth1 
disclosed the sky by his power40 ,very  
significantly1 however1 he reminds us   
that the same poet loses the    idea1   
and speaks of the secret of creation as 
undiscoverable4--,mller's    ,natural   
,religion1 p4 #bde4 ,also ,introd4 to   
,upanishads1 ,sacred ,books    of the   
,east1 vol4 xv4 p4 xxiv4    ,footnote   
#aji3      ,fairbairn1 ,religion in     
,history and in the ,life of ,to-day1   
pp4 #ci-ea4    ,footnote #aaj3      ,it 
was only by their very highest and      
greatest souls that the ,godhead    was 
conceived in anything of its spiritual  

glory4 ,to ,abraham ,god was    the     
,creator1 distinct from and greater than
 the earth and heavens    which ,he had 
made2 to ,moses ,he was a righteous     
,lawgiver1 training upon    eagle-wings 
a peculiar people2 to ,david ,he was a  
tender and wise    ,shepherd of a       
foolish and helpless flock2 to ,isaiah  
and the later    prophets a ,father     
dealing with rebellious people1 whom ,he
 pities1    knowing whereof they were   
made4 ,these conceptions1 however1      
cannot be    said to have been those of 
the mass of the people4    ,footnote    
#aaa3      ,kuenen1 ,national ,religions
 and ,universal ,religion1 ,hibbert     
,lectures1    #ahhb1 p4 #ahg4           
,footnote #aab3      ,edersheim1 ,life  
and ,times of ,jesus the ,messiah1 vol4 
i4 p4 #bge4    ,footnote #aac3          
,jos4 ,contra ,ap4 ii4 #cj4 #cb2 ,antiq4
 xviii4 #a4 #a2 ,jewish ,wars1 ii4      
#h4    ,footnote #aad3      ,uhlhorn1   
,conflict of ,christianity1 chaps4 i4   
ii42 ,jos4 ,antiq4    xiii4 #i4 #a1 and 

#aa4 #c1 and ,contra ,ap4 ii4 #aj4 #ci2 
,kuenen1 ,religion    of ,israel1 iii4  
#bgc seq42 ,renan1 ,les ,aptres1 pp4    
#bec1 #bfj4    ,footnote #aae3      ,the
 truth on which the ,sabbath is founded 
is the majestic truth of a    completed 
creation1 and one conform to the latest 
discoveries of    science4 ,during the  
whole course of human observation no new
 creative    effort has been displayed  
in the production of a new type4 ,the   
animal    and vegetable worlds stand    
to-day as man first beheld them4 ,the   
creative spirit has passed into the soul
 of man1 in whose world is the          
progress which nature has long ceased to
 manifest1 and under whose    handling  
nature itself improves4 ,but ,god1      
though resting from ,his    works of    
creation1 is not in ,scripture said to  
be resting from ,his    works of mercy3 
8,my ,father worketh hitherto1 and ,i   
work40    ,footnote #aaf3      8,the    
words of ,agur the son of ,jakeh10      
,proverbs xxxi4 #a4    ,footnote #aag3  

,hber1 ,der ,pessimismus1 #ahgf1 p4 #h2 
,holdheim1 ,preface to vol4 iii4    of  
,predigten1 quoted by ,cheyne1 ,job and 
,solomon1 pp4 #bej-bec4    ,footnote    
#aah3      ,eccles4 xii4 #ab4           
,footnote #aai3      ,edersheim1 ,life  
and ,times of ,jesus the ,messiah1 vol4 
i4 p4 #bgf2    ,keim1 ,jesus of ,nazara1
 vol4 i4 pp4 #caf-cbe2 ,kuenen1         
,religion of    ,israel1 vol4 iii4 p4   
#agg4                                   
,,lecture ,,iii4        ,,the ,,buddha  
,,of ,,the ,,pitakas3 ,,the ,,christ    
,,of ,,the ,,new ,,testament4      ,the 
condition of ,palestine and the progress
 of events in it at the  beginning of   
the ,christian era1 are set in the clear
 light of history1  and defined by an   
accurate chronology4 ,to the superficial
 observer it  appeared to be a          
prosperous land1 for it was fertile and 
carefully  tilled1 populous1 and1 in the
 northern regions especially1 teeming   
with  the fruits of industry4 ,it had   
reached the commercial stage of         

civilisation1 and everywhere1 in        
well-built cities adorned with palatial 
buildings1 many of them the abodes of   
merchants who rivalled the ,italian     
nobles and ,herodian princes in the     
costliness of their manner of living1   
it yielded indications of the luxury    
which successful commerce brings in  its
 train4 ,but as always happens when     
wealth abounds in a land1 there  was a  
corresponding amount of poverty4 ,while 
the rich were lavishing  fortunes upon  
selfish and gigantic follies1 an        
increasing multitude1  born and bred in 
squalor1 were struggling for very       
existence4 ,in the  days of the ,son of 
,man their numbers were vastly increased
 by political  troubles which disturbed 
trade and depressed agriculture4 ,so to 
an eye  that looked beneath the surface 
this seemingly prosperous ,palestine was
  diseased and in a dangerous condition1
 for pauperism and discontent were      
rapidly maturing the seeds of anarchy1  
and preparing for the successive        

revolutions in which so many perished   
before the ,roman eagles swept down     
upon the carcass of a ,state politically
 dead1 because morally and  socially    
corrupt4    ,under the ,herodian        
dominion1 secured as it had been by the 
destruction  of an illustrious royal    
house and the sacrifice of their bravest
  patriots1 the sympathies of the people
 revolted from the throne to  cluster   
for a time around the temple2 but just  
as the dignity of the  office of the    
high priest was rising in their         
estimation1 successive  nominations to  
it by the king and procurator of men    
odious to the good  turned the tide in a
 different direction4 ,the hierarchy was
 represented  by the ,sadducees1 a party
 small in number and far from popular4  
,though  wearing names of ancient and   
honoured families1 they were obviously  
careless alike of the sanctuary and of  
the interests of the nation4  ,strict   
observers of the law of their ,davidic  
ancestor1 they rejected the  prevalent  

interpretations of it1 and all the      
new-fangled doctrines  concerning angels
 and spirits1 and the resurrection of   
the just1 which  had been formulated    
since the ,exile4 ,especially opposed to
 the belief  that the keeping of the law
 would procure for a man recompence in a
  future state1 they held that the law  
must be kept to the letter just  because
 it was ,god's will1 even though the    
soul died with the body4  ,their wealth 
and position as the aristocracy brought 
them into  connection with the          
representatives of the great foreign    
powers of the  times1 whose manners and 
fashions they copied2 but the nearer    
they drew  to the ,roman and ,asmonean  
nobility the further they drew apart    
from the  people whom they never        
pretended to love1 and who1 equally     
alienated1  regarded them with similar  
dislike4    ,withdrawn from the temple1 
the affections of people were freely    
given to  the synagogue leaders as the  
representatives and fosterers of the    

national ideals and hopes4 ,in these    
days every small town had its           
synagogue1 while in ,jerusalem alone    
there were said to be four hundred  and 
eighty4 ,these were not only places of  
worship1 but schools in which  the ,law 
was made the common possession of all   
without distinction1 and  also arenas   
for exciting discussion1 in which was   
nursed that love of  dialectics to which
 so many striking analogies exist both  
in ,india and  ,greece4 ,they were      
dominated by the ,scribes1 the sole     
copiers for the  ever increasing        
synagogues of the ancient ,scriptures1  
and the true  interpreters of the law4  
,pedantic and self-important though they
  generally were1 they were revered so  
by the people for their piety and  gifts
 that from them were chiefly selected   
the members of the court of  the        
,sanhedrim1 which represented all that  
was left to the nation of  executive    
power4 ,their ,cabbala1 revealing the   
secret doctrines to be  found in names1 

of which we have specimens in the       
writings of ,st4  ,paul1#abj and the    
mystic significance of numbers1 of which
 we have  traces in the ,apocalypse1 may
 be only interesting now as curiosities1
  but we must never forget that they    
rendered undying service to the world   
in preserving from corruption1 by many  
arts carefully studied and  applied1 the
 texts of ,holy ,scripture4#aba    ,the 
,pharisees1 the ,nazarites of the nation
 as their name implies1 the  democratic 
antagonists of the aristocratic         
,sadducees1 the staunch  opponents of   
the ,gentile1 the believers in the      
coming kingdom of the  just1 were       
deservedly the most popular of all the  
religious sects in  ,palestine4 ,more   
liberal than the ,sadducees in their    
interpretation of  the law in its       
bearing upon the people1 they never     
thought of exacting  for faults or      
transgressions the ancient penalties2   
but they were far  more severe in their 
personal observance of it4#abb ,to the  

mass of them  it was a ladder by which  
they might climb into the kingdom of    
heaven2  and out of it1 to make sure of 
this end1 they evolved a most           
comprehensive system of bye-laws1 as    
sacred to them as the original  precepts
 by which every action and word and     
relation of life was  regulated4        
,pharisaism was just ,brahmanism1 and   
though more ethically  applied it was in
 its spirit and aim as selfish4 ,bent   
only upon  accumulating merit1 in       
character it became eventually as       
morally impure4  ,forgetting in their   
attention to petty details the weightier
 obligations  of life1 disregarding     
their neighbours that they might provide
 for their  own recompence1 the         
,pharisees became as a class so corrupt 
as to draw  upon them the most scathing 
of all the denunciations of our ,lord4  
,more ,pharisaic than the ,pharisees1   
said to be an offshoot or secession     
from them1 the ,essenes in their desert 
communities sought by the worship  of   

,jehovah in the spirit of the prophets1 
and yet apparently by prayers  to the   
sun1 and by an ascetic and celibate     
life1 to deliver the immortal  soul from
 material impurity1 to educate it to    
enjoy the beatific vision1  and to      
prophesy the secret things of the       
future4 ,in these communities of  pious 
people1 the very flower of ,judaism1#abc
 the only ray of light in  the deepening
 darkness1 some may be pardoned in      
professing to find the  dawn of         
,christianity--not in its external      
arrangements1 but its inward            
dispositions and beliefs4 ,in its avowal
 that morality was superior to  legal   
observance1 in its endeavour to prepare 
the mind by calm to  receive the ,divine
 instruction1 in its sabbatic           
sanctification of all  days of the week1
 in its estimate of all work as         
religious1 and of every  meal as        
sacramental1 it pre-intimated the       
teaching of the coming gospel2  but     
while its arrangements may have         

suggested the monastic institutions  of 
,christendom1 we can never regard it as 
the matrix of ,christianity4  ,its life 
was just the last flickering ray of     
,judaism1 a bright gleam  irradiating   
the features of a moribund age1 but not 
that of a new birth  with promise of a  
mighty future4 ,it was not the rush of a
 new force into  the battle of the      
redemption of humanity1 but the sauve   
qui peut of a  rout which it believed to
 be universal4 ,as pessimist as         
,brahmanism in  its views of life1      
though more ,buddhist than ,brahman in  
its methods1 its  aim was the same--that
 of rescuing the individual from a world
 nigh unto  perdition and really not    
worth the saving4#abd    ,in the        
virtuous ,pharisee and the pious ,essene
 ,judaism found its best                
representatives2#abe but at most there  
were only six thousand  ,pharisees#abf  
and four thousand ,essenes#abg in all   
the nation1 and1  alas6 the majority of 
the ,pharisees were not sincere2 and the

 ,essenes1  though really in earnest1   
had abandoned the nation to its fate4   
,among  the religious classes piety and 
morality had become so dissociated that 
a man who in the matter of belief or of 
worship would strain at a gnat1  might  
in practice without condemnation swallow
 a camel4 ,the result of  this fatal    
divorce between creed and conduct was   
seen in a social  corruption which      
augured everywhere the gathering of the 
storm-clouds of  retribution4 ,at that  
time ,greece was dead1 and what was best
 in its  spirit had passed into         
,alexandria4 ,there1 blending with the  
more robust  spirit of the ,hebrew      
religion1 it was forming that ,hellenism
 which1  though it never could account  
for the origin1 was yet powerfully to   
influence the unfolding of our religion4
 ,in ,hellenism we have the  natural    
resultant of the conflux of ,eastern and
 ,western thought1 which1  according to 
some1 will explain the birth of         
,christianity4 ,in it  certainly the    

,aryan and the ,semite were seen        
contributing their very  best thoughts1 
and the product was--,philo2 but        
,philo-,judus is neither  ,st4 ,paul nor
 ,st4 ,john1 and the ,christ of the     
,gospels is further beyond  him than the
 heavens are above the earth4    ,in    
,alexandria ,greece might be said to    
live1 but ,rome was hopelessly  dying4  
,drunk with the cup of the sorceries of 
all nations1 embruted with  every lust1 
it was staggering to a doom which       
neither law1 even the best  conceived   
and most thoroughly administered1 nor   
philosophy1 even the  wisest and most   
consistently illustrated1 could avert4  
,the civilisation  of the ,western world
 was marvellous3 it was a world not only
 of poets  and artists1 of brave        
soldiers and subtle statesmen1 but of   
sound  moralists too2 but civilisation1 
powerless to save1 could only cover     
with broidered robes the leprous body1  
or adorn with golden trappings  its     
bier1 and morality could not restore    

what was sick unto death4 ,when  ,rome  
and ,palestine were alike corrupt1 there
 was no hope for the world  in man2 yet 
when all help in man faileth1 there     
never lacketh help in  ,god1 and so1    
just when the night was blackest1 and   
despair had seized on  all save a few   
aged people in the courts of ,zion1 and 
a few thoughtful  ,magi in the distant  
,east1 lo6 over a ,babe in the          
cattle-crib of a leewan  in ,bethlehem  
was descried the shining of the ,star of
 ,hope4    ,when we turn from ,palestine
 to the holy land of ,magadha1 the      
cradle of  ,buddhism in the sixth       
century ,b4,c41 we find no light of     
history  streaming upon it4 ,all is dim 
and shadowy1 with no chronology to      
define  events1 and no incidents to     
distinguish personalities4 ,it is like a
 land  of dreams to our modern          
conception1 but it is not a chaos4 ,we  
can trace  to a certain extent movements
 in it1 and as we follow them there     
emerges  in outline sufficiently clear a

 real civilisation1 which1 though       
lacking  the stir and endeavour1 the    
commerce and the art of the ,west1 and  
really  inferior to it1 is yet most     
interesting in its pathetic             
resemblances1  and all the more         
instructive that its beliefs and        
institutions were  formed out of        
antecedents and predispositions very    
different from any of  which the        
,western world had experience4    ,it is
 evident from the very cursory survey   
already made that religious  belief in  
,india and in the ,west must have passed
 through phases  significantly similar4 
,in both it proceeded from faith in a   
revealed  system of truth--in ,india in 
the inspired ,vedas1 in ,palestine in   
the  inspired oracles4 ,human           
speculation in both cases was begotten1 
and for  long it was educated in faith  
in revelation1 then beginning to        
rationalise2 in both cases it           
unintentionally undermined what at first
  it only endeavoured to explain4       

,turning from ancient scrolls to the    
study of the book of human nature1 whose
 pages1 though often tattered  and      
defiled1 are always fascinating1 it was 
staggered by the  contradiction between 
man's ideals of goodness and justice and
 the  realities of human history4 ,out  
of this collision arose the ,promethean 
demand that the divine powers that      
govern life 8should either explain or   
abdicate40 ,in ,palestine this wrestle  
with the inequalities of providence     
originated early1 and continued all     
along2 but it was confined within       
limits by faith in the personality of   
,deity as one so infinitely greater     
than man that only a part of ,his ways  
could be understood4 ,indian            
speculation never reached the approaches
 to this idea of ,god3 it  wandered into
 a ,pantheism of a grosser type than    
ever the ,west was  acquainted with1 and
 once it reached that stage it could not
 stop4 ,just  as in ,greece pantheism   
ripened into the materialism of the     

,epicurean and  the atheism of the      
,stoic1 so in ,india1 even before the   
days of ,gotama1  may have begun that   
open revolt against ,deity1 in the      
perilous attempt  of reason to explain  
by itself the universe1 with which his  
name has  since then been most closely  
associated4    ,the religious world in  
,india in the times preceding his birth1
 like the  religious world of           
,palestine1 had a hierarchy represented 
by the  ,brahmans1 the indispensable    
functionaries in all sacrificial        
services4  ,corresponding to the        
,scribes were the ,teviggi1 the reciters
 and  expounders of the sacred and still
 unwritten books4 ,the ,rabbin had their
  analogies in reforming ,brahmans1 who 
alone or in communities that had        
gathered round them professed to teach  
the higher discipline which could       
secure deliverance4 ,if a multitude of  
sects be an indication of  intellectual 
movement1 there was as much stir in     
,brahmanism as in  ,judaism4 ,in the    

,pali books there are mentioned as      
contemporaries of  ,buddha six noted    
teachers of great schools1 the most     
formidable of whom1  or at least the    
most hated of his soul1 was the head of 
an ascetic sect  which1 like the        
,essenes1 had renounced the world to    
make good their own  salvation4 ,this   
,niggantha sect1 still represented in   
,india by close upon  half a million of 
adherents in the district of ,rajputana1
 claims not  only to have preceded the  
founder of ,buddhism by two hundred and 
fifty  years1 but to have anticipated   
the essentials of his system4#abh ,its  
philosophical and ethical doctrines are 
almost in accord with his1 while  its   
cosmogony and ritual incline more       
towards those of ,hinduism4 ,its        
adherents apply to their founder the    
titles 8,victor0 or ,jina1 and          
8,enlightened ,one0 or ,buddha1 which   
many imagine were ascribed solely to    
,gotama2 but whether ,buddhism sprang   
from it or gave birth to ,jainism is  a 

question still undecided4 ,the only     
solid fact as yet ascertained is  that  
from the earliest traceable period their
 mutual relations are  marked by that   
pronounced intolerance#abi which        
prevails when kinsfolk  quarrel4        
,collision and antagonism between sects 
in ,india was neither so sharp nor  so  
fierce as in ,palestine1 and ,buddha    
ministered in conditions much more      
favourable to the propagation of his    
system than did ,jesus ,christ4 ,the    
,sadducean opponents of ,christ         
represented a powerful hierarchy1 the   
,pharisees a popular democracy1 and the 
,scribes an influential ,sanhedrim1     
with power of inflicting a sentence of  
death4 ,the ,essenes never mingle  in   
the scenes of the ,gospel1 and it is    
questionable if they are ever  referred 
to in them4 ,over all and dominating all
 was a most jealous and  vigilant ,roman
 despotism1 ever ready to turn even a   
religious quarrel to  its own account1  
so that it was the most natural of      

things that an  opposition thus         
represented should nip1 as it were1     
,christianity in the  very bud by       
crucifying its ,founder4 ,in ,magadha1  
however1 it was  otherwise4 ,the broad  
distinction was between ,brahmans and   
,sramans1#acj  the latter a general     
title covering many secessions from     
,brahmanism1 and  the popular favour was
 equally bestowed on both4 ,the         
,brahmans1 though  dominant1 had not the
 power1 and to their credit do not seem 
to have had  the will1 to persecute4 ,it
 was not from them1 but from the        
scholastic  and conceited ,teviggi and  
from the ascetic sects that ,buddha     
encountered  most formidable opposition2
 and yet even in these cases opposition 
was  not rigid4 ,it was a war not of    
blows1 but of words1 in which an appeal 
to the secular arm or to force was out  
of the question4 ,a new sect1           
therefore1 especially one that had      
donned the yellow robes and alms-bowl   
of the mendicant1 protesting against the

 debasing belief in the efficacy  of    
,brahmanic rites1 or the virtue gained  
by extravagant ,yogi  austerities1 would
 obtain from the people at large more   
favour than  resistance or disdain4     
,the intellectual movement in ,india    
appears thus to have been extensive  and
 many-sided4 ,in the multitude of sects 
there is a guarantee for  freedom1#aca  
and competition in the proclamation of  
truth is better  than monopoly2 but in  
religion1 as in trade1 the competition  
of  over-multiplying sects tends to     
increase adulteration4 ,so in early     
,buddhist literature1 while there is    
incontestable evidence of the  existence
 of honest instructors1 there is also   
unquestionable evidence  of the         
abundance of quacks1 who trifled with   
truth simply to make a gain  of it1 and 
of shallow but clever professionals1 who
 dealt with gravest  themes in the      
spirit of the mere debater4#acb ,so     
there1 as in ,palestine  in the days of 
,coheleth1 through over-discussion the  

old faith was  rapidly evaporating4 ,in 
the ,brahmans1 religion had degenerated 
into  formalism2 in the ,teviggi1 into  
traditionalism4 ,in the philosophic     
,sramans it was in many instances       
passing into blank atheism2 and among   
the ascetics1 into despair4 ,while this 
was the condition of the learned  and of
 the few1 the masses everywhere1 like   
the ,amm ,ha-rets in  ,palestine1 were  
wandering--no man caring for            
them--further and further  into the     
idolatries and sensualities of          
,hinduism4 ,morality was  perishing1 the
 writing on the heart was getting more  
indistinct1 and  conscience becoming    
more confused4 ,then1 just as five      
centuries later1  when faith was almost 
gone1 ,christ came to restore it by     
communicating  new life1 so when divine 
law was in danger of fading from the    
consciousness of men1 there arose one to
 assert its eternal supremacy2          
preaching the creed of ,coheleth without
 his fear of ,god1 and enforcing  the   

keeping of the commandments1 not as     
expressed in ,vedas or  interpreted in  
,brahmanas1 but as written in every     
fibre of the body and  every faculty of 
the being1 as the only way to safety4   
,who was he8 ,like the ,author of       
,christianity1 he has had to contend1 as
  it were1 for the recognition of his   
personal existence4 ,even to-day it  is 
maintained that neither ,christ nor     
,buddha ever existed1 that they  were   
merely incarnations of popular          
conceptions1 and that all the  legends  
concerning them can be reduced to a     
combination of anterior  mythological   
elements4 ,these mythical theories1     
however1 in regard to  the origin of    
,christianity1 may be considered among  
the curiosities of  criticism2#acc and  
in regard to the origin of ,buddhism1   
though more  justified by the confessed 
uncertainty as to dates1 they have been 
satisfactorily dispelled as another     
instance of refining overdone4#acd      
,brahmanism and the successive phases of

 ,hinduism can be traced to no          
individual founder1 but in investigating
 the origin of ,buddhism we  breathe a  
very different atmosphere4 ,there is a  
human and moral  character about it     
which the other ,indian religions lack3 
something real  as in ,mosaism1 and     
palpable as in ,islam4#ace ,we may rest 
assured that  ,buddhism had for its     
founder a real person1 and though our   
best  authorities have had to search for
 their facts through a vast amount of   
fabulous materials1 we may accept the   
dates which they have  approximately    
fixed for his birth and death1 and the  
outlines which they  have sketched of   
his life and ministry4    ,gotama1 a    
name still found among the ,rajput      
chiefs of ,nagara1 was born  in the     
north-eastern region of ,india1 about a 
hundred miles from  ,benares1 about the 
year ,b4,c4 #eeg4 ,his father1 a ,sakya1
 a name unknown in  any native ,indian  
family1 and said to indicate descent    
from a race of  northern nomad          

immigrants1 was rajah of ,kapila1 and   
his mother was a  daughter of the family
 of ,koli4#acf ,his principalities1 of  
very limited  extent1 seem to have been 
eventually swallowed up by the greater  
,indian  monarchies1 for when ,fa-,hian 
visited the country ,kapila had become a
  vast solitude1 and there for ages its 
very name has perished from the  living 
speech of men4 ,even though his royal   
pedigree be an embellishment  of the    
later legends1 there seems no reason to 
doubt that his father was  noble and    
rich according to the standard of the   
time1 and sufficiently  independent of  
,brahman domination to train his son in 
his own way4 ,it  seems not to have been
 in their studies1 but in the exercises 
befitting  a warrior prince1 that       
,gotama was educated1 though a          
disposition  thoughtful and melancholy1 
and strongly sympathetic1 appears to    
have  disinclined him from such a mode  
of life4 ,even as a youth the darker    
sides of existence threw a shadow over  

him2 the sufferings of mankind  were    
among his earliest impressions1 and he  
brooded over them till his  mind1       
poisoned by the contemplation of them1  
threw its gloom over  everything around 
him1 and made the very air hang heavy   
with the weight  of woe4    ,to one     
driven as he was to the conclusion that 
existence was a burden  rather than a   
blessing1 death1 according to the belief
 in which he had  been nurtured1 could  
afford no relief2 but hope seemed to    
dawn for him  as he thought of the happy
 yellow-robed sages who1 freed from his 
horror1 were tranquil and dignified1    
abstracted alike from pleasure and      
pain4 ,so after a period of irresolution
 and struggle1 in the very prime  of his
 manhood1 he stole away from his wife   
and his new-born child1 and  cast in his
 lot with the forest recluses4 ,having  
lived some time with  them1 and having  
found that their ascetic discipline     
failed to satisfy  his aspirations1 he  
left them1 and joined two philosophic   

,brahmans1 who  taught him the science  
of meditation in its lower and higher   
degrees4  ,though he had profited so    
much by their instruction and discipline
 that  he rose in six years from being a
 disciple to a teacher1 he confessed    
that he had not found by their methods  
the imperishable and permanent  quietude
 which he coveted4 ,so1 abandoning all  
his disciples1 he withdrew  into        
solitude1 and plunged into fasting so   
rigorous that he nearly  destroyed      
himself2 then1 finding that the secret  
of deliverance was not  thus to be      
obtained1 he returned1 amid the contempt
 of his former  companions1 to a more   
genial mode of life4 ,then1 all alone in
 the  jungle1 its manifold discomforts1 
the memories of home1 and the           
fruitlessness of all his endeavours1    
assailed him with the force of a        
temptation to desist from the quest2 but
 rallying all his powers for one        
supreme effort1 he eventually1 under a  
banyan-tree at ,bohimanda1              

triumphed--awoke as one before whom all 
illusion had vanished1 and who by  no   
divine illumination1 but by his own     
personal energy1 had attained to        
knowledge of the causes of all things1  
and had at last become the  ,buddha1 the
 ,enlightened ,one4    ,we need have no 
difficulty in accepting this outline of 
the man's  spiritual history as         
substantially correct2 and assuming it  
to be so1 we  see at once that it is    
contrasted in every point with the early
 history  of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,in   
the ,indian narrative1 e4g41 we have    
long and  prolix details of the youth   
and manhood of ,gotama2 in the          
,christian  ,gospels very few incidents1
 one pregnant saying1 two or three words
 of  description1 sum up the whole      
record of ,christ's biography till ,he  
appeared before the ,baptist4 ,this     
silence is surely suggestive1 for it    
could not have been the result of       
ignorance or forgetfulness4 8,it is     
silence1 where1 to a moral certainty10  

as is indicated alike by the  apocryphal
 ,gospels and the ,buddhist legends1    
8men left to themselves  would have used
 much speech40 ,in the ,gospels the     
things which we are  naturally curious  
to know are concealed from us1 and there
 is disclosed  only the spiritual       
reality in which ,christianity consists4
 ,where ,he was1  how ,he looked1 what  
,he did during these long years of      
waiting and  preparation1 the           
,evangelists have not told us2 but they 
have revealed  enough to show what ,he  
was4 ,scenery and circumstances are as  
nothing1  because the life that was     
revealing itself in them was everything2
 and  of the unfolding of that life1 the
 few and slight but most suggestive     
touches of the ,gospels enable us to    
form clearer conceptions than we are    
ever likely to form of ,gotama's from   
the abundant incidents of the  ,buddhist
 story4    ,thus while the son of the   
,indian rajah did not require to keep   
from  himself anything that his heart   

desired1 ,jesus of ,nazareth in the home
  of ,galilee had to deny ,himself1 and 
to endure in the commonest kind of      
labour a hardness which the ,indian     
youth1 in the inertion of his class  and
 race1 regarded as part of the curse of 
existence4 ,still1 ,jesus had  meat to  
eat which the other knew not of2 ,he had
 bread enough and to  spare1 while the  
other was perishing of hunger4 ,rich in 
poverty1 while  ,gotama was poor in his 
abundance1 ,jesus the carpenter appears 
highly  exalted in what the other would 
have called humiliation4 ,there1 while  
,gotama1 having everything which he     
could desire at his call1 had           
discovered that human life was worse    
than vanity1 ,jesus1  self-surrendered  
in faithful service of others1 was      
learning how full of  blessedness and   
how rich in power of blessing the life  
of any man might  be4 ,the angels of    
nature and providence1 by the lilies of 
the field and  the children in the      
market-place1 instructed him in a wisdom

 which no  ,indian sage ever dreamed of2
 and though ,he saw the wretchedness of 
this  evil world as ,gotama never saw   
it1 and felt for the misery of men as   
,gotama never could feel1 ,he saw what  
even ,buddha the ,enlightened never     
could descry1 the face of a ,father in  
,heaven not frowning in wrath but       
yearning in pity over all4 ,so1 instead 
of repelling1 the suffering and  evil of
 the world drew ,jesus closer to it1    
till1 finding ,his grace1 not  as       
,gotama found ,his wisdom1 in desire to 
be delivered from it1 but in  the depth 
of ,his longing to save it1 ,he gave    
,himself to it and for it1  as for a joy
 that was set before ,him4    ,again1   
the enlightenment of ,gotama was the    
result of a painful struggle1  first    
between inclination and duty1 and then  
with great perplexities of  duty1 but in
 ,christ it was painless and natural1   
like the growing of the  dawn into the  
day4 ,his pure and at first joyous life 
unfolded itself  like a beautiful       

morning under the animating impulse of  
love to ,god and  to all ,his creatures4
 ,as ,he grew in consciousness of the   
heaven within1  ,he became more         
conscious of the disorder without1 and  
more sensible of  ,his isolation in     
regard to it4 ,as year by year the sense
 not of the  world's misery but of its  
guilt increased within ,him1 there would
 also  increase the longing that it     
should be taken away4 ,very early the   
conviction took possession of ,him1 that
 ,he was not here to win ,his own  way  
to deliverance1 but to be about ,his    
,father's business4 ,gradually the      
,father's business was revealed to ,him1
 and when the preaching of the  ,baptist
 had made it clear1 without any wrestle 
like ,gotama's1 ,christ1  ever close to 
,his ,father1 and ever clear in ,his    
duty1 set ,himself at  once to fulfil   
it4    ,it is often alleged that the    
temptation in the wilderness1 which     
marked  the close of our ,lord's long   
period of silent preparation1 is an     

exact  parallel to the fasting and      
temptation which preceded ,gotama's     
enlightenment at ,bohimanda4 ,there is  
doubtless an external similarity        
sufficient to arrest our attention1 but 
the internal contrasts disclose         
experiences of quite different          
characters4 ,in the light of their      
respective histories1 these occurrences1
 though often referred to as            
miraculous1 were in reality most        
natural4 ,they represent experiences of 
which there could be no witnesses1 and  
which1 indescribable in plain  words1   
could only be suggested by a kind of    
parable4 ,the temptations are  recorded 
not as they were presented to the       
persons tried1 but in the  character    
which they assumed when their drift was 
discovered and their  aim was detected4 
,both were assailed by suggestions1     
raising in them a  tumult of emotion1   
which1 if unresisted or yielded to1     
would in ,gotama's  case have been      
equivalent to abandonment of his quest  

for deliverance  for the sake of sensual
 indulgence offered by ,mra and his     
daughters1  and in the case of ,christ1 
to refusal to live by obedience1 to     
tempting  the ,holy ,one of ,israel1 and
 to worshipping the splendid majesty of 
wrong4 ,the temptations were real1      
assailing the will1 seeking to  paralyse
 or to change it2 and their force in    
each case would be in  proportion to the
 depth and purity of the natures        
assailed4 ,gotama1  though unmistakably 
a man of high spiritual aspiration1 was 
attacked by  sensual visions1#acg which 
could not possibly have been a          
temptation to  a nature like ,christ's4 
,he had 8to repel as evil what to other 
men would  have appeared as ideals of   
good1 and had to turn away from what the
  noblest of men would have cherished as
 innocent dreams or splendid            
chances10#ach because to ,his pure eyes 
they were ,satanic temptations4  ,he    
suffered1 being tempted1 but ,his       
trouble and suffering were caused       

neither by irresolution1 nor vanity1 nor
 fear1 but by ,his own lowly  humility  
and to the sense of the exceeding       
greatness of ,his mission4    ,gotama1  
sorely concerned about himself1 went    
apart to fast and meditate  and wrestle 
for his own deliverance1 but ,christ    
went apart not to  fast--fasting was an 
unheeded incident in and not the aim of 
,his  retirement1 and in no perplexity  
about ,his own salvation1 for that was  
assured and made the basis of           
assault1--but that in quiet meditation  
,he  might see more clearly the way by  
which the salvation of ,god could be    
brought to mankind4 ,christ was forced  
to acknowledge that absolute  surrender 
to ,his ,father's will in ,his mission  
meant absolute antagonism  to the world1
 and ,he was tried by suggestions as to 
the mode of  prosecuting ,his mission1  
all the more seductive that they were   
confessed  to be natural4 ,might ,he    
not1 as the ,beloved of ,heaven1 to     
carry the  world along with ,him1 and to

 save multitudes from suffering1 swerve 
just  a little from ,his high ideal1 and
 accommodate ,his ways to suit their    
prejudices8 ,these temptations in the   
beginning continued ,his temptations  to
 the very close of ,his ministry4 ,not  
once1 but all ,his life1 as ,he         
hungered for the sympathy and trust of  
those whom ,he sought to save1 was  ,he 
tempted1 as in ,capernaum1 when many    
fell away from ,him1 to 8change  the    
stones into bread40 ,not once only did  
,he stand on 8the battlements  of the   
temple10 nor once only was ,he offered  
8all the kingdoms of the  world and the 
glory of them40 ,again and again was ,he
 in peril when ,he  stood high in the   
opinion of the crowds1 and heard them in
 their ,hosanna  entreating ,him1       
through ,his very sympathy with and love
 for them1 to  gratify their wishes2 yet
 in every case the temptation was       
rejected  without the slightest wavering
 the moment it was understood4 8,get    
thee  behind me1 ,satan40 8,thou shalt  

not tempt the ,lord thy ,god40 8,the cup
  which my ,father hath given me1 shall 
,i not drink it80    ,for again1 ,christ
 conquered because from the beginning to
 the closing  agony ,he stood firm      
rooted in obedience and in submission to
 the will of  a ,higher than self2 but  
the ,buddhist writers want to impress   
the very  opposite of this upon us in   
regard to ,gotama's victory4 ,he is said
 to  have conquered ,mra by the force of
 his own will1 and won his way to  light
 by his individual energy alone4 ,after 
he became ,buddha he  hesitated whether 
he would preach the way of deliverance  
to men1 not  because1 like ,moses and   
the ,hebrew prophets1 he had no         
confidence in  himself and required the 
assurance of a divine strength not his  
own4 ,he  had perfect assurance in      
himself1 but he had no confidence at    
first in  the ability of others to      
comprehend and to follow him in a way so
  difficult to find and so hard to      
tread4#aci ,he asked no deity to help   

him1 for he was greater and wiser than  
all the gods4 ,in the legends  ,brahma  
is said in intercession to have pressed 
him to preach the way1  and moved       
eventually by no intercession1 but      
simply by his own pity for  men lost in 
the vortices of miserable existence1 he 
went forth in no  strength but his own  
to preach and to teach in a ministry1   
not of shame  and humiliation and death1
 but one of great exaltation and honour4
    ,this conception colours the        
narrative of his whole career4 ,in the  
later  scriptures he is designated the  
,tathgata 7,he who has gone or arrived  
at  ,nirvana71 the very reverse and     
point-blank contradiction of ,christ the
  ,messiah1 ,he who was sent4 ,there was
 no higher to send him1 no wiser to     
teach4 ,he came in his own name2 but    
,jesus1 as one sent by ,him into the    
world1 went forth in the name of ,his   
,father4 ,though ,he made demands upon  
the faith of the world compared with    
which the pretensions of ,gotama are    

trivial--for at the highest he only     
claimed to be ,buddha the ,enlightened1 
while ,christ spake of ,himself as the  
8,light of the world10--yet in          
,christ's claim there was ever a sense  
of dependence expressed or  implied1 as 
of one who of ,his own self could do    
nothing1 and who only  taught what ,his 
,father had showed ,him4 ,both spake    
with authority1 and  not as the scribes2
 both superseded the traditional        
domination of what  was said by men of  
old times with the emphatic 8,i say unto
 you02 but  there is a vast difference  
in the quality of this authority in the 
two  cases4 ,the authority of ,buddha   
sprang from his acknowledged            
intellectual  superiority1 but the      
authority of ,jesus sprang from         
spiritual insight4  ,the deliverances of
 ,buddha were given after the manner of 
a ,socratic  dialogue1 and he won his   
converts and vanquished opponents by his
  dialectic skill4#adj ,but in all the  
encounters of ,christ with ,his  enemies

 there was no forcing of their reason to
 gain ,his end4 ,his  replies and       
counter questions were brief and direct 
and incisive2 they  were like the fiat  
of a king or the sentence of an         
unchallengeable  judge1 from which      
reason and conscience alike confessed   
that there could  be no appeal4         
,certainly in the two ministries was    
fulfilled a saying of ,christ1 8,i am   
come in my ,father's name1 and ye       
receive me not2 if another shall come   
in his own name1 him will ye receive10  
for after a very short period of        
imperfect success the public career of  
,gotama became a continuous  victorious 
progress4 ,disciples1 drawn mostly from 
the highest  classes--the ,brahmans1 the
 nobles1 and the wealthy                
merchants--flocked  round him wherever  
he appeared4 ,he journeyed followed by  
admiring  crowds1 he had only to show   
himself to impress1 and he had only to  
preach to convince4 ,the most stubborn  
resistance became fluid under his       

spell1 and those who approached to      
confute were sure to succumb to his     
sweet reasonableness4 ,he was supported 
by powerful rajahs1 and those who  did  
not show him proper reverence were      
punished according to their  edicts4 ,he
 was lodged in parks and gardens and    
palaces1 several of which  were gifted  
to him for the use of his ,order4       
,accessible always to people  of all    
castes1 and of every condition1 and of  
both sexes1 he received  the attention  
of the courtesan1 and shared her feast  
and accepted her  offering1#ada but he  
always maintained the nobility and      
purity of an  irreproachable character1 
and wherever he was found it was as the 
prophet of righteousness1 temperance1   
and judgment to come4 ,rejoicing        
through his long and honourable         
ministry1 sometimes loath to die1 as    
foreseeing the troubles which would     
befall his ,order after his decease1  he
 at last1 when over fourscore years1 in 
a sickness alleged to have  been induced

 by partaking too freely of some rich   
food1 with the quiet  dignity and       
composure of a saint1 fell asleep1 and  
was buried with the  funeral obsequies  
which ,indians then bestowed on the     
bodies of their  greatest kings4#adb    
,it would be impossible1 in every       
respect1 to find a more absolute        
contrast to all this than the story of  
,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,if ,he was        
popular1 it was only for a little1 and  
then only with the masses4 ,the         
aristocracy and the religious classes   
stood aloof1 and soon entered into  a   
conspiracy to get rid of ,him4 ,he had a
 few disciples among them1 like  ,joseph
 of ,arimatha1 and ,nicodemus1 and the  
family at ,bethany1 but the  words of   
the prophet accurately sum up the       
narratives of the ,gospel1  that ,he was
 8despised and rejected of men40 ,to    
follow ,him meant joining  in no        
triumphal procession1 but in a struggle 
against storm and tide  which was sure  
to end in death4 ,suspected from the    

first1 and speedily  denounced1 ,he was 
watched and tracked and driven from     
place to place1  till at last the toils 
of the hunters closed successfully      
around ,him1  and at the age of         
thirty-three ,he was crucified as a     
malefactor between  two robbers on      
,calvary4    ,but the grand and crowning
 distinction between the import and     
effect of  the two ministries emerged at
 the close4 ,after ,gotama died and his 
body  was burned1 and his relics had    
been reverently gathered1 and           
distributed1 and enshrined in costly    
dagobas erected in the various  scenes  
of his labours1 there was an end of him4
 ,he had gone out into the  void1       
according to his own theory of the      
hereafter1 and1 no longer  capable of   
being of use to his disciples1 he       
exhorted them to be 8their  own refuge1 
their own law1 and to work diligently   
out their  salvation40#adc ,but when    
,jesus had been crucified there was     
manifestly  not an end1 but rather a new

 beginning of ,his personal influence1 a
  rising in fuller power1 a coming again
 with greater authority4 ,from the  very
 morning of ,his ministry ,he took ,his 
death into ,his plan1 as the            
consummation of one stage of ,his       
mission1 without which ,his plan would  
have been a failure4 ,all ,his teaching 
centred in ,his death1 as a moral  and  
spiritual necessity in ,divine          
providence4 ,instead of complaining of  
it1 ,he pointed to it as the seal of    
,his ,messiahship1 8the cause for  which
 ,he was born1 the end for which ,he    
came into the world10 8the hour0  of    
,his glorification4 ,the very setting of
 crime and passion which ,his  enemies  
sought to give to the manner of it only 
made it in ,his  estimation more divine4
 ,instead of evading it ,he went        
straight to meet  it1 when the time had 
come1 as one who had a purpose to fulfil
 by it4  ,that purpose ,he announced to 
be the development of ,his personal     
resources1 the liberation of the        

creative energies of ,his being4 ,as    
uncrucified ,he might be weak1 as       
crucified ,he would be so mighty as to  
8draw all men unto ,him40 ,the event    
amply fulfilled the prediction1 for     
shortly after the crucifixion ,christ   
again confronted the world in  another  
form and in far greater power4 ,the     
followers of ,buddha went  forth        
testifying to his law1 and they prefaced
 their preaching by the  invariable     
formula1 8,thus have ,i heard1 when the 
,blessed ,one lived in  ----40 ,their   
mission was simply to recall and declare
 and expound the  system of a master who
 had been absolutely lost to them1 but  
the  apostles of ,christ from the very  
first testified not of a doctrine1 but  
of ,christ ,himself1 as one who having  
died still lived1 was reigning in       
mightier power1 and would be with them  
always1 even to the end of the  on4     
,for we must bear in mind that ,buddha  
and ,christ stand in very contrasted    
relations to the systems of belief which

 they each founded4 ,soon after         
,buddha's death1 if not before it1 the  
formula of admission into his  order    
began with the phrase1 8,i take refuge  
in ,buddha10 which  consequently has    
been described by some as the 8first    
article in the  ,buddhist creed40 ,we   
must not for a moment however suppose   
that this  expression is of equal or    
even of similar significance to our     
confession1 8,i believe in ,christ40    
,gotama in the whole course of his      
preaching never asked his hearers for   
faith in himself as essential to  their 
emancipation4 ,all that he demanded was 
obedience to the law1  disposition to   
enter1 and determination to follow the  
paths which he had  discovered4 ,he     
could not give them ,nirvana1 nor even  
bring them to it2  he could only tell   
them the way to it1 which he had found1 
and as he had  succeeded so might they  
by their own individual energy4#add ,we 
are thus  not free to explain ,buddhism 
from and by the person of its founder2  

it  is perfectly explicable apart from  
him1 as if he had never lived2 but      
apart from ,christ1 and without the     
light thrown upon it by ,his person1    
,christianity would be an enigma4       
,christ from the first demanded faith in
  ,himself as essential to              
salvation4#ade ,belief in what ,he      
taught was  always subordinated to trust
 in ,himself4 ,consequently the apostles
 never  said1 #8,observe the precepts2  
follow the paths1 and you will find the 
way  of escape1' but always 8,believe in
 7or on7 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ and   
thou shalt be saved40 ,they pointed to  
,him as the sole object of faith  and   
worship1 as the only rule and example   
and inspiration4 ,their creed1  their   
theology1 their ethical code1 were not  
elaborated in systems2 they  were all   
comprehended in a ,person who required  
neither apologists nor  defenders1 but  
only witnesses who would manifest and   
declare ,him4    ,this must be borne in 
mind when we consider the miraculous    

elements  which are common to the       
presentation1 given in both religions1  
of their  respective ,authors4 ,the     
story of ,buddha1 as we have hitherto   
followed  it1 tells of a great          
renunciation1 but of one that can hardly
 be called  unparalleled in the history 
of religion4 ,he was probably neither   
the  first nor the last noble ,indian   
youth who 8for the sake of that supreme 
goal of the higher life went out from   
all and every household gain and        
comfort1 to become a houseless          
wanderer40#adf ,but the story as we have
  it in the ,buddhist books is very     
different4#adg ,had any one asked a     
yellow-robed missionary1 about the time 
when the last ,gospel was being         
written1 what he meant by the ,buddha1  
he would have begun by telling of  one  
who1 thousands of ages back1 in the     
shining world of the gods1 out  of pity 
for the miseries of men1 resolved to    
become a ,buddha that he  might teach   
them the way of deliverance1 and who    

through many  transformations--in which 
he was baptized into all experiences1   
even  those of rat and a clod of        
earth--at last reached the point when1  
coming  down from heaven1 and entering1 
in the form of a white elephant1 the    
side of the wedded wife#adh of a great  
king1#adi was born as ,buddha4  ,he     
would tell of a mysterious baptism1 when
 two full streams of perfumed  water    
fell from heaven upon him1 while all the
 gods in all the worlds  raised in      
responsive harmony the heavenly song2 of
 a holy sage who  descended from heaven 
to greet him with predictions of his    
glorious  career2#aej of many prodigies 
displayed by him in his illustrious     
youth2 of his mighty struggle with and  
victory over ,mra1 ,lord of all         
,desires1 and of his going forth as a   
great king1 at the urgent request  of   
the great god ,brahma1 to preach        
,nirvana and deliver the world4    ,then
 he would tell how when he set          
8a-rolling the wheel0 of the 8kingdom   

of righteousness10#aea he did so with   
such effect that not only  multitudes of
 men1 but eighty thousand gods and      
angels1 8hearing1 each  in their own    
tongue1 though the language was that of 
,magadha10#aeb were  by one sermon      
imbued with saving knowledge and        
converted2 how during his  long and holy
 ministry1 by discourses and parables   
and miracles1 he  brought countless     
millions of men and women1 and gods and 
sprites and  fairies1 to find the right 
way2 how the great devas came to worship
 or  to ask counsel from him2#aec how1  
inviolable and invincible1 there  could 
not be found1 either in this world or in
 the world of the devas1  ,mras1        
,brahmans1 8any who could either scatter
 his thoughts or cleave  his heart02#aed
 how he was transfigured1#aee and at    
last1 when the  time was come1          
accompanied by a disciple very dear to  
him1 how he lay  down like a king       
between two trees4 ,then when winds were
 hushed1 and  streamlets silenced1 and  

flowers from heaven shed their blossoms 
over  him like rain-drops1 and a great  
earthquake rumbled1 and the sun and     
moon hid their faces1 and the great     
,brahma lamented1 rising through  light 
to light he achieved the full           
,nirvana4#aef    ,it is not wonderful   
that ,christians who have only read or  
heard of the  statements current as to  
the remarkable coincidences between the 
miraculous incidents recorded in the    
,buddhist legends and the ,christian    
,gospels should be perplexed1 and that  
not a few of those who are              
anti-,christian in their attitude should
 have almost jumped to the  conclusion  
that the biographers of the two lives   
must have known of each  other's works  
and borrowed each other's traditions4   
,examination of the  alleged            
coincidences1 however1 reveals that     
there is no occasion for the  perplexity
 in the one case1 and no ground for the 
jubilation in the  other4 ,by no honest 
process of manipulation can we turn the 

supposed  similarities into even        
probable identities4 ,the incidents     
illustrate  very widely contrasted      
lives1 and enforce dogmas utterly       
contradictory  to each other4 ,if any   
one is desirous of ascertaining the     
coincidences  which are stated to exist1
 he will find them clearly set forth and
  classified by ,professor ,seydel in   
his so-called ,buddhist ,harmony2#aeg   
and if he require any more than his own 
common sense to guide him to an  opinion
 concerning them1 he had better consult 
the ,appendix to ,professor  ,kuenen's  
,hibbert ,lectures on ,national         
,religions and ,universal  ,religions1  
,dr4 ,kellogg's ,light of ,asia and     
,light of the ,world1 and  ,dr4 ,j4     
,estlin ,carpenter's article in the     
,nineteenth ,century1 ,december  #ahhj1 
8,on the ,obligations of the ,new       
,testament to ,buddhism40 ,these        
authorities will confirm the judgment   
which any unbiassed and  intelligent    
juryman would form1 from considering the

 evidence adduced in  support of the    
theory of borrowing1 and from a simple  
comparison of the  alleged parallels    
themselves1 that ,buddhism had not the  
smallest direct  influence on the origin
 of ,christianity4 ,so fundamentally    
unlike are the  alleged 8similarities0  
that the hypothesis of the derivation of
 the  contents of the ,gospels from     
,buddhist sources is as ridiculous as   
would  be the supposition that the      
,venus of ,milo was copied from the rude
 idol  or hideous fetich of an          
aboriginal tribe4#aeh    ,when the      
missionaries of the two religions first 
came into actual  contact has not yet   
been ascertained1 and the influence of  
the ,christian  ideals of self-oblivion 
upon the most essentially selfish system
 of  salvation ever promulgated to the  
world has yet to be traced4 ,the        
conception of self-renunciation which is
 set forth in the legends may  have     
originated in the memory of the kindness
 and gentleness and  goodness of one    

whose life was far nobler than his      
creed1 and it may  have assumed greater 
strength and clearness when the teaching
 of the  ,gospels came to be reflected  
upon it4 ,it may or it may not1 but of  
this  we may be positively certain1 that
 the writers of the ,new ,testament and 
the composers of the earliest ,buddhist 
traditions knew positively  nothing of  
each other's productions4 ,this is a    
conclusion accepted by  the very best   
authorities on the subject1 and it is   
maintained with the  greatest firmness  
by those of them who discount the       
miraculous  occurrences found in the    
scriptures of both religions as only the
 fond  fancies which their affectionate 
disciples gradually wove around the     
memories of their respective teachers4  
,they hold that working  independently  
of each other1 but under similar        
influences and in similar  conditions1  
it was simply natural that they should  
have come to adorn  with wonders        
somewhat alike in character the story of

 two lives so pure  and beneficial4     
,the learned author of the ,hibbert     
,lectures for #ahha has made some very  
interesting and important suggestions as
 to the rise of the ,buddhist  legends1 
and as he seems to imply a similar      
growth of the 8,christian  legend10 it  
may be advisable to consider both       
accounts in their relation  to the      
literary sources which profess to       
authenticate them4 ,let us  assume1     
therefore1 that the ,lalita ,vistara was
 actually in circulation  about the     
beginning of the ,christian era1#aei and
 let us take for  granted that one of   
the oldest ,suttas1#afj professing to   
relate a  portion of ,buddha's ministry1
 was extant in the form in which we have
  it1 some three centuries earlier1 or a
 century after ,buddha's death4 ,a      
comparison of these two productions     
reveals at once the fact that in the    
earliest there is no reference to the   
divinity1 pre-existence1 or             
supernatural birth of ,buddha1 and      

making allowance for the usual          
exaggeration of language1 that there are
 very few miraculous incidents  recorded
 in it4 ,it has been asserted that      
,buddha never professed to work  a      
miracle4 ,certainly the fragments of his
 original teaching which  survive       
indicate that he would be the first to  
repudiate all such as  have been        
ascribed to him4 ,be that as it may1 it 
is a literary fact that  in the supposed
 earliest books only a few miracles are 
recorded4 ,we may  infer therefore that 
by the time they were composed his      
orthodox  disciples had not formed those
 conceptions of his person and mission  
which their pious descendants later on  
learned to believe and to  proclaim4#afa
    ,the ,gospels are not the earliest  
,christian writings1 and not several1   
but many1 8narratives concerning those  
matters which had been fulfilled  or    
established among0 ,christians1 even as 
they 8delivered them who were           
eye-witnesses and ministers of the      

word10#afb were probably in  circulation
 before the ,gospels were written4 ,some
 of the ,epistles of ,st4  ,paul also1  
in all probability1 preceded those      
collections of 8the words  and deeds of 
the ,lord02 but the substance of the    
three first ,gospels was  very early    
produced1 and we may be morally certain 
that they contain the  beliefs which the
 very first generation of ,christians   
entertained  concerning ,him4 ,the truth
 of these beliefs is not now under      
discussion1  but only the fact of them1 
and the kind of people who were         
influenced by  them4 ,it is averred     
8that the outward conditions in which   
,buddhism and  ,christianity arose were 
similar1 and so were the mental         
qualities of the  disciples of both     
religions02#afc but the conditions were 
most  dissimilar in this respect1 that  
,buddhism originated in the dimness of  
an unhistoric age1 and ,christianity in 
an age and land so irradiated by  the   
light of history that we know more      

clearly what was happening then  and    
there than we do of what occurred in    
,europe a thousand years after4  ,the   
mental qualities of the disciples of    
both religions again seem to  have been 
most unlike4 ,about ,ananda and his     
companions we know really  nothing but  
the names1 for they meet us in the      
,buddhist records as mere  lay figures1 
completely resembling one another1 and  
with no  individuality to distinguish   
them4#afd ,we may assume1 however1 that 
they belonged to one or other of the    
many sects of ,brahmans or ,sramans1    
and if so1 that they were dreamy and    
contemplative men1 withdrawn from       
practical life1 and finding in the life 
of meditation a sphere more  congenial  
to them than the actual world of which  
they were parts4 ,they  appear to have  
been directly and thoroughly unlike to  
the very marked  personalities          
represented by the ,evangelists and the 
other apostles of  ,christ1 who were all
 drawn from practical life to be ,his   

followers4 ,they  were the very reverse 
of speculative2 they had little         
imagination and  almost no poetry in    
them2 they were very dull of            
comprehension in regard  to truths      
higher than the few which they          
inherited1 and very incredulous  about  
any unwonted occurrence said to have    
taken place outside the  little circle  
of their own observation4 ,in their     
conscientious1  matter-of-fact way of   
looking at things they were the very    
last men to  dream dreams or weave      
legends around the memory of one whom   
they  revered2 and we have their own    
confession1 not of their slowness of    
apprehension merely1 but of their       
unbelief at first in regard to all      
supernatural manifestations4    ,now    
while the supernatural only rarely meets
 us in the most ancient  ,buddhist      
productions1 where we would naturally   
have expected it to have  predominated1 
it meets us in the very earliest        
writings of ,christianity1  where we    

would not have expected it at all4      
,christ to ,his first  disciples and    
apostles was a miraculous being4 ,the   
claim formulated in  ,st4 ,john's       
,gospel1 which is probably the latest   
book in the ,new  ,testament1 is that   
advanced for ,christ by ,st4 ,paul in   
his earliest  extant letter to the      
churches4 ,the ,christ of ,st4 ,john is 
not a new  ,person1 but the same ,divine
 ,being of whom ,st4 ,paul says1 8,he   
being in  the form of ,god0 was 8found  
on earth in fashion as a man40 ,he may  
have  been all wrong as to the ground of
 his belief2 he may have been an        
epileptic1 a visionary1 a man subject to
 trances1 whose intense  spiritual      
affinities disqualified him from judging
 calmly of matters of  history2 but     
there is no mistake as to his own belief
 and that of the  other evangelists and 
writers of the ,new ,testament4 ,the    
teaching of ,st4  ,paul and ,st4 ,john  
concerning ,christ is set forth in ,st4 
,matthew with a  clearness which no     

language can improve upon4#afe ,st4     
,mark dwells  primarily upon the        
humanity of ,jesus1 a most important    
fact1 presenting  a historic basis      
without which ,christian truth would    
have been little  more than a mystic    
speculation2 but even in ,st4 ,mark that
 humanity is  not described as unfolding
 under conditions which are merely      
normal4#aff ,the life to which he       
testifies is not just that of ,jesus of 
,nazareth1 but of the ,christ of ,god1  
who speaks with more than human         
authority4 ,the development which is    
traceable in the theology of the        
,epistles is the expansion of the       
significance of the events recorded in  
the ,gospels4 ,the latest writings may  
more fully interpret the teaching  of   
the earlier ones1 but in them we find no
 other ,gospels1 but only  anathemas    
pronounced on those who pretend to have 
them4 ,in them a larger  domain is seen 
expanding beneath our gaze1 but it is   
visible only in the  light of the       

central figure that meets us in the     
first4 ,plainly1  therefore1 while the  
earliest ,buddhist witnesses account for
 their  master and his teaching in the  
ordinary ways1 and while their          
successors  much later on in their      
attempts to embellish his portrait have 
produced  quite a different person from 
the man of whom they first testified1   
the  very earliest ,christian writers   
could not account for ,christ in any    
other way than by regarding ,him as a   
supernatural being1 who did not  come   
into the world and did not leave it in  
the way of all other men4 ,it  is       
possible that they may all have been    
deluded1 but if so1 they vouched  for   
their sincerity by their martyrdoms4    
,the delusion1 moreover1 was at  least  
universally and most consistently       
maintained1 and it is the first         
instance in the history of mankind where
 a delusion has produced  intellectual  
activity and expansion so wonderful as  
to have changed the  current of history1

 and originated the great throbbing     
ever-enlarging  world of ,christendom   
which confronts us now4    ,another     
significant contrast between the two    
sets of writings is found  in the fact  
that while we can dissociate the        
miraculous elements from  the ,buddhist 
,pitakas without detriment to their     
other contents1 we find  it impossible  
to apply the same process with the like 
results to the ,new  ,testament4 ,no one
 questions that primitive ,buddhism is  
improved by being  freed from the       
portents which subsequently gathered    
around it1 for  primitive ,buddhism is  
an intellectual and moral system1 a     
theory of the  universe more likely to  
be obscured than elucidated by an appeal
 to the  supernatural4 ,christianity1   
however1 while appealing both to        
intellect  and conscience1 does so as   
the revelation of a life which1 as a new
  thing1 might break through all men's  
conceptions of what was ordinary or     
necessary4 ,the first appearance of life

 on this planet as an unwonted          
phenomenon would be accompanied by      
manifestations miraculous to all who    
only judged by experience of what had   
already been4 ,so would be the  first   
appearance of man to those who judged of
 things by what was  possible to the    
actual animal world4 ,that the          
manifestation of ,one who  had come that
 men might have life1 and have it more  
abundantly1 should  be accompanied with 
phenomena new and strange to mankind    
might have been  expected4 ,christ1 as  
revealing an ideal of excellence to     
which things as  they are in nature1 and
 men as they now are in society1 do not 
conform1  will in truth contradict the  
present working of both4 ,this at least 
is  the impression inevitably produced  
by the reading of the ,new ,testament4  
,its teaching is throughout founded     
upon1 and it would be quite             
unintelligible without reference to1 the
 supernatural4 ,to dissociate the       
miraculous portions from the rest of its

 contents would be not only to  mutilate
 but to destroy it4#afg ,not the        
theological and metaphysical  elements  
only1 but even 8the ethical1 are so     
interwoven into one fibre  with the     
supernatural in the ,new ,testament that
 it is impossible to  detach them       
without destroying the whole            
fabric40#afh ,verily a ,gospel  without 
the miracles and all that accounts for  
them would be a very  strange book4     
,another very distinctive feature in the
 ,new ,testament accounts is  displayed 
in the character of the wonders there   
recorded4 ,indeed1 this  distinguishing 
element is found in all the miraculous  
narratives of the  ,bible4 ,if it be    
true that the ancient writers or        
redactors of ,scripture  have employed  
the legends of other nations to         
illustrate their works1 it  must be     
conceded that they have immensely       
improved1 and made a much  better use of
 them4 ,the story of the creation of the
 world1 of the  primeval paradise1 and  

of the deluge1 may be only myths common 
to  several nations1 but somehow1 while 
all other writers just lose  themselves 
in these myths1 the ,hebrews alone have 
laid hold of them to  enforce the       
sublimest views ever formulated in human
 speech concerning  the origin of the   
world and of man4 ,the narratives of the
 ,old ,testament  are evidently not     
constructed to startle the reader with  
portents1 but  to disclose the          
providential dealings of a holy and     
merciful ,god with  man to enlighten and
 save him4 ,the ,gospels in like manner 
are not  written to record miraculous   
occurrences1 nor are miracles introduced
 to  glorify ,christ3 they are simply   
referred to as incidents in ,his        
ministry4 ,when we compare the prodigies
 ascribed to ,buddha during the  many   
changes of his pre-existence1 or during 
his ministry1 with the  miracles of the 
,gospels1 they are like the rough casts 
in clay or wood  made by a rude or      
childish people contrasted with the     

perfect  productions of nature in the   
world of animals or of men4 ,they may   
endure  comparison with the portents    
found in the ,apocryphal books1 or in   
the  ,lives of the ,saints1 but placed  
side by side with the ,gospel miracles  
they serve only to illustrate the       
difference between what is artificial   
and grotesque1 and what is original and 
natural4 ,there is a marked  sobriety in
 the ,gospel accounts totally lacking in
 the ,buddhist legends4  ,the latter    
serve no other end but to exalt and     
magnify ,buddha1#afi but  the ,gospel   
miracles are all founded in some great  
human necessity which  they are intended
 to supply4 ,the ,buddhist marvels are  
simply produced to  startle us1 the     
,christian are recorded as signs to     
instruct us4 ,what a  gulf separates the
 conception of ,buddha leaping high in  
air amid the  sounding of the bells of  
the heavens and the plaudits of all the 
gods1  just to prove that he was        
,buddha1 from the account of ,christ's  

refusal  to work a miracle to win the   
adherence of the crowd1 or give the sign
  from heaven to vanquish ,sadducean    
unbelief6 ,the ,gospel miracles are few 
after all1 but they all flow from and   
are in harmony with the original  idea  
of ,christ as ,messiah which is assumed 
in all the ,gospels4 ,the  mighty works 
done by ,him are all such as might be   
expected to be done in  a world like    
this by the ,son of a heavenly ,father4 
,the cure of all  manner of disease1 the
 exorcism of all the evil spirits that  
have  afflicted humanity1 the victory   
over death1 the control of all the      
forces of nature1 were all in the scope 
of one who came hither to  establish the
 kingdom of ,god4 ,christ's miracles    
were all signs of man's  present and    
prophecies of his future relations to   
all the evils that  afflict him4 ,they  
all remind us of the ,divine original   
ideal that man1  perfectly obedient to  
,god1 must exercise dominion over ,his  
creatures in  this world4 ,man's present

 antagonism to nature1 and the disorder 
seen in  his own social relations1 are  
alike due to his refusal to merge his   
will  in ,god's1 and the miracles of our
 ,saviour are all prophecies that when  
through obedience to or faith in ,god he
 shall be restored to holiness1  he will
 find his social and external relations 
improved1 and will regain  over nature  
that spiritual authority which even     
already the winds and  the waves in part
 recognise and obey4#agj    ,again1 the 
,new ,testament writers claim for       
,christ what the early  disciples of    
,buddha never dreamed of claiming for   
their master1 and they  insist upon     
their claim1 though it is associated    
with the meanest and  apparently most   
contradictory of elements4 ,it is not   
the glorification  but the humiliation  
of ,christ which constitutes the marvel 
in the  ,gospels4 ,it was very natural  
that the ,evangelists should imagine    
that  the angels should sing over the   
birth of a ,saviour1 but it was not     

natural that they should conceive of    
them singing over a babe in a  manger4  
,it was not wonderful1 again1 for ,jews 
to believe that the coming  of their    
,messiah was divinely announced1 but it 
is very wonderful that  they should     
believe that this annunciation was made 
to unknown  shepherds4 ,it was certainly
 not in that way their ,messiah was     
expected  to come4 ,had ,he come in the 
way they expected1 the miracles might   
naturally have been accounted for which 
they associated with ,his coming2  but1 
as matter of fact1 it requires the      
miracle to account for their  belief in 
,him4 ,and so it is all through in the  
,gospels4 ,that the ,messiah  should be 
discovered to be the ,son of ,god need  
not surprise us1 but that  the ,son of  
,god should be recognised by ,jews in   
the form of a servant1  enduring        
patiently the contradiction of sinners1 
submitting to trial1 to  torture1 to    
death on the cross1 is one of the       
greatest marvels in the  whole history  

of religion4 ,this combination of glory 
and shame was a  difficulty in the way  
of faith1 not a help or support of it4  
,the claim1  we must remember1 was not  
advanced for ,christ by the ,evangelists
 after  ,he died2 it was formulated by  
,himself1 and by ,him it was asserted   
more  conspicuously1 and with greater   
frequency and emphasis toward the close 
of ,his earthly life4 ,it was the only  
charge on which ,he was condemned2  all 
other accusations brought against ,him  
broke down2 but this one ,he            
admitted--that ,he called ,himself the  
,son of ,god4 ,questioned upon it1 ,he  
would not retract4 8,thou sayest10 was  
all ,his reply1 and for the saying  ,he 
was ordered to the cross4 ,yet upon the 
cross ,his assertion was  strengthened4 
,had ,he been a pretender1 ,he would    
never have so comported  ,himself before
 ,pilate and ,herod2 had ,he been       
self-deluded1 ,he never  would have said
 to ,his fellow-sufferer on ,calvary3   
8,to-day shalt thou be  with me in      

paradise40 ,the torture of crucifixion  
was sufficient to expel  the            
hallucinations of the maddest brain1 but
 the ,evangelists show that  while faith
 in ,his ,messiahship was1 during ,his  
crucifixion1 fading even  from ,his     
disciples1 in ,himself it was stronger  
than ever1 and at the  very last it was 
communicated to a dying robber1 who     
trusted that ,he had  power to absolve  
him1 and to open to him the gates of a  
better life4  ,now1 all this surely     
never could naturally have occurred to  
,jewish men  to conceive1 and if their  
records be only fictions1 the devout    
creations  of over fond imaginations1   
then their legends are miracles         
themselves4    ,some one has said that  
it is possible to find in the ,buddhist 
books a  parallel to every incident in  
the ,gospels2 if so1 these parallels    
will  be found to be very far apart2 but
 to the incident of the ,crucifixion    
there can be no parallel4 ,that one     
historical event separates not only  the

 two systems of thought and belief1 but 
marks off ,christianity from  all other 
religions in the world4 ,till the       
crucifixion of ,jesus was  accomplished1
 the idea of associating with ,deity    
humiliation1 and of  conceiving of ,god 
as dying the death of a slave upon the  
cross1 would  have been regarded as the 
grossest impiety4 ,the fundamental idea 
of the  ,incarnation was not wholly     
foreign to the mind either of ,india or 
of  ,greece2 to the ,jew it was not a   
natural thought1 but one so             
anti-,semitic  that ,jew and ,moslem    
alike have rejected ,christianity       
because of it2#aga  but the incarnation 
of ,deity represented in the ,gospels1  
the humiliation  of the ,godhead implied
 in the ,crucifixion1 is an idea which  
never could  have originated in the mind
 of either ,gentile or ,jew4 ,it is one 
of the  things of ,god which the natural
 man cannot conceive1 a mystery hid from
  all ages until it was revealed1 and   
apparently1 unless we admit the  reality

 of the revelation1 we never can account
 for the faith4    ,the miraculous      
personality of ,christ is thus the      
outstanding and  distinctive feature of 
the ,christian writings4 ,as the mists  
clear away  in the ,east1 ,buddha       
emerges more and more in the stature of 
a good and  great man1 but ,christ rises
 upon us as one who cannot be accounted 
for  according to the measure of any    
man1 nor even that of an angel4 ,it is  
not as a teacher1 a guide out of the    
difficulties of life1 that ,he meets    
us1 but as a ,revealer and ,saviour4 ,it
 is thus ,he has been accepted by  ,his 
disciples1 and upon their faith ,he has 
reared ,his ,church4 ,it is thus  ,he   
conceived of ,himself1 and ,his         
conception is not more astounding than  
are the simplicity and lowliness and    
meekness of ,his character4 ,he is      
,himself thus the miracle of miracles1  
wholly inexplicable on any human  theory
 devised to account for ,him2 and till  
that one miracle is solved1  all        

questions as to the miracles which are  
ascribed to ,him can afford to  wait for
 their solution4    ,we have no desire  
to exaggerate the value of the          
miraculous elements in  ,christianity1  
but it does not appear to be true wisdom
 that would  depreciate them or ignore  
them altogether4 ,miracles by many have 
been  wrongly considered1 and they have 
been often expounded by the advocates   
of ,christianity in such a way as to    
create instead of removing  difficulties
 connected with the faith4 ,on the other
 hand1 many who  reject or refuse to    
consider them seem afflicted by a kind  
of mental  semeiophobia which in its own
 way may be as dangerous an affliction  
as  hydrophobia is4 ,the proper way is  
to consider them in relation to the     
nature and purpose of the ,revelation   
with which they are associated4 ,the    
miracle may sometimes be found only in  
the form of the narrative1 as a         
hieroglyph whose purpose we are too lazy
 to search for1 whose meaning we  are   

too stupid to elucidate4 ,the theory    
that miracles are only  figurative      
expressions of spiritual truth is not   
true1 as it is  generally expounded2 but
 it has a truth in it which must never  
be  overlooked4 ,every miracle is a     
parable1 and every parable is a miracle4
  ,it is the spiritual reality revealed 
by both which gives them value1 and  not
 the wonder in them by which we are at  
first arrested4 ,yet without  the wonder
 to arrest us we might never have       
received the revelation4  8,what did the
 apostle mean10 asks ,robert            
,elsmere1#agb 8by death to sin  and     
self8 what the precise idea attached by 
him to being risen with  ,christ8 ,are  
this death and resurrection necessarily 
dependent upon  certain alleged         
historical events1 or are they not      
primarily1 and were  there not1 even in 
,paul's mind1 two aspects of a spiritual
 process  perpetually re-enacted in the 
soul of man1 and constituting the       
veritable revelation of ,god8 ,which is 

the stable and lasting witness of  the  
,father8 the spiritual history of the   
individual and of the world1 or  the    
envelope of miracle to which hitherto   
mankind has attached such  importance80 
,the envelope certainly would be as     
worthless without the  message which it 
carries as a husk from which the kernel 
has dropped4  ,would ,st4 ,paul1        
however1 ever have conceived the        
spiritual truths  referred to1 if they  
had not been suggested by historical    
facts8 ,could  he ever have conceived of
 a death to sin had the world never     
witnessed  the death of the ,holy       
,christ upon the cross8 ,could he ever  
have dreamed  of rising again in the    
power of a new life if the tomb in the  
garden  nigh ,golgotha had never been   
found empty of its crucified occupant8  
,is  he not just suggesting the         
significance of very exceptional        
historical  events8 ,he may be wrong in 
his interpretation1 but there can be no 
mistake that the interpretation is      

founded upon the history1 that it was   
the event which originated his theory1  
and not his theory that produced  the   
story of the event4 ,christian theology1
 instead of giving this  miraculous     
character to the tragic story of the    
life and death of  ,christ1 has been    
called into existence by man's          
endeavours to account  for it as a fact 
not only marvellous1 but simply unique  
in the  experience of mankind4    ,it is
 not likely that the miraculous elements
 in the ,christian religion  will be    
found to be 8the produce of its         
primitive theology1 which will  fade out
 of the conception of men as theology   
advances and becomes  purified40 ,the   
demonstration of this must not be       
assumed to be complete  because the     
miraculous is also found in other       
religions4 ,we must be able  to account 
for it in all of them4 ,it is1 indeed1  
the natural tendency of  humanity to    
magnify and eventually to deify its     
heroes1 to embellish  their careers with

 similar marvels1 to apply to them      
figurative language  very liable to be  
misunderstood1 which in later           
generations hardens into  erroneous     
beliefs4 ,that ,christians as well as   
,buddhists have done so is  sufficiently
 attested by the apocryphal ,gospels1   
but we must not  conclude that because  
there are so many fictitious and        
counterfeit  wonders in currency there  
can be no real miracles4 ,we must       
examine each  religion on its merits1   
and its miraculous elements in the light
 of  their purpose and of their actual  
genesis2 and if we do so in the case  of
 ,christianity1 we will probably        
discover the one supernatural reality   
from which the shadows in all other     
religions are reflected1 and to  which  
they all point4#agc    ,dr4 ,rhys       
,davids1 in the ,hibbert ,lectures1     
informs us that the early  ,buddhist    
conception of ,gotama was dominated and 
transformed by two  ideals1 neither of  
which had any necessary connection with 

the man  himself4 ,one of them1 due to  
political experience1 made him finally  
assume in the popular imagination the   
office of a ,universal ,king2 while  the
 other1 due to philosophic speculation1 
invested him with the  attribute of     
,perfect ,wisdom4 ,the implied parallel 
between this  conception1 coloured as it
 grew by the sun myths which it         
incorporated1  and the ,christian       
conception of ,jesus1 suggested by the  
titles ,king of  ,glory and ,divine     
,word1 is obvious to everybody4 ,yet    
examination of the  supposed            
similarities only reveals essential     
contrasts between the two  sets of      
beliefs4 ,the political experiences in  
,india which are referred  to occurred  
about two centuries after the death of  
,buddha4 ,the victories  of             
,chandragupta1 resulting in the         
consolidation of a kingdom such as      
,indians had never before witnessed1    
combined with his patronage of the      
,buddhist monks1 may have suggested the 

idea of the universal monarch4  8,his   
achievements recalled the nearly        
forgotten poetry of the ,vedic  legends1
 while the new and popular ethics of    
,buddha invested him with a             
righteousness which made him a worthy   
,lord of the ,four ,quarters 7of the    
,globe740 ,so in one of the ,suttas1    
said to be early1 and which may have    
been assuming shape at this time1 words 
like these are put in the mouth  of     
,buddha3--8,i am a king1 ,o ,sela1 an   
incomparable1 religious king2 with      
justice ,i roll the wheel1 the wheel    
that is irresistible40#agd ,with  this  
conception of ,cakka-vatti1 a glorious  
king1 was connected1 avers  ,dr4 ,rhys  
,davids1 that of an age in which plenty 
and peace were to abound  as the fruits 
of righteousness4#age ,the idea of a    
golden age is common  to most religions1
 and as the ,western ,aryans always     
preserved it1 we may  conclude that the 
branch which reached ,india carried it  
thither with  them4 ,soon1 however1 as  

the belief in transmigration took       
possession of  them1 they seem to have  
lost it4 ,their book of the generations 
of man  did not mount higher than the   
,fall2 existence was essentially evil in
  their thought1 and belief in a golden 
age on earth1 either in the past  or in 
the future1 was quite inconsistent with 
the creed which ,buddhists  inherited or
 created4 ,the other branch of the      
,aryan stock so cherished  it that it   
adorns their most beautiful mythologies2
 but even with them  the golden age was 
always placed in the past1 and the      
world1 fallen from  good1 was supposed  
to be degenerating from bad to worse4   
,and so it is  that the fondest glances 
of even the happy ,greek are not forward
 but  backward cast1 and that sadness   
mingles with his most mirthful music4   
,it is possible at least that changes so
 favourable to the fortunes of  the new 
religion1 and the social reforms which  
followed its extension1  may have       
awakened in the pious the memories of   

old ,vedic faith2 and that  the         
victories of ,chandragupta may have     
suggested to the authors of the  ,suttas
 the idea of the invincible ,buddha     
advancing through the ages1 as  the     
chariot-wheel of the sun disperses the  
clouds in the heavens4 ,it is  certain1 
however1 that neither ,buddha nor his   
earliest disciples ever  dreamed of     
applying the title of ,cakka-vatti to or
 of associating the  promise of a better
 time with himself4 ,to old ,vedic faith
 as supporting  his teaching or         
predicting his mission he never         
appealed2 he ignored all  previous      
teaching3 and indeed in ancient ,indian 
teaching1 uninspired by  either promise 
or hope1 there is nothing prophetic4 ,in
 the case of  ,christianity it is quite 
the contrary4 ,the conception of the    
,messiah as  the righteous and glorious 
,king1 under whose reign all the world  
would  be blessed1 was not suggested by 
political experience two centuries      
after the dawn of ,christianity4 ,it was

 formulated and predicted many          
centuries before the coming of ,christ4 
,the ,hebrew1 like the ,aryan1 never    
lost the memory of a happy past1 but1   
unlike the ,aryan1 he placed his        
paradise not only in the past but in the
 future4 ,with far richer  materials at 
his command than the ,aryan seems to    
have possessed for  painting a vanished 
golden age1 the ,hebrew poets made very 
sparing use  of them4 ,a few paragraphs 
exhaust all they have to say as to the  
traditions of a paradise that had been  
lost1 but their whole ,bible is  full of
 the hope of the good time which is     
coming to all the world4 ,this  hope1   
centred as it was in their ,messiah1    
,christianity from the very  first took 
up and promised to fulfil4 ,the ministry
 of ,jesus was scarcely  begun before it
 was associated with ,him4 ,among the   
first questions asked  concerning ,him  
was1 8,is not this ,messias80 ,among the
 earliest  declarations made was1 8,we  
have found the ,messias40 ,very soon in 

,his  career ,he confessed1 8,i that    
speak unto thee am ,he60 ,the ,gospels  
and  ,epistles would be unintelligible  
without this perpetual reference to     
,messianic prediction2 it is the golden 
thread which runs through all the  ,old 
,testament and unites it with the ,new4 
,in its ,messianic hope1 ,old           
,testament prophecy reached its highest 
and purest development1 and the  ,new   
,testament claims that in ,christ it is 
finding its fulfilment4 ,it may  be     
alleged of course that the prophecy and 
the claim are alike  delusions1 but the 
prophecy at least was a fact1 and its   
application to  ,christ was no legendary
 growth of a later generation1 but the  
original  and essential testimony of the
 earliest ,christian teachers4    ,the  
other conception of ,perfect ,wisdom    
represented by ,buddha the  ,awakened or
 ,enlightened ,one is also confessedly  
an aftergrowth4 ,the  earliest traces   
which we have of ,gotama after his death
 disclose him as  a man who gained his  

knowledge by severe struggle1 and who   
therefore1 in  the estimation of his    
followers1 was a 8,jina0 or conqueror4  
,as time went  on1 and his memory rose  
in the estimation of later generations1 
the  faithful1 guided by their belief in
 transmigration1 projected this         
struggle for ,buddhahood further and    
further into former stages of           
existence1 till at last the idea was    
conceived that he was only one of a     
long series of ,buddhas1 of whom he was 
not to be the last4 ,the  development of
 this interesting speculation1 with its 
distinctions into  ,buddhas who only    
save themselves--,paccekabuddhas--and   
the ,sammsambuddhas1  who appear at very
 rare intervals1 able and willing to    
save to the  uttermost1 need not here be
 traced4 ,it is sufficient to note how  
unlike  and contradictory is this belief
 to that which dominates in our         
religion4 ,in ,christ we have the only  
,messiah1 and ,he1 having once  come1 we
 do not look for another4 ,the hope of  

the ,christian is fixed  upon ,his      
coming again in glory2 but it is the    
coming again of the same  ,jesus4 ,the  
unity of ,deity colours and pervades all
 our thoughts of  ,divine communications
 with mankind2 8there is one ,god1 and  
one ,mediator  between ,god and man40   
,consequently the doctrine of the       
,divine ,word  formulated in connection 
with ,christ in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel    
represents a  very different set of     
ideas from the conception of ,buddha as 
the ,perfect  ,wisdom1 to whom all      
worlds and all times were open4 ,that   
conception of  ,buddha was probably an  
incorporation into the ,buddhist creed  
from  foreign sources1 but the idea of  
,christ as the ,son1 8unto whom all     
things have been delivered by the       
,father10 so that 8no one knoweth the   
,son save the ,father1 neither doth any 
know the ,father save the ,son1 and  he 
to whomsoever the ,son willeth to reveal
 ,him10 was a common one among  the very
 earliest ,christians of whom we have   

any trace4 ,st4 ,matthew1 ,st4  ,mark1  
,st4 ,paul1 ,st4 ,luke all preach       
,christ1 8unto whom has been  committed 
all knowledge and judgment10 8who is    
before all things1 and in  whom all     
things consist10 8the image of the      
invisible ,god1 in whom it  pleased the 
,father that all fulness should         
dwell40#agf    ,and so it is not in the 
latest ,gospel but in the earliest      
,scriptures  that we have the first     
indications of this doctrine as ,christ 
the ,word1  though in the latest1 as we 
might expect1 it is more clearly        
formulated  and more fully expounded4   
,written after the fall of ,jerusalem1  
the  destruction of the ancient ,church1
 and the recognition of the ,gentiles   
as fellow-heirs1 by one who was quite   
conscious of the new intellectual       
position which ,christianity occupied in
 relation to the speculations of  ,syria
 and ,egypt1 and of the dangers which   
thereby accrued to the faith1  its      
author took up a term very current at   

the time in theosophic and  metaphysical
 writings1 and specially those of       
,philo1 to set forth the  truth of the  
,life whose manifestation he had        
witnessed4 ,that ,st4 ,john  did not    
borrow the term from ,philo is evident  
from the very different  use which he   
has made of it1 and the very different  
purpose which he had  in view4 ,by it   
,philo expressed the conception of      
,divine intelligence in  the abstract1  
while ,st4 ,john employed it to suggest 
the concrete idea of  ,god's personal   
action4 ,both found it in the           
,septuagint and the ,hebrew  traditional
 lore2#agg but while ,philo gave it a   
,greek1 ,st4 ,john adhered  to its      
,hebrew significance4 ,the first chapter
 of ,st4 ,john compared with  a page of 
,philo#agh will reveal at once the      
difference between them1  and convince  
us that the teaching of ,philo          
concerning the ,logos leads  further and
 further away from the idea of the      
incarnation which is the                

foundation-truth of the teaching of ,st4
 ,john4 ,his doctrine would be  quite   
unintelligible as an application or     
continuation of the doctrine  of ,philo1
 but it is intelligible and consistent  
as the final  co-ordination of truths   
concerning the ,divine ,being disclosed 
in the ,old  ,testament viewed by a man 
whose antecedents and modes of thought  
were  very different from those of the  
,alexandrian sage4#agi    ,the ideas    
suggested by the 8,angel of the         
,presence0 in the historic and          
prophetic books1 by the 8,word of the   
,lord0 in the ,psalms1 and by  8,wisdom0
 in the ,books of ,wisdom1 indicate the 
rays which converge in ,st4  ,john's    
doctrine of the ,christ4 ,as one who    
tarried long after the first  generation
 of ,christians had gone to their rest1 
as one who had not only  pondered       
longer1 and in deeper silence1 the ,life
 he had seen manifested1  but who had   
found its interpretation in such        
providences as the  spreading of the    

,churches and the destruction of the    
,state1 he was abler  to meet the       
necessities of a wider age1 by setting  
the truth in rounder  form and clearer  
light2 but while he expands and expounds
 the teaching  of the first generation1 
he adds and introduces not a single     
element4  ,his testimony is identical   
with that proclaimed at the             
,resurrection1  that ,jesus of ,nazareth
 is the ,christ1 and that ,christ is the
 only  begotten ,son of ,god4    ,it is 
not as one who has acquired truth by    
long struggle1 not as one who  has      
fought or forced ,his way to light1 that
 ,christ presents ,himself in  the      
,gospels1 but as one who can say3 8,i am
 the way1 the truth1 the  life10 8the   
light of the world40 ,yet along with    
this stupendous demand  upon the faith  
of humanity there is a humility and     
simplicity  undiscoverable in the       
,buddha of the ,pitakas4                
,self-consciousness1  self-reliance1    
self-culture--these are the phrases most

 suggestive of the  system and of the   
life of the great ,indian sage1 while   
not  self-abasement1 but self-oblivion1 
characterises the teaching and life  of 
,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,identity with the 
,highest1 manifested by absolute        
surrender to ,him1 is the essence of the
 ,revelation of ,christ4 ,always is  the
 ,father confessed to be the source of  
all grace and truth1 and if the  ,son   
asks to be glorified1 it is that the    
,father may be glorified in ,him4  ,we  
are certainly not contemplating         
similarities when we look at the        
,buddha of the ,suttas and the ,christ  
of the ,gospels1 but contrasts more     
widely separated than the soul is from  
the body4 ,in ,buddha we have a         
historical personage1 who can be        
thoroughly accounted for as the product 
and outgrowth of his past1 and of his   
environment2 in ,christ we have one     
whom no philosophy of history has ever  
explained4 ,alone and  unapproachable1  
,he meets us as one who is really human1

 because ,he has  become man1 one who   
has arisen among men to save them1 but  
because ,he  has come through and to    
them4 ,he is not just one of the many1 a
 son of  men1 the product of a          
divinely-trained humanity1 but the ,son 
of ,man1 who  as ,son of ,god1          
incarnated in the nature of all men1 has
 become the ,head  and ,creator of a new
 humanity4 ,correct1 improve1 embellish 
as we may1  the portrait left us of the 
gentle teacher of ,magadha1 we never can
 lift  him up to that level which would 
justify his being worshipped or being   
addressed1 as ,jesus of ,nazareth has   
been by the consensus of all the        
,christian ages1 8,thou art the ,king of
 ,glory1 ,o ,christ4 ,thou art the      
everlasting ,son of the ,father40       
,footnote #abj3      ,e4g4 ,sinai       
,hagar 7,gal4 iv4 #bd-ca72 also         
,claudius    7#b    ,thess4 ii4 #f1 #g72
 ,hausrath1 ,life and ,times of ,jesus1 
vol4 i4 p4 #gg4    ,footnote #aba3      
,derenbourg1 ,hist4 de la ,palestine    

d'aprs les ,talmuds1 pp4 #aei1 #bjb4    
,footnote #abb3      ,wellhausen1 ,the  
,pharisees and ,sadducees1 pp4 #h1      
#bf-dc2 ,greifswald1    #ahgd4          
,footnote #abc3      ,jos4 ,antiq4 xiii4
 #e4 #i1 xv4 #aj4 #d1 #e2 ,bell4 ,jud4  
ii4 #h4 #b1 #ad4    ,footnote #abd3     
,keim1 ,jesus of ,nazara1 vol4 i4 p4    
#cib4    ,footnote #abe3                
,delitzsch1 ,jesus and ,hillel1 pp4 #ca 
seq42 ,pirk ,abth1 ,cambridge1    #ahgg1
 passim4    ,footnote #abf3      ,jos4  
,antiq4 xvii4 #d4    ,footnote #abg3    
,philo1 ,quod omnis ,probus ,liber1 p4  
#ab4    ,footnote #abh3      ,bhler1    
,ind4 ,ant4 vol4 vii4 p4 #adc2 ,jacobi1 
8,mahvira and his    ,predecessors10    
,ind4 ,ant4 vol4 viii4 pp4 #caa-cad2    
,kern1 ,history of    ,buddhism in      
,india1 vol4 i4 p4 #adc2 ,colebrooke's  
,essays1 vol4 i4 p4    #chj4            
,footnote #abi3      ,see 8,jainism10 by
 ,dr4 ,shoolbred--,report of the        
,missionary ,conference1    #ahhh1 vol4 
i4 p4 #da2 ,wilson's ,essays1 vol4 i4 p4

 #dbg seq4    ,footnote #acj3           
8,sramana10 in ,brahman speech1 was a   
man who performed hard penances1    from
 sram1 to work hard4 ,there is another  
,sanscrit root1 sam1 to    quiet1 and   
from it afterwards the popular etymology
 derived the word4    ,see ,professor   
,max ,mller's translation of the        
,dhammapada in ,sacred    ,books of the 
,east1 vol4 x4 p4 #fe note4    ,footnote
 #aca3      ,there seems to have been   
four great divisions of ,sramanas1 with 
as    many as sixty-three philosophical 
systems represented by them4 ,the       
,brahmanas were also similarly divided4 
,see ,sutta ,nipta1 ,sacred ,books    of
 the ,east1 vol4 xi4 ,part ii4 pp4 #ae1 
#af1 #hh1 #ic4    ,footnote #acb3       
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4 #ga4      
,footnote #acc3      ,see ,year-,book of
 ,protestant ,theology for #ahhc for an 
account of the    views of ,professor   
,loman of ,amsterdam4    ,footnote #acd3
      ,m4 ,senart1 ,legend of ,buddha1  
,paris1 #ahge2 ,kern1 ,history of       

,buddhism    in ,india3 ,schoebel4      
,buddh4 ,actes de la ,soc4 ,philol42    
,paris1 #ahgd1    vol iv4 pp4 #afj seq4 
,footnote #ace3      ,annual ,report of 
the ,asiatic ,society2 ,paris1 ,july    
#ahge4    ,footnote #acf3               
,cunningham1 ,ancient ,geog4 of ,india1 
vol4 i4 p4 #adg2 ,oldenberg1    ,buddha1
 etc41 p4 #ie2 ,beal1 ,chinese          
,buddhism1 p4 #fg4    ,footnote #acg3   
8,mra eat le dmon de l'amour1 du pch et 
de la mort10 says ,burnouf    in his    
,introduction to the ,study of ,indian  
,buddism1 p4 #gf2 see also    ,sutta    
,nipta1 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1    
vol4 x4 ,part ii4 p4 #aei1 for    the   
popular conception of ,buddha's         
temptation2 the arrows of ,mra are      
8flower-pointed10 like ,kama's1 the     
,hindu god of love4 ,see ,dhammapada1   
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 x4    
,part i4 p4 #ag4    ,footnote #ach3     
,geikie1 ,life of ,christ1 vol4 i4 p4   
#ddi4    ,footnote #aci3                
,mahavagga1 i4 #e4 #b2 ,sacred ,books of

 the ,east1 vol4 xvii4    ,footnote     
#adj3      ,this is not the place to    
discuss the substance of their          
respective    teachings4 ,their aims    
seemed to be similar1 for both          
proclaimed    freedom to be gained by   
the ,truth1 or saving knowledge1 but    
their    conceptions of the knowledge   
that saves are as widely contrasted as  
are their ideas of salvation4 ,if we put
 the ,sermon on the ,mount side    by   
side with ,buddha's first sermon        
7translated in vol4 xi4 p4 #adf of      
,sacred ,books of the ,east7 we find    
contradiction in almost every           
sentence4 8,blessed are the poor in     
spirit0 is an utterance not only        
foreign to but in direct antithesis to  
the preaching of ,buddha4 ,he has    no 
sympathy with the 8poor in spirit10 if  
we take the phrase in the    light of   
the old ,hebrew concept of it4 ,his     
benediction is reserved for    the      
self-conscious and self-reliant1 who are
 bent upon self-culture    and          

self-development4 8,thou shalt love the 
,lord thy ,god with all thy    heart1   
etc41 and thy neighbour as thyself40    
,buddha found no higher to    adore1 and
 no other than self to consider4 ,the   
moral precepts in his    law are based  
on no appeal to conscience1 and are     
inspired by no sense    of duty4 ,others
 were regarded as the occasion for      
winning merit1 and    kindness done to  
them was not done for their sake1 but   
with the view    of securing the safety 
of the doer4    ,footnote #ada3         
,dr4 ,oldenberg 7,buddha1 etc41 p4 #adh7
 very properly remarks that    ,ambapali
 the courtesan was no ,mary ,magdalene1 
and that she was not    regarded by     
,buddha as the woman that was a sinner  
was regarded by    ,christ4 ,buddha had 
not ,christ's horror of sin1 and        
therefore felt none    of ,his boundless
 pity for the frailty of its victims2 of
 hatred of sin    in the ,christian     
sense ,buddhism knows nothing4 ,its     
highest virtue is    imperturbability1 a

 serenity that is apathetic in regard to
 the most    outrageous wrong or the    
most heinous wickedness4 ,cariya        
,pitaka1 iii4    #ae2 also ,sacred      
,books of the ,east1 vol4 x4 ,part ii4  
p4 #aea4    ,footnote #adb3      ,bishop
 ,bigandet1 ,life of ,gaudama1 p4 #bhg2 
,professor ,h4 ,wilson1    ,essays1 vol4
 ii4 p4 #bdc2 ,wheeler1 ,history of     
,india1 vol4 iii4 p4    #aci2           
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4 #adh2     
,mahparanibhna ,sutta1 in    ,sacred    
,books of the ,east1 vol4 xi4 pp4 #ga1  
#gb4    ,footnote #adc3                 
,mahparanibhna ,sutta1 vi4 #aj1 ,sacred 
,books of the ,east1 vol4 xi4 p4        
#aad4 ,dr4 ,edkins1 in ,chinese         
,buddhism1 p4 #eg1 gives a version of an
    appearance of ,buddha after         
cremation to his mother1 ,mya1 who came 
down from heaven to see his coffin4     
,professor ,childers finds no trace     
in any ,pali earliest literature of any 
belief in ,buddha's existence    after  
death 7,dictionary of ,pali ,language1  

p4 #dgb1 note #a74    ,footnote #add3   
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 pp4 #cbb1    
#cbc2 ,kuenen1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 p4   
#bfd4    ,footnote #ade3      ,in the   
,bhagavadgit loving devotion for        
,krishna is demanded as the    only     
means of salvation2 but ,krishna-worship
 began very considerably    later than  
the origin of ,christianity4 ,professor 
,mller admits    7,gifford ,lectures1 p4
 #ii7 that ,christian influences were   
possible    then1 but says that there is
 no necessity for admitting them4 ,he   
cites    the passage from ,bhagavad4 ix4
 #bi 7,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 
viii4 p4 #cd71 8,they who worship me    
with devotion or love1 they are in      
me1 and ,i in them10 as an interesting  
parallel to ,john vi4 #g and xvii4      
#bc1 but we must remember that ,st4     
,john's words were circulating all      
over the world for generations before   
these were penned4    ,footnote #adf3   
,mahavagga1 v4 #a4 #ah4    ,footnote    
#adg3      ,the ,lalita ,vistara1 of    

which there are many versions1 is the   
chief    authority for the legends4 ,in 
the ,buddhist ,birth-,stories1          
translated    by ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids1 
in ,bigandet's ,life of ,gaudama1 and   
,spence    ,hardy's ,manual 7,legends of
 the ,buddhists71 in the ,romantic      
,legend    of ,sakya ,buddha1 translated
 by ,professor ,s4 ,beal1 will be found 
a    large and interesting miscellany of
 the prodigies connected with the       
coming of ,buddha4    ,footnote #adh3   
,a wife1 not a virgin2 ,romantic        
,legend1 pp4 #cb1 #cf1 #cg1 #da4        
,footnote #adi3      ,lalita ,vistara1  
p4 #fc1 ,calcutta edition2 ,buddhist    
,birth-,stories1 pp4    #fb1 #fh4       
,footnote #aej3      ,nalaka ,sutta1    
,sutta ,nipta1 xi4 #a4 #bj1 #ba2 ,sacred
 ,books of the ,east1    vol4 x4 ,asita1
 the aged ascetic1 is said to have      
ascended to heaven    after his daily   
repast1 and upon finding the gods in    
joyful commotion    he at length        
returned to see the new-born wonder     

7,birth-,stories1 p4    #fi74           
,footnote #aea3      ,title given by the
 translator of the                      
,dhanima-,kakka-ppavatana ,sutta1 in    
vol4 xi4 of ,sacred ,books of the ,east4
    ,footnote #aeb3      ,spence ,hardy1
 ,manual of ,buddhism1 p4 #ahg1 quoting 
the ,pujwaliya1    said to be later than
 the thirteenth century ,a4,d4          
,footnote #aec3      ,sutta ,nipta1     
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 x4    
,part ii4 p4 #ag4    ,footnote #aed3    
,ibid4 vol4 x4 ,part ii4 pp4 #ca1 #de4  
,footnote #aee3      ,mahparanibhna     
,sutta1 iv4 #di1 #ej1 ibid4 vol4 xi4 p4 
#ha4    ,footnote #aef3      ,bigandet1 
op4 cit4 p4 #cbc2 ,spence ,hardy1       
,manual1 p4 #cdg2    ,mahparinibhna     
,sutta1 vi4 #aa-af4    ,footnote #aeg3  
,das ,evangelium von ,jesu in seinen    
,verhltnissen zur ,buddha-,sage und     
,buddha-,lehre2 ,leipzig1 #ahhb4        
,footnote #aeh3      ,let any one       
compare the prediction of the so-called 
,indian ,simeon1 the    ,nalaka ,sutta1 

in vol4 x4 p4 #abe of ,sacred ,books of 
the ,east1 with    ,luke ii4 #be2 the   
account of the ,temptation by ,mara1 in 
the ,romantic    ,legend1 pp4 #bjd1     
#bbd1 or in ,hardy's ,manual of         
,buddhism1 p4 #ahc1    with ,matt4 iv4  
#a2 the so-called ,transfiguration in   
,mahparinibhna1    iv4 #di1 vol4 xi4    
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 p4 #ha1    
with ,matt4 xvii4    #a-h2 the feast of 
the courtesan ,ambopali1 in             
,mahparinibhna ,sutta1    ii4 #af4 #be1 
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 xi4 p4
 #cj1 with ,christ's    treatment of the
 ,magdalene in ,luke vii4 #cf1 and he   
will see at once    how improbable and  
even absurd is the theory that the      
,evangelists    borrowed from the       
,buddhist compilers4 ,that we are       
dealing with quite    an inferior order 
of facts is apparent when we compare one
 of the most    touching coincidences1  
,buddha's last discourse to the ,beloved
 ,ananda    in ,mahparinibhna ,sutta1 v4
 #cd4 #ce1 8,let not yourself be        

troubled10    with ,john xiv4 #a-f4 ,in 
some of the miracles accompanying the   
birth and    temptations of ,buddha1    
there are not only gross absurdities but
    positive indecencies1 which by the  
simplicity and modesty and    reticence 
of the ,gospel narratives are powerfully
 condemned4 ,see    ,lalita ,vistara1   
chaps4 vi4 and vii41 and ,buddhist      
,birth-,stories1    vol4 i4 pp4 #eh1    
#fh4    ,footnote #aei3      ,this is a 
very great assumption indeed4 ,foucaux1 
its translator1    assigns it to the    
first century ,b4,c41 but ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys 
,davids assigns it    to some ,nepaulese
 poet 8who lived between six hundred and
 a thousand    years after ,buddha's    
death0 7,hibbert ,lectures1 pp4 #aig1   
#bjd74 ,a    ,chinese version is said to
 have been in existence about #gj ,a4,d4
    ,rajendralal ,mitra1 its ,english   
translator1 admits this in his          
,introduction1 p4 #dh1 but whether that 
was a version1 or another book          
altogether1 or how far it corresponded  

with the ,lalita ,vistara1 no    scholar
 has been confident to say4 ,dr4 ,beal  
also mentions a life of    ,buddha by   
,asvaghosha as probably in circulation  
about the middle of    the ,christian   
era 7,chinese ,buddhism1 p4 #gc74       
,footnote #afj3      ,mahparinibhna     
,sutta1 translated by ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys     
,davids1 ,sacred ,books    of the ,east1
 vol4 xi4    ,footnote #afa3      ,the  
blessed ,buddha rebuked ,pindola        
,bhradvga 7for having won a bowl    of  
sandalwood by performing a miracle71    
saying1 8,this is improper1 not         
according to rule1 unsuitable1 unworthy 
of a ,samana1 unbecoming1 and    ought  
not to be done4 ,how can you for the    
sake of a miserable wooden    pot       
display before the laity the superhuman 
quality of your miraculous    power of  
,iddhi8444 ,this will not conduce either
 to the conversion of    the unconverted
 or to the increase of the converted0   
7,kullavagga1 v4    #h4 #b74 ,the danger
 of performing a miracle by power of    

,iddhi1 for    self-glorification1 is   
exemplified in the story of ,devadatta  
in    ,kullavagga1 vii4 #a4 #b1 #c4 ,in 
the ,mahavagga1 ,kullavagga1 ,sutta     
,nipta1    and similar books1 however1  
miracles are ascribed to ,buddha1 and   
conversions attributed to their         
performance4    ,footnote #afb3         
,luke i4 #a4    ,footnote #afc3      ,t4
 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 
p4 #abh4    ,footnote #afd3             
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4 #aij4     
,footnote #afe3      ,matthew xi4 #bg2  
xxviii4 #af-bj4    ,footnote #aff3      
,mark i4 #g-aa2 ii4 #aj-bh2 viii4 #ch2  
xii4 #ce-cg4    ,footnote #afg3         
,pressens1 ,vie de ,jsus1 p4 #cgc4      
,footnote #afh3      ,cox1 ,commentary  
on ,job1 p4 #ai4    ,footnote #afi3     
,see ,mahavagga1 i4 pp4 #ae-bj1 for     
specimens of the 8three thousand five   
hundred0 wonders of ,buddha4 8,the      
marvellous in the ,gospels is but       
sober good sense compared with what we  
find in 444 the ,hindu ,european        

mythologies0 7,renan1 tudes d'histoire  
,relig4 pp4 #agg1 #bjc74    ,footnote   
#agj3      ,godet1 ,lectures in ,defence
 of the ,christian ,faith1 pp4 #aah-afa4
    ,footnote #aga3      ,dr4 ,dods1    
,mohammed1 ,buddha1 and ,christ1 p4     
#bja2 ,dr4 ,fairbairn1    ,studies in   
,religion as a ,philosophy1 p4 #cf4     
,footnote #agb3      p4 #eh1 one-vol4   
edition4    ,footnote #agc3             
,trench1 ,hulsean ,lectures1 p4 #aej4   
,footnote #agd3      ,sutta ,nipta1     
translated by ,fausbll in vol4 x4 p4    
#ajb2 parallel    suggested to ,john    
xviii4 #cg4    ,footnote #age3          
,hibbert ,lectures1 pp4 #add-adg4       
,footnote #agf3      ,dorner1 ,doctrine 
of the ,person of ,christ1 ,introd4 pp4 
#ef-fj1 #fd-gj2    ,liddon1 ,bampton    
,lectures1 #ahff1 pp4 #cfd-chj2 ,lange1 
,life of ,christ1    vol4 i4 pp4        
#aba-abd4    ,footnote #agg3      ,e4g4 
the ,targums4    ,footnote #agh3        
,e4g4 ,de ,opific4 ,mund4 i4 #d2 ,de    
,mundi incor4  #af1 #ag4    ,footnote   

#agi3      ,sears1 ,fourth ,gospel1 pp4 
#bbj seq42 ,westcott1 ,introduction to  
,st4    ,john1 pp4 xvi1 xvii2 ,dorner1  
op4 cit4 vol4 i4 pp4 #cbg-ccb4          
,,lecture ,,iv4           ,,the ,,dharma
 ,,of ,,buddha3#ahj ,,the ,,gospel ,,of 
,,jesus ,,christ4      ,what was the    
discovery that rewarded ,gotama's long  
travail and conflict  under the ,bo-tree
 at ,bohimanda1 and gained for him the  
title of ,buddha1  the ,awakened or     
,enlightened ,one8 and what was the     
message of 8glad  tidings0 which since  
then has made so many millions of the   
human race  regard him as their         
,deliverer8 ,we shall never obtain the  
answer to these  questions if we follow 
the legends and the later scriptures1   
although  they profess to give all the  
steps of the process by which he wrought
  out his deliverance4 ,these all date  
from a time when the seeds which he  had
 sown among the thorns of uncleansed    
superstitions1 had grown up into  as    
gigantic and tangled a jungle of        

speculation as the world has ever  seen4
 ,had he confronted his day and         
generation proclaiming as the result  of
 his laborious and painful inquiries the
 complicated metaphysical  system       
formulated in these books1 he would have
 made few converts4 ,he  might have     
become the head of another sect1 the    
founder of another  school1 but he never
 would have established a religion so   
extensive as  that which for so many    
centuries1 and among so many peoples1   
has been  known by his name4            
,following the ,southern scriptures1 and
 guided by the eminent ,oriental        
scholars who have made them available by
 translations1 we may be able to  trace1
 in the wild growth of fancy which has  
grown up around them1 the  leading lines
 of the original teaching4 ,the real    
doctrine of ,buddha did  not profess to 
be a philosophy inquiring into the      
ultimate ground of  things4 ,he is      
represented as having despised          
philosophisings1 and as  having         

inveighed against profitless            
questionings as earnestly as did ,st4   
,paul against vain babblings and        
oppositions of science falsely so       
called4#aha ,his object was avowedly    
practical1 and he kept silent when      
asked concerning themes whose discussion
 did not tend to 8illumination  and     
quiet40 ,notwithstanding this1 there    
must have been from the first1  even in 
the earliest forms of his teaching1     
ideas and thoughts beyond  the          
comprehension of the simple4 ,for a     
while he hesitated1 as we have  seen1 to
 proclaim his discovery1 because 8the   
way0 was too hidden for  men to know1   
and too hard1 even when known1 for them 
to follow4 ,like the  ,jewish ,scribe1  
he conceived that to the wise alone1 and
 not to the  ignorant1 belonged the law1
 and to the wise alone was reserved the 
hope  of final deliverance4 ,to         
children1 and to the uninstructed       
struggling  classes1 the preaching was  
not made fully known1 as really beyond  

them4  ,unlike ,christ1 whose preaching 
was for all without exception1 whose    
gospel1 though full of mystery1 confers 
illumination even on babes1 the  law of 
,buddha was in its entirety for the     
sages only1 and instead of  conferring  
knowledge on those who obeyed it1 it    
made knowledge a  condition of obtaining
 deliverance4 ,nevertheless1 though the 
deductions  were within the grasp only  
of the few1 his popularity proves that  
his  fundamental and principal dogmas   
must have been such as all could        
understand1 and they seem to have been  
published1 as ,saint-,hilaire  observes1
 in a language so 8simple and           
vernacular0 as to induce even the       
children and the ignorant to enter the  
paths that lead to  deliverance4#ahb    
,he entered upon his travail1 in order  
to find a way of escape from the        
endless cycles of unsatisfying change1  
and he believed that he had  discovered 
it4 ,leavening every part of his system 
is his impression of  the universality  

of suffering2 and suffering1 its origin1
 its  extinction1 and the path or method
 that leads to its extinction1 are the  
so-called 8four noble truths0 which     
constitute in ,buddhism the 8,law of    
the ,wheel40 ,in ,buddhism the wheel is 
the dominant symbol1 corresponding  to  
the cross in ,christianity1 and he who  
would preach or roll onward the  wheel  
must present to the affectionate        
consideration of the hearers  these     
8four sacred verities0--the verity of   
suffering1 the verity that              
concupiscence is the cause of suffering1
 the verity that concupiscence  can be  
quenched in ,nirvana1 and the verity    
that the way that leads to  ,nirvana is 
the sublime eightfold path of ,buddha's 
law4 ,from his first  public discourse  
at ,benares--corresponding to our       
,lord's ,sermon on the  ,mount--on to   
his last words on the night on which he 
died1 this1 with  manifold              
amplifications1 but ever as the one     
pathetic refrain1 is the  substance of  

his teaching1 8through not understanding
 and grasping  which1 ,o monks1 we have 
had to run and wander so long in weary  
paths1  both you and ,i40#ahc    ,the   
primitive creed of ,buddhism was        
different from1 though not wholly       
antagonistic to1 the popular creed or   
theory of life of ,brahmanism4  ,weighed
 by ,brahmanism1 existence was found    
wanting1 as only illusion1 a  specious  
something which truly was a mere        
nothing1 and identity of the  personal  
with the universal self was the only    
reality4 ,by ,buddhism  existence was   
condemned1 not as an illusion1 but as   
wholly and solely  suffering4#ahd 8,what
 think ye1 ,o disciples3 whether is     
more1 the water  that is in the four    
great oceans1 or the tears which have   
flown from  you1 and have been shed by  
you1 while ye strayed and wandered in   
this  long pilgrimage1 and sorrowed and 
wept1 because that which ye abhorred    
was your portion1 and that which ye     
loved was not your portion80#ahe ,it    

was not 8vanity of vanities60 but       
8misery of miseries6 all is misery60    
,life was misery1 because governed by   
the immeasurable and wretched past2     
death was misery1 because opening up an 
equally immeasurable and  wretched      
future4 ,as long as man exists he must  
be miserable1 unable to  8cease his     
wanderings10 and 8still from one sorrow 
to another thrown40  ,the only          
deliverance conceivable from this       
interminable evil would be to  break the
 bands of existence altogether4 8,surely
 'twere better not to  be40 ,and how    
8not to be0 seems to have been the      
problem which ,buddha  professed to     
solve4    ,may we not conclude with     
,saint-,hilaire that this1 8his first   
dogma1 was  his first fatal error08#ahf 
,with all his intellectual ability he   
never  sought to emancipate himself from
 the superstition and nightmare of      
transmigration4 ,though he had cast off 
all faith in the government of a  divine
 power1 he never questioned the belief  

with which the lower  aboriginal races  
had infected the thought of his         
ancestors1 that life  was governed by   
this law4 ,it is averred that he found  
it necessary to  solve the conflict     
between his ideas of justice and the    
actual order of  things1 which has      
exercised the human mind always and     
everywhere4 ,a  modern ,buddhist1       
fortunate in having ,mr4 ,alabaster to  
introduce him to  the notice of an      
,english-reading public1 so propounds   
this belief1 and1  purged from some of  
its errors1 tries to vindicate it4 8,for
 the law of  perfect justice10 he says1 
8demands that human conditions should be
  equalised1 and that good and bad luck 
should be balanced sometime and         
somewhere4 ,if a good man be poor and   
wretched now1 he must be reaping  the   
fruits of what he had sown in a previous
 stage of existence40#ahg  ,yet surely  
this is a very superficial theory for an
 ,oriental professing  ,western culture 
to formulate4 ,it is judging of life as 

children and  savages judge of it1 by   
the evidence of the senses1 and         
according to a  very inferior and       
inaccurate standard of good and evil4   
,poverty and  suffering1 though         
confessedly painful1 may not be regarded
 by a good man  as wholly evil in this  
world4 ,circumstances which the savage  
and the  child would covet as realising 
their dreams of paradise may be the     
reverse of desirable to the mature and  
thoughtful man4 ,the believers in       
transmigration make no distinction      
between what is evil and what is  simply
 painful4 ,evil is not that which pains1
 but that which defiles and  degrades   
and destroys1 and good is not just that 
which pleases1 but that  which elevates 
and ennobles and purifies4 ,the law of  
absolute justice  does not require1 as  
the modern ,buddhist demands1 that human
 conditions  should be equalised1 and   
that all men should be treated alike2   
for no  two human beings all the world  
over are absolutely alike2 but it       

demands  that each should receive the   
treatment most conducive to his healthy 
growth as a moral being1 and what       
appears to sense as the harder lot may  
commend itself to reason as the better  
portion of the man to whom it has  been 
assigned1 because most suited to his    
need4    ,the dogma of transmigration is
 said to occupy in the ,buddhist system 
a  position analogous to that of the    
,fall in our ,christian theology2 but in
  reality the two are diametrically     
opposed1 both in their essential ideas  
and the consequences which flow from    
them4 ,they are analogous only in       
respect that they each profess to       
account for the conflict between man's  
ideal of himself and his actual         
condition4 ,the existence of evil is    
admitted by both1 but the ,buddhist     
believes that evil belongs to the  very 
essence of man1 and therefore he can    
find no prospect of relief  from it1    
here or hereafter4 ,for as long as the  
stream of existence  continues it will  

always fall below its source1 and evil1 
according to  the inexorable rule of    
nature1 will propagate only evil4 ,the  
,hebrew1  however1 did not conceive of  
it as essential to or as always in the  
nature of man4 ,his ancestral beliefs   
carry him beyond the ,fall2 his         
pedigree starts with the most sublime of
 all theories of human origin  that has 
ever been formulated in human speech3   
8,let us make man in our  image and     
after our likeness1 and let him have    
dominion over0 the  creature4 ,dominion 
over nature man has not1 for he is too  
much under its  dominion1 and to this   
subjection much of his suffering is     
directly  traceable4 ,the ,hebrew       
professed to have the origin of this    
condition  revealed to him in a breach  
between man and his ,maker1 consequent  
upon  man's self-assertion and selfish  
withdrawal of his life from the source  
of life1 which must involve suffering   
and death4 ,so through all the  weary   
generations there is the same invariable

 sequence of sin entering  the world1   
and death by sin4 ,and yet at his very  
worst the ,hebrew  believed that it was 
once far better with the human race1 and
 on this  belief he dared to rear the   
structure of his magnificent hope1 that 
mankind shall be restored to the        
original close relationship with ,god1  
and therefore to a grander dominion over
 nature1 and to a happier and  even more
 prosperous life than that of which his 
ancestors had dreamed  as their primeval
 state4    ,whatever may be said of the 
doctrine of the ,fall1 belief in it is  
indeed  8a condition of hope10#ahh and  
the belief and the hope both spring from
  their faith in ,god as ,creator and   
,governor of the race1 which            
characterised the ,hebrew prophets4     
,wherever that faith is lively1 it not  
only sustains man amid the sufferings of
 life1 but it nerves him to  struggle   
with physical and moral evil to vanquish
 it4 ,the purer the  faith the more     
resolute is the struggle2 the holier the

 ,deity becomes to  the thought of man  
the stronger becomes his conviction that
 life is a  blessing1 and that all its  
struggles may conduce to peace4 ,there  
is an  instinct which seems to suggest  
that there are worse things than        
troubles1 and that they may be blessings
 of no mean quality after all4          
,christianity has made the startling    
revelation that suffering is not        
peculiar to man1 as the consequence of  
his perversity in traversing the        
,divine order2 for not only is ,christ  
presented to us as the greatest         
sufferer1 but in ,him ,god the highest  
and the holiest is disclosed as         
involved in it1 and as taking upon      
,himself the responsibilities and the   
sufferings which our sin and need       
entail4 ,but if in ,christ there is     
revealed the greatest sufferer1 it is as
 one whose suffering is not in  vain4   
,by suffering ,he conquers that which   
has produced it2 by enduring  suffering 
,he ends it2 and ,he reigns and finds   

,his blessedness in making  us partakers
 of ,his victory over it4 ,so again     
,christianity1 unlike other  religions  
which promise salvation from suffering1 
offers salvation  through suffering4 ,it
 alone asserts the utility of suffering2
 others  regard it as evil1             
,christianity as evil overruled for     
good4 ,others  reckon it as a mere loss 
or waste1 ,christianity as something    
that may be  turned to profit as the    
condition and preparation for joy4 ,joy 
in the  ,christian conception is not the
 reward of suffering1 nor compensation  
for suffering1 but the fruit and issue  
of suffering which leads to it1  as     
travail leads to birth4 ,so instead of  
evading or ignoring it1 ,christ  would  
have us recognise and acquiesce in it1  
and even be thankful for  it1 as        
necessary not for our personal profit1  
but for the gain of  mankind4 ,by ,his  
sufferings we are healed1 and through   
our sufferings we  fill up what remains 
of ,his for the redemption of the world4

 ,only  through 8the long travail of    
ages yet to be0 will there be born in   
the  evolution of ,god's redemptive     
purpose that better race from which all 
suffering shall have passed away1       
because disobedience will have had an   
end4 ,fellowship in ,christ's sufferings
 has thus transfigured the  afflictions 
of all who believe in ,him4 ,unlike the 
,indian1 tortured by  endless change1   
without any evolution from low to       
higher1 from evil or  imperfect to what 
is good and perfect1 the ,christian can 
endure  suffering not only patiently but
 also cheerfully1 knowing that he is    
suffering not just for his own sake1 but
 that in ways mysterious he is          
lightening the load of many1 and helping
 to bring to an end the long  anguish of
 the whole creation4    ,but of this    
consolation which comes from faith in   
,god the ,creator1 and  therefore the   
,redeemer of man from destruction1      
,buddha had deprived  himself4 ,unlike  
the ,brahman who sought escape from the 

evils of  transmigration by a process of
 subsidence into the universal ,self1 he
  professed to find no trace of this    
,absolute ,self4 ,the ,brahman          
postulated  the ,infinite and reasoned  
from it1 but ,buddha started from quite 
the  opposite pole4 ,he professed to    
deal with life as he found it1 and so   
reasoning from man outward1 he asserted 
that the necessity for  transmigration  
was involved1 not in the illusion of    
,brahma1 but in man's  own character4   
,instead of being a natural or divine   
necessity1 it was a  moral necessity    
created by man1 which having its cause  
in his own action  could also by him be 
destroyed4    ,and so ,pantheistic      
speculation1 in this instance at least1 
ripened into  its proper fruit4 ,the    
passage from conceiving ,deity as       
characterless  passionless self1 to     
discarding ,deity altogether from human 
thought1 is  a sure and generally a very
 rapid one4 ,when we come to think of   
,deity as  of being diffused and        

dispersed1 we will soon omit the thought
  altogether in the recognition only of 
physical force4 ,brahmanic  speculation 
had resolved the deities of the ancient 
books into  abstractions1 and ,buddha   
recognised no such abstractions in the  
government of human life4 ,his creed was
 fundamentally atheistic1 as  directly  
contradicting belief in a supreme ruler 
of the universe4#ahi  ,not that he      
denied the existence of the gods        
believed in by his  countrymen4 ,on the 
contrary1 he allowed them to continue in
 the popular  thought and speech1 and   
even encouraged disciples who had not   
yet  reached the highest knowledge to   
try to acquire merit by virtue1 so as   
to secure after death a re-birth into   
their society4 ,similarly he  admitted  
the existence of devils or demons1 and  
their influence for evil  upon man4 ,all
 through his career he was beset by     
,mara1 the sensual king  of all who     
submit to him2 but ,buddha was superior 
not only to ,mara1 but  to all the gods 

in the popular pantheon1 for they1 alike
 with the lowest  and the weakest of    
things1 were subject to the law of      
transmigration4  ,man might rise to a   
higher heaven than what they occupied2  
they might  fall to the lowest hell4    
8,their worlds must perish like that of 
man1 and  if ever they attained to final
 salvation1 it could only be by the same
  way in which a worm might hope to     
reach it40#aij ,throwing his 8plummet   
down the broad deep universe10 he cried1
 8,gods many10 but no god able to  save4
 ,all alike with men were bound in      
fetters1 because ignorant of the  truth 
he knew4 ,naturally1 therefore1 they are
 represented in the legends  as         
profiting by his preaching and as       
seeking unto him for instruction1  while
 those of them who refused1 or could not
 walk in his ways1 came to  be regarded 
with pity4#aia    ,in like manner his   
creed was as essentially materialistic4 
,man was no  spiritual being1 but a     
bundle of ,sankharas--a term1 it is     

said1 very  difficult to translate1 but 
implying that person meant a mass of    
8forms0  or material qualities so       
changing as to be never the same for two
  consecutive moments4 ,belief in a soul
 he regarded as a heresy1 which he      
distinctly classed with sensuality and  
belief in the efficacy of  sacrificial  
rites4#aib ,to the heart as the sixth   
sense he ascribed the  power of         
conceiving ideas without form1 as the   
eye had the power of  perceiving        
objects2 but this disappeared in        
dissolution as completely as  did the   
others1 and what was re-born was not the
 soul but the quality1  the merit or    
demerit acquired4 ,this startling       
assertion of ,bishop  ,bigandet's#aic   
has been confirmed and amplified by     
others1 specially by  ,rhys ,davids1 and
 so the question at once suggests       
itself1 now that the  governing ideas of
 ,deity and the separate existence of   
the soul were  expelled from the human  
mind1--,what was there left to give     

vitality and  coherence to his system as
 a religion8 ,a kind of religion is     
conceivable  when something eternal and 
self-dependent is recognised1 if not    
without  and above a man1 at least      
within him2 but here is a religion vast 
and  comprehensive springing from the   
determination to annihilate all         
religion1 asserting not simply that man 
is independent of all superior  beings1 
but that as the sum-total of groups of  
sensations1 abstract  ideas1 tendencies1
 and potentialities1 nothing of his     
personality can  survive dissolution1   
and how are we to account for it8#aid   
,the answer is to be sought for in the  
working of that great moral  instinct   
which is at the root of the belief in   
transmigration4 ,though  there was no   
person1 no soul to emigrate from the    
body1 though the man  perished1 there   
was something which he called the       
,karma--a word coined by  old ,brahman  
sages long before him1 though used by   
them in a different  sense--that        

survived4#aie ,the aggregate of the good
 and evil in the life  that had come to 
an end formed the seed of another       
existence1 so that  each new individual 
and generation became the exact and     
inevitable  results of those that had   
preceded them4 ,it was evidently a      
theory of  continuity as unscientific as
 it was unphilosophic4 ,it could not be 
called an evolution in any sense of the 
word1 seeing it meant the  appearance in
 a new individual of the mental and     
physical acts of  another who had ceased
 to be4 ,the assertion1 again1 that     
though there  was no 8continuing        
consciousness10 no transience of soul in
 any sense  from one person to the      
other1 the two persons are one1 has been
 very  properly stigmatised as a        
8psychological absurdity40#aif ,from the
  first1 though one of their stablest   
dogmas1 this one was a difficulty to    
the ,buddhists themselves4 ,their       
learned men never professed to justify  
it to reason1 but accepted it as a      

mystery1 in open contradiction to  their
 principle that everything was to be    
rejected which could not be             
comprehended or explained4 ,the common  
people again simply ignored it1  and    
adhered to the belief of their fathers  
in continuity of life and  personal     
identity for man in the future4 ,the    
sages might refine1 but the  moral sense
 of the masses could not escape from the
 conviction that the  evil which they   
had done must follow them1 and the good 
which they would  do could not be       
interred with their bones4 ,even the    
speculation of the  sages was a telling 
confirmation of the truth that man      
cannot get rid of  himself4 ,he may make
 a mock at ,god1 may demand1 ,if a man  
die can he live  again8 or how differs  
the life of a man from the life of a    
beast8 but he  cannot refine away his   
moral sense and the instinct of         
retribution which  is inwoven in his    
inmost being4 ,buddha acknowledged no   
moral government  of ,deity1 discarded  

the old belief that the same soul must  
receive the  reward of the deeds done in
 the body2 he denied even to the soul a 
separate existence from the perishable  
body2 but he was haunted by the  ghost  
of personal identity4 ,he felt          
absolutely certain that there was a     
real connection of cause and effect     
between past and present and future1    
and that each act of the soul must work 
out its full effect to the  bitter      
end4#aig ,so it was only by profession  
that ,god was mocked2 men  were         
witnesses to themselves of a ,sovereign 
,power forcing ,himself upon  them1 even
 when they tried to forsake ,him1       
compelling them to receive  ,his        
thoughts when they would not think for  
themselves4 ,so in primitive  ,buddhism 
we have the strange paradox that out of 
,atheism there arose a  religion1 with a
 demand upon conscience almost          
,christian1 and asserting  as           
,christianity does the eternal necessity
 of righteousness and  truth4#aih       

,the analogy which has been suggested   
between the ,buddhist dogma of ,karma   
and the ,christian doctrine of heredity 
is a very interesting one4 ,it is       
strange that the law of heredity1 so    
clearly indicated in the ,bible1  should
 be proclaimed in our age as a modern   
discovery4 ,infidelity  formerly        
denounced the ,bible for teaching that  
sin and its penalty were  transmitted   
from generation to generation1          
forgetting that but for  transgression  
the law of heredity could only and      
always entail good4  ,laws are to be    
judged by their intention1 and this one1
 designed to  secure and transmit the   
increment of good in each generation1 is
  manifestly perverted by conditions for
 which it is not responsible4 ,the  law1
 however1 which asserts itself in       
humanity by entailing on the            
generations the blessing of good as well
 as the curse of evil1 is now  being    
proclaimed and interpreted1 not by      
divines1 but by men of science  and     

philosophy4 ,the twin truth of the unity
 of humanity1 elemental in  the ,hebrew 
and ,christian religions1 though        
formerly strangely forgotten  or        
denounced by infidelity1 is also adopted
 as a professed discovery of  our       
century4 ,we are all agreed that        
humanity is one1 that each life is  part
 of a larger life1 and so the injury of 
the part is the injury of  the whole4   
,sin could not enter humanity without   
dragging it down1 and  holiness could   
not enter and conquer without lifting it
 up4 ,if one could  appear in humanity  
without sin1 not a link in the diseased 
chain1 but  perfectly free from all     
taint of disease1 is the supposition    
incredible  that he would have the      
effect upon humanity of a new creation8 
,his  coming would imply the reversal of
 the drift toward evil and the          
weakening of the inherited and          
accumulated tendency to depravity4 ,it  
would be a bringing under ,divine       
influence of this mysterious principle  

of heredity1 with results for good which
 no human intellect can measure1  and   
establish a once greatly derided        
assertion1 that as in one ,adam1  that  
is1 one kind of humanity1 all die1 even 
so in ,christ shall all be  made alive4 
,buddha had a clear apprehension of the 
truth of heredity1 but he had not  the  
faintest conception of the unity of     
humanity4 ,his theory of life was       
essentially atomic4 ,humanity was not to
 him one whole1 but a congeries  of     
individuals1 each one an end to himself1
 and living just to himself4  ,the      
injury done to self by wrong-doing was  
always present to a  ,buddhist's        
thought1 but the suffering thus caused  
to others was never  taken into account4
 ,he had no idea of the whole suffering 
in the one1  and consequently no sense  
of duty to mankind4 ,though believing in
 the  propagative power of good and     
evil1 he did not work for the good of   
coming generations1 but solely for the  
rescue of the individual from the       

whirlpool of suffering existence4 ,it   
has been charitably suggested that  his 
aim finds its analogue in the offset to 
personal extinction so  winningly       
presented by 8,george ,eliot0 and ,mr4  
,john ,morley1 whereby  though dead and 
gone for ever in ourselves1 we may 8live
 again in minds  made better by our     
presence10 and 8in pulses stirred to    
generosity40#aii ,buddhism had no such  
hope2 the age1 the system itself1  were 
alike incapable of conceiving it4 ,the  
time for that kind of  ,positivism had  
not come4 ,the human mind had to undergo
 long centuries of  ,christian culture  
before it was possible for the          
nineteenth-century  agnostic poetess and
 philosopher thus to expound their      
creed1 for modern  ,positivism has been 
powerfully though indirectly influenced 
by the faith  which it contradicts1 and1
 like many of the assailants of         
,christianity1  it owes to it the most  
of its strength and the best of its     
weapons4    ,christianity1 starting from

 the conception of man as no outgrowth  
of  nature1 but a new creation in it1 a 
being within and distinct from his  body
 as the driver is from the chariot1#bjj 
has a theory of human  destiny          
contrasted utterly with that of         
,buddhism4 ,man's teeth have been  set  
on edge because his fathers have eaten a
 sour grape1 but the brand  of pain upon
 past transgressions helps him to       
conquer the taint  transmitted in the   
blood4 ,though he finds heavy temptation
 in inherited  tendencies1 he finds in  
every temptation a way of escape in a   
call to  yield to other tendencies which
 are ever drawing his soul to goodness4 
,sharing a confessedly sinful humanity1 
he may be partaker of a sinless  one1   
and thus1 if evil reigns over him unto  
death1 the law of the spirit  of life in
 ,christ ,jesus can free him from it4   
,buddhism had no such hope and goal for 
man2 indeed1 we may well wonder  that a 
pessimism more thorough than that of    
,brahmanism did not deprive  it of all  

hope and sink it into fatalism4 ,left   
alone to fight his way  through the     
universe1 struggling in a maelstrom of  
forces with no help  for him in man1 no 
hope of sympathy in ,god1 a ,buddhist   
would surely  despair4 ,on the contrary1
 unlike the ,moslem cowering under the  
thought  of relentless will1 he accepted
 the situation with ,christian          
determination to improve it4#bja ,he    
could hope for deliverance1 for         
suffering had an origin1 and if the     
cause could be removed then  suffering  
would end4 ,the coils of misery could be
 unwound1 the curse of  humanity could  
be abolished1 if only man could procure 
for himself  emancipation from the      
necessity of ,karma4 ,now this the true 
,buddhist  believed he could gain by the
 extinction of all desire4 ,plato       
adopting  the ,pythagorean doctrine of  
transmigration1 taught that the future  
organism of the soul would depend upon  
the cravings which it had  fostered     
here4#bjb ,somewhat similarly           

,christians believe that the  future of 
the man will depend upon his most       
dominant present habits1 and  that1     
disembodied1 the spirit will gravitate  
unerringly to the society  which it has 
made of its kind4 ,buddhism1 believing  
in no soul1  maintained that in the     
dying creature a particular thirst or   
cleaving to  existence caused the birth 
of another creature2 and so he who would
  escape from the chain of existence    
must endeavour1 by vigorous  prosecution
 of the eightfold way1 and the four     
paths or degrees of  perfection to which
 it led1 to attain a state in which all 
craving for  continuity had ceased4     
,karma then would have no terror to him2
 he would  have reached a point whence  
he could look onwards without anxiety1  
because he would be treading a path from
 which he never would stray4 ,he  might 
still be a man1 liable to suffering and 
subject to death1 but one  purified and 
emancipated from all inheritance of     
evil1 and fully assured  of ,nirvana4   

,and what was ,nirvana1 the final refuge
 of the emancipated ,buddhist8 ,ever    
since the religion was known in ,europe 
great diversity of opinion has          
prevailed as to the meaning of this     
word4 ,it was employed by the  ,brahmans
 many centuries before ,buddha's day1   
and used by them and by  himself and his
 disciples in so great a variety of     
senses that even the  learned           
,rajendralala ,mitra1 in enumerating the
 sects into which orthodox  ,buddhists  
are divided in regard to it1 confessed  
some years ago that he  had given up in 
despair the attempt to ascertain its    
meaning4#bjc ,the  researches and       
discoveries of later years have enabled 
the translators  of the texts to write  
with less hesitation as to its          
significance1 and  we are entitled to   
accept as solid the results of their    
patient  investigations4 ,to begin with1
 they tell us that it means the peace   
which ensues when all passion has been  
subdued1 and all selfish craving  has   

been extinguished4 ,though practically  
no ,buddhist hopes to attain to  it     
here1 but only to enter the paths       
leading to it1 it may be reached1  not  
in anticipation only1 but in            
fruition4#bjd ,buddha may be said to    
have been in ,nirvana forty years1 for  
he entered it1 not in the moment  of    
dying1 but when he attained perfection4 
,this first conception of it1           
therefore1 seems a marvellous           
anticipation of the faith of the        
,christian1 who finds his heaven and    
enters into his rest when he is         
delivered from the   1 from all selfish 
clutching at the  means of existence4   
,in both religions1 taken at their      
highest1 the goal  of aspiration was not
 extinction of sorrow1 but extinction of
 self-love3  in ,buddhism the quenching 
of trishna1 or updna1 8thirst10 in      
,christianity the quenching of 1 8lust10
 8inordinate desire40 ,in  both         
religions the goal meant finality1 a    
state in which there was an  end of     

death2 and in both1 moreover1 it meant a
 change which no language  could define1
 and to which no known standard could   
apply4 ,the ,christian  believer tells  
us that he is passing from the visible  
to the invisible1  from the temporal to 
the eternal1 and in like manner the     
,buddhist ,arahat  would only be able to
 allude to the great change by          
negations1 and as  the very opposite of 
all we know or at present conceive4 ,the
 ,christian  believes in the            
perseverance of the saints1 and the     
,buddhist who has  really entered the   
path must sooner or later reach his     
prize4    ,but there the analogies end1 
while the contrasts between the two     
beliefs  are as irreconcilable as are   
their postulates4 ,the postulates of    
,christianity are the spiritual nature  
of man1 and that his present evil       
condition is not his normal one4 ,sin   
has gone extensively and deeply  into   
his being1 for it is no mere superficial
 excrescence1 a fault which  can be     

corrected1 a smirch that can be washed  
away1 but a leprosy in the  blood1 which
 is the life4 ,cleansing is required and
 provided1 but it is  the cleansing out 
of the whole corrupt nature by the      
transfusion into  the soul of a ,divine 
life so pure1 and so strong because of  
purity1 that  it could not be holden of 
death4 ,life is the essential idea of   
,christian  salvation2 it is the ,divine
 gift bestowed by ,christ1 who came that
 we  might have life1 and have it more  
abundantly4 ,so while in the body we    
groan1 being burdened by a suffering    
flesh1 it is not that we may be         
unclothed1 but clothed upon2 not that   
the gift of life may be recalled1  but  
that it may be secured in its           
completeness4 ,it is 8more life and     
fuller that we want40 ,sanctification in
 the ,christian conception means a      
process of healing1 and salvation means 
perfect health--the condition of  a     
creature freed from all inordinate      
desire1 or desire for anything          

forbidden1 which is the root of all sin1
 and rejoicing in the untainted  bliss  
of being4 ,deathless1 sinless life1 the 
life of eternal  incorruption1 8the     
perfect life of love1 the rest of       
immortality10 that  is the ,christian   
,nirvana4    ,buddhism1 on the contrary1
 postulating the material nature of all 
existence controlled by the universal   
law of transmigration1 had no such      
conception of final blessedness4        
,nirvana in its thought meant1 indeed1  
extinction in the first instance of all 
fleshly and selfish  dispositions2 but  
the thirst1 the 8cleaving0 7tanh7 which 
was to be  quenched1 was not lust in the
 ,christian sense1 but the natural      
innocent  love of life1 and ,nirvana    
involved the extinction of that love1   
and of  life as the going out of a flame
 which had nothing else to feed upon4   
,deliverance from this instinctive      
thirst for life is a specific germ of   
which annihilation is the outcome4 ,that
 ,buddha so expounded it was long       

questioned1 and by many denied1 but ,dr4
 ,oldenberg has sufficiently made  clear
 his attitude toward this dogma4 ,he    
seems to have contented himself  with   
its first significance1 to have evaded  
the necessity of deciding  the many     
discussions which were waged concerning 
the second as  profitless1 and not      
tending to quietude and wisdom1 and to  
have exhorted  his disciples to strive  
rather to enter the paths4#bje ,by the  
time1  however1 the canonical books were
 produced1 his disciples had not shrunk 
from pushing his fundamental principles 
to their only logical  conclusion4 ,the 
most ancient expositions of his doctrine
 disclose one  long theory of ,nihilism 
as its only legitimate inference4 ,if   
misery was  inseparable from existence1 
it followed that non-existence was a    
blessing1 and consequently man's chief  
end was to aspire and strive to  reach  
that state in which the 8very seed of   
existence has withered1 the  lamp of    
life has burnt out for ever1 and man can

 no more be born  again40#bjf    ,while 
this was the doctrine of the            
philosophers1 the overwhelming  majority
 of ,buddhists in every age and country 
have put a very different  meaning upon 
the word4 ,just as human nature has     
proved too strong in  them to accept    
their atheistic creed1 so in popular    
estimation from the  first1 ,nirvana has
 meant not annihilation of existence1   
but extinction  of suffering4 ,they did 
not comprehend its metaphysical         
significance1 but  they longed1 as all  
men do1 for release from sorrow1 and a  
happier life  when this is over1 and    
they took refuge in ,buddha1 because his
 law  promised to convey them over the  
troubles of life into a blessed         
hereafter4 ,there might be higher things
 for the wise to gain1 but the  simple  
were contented with this inferior       
portion1 and indeed they chose  the     
better part4 ,for surely the conception 
of deliverance from  suffering1         
involving extinction of the being that  

suffers1 was as  childish as that of    
getting rid of a toothache by cutting   
off the  head4#bjg ,rightly were they   
led by the infallible instincts of our  
moral being to believe that the end of  
righteousness must be rest1 but  they   
wandered fearfully in conceiving of rest
 as nothingness1 for the  8end of       
righteousness is peace1 and the fruit of
 peace1 quietness and  assurance for    
ever40#bjh    ,the great question with  
,buddha and his immediate disciples was 
not how  ,nirvana1 the goal of human    
aspiration1 was to be defined1 but how  
it was  to be attained4 ,it was for him 
sufficiently expressed as the final     
extinction of all the roots of sorrow1  
and he taught that this  consummation   
could only be reached by knowledge4     
,ignorance was the  ultimate ground of  
all suffering existence1 but1 as in     
,christianity1 men  could know the      
truth1 and the truth would set them     
free4 ,according to  both religions1    
this knowledge could neither be         

transmitted by tradition  nor learned by
 a simple intellectual process4 ,it     
implied a moral and  spiritual training1
 and was the fruit of obedience2 but    
there again the  analogy ends1 for the  
,buddhist's idea of knowledge is as     
widely  contrasted with the ,christian  
idea as is its idea of the ,truth to be 
known4 ,in ,christianity knowledge means
 ,divine illumination or  revelation1   
the result of trustful surrender to     
,christ1 the revealer of  the ,father1  
and ,himself the ,truth4 ,in ,buddhism  
it meant a knowledge  gained by man     
himself1 through a process of moral     
culture and  self-control4#bji ,in      
,christianity it was a grace that came  
through  obedience to a better ,will2 in
 ,buddhism it meant simply obedience to 
a  ,law4 ,that law1 moreover1 had no    
commanding power to enforce it1 and     
involved no moral obligation in the     
,christian sense to obey it4 ,it was    
not a law like the law of ,moses or the 
law of ,christ1 for it implied no       

,lawgiver to make it binding4 ,it was   
simply a rule1 a method1 discovered  by 
man1 and followed because he found it   
expedient to follow it4  ,adopting this 
method1 observing this rule1 persevering
 in this course1 a  man would attain to 
knowledge of the truth of things1 but   
this supposed  truth is the very        
contradiction of the truth as it is in  
,jesus1 the  truth by which we are      
sanctified1 and made wise unto          
salvation4#baj    ,this should be borne 
in mind when in translations of         
,buddhist books we  find such words as  
8holiness10 8saints10 8paths or degrees 
of  sanctification10 8righteousness10   
and such like4 ,the original words      
represent conceptions different from and
 antagonistic to those suggested  by    
these words to us4 ,but keeping this in 
view1 we may well admire and  be        
thankful for the high purpose and clear 
moral insight which enabled  ,buddha to 
discover and set forth his way to       
,nirvana4 ,the strength and  glory of   

,buddhism1 the secret of its original   
attractiveness1 and of its  long        
continuance1 is its ethical system4 ,its
 metaphysical creed may  represent a    
very puerile philosophy1 its discipline 
of artificial  restraint may have been  
the reverse of emancipation1 but its    
moral code1  in its simple and direct   
and powerful appeal to the conscience1  
is a far  nearer approach to the ,gospel
 than that of ,gentile ,stoics or of    
,jewish  ,scribes4 ,avoiding sensuality 
on the one hand as degrading1 and       
asceticism on the other as unprofitable1
 it mapped out a via media  that led far
 above that projected by any ancient    
school4 ,it entered into  every domain  
of life1 of thought and word and        
deed2#baa laid its  control1 as         
,christianity does1 on feeling and      
motive1 and proclaimed  that the way to 
perfect peace was a way which no        
unrighteous man could  enter and no     
unclean man could tread4    ,it is very 
interesting to catch1 behind all its    

superstitions and  idolatries1 and crude
 and childish speculations1 this glimpse
 of an  ideal like unto that of the ,son
 of ,man1 calling and leading men to    
righteousness1 purity1 and kindness1 as 
their only refuge4 ,to the old  ,vedic  
religion1 and to all the class of       
religions of which it is the  type1     
morality1 as we have seen1 was a        
stranger4 ,it was the philosopher1  and 
not the priest1 who in old times argued 
of righteousness1  temperance1 and      
judgment to come4 ,the ,hebrew1 as we   
have seen1 was the  first and only      
ancient religion that demanded holiness 
of life as  indispensable to the worship
 of ,god1 and ,christianity1 as was     
natural1  recognised this old law which 
men had from the beginning4 ,but        
,buddhism  was the first system in which
 morality was substituted for religion4 
,it  had neither priests1 nor temples1  
nor prayers1 but taught men to depend   
for safety solely upon a life of virtue 
and wisdom and goodness4 ,though  it    

implied a change of heart amounting to  
conversion1 this was due to  the        
operation of no regenerating spirit1 but
 to perseverance in courses  within the 
reach of any one4 ,anticipating1        
therefore1 theories of life  broached   
now-a-days as if they were new          
discoveries1 its endeavour to           
dissociate the human from the           
supernatural1 and to substitute the     
ethical for the religious1 deserves very
 earnest study4    ,it meant man's      
earnest resolve to work out his         
salvation with fear and  trembling1 for 
there is no ,god within him working both
 to will and to do  of ,his good        
pleasure4 ,it was an attempt to conceive
 of a morally  governed universe without
 a ,governor4 ,professedly atheistic    
compared  with the religion out of which
 it arose1 it has been properly         
described  to be 8more theistic at its  
core than ,brahmanism has ever          
been40#bab ,it  did not trouble itself  
about the origin of man as an emanation 

from the  universal self1 but it        
asserted the dignity of his nature as   
resting on  really a sounder basis4 ,it 
refused to believe with the ,hebrew that
 the  ,creator had written the law on   
the tables of the heart1 but it found   
the  law there written somehow1 and read
 it almost as correctly4 ,like the      
,christian apostle1 its founder asserted
 that each man was a law unto  himself1 
the judge of his own action1 and the    
arbiter of his fate4 ,and  thus it came 
to pass that1 without any conscious     
purpose of doing so1 he  inaugurated a  
moral revolution which lasted for ages4 
,it swept away an  enormous mass of     
superstitions from the ,indian mind for 
centuries1  abolished many abuses1 and  
modified more which it failed to        
overcome4 ,it  has tended to civilise   
many barbarous races2 and if among them 
,buddhism  has been able to bear the    
encumbrance of their hideous idolatries 
which  it assumed1 it is because of the 
strong ethical foundation upon which it 

rests4 ,it is the ethical element in    
religion that is universal and          
enduring1 and there is a completeness   
and force and persuasiveness of  ethical
 teaching in ,buddhism which all        
non-,christian religions lack2  there is
 a comprehensiveness of duty and        
gentleness which pre-intimate  clearly  
that universal ,christian rule which    
makes it imperative that we  should not 
only duly consider all brethren who are 
human1 but should say  to the worm1 as  
within the scope of our benevolence1    
8,thou art my mother  and sister40      
,let us now examine more closely this   
way to ,nirvana as expounded in the     
,suttas of ,buddha1 and in relation to  
,christ's way of salvation4 ,the        
,christian is very simple1 but as it    
proceeds from a much deeper  conception 
of human need1 its method of meeting it 
is very different4 ,it  was not the     
suffering and misdirection of men that  
most deeply impressed  and most         
powerfully affected our ,lord4 ,he came 

to a race made in the  image of ,god1   
that had confessedly fallen from or had 
failed to realise  its ideal4 ,it was   
lost1 as sheep are lost1 by inherent    
tendency to  wander2 as coins are lost1 
by the neglect of others2 as prodigals  
are  lost1 by sensuality2 and as        
,pharisees are lost1 by                 
self-righteousness4  ,it was diseased   
and perishing1 struggling not in the    
coils of changeful  suffering1 but in   
the clutch of an evil power which had   
taken possession  of it4 ,sorely        
needing1 though not seeking redemption1 
unable to help  itself1 ,he had come in 
the name of ,his ,father1 who willed not
 that any  should perish1 to seek and   
save it4 ,his formula of salvation was  
plain  enough for even babes to         
apprehend1 for all ,he asked was that   
men should  turn to and believe in ,him4
 ,they could not raise themselves1 but  
they  could look toward ,him1 and find  
deliverance in the look1 for by trust in
  ,him as the supreme object of love and

 worship1 they would be lifted up  out  
of their evil state4 ,the deepest tides 
of man's being are those  which are     
swayed by his faith in and love of      
persons1 and it was upon  faith1 the    
commonest of all powers in our nature1  
that ,christ relied for  the deliverance
 of mankind from the dominion of evil4  
,he offered ,himself  to man and for    
man1 was lifted up for them on the cross
 in the beauty of  suffering holiness2  
and as love always attracts love1 and as
 goodness  becomes a creative power in  
those who appreciate it1 so all who     
believed  ,him1 trusted ,him1 clung to  
,him as the weak cling to the strong1   
were  uplifted1 and changed1 and        
transfigured4 ,love not only has a      
dominating  but an assimilating power4  
,we become like those whom we fervently 
admire  and implicitly obey4 ,obedience 
in such a case is not an obligation1 but
  an inspiration2 so though in          
,christianity we speak of the ,law of   
,christ1  it is not as an external code 

to which we must conform1 but as a power
  communicated to and operative in us4  
,it is a law of the spirit of  life1 a  
grace and blessedness of disposition1   
which1 springing from  gratitude1 will  
manifest itself in holiness far         
exceeding the  righteousness of a law1  
because vivified by a charity and mercy 
as  boundless as that which it adores4  
,so when our ,lord inaugurated ,his     
kingdom1 ,he may be said to have        
proclaimed in the ,beatitudes ,his ,law1
 for ,he then declared the  dispositions
 of those who would receive ,him1 and   
who as sons of men  trusting and        
following ,him1 would be saved and      
sanctified and glorified  by the ,son of
 ,god4 ,now1 though from his first      
sermon to the last ,buddha  is          
represented as 8instructing his         
disciples1 inciting them1 rousing  them1
 and gladdening them0 by discoursing of 
blessedness1 it was not of  blessedness 
in the gospel sense4 ,it was the        
blessedness of the ,old  ,covenant1 not 

of the ,new--the blessedness1 not of    
them who love much  because they have   
been forgiven much1 but of them who keep
 the law1 and  tread 8the path which    
opens the eyes1 bestows understanding1  
leads to  peace of mind and full        
enlightenment0--the blessedness all who1
 walking  in the ,noble ,eightfold ,way1
 must eventually reach ,nirvana4#bac    
,it is almost impossible to explain all 
that is meant by the ,noble  ,eightfold 
,way1 for translators differ very       
greatly as to the real  meaning of the  
terms employed1 and even when they      
agree1 they warn us  that the words1    
though similar to our own1 do not       
suggest the same  realities4 ,the word  
8righteousness0 and even 8morality0     
never can have  on the lips of a true   
,buddhist the same signification which  
they have on  ours2 for righteousness1  
apart from the fear and love of ,god1 is
 an  impossible conception to us1 and so
 would unrighteousness1 unless as a  sin
 or an offence against ,him4 ,buddhism  

has no word for #8sin' in our  sense1   
and therefore no words for #8holiness'  
or #8saint4' 8,sin is simply  pain1     
demerit1 and a saint is one freed from  
what causes pain40 8,a  righteous act is
 one accumulating merit1 an unrighteous 
act one  producing suffering40#bad ,the 
,eightfold ,way1 interpreted by the     
legends1 presents us with the ,buddhist 
conception of the perfect man1  and were
 we to take its constituents as         
equivalents to the ,christian  qualities
 suggested by the words1 we should find 
outlined a character  which here or     
anywhere must be its own beatitude1 but 
whose blessedness  is as completely     
beyond the reach of sinful man as flying
 is beyond the  power of a bird whose   
pinions are broken4    ,but ,right      
,views or ,belief1 ,right ,resolve1     
,right ,speech1 ,right ,work1  ,right   
,livelihood1 ,right ,exercise1 ,right   
,mindfulness1 and ,right  ,tranquillity1
 must be taken1 not as we accept1 but as
 ,buddhists  understand1 the phrases4   

,by right belief they unquestionably    
meant  belief in ,buddha and the ,four  
,verities2 right resolve included       
abandonment of all domestic and social  
duties2 right speech was the  recitation
 or publication of the dharma2 right    
work was specially that  of a monk2     
right livelihood that of living on alms2
 right exercise  tended to the          
suppression of all individuality2 right 
mindfulness was  habitual contemplation 
upon the impurity and impermanence of   
human  nature2 and right tranquillity   
was ecstasy4#bae ,to have substituted   
even this in the ,hindu mind for a      
righteousness only ceremonial and       
superstitious was indeed reformation2   
but as an idea of ,perfection it is     
manifestly not only different from1 but 
greatly inferior to1 the  ,christian    
ideal4 ,perfection in the case of       
,buddhism meant extinction of  feeling  
and consciousness2 in ,christianity it  
meant harmonious and full  development  
of being and character4 ,in             

,christianity perfection meant          
conformity to an ,exemplar outside and  
above it1 the likeness of a child  to a 
,father in heaven2 but ,buddhism could  
conceive of no exemplar1 and  the man   
who would be perfect must strive in     
entire self-dependence to be  so4 ,in   
,buddhism the standard is purely human2 
in ,christianity1 while the  measure    
required is relative1 the standard is   
divine4 ,so in ,buddhism the  ,arhat is 
content1 and we never hear from him the 
confession1 8,i count  not myself to    
have attained60 but in ,christianity the
 more saintly the  life1 the greater the
 discontent with it4 ,the higher we rise
 the more  urgent is the desire to press
 on4 ,christianity therefore opens up   
the  avenue to perpetual improvement1   
and inspiring us with a motive to       
progress which can never lose its power1
 it provides for the soul the  only rest
 that will satisfy it4 8,in life10 says 
,pascal1 8we are ever  believing1 we    
seek repose1 but what we really crave is

 agitation40 8,it  is the contest that  
pleases us1 and not the victory2 the    
pursuit and not  the possession40#baf   
,absolute truth and goodness is the     
perfection of  divine blessedness2 the  
never-ceasing pursuit of it is human    
blessedness4 ,the goal we can never     
reach1 but the watchword1 8,nearer1 my  
,god1 to ,thee60 seems to solve for us  
the problem of human destiny1 for  by   
directing us to the life of perpetual   
achievement1 it assures us of a         
never-ending blessedness4    ,the       
,buddhist goal of perfection and the law
 or way that led to it1 was  by ,buddha 
himself or his earliest disciples       
considered to be beyond the  power of   
many to attain to4 ,his followers were  
soon ranged into classes  according to  
their ability to tread the paths which  
led to liberty4 ,his  law1 therefore1   
unlike the ,ten ,commandments of the    
,bible1 which are  binding on all       
without distinction1 was not a law for  
all men4 ,each one  was at liberty to   

take on him as many or as few           
obligations as he  pleased1 according to
 his resolve to continue in the world1  
or to  abandon it1 and having abandoned 
it according to his resolve to seek     
after ,arhatship and aspire to          
,nirvana4#bag ,upon those who1          
conforming  outwardly1 yet remained in  
their secular callings1 was enjoined    
abstinence from the five gross sins1 of 
killing1 theft1 adultery1  falsehood1   
taking intoxicating drinks--already1    
with the exception of the  last1 made   
binding on them by the ,hindu religion4 
,by refraining from  these1 and by      
serving and maintaining the monks1 even 
the laity could  win for themselves a   
happy re-birth into some world          
hereafter4 ,those  wiser ones1          
again1#bah who1 convinced of the evil   
and danger of secular  life1 had        
abandoned their homes1 and entered the  
,order that by  meditation and          
abstraction they might further work out 
their  deliverance1 bound themselves1 in

 addition to observance of these five   
commands1 to eat only at stated times1  
to use neither perfume nor  ornament1 to
 sleep only on mats on the ground1 to   
abstain from dancing1  music1 and       
worldly shows1 to own and accept neither
 silver nor gold1 and  to be perfectly  
chaste4 ,for those wisest of all1 who   
had not only  abandoned the world in    
order to lead the better life of the    
religious1  but who had strenuously     
resolved1 in following the religious    
life1 to  attain to ,arhatship and      
,nirvana1 there remained the much more  
severe  observance of what was called   
the 8,seven ,jewels of the ,law10#bai   
the  last and most important use to     
which the ,noble ,eightfold ,way could  
be  put4 ,for by earnestly struggling1  
meditating1 mastering their precepts1   
the 8,ten ,fetters0 of ,delusion1       
,doubt1 ,dependence on ,ceremonial      
,rites1  ,sensuality1 ,hatred1 ,love of 
life on ,earth1 ,craving for life in    
,heaven1  ,pride1 ,self-,righteousness1 

and ,ignorance1 would one by one be     
broken1  and long self-abnegation       
involved in the process would work out  
its full  reward4    ,it is to be       
observed that in all these classes or   
stages the practice of  virtue and the  
cultivation of purity were considered   
fundamental4 ,in the  preaching ascribed
 to ,buddha great stress is laid on     
,enlightenment1 and  on ,meditation1    
which leads to it2 but at the base of   
all this system1 as  the first          
indispensable factor in securing        
perfection1 was ,uprightness4  ,in the  
,suttas this formula constantly recurs3 
8,great is the advantage1  great the    
fruit of earnest contemplation when set 
round with upright  conduct4 ,great is  
the fruit1 great the advantage of       
intelligence when  set round with       
earnest contemplation4 ,the mind set    
round with  intelligence is free from   
the greatest evils1 that is to say1 from
  sensuality1 from individuality1 from  
delusion1 and from ignorance48  ,again1 

8,righteousness1 earnest thought1 wisdom
 and freedom sublime3  these are the    
truths realised by ,gotama              
far-renowned40#bbj ,the  uprightness1 or
 righteousness required1 presents1 as   
the ,moral ,law of  ,scripture does1 a  
much broader range of influence than the
 words would  indicate4 ,in prohibiting 
lying1 ,buddha enjoined avoidance of all
  offensive language1 and of every word 
that could sever men4 ,he also          
instructed his disciples not only to    
avoid showing enmity to those who  hated
 them1 but to overcome evil with good4  
,purity again in his regard  meant      
purity not of word and deed alone1 but  
of thought and feeling4 ,in  some       
respects his precepts go beyond the     
,moral ,law4 ,the command not to  kill  
included respect not for human beings   
only1 but for every creature  that had  
life4 ,he not only condemned            
drunkenness1 but demanded total         
abstinence as essential4 ,the precept   
8,do not commit adultery0 was           

understood in our sense of it only by   
the laity2 for the religious1  marriage 
was not an honourable estate1 but one   
polluted and polluting4  ,unlike the    
,moral ,law1 which recognises everything
 that is natural and  sanctifies it1 the
 rule of ,buddha in these respects was  
unnatural in its  restrictions4 ,it     
pronounced common and unclean what ,god 
,himself has  cleansed2 and1 as always  
happens when men add to the commandments
 of ,god  in one direction1 they are    
sure to take away from them in another4 
,so  ,buddha's rule1 though excellent in
 that it lays its control not on        
conduct only1 but on thought and        
feeling1 is essentially negative and    
defective4 ,it does not cover man's     
whole nature1 nor provide for his  every
 possible relation4 ,ignoring ,god1 it  
is therefore interpreted by no  positive
 and active principle of goodness4 ,it  
is inspired by no sense of  duty1 for it
 recognises in the universe no superior 
to whom anything is  due1 and1          

unconscious of any benefit1 it owns no  
gratitude4 ,consequently                
unrighteousness1 as an offence to or an 
outrage upon a better or kinder  being  
than self1 is not in all its range of   
view4 ,unrighteousness is  only a       
calamity to be avoided or an imprudence 
not to be repeated4  ,struggling to get 
out of the meshes of an evil net1 the   
,buddhist might  bewail his mistake1 his
 folly1 or his feeble or ill-directed   
effort1 but  he was totally unconscious 
of rebellion or ingratitude4#bba        
,moreover1 in a universe where ,moi-mme 
is the only god1 and a man's own        
,nirvana his only goal1 the primary     
motive of action can rise no higher     
than fear or self-interest4 ,apparently 
strong1 it is really essentially  weak  
in regard to the maintenance of proper  
relations to others demanded  by the    
second table of the ,moral ,law4 ,the   
suffering caused to others  through his 
failure to fulfil the law1 or by        
conscious transgression of  it1 makes no

 impression on the ,buddhist1 except in 
as far as it  interferes with his       
pursuit of perfection4 ,others are      
regarded only as  occasions of acquiring
 merit4 ,instead of serving them as     
,christ enjoins  us to do1 the ,buddhist
 serves himself of them4 ,it is a       
religion of every  man for himself4 ,it 
has been likened to ,positivism1 but it 
falls far  short of it1 as lacking the  
altruism which ,positivism has borrowed 
from  ,christianity4#bbb ,positivism    
refuses to do anything for the glory of 
,god1 but it lays great stress upon the 
duty of living for humanity4 ,it  makes 
the great mistake of supposing that the 
claims of ,god must be  distinct from or
 antagonistic to the interests of       
humanity4 ,it does not  recognise that  
they are identical--that the more the   
life is reserved for  ,god1 the more of 
it is communicated to our fellow-men1   
and that we must  love the ,lord our    
,god with all our hearts1 before we can 
love our  neighbour as ourselves4 ,the  

,positivist scheme of morals1 however1  
is  vastly superior to that of          
,buddhism1 for in it the goal is        
,nirvana1  without any reference to the 
good of any other1 and the decided      
advantage of any action consists wholly 
and solely in the consequences  to the  
actor himself4    ,dr4 ,oldenberg has   
pointed out to us that the much-vaunted 
charity of  ,buddhism1 illustrated in   
the legends by the self-immolation of   
,buddha to  satisfy the hunger of a wild
 beast1 though it 8sways toward does not
  even touch the law of ,christian      
charity40#bbc ,buddha's ,rule1 though   
benevolent to the extent that it would  
harm no one1 and beneficent in  respect 
of doing good1 knew nothing of          
,christianity's enthusiastic  passionate
 desire to help and work for others4#bbd
 ,it was the interest  of the true      
,buddhist to forgive his enemies and not
 to hate them1#bbe  but he never        
considered himself bound to love them4  
,it was good policy  for one pressing on

 to ,arhatship to do good works1 and he 
would go far  out of his way to do them2
 but he never went about doing good as  
one who  found his reward in the        
opportunity and power to do it4 ,he was 
among men  not as one who ministers and 
gives his life to ransom others4 ,his   
very  self-abnegation had egoism at its 
core4 ,between the ,christian surrender 
of self to ,god for the sake of others1 
and the ,buddhist surrender to  others  
for the sake of self1 there is a great  
gulf fixed4 ,the first  springs from a  
sense of indebtedness1 a consciousness  
of mercy  unmerited1 but freely         
bestowed2 but the other1 having no sense
 of  forgiveness received1 has no real  
mercy to show4 ,the mercy of ,god is the
  spring of all true human compassion1  
for he who truly receives it finds  it  
impossible to withhold it4 ,it is1 alas6
 bestowed upon many who are  too full of
 themselves to take it in1 and in all   
such cases it is lost1  but in every    
heart that is conscious of it1 it       

becomes a disposition to  show kindness 
that cannot be counted by acts1 and that
 never will ask1  8,how oft shall my    
brother offend me and ,i forgive him80  
,buddhism was  friendly in its          
benevolence1 but it never was actively  
charitable1 in  taking upon it the      
infirmities and bearing the sicknesses  
of others4 ,it  has no passionate desire
 to gather the wrecked and blighted of  
humanity  and to bind up their bleeding 
wounds and sores4 ,on the contrary1 in  
its  pursuit of ,nirvana it passed by   
all such in the path of life1 precisely 
as the priest and ,levite passed the    
wounded man on their way to ,jericho4   
,it not only was selfish1 but even cruel
 in this pursuit1 for a woman in        
difficulty or in distress was not to be 
helped by a passing monk4 ,the  poor and
 the diseased and the lost were not to  
be considered1 for they  were simply    
suffering the due reward of their deeds2
 but the  yellow-robed monks1 healthy   
and shining-faced1 were to be the       

recipients  of the bounty of the        
charitable and the proper objects of    
their  attention4 ,one of its beatitudes
 runs thus3 8,not to serve the foolish1 
but to serve the wise2 to honour those  
worthy of honour4 ,this is the  greatest
 blessing40#bbf ,almsgiving was indeed  
encouraged2 but alms were  only to be   
bestowed upon the worthy--on the monk   
and ,arhat--not on the  outcast and the 
leper1 whose miserable condition        
indicated their  unworthiness4 ,if the  
animal creation profited by their       
charity1 which  they refused to their   
suffering fellow-men1 it was from a     
selfish  motive3 for the parent1 or     
wife1 or child1 whom by ,buddha's rule  
they  were obliged to help1 might be    
looking at them1 for all they knew1 out 
of the eyes of the beast1 and not to    
fulfil the precept would bring to       
themselves both harm and loss4#bbg      
,tested even socially1 therefore1 the   
,rule of ,buddha is defective1 and this 
because it is not founded on  religion4 

,the cause of ,god is eternally the     
cause of man4 ,in the  ,fatherhood of   
,god is essentially involved the        
universal brotherhood of  man4 ,christ  
is before us as the representative of   
humanity1 because ,he  is the           
representative of ,deity4 ,refusal to   
acknowledge ,his supremacy  will disturb
 all human relationships and throw them 
into disorder4 ,we  learn to do to      
others as ,christ hath done to us2 the  
sense of our  indebtedness will be the  
measure of our charity4 ,for this end   
,he has  chosen the poorest and the most
 wretched as ,his memorials1 and ,he has
  said1 8,inasmuch as ye have done it   
unto the least of these my brethren1  ye
 have done it unto ,me40    ,to do      
justice to ,buddha's way1 however1 we   
must remember that the path  of         
uprightness 7sila7 was only the first   
part of it4 ,without external           
rectitude1 inward integrity would be    
impossible2 but external rectitude1     
without self-concentration1 would be a  

foundation without a structure4  8,a man
 must endeavour to keep constant watch  
over his thoughts1 for our  whole       
existence depends upon our              
thinking10#bbh was one of the noble     
maxims of ,buddhism4 ,it is to its      
credit as a religion that it recognised 
that only a small part of our real life 
can be expressed in words and  deeds1   
that the true sphere of morality and    
human temptation was within1  and that  
it instructed men to keep the heart with
 all diligence1 for out  of it are the  
issues of life4 ,buddha seems to have   
felt1 and to have in  part at least     
expressed1 the contrast and conflict    
between the seen and  the unseen in our 
life4 ,he recognised1 it is true1 no    
soul1 and the  warfare between the flesh
 and the spirit was not found in his    
philosophy1 but he had to account for   
the antagonism which every one  feels   
between our animality and our humanity1 
between what is pressing  or dragging us
 down1 and what in us struggles to be   

free4 ,the mental and  moral qualities  
were of far more value than the         
physical2 the invisible  was of more    
consequence1 because more real1 than the
 visible4 ,the  8mindful and thoughtful 
man0 was the man who 8looked within and 
not  without10 and so ,buddha's         
insistence upon the 8noble earnestness  
of  meditation0 as indispensable to     
deliverance is a grand testimony to the 
truth1 which no philosophy of           
materialism can falsify1 that we are far
  more concerned with what we think and 
feel and imagine than with what we      
touch and we taste1 and that our        
thoughts and feelings go far more into  
the weaving of our character than do our
 words and works4    ,it is alleged that
 in ,pali literature the word for       
meditation  7samadhi71 by which alone   
inner purity can be attained1 bears to  
the  word for 8uprightness0 the same    
relation as that which faith in the ,new
  ,testament bears to works4#bbi ,by    
uprightness1 delusion is cleared away1  

and by pondering constantly the five    
principal kinds of  meditations--,love1 
,pity1 ,joy1 the ,impurity of the ,body1
 and the state of  ,serene ,indifference
 to what men think bad or good--the man 
was supposed  to be redeemed from all   
attachment4#bcj ,it is very pathetic to 
note  this approach toward and yet      
rebound from the ,christian conception  
of  the function of faith3 for faith is 
the victory that overcometh the  world1 
with its lust of the flesh1 its lust of 
the eye1 and its pride of  life4 ,it is 
that too which1 because it looks to the 
unseen and eternal1  quenches all sordid
 or inordinate cleaving to life1 which  
is the root of  so much evil and the    
cause of so much suffering4 ,the        
apostles1  instructed of ,christ1 have  
taught us that ,god's precious gift of  
life is  ours to use3 that to keep it1  
to will to save and to find it1 as if it
  were an end and not a means1 is to    
miss and to lose it2 while to use it1   
be willing to lose it for some higher   

good1 is to keep it unto life  eternal4 
,now ,buddha had a glimpse of this      
truth1 that lust of existence  was the  
root of bitterness in humanity4 ,he     
condemned as heresies the  worldly lust 
which says1 8,let us eat and drink1 for 
to-morrow we die10  and the lust of     
other-worldliness which dreams that the 
life beyond will  yield as good1 or     
better pleasures than this one2#bca but 
the two last  of his five principal     
meditations show how far apart and far  
short of  the victory of faith was his  
idea of the victory of samadhi4 ,the    
apostles' aim was to get rid of lust2   
but his aim was to get rid of  life4    
,the apostles mortified the members     
which are upon the earth1  anger1 wrath1
 malice1 evil concupiscence1 and        
covetousness1 just that  the higher     
life1 the life hid with ,christ in ,god1
 might grow and  brighten2 but ,buddha1 
in 8cleansing himself from all impurity1
 little by  little1 moment by moment1   
piece by piece10#bcb sought to escape   

from  the last shadow of personal       
existence into the blessedness of       
absolute  unconsciousness1 if not of    
utter extinction4    ,for this seems    
clearly revealed in the last or highest 
stage to which  the paths of uprightness
 and meditation were supposed to        
conduct1 that  of enlightenment 7panna7 
or spiritual abstraction1 alleged to be 
equivalent to prayer in other religions4
 ,the highest ,christian  conception of 
prayer is that of communion with ,god2  
the highest ,buddhist  conception of    
panna is of a state of clairvoyance or  
ecstatic insight  in which 8men hear    
with clear and heavenly ear1 surpassing 
that of men10  and 8comprehend by their 
own hearts the hearts of other men10 and
  8recall their own various states in   
former existences10 and 8see with  pure 
and heavenly vision the procession of   
other beings as they pass  from life to 
life40#bcc ,buddha evidently was        
believed by his disciples  to have      
possessed this power1 and probably his  

own long fasting and  severe            
austerities1 practised in the beginning 
of his career1 acting  upon a highly    
nervous system1 made him a believer in  
the reality of this  perfect insight and
 ecstasy of contemplation1 and that it  
might be  acquired by all who were      
sufficiently persevering in pursuit of  
,arhatship4#bcd ,it must be observed1   
however1 that he does not appear to     
have regarded this as an experience to  
be enjoyed by the ,arhat in  perpetuity2
 on the contrary1 it was the condition  
preceding final and  eternal            
deliverance1 and so it may be taken as  
the ,buddhist conception  of            
,euthanasia4    ,the ,christian in the  
highest and supreme moment of life      
aspires1 if  conscious1 after the       
beatific vision4 ,it is no ,brahmanic   
absorption into  the absolute that he   
desires1 but likeness to and communion  
with ,god4  ,the consciousness of       
personality was never more intense1 the 
conviction  was never stronger that he  

has been divinely created and trained as
 a  separate character4 ,by long and    
prayerful use of the means of grace he  
has sought to bring1 and to keep himself
 under the control of the ,holy         
,spirit2 and he hopes that the next     
change will completely free him from    
every trace of 8sensuality1 delusion1   
and ignorance10 and purge away  from the
 soul the last taint of selfishness4 ,by
 long and sore  experiences he has      
learned that selfishness is the evil    
root whence  spring all the suffering   
and sorrow that poison life4 ,he can    
therefore  understand and sympathise    
with the ,buddhist anathema upon        
8individuality10 if by that is meant the
 endeavour to abstract our life  from   
the solidarity of humanity1 to use it   
for our own ends1 and to  grudge what of
 it ,god uses for the rest of ,his      
family4 ,this is the  ,christian        
conception of the cause of death and all
 its woe1 and from  this a ,christian   
saint ever prays and struggles to be    

free2 but it is  not from               
8individuality0 in this sense that the  
,buddhist ,arhat seeks  deliverance4 ,he
 is bent upon the very thing from which 
the ,christian is  anxious to escape4   
,he wants to isolate and withdraw his   
portion of life  from the sum of        
humanity1 to abstract himself from the  
mass1 to save his  own soul2 and now    
that he nears the goal1 his whole       
energies are  directed1 not to purify   
and strengthen and ennoble the personal 
self for  better service1 by minding    
what is pure and lovely1 and by striving
  unceasingly after what is right and   
true1 but by crushing out every  feeling
 into apathy1 every thought into        
vacuity1 so as to get rid of            
personality1 identity1 and the very     
faintest germ of life4#bce    ,and this 
is the goal of a race that has extended 
not only over the whole  range of the   
present1 but over that of many          
existences2 this is the  victory which  
crowns a fight that has continued       

throughout untold ages4  ,truly there is
 something very pathetic in the         
conception of a struggle  after         
sainthood so prolonged1 by one who1 now 
a god1 now an animal1 now  a man1 has   
never lost sight of his mark1 and has   
ever pressed onwards to  it4#bcf        
,probably we may have something to learn
 from it1 by way of  correcting the idea
 that true moral and spiritual          
excellence1  perfection1 saintliness1 is
 the growth of a single life2 but when  
the  goal is understood in its bare     
reality1 as implying not destruction of 
selfishness1 but extinction of being1   
surely the reproachful question is      
justified1 8,to what purpose is this    
waste80 ,after millennia of             
transformation the nebula has formed    
into a star1 and just at the point  when
 it can illumine an immensity1 it       
disappears for ever from the  firmament4
 ,unreckonable energy and thought have  
been expended upon the  production of a 
man1 and just when he has reached the   

highest point of  perfection1 and is    
most serviceable to the universe1 he    
becomes of less  value than a vapour    
that vanishes away4 ,truly              
8the crown of our life as it closes     
,is darkness2 the fruit thereof dust10  
and man walketh in a vain show1 he      
disquieteth himself in vain1 if         
,buddha's way be the only path of       
deliverance from evil1 and ,nirvana his 
only goal4    ,and so while we ought to 
be profoundly thankful for the          
intellectual  culture and moral         
earnestness that made ,buddha1 in spite 
of himself1 the  reformer of ,eastern   
,asia1 it is manifest that even his best
 doctrines  represent very partial and  
one-sided truths1 8dwelt upon with      
morbid  intensity1 to the exclusion of  
every fact which might have modified    
them40#bcg ,his fundamental error was   
his wild attempt to explain the  life of
 man independently of ,divine control1  
and to guide man safely  through the    
perils and temptations of existence by  

an ethical system  founded on no appeal 
to an eternal principle of goodness     
without1 but  solely to self-interest4  
,the result1 which has been to identify 
the  nature of man with that of the     
animals1#bch surely shows conclusively  
that religion and morality can never be 
dissociated without damage to  both4 ,a 
religion without morality must degrade4 
,a system of morality  apart from       
religion will never upraise4 ,religion  
is for man simply  indispensable4 ,deity
 is a necessity to him1 and deity he    
must have1  though he finds his god in a
 tree or makes it out of a stone4 ,man  
lives  by faith1 faith in his higher    
self1 faith in a higher than himself1   
who  alone can explain the conflict     
between his actual condition and the    
ideals which he conceives4 ,the modern  
,buddhist assumes that 8religion is  the
 science of man1 not the revelation of  
,god1 and he considers that             
comprehensions of deity are of far less 
consequence than just ideas of a  man's 

own self10#bci but how can a man have a 
just idea of himself  apart from some   
idea of ,god8 ,according to his idea of 
,god will be his  estimate of himself4  
,buddhism1 by ignoring ,god and         
preaching morality1  has certainly      
failed to make its adherents moral1 and 
it has imparted to  what is noble in    
their morality the melancholy of        
despair4#bdj    ,ignoring ,god1 it could
 only form1 or could not emancipate     
itself from1 a  false conception of man1
 as part of a material system of things2
 but  man1 though considerably involved 
in a material system1 never can be      
interpreted by it4 ,on the contrary1    
nature can only be interpreted or       
properly understood in man as the lower 
in the higher4 ,man is an  antagonist of
 nature2 he is for ever condemning its  
ways1 coming into  collision with its   
laws1 refusing to live its life4 ,out of
 this  collision emerges his religion1  
while his morality originates in the    
conflict between his own sense of duty  

and its life of animal  instinct4#bda   
,to conform to nature1 he must become a 
brute1 but he has  in him ideals and    
capacities transcending it1 and by      
exercising these  capacities in pursuit 
of his ideals he finds his life4 ,buddha
 confessed  to an ideal1 and wrought    
hard to realise it1 but alas for        
humanity when  it finds no higher than  
self to reverence6 ,buddha's theories of
  self-culture and self-deliverance     
reduced to practice have proved most    
miserable failures4 ,it could not be    
otherwise2 no man is likely to move  the
 ship in which he sits by puffing away  
at the sails1 or to lift  himself out of
 the mire by simply pulling away at his 
boots2 and no  philosophy of            
self-culture1 self-control1 or          
self-rescue1 can succeed1  which ignores
 or refuses to acknowledge man's        
instinct of worship4 ,what  he most     
needs is not law1 not a system of       
morality1 not even an example  or model 
to copy1 but inspiration4 ,he knows     

already enough to condemn  himself1 and 
he has examples which1 though far from  
perfect1 quite  suffice to confound him4
 ,the command to be perfect mocks him as
 truly as  a command to see would mock a
 man stone-blind4 ,what he does want is 
a  powerful moral energy within him1 for
 lack of which he has to confess  that  
he cannot do the good he would1 but is  
ever doing the evil which he  would not4
 ,his real wretchedness is not his      
suffering and death1 not  even his      
ignorance1 as ,buddha thought1 but the  
continual and seemingly  ineffectual    
struggle between the animal and the man1
 the flesh and the  spirit4 ,and        
,buddhism was powerless to help him     
here4 ,it lacked the  steady support of 
the sense of duty to the highest and    
best1 the  inspiration that comes from  
the faith that the highest and best is  
for  us1 and is with us1 and in us4     
,belief in ,god1 as ,bacon reminds us1  
is  8essential to the consciousness of  
our nobility and dignity1 for  certainly

 man is of kin to the beasts by his     
body1 and if he be not of  kin to ,god  
by his spirit1 he is a base and ignoble 
creature40 ,so  ,buddhism in unduly     
exalting man to the level of deity has  
in reality  degraded him4 ,it has indeed
 lifted wild races out of barbarism1 but
 it  has failed to civilise them4 ,it   
has certainly not destroyed ignorance1  
and the worship of intelligence has not 
tended to its development and  diffusion
 among the peoples whom it has swayed4  
,judged even by an  ordinary standard1  
the monks of either ,southern or        
,northern ,buddhism are  rarely found to
 be enlightened men1 while the vast     
portion of the  peoples among whom these
 monks are found are about the most     
ignorant of  all4 ,and just as certainly
 has it failed to make men free2 for    
religion  is the guarantee of freedom4  
8,where there is no place left in human 
thought for deity1 there will soon be   
none found for human  liberty40#bdb ,the
 basis of individual right is the       

recognition of a  divine and purely     
moral government of man4 ,if there be no
 higher than  the highest man regarding 
us1 we have only the right to live under
 the  power of the strongest1 and the   
reign of terror must succeed to that of 
order and law4 ,the history of ,buddhism
 and the miserable governments          
associated with it are telling comments 
upon and confirmation of the  truth that
 belief in ,god is necessary to secure  
the rights of man4#bdc    ,the progress 
of the human race will ever be in       
proportion to the  strength of its      
conviction that it is governed and      
considered and  sustained by a ,power of
 infinite goodness ever making for      
righteousness4  ,such a conviction means
 inspiration1 stimulating endurance and 
hope1 and  resolute struggle with evil  
in all its forms4 ,in it is implied the 
assurance that resistance can never be  
in vain1 that failure at the very  worst
 is only partial success1 and that all  
things work together for  good4 ,the    

time for this gospel had not come when  
,buddha called upon the  people of      
,india to 8save themselves from this    
condition of  wretchedness10 and the    
result of his mighty and benevolent     
efforts shows  convincingly how urgent  
in human nature is the demand for a     
,faith which  will not only enlighten   
but enliven1 which1 recognising fully   
not only  the sufferings but the whole  
necessities of man1 and creating strong 
discontent with the world as we find it1
 and even disgust of human life  as it  
is1 will quicken in us persevering and  
deathless efforts to reform  the one and
 to improve the other4 ,such a faith it 
is our privilege and  awful             
responsibility to communicate4 ,our     
religion is higher than our  grasp1 for 
it is always above us4 ,alas6 in too    
many cases it is higher  than our aim1  
for we are too inclined to let it slip1 
and drift on the  tides of things as    
they are2 but mankind will never be     
satisfied with a  lower4 8,aprs         

l'invention du bl ils ne veulent pas    
encore vivre du  gland40 8,we needs must
 love the highest when we see it10 and  
we needs  must strive to become like the
 highest when we love it4 ,the gospel   
preaches consolation and hope to a      
suffering world1 and promises grace     
upon grace to every endeavour to heal   
and amend its condition4 ,christ        
purifies and improves the life which we 
have by destroying only what is  evil1  
and by preserving and training and      
ennobling all that is truly  natural4   
,inexorably ,he demands the extinction  
of selfishness in all its  forms1 and   
,he will not even permit us in our      
prayers to think and ask  for ourselves4
 ,he reminds us that ,god is our ,father
 in heaven1 and what  ,he gives is for  
all ,his family4 ,sternly ,he denounces 
as sinful the  attempt to secure our own
 happiness here or in a better world    
hereafter2  but ,he offers the heaven   
and ,nirvana which ,he found in assuming
 the  burdens of others1 and in bearing 

their cross4 ,so ,he assures us that it 
is worth our while to live1 even in a   
world groaning and travailing with      
suffering1 and that it will be worth our
 while1 even in agony if we  must1 to   
die4 ,it is indeed a very evil world1   
but as long as we draw our  inspiration 
from ,him we can live in it not only    
without damage but with  great profit4  
,when we offer ourselves in ,his        
strength for its salvation  we will be  
saved from its sins4 ,in the times of   
our deepest distress we  will have the  
peace which ,he left us1 and when most  
severely beset and  cast down with      
sorrow because of what seems baffled    
endeavours1 we have  only to think of   
that hope of ultimate victory which made
 ,him to endure  to the end1 to rise    
into                                    
8that last large joy of all1            
,trust in the goodness and the love of  
,him                ,who1 making so much
 well1 will end all well40    ,footnote 
#ahj3      ,dharma1 an ancient ,brahman 

term1 meaning law or order2 what holds  
things as they are1 or ought to be4 ,in 
later ,sanskrit it also means    duty   
and virtue1 i4e4 law                    
performed4--,gifford ,lectures1 ,natural
    ,religion1 pp4 #id1 #ie4 ,buddha is 
also an ancient ,brahman term    applied
 to one who has attained a perfect      
knowledge of the                        
,self4--,satapatha-brahmana1 xiv4 #g4   
#b4 #ag4 ,in ,buddhism ,dharma means    
,buddha's doctrines1 8bodhi10 i4e4      
knowledge self-acquired1 as             
distinguished from 8,veda10 i4e4        
revelation obtainable only through      
the ,brahmans4--,sir ,monier ,williams' 
,buddhism1 p4 #ig4    ,footnote #aha3   
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 pp4 #bje-bjh2
 ,rhys ,davids1 ,buddhism1 p4    #hg2   
,spence ,hardy1 ,manual of ,buddhism1 p4
 #cge4 ,his relation to the             
philosophical systems of his day is     
illustrated in several ,suttas2 see     
,sutta ,nipta1 in vol4 x4 ,part ii4 of  
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 pp4        

#adh-aeb4 ,evidently he regarded them   
with aversion1 and even contempt4       
,footnote #ahb3      ,le ,bouddha1 etc41
 p4 #gi4 ,the legends indicate that his 
use of the    vernacular was matter of  
principle4 ,two ,brahmans1 8excelling in
    speech1 excelling in pronunciation10
 complained that the monks    corrupted 
the word of the ,buddhas by repeating it
 in their own    dialect1 and asked     
permission to put it into classical or  
polished    verse4 8,how can you1 ,o    
foolish ones1 speak thus8444 ,you are   
not1 ,o    monks1 to put the words of   
the ,buddhas into polished 7,sanskrit7  
verse4    ,whosoever does so shall be   
guilty of a dukkata40--,kullavagga1 v4  
#cc4 #a2    ,sacred ,books of the ,east1
 vol4 xx4    ,footnote #ahc3            
,mahparanibhna ,sutta1 ii4 #a4 #b2      
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 xi42  
,mahavagga1 i4 #f4 #ah1 #bg2 ibid4 vol4 
xiii4    ,footnote #ahd3      ,not as   
the ,nothing1 as ,wuttke tries to show  
in ,geschichte des    ,heidenthums1 ii4 

#aff4 ,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4     
#bab4    ,footnote #ahe3                
,samyutta-ka-,nikya1 quoted by          
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4 #bag4     
,footnote #ahf3      ,bouddha et sa     
,religion1 p4 iii1 ,introduction4       
,footnote #ahg3      8,the ,modern      
,buddhist10 published in the volume     
called ,the ,wheel of    the ,law3      
,buddhism illustrated from ,siamese     
,sources1 by ,h4 ,alabaster2    ,london1
 #ahgf4    ,footnote #ahh3      ,dr4    
,westcott1 ,social ,aspects of          
,christianity1 p4 #ab2 ,aristotle1      
,ethic41 i4 #a2 iv4 #c4    ,footnote    
#ahi3      8,the ,modern ,buddhist10    
,alabaster1 ,wheel of the ,law1 p4 #gc2 
,spence    ,hardy1 ,eastern ,monachism1 
pp4 #e1 #cci2 ,gogerly's translation of 
the    ,brahmajala ,sutta in ,digha     
,nikya1 ,journal of ,ceylon ,asiatic    
,society1    #ahdf4    ,footnote #aij3  
,preface to ,mller's ,dhammapada1 p4    
xxx1 old ed4    ,footnote #aia3         
,note at pp4 #ca1 #cb of ,dhammapada in 

vol4 x4 of ,sacred ,books of the        
,east4 ,frankfurter1 ,app4 ,bamp4 ,lect4
 #ahha1 p4 #cdi4    ,footnote #aib3     
,rhys ,davids1 ,buddhism1 p4 #ie2       
,spence ,hardy1 ,manual of ,buddhism1 p4
    #chh2 ,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41    
quoting ,bhikkuni ,samyutta1 p4 #beh2   
,colebrooke's ,essays1 vol4 i4 p4 #dag1 
,cowell's edition2 ,sabbasava    ,sutta1
 #aj1 #aa1 #ab3 ,sacred ,books of the   
,east1 vol4 xi4    ,footnote #aic3      
,life of ,gaudama1 first ed41 p4 #cba   
note2 ,rangoon1 #ahff4    ,footnote     
#aid3      ,max ,mller1 introd4 to      
,buddagosha's ,parables1 p4 xxx1 ed4    
#ahgj4    ,footnote #aie3      ,the     
first traces of this belief are found1  
it is said1 in the    ,upanishads1      
,brihadranyaka1 iii4 #b4 #a1 ,sacred    
,books of the ,east1    vol4 xv4 p4     
#abf2 ,dhammapada1 v4 #a4 #abg1 ibid4   
vol4 x4 ,part i4 #c4 #ce4    ,footnote  
#aif3      ,rhys ,davids1 ,hibbert      
,lectures1 p4 #id2 also his ,manual of  
,buddhism1    pp4 #ajj1 #ajf4           

,footnote #aig3      8,all that we are  
is the result of what we have thought2  
it is founded    on our thoughts1 it is 
made up of our thoughts4 ,if a man      
speaks or    acts with an evil thought  
7or polluted mind71 suffering follows   
him as    the wheel follows the foot of 
the ox that draws the wain0             
7,dhammapada1    #a74 8,not in the sky1 
not in the midst of the sea1 not if we  
enter the    cleft of the mountains1 is 
there known a spot in the whole world   
where    a man might be freed from an   
evil deed0 7,dhammapada1 #abg2 ,sacred  
,books of the ,east1 vol4 x474          
,footnote #aih3      8,l'athisme devenu 
religion et recouvert du manteau des    
vertus    chrtiennes40--,wassilief1     
,buddhism1 introd4 by ,e4 ,laboulaye1 p4
 viii4    ,footnote #aii3               
,professor ,dods1 ,mohammed1 ,buddha1   
and ,christ1 p4 #aga4    ,footnote #bjj3
      ,nagasna's figure used in         
controverting the idea of the separate  
existence of the soul4--,milindapanha1  

p4 #be1 quoted by ,oldenberg1           
,buddha1 p4 #bed2 ,hardy1 ,manual1 p4   
#dbe2 ,rhys ,davids1 ,buddhism1 p4      
#if4    ,footnote #bja3      ,oldenberg1
 op4 cit41 #bba4    ,footnote #bjb3     
,phaedo1 ,jowett's ,introd41 i4 #djg1   
ed4 #ahge4    ,footnote #bjc3           
,preface to ,english translation of the 
,lalita ,vistara2 ,calcutta4            
,footnote #bjd3      ,sutta ,nipta2     
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 x4 pp4
 #cc1 #hj4    ,footnote #bje3           
,buddha1 etc41 pp4 #bgd-bhd2 ,rhys      
,davids1 ,buddhism1 pp4 #aaa-abc4       
,footnote #bjf3      ,childers1 ,pali   
,dictionary1 ,art4 ,,nirvana4           
,footnote #bjg3      ,dr4 ,kellogg1 in  
his ,light of ,asia and ,light of the   
,world1 pp4 #bbc1    #beb1 protests very
 forcibly against the use by translators
 of the word    8immortality0 as the    
equivalent of ,nirvana4 ,it meant1 as he
 reminds    us1 8the end of death       
indeed1 but not because life had        
triumphed1 but    because1 life having  

ceased1 death had nothing to feed on40  
,immortality1 endless bliss1 and kindred
 phrases1 applied to it1 are    only    
justifiable by the popular but really   
un-,buddhistic use of the    word       
,nirvana4    ,footnote #bjh3            
,isaiah xxxii4 #aa2 ,james iii4 #ah4    
,footnote #bji3      ,sir ,monier       
,williams1 ,buddhism1 pp4 #ig1 #bbc4    
,footnote #baj3      8,not to know      
suffering1 not to know the cause of     
suffering1 not to    know the path that 
leads to the cessation of               
suffering--this is called               
,ignorance40 ,consequently knowledge of 
these things is saving                  
knowledge4--,mahavagga1 ,sacred ,books  
of the ,east1 vol4 xiii4 p4 #ge1    note
 #b4    ,footnote #baa3      ,this      
threefold division or 8doorway0 7,hardy1
 ,manual1 p4 #dia71 once    considered  
by ,weber to be peculiar to ,buddhism1  
has been proved to be    common to      
,brahmans1 ,persians1 ,jews1 and        
,greeks1 as well as ,christians4    ,see

 interesting note at pp4 #bh1 #bi1 of   
vol4 x4 of ,sacred ,books of the        
,east1 ,part i4    ,footnote #bab3      
,dr4 ,fairbairn1 ,studies in ,religion  
and ,philosophy1 p4 #afa4    ,footnote  
#bac3      ,dhamma4 ,sutta1 #b-d2       
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 xi4   
pp4 #adf1 #adg2    ,mahavagga1 i4 #f4   
#ag-bj2 ibid4 vol4 xiii4 pp4 #id1 #ie4  
,footnote #bad3      ,sir ,monier       
,williams1 ,buddhism1 p4 #abd4          
,footnote #bae3      ,frankfurter1 ,app4
 to ,wordsworth's ,bampton ,lectures on 
,the ,one    ,religion1 p4 #cdh2 ,sutta 
,nipta1 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1    
vol4 x4    p4 #fi4    ,footnote #baf3   
,penses1 vol4 ii4 p4 #cd2 vol4 i4 p4    
#bje2 ed4 ,faugre4    ,footnote #bag3   
,spence ,hardy1 ,manual of ,buddhism1 p4
 #ejf4    ,footnote #bah3      ,sutta   
,nipta1 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1    
vol4 x4 pp4 #cc1 #df1 #fg2              
,dhammapada1 #bhd4    ,footnote #bai3   
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 xi4   
pp4 #fj1 #fa4    ,footnote #bbj3        

,mahparanibhna ,sutta1 cap4 iv4 #d2     
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4    xi4
    ,footnote #bba3                     
,saint-,hilaire1 ,le ,bouddha1 etc41 pp4
 #adi1 #aec1 #afa4    ,footnote #bbb3   
,wordsworth1 ,bampton ,lectures on ,the 
,one ,religion1 p4 #ia4    ,footnote    
#bbc3      ,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4
 #bhi4    ,footnote #bbd3      ,meta    
,sutta1 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1    
vol4 x4 p4 #be4    ,footnote #bbe3      
,see the story given in ,mahavagga1 x4  
#b4 #c-bj2 also the story of    ,kunala1
 ,asoka's son--this latter said by      
,burnouf1 in his ,introduction1    to be
 of modern origin4 ,quoted by           
,oldenberg1 p4 #bij4    ,footnote #bbf3 
,so ,dr4 ,rhys ,davids1 ,buddhism1 p4   
#abf4 ,fausbll translates1 8,not        
cultivating the society of10 etc4       
7,sutta ,nipta1 ,sacred ,books of the   
,east1 vol4 x4 pp4 #dc1 #dd47           
,footnote #bbg3      ,dr4 ,edkins1      
,chinese ,buddhism1 p4 #bjd4            
,footnote #bbh3      ,dhammapada1       

#aeg-h-i1 #cgi-hj2 ,sacred ,books of the
 ,east1 vol4 i4    ,footnote #bbi3      
,t4 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids1 in the           
,introduction to his translation of the 
,keto    ,khila ,sutta 7,barrenness and 
,bondage71 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1 
vol4    xi4 p4 #bbb1 says that in       
reading it he was irresistibly reminded 
of #b    ,peter i4 #e-i4 ,the barrenness
 referred to in the ,sutta is lack of   
successful effort to be free from 8the  
,ten ,fetters0 which bind man to        
existence1 chief of which is hankering  
after immortality in any form1    or    
without form4 ,how contrasted is this to
 ,st4 ,peter's thought6 8,give          
diligence to provide in your faith      
earnestness10 that it may be an         
overcoming faith2 but as faith without  
knowledge is superstition1 and          
earnestness misdirected will do harm1   
provide in earnestness    8knowledge02  
and as knowledge ungoverned will        
degenerate into conceit1    provide in  
it 8temperance02 but temperance must be 

inspired with    8patience10 bent on    
,god's glory1 not personal gain2        
8godliness0 thus    attained1 8brotherly
 kindness0 will manifest itself1 and    
then    8charity0 toward every          
creature--that is the grace of our ,lord
 ,jesus    ,christ1 the summum bonum1   
the knowledge in which we are neither to
    be barren nor unfruitful4 ,no more  
forcible illustration of the utter      
contradiction between the two religions 
could be found than this    verbal      
analogy of 8barrenness and bondage40    
,footnote #bcj3      ,compare ,st4      
,paul1 ,phil4 iv4 #h3 8,finally1        
brethren1 whatsoever things    are true1
 whatsoever things are honourable1      
whatsoever things are    just1          
whatsoever things are pure1 whatsoever  
things are lovely1    whatsoever things 
are gracious2 if there be any virtue1 if
 there be    any praise1 think on these 
things40    ,footnote #bca3             
,dhamma-,kakka-ppavattana ,sutta1 #f1   
note2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1      

vol4 xi4 p4 #adh4    ,footnote #bcb3    
,dhammapada1 #bci2 ibid4 vol4 x4 p4 #a4 
,footnote #bcc3      ,akankheya ,sutta2 
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 xi4 p4
 #baj4    ,footnote #bcd3      ,if the  
legends are to be followed1 he believed 
in the miraculous power    which        
resulted from it 7see ,mahparanibhna    
,sutta1 i4 #cc1 and iii4 #bb2    also   
,mahavagga1 i4 #bj4 #bd71 but he        
condemned the exercise of that    power 
for self-glorification or for paltry    
gain 7,kullavagga1 v4 #h4 #b2    also   
vii4 #a1 #b1 #c2 ,sacred ,books of the  
,east1 vols4 xi4 xii4 xiii474           
,footnote #bce3      ,see ,gough1       
,philosophy of the ,upanishads1 pp4     
#bfg1 #bfh4    ,footnote #bcf3          
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4 #cad4     
,footnote #bcg3      ,sir ,monier       
,williams1 ,buddhism1 p4 #ce4           
,footnote #bch3      ,saint-,hilaire1   
,le ,bouddha1 etc41 p4 #afb4            
,footnote #bci3      ,mr4 ,alabaster1   
,wheel of the ,law1 preface1 p4 xvi4    

,footnote #bdj3      ,eitel1 ,lectures  
on ,buddhism1 pp4 #ei-gj2               
,saint-,hilaire1 ,le ,bouddha1    p4    
#aef4    ,footnote #bda3      ,jackson's
 ,bampton ,lectures1 ,the ,doctrine of  
,retribution1 p4 #bhd2    ,caird's      
,philosophy of ,religion1 ,croall       
,lectures1 pp4 #bei seq4    ,footnote   
#bdb3      ,saint-,hilaire1 ,le         
,bouddha1 p4 xxiii2 ,hardy's ,eastern   
,monachism1 p4    #cab4    ,footnote    
#bdc3      8,prefix the name of ,god to 
this ,declaration0 7of the ,rights of   
,man71    said ,abb ,grgoire to the     
,national ,assembly in #aghi1 8or you   
leave it    without foundation1 and make
 right the equivalent of force40 ,the   
,assembly refused1 but events soon      
confirmed his judgment4--,baring        
,gould1 ,development of ,belief1 vol4   
ii4 p4 #hh4                             
,,lecture ,v4              ,,the        
,,buddhist ,,sangha#bdd3 ,,the          
,,christian ,,church4      ,the         
designation 8,church10 never wholly     

applicable to ,buddhism in the  sense in
 which ,christians employ it1 was       
totally inapplicable to the  primitive  
,buddhist communities4 ,the institution 
of the ,church is  peculiar to          
,christianity1 for though we speak of   
the worship of ,krishna1  or the        
religion of ,baal1 we never speak of the
 church of the one or the  other4       
,christianity is the only religion which
 has created a society  which no        
political revolution can destroy1 and no
 civilisation1 however  advanced1 can   
outlive4 ,it may change its form1 or    
express itself in  several co-existent  
forms2 but it is so adapted to the      
nature and  necessities of man that it  
is properly described1 in its relation  
to his  present condition1 as divine and
 everlasting4    ,though the ,church is 
the creation of ,christ and the fruit of
 ,his  mission1 the idea of it had been 
suggested to the world long ages before 
,he came4 8,ecclesia0 is peculiarly a   
,new ,testament word1 but there are     

found in the ,old ,testament ,scriptures
 plain foreshadowings of the  reality   
represented by it4 ,in ,abraham1        
8called0 out from his country and       
kindred1 that he might be separated unto
 the worship of ,jehovah1 we have  the  
first pre-intimation of the ,church4 ,in
 relation to other nations1  his        
descendants were the 8peculiar people0  
and ,ecclesia of ,jehovah1 and  when as 
a nation they failed to embody and      
express the universal truths1  which it 
is the ,church's function to communicate
 for the blessing of all  the world1    
there was called out from them1 or      
rather there was formed  within them1   
8the remnant10 so often referred to by  
,isaiah and the  subsequent prophets2   
and in this spiritual community and     
fellowship1  dissociated from the       
national religion1#bde were conserved   
and  perpetuated the truths and ideals  
from which they had fallen away4 ,after 
the ,captivity1 in the rise of the      
synagogue system of worship1 there was  

provided an organisation1 whose         
essential details ,christ and ,his      
apostles in instituting the ,church     
could either adopt or copy2 and there   
can be no question that from out this   
synagogue system the ,christian  ,church
 emerged1 and that even to-day it       
reflects some of its peculiar  features4
    ,the ,church was the fruit of       
,christianity1 but the ,sangha was the  
root  out of which ,buddhism sprang4 ,in
 a ,sangha its founder lived and learned
  and taught1 till as ,buddha he founded
 his own2 but just as he gave a new     
significance to the doctrines in which  
he had been instructed1 so he  gave the 
,sangha an application which accounts   
for1 though it does not  justify1 the   
designation often accorded to it of a   
church4 ,as an order  without worship1 a
 brotherhood without any recognition of 
the uniting  ,fatherhood in heaven1 a   
confraternity in which seniority was    
assigned  only to age1#bdf and whose    
leaders never pretended to hold any     

priestly  office or to exercise any     
hierarchical authority1 the ,sangha at  
first  and for long was not a church2   
yet when we examine its constitution and
  aims we need not wonder that the      
religious instincts of ,buddhists1      
proving stronger than their creed1      
should have developed their ,sangha     
into something like a church1 with a    
cult which1 at first consisting  only of
 veneration for his images and relics1  
for long has been almost  second to none
 in the world for solemnity and dignity 
and pomp4#bdg    ,we have seen that     
philosophic schools and religious sects 
originating  in secessions from the     
national religion abounded in ,india    
long before  ,buddha's day4 ,in the     
,gangetic valley1 as in ,greece1 the new
 sages  attracted their disciples by the
 fame of their teaching1 but there1  not
 as in ,greece1 the disciples lived with
 their masters apart1 and  distinguished
 from the world by peculiar dress and   
manners4 ,of  ,monachism1 an early      

outgrowth of ,hindu religion1 and indeed
 its  essential adjunct1 as being the   
state which marked the maturity and     
completion of a good man's earthly life1
 there were already many  forms1 all    
held in high respect by the people4     
,celibacy and mendicancy  were common to
 all ,sanghas1 but in regard to vows of 
silence1 and  fasting1 and self-torture1
 they differed greatly from one another4
 ,the  majority of them were ,brahman in
 their constitution and in their        
recognition of caste3 but long before   
the rise of ,buddhism the ,sraman       
fraternities1 founded on the            
non-recognition of caste1 were quite    
equal to the purest ,brahman ones in    
public esteem4 ,now in organising  the  
,sakya-putta-,samanas1 the designation  
by which his disciples were  first known
 by the people1 ,buddha adopted many    
features and details of  discipline     
common to all these fraternities1 while 
yet the peculiarity  of his doctrines   
gave to the community of his own        

disciples a  character quite            
distinctive4    ,the ,brahman ,orders   
believed that ,brahmans only could be   
finally saved1  and ,brahman reformers  
could only encourage inferior castes    
that came to  them for enlightenment by 
the hope of possibly securing a higher  
birth  in a future state4 ,buddha1      
however1 considered all men alike in    
respect  of need1 so1 knowing of only   
one way of deliverance1 he proclaimed it
  without distinction1 and1 like the    
,sramans1 he opened his ,sangha to all  
who were willing to submit to his       
discipline4 ,unlike many of the ,sraman 
fraternities1 he discouraged the life of
 solitude1 and prohibited the  practice 
of self-torture and severe austerities4 
,in opposition to the  hated            
,nigganthas1 who1 aiming at perfection1 
went about with only the  light and air 
for their clothing1 he insisted that his
 disciples should  be decently clad4#bdh
 ,in respect that he required obedience 
from  disciples only as long as they    

continued to be so1 and would not permit
  irrevocable vows--indeed1 exacted from
 them no vow at all--his ,sangha was    
more like some ,anglican guild than any 
monastic institution with which  we are 
acquainted4    ,still more widely did it
 differ1 not only from many1 but from   
all the  existing fraternities in the   
purpose for which he instituted it4     
,hitherto ,india had never witnessed a  
religious sect that could be called     
propagandist4 ,brahmanism was           
essentially exclusive1 for no man could 
become a ,brahman by conversion4 ,the   
,sraman sages again1 left the masses  to
 ripen in evil ways for worse lives in  
more degraded spheres of future         
existence1 in order to deliver          
themselves by ascetic practices and     
meditation4 ,at best they taught those  
who resorted to them1 and were  prepared
 to consort with them4 ,buddha1 however1
 by laying upon the  brethren the       
obligation of extending the knowledge of
 the law1  inaugurated a revolution in  

the monastic system which anticipated   
that  of the great ,mendicant ,orders of
 ,christendom4 ,just as ,st4 ,francis   
emptied the monasteries and sent forth  
their inmates to find their own  in     
seeking the salvation of others1 so     
,buddha broke down the barriers  between
 the ,indian recluses and the world1 by 
ordaining the members of  his ,sangha to
 teach their fellow-men the way to      
liberty4 8,therefore1 ,o  brethren1 to  
whom the truths which ,i have perceived 
have been made known  by me1 having     
thoroughly mastered them1 meditate upon 
them1 practise  them1 spread them       
abroad1 in order that the pure ,dhamma  
may last long  and be perpetuated1 in   
order that it may continue to be for the
 good and  happiness of the great       
multitude1 out of pity for the world1 to
 the  good1 and gain1 and weal of gods  
and men40#bdi    ,this was the original 
element#bej in his conception1 and while
 one of  its effects was to save the    
members of the ,sangha from some of the 

evils  besetting the life of the recluse
 by balancing the duty of contemplation 
by that of active itineration1 its chief
 and immediate result was to  give      
,buddhism an expansive power marvellous 
to ,indians4 ,religious  fraternities   
depended upon the presence of their     
teachers1 and  consequently the members 
were few1 but ,buddha commanded the     
brethren to  go forth4 8,let not two of 
you go the same way0 was the original   
instruction1 and preach the doctrine    
8which is glorious in the  beginning1   
glorious in the middle1 glorious in the 
end1 in the spirit  and in the letter1  
for the pure and perfect life1 for the  
complete  cessation of sorrow40#bea ,by 
and by these missionaries were          
authorised  to receive those who desired
 admission into the ,sangha1 and after a
 due  novitiate to ordain them2#beb and 
so we need not wonder that this         
itineracy1 which in the earliest days   
was the very essence of a good          
,buddhist's duty1 should have had the   

effect of spreading the doctrines  and  
gathering converts so rapidly that in   
some of the earliest extant  scriptures 
the ,sangha was known as 8the           
,brotherhood of the ,four               
,quarters0#bec of what to ,indian       
thought was the world4    ,thus far the 
,sangha was different from the          
institutions that preceded  it1 but1    
unlike the ,christian ,church1 which    
finally emerged from ,judaism  as the   
one holy ,church of all nations and of  
both sexes1 and of all  classes of men1 
the ,buddhist ,sangha bore with it1 and 
never lost1  several marks of its ,hindu
 origin4 ,one relic of its extraction it
 most  zealously conserved as essential 
to the moral restraint which it         
encouraged2 for though later on it      
attracted associates whom it  recognised
 as in the ways of deliverance1 it was  
from the very first an  exclusively     
monastic order4 ,indeed1 ,monachism1 or 
the life of  retirement1 privation1 and 
chastity1 had in ,buddhism a place quite

  different from that which it occupied 
in ,brahmanism4#bed ,the meditative     
,brahman anchorite was not considered   
the only man who was in the way to      
deliverance1 for every believer in      
,brahman ascendency was free to choose  
one of three ways of securing           
salvation1#bee but in ,buddhism         
renunciation of the world represented   
the highest form of religion1 and  the  
indispensable condition of reaching     
,nirvana4 ,so1 though in opening  the   
,sangha to all classes1 and proclaiming1
 in opposition to ,brahmanism1  that    
every man was capable of the highest    
enlightenment1 ,buddha sapped  the      
foundation of caste1 it was only to     
replace it in another form4#bef  ,the   
mendicant monk1 as has been truly       
observed1 took the ,brahman's  place1   
and for him alone ,nirvana was reserved4
 ,so sharply defined were  the lines    
which divided the ,sangha from the rest 
of mankind1 that no one  who had not    
come out from the world was regarded as 

in it and of it4    ,this was quite in  
keeping with the ,buddhist conception of
 deliverance4  ,the ,sangha simply was  
an attempt to realise the idea and      
purpose of the  creed4 ,salvation       
according to ,christ meant rescue from  
the power of  evil1 but not withdrawal  
from the world as so incurably evil that
 the  sooner man got out of it the      
better4 ,instead of making ,his ,church 
an  asylum and refuge from the world1   
,he organised it for the redemption of  
the world4 ,instead of attempting to    
destroy civil society1 ,he aimed at  its
 purification by the leavening influence
 of the new society which ,he  was      
creating4 ,the ,church was to be        
,christ's witness when ,he was no       
longer visible1 the instrument by which 
,his own power would bear upon  the     
wants of mankind4 ,the slavery and the  
degradation of society1 the  destruction
 of the world1 was never meant to be the
 condition of the  existence or of the  
liberty and dignity of the ,church4 ,it 

was but a  means to an end1 a means so  
essential that without it the end could 
not  be reached1 but1 once the end has  
been reached1 the ,church will be       
superseded1 or rather will be merged in 
the kingdom of ,god4 ,so the very       
symbol of it is not found in the        
apocalyptic visions of the new heaven   
and the new earth4 ,in the civitas of   
the new ,jerusalem ,st4 ,john saw       
families and nations and kingdoms1 but  
he could see no temple therein1  for the
 instrumentality of which the temple was
 the symbol had done its  work in the   
emancipation and education of the human 
race1 and had  vanished into the more   
glorious and eternal realities of the   
throne of  ,god and of the ,lamb4    ,in
 ,buddhism we find a set of ideas quite 
contradictory to all these4 ,the        
,sangha was the vehicle of rescue from  
out the world1 not the bringer of       
salvation to it2 it worked not for the  
regeneration of society1 but for  its   
disintegration and destruction4 ,it     

considered the world to be so           
hopelessly incurable1 and even existence
 to be so weighted with misery1  that   
wisdom would move men to abandon the one
 to its fate1 and goodness  impel them  
to strive to bring the other to an end4 
,the monastery1  therefore1 was         
naturally its loftiest conception of the
 ,civitas ,dei1 and  into that it       
endeavoured to transform as large a     
section of humanity as  was inclined to 
accept its law4    ,this unnatural      
theory of life indicates the essential  
weakness of  ,buddhism1 and makes its   
history very instructive to ,christians4
 ,in the  ,church1 perhaps1 room may be 
accorded to the monastery and convent1  
as  long as they are sanctified by the  
,christian idea of self-abnegation in   
the service of others1 but the attempt  
to transform the ,church into a         
monastery1 dominated by the ,buddhist   
idea of abnegation of the world for  the
 sake of self1 can only create          
unmitigated evil4 ,the effect of it in  

primitive ,buddhism was not only to     
withdraw good men from the world at  the
 very time when its diseased condition  
most required the help of  their        
preserving salt1 but the salt itself1   
not being used for its  natural and     
proper purpose1 soon lost its savour4   
,the substitution of an  artificial for 
a natural standard of excellence        
inevitably tends to  destroy even       
virtue4 ,very soon in the ,sanghas      
active itineracy and  devout            
contemplation gave way to listless      
indolence and enervating  reverie1 and  
there emerged a mode of life from which 
the great mass of  healthy men will ever
 revolt1 as sanctioning the idea that   
the more  useless we become in this     
world the more fitted for a better we   
may  safely consider ourselves to be4   
,the ,buddhist ,sangha1 therefore1      
though in no sense resembling the       
,christian ,church1 does resemble some  
of its after-growths4 ,these1  however1 
must be regarded as parasitical in their

 nature1 for though fed  by its life1   
they do not spring from its root4 ,in   
,christianity1  ,monachism represents a 
tendency of human nature incidental to  
its  development rather than the        
essential fruit of ,christian principle2
 but  the ,buddhist idea of a true      
society is one essentially and          
completely  monastic4 ,this one fact is 
sufficient to show that the similarities
  discoverable between the ,buddhist and
 ,christian institutions are more       
apparent than real1 while the contrasts 
between them are found to be  deeper and
 more substantial the more they are     
examined4    ,the monachism of          
,christianity originated1 it is said1 in
 the endeavour  to reproduce the ideal  
of excellence represented in the life of
 ,jesus4  ,in the life of ,jesus there  
was nothing monastic4 ,though ,he       
appeared in  the land of the ,essenes1  
though heralded by a solitary ascetic1  
though  the age was one of universal    
defection1 when because of its          

corruption  it seemed impossible to live
 a man's life in society1 ,jesus lived  
freely  in the world as ,he found it1   
and laid ,his blessing on all of it that
 was  natural1 and on all of it that was
 necessary4 ,he did not refuse to enjoy 
any of the good gifts of ,god2 ,he      
warned us against despising or throwing 
them away1 though ,he asked us to be    
ready1 when love calls1 to let them  go1
 or relinquish them for the good of     
others4 ,he gave ,himself wholly to     
,his mission1 and ,he took no thought   
for the morrow4 ,if ,he called ,his     
apostles from their secular callings1 it
 was not because such callings  hindered
 their own salvation1 but because1      
withdrawn from them for love  of ,god   
and man1 they would be freer to serve   
the world4 ,we have  interpreted the    
,apostolate as expressing ,his desire   
that in the ,church  there will always  
be an order devoted specially to the    
service of  religion1 but this form of  
service was never meant to be regarded  

as the  only religious service4 ,if one 
calling is consecrated1 it is as one day
  is consecrated1 that all may be       
sanctified thereby4 ,the world was never
  renounced by the apostles that they   
might work out their own salvation2  and
 if they 8exercised0 themselves it was  
because self-control fitted  them to    
render more valuable service for man's  
redemption4 ,the  missionary zeal which 
drove the members of the ,primitive     
,church all over  the world to sow the  
seeds of truth and love made them take  
no thought  of what they should eat or  
what they should drink2 and missionary  
zeal  all through the ,christian ages   
has manifested the same indifference to 
the  of existence2 but those who have   
been most inspired by it1  and who have 
found nothing impracticable in following
 the manner of life  which our ,lord    
,himself led1 have never deemed it the  
only way1 or even  the highest way1 of  
,christian service4 ,it was that to     
which they felt  inwardly moved and     

called by the ,holy ,ghost1 and1 like   
the apostles1  they exhorted all others 
to abide in the callings wherein they   
were  called4    ,primitive             
,christianity1 like any other religion1 
was susceptible to  morbid affections1  
and the germs of disease with which the 
atmosphere  around it was charged found 
early a lodgment within it1 and soon    
matured  into portentous fertility4 ,the
 persecutions of the ,church1 the       
terrible  corruption of the world1 the  
troubles and temptations consequent on  
the  first junction of ,christianity    
with the ,imperial ,power1 the mistaken 
idea that the world which the ,church   
had manifestly failed to transform1  or 
even preserve1 was doomed1 and that     
,christ was speedily coming in ,his     
glory to judge it1 strengthened the     
ascetic tendency to come out and be     
separate from it4#beg ,by the end of the
 third century the deserts of  ,egypt   
and ,arabia1 and the mountains of ,asia 
,minor1 were so peopled with  recluses  

that in one spot alone there were ten   
thousand men and twenty  thousand women4
 ,at the close of another century       
,monachism had a home in  every province
 of the ,oriental ,church1 and monks and
 nuns formed 8a  nation10 as distinct   
from the clergy as the clergy were from 
the common  believers1 and in many      
instances they were hated and persecuted
 by  clergy and laity alike4#beh    ,the
 original purpose of the founders of the
 new institution1 however1  was not to  
shelter mystics and visionaries1 but to 
train soldiers and  martyrs4 ,solitude  
was not intended to be an asylum for the
 weak1 or an  infirmary for the         
diseased1 but an arena for the training 
and testing of  athletes4 8,come10 says 
,chrysostom1#bei 8and see the tents of  
the  soldiers of ,christ4 ,come1 behold 
their order of battle40 ,augustine also 
refers to them as 8milites ,christi10   
even as later on they were  designated  
as 8the chivalry of the ,church0 and    
8the paladins of ,god40  ,though not of 

the world1 and being above its ways1    
they were yet in it  and for it4 ,so    
these retreats were not only technical  
schools1  representing the industries   
essential to the well-being of man2 they
  were also academies for sacred        
studies1 from which went forth champions
  like ,athanasius to defend the faith  
against the heretic1 and like ,basil  to
 defend the ,church against the ,empire4
 ,they were also brotherhoods of        
charity1 in which in self-imposed       
austerities men grew tender in respect  
for the miseries of others1 and         
anticipated in much more unfavourable   
times the hospitals for 8sick children0 
and 8lepers0 and 8incurables10  which we
 are inclined to regard as the peculiar 
products of the latest  ,christian      
centuries4#bfj ,of course1 early        
,christian ,monachism had its           
ridiculous extravagances1 in types like 
the ,stylites and ,browsers2 and  of    
course even its soberer types soon      
degenerated through over  cultivation1  

till it became a greater hindrance to   
the spread of  ,christianity than all   
external opposition and persecution4    
,the spirit of  piety which it          
originated was speedily poisoned by     
superstition2  theological discussion   
supplanted the love of earnest study2   
the spirit  of obedience and loyalty was
 superseded by that of intrigue and     
revolt4  ,so though it spread1 it was   
not as a contagion of health1 but as an 
infectious disease1 whose evil effects  
are traceable in the decrepitude  which 
the ,oriental ,church has never been    
able to throw off4    ,in the ,western  
,church1 ,monachism1 though less        
brilliant in its  beginnings than its   
,eastern precursor1 has had a longer and
 healthier  course4 ,it is not within   
the scope of this lecture even to sketch
 it1 or  to analyse and tabulate its    
results4 ,we live in an age which has   
certainly little sympathy with the ideal
 of ,christianity which it sought  to   
realise1 but that is not sufficient     

reason that we should affect to  despise
 it1 or imagine that we have outgrown   
the necessity for it4 ,the  life of the 
recluse may be beyond our attainment1   
for we may be so  afraid to be alone1   
and so unable to endure 8conversation   
with  ourselves10 that we have to take  
refuge in perpetual society4 ,the       
8weakness0 of the old asceticism many of
 us have not the strength to  practise1 
for we are too much under the dominion  
of the flesh1 which  they at least could
 master1 and we are far too inclined to 
treat with  unnecessary tenderness what 
they chastised and immolated4 ,the vows 
of  poverty and obedience and chastity  
may be the very medicine we require1  in
 a condition of public sentiment so     
unhealthy that a man's standing1  and   
worth1 and even life1 seems to consist  
in the abundance of his  goods1 and his 
freedom in licence to despise all       
authority and indulge  all his likings4 
,no doubt1 in the ,west as in the ,east1
 ,monachism  eventually became an       

impediment to ,christian civilisation1  
but not until  it had considerably      
regenerated and uplifted it4 ,it kept   
before the  ,church the dignity of      
manual labour1 it wiped out the         
discredit  attaching to honest poverty1 
it proclaimed the equality of men by    
treating rich and poor alike1 and it    
proved the defender of the  oppressed1  
the mediator between the strong and the 
feeble4 8,we are the  poor of ,christ10 
says ,bernard1 8and the friendship of   
the poor makes us  the equals of kings40
 ,then just as unquestionably it was the
 pioneer of  learning and of enterprise1
 the guardian of law and the fosterer of
  charity4 ,there is hardly a city or   
populous centre in ,europe which does   
not owe its churches1 universities1     
hospitals1 charitable institutions1     
either in their origin or growth1 to the
 cnobites and celibates of  former ages2
 and whether we acknowledge or repudiate
 our debt to them1  8its magnitude      
confronts us more imposingly the more we

 honestly  consider it40    ,but like   
all unnatural segregations of human     
beings from society1 for  which man was 
made1 ,monachism everywhere became      
eventually an excuse for  indolence and 
misanthropy2 a refuge for the           
melancholy1 and for all who  had become 
unfit to serve either the world or the  
,church4 ,its whole  history in the     
,christian ,church has justified the    
warning of ,st4 ,paul  against          
artificial methods of attaining to      
saintliness4 ,the vices which  beset    
society never lost any of their power   
over the recluses of the  desert or the 
inmates of the monastery1 while many    
other vices were  added to the host that
 assailed the solitary1 undefended by   
his  fellows4#bfa 8,woe to him that is  
alone1 for when he falls there is not   
another to raise him up6 ,woe to him    
that is alone1 for there is no one  to  
keep him from falling60 are the lessons 
of this long mistaken attempt  to       
realise an undemanded standard of       

excellence2 and yet1 just because  of   
the consistency of its ideal with one   
side of ,christian service1  modern     
,christendom1 though in altered and     
modified forms1 has not parted  with    
,monachism yet4    8,the ideal of the   
,christian monk10 says ,montalembert1   
8is that of  manhood in its purest and  
most energetic form--manhood            
intellectually and  morally superior1   
devoting itself to efforts greater and  
more sustained  than are exacted in a   
worldly career2 and this not to make    
earthly  service a stepping-stone to    
heaven1 but of life a long series of    
victories for man40#bfb ,surely this is 
the ideal of every ,christian  minister 
truly consecrated to the service of man2
 yea1 the ideal of  every brother or    
sister who1 married or single1 in       
business or society1  is trying to reach
 forward to the mark of our high        
calling4 ,there is no  code of          
disabilities in the service of ,christ1 
and the way to the  highest honours is  

open to all who wish to enter it1 of    
whatever  condition or rank or mental   
capacity they may be4 ,when this common 
ideal  was fallen from in the monastic  
orders1 it was being realised by many   
private members of the ,church2 when the
 professional ,church had  falsified it1
 it was being upheld by so-called 8men  
of the world02 and  therefore1 as a     
natural consequence1 when the monastic  
orders of  ,christendom became corrupt1 
society1 true to its better instincts1  
rose  up and reformed them or swept them
 away4 ,there was always a large volume 
of life outside the particular channel  
which these orders filled1 to  purify it
 when it became foul1 or to force it    
onward1 when stagnant1  into the life of
 the ,church4    ,but it was not so in  
,buddhism4 ,its lay associates1 however 
numerous1  were but the fringes of      
religious communities essentially and   
wholly  monastic4 ,when1 therefore1     
deterioration or degradation in the     
,order set  in1 reformation of it by the

 people was hopeless4 ,in the ,order    
this  deterioration showed itself       
earlier that its dominant ideal was     
lower  than the ,christian4 ,in early   
,christian ,monachism1 fortitude and    
devotion  all sprang from the immolation
 of self for the universal good4 ,in    
,buddha's ,sangha1 however1 though there
 was both devotion and fortitude        
displayed1 the goal to be reached was   
simply self-rescue4 ,its course of      
beneficence therefore was not only      
shorter but shallower4  ,unintentionally
 it wrought out social reforms1 and     
perhaps political  revolution4 ,it      
restrained luxury1 and checked the      
unbounded sensuality  to which ,indians 
are prone2 it rebuked the               
earthly-minded1 and witnessed  nobly of 
the higher interests of life to peoples 
that sorely needed the  testimony4 ,it  
not only propagated morality1 but       
promoted learning1 and a  love of the   
beautiful in nature and art1 but its    
force was eventually  exhausted4 ,very  

early it sank into the stagnation in    
which it has  existed for centuries1 and
 any advance registered by the nations  
among  whom the institution has existed 
has been due1 for more than a thousand  
years1 to the influx of ,christian ideas
 and sentiments4    ,its own methods    
hastened its decay4 ,like all ,eastern  
religious growths1  it represented the  
piety of inertion4 ,manual labour of all
 kinds was  placed under the ban1 and   
beyond attending to the cleanliness of  
his  person and of his lodging the      
,buddhist monk was not allowed to do    
anything save itinerate for his         
maintenance and the preaching of the    
law4 ,he was instructed that every      
moment abstracted from meditation was   
serious loss4 ,this was in direct       
contradiction to the very first rule of 
,christian solitary life1 which even in 
the stifling heat of the desert         
demanded manual tasks1 which fasting    
might be said to have doubled1          
continued through the long day till     

vespers summoned the labourers to       
worship4 ,the ,buddhist monk knew       
neither the healthy life of physical    
exertion nor the spiritual refreshment  
of worship4 ,he might vindicate  his    
idleness against the reproaches of the  
industrious by the assertion  that he   
too in his quiet life was also          
8ploughing and sowing0 to much  better  
purpose1#bfc but then the effect of his 
ploughing and the fruit  of his sowing  
were all confined to himself1 who alone 
was freed by it  from suffering4 ,he    
could not answer1 as the ,nican monk and
 quondam  courtier replied to ,valens1  
when challenged as to whither he was    
going1  8,i go to pray for your         
empire40#bfd ,augustine has indeed      
assured us  that 8the less a monk       
labours in anything but prayer the more 
serviceable he is to men02 but the      
prayer which he had in view was not     
selfish4 ,on the contrary1 the tears and
 penitential exercises of men who  had  
become strangers to all personal desires

 8were mighty to drown sin  and purify  
the world40#bfe ,as long as monks were  
truly prayerful1 and  nuns1 like        
vestals1 kept alive the sacred fire for 
every hearth1 they  represented that    
side of the ,church's mediation which is
 most important  and effective2 for no  
one can be really effective in the      
service of man  who is not frequent in  
the service of waiting upon ,god4 ,the  
heroes of  the ,christian ,church1 who  
have evangelised and civilised the wild 
waste  places of the world1 who1 like   
the apostle1 laid aside every           
encumbrance  to run their race1 were1   
like the apostle1 men of much meditation
 and  prayer4 ,we have no such examples 
in ,buddhism1 for it lacked the         
provision which alone could nurture     
them4 ,in the life of the ,buddhist     
monk there was probably more1 and more  
intense meditation than in that  of the 
,christian1 but there was a vast        
difference in their respective  themes  
of meditation4 ,the ,christian could    

draw his inspiration from a  source far 
higher and purer than himself1 and in   
communion with the  ,father1 ,redeemer1 
,sanctifier of his spirit gather a      
strength which  astonished the world2   
but what possible inspiration for       
endeavour could  come to a poor         
,buddhist monk who was chiefly occupied 
in contemplating  the impurity of his   
perishable body1 and whose very highest 
theme of  meditation was simply 8nothing
 whatever08#bff    ,another essential   
distinction between the two modes of    
life is disclosed  in their relation to 
charity4 ,we have seen that ,buddhism   
had no  conception of charity in the    
,christian sense1 and that practical    
charity  in it was represented from a   
pole quite opposite to that of          
,christianity4 ,as if conscious of its  
defects1 later ,buddhism originated     
faith in and hope of ,maitreya1 the     
,buddha who is next to come1 and who1   
as the son of love1 will realise its    
unconscious prophecies1 fulfil its      

longings1 and perfect all things2 but   
notwithstanding this the ,buddhist  monk
 continued to be the receiver1 not the  
dispenser1 of charity4 ,his  whole merit
 consisted in taking what it was the    
merit of the layman to  offer him3#bfg  
and the taking was all for himself and  
for his ,order4 ,he  had no conception  
of the life suggested in the saying1    
8,as poor1 yet  making many rich10 and  
he never could have said of his         
monastery that it  was 8l'infirmire des 
pauvres40 ,to offer charity to others   
was the last  conception which he could 
form of his duty3 yea1 to clothe the    
naked1  take the leper from the         
dunghill1 and help the outcast1 was the 
very  reverse of his duty4 ,his creed as
 to misery in this being the fruit of   
evil done in a former existence1 cut him
 off from that service of the  lost and 
fallen which in ,christendom has been   
accounted glorious1 and  for the        
rendering of which1 several of its      
monastic institutions have  been spared 

the penalty of their corruption4    ,the
 charity which the ,buddhist monk       
practised was in his preaching and      
exposition of the law for the           
deliverance of the multitudes4 ,and that
  this may be the very highest form in  
which benevolence can express  itself   
all ,christians must admit1 for the     
greatest gift which any man  can bestow 
is the truth which makes one free4      
,buddhist monk and  ,christian          
missionary alike proclaimed a gospel for
 the redemption of  men2 and as the     
gospel of ,christ's salvation brings    
ever many blessings  in its train1 so   
the preaching of the mendicant ,buddhist
 was attended  with material beneficial 
results to those who heard and believed 
it4 ,the  ,buddhist1 however1 while     
expounding the law for the rescue of the
  individual1 never laboured1 like the  
,christian missionary1 for his  temporal
 and social improvement4 ,his message   
had no promise for the life  that now   
is1 and consequently he never seems to  

have played the part so  nobly sustained
 by many of the monks of                
,christendom--that of defending  the    
oppressed and befriending the helpless4 
,he never1 so far as can be  gathered   
from the texts1 proclaimed the equality 
of men in the same way  and for the same
 purpose as a ,christian reformer would 
preach it4  ,theoretically1 he          
maintained the right of all classes to  
be admitted to  the brotherhood1 but    
,dr4 ,oldenberg has asserted that 8in   
the composition  of the ,order a marked 
leaning to the existing aristocracy was 
observable40#bfh ,buddha never had      
occasion to confess with the  ,christian
 apostle 8that not many noble1 not many 
mighty1 were called10  nor had his      
,order ever to bear the reproach of the 
,church1 that its  members were         
recruited from the lowest strata of     
society4 ,the references  to his        
disciples from the first all indicate   
people of rank and wealth  and          
education4 ,it is not implied that      

persons of humble origin would  have    
been rejected had they come1 only that  
8the scriptures afford no  evidence that
 they did come02 and yet they yield     
unmistakable evidence  that1 as the     
,order prospered1 all lepers1 cripples1 
blind1 or one-eyed  persons1 all who    
were deaf and dumb1 all who were        
consumptive or subject  to fits1 were   
rejected4#bfi ,the ,order was for the   
reputable1 the noble1  and especially   
for the religious1 for the ,brahman     
votary1 and ,sraman  seeker after truth4
 ,these again were all attracted to it2 
they were not  sought out as by the     
,christian ,church4 ,not for one moment 
would ,christ  allow the ,church to     
become select4 ,he not only welcomed all
  penitents--for all men needed         
salvation1 and the poorest and the      
guiltiest were most in need of it1--but 
,he sent forth ,his apostles to  seek   
and gather them1 and in order to reason 
down all natural fears1  based on the   
personal unworthiness of these outcasts 

of society1 they  were instructed to    
8compel them to come in40#bgj    ,of    
propagandism in this sense the ,buddhist
 ,sangha knew nothing4 ,it was  moved by
 no enthusiasm of humanity2 it felt     
nothing of that earnestness  which from 
the days of the apostles has            
characterised the true  propagators of  
the gospel4 ,in no discourse that has   
come down to us is  there any           
impassioned entreaty of men to repent   
and believe4 ,there is no  sorrow over  
the unbelieving who refuse their        
salvation1 no burning  indignation      
against those who despise or who scoff  
at the truth4 ,in  ,buddha's last view  
of the world there is no weeping as over
 ,jerusalem1  reprobate because of its  
wickedness1 and in none of his          
successors do we  find any trace of the 
apostle's willingness to be anathema for
 the sake  of his brethren4    ,this    
tolerant spirit of ,buddhism1 however1  
has been contrasted1 as  greatly in its 
favour1 with that alleged intolerance   

which ,christianity  is supposed to have
 inherited from ,judaism4 ,we must      
remember that  ,christianity must be    
judged as it is presented in ,christ1   
and not by ,his  professing followers1  
who have often misrepresented ,him4 ,of 
hypocrisy1  cruelty1 deceit1 ,christ was
 indeed intolerant1 but toward error and
  misbelief1 because of ignorance1 ,he  
was very compassionate4 ,christianity   
would make no compromise1 again1 with   
false systems of heathendom4 ,it  would 
have no peace save through victory2 it  
would not accept a place in  the        
,pantheon for its ,lord1 and it was     
content to be persecuted till ,he  was  
allowed to rule from the throne of the  
world4 ,the alleged  intolerance of     
,christianity1 therefore1 is simply its 
conviction of the  infinite importance  
and value to all men of the truth which 
compels it  to be propagandist4 ,now if 
,buddhism tolerates everything1 it is   
because  it is not sure about anything1 
but1 on the contrary1 is in doubt about 

everything4 ,it is essentially          
sceptical1 8raising the rejection of    
every  affirmation to the rank of a     
principle40#bga ,earnestness in a       
preacher  of sceptical quietism was an  
impossibility4 ,he had no heart touched 
with  the feeling of heavenly love1     
wounded by sin1 impelling him to        
proclaim  forgiveness1 and he had no    
such hearts to appeal to4 ,the          
,christian  missionary appeals to soul  
and conscience in name of a ,saviour    
crucified  for sin2 the ,buddhist       
missionary only appealed through the    
intellect to  self-interest4 ,his       
preaching was purely didactic1          
expository1 and  advisory in character4 
,he was at best a theologian or moral   
philosopher  teaching the ignorant1 and 
not a preacher aiming at the conviction 
of  sinners1 endeavouring1 with his     
whole heart and strength and mind1 to   
sway them to conversion4#bgb ,he never  
experienced the almost consuming  glow  
and fervour of inspiration which made   

the apostles agonise in their  mission4 
8,now is the accepted time1 now is the  
day of salvation40 8,i  pray you1 in    
,christ's stead1 ,be ye reconciled to   
,god40 ,as might have  been expected1   
the early enthusiasm of ,buddhists for  
the enlightenment  of others soon died  
out1 and its missionary spirit1 once    
spent1 has  never undergone a true      
revival4 ,it can boast of many          
ecclesiastics and  philosophers1 but for
 hundreds of years it cannot point in   
its  honour-roll to either a ,xavier or 
a ,livingstone4 ,it has long ago ceased 
to be aggressive4 ,at this day no       
,oriental ,buddhist seriously           
contemplates becoming a missionary4     
,paris may add to its attractions and   
curiosities a real ,buddhist temple1#bgc
 but the priests who officiate  in it1  
however devoted they may be to their    
cult1 will certainly never  dream of    
taking the trouble of preaching it in   
the streets4    ,in the ,church of the  
middle ages1 supposed to consist only of

 pope and  bishops and clergy and monks 
and nuns1 of which medivalism a remnant 
survives in those who speak of 8entering
 the ,church10 not when as  children    
they are baptized into its communion1   
but when they are to be  ordained to    
service in it1 we must look for any     
resemblance to the  ,buddhist ,sangha4  
,in ancient ,india1 a church1 meaning   
the fellowship of  the faithful in its  
totality1 was an impossibility4         
,brahmanism had no  church1 and never   
attempted a conversion1 but ,buddha in  
seeking to  rescue others from evil1 and
 in offering a place of escape which    
they  were free to accept or reject1    
created not a church but a precursor of 
one4#bgd ,admission into his            
,brotherhood was at first open to all   
who  requested it1 but as disciples     
crowded around him1 and parents         
complained that they were bereaved of   
their children1 and masters that  they  
were robbed of their slaves1 and        
creditors that they were deprived  of   

what was owing by their debtors1 and    
even the judges that criminals  escaped 
the prison2 and when accusations grew   
frequent and loud that the  new movement
 would ruin households1 injure the      
,state1 and depopulate the  country1    
restrictions were devised4 ,gradually   
conditions were imposed by  which all   
who were diseased1 or criminals1 or     
soldiers1 or debtors1 or  slaves1 or    
children under fifteen years of age1 or 
youths under twenty  who had not        
received their parents' consent1 were   
disqualified4#bge ,at  first the        
disciple was admitted without any       
ceremony1 beyond that of  shaving the   
whole head1 and putting on the yellow   
robes which  distinguished the ascetic  
and the recluse1 but eventually a rite  
of  initiation was adopted1 which in    
,ceylon has continued substantially     
unaltered to this day4    ,it consisted 
of two stages2#bgf the first that of the
 novitiate into  which a candidate could
 be received by any fully accredited    

monk4 ,the  ceremony was called the     
,pabbagga1 or 8outgoing10 a word used   
from old  time to describe the last act 
of a pious ,brahman1 when1 warned by    
approaching age1 he gave up his         
possessions to his family1 and left them
  to enter upon the hermit life of      
meditation4 ,the ,buddhists naturally   
adopted it to mark the first step by    
which a layman at any age exchanged  the
 secular for the religious life4 ,it was
 a confession that he desired  to be    
done with the world1 to put off the old 
man with his deeds and to  put on the   
new4 ,so with head and face completely  
shaven1 and holding  three lengths of   
yellow cotton cloth1 first torn to      
render them  valueless1 and then sewed  
together1 he presented his petition     
three  times1 that 8the reverend monks  
would take pity on him1 and invest him  
with the robes1 that1 like them1 he     
might escape sorrow40 ,the presiding    
monk then tied the clothes around his   
neck1 repeating sentences  regarding the

 perishable nature of the body1 and the 
petitioner retired4  ,when he reappeared
 he had laid aside the loin-cloth1      
generally the only  article of raiment  
in tropical lands1 and had assumed the  
new  investiture of the two             
under-garments and the loose robe1 which
 covered  the whole body1 except the    
right shoulder1 of a ,buddhist          
mendicant4  ,three times1 thus clothed1 
in 8robes of humility and religion10 in 
reverential salaam to the monk or monks 
present1 he made public  confession that
 he took refuge in ,buddha1 ,dharma1    
,sangha1 and receiving  instructions as 
to conduct and duty1 he became a        
,sramanera1 a bachelor  as it were1 a   
monk of lower degree4    ,when the      
novice who had thus 8gone forth0 from   
the world1 or from the  membership of   
another fraternity1 had 8seen the truth1
 mastered the  truth1 understood the    
truth1 penetrated the truth2 when he had
 overcome  uncertainty1 dispelled all   
doubts1 was dependent on nobody else for

 his  knowledge of the doctrines of the 
,teacher10#bgg he presented himself     
before the ,order1 of whom ten members  
at least had to be in session1 and      
reverentially cowering on the ground    
with his hands clasped on his  forehead1
 he three times entreated them 8to take 
pity upon him and draw  him out of the  
evil world by granting him ,upasampada0 
or the 8arrival0  initiation rite4#bgh  
,then followed his examination as to    
whether he was  qualified#bgi in his    
person1 his health1 his social and civil
  relations1 whether he had provided an 
alms-bowl and the yellow robes1  what   
was his own name1 and that of the       
teacher with whom he was to  consort1   
and whom he was to serve during a course
 of five years'  instruction in the     
whole doctrine and discipline of the    
system4 ,if the  answers to all these   
questions were satisfactory1 the        
resolution to  receive him was formally 
put by the presiding monk1 and thrice   
repeated3  8,whosoever of the venerable 

is for granting ,upasampada to this     
novice1  with brother ,so-and-so for his
 teacher1 let him be silent40 ,when no  
dissent was intimated the resolution was
 passed4 8,the ,sangha is in  favour of 
it1 therefore it is silent--thus ,i     
understand10 said the  president1 and   
the novice became a ,samana1 a fully    
accredited member of  the ,order of     
,bikkhus4    ,there was certainly       
nothing of the ,church in all this      
ceremony1 and ,sir  ,monier ,williams   
very properly guards us from applying to
 it the sacred  word of ordination4#bhj 
,any one who cares to read the texts in 
which  the proceedings are described    
will be inclined to think that the      
questions put to the novice1 in their   
childishness and absurdity1 seem        
diabolically framed to caricature the   
solemn and soul-searching  questions    
addressed to candidates for the ,holy   
,ministry4 ,yet in the  instruction     
given to the newly admitted member1     
concerning the 8four  chief forbidden   

acts0 from which he must abstain1 and   
8the four  resources0#bha in which he   
was to trust1 there was a touch of the  
solemnity which belongs to the charge   
which follows ,christian  ordination4   
,the monk was reminded that in regard to
 what was pleasant  and permissible to  
other men he had subjected himself to   
self-denial and  a yoke4 ,he might      
receive from the pious1 without offence1
 offerings of  food and clothing1 and   
medicine and shelter1 but he must be    
prepared for  the hard life of one whose
 food might only be scraps and refuse   
put into  his bowl1 whose clothing might
 have to be made of cast-off rags1 whose
  shelter might often be the tree in the
 jungle or the cave in the rock1  and   
whose medicine might be only the foul   
deposit of the cattle-pen4 ,he  was     
warned that any breach of the four      
cardinal precepts--against  unchastity1 
which to him meant what to others was   
the lawful estate of  marriage1 against 
theft1 even of a blade of grass1 against

 murder1 even  to the crushing of a     
flea1 against assumption of virtues not 
really  possessed1--would necessitate   
expulsion from the ,order4 8,for even as
 a  man whose head is cut off cannot    
live with the trunk2 444 as a dry leaf  
separate from the stalk can never again 
become green2 444 as a stone  split in  
two cannot be made into one2 444 as a   
palm whose top is  destroyed cannot     
again grow1 so the monk who breaks the  
least of these  laws is no longer a     
,samana1 no longer a follower of the    
,sakya-putta40#bhb    ,to the credit of 
,buddha1 however1 it must be observed1  
that a monk who  had entered the ,order 
was at any time free to withdraw from   
it4 ,if he  had a hankering after home1 
or the pleasures of the old life which  
he  had forsaken1 he was exhorted to    
confess his weakness and renounce a     
vocation which he had found too high for
 him4 ,he had simply to declare  before 
a witness that he renounced ,buddha1    
,dharma1 ,sangha--yea1 he could  go     

forth without making any declaration at 
all4 ,freely as he had joined1  as      
freely could he abandon the brethren2 no
 anger was expressed or even  felt2 no  
discredit attached to him1 for the      
working out of his  deliverance was his 
own concern4 ,yea1 if at any time he    
repented of his  action1 and desired to 
renew with the companions of wiser days 
the  relation of votary or novice1 he   
was not subjected to any discipline1    
such as a lapsed member of the ,church  
might be expected to undergo when       
seeking re-communion4 ,he was treated   
upon his confession as though his  past 
had not been remembered1 and as if his  
folly or fault had never  been          
committed4#bhc ,such facility of        
withdrawal and readmission seemed  to   
tend to laxity1 and may have occasioned 
very great abuses1 but on the  very face
 of it1 it appears calculated to        
preserve monastic life in  ,india in a  
much healthier condition than has always
 prevailed in the  recluse institutions 

of ,christendom4 ,in how many cases has 
the monastery  become worse than a      
prison1 and the convent become a very   
chamber of  tortures1 because occupied  
by reluctant tenants1 who have been     
cruelly  immured in them against their  
will1 or have thoughtlessly devoted     
themselves to a vocation for which they 
were totally unfit4 ,the ,eastern  sage 
may even have shown greater wisdom than 
the ,western bishops and  presbyters1   
who have bound over for life those      
admitted to a sacred  profession1 so    
that freedom from it can only be got by 
ignominious  expulsion1 and by          
degradation for a fault or a crime4     
,the ,sangha from the first was an order
 of ,cnobites1 not ,solitaries1 and  it 
was an exception for a mendicant to be  
alone2 for with his practical  insight  
,buddha seems to have discovered that   
the life of solitude has  more          
disadvantages and dangers than that of  
fellowship4 ,so he ordained  that the   
newly admitted monk must attach himself 

for five years to a  tutor and          
teacher1#bhd one of whom must have been 
ten years in the  ,order1 rendering to  
them such personal offices as ,elisha   
rendered to  ,elijah1 and receiving such
 parental instruction as ,st4 ,paul     
bestowed  upon his son in the faith4 ,no
 vow of obedience1 so essential to the  
monastic rule of ,christendom1 unless in
 regard to the laws of the ,order1  was 
exacted4 ,no man could be called ,rabbi 
among them1 for the knowledge  which    
brought deliverance could be and must be
 acquired by each man for  himself4#bhe 
,a monk was expected to reverence his   
superior in age and  knowledge1 but his 
obedience was to be rendered not to his 
brother1 who  was simply his equal in   
respect of need and capability of       
deliverance1  but only to ,the ,law     
which alone could secure it4    ,while  
obedience to a superior was not exacted1
 the law of poverty and  chastity was as
 obligatory upon the ,buddhist monk as  
on the members of  the ,christian       

,orders4 ,francis of ,assisi could not  
more highly have  eulogised poverty as  
8the way to salvation1 the nurse of     
humility1 the  root of perfection10 than
 did the ,indian monks who compiled the 
,buddhist  scriptures4 8,in supreme     
felicity live we1 though we call nothing
 our  own4 ,feeding on happiness1 we are
 like the gods in the regions of        
light40#bhf ,food a monk could receive1 
but not ask for1 and of what he  so     
received he could only have one meal a  
day4 ,gold or silver he could  on no    
account accept1 though he might accept  
its equivalents in food or  medicine4   
,if like ,achan's wedge it was found to 
have been secreted by  any covetous     
member1 one of the brethren had to hide 
it away in the  jungle1 in a place which
 could not again be recognised4 ,bitter 
controversies regarding this prohibition
 seem to have exercised the  primitive  
,sanghas1 and though it was successfully
 maintained for long1  concessions in   
relation to it were eventually agreed   

upon4 ,these however  proved as fatal to
 the prosperity of the ,buddhist1 as    
similar  concessions proved to that of  
the ,western monastic establishments4   
,they  were seeds of evil which speedily
 grew up into thickets of trouble4 ,the 
individual member professed to observe  
the original law and maintain the       
principle that 8a man's life consisteth 
not in the abundance of his  goods10 but
 the several fraternities came speedily 
to abound in lands  and property of     
every kind1 so that in the ,east as in  
the ,west it may be  said the           
monasteries fell1 because crushed with  
their weight of wealth4    ,even while  
the primitive rule was observed the     
mendicants could easily  procure what of
 the necessaries of food and shelter and
 clothing they  required2 the jungle    
gave them all the shelter they needed1  
though it  exposed them to frequent     
perils of being poisoned by snake-bites1
 and  devoured by beasts4 ,the rains put
 an end periodically to their           

peregrinations1 and gathered the twos   
and threes who had been  associating    
together into common retreat in the     
viharas4 ,these  originally were        
intended to be only temporary shelters  
from the annual  floods1 but as by      
degrees the system extended into distant
 regions1 they  became permanent        
institutions1 each one a centre of      
influence in its own  territory1 like   
the abbeys in the original dioceses of  
medival ,europe4    ,life in a ,buddhist
 vihara two thousand years ago must     
however have been  very different from  
life in a monastic establishment in the 
middle ages4  ,labour1 as we have seen1 
of no kind was allowed1 either among    
them or  for them4 8,a monk who digs the
 earth or causes it to be dug is liable 
to  punishment40#bhg ,scant time was    
allowed for sleep1 and when there were  
no books to read or transcribe1 the     
studies or literary occupations of  the 
,west were out of the question4 ,all the
 intellectual energies were  claimed for

 the repetition of such sacred works as 
they knew1 and for  the committing to   
memory of others which they had only    
acquired4  ,examination of self1        
meditation on the five principal themes 
which  occupied the place of prayer or  
devotion in their system1 was expected  
to absorb the most of the day4          
,notwithstanding its intervals of       
instruction and discussion1 it must have
 been a very vacant life indeed1        
lacking entirely the worship1 and most  
of the duties1 which rendered  monastic 
life in ,christendom1 if not always     
profitable1 at least  supportable4      
,two outstanding features of it1        
however1 compare very favourably with   
some forms of the ascetic life both in  
,india and ,europe4 ,in the ,buddhist   
,sanghas would be witnessed neither the 
slovenliness nor the dirtiness  which   
has often been associated with the life 
of those who have  renounced the world  
and have professed to despise its       
pleasant things4  ,around them1         

8,besmeared with mud and ashes1         
crouching foul1             ,in rags of 
dead men1 wrapped about their           
loins10#bhh    were many solitaries     
endeavouring to gain perfection or      
exhibit it1 in  types more conform to   
,nebuchadnezzar in his madness or the   
demoniacs who  had their dwellings in   
the tombs4 ,buddha condemned            
uncleanliness in all  its forms4 ,the   
robes which he enjoined his monks to    
wear may have been  made up of rags     
picked up from a dunghill or from a     
cemetery1 but they  were scrupulously   
washed1 properly dyed1 and carefully    
mended4 ,the  ground all round the      
vihara1 as well as its floors within1   
had to be  swept every day1 and its     
every item of furniture had to be       
punctually  dusted and garnished4 ,his  
monks were ,pharisees in regard to the  
washing  of hands and bowls and other   
utensils1 and they anticipated our      
modern  demand for proper               
ventilation4#bhi ,a ,buddhist mendicant 

of the days of  ,king ,asoka might prove
 a good model of personal neatness and  
domestic  tidiness for many a ,christian
 minister in these days of ,queen       
,victoria4  ,he belonged to an ,order   
originally founded by a man who was in  
every  sense a gentleman1 and which for 
long numbered among its members many    
noble and even princely men4 ,inheriting
 their instincts1 he stoutly  maintained
 their traditions1 that 8neither plaited
 hair1 nor dirt1 nor  lying on the      
earth1 nor rubbing with dust1 can purify
 a mortal who has  not overcome         
desires02 8that he who1 though well     
dressed1 exercises  tranquillity1 is    
quiet1 subdued1 restrained1 chaste1 and 
has ceased to  find fault with all other
 beings1 he is indeed a ,brahmana1 a    
,sramana1 a  ,bikkhu40#bij    ,again1 in
 these old pictures of ,buddhist ,sangha
 life1 there is no  reflection of that  
insane passion for suffering which      
marked the gaunt  and self-mutilated    
,yogis around them1 and which also      

distinguished many  of the ascetics of  
,christendom4 ,the flagellations1 and   
lacerations1 and  macerations which at  
one time became popular in ,european    
monasteries1  and which made even a man 
like the founder of the ,franciscan     
,order  refuse food and sleep for days  
together1 spend whole nights in winter  
up  to the neck in snow or water1 put   
ashes in the meals which had been       
cooked for him1 would not for an hour   
have been tolerated2 yea1 they  would   
have been laughed out of the world by   
,buddha and his monks4  ,wherever they  
went1 they encountered grievous         
companies of                 8,eyeless  
and tongueless1 sexless1 crippled1 deaf3
               ,the body by the mind    
being thus stripped               ,for  
glory of much suffering1 and the bliss  
,which they shall win10#bia    but they 
never seem to have been tempted to give 
way to this  intoxication which was     
supposed to make men gods4 ,self-denial 
was  essential1 but severe austerities  

and bodily penance were strongly        
discouraged4 8,blooming1 well-fed1 with 
healthy colour and skin10 is the        
description often given in the old texts
 of a model ,bikkhu4 ,buddha1 when      
first met by the ,brahman sages after   
his illumination1 surprised them by  the
 serenity of his countenance1 the purity
 and brightness of his  complexion4     
,among the first salutations addressed  
to the brethren on  their return from   
their wanderings was the question       
whether they had  been well fed4#bib ,it
 is true some ,buddhist saints might be 
found  sitting for days in the burning  
sun1 oblivious to its fiery torments1   
but these must have been exceptions1 for
 there is no mistaking either  the      
teaching or the life of ,buddha himself4
 ,all these extravagant  cruelties1 by  
which men have abused or sought to      
destroy the most  beautiful organism and
 the most perfect instrument which has  
ever been  produced in this world1 were 
by him regarded as foolish and          

dangerous1  and as debasing as the      
sensualism which they sought to avoid4  
,though we have hitherto referred to the
 ,buddhist ,order1 it is hardly  correct
 to think of it as just one community4  
,though theoretically the  ,sangha of   
,buddha was the ideal unit1 practically 
it never became so4  ,after his decease 
there was no central governing power to 
direct and  inspire the whole           
organisation4 ,the patriarchs1 of whom a
 long  succession is given1 were not    
hierarchs in the ,greek or ,latin       
sense4#bic ,they were simply outstanding
 ,arhats1 the heroic defenders  and     
apostles of the system4 ,primitive      
,buddhism was represented not by  one   
but by many ,sanghas1 for each brother  
as he went forth became the  centre of a
 new fraternity4 ,its original cultus   
was based on the idea  that community of
 aim would suffice to gather the knots  
of people who  lived near each other for
 mutual confession and instruction and  
discipline4 ,so they continued a custom 

which had come down from their  ,vedic  
ancestors1 who1 in the four days of the 
lunar month1 when the moon  is new1 or  
full1 or half-way between the two1      
celebrated the fast  preparatory to the 
offering of the intoxicating ,soma4 ,the
 ,buddhists had  neither fast1 nor      
sacrifice1 nor offering1 nor any form of
 religious  worship whatever1 but in    
these days they gathered for careful    
examination of themselves in the light  
of the ,prohibitions1 for public        
confession one to another1 and for      
discipline4 ,for these weekly           
gatherings the manual of the ,ptimokkha 
or ,disburdenment was composed1  it is  
averred1 by ,buddha himself4#bid ,to    
this public catechising and  purgation  
of the ,roll all the brethren had to    
come2 even a sick man was  only excused 
when he could assure the assembly1      
through a sponsor1 that  he was clean of
 fault1 and if no brother was available 
for this office  the assembly had to    
adjourn to meet at his couch4 ,its      

president1 who  also summoned the       
brethren1 was the monk of the longest   
standing among  them4 ,so far it seemed 
to anticipate our principle of          
,presbyterian  parity1 but1 like        
,convocation1 it was an exclusively     
ecclesiastical  gathering1 for neither  
nun1 nor novice1 nor layman was allowed 
to be  present4 ,like our presbyteries  
when applying their privy censures1 they
  expected to be 8alone40 ,then1 when   
all were reverentially placed1 in       
presence of no heart-searching ,god1 but
 before one another1 there was  recited 
by the president the order of           
confessional1 according to the  rule    
that if there was no transgression there
 was no interruption1 and  silence      
indicated innocence4    ,first came the 
recitation of the gravest offences3 the 
four ,prgik  renounced upon their       
admission1 commission of any one of     
which involved  expulsion from the      
,order4 ,then came the list of the less 
serious  transgressions--,samghdisesas1 

involving temporary degradation1 and    
lastly that of the ,pkittya1 or venial  
faults1 which were atoned for by  simple
 confession4 ,it was a lengthy1 minute1 
ill-arranged form of  inquisition1 more 
comprehensive and rigid than any        
catechism of the  confessional which    
,romanism ever devised4#bie ,it         
out-phariseed the  ,pharisees in its    
trivialities and repetitions and        
straining out of  gnats1 and no manual  
of the cloister ever discovered1 could  
equal its  disgusting details of every  
conceivable form of unnatural vice      
supposed  to be perpetrable by the      
brethren4#bif ,it reads more like a     
suggestion  to sin than a defence       
against temptation4 ,we can understand  
from it  alone1 how impossible it was   
for ,buddhism to live up to its true    
principles1 how incapable it was of     
urging on the steady moral progress  of 
the race1 and of even realising the     
example of its founder4 ,life's  whole  
strength was wasted in watching against 

petty and artificial  transgressions1 so
 that none was available for the        
prosecution of real  duty4 ,yet if      
deliverance was to come by the law1 the 
most trivial  details of action had to  
be tried2 but here1 as elsewhere1 by the
 law  was only the knowledge of sin1 and
 that not as an offence against an      
infinitely ,holy ,one1 but only as a    
misfortune1 or at worst an  imprudence1 
a stumbling-block placed by man himself 
in the way of  advancing his interest4  
,at the close of the rainy season1 when 
the brethren were making ready  for     
their wanderings1 another solemn        
conference for self-purgation was  held4
 ,in this exercise of the ,pvrana or    
,invitation no one known to be  under   
the burden of scandal could take part1  
but all who were  consciously clean1    
from the oldest to the youngest1 invited
 the brethren  to name any offence which
 during their common retreat they might 
have  noted in their conduct4 8,i       
invite1 venerable ones1 the ,order2 if  

ye have  seen anything offensive on my  
part1 or have heard anything1 or have   
any  suspicion about me1 have pity upon 
me1 and name it4 ,if ,i see it1 ,i will 
make amends40#big ,it may be asked      
whether such an institution as this     
could ever have flourished in           
,christendom1 although the purest of our
  ,churches might adopt it with profit4 
,these ,buddhist brethren could not     
pray the one for the other1 but they    
could confess their faults one to       
another by a simpler and more effective 
method than has ever been  attempted by 
the confessional4 ,that institution in  
,christendom has  tended more to corrupt
 and degrade than to purify and elevate 
society1  for it has interfered with the
 divinely instituted and much more      
ancient  confessional of home4 ,in its  
secrecy1 sealed by affection to father  
or  mother1 or brother or sister1 can be
 told out the things that burn  within2 
and no priest or ecclesiastic can usurp 
this parental or  brotherly function    

without injuring what they must         
earnestly desire to  protect4 ,this     
confessional1 however1 of the one to the
 whole little  brotherhood1 making them 
watch for and consider one another1 must
 have  tended to mutual edification4 ,it
 seems of all the observances of the    
,sangha to have most nearly realised one
 great purpose of the ,church1  that of 
being helpful to each other's salvation4
 ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,james  would have 
felt at home in such a conference4 ,they
 would probably have  warned the        
brethren against judging one another1   
and they would have  instructed them    
that only ,one whose knowledge is       
perfect1 because ,his  love is infinite1
 could try the lives of men2 but they   
would have  commended them for this     
honest endeavour to fulfil one of the   
precepts  of the perfect law of liberty3
 8,brethren1 if a man be overtaken in a 
fault1 ye who are spiritual restore such
 an one in the spirit of  meekness1     
considering thyself1 lest thou also be  

tempted40    ,the part played by woman  
in the early history of ,buddhism was   
analogous  to that assumed by woman in  
relation to primitive ,christianity4    
,women  were among the most zealous     
supporters of ,buddha1 ministering to   
him of  their substance4 ,subsequently1 
as in the case of the ,christian        
,church1  the largest proportion of the 
wealth which was lavished in such       
marvellous munificence upon the ,order  
came from female votaries4  ,evidently  
in those days in ,india the position of 
woman was not so  degraded and helpless 
as it afterwards became4 ,women in old  
,indian  literature are seen to be much 
more on an equality with men2 they are  
not only represented as receiving       
scholastic instruction1 but even to     
them as authoresses some of the ,vedic  
hymns were ascribed4#bih ,at any  rate1 
women appear in almost every ,buddhist  
episode1 and they move about  with a    
freedom which contrasts strangely with  
the seclusion and  restraint in which in

 ,india they have lived for ages4 ,in   
the character  of ,buddha there seems to
 have been much that was peculiarly     
attractive  to the best type of women1  
and at least one of these stands forth  
with  very clearly marked               
individuality4#bii ,his mother is only a
 shadow in  the legends1 and we can only
 conjecture what the parent of so good  
and  gentle a man must have been4 ,but  
his wife confronts us with so much that 
is womanly in the picture that we feel  
she must have been drawn from  life4    
,very pathetic and tender is the graphic
 account of her first  interview with   
him1 upon his return as the illustrious 
,buddha to his  father's house4#cjj     
,when all came to do him honour1        
,yasodhara did not  come1 for she said1 
8,if ,i am of any value in his eyes1 he 
will come  himself1 and ,i can welcome  
him better here40 ,buddha1 noting her   
absence1  went attended by two of his   
disciples to the place where she was1   
and he  warned his companions not to    

prevent her should she seek to embrace  
him1  although no member of the ,order  
could touch or be touched by a woman4   
,and when she saw him1 a mendicant in   
yellow robes1 with shaven head and      
face--though she knew it would be       
so--she could not contain herself1 but  
fell at his feet1 which she held1       
passionately weeping4 ,then remembering 
the great and impassable gulf which he  
had fixed between them1 she rose  and   
stood at his side4 ,his father sought to
 apologise for her1 telling  how in the 
greatness of her love she mourned and   
afflicted her soul for  loss of him1 and
 refused to be comforted4 ,she became   
his disciple2 and  when afterwards1 much
 against his inclination1 he admitted   
women into a  separate branch of the    
,order1 the poor wife1 whom he had not  
only  widowed1 but had bereft of her    
only child1 8passed into the silent     
life10 as one of the first of ,buddhist 
nuns4    ,all candid readers of the     
early ,buddhist scriptures will admit   

that  ,buddha must not only have been   
gentle in disposition but pure in       
character4 ,from male and female        
disciples alike he demanded chastity1 in
  the ,christian conception of the      
virtue4 ,in the reported discourses of  
,buddha there is the same absence of    
direct denunciation of the vices  that  
corrupt society which is observable in  
the ,gospels2 but the  impression made  
by the reading of both narratives1 is   
that of characters  so far removed from 
such vices1 that people in their        
presence or under  their influence could
 not even think of them4 ,in both       
narratives we have  presentations of    
8women who were sinners0 in relation to 
,buddha and  ,christ1 but it will be    
confessed that the effect produced upon 
us is  very different in each case4 ,the
 ,indian episodes lack the stirrings of 
the depths of spiritual feeling1 the    
creative word of command exorcising  the
 lust1 and unsealing the long congealed 
fountains of penitence1 which  confront 

us so prominently in the scenes of the  
gospel4 ,buddha was a  pure man1        
demanding purity from all who would be  
saved1 but demanding it  only as        
moralists have demanded it all along4   
,there did not radiate from  him that   
blending of horror of sin and of pity   
for sinners which makes  the influence  
of ,christ upon the wickedness and      
infirmities of men to be  unique in its 
regenerative power4 ,had ,christ        
insisted upon purity just  as ,buddha   
did1 the world would have profited      
little by the teaching4  ,unquestionably
 the mission of ,buddha1 though intended
 to make for  chastity1 has not purified
 ,eastern ,asia from the gross and      
unnatural  vices to which all along it  
has been prone4    ,for ,buddha's       
conception and estimate of woman was    
very inferior to that  of ,christ4#cja  
,she was regarded by him through the    
medium of the  traditional prejudice of 
her inferiority to man in every respect4
 ,to  him1 as to ,plato1 women1 of all  

snares which the tempter spreads for    
man1 were the most dangerous4 ,not only 
was the very smallest love for  them to 
be destroyed1 but they were to be       
avoided1 not to be spoken to1  not      
looked upon1#cjb not to be helped even  
when in distress4 ,of their  future as  
women in the life hereafter he had no   
hope1#cjc and the only  reward which he 
could hold out to them for obedience or 
benevolent  service1 the very highest   
object of aspiration which he could     
present1  was that they might be re-born
 as men in another stage of existence4  
,his  disciple ,ananda did good service 
when he wrung from him permission to    
form the order of ,nuns1#cjd for a nun  
might hope for salvation2 but  alas for 
woman and for the progress of society if
 she had no other  gospel to trust in   
than that which ,buddha preached6       
,his ideal of purity was from the first 
vitiated by his celibate views of  life1
 and from these views human nature has  
always revolted in  proportion to the   

honesty with which men have striven to  
realise them4  ,celibacy1 when dominant 
or prevalent1 has only produced a more  
vicious  and unnatural condition of     
society than that from which it         
attempted to  escape4 ,the ,son of ,man 
represented nobler traditions1 and      
taught far  sublimer doctrine4 ,woman1  
though different from1 and in some      
respects  weaker1 is in others higher   
and purer than man1 and altogether his  
consort4 ,the pure love of the man for  
the woman was recognised by ,christ  as 
one of the most sanctifying influences  
in life2 and marriage1 the  most sacred 
of all ,divine institutions1 as the bond
 which more than any  other keeps       
society together1 obtained ,his special 
benediction1 and was  committed by ,him 
to ,his ,church to guard as the         
palladium of social  freedom and        
dignity4 ,notwithstanding its many      
defections1 the ,church has  never been 
permitted to lose sight of the ,lord's  
ideal4 ,even in the days  of corrupted  

faith1 when its laudation of virginity  
was most  extravagant1 its unmistakable 
tendency was to acknowledge the true    
dignity of the wife4#cje ,a recent      
writer professes to be unable 8to see   
that ,christianity has had any          
favourable effect on the position of    
women--on the contrary1 it tended rather
 to lower their character and  contract 
the range of their activities40#cjf ,it 
is noticeable that his  facts or        
quotations are drawn from a period when 
asceticism had deeply  tainted the      
,church1 and that they cannot be held to
 represent the  tendency of the teaching
 of ,christ4 ,the unmistakable influence
 of ,his  religion has been to ennoble  
family relations1 and to secure woman in
  her true position as the companion and
 helpmeet of man4 ,it has been  stated  
by one who cannot be regarded as a      
special pleader1 that what  most        
differentiates the ,european from the   
,hindu branch of the ,aryan  race1 is   
that the first has steadily carried     

forward1 for the elevation  of woman1   
the series of reforms#cjg from which the
 other1 though going  a little way1     
recoiled4 ,no one need fear to assert   
that the chief factor  in these reforms1
 sometimes carried against the          
resistance and  opposition of the       
,church1 was the spirit of              
,christianity4 ,in proportion  as the   
example of ,christ has been honoured1   
and ,his teaching has been  accepted and
 obeyed1 the emancipation of woman and  
the recognition of  her real rights have
 been secured4 ,in any case it is       
certain that the  religion of ,buddha1  
though probably not intended to         
perpetuate the  inferior position       
characteristic of woman in the ,east1   
has succeeded  neither in lifting her   
out of it1 nor in preventing her from   
lapsing  more deeply into it4    ,the   
time for discovering the worth of woman 
had not come in ,buddha's  age1 and we  
must remember his antecedents and       
surroundings before we  condemn his     

estimate of or his relations to her4 ,if
 the tradition be  reliable1 he         
prophesied1 upon yielding to ,ananda's  
intercession1 that  because of women    
holy living would not long be preserved4
 ,they would  prove in the fair field of
 his ,order what 8the disease of mildew 
proved  to be in a field of rice40#cjh  
,so though he admitted them to a        
separate  branch of the ,order1 he      
placed them under very stringent        
regulations1  and thoroughly under the  
tutelage of the monks4 8,a nun1 though  
admitted  a nun a hundred years ago1    
must bow reverentially before a monk1   
though  only admitted to-day40 ,she must
 not pass the rainy season in a district
  in which monks were not residing2 she 
must report herself twice a month  to   
the ,sangha for confession and          
instruction2 she must give the ,pavran  
invitation1 and she must1 if guilty of  
offence1 atone for it before both  monks
 and nuns4 ,she could only be admitted  
after a two years' novitiate2  under no 

circumstances must she revile or rebuke 
a monk2 yea1 on no  occasion whatever   
must she charge him with any            
offence4#cji ,between  them and the     
superior sex the strictest separation   
was maintained from  the first4 ,the    
brother who was to teach and exhort them
 was never  allowed to enter their      
nunnery1 unless a sister was very ill4  
,for a monk  to journey alone with a    
nun1 to cross a river in the same boat  
with one1  to sit alone with a nun1 with
 or without witnesses1 was a very grave 
offence4#caj ,in short1 in the ,buddhist
 ,sangha women were only tolerated  at  
the best1 and they were very severely   
guarded and restrained1 as  creatures   
not at all calculated to influence any  
one for good1 and who  could only be    
prevented or tamed from doing mischief  
or harm4#caa    ,the ,sangha1 as a      
brotherhood and sisterhood leading a    
celibate life1  coupled with abstinence 
from labour and from active services of 
charity1  was simply vicious in its     

tendency1 and it proved one of the most 
obstinate hindrances to the realisation 
of ,buddha's best ideas1 and one  of the
 most powerful factors in the           
degradation of his religion4 ,human     
nature was too strong to submit to such 
artificial restrictions2 so very  early 
there gathered around him and his monks 
many who would not abandon  their       
families and their callings1 though they
 took refuge in ,buddha1  and proved the
 reality of their devotion by faithful  
service of the  ,order and practice of  
the ,law4 ,these were the votaries1     
8upasaka0  7masc471 8upasika0 7fem471   
corresponding with the lay associates of
 the  great ,mendicant ,orders of       
,christendom4 ,converted to the         
observance of  the precepts1 they could 
only1 as long as they continued in the  
world1  be sustained by a very faint and
 far-off hope of deliverance4           
,theoretically they might attain to     
sainthood1 and from 8this shore0 of     
common life1 in most exceptional cases  

they might 8pass across the  dominion of
 death10 and reach to the other         
shore4#cab ,the father of  ,buddha is   
said to have done so on his deathbed1   
and another is recorded  in the legends 
as having gained ,nirvana4#cac ,as a    
rule1 however1 it was  reckoned         
impossible for them to gain what was    
considered as so barely  possible for   
the ,order of ,mendicants1 that only one
 or two even of them  did actually gain 
it here4 ,pious votaries1 however1 could
 hope for a  happy re-birth1 and for    
strength of merit to be acquired2 in    
some  hereafter sufficient to enable    
them eventually to pluck the fruit of   
,nirvana4 ,for such lay associates no   
ceremony of initiation was required2    
only in presence of a monk the          
candidates made profession that they    
took  refuge in ,buddha and ,dharma and 
,sangha4 ,they had to observe certain   
precepts and prohibitions2 had to       
renounce any trade involving the  making
 or selling of arms1 or the killing of  

animals2 they had to  abstain from all  
traffic in and use of intoxicating      
drinks1 and to put  far away from them  
all falsehood1 and theft1 and           
unchastity4 ,to seal  this1 however1 no 
formal vow was demanded of the votary1  
and to maintain  them in their obedience
 no pastoral supervision was accorded4  
,when they  transgressed1 even in the   
matter of scandalous living1 there was  
neither  censure nor discipline1 and    
when they offended by injuring the      
,order or  insulting one of its members1
 the only penalty inflicted was the     
refusal  of their invitations to dine1  
and the withdrawal from them of the     
alms-bowl4#cad ,into the ,uposatha      
assemblies they dared not intrude1 and  
from the very slightest share of the    
business of the ,order they were        
strictly excluded4#cae ,they could only 
listen to the preaching of the  monks1  
whom they could feed1 and lodge1 and    
endow with houses and lands2  and all   
the reward they could hope for1 was the 

prospect of acquiring in  some future   
life merit sufficient to enable them to 
renounce the world  and become          
mendicants like them4 ,for the present  
they were not inside1  but only about1  
the circle of the                       
,sakkya-putta-,samanas2 he was not a    
member of the family1 but only a        
servitor and a slave4#caf ,the elect1   
the disciples in deed and in truth1 the 
heirs of salvation1 were  exclusively   
the monks2 and the ,upsaka at the best  
was one for whom it  was good           
8continuously to dispense rice milk1 and
 honey lumps1 if he had  a longing for  
joy1 whether he desired heavenly joy or 
coveted only human  prosperity10#cag    
,his merit was most likely to be        
acquired by being  useful to the good1  
who served him by accepting his         
offerings1#cah and  taught him--though  
to a purpose undreamed of by ,st4 ,paul 
when he quoted  his ,saviour's          
saying--that in his case1 at least1 it  
was 8more blessed to  give than to      

receive40    ,it is to the lasting      
honour of ,buddha that he converted the 
,sangha into  a propaganda for preaching
 to all his way of salvation4 ,he did   
not1 for  he could not1 conceive of that
 better society which our ,lord has     
created  in the ,holy ,catholic ,church4
 ,it is true1 alas6 that the actual or  
visible ,church has often caricatured1  
and has never yet properly  represented1
 its ,lord's ideal2 but it has never    
been permitted wholly to  lose sight of 
that ,kingdom whose citizenship is free 
to all who believe  and repent1 and of  
that royal priesthood of which all are  
members who  trust in the one sacrifice 
and prevailing intercession of the      
,great ,high  ,priest of our profession4
 ,if the visible ,church has failed to  
convert1  or even to attract1 the       
members of the ,buddhist ,sanghas1 it is
 because  of something wrong in its     
methods1 or false in its presentation2  
for  notwithstanding its failure1 it    
possesses in the great gospel of the    

,divine ,fatherhood intrusted to its    
keeping1 potentialities for gathering   
all mankind into the only brotherhood   
which will satisfy their  heaven-born   
aspirations4 ,the manifestation of it   
may still be a far-off  ,divine event1  
and to bring it about ,god may employ   
many agencies other  than those which   
the ,church as at present organised may 
be willing to  recognise or to use2 but 
once that holy brotherhood is           
manifested1 ,he  alone will be found at 
the head of it1 who on ,his way to ,his 
agony1 and  to the cross on which ,he   
was to reveal to the uttermost the love 
of the  ,creator for the human race1    
paused by the brook ,kedron1 and made   
this  supplication mingle with the      
ripple of its waters and the whispers of
  the olives of ,gethsemane1 8,i pray   
444 that they all may be one1 even as   
thou1 ,father1 art in me1 and ,i in     
thee1 that they also may be in us40     
,footnote #bdd3      ,sangha1 originally
 an assembly 7of disciples gathered     

around a ,hindu    sage74 ,in ,buddhism1
 the entire fraternity 7like the ,order 
of ,francis    or ,dominic74--,sir      
,monier ,williams1 ,buddhism1 p4 #agf4  
,footnote #bde3      ,robertson ,smith1 
,prophets of ,israel1 p4 #bge4          
,footnote #bdf3      ,kullavagga1 vi4   
#b1 #c1 #d2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1
 vol4 xx44    ,footnote #bdg3           
,weber1 ,indian ,literature1 p4 #cjf4   
,footnote #bdh3      ,dhammapadda1 #ada2
 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 x4   
,part i42    ,ptimokkha ,sekhiy ,dhamm1 
#a1 #b1 #c1 #d2 ibid4 vol4 xiii4 p4 #ei4
    ,footnote #bdi3      ,mahparanibhna 
,sutta1 iii4 #fe2 ,sacred ,books of the 
,east1 vol4 xi4    ,footnote #bej3      
,kuenen1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 p4 #bgi4   
,footnote #bea3      ,mahavagga1 i4 #aa2
 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 xiii4
    ,footnote #beb3      ,ibid4 i4 #ab2 
ibid4 vol4 xiii4    ,footnote #bec3     
,ibid4 viii4 #bg4 #e2 ibid4 vol4 xvii42 
,kullavagga1 vi4 #a4 #c2 ibid4    vi4   
#i4 #b2 ibid4 vol4 xx4    ,footnote     

#bed3      ,kuenen1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 
pp4 #bea seq4 ,the doctrine that it bore
    nobler fruit is expressly           
contradicted by some4 ,see pastamba1    
pres4    ii4 pat4 ix4 khan4 #bc2 also   
pres4 ii4 pat4 ix4 k4 #bd4 #ae2 ,sacred 
,books of the ,east1 vol4 ii4 pp4 #aef1 
#aei4    ,footnote #bee3      ,the way  
of 8,works0--ceremonial and sacrificial 
religion2 the way of                    
8,faith0--devotion 7heart7 to the       
deities without works2 the way of       
8,knowledge10 or true                   
enlightenment4--,sir ,monier ,williams1 
,buddhism1    p4 #ie4    ,footnote #bef3
      ,saint-,hilaire1 ,le ,bouddha1    
etc41 p4 #aeb4    ,footnote #beg3       
,not without protest1 however1 by       
fathers and doctors of the ,church4     
,see ,hermas1 ,simil4 v42 ,clem4 ,strom4
 iii42 ,tertullian1 ,de    ,jejunio1 p4 
#abc seq42 ,de ,pallio1 p4 #aha seq4    
,footnote #beh3      ,gieseler1 ,eccles4
 ,hist4 vol4 i4 pp4 #bhi seq42          
,neander's ,church    ,hist4 vol4 iii4  

pp4 #cje seq4    ,footnote #bei3        
,hom4 on ,st4 ,matth4 #fi1 #gj4         
,footnote #bfj3      ,montalembert1     
,monks of the ,west1 vol4 i4 p4 #cai2   
,neander's ,church    ,history1 vol4    
iii4 pp4 #cch1 #cci4    ,footnote #bfa3 
,cassian1 ,collationes1 ii4 #e-h2 ,de   
,instit4 ,monachi1 x42 ,de              
capitalibus vitiis1 quoted by ,farrar1  
,lives of the ,fathers1 vol4    ii4 p4  
#bbd2 ,burton1 ,anatomy of ,melancholy1 
ii4 #eaj4    ,footnote #bfb3      ,monks
 of the ,west1 vol4 i4 p4 #bg4          
,footnote #bfc3      ,sutta ,nipta1     
#ge-ha2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1    
vol4 x4 p4 ii4    ,footnote #bfd3       
,theod4 ,eccles4 ,hist4 lib4 iv4 cap4   
#bf4    ,footnote #bfe3      8,they     
prayed for the whole world40--,chrysost4
 ,h4 #gh1 ,in ,johannem4    ,footnote   
#bff3      ,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41   
pp4 #cag1 #cah4    ,footnote #bfg3      
,mahavagga1 viii4 #ae2 ,sacred ,books of
 the ,east1 vol4 xvii4    ,footnote     
#bfh3      8,i am not aware of any      

instances in which the pariah of the age
 is    mentioned as a member of the     
,order40 8,according to ,buddhist       
dogmatics1    a good ,sudra or ,vaisya  
could only hope to be re-born as a      
,kshatrya1    and this clearly indicates
 that the distinctions of castes had by 
no    means vanished or become worthless
 in ,buddha's consciousness0            
7,buddha1 etc41 p4 #aef74    ,footnote  
#bfi3      ,mahavagga1 i4 #ci4 #gf2     
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 xiii4 
,footnote #bgj3      ,christianity does 
not1 as ,goethe averred1 8prefer what is
 despised and    feeble10 but as in     
,god's eyes nothing is despised and     
abject1 so1 in    fellowship with the   
,father1 ,christ cherished the maimed   
and lame and    blind1 though hated of  
the soul of the natural man1 and this   
disposition will ever be a 8mark0 or    
8note0 of the true ,church of           
,christ4    ,footnote #bga3             
,kuenen1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 #ahhb1 p4  
#bhd2 ,rhys ,davids1 ,hibbert ,lectures1

    #ahha1 p4 #aee4    ,footnote #bgb3  
,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 pp4 #aha1    
#ahb4    ,footnote #bgc3      ,the      
,scotsman1 ,august #agth1 #ahhi4        
,footnote #bgd3      ,e4 ,burnouf1      
,science des ,religions1 p4 #id4        
,footnote #bge3      ,mahavagga1 i4 #di4
 #f4    ,footnote #bgf3      ,ibid4 i4  
#ed4 #e2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1   
vol4 xiii4    ,footnote #bgg3           
,mahavagga1 i4 #g4 #aj-ae2 ,sacred      
,books of the ,east1 vol4 xiii4         
,footnote #bgh3      ,mahavagga1 i4 #bi4
    ,footnote #bgi3      ,ibid4 i4 #gf4 
#a-aj4    ,footnote #bhj3               
,buddhism1 p4 #hj2 ,dr4 ,rhys ,davids   
states that a new or cloister name      
was given on admission1 in exchange for 
the family one 7,hibbert    ,lectures1  
p4 #ci71 but ,professor ,oldenberg      
alleges that this is    supported only  
by solitary cases 7,buddha1 etc41 p4    
#cec note74    ,footnote #bha3          
,mahavagga1 i4 #cj4 #a-d2 also ibid4 vi4
 #ad4 #f2 and ,kullavagga1 vi4    #a-b4 

,footnote #bhb3      ,mahavagga1 i4 #gh4
 #a-e4    ,footnote #bhc3               
,mahavagga1 i4 #gi4 #a-c4    ,footnote  
#bhd3      ,mahavagga1 i4 #be4 #a-bd1   
for the duties of novice to his         
,upagghya2    ibid4 i4 #cb1 ,kullavagga1
 viii4 #ac1 #ad1 for his duties to his  
kariya4 ,the duties to both are the     
same1 but the ,upagghya seems to    have
 been the more important of the two     
tutors4    ,footnote #bhe3      ,dr4    
,rhys ,davids1 ,handbook of ,buddhism1  
p4 #afi4    ,footnote #bhf3             
,dhammapada1 #bjj2 ,sacred ,books of the
 ,east1 vol4 x4 ,part i4    ,footnote   
#bhg3      ,ptimokkha2 ,pakittiy ,dhamm1
 #aj2 said to be because he might kill  
or    harm some living creature4        
,footnote #bhh3      ,sir ,edwin        
,arnold1 ,light of ,asia1 p4 #ie4       
,footnote #bhi3      ,kullavagga1 v4 vi4
 viii4 passim2 ,mahavagga1 i4 #be4 #ae4 
,footnote #bij3      ,dhammapada1 #ada1 
#adb2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 
x4 ,part i4    ,footnote #bia3      ,sir

 ,edwin ,arnold1 ,light of ,asia1 pp4   
#ie1 #if4    ,footnote #bib3            
,mahavagga1 i4 #ca4 #d4    ,footnote    
#bic3      ,introduction to ,dhammapada1
 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 x4 p4
    xliv3 a long list quoted from the   
,northern ,scripture by ,dr4 ,edkins    
in ,chinese ,buddhism4    ,footnote     
#bid3      ,the question was thrice put1
 8,are ye pure80 ,mahavagga1 ii4 #a-cf4 
,footnote #bie3      ,see for a specimen
 the ,kullavaga1 v4 #ba2 ,sacred ,books 
of the ,east1    vol4 xx4    ,footnote  
#bif3      ,bishop of ,colombo1 in      
,nineteenth ,century1 ,july #ahhh4      
,footnote #big3      ,mahavagga1 iv4 #a4
 #ah2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4 
xiii4    ,footnote #bih3      ,weber1   
,indische ,studien1 x4 #aah2 ,metrical  
translations by ,dr4 ,john    ,muir1 p4 
#bej1 where ,professor ,eggeling is     
quoted4    ,footnote #bii3              
,mah-pagpati the ,gotami1 his aunt and  
nurse 7,kullavaga1 x4 #a7 whose         
entreaty1 through ,ananda1 led him to   

found the ,order of ,bikkhuni1    seems 
more than a name4 ,viskh1 8the rich and 
bountiful10 is another    type of votary
 7,mahavagga1 viii4 #ae74    ,footnote  
#cjj3      ,buddhist ,jataka ,stories1  
translated by ,rhys ,davids1 pp4 #hg1   
#ij2    ,bigandet1 ,life of ,gaudama1   
old ed41 pp4 #aef1 #afh4    ,footnote   
#cja3      ,dhammapada1 #bhd2 ,sacred   
,books of the ,east1 vol4 x4            
,footnote #cjb3      ,book of the ,great
 ,decease1 v4 #bc2 ,sacred ,books of the
 ,east1 vol4 xi4    ,footnote #cjc3     
,eitel1 ,lectures on ,buddhism1 p4 #aj4 
,footnote #cjd3      ,kullavagga1 x4 #a4
 #c1 #d2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1   
vol4 xx4    ,footnote #cje3             
,clement of ,alexandria gives prominence
 to the value of marriage and of    the 
family life1 ,strom4 vii41 ,paedag4 iii4
 ,so ,tertullian1 ,ad    ,uxorem1 ii4 c4
 #h4    ,footnote #cjf3      ,principal 
,donaldson1 ,contemporary ,review1      
,sept4 #ahhi4    ,footnote #cjg3        
,sir ,henry ,s4 ,maine1 ,early ,history 

of ,institutions1 p4 #cda4    ,footnote 
#cjh3      ,kullavagga1 x4 #a4 #f4      
,footnote #cji3      ,kullavagga1 x4 #a4
 #bg4    ,footnote #caj3                
,ptimokkha2 ,pakittiy ,dhamm1 #f1 #g1   
#bg1 #ff1 #fg4    ,footnote #caa3       
8,you are not1 ,o monks1 to bow down    
before women1 to rise up in their       
presence1 to stretch out your joined    
hands towards them1 nor to    perform   
towards them those duties that are      
proper to them 7from an    inferior to a
 superior740--,kullavagga1 x4 #c4 #a4   
8,giving honour unto the    wife1 as    
unto the weaker vessel1 and as being    
heirs together of the    grace of       
,god40--#a ,peter iii4 #a-g4            
,footnote #cab3      ,dhammapada1 #he1  
#hf2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1 vol4  
x4    ,footnote #cac3      ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys
 ,davids1 ,handbook of ,buddhism1 p4    
#abe2 ,spence ,hardy1    ,eastern       
,monachism1 p4 #aii4    ,footnote #cad3 
,the bowl was 8turned down0 in relation 
to him1 and his house became an         

unlawful resort4--,kullavagga1 v4 #bj4  
#c2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1    vol4
 xx4    ,footnote #cae3      ,sir       
,monier ,williams states that though    
votaries did not confess to    monks1   
the four days were observed by          
them4--,buddhism1 p4 #hd4    ,footnote  
#caf3      ,oldenberg1 ,buddha1 etc41 p4
 #afb note4    ,footnote #cag3          
,mahavagga1 vi4 #bd4 #a-f4    ,footnote 
#cah3      ,kullavagga1 vi4 #a-e2 ibid4 
vi4 #d4 #aj4                            
,,lecture ,,vi4                         
,,the ,,two ,,religions ,,in ,,history4 
,i4--,external ,diffusion4      ,in ,his
 apostles1 and the disciples who        
gathered round them1 endowed with  the  
memory of ,his words and deeds1 two     
simple sacraments1 and a promise  that  
,he would be with them to the end of the
 on1 while they fulfilled  ,his         
commission to evangelise and baptize all
 nations in the name of the  ,father1   
and of the ,son1 and of the ,holy       
,ghost1 the continuance of the  ,church 

which our ,lord had founded was secured4
 ,buddha left behind him  neither       
sacrament to signify and seal the       
benefits which he had  conferred1 nor   
any promise of personal fellowship with 
or interest in  his followers2 but he   
was survived by the ,monastic ,order    
which he had  founded1 by a law         
containing the essentials of his system1
 and a form of  discipline containing   
the customs to be observed in their     
assemblies1  and the rules to which all 
the brethren were to be subject4 ,though
 the  personal guide to ,nirvana was    
lost to them1 they still in the law     
possessed his way to it1 and by         
observing the law1 and following his    
way1 they would fulfil his last stirring
 exhortation1#cai 8,be ye lamps  unto   
yourselves1 be ye a refuge to           
yourselves1 ,o monks40    ,so much      
importance being attached to the law1   
his disciples1 immediately  after his   
decease1 according to the tradition1 set
 about collecting the  materials of it1 

in his remembered discourses1 decisions1
 and in all  that he said2 and this     
labour of recalling1 determining1 and   
perpetuating his teaching seems to have 
occupied them for several  generations4 
,there is no trace of any corresponding 
anxiety on the part  of the ,christian  
,church to collect the words of the     
,lord ,jesus4 ,the  ,gospels are not the
 earliest of our scriptures1 and they   
were produced  more for the edification 
of ,jewish and ,gentile converts1 than  
to secure  for the ,church a standard of
 belief and of discipline4 ,the function
 of  the ,church was not so much to     
recall and perpetuate the teaching of   
its  ,lord as to interpret the          
significance of ,his life1 and death1   
and  resurrection4 ,no written or       
remembered instructions were required1  
for  the apostles believed that they had
 ,himself to tell them on every         
occasion what they should do and teach4 
,from the very first they prayed  to    
,him in full assurance that ,he heard   

and answered them4 ,they believed  that 
,he had shown ,himself to some of them1 
and that ,he was witnessed for  in all  
of them by a new possession4 ,the       
,gentile world had been familiar  with  
the  of the medium through whom a       
,divine oracle was supposed  to be      
given1 and with the rabies of the       
howling priests of the goddess  ,cybele1
 but the ,christians professed to be    
inspired by the  4  ,in some instances  
this inspiration manifested itself in   
extravagant  forms and in mysterious    
utterances1#cbj but those who were most 
under  its control had complete         
possession of themselves2 their speech  
was  intelligible1 and sober1 and most  
convincing1 making 8manifest the        
secrets of the heart40                  
,unquestionably this belief in the      
presence of ,christ in the              
,spirit--whether truly founded or       
not--was universal in the ,church4 ,all 
the utterances of primitive             
,christianity1 the scriptures of its    

apostles1 the treatises of its fathers  
and doctors1 and all the  monuments of  
the first ages1 bear witness not to a   
,christ who once  lived and had died1   
but who was living triumphant and       
glorified1  reigning for them1 and in   
them to reign4 ,unquestionably also in  
this  belief was the hiding of that     
power which enabled the ,church to      
confront the whole world1 endure the    
full weight of its persecutions1  and   
finally win the victory over it4 ,it    
also explains the appearance  in the    
,church1 from the first1 of that        
succession of persons who1  because of  
their strongly marked individualities1  
gave both direction  and impetus to its 
progress4 ,buddhism1 though both its    
southern and  northern scriptures record
 a patriarchal succession1 and though   
probably not deficient in highly        
cultured disciples1 seems to have       
lacked from the very first men who had  
genius to organise or intellect  to     
command its forces4 ,its own early      

writings disclose a movement  which very
 speedily congealed1 because ruled only 
by a remembered law1  interpreted by    
very adulterated traditions4            
,christianity represents  quite a       
different movement2 it was not the      
perpetuation of a system1  but the      
development of a new inspiration1 of a  
life manifested in  ,christ and         
communicated to all who believed on     
,him4 ,consequently it  never was       
without its heroes1 whom it had the     
power to produce2 and  consequently also
 it never could stiffen into a          
tradition1 for where  its leaders       
attempted to fix it1 in either          
confession or in ritual1 it  was sure to
 evade them4 ,it has been appropriately 
described as 8the  most changeable of   
religions10#cba--mutable in its forms1  
immutable in  its essence4 ,for         
,christianity is not a system either of 
philosophy or  theology2 it is a        
perpetually reforming spirit1 fed by    
faith in ,one  who is the same          

yesterday1 and to-day1 and for ever4    
,both religions entered the world as    
missionaries bent upon its  conversion1 
and though ,buddhism was afterwards to  
eclipse ,christianity  in the           
superficial extent of its conquests1 the
 annals of the primitive  ,church record
 a much more rapid extension4 ,the early
 development of  ,christianity1 even    
taking into account the circumstances   
which helped or  facilitated its        
progress1 remains one of the marvels of 
history4 ,in the  ,new ,testament the   
,church is seen to have gained a footing
 almost  wherever the waves of the      
,diaspora had reached4 ,st4 ,paul found 
,christians not only in ,rome1 but in   
little ,puteoli1 and his letters  imply 
that there were churches in ,spain and  
in southern ,gaul4 ,st4 ,peter  wrote   
from ,babylon to a wide circle of       
,christian communities gathered  out of 
the regions of ,asia ,minor4#cbb ,there 
seem to have been even then  churches in
 most of the chief cities1 and in a     

multitude of minor towns  all over the  
,empire2 and there is no reason to      
distrust the tradition1  that before the
 last of the apostles fell asleep1 the  
gospel had called  multitudes living far
 beyond the bounds of the ,empire to    
make good their  citizenship in the     
kingdom of ,god4    ,the churches may   
have been small in respect of           
membership1 for the rapid  diffusion of 
,christianity by no means involved the  
conversion en masse  of the people4     
,facts will hardly bear out the glowing 
testimony of  ,gregory ,thaumaturgus1   
who found in the populous metropolis of 
a large  province only seventeen        
,christians1 and in twenty-five years   
reported  that he could find only       
seventeen heathens4#cbc ,with ,gibbon we
 may have  to discount as 8splendid     
exaggeration0 the testimony of          
,tertullian1  8,hesterni sumus1 et      
vestra omnia implevimus40 ,still the    
direct testimony  of ,tacitus as to the 
multitude of ,christians in ,rome1 the  

evidence of  the ,catacombs1 and many   
other indications1 point to the         
conclusion that  the rapid numerical    
increase of ,christians was as singular 
as was the  territorial diffusion of    
their religion4 ,the whole ,empire must 
have been  sensibly leavened1 and the   
converts must for long have been        
gathered  from other than the lower     
classes of society1 before the          
conversion of  ,constantine became      
possible4 ,emperors--even ,roman        
ones--follow in such  matters1 and do   
not lead their subjects2 and so we may  
be sure what had  at first been glad    
tidings to the slaves and the poor must 
for some time  have become the          
consolation of many a noble ,pudens and 
,linus1 and of  many a ,claudia of royal
 descent1 before it could be recognised 
as the  religion of the ,state4#cbd     
,many circumstances undoubtedly         
contributed to this result4 ,a          
consolidated empire1 with nearly all the
 representative nations fused  into a   

union1 comprising all the existing      
elements of culture and forces  of      
civilisation2 the great ,roman highways1
 with means of easy  communication so   
abundant as to be surprising to us2 the 
widespread  understanding of the two    
leading languages1 making virtually of  
one  speech a great section of the most 
important part of the world2 the        
innumerable communities of ,jews1       
everywhere tolerated1 and 8cutting      
channels through the adamantine mass of 
heathen society10#cbe immensely  aided  
the missionary activities of the        
apostles and their followers4           
,moreover1 the moral and religious      
condition of the ,empire1 the           
bankruptcy of the old faith1 the despair
 and confusion and perplexity of        
people1 everywhere seeking mightier or  
better deities than they knew1          
everywhere trembling 8between the two   
immensities of terror10 rendered        
possible the victory of ,christianity4  
,multitudes were thus prepared to       

welcome a ,deliverer who had come in the
 name1 not of ,jupiter ,maximus         
,tonans1 but of the ,father in heaven1  
to give peace in this world's           
tribulations1 and sure hope of joy in   
the world beyond it4#cbf ,and yet  all  
this1 even when added to ,gibbon's five 
causes1 will not account for  the       
historical puzzle1 that a faith1        
originating in a manger in a ,syrian    
cattle-shed1 brooded over for thirty    
years of a life of poverty and  toil1   
preached for three1 with the result of  
being almost universally  rejected1 and 
quenched to all appearance in the blood 
of crucifixion1  should immediately     
after the death of its ,founder have    
broken out all  over the ,roman world4  
,converting its agents from farms1 and  
harbours1  and prisons1 it called them  
to martyrdom2 for it sent them--poor    
8weavers1 and shoe-makers1 and fullers1 
and illiterate clowns0--to  proclaim    
8barbarous dogmas10 and 8extravagant    
hopes10 8universally  detested0 by ,jew 

and ,gentile1 and to bear the full      
weight of a prolonged  series of        
persecutions involving indescribable    
tortures and  disgrace4#cbg ,yet somehow
 it never paused for a moment1 never    
abated  one iota of its claim1 till in  
the course of a few generations it was  
found upon the throne4 ,we never will   
explain this wonder by showing how1  as 
a system of ethics1 or as a new theory  
of life1 it found the  condition of the 
world favourable to its reception4 ,the 
correlation of  the state of the world  
to the new faith has been claimed as    
providential1--an indication of a       
,divine purpose making all things work  
together1 for this manifestation of a   
new power or principle of life in       
society1 which as yet has had no        
historical counterpart4#cbh    ,the     
early scriptures of ,buddhism1 though   
preserving a tradition that in  twelve  
years from the time in which the        
doctrine was first preached it  had     
spread over sixteen kingdoms1 disclose  

no such rapidity of  diffusion4 ,the    
kingdoms referred to are not to be      
regarded as kingdoms  in our sense of   
the word1 for in extent and influence   
they would not  equal a ,german         
principality1 and were probably only    
tribal communities4  ,after the death of
 ,buddha the many ,sanghas that had     
arisen seem to have  suffered for lack  
of a central governing power4 ,if his   
,order is to be  called a ,church1 it   
had manifestly no church-government4 ,it
 had synods1  and assemblies1 and       
councils1 but not one with the authority
 of an  cumenical as representative of  
the whole4 ,it was more ,congregational 
than ,presbyterian in its constitution1 
and for this very reason it was  weak   
when compared with the compact          
organisation of ,brahmanism1 with  which
 it competed for supremacy4 ,disorder   
and dissension are traceable  in it from
 the first1 and the early texts1 though 
containing many  admonitions against    
schism1 warnings that offences must     

come1 and woes  upon those who would    
cause them1 record no practical steps to
 prevent or  remedy them4#cbi ,vigorous 
expansion was consequently not to be    
looked  for1 and for two centuries we   
may safely infer that ,buddhism         
represented  only a struggling sect1    
which1 beyond the limits in which it was
 first  preached1 had made little1 if   
indeed any1 progress4    ,at the close  
of this period1 when its literature was 
reaching a  canonical form1 and its     
manuals of discipline and common order  
were  generally in use1 it found its    
,constantine in the conqueror           
,chandragupta4 ,in opposition to the    
,brahmans1 who despised him for his     
low-caste origin1 he seems to have      
lifted it from obscurity into the       
sunshine of really imperial favour4 ,his
 grandson ,asoka1 who consolidated  his 
conquests1 proved its ,theodosius1 in   
not only greatly endowing it1  but in   
establishing its supremacy4 ,there were 
no quarrels between him  and the        

,sanghas as to their independence1 as   
afterwards between the  ,emperors and   
the ,popes1 for1 like a true son of the 
,church1 he  acknowledged their         
authority4 ,by obeying in appearance1 he
 in reality  became1 what ,buddhism     
since the death of its founder sorely   
needed1 the  head of the system1 and    
under his wise and energetic rule1 the  
religion  emerged into a vigour which it
 was to maintain for centuries4    ,an  
earnest ,buddhist1 he seems to have been
 something better4 ,he called  himself  
,pryadarsi1#ccj the 8beloved of the     
gods10 and a ,daniel indeed  he appears 
to have been1 raised up for the blessing
 of millions4 ,his  edicts--stone       
inscriptions found all over ,india--the 
first written  testimonies which        
,buddhism left of itself1#cca all       
breathe a lofty  spirit of righteousness
 and kindness and toleration1 appealing 
to both  ,brahman and ,buddhist1 and    
commending themselves at this day1 8to  
,jew and  ,christian and ,moslem alike1 

as part of the universal religion of    
humanity40#ccb ,one of them refers to a 
council which he assembled at  ,patna1  
for the pacification and reformation of 
the ,order4 ,during its  session the    
ancient collections of rules and dogmas 
were rehearsed1 and  as the list is     
considerably shorter than the contents  
of the ,tripitaka1  we may be sure that 
the ,southern tradition that ,buddha    
himself was the  author of all the books
 comprising that collection has no      
foundation in  fact4#ccc ,a far more    
momentous act of this ancient council   
than the  recension of the canon1 was   
that of establishing the first great    
,buddhist missions4 ,to a revived and   
reformed ,order the suggestion of the   
pious king1 that they should go forth   
and fulfil their great teacher's        
original commission1 was welcome4 ,their
 dissensions1 as has often  happened in 
,christendom1 were due to their living  
to themselves4 ,an army  inactive in    
quarters1 is more likely to quarrel or  

mutiny than one in  service in the      
field4 ,these good ,buddhists wisely    
determined to carry  the war of         
deliverance beyond them1 and so into the
 ,punjab1 ,kashmir1 the  ,central       
,himalayan regions1 over into the ,malay
 ,peninsula1 went the  missionaries1    
armed only with the words of the ,law or
 the legends which  had been floating   
round the memory of their master1 and   
supported only  by the offerings put    
into their alms-dish1 to gain whatever  
victories  they could in the fair       
conflict of reason with reason4#ccd     
,in ,india they would of course be      
supported by imperial influence1 and    
indeed the mission to ,ceylon1 headed by
 ,mahinda1 the son of ,asoka1 seems  to 
have been accredited by royal embassy2  
but nowhere was ,buddhism  propagated as
 ,islam subsequently was by ,mohammed1  
or as ,christianity was  by             
,charlemagne1 with an army at its back4 
,races ever ready to credit the         
supernatural would probably be more     

easily won by the wonders which were    
then being formulated in reference to   
,buddha2 but whatever be the            
explanation of it1 the success of these 
missionaries anticipated that of  the   
apostles4 ,in ,ceylon there was founded 
a ,sangha1 which was destined  to nurse 
and preserve the original creed in      
somewhat of its purity1 when  all the   
others betrayed and corrupted it4       
,surviving several changes of  dynasty1 
that ,sangha1 #ccj years after ,buddha's
 decease1 is said to have  reduced its  
canon to writing4 ,the result has been  
somewhat contradictory  to the theory1  
that it matters very little whether a   
canon be oral or  written1 for ,southern
 ,buddhism1 having an authority to which
 it was thus  earlier anchored1 has held
 more closely to the original system1   
from  which1 having no such check for   
long1 every section of ,northern        
,buddhism  has irrecoverably fallen     
away4    ,after the death of ,asoka1 the
 empire which he sought to consolidate  

by  the preaching of the ,law fell to   
pieces1 and ,buddhism was destined to be
  tested by more than one rude shock4 ,a
 ,brahman reaction took place1 which  is
 even supposed to have resulted in the  
persecution of all ,buddhists  living in
 ,india4 ,if so1 it was the first which 
the religion  encountered--so unlike    
,christianity1 which had to endure for  
three  centuries the fierce assaults of 
its enemies4 ,persecution by a religion 
so tolerant as ,brahmanism is hard to   
conceive1 but if it took place at  this 
period1 it only tended1 as in the early 
,christian trials1 to the  wider        
expansion of the persecuted faith4      
8,they that were scattered  abroad went 
everywhere preaching0 the ,law4 ,some of
 them pushed through  ,afghanistan into 
the regions of ,central ,asia1 and      
there1 just as  ,ulphilas and           
,severinus1 centuries later1 gained a   
hold over the wild  races that conquered
 the moribund ,empire1 so ,buddhist     
missionaries  succeeded in sowing the   

seeds of their ,law among the rude      
,scythian  tribes1 who were then in     
great commotion in their vast inland    
steppes4  ,driven from their ancestral  
homes1 a branch of the great tribe of   
,huns  about #afj ,b4,c4 overthrow the  
,bactrian kingdom1 and after generations
 of  struggle they conquered ,kashmir1  
the ,punjab1 and a considerable part of 
,india4 ,then just as the ,goths and    
,huns1 in the moment of their conquest  
of ,rome1 tendered their submission to  
,christianity1 so the conversion of     
,kaniska1 the greatest of the           
,indo-,scythian kings1 a contemporary   
with  ,augustus and ,antony1 enabled    
,buddhism to enter with fresh vigour    
upon a  second period of very brilliant 
supremacy4#cce    ,though the difference
 between the ,northern and ,southern    
,buddhists was  already showing itself1 
and though soon after it manifested     
itself in a  divergence as complete as  
that which sundered the ,greek ,orthodox
 from  the ,latin ,catholic ,churches1  

monumental evidence1 harmonising with   
that  derived from its own literary     
relics1 indicates that for four or five 
centuries after this ,buddhism was most 
successfully propagated almost          
everywhere save in ,india4 ,in the land 
of its origin it was gradually          
declining1 because drawing nearer to the
 ,brahmanism from which it had  seceded4
 ,fa-,hian in the end of the fourth     
century1 though describing it  as       
dominant everywhere1 found the place of 
its nativity only a  wilderness4#ccf    
,later on1 the viharas were deserted1   
the dagobas in  ruins1 8the monks were  
few1 the heretics many10 and by the     
seventh  century the process of         
assimilation with and absorption into   
,hinduism  was in ,india1 save in widely
 separated and remote localities1 almost
  complete4 ,what it lost in ,india1    
however1 it was to gain in other        
directions4 ,its greatest conquest was  
in ,china4 ,in the days of ,asoka       
eighteen missionaries are said to have  

reached ,china1 where they are  held in 
reverence to this day1 their images     
occupying a conspicuous  place in every 
temple4 ,the faith which they introduced
 seemed to have  struggled with very    
little success to gain a footing till   
about ,a4,d4  #fh4ccg ,thirteen years   
before this date1 in obedience to a     
vision which  appeared to him at ,troas1
 ,st4 ,paul brought ,christianity from  
,asia to  ,europe4 ,on the thirtieth day
 of the twelfth ,chinese month in ,a4,d4
 #fh1  the ,emperor ,mingti1 in         
consequence of a dream1 sent ambassadors
 to the  distant ,west for ,buddhist    
monks and manuscripts4#cch ,travelling  
in  almost royal state1 the invited     
missionaries were accorded in ,china a  
welcome in marvellous contrast to the   
reception of the ,christian apostle  in 
the first colonial city he had reached4 
,from this time onwards a  perpetual    
succession of monks and manuscripts     
entered ,china2 yet1 though  tolerated  
from the first1 and often royally       

patronised1 centuries  elapsed before it
 succeeded in winning a place as one of 
the three  religions of ,china1 while   
,christianity1 persecuted from the      
first1  succeeded after a fierce        
struggle in conquering the ,empire of   
,rome1 and  then by a long process in   
evangelising ,europe4    ,the conversion
 of the most of ,eastern ,asia was the  
work of the ,northern  or more corrupt  
,buddhism4 ,southern ,buddhism1 like the
 orthodox ,eastern  ,church1 which      
contented itself with its evangelistic  
achievements among  the ,goths1 and its 
,nestorian missions1 soon exhausted its 
propagative  force4 ,the introduction of
 the religion into ,burma1 ,siam1 and   
the  adjacent kingdoms1 may be said to  
sum up its triumphs4 ,northern          
,buddhism1 on the other hand1 ran from  
the beginning of our era a course  of   
unchecked triumphs4 ,in the close of the
 fourth century it spread from  ,china  
to ,corea1 and in the sixth it reached  
,japan4 ,previous to this it  entered   

the isolated regions of ,tibet1 more    
welcomed than resisted by  the          
demonolatrous inhabitants on account of 
the adulterated form in  which it       
presented itself4 ,there1 after a       
struggle for some two  centuries1 it    
succeeded1 about the period when ,islam 
was beginning its  conquests elsewhere1 
in securing strong royal support4 ,after
  experiencing for many generations the 
vicissitudes of popularity and          
persecution1 the conquests of ,genghiz1 
and the strong favour of ,kublai1  his  
greatest successor1 established its     
hierarchy as supreme1 and in  spite of  
changes of dynasty1 it has there        
dominated the whole relations  of life  
in a manner like unto1 but to an extent 
far beyond1 the wildest  dreams of      
,rome's most ambitious ,pope4#cci    ,it
 thus appears that ,buddhism in the     
second period of its history1 and  after
 it had succeeded in winning the support
 of powerful kings1 reached  its        
furthest extension and achieved its     

grandest conquests4  ,christianity1 on  
the other hand1 was more rapidly        
diffused in the  primitive than in the  
subsequent ages4 ,tested by its         
intensive hold upon  the nations1 it had
 only nominally converted the ,roman    
,empire by the end  of the fourth       
century4 ,gibbon's estimate of the      
number of ,christians  within it1 is    
acknowledged by friendly                
authorities1#cdj like ,bishop           
,lightfoot1 to err if at all on the side
 of excess4 ,during the reign of        
,constantine1 probably not a twentieth  
of the whole population of the  ,empire 
were ,christians1 even by profession4   
,after this period1 no doubt1  the      
proportion must have greatly increased1 
for the barbarous hordes  that poured   
downwards in successive deluges over the
 ,south were  converted so suddenly and 
so silently that 8scarce a legend       
remains to  tell the tale40 ,in regard1 
however1 to the conversion of heathen   
,europe1  it is a mistake to suppose    

that the missionaries had only to come1 
and  see1 and conquer4 ,the conversion  
of ,england by the ,roman monks1 and of 
,ireland1 ,scotland1 and ,wales by      
,oriental and1 it is said1 ,arian       
missionaries1 cannot be said to have    
been accomplished before the close  of  
the seventh century4 ,afterwards1 the   
conversion of ,central and  ,northern   
,germany occupied the ,celtic and       
,british missionaries for two           
centuries4 ,the conversion of the       
,scandinavians1 beginning in the ninth1 
could not be said to have been effected 
till the middle of the eleventh         
century1 while that of ,slavonia1       
undertaken in the tenth1 did not        
terminate1 if indeed even then1 before  
the sixteenth century4 ,the  conquest of
 ,europe was the result of a prolonged  
and often desultory  warfare1 in which1 
while the advance was slow1             
,christianity sometimes  failed to hold 
the ground which it had gained4 ,the    
powerful ,churches in  ,asia1 the seats 

of its great ,councils and the capitals 
of its rule1  either died or were swept 
away2 ,antioch and ,constantinople1 once
 its  citadels1 became the strongholds  
of an alien and hostile faith2 the      
mighty ,churches of ,egypt and          
,abyssinia dwindled into a condition of 
immedicable disease1 and the flourishing
 ,church of ,africa1 with its more  than
 six hundred bishoprics1 was simply1    
because ripe for destruction1           
obliterated by the forces of ,islam4    
,toward the latter half of the tenth    
century it seemed as if ,christianity in
 ,europe was surely following the  fate 
of ,buddhism before its disappearance   
from ,india4 ,on all sides it  was      
pressed in the deadly grip of ,pagan and
 ,moslem alike1 while its  bishops1 and 
priests1 and nobles1 oblivious of the   
danger1 were living  in sinful          
self-indulgence4 ,it seemed as if       
,christendom was being surely  blotted  
out from the geography of the world2 and
 yet as by a miracle it  survived1 or   

was preserved1 till came the            
,renaissance1 and that  marvellous      
emergence of missionary zeal1 which sent
 ,christianity1  ,reformed and          
,unreformed1 to the very ends of the    
earth1 and which1  increasing in every  
generation since then1 was never more   
abundant nor  more fervent than now4#cda
    ,christianity1 unlike ,buddhism1    
came very early into collision with the 
most advanced civilisation and highest  
culture of the world1 while  ,buddhism  
for centuries encountered only the      
religions of inferior  peoples4 ,the    
only equal or superior civilisation     
which it met was that  of ,china1 and   
there1 though tolerated and even        
patronised from the  first1 it seems for
 centuries to have been regarded as an  
exotic4  ,natives of ,india1 like the   
,jews in the ,roman ,empire1 were       
allowed to  build ,buddhist temples1 but
 only in the fourth century ,a4,d4 did  
,chinese  people begin extensively to be
 converted to the ,buddhist religion4   

,as it  rose into favour its conflicts  
with the ,confucianists began1 and the  
issue of its varied fortunes has been1  
that though indirectly it has  greatly  
influenced1 it has only subdued a       
section of the ,chinese  people4#cdb    
,while other inferior races came quickly
 under its  influence1 the most         
civilised of ,eastern peoples resisted  
it1 and have  at most only been leavened
 by it4#cdc ,christianity had also its  
easy  conquests1 as when some northern  
tribes were converted in a day by the   
baptism of their chiefs2 but its        
principal struggle with the historic    
,paganism of aristocratic ,rome was     
fierce and obdurate4 ,there the         
position1 as in the case of ,hinduism   
to-day1 was not carried by assault1  but
 by slow and almost imperceptible       
approaches4 ,the ,church at ,rome for   
two centuries was more a ,greek than a  
,latin one4 ,the names of its  bishops  
were ,greek1 and the ,catacomb          
inscriptions sufficiently indicate  that

 ,greek was the language of its members4
 ,slowly and indirectly1  however1 it   
gained the hold upon ancient thought and
 custom1 operating  like an alterative  
in the system1 supplanting what was     
good1 by simply  taking possession of it
 and inspiring it with a new life1 while
 that  which was decaying and waxing old
 gradually vanished away4    ,in this   
respect1 therefore1 there is a          
significant difference between  the two 
religions4 ,christianity1 with all the  
world against it1 and in  spite of three
 centuries of unparalleled persecutions1
 succeeded in  vanquishing the highest1 
while yet approving itself as a gospel  
to the  lowest civilisation4 ,buddhism1 
with the greatest powers of the ,eastern
  world in its favour1 and never1       
perhaps1 save in ,china1 called to bear 
the shock of a single persecution1 has  
only succeeded in being accepted  by    
inferior branches of the human race4    
,the ,hindu ,aryans1 assimilating  what 
of it they approved1 rejected what of it

 was peculiar and  distinctive4 ,the    
,semitic followers of ,islam simply     
crushed it under  foot1 and it never    
rose high enough even to touch the      
,western  ,aryans4#cdd ,very early it   
withdrew itself entirely within the     
circles  of the ,turanian peoples2 and  
if to-day in ,mongolia1 ,manchuria1     
among the  ,kalmucs on the ,wolga1 and  
the ,bunjads on the shores of the       
,baikal ,sea1  it may be said to be     
advancing1 the most competent           
authorities assure us  that everywhere  
else its progress is arrested1 and that1
 even where it  is most upheld by local 
governments1 in the regions of its most 
dominant  supremacy1 it yields manifest 
signs of decay4#cde    ,another and even
 more significant contrast is found in  
the fact that the  advance of           
,christianity has ever been farthest and
 most rapid when its  faith was purely  
taught and most consistently            
illustrated4 ,it never  sought peace    
with other religions without being      

defeated1 and never  allied itself with 
superstition without bringing shame and 
disaster on  all concerned4 ,it has had 
its periods of deterioration and        
defection1  but somehow it has always   
survived them4 ,indeed1 its vitality is 
as  truly indicated by the corruptions  
which it has outlived1 as by the        
external opposition which it has        
vanquished4 ,its real conquests are due 
to the expansive power of its inherent  
and original principles4 ,the very      
opposite is the case with ,buddhism4    
,its fundamental principles being       
unnatural and repugnant to the essential
 instincts of mankind1 it was  from the 
very first a morbid growth1 having in it
 the seeds of decay4 ,it  never could   
have lived in the strength of its own   
principles1 and so the  story of its    
advance is one of perpetual compromise  
with every popular  superstition that it
 met4 ,the more it assimilated itself to
 them1 the  more it seemed to grow2 but 
as foreign influences took possession of

 it1  its own life oozed out of it1 till
 very early it represented a system so  
perverted that its founder would have   
repudiated and abhorred it4 ,the        
,church has often travestied            
,christianity1 but it never fell from   
the  faith so fearfully as ,buddhism has
 everywhere fallen from the original    
doctrine of ,buddha4 ,religion1 worship1
 even the purest1 he intended by  his   
system to supersede1 and now his name is
 employed to support the  grossest of   
all superstitions1#cdf a religion with  
more idols in it  than that of the most 
idolatrous of peoples1 a worship founded
 on the  efficacy of magical            
incantations1 and of prayers rendered by
 machines4  ,just for this very reason  
its                                     
,,ii4--,internal ,history      is very  
instructive1 and we shall now proceed to
 consider a few of its  most salient    
points4    ,buddhism1 in a quiet land   
and tranquil age1 was launched upon the 
world  as a new theory of life--a system

 so rounded off and completed that its  
disciples had no other duty than that of
 believing1 obeying1 and  propagating   
it4 ,christianity1 on the other hand1   
began its career amid  the convulsions  
of political revolution1 and for three  
centuries of  conflict it had to fight  
every inch of its way4 ,it was not1     
however1 as  a new system that it       
appeared in history1 but as a new       
principle of  life1 round which all the 
moral1 and spiritual1 and intellectual  
energies which it found in mankind1 and 
all which itself might awaken1  might   
form and gather strength4 ,it was       
impossible1 therefore1 that it  ever    
could remain stationary4 ,its apostles  
were commissioned to carry on  all that 
their ,lord had 8begun both to do and to
 teach40 ,he distinctly  promised them  
increase of knowledge and power from on 
high1 and all the  changes which        
increase or growth implies4 ,to-day ,his
 religion could no  more be made to     
return to the form in which it was      

manifested eighteen  centuries ago than 
man could be made to put on the clothes 
of his  childhood4 ,its development1    
however1 is that of its inherent life1  
manifesting all the continuity and      
identity of the sapling with the  tree1 
of the boy with the man4 ,like all      
growing things1 it has been  subject to 
disease by contagion and infection1 but 
it has always  preserved life in        
sufficient volume to slough off its     
impurities and to  pass onward through  
reformation to health4 ,now1 the history
 of ,buddhism1  on the contrary1 reveals
 only a long process of degradation1    
without  having manifested any power as 
yet to recover and to reform itself     
according to its original and essential 
principles4#cdg    ,the offspring of    
,brahmanism1 from which it differed more
 in degree than  in substance1 at no    
period of its history did it succeed in 
completely  disentangling itself from   
it4 ,not only did the forms of the old  
religion  cling to it2 its very life was

 continued in the new4 ,while ,buddha   
rejected all the sacrificial rites and  
religious observances of  ,brahmanism1  
and preached a law subversive of all its
 faith in  revelation1 he accepted and  
continued its ascetism and its hope of  
deliverance by a process of meditation  
and of abstraction4 ,it was by  himself1
 therefore1 and not by his cousin       
,dvadatta1#cdh that the  heretic leaven 
was introduced into the lump4           
,dvadatta's attempted  changes were not 
innovations1 but a return to the        
primitive rule1 a  logical deduction    
from a law which ,gotama never wholly   
rejected4 ,just as  to the patriarchs of
 the ,greek1 the ,western or ,romish    
,church 8is the  chief heresy of latter 
days10 just as the ,pope was branded in 
their  ,encyclical of #ahdh 8as the     
first founder of ,german                
,rationalism10#cdi so  the successive   
advances and orthodox decisions of the  
,buddhist ,councils  were denounced as  
apostasies by men like ,dvadatta4 ,still

 these changes  were due in great       
measure to the beliefs which ,buddhism  
had inherited1  for when in the         
inevitable rebound from its unnatural   
,nihilism the  theistic movement set in1
 the spirit of ,brahmanism1 which had   
passed  into it at the first1 began to  
assert itself1 and1 interpenetrating it 
more and more1 prepared it for that     
issue in which1 blending with the       
popular forms in which ,brahmanism was  
then expressing itself1 ,buddhism       
merged into the composite system of     
,hinduism which confronts us in ,india  
to-day4    ,in ,christianity1 as in     
nature1 the grafting of the good stock  
upon the  wild conquered the wild4      
,christ took nothing from ,judaism but  
the  universalism of its prophets1 its  
faith in one living and true ,god1 the  
,heavenly ,father of multitudes whom    
,abraham was ignorant of1 and ,israel   
did not acknowledge4 ,his apostles1     
judged by the literature which they     
have bequeathed1 seem faithfully to have

 carried out ,his principles2 but  many 
of their converts were strict ,jews1 who
 insisted upon some visible  connection 
with the old religion4 ,just as         
,dvadatta1 their prototype1  held that a
 true ,buddhist must first be a good    
,brahman in respect of  asceticism1 so  
they insisted that ,christians were     
debtors to keep what  of the old law was
 expressed in circumcision1 and the     
observance of  certain other            
commandments and ordinances4 ,the danger
 of ,christianity  being reduced to the 
bondage of the old was serious1 but the 
inspiration  of ,st4 ,paul1 the         
providential destruction of the nation1 
and the  marvellous spread of the       
religion among the ,gentiles1 eventually
  overcame it4 ,the spirit of ,judaism1 
it is true1 has never been wholly  cast 
out from the ,christian ,church4 ,all   
through its history it is  traceable in 
one form or another of the ritualism and
 asceticism which1  like ,brahmanism1 it
 may be held to represent4 ,there have  

been times when  it has attained to     
portentous and pernicious influence1 and
 such times  may happen again2 but from 
the early days there has always been in 
,christianity vitality sufficient to    
detect and try and condemn it2 and  so  
though ,judaism1 and even ,paganism1 to 
some extent1 still taint the  theology  
and worship of the ,church1 we need have
 no fear that the genius  of the old    
religion will ever gain1 as it did in   
the case of ,buddhism1  permanent       
ascendency over the new4    ,the        
opposite of ,ritualism and ,asceticism1 
represented by ,judaism and             
,brahmanism1 is the ,rationalism which  
such reforming religions may be  said to
 beget of themselves2 and if its spirit 
of inquiry be  uncontrolled1 it will    
certainly dissipate their energy4 ,as   
early as ,st4  ,paul's day we see       
,rationalism working upon the           
development of  ,christianity1 and      
necessitating the rise of a theology1   
which1 perhaps  inevitably1 has often   

been confounded with1 and1 in the       
estimation of  many1 has supplanted the 
,christian religion4 ,the many sects    
which  ,rationalism produced in the     
first centuries do not so much indicate 
hostility to the new faith1 as the      
mighty ferment through which the  minds 
of men were passing in regard to it4    
,now though ,buddhist  scriptures       
manifest rationalistic movements in the 
,sanghas from the  first1 they seem to  
have proceeded in quite a different     
direction4 ,of  conflict as to          
fundamentals of creed there appears to  
be very little  trace1 but there are    
abundant indications of considerable    
controversy as  to practice4 ,the first 
quarrel traceable in the ,christian     
,church arose  over the peculiar        
institution of community of goods2 and  
though the  ,sanghas avoided that       
mistake1 their earliest troubles were   
concerning  the possession of property4 
,the original rule enjoined upon the    
brethren  absolute poverty1 and the     

regulations in regard to food and       
shelter were  equally stringent4 ,very  
soon after ,buddha's decease a reaction 
set in1  and a feeling began to prevail 
that his standard of morality and his   
ideal of the ,order were too lofty for  
all but exceptional men to  realise4 ,he
 may have succeeded as the fully        
,enlightened ,one1 but common  men could
 not hope to 8wind themselves so high20 
so out of consideration  for human      
infirmity there commenced a constant and
 increasing relaxation  in their        
interpretation of his precepts of       
perfection4#cej ,the law of  absolute   
poverty was modified to the extent that 
property might be held  in common1 and  
the laws regulating diet1 dress1 and    
even meditation1  were soon subjected to
 the same treatment4 ,the wealth which  
poured in  upon them1 and the consequent
 improvement of their position1 was not 
followed by corresponding spiritual     
growth4 ,the more they prospered1 the   
more the fundamental principles of the  

,order were neglected1 evaded1 or       
explained away4 ,the friendly           
conferences of the rainy season gave    
place  to controversy1 and controversy  
proved so fruitful of schism1 that very 
early in its career ,buddhism is said to
 have produced eighteen different       
sects1 ranged in four great divisions4  
,yet in no one schism seemed there  a   
great principle to be involved2 they    
were but ,pharisee quarrels at  best1 in
 which though they strained out the gnat
 they swallowed the  camel4#cea    ,side
 by side with this relaxation of the law
 advanced the growth of the  legends    
concerning him who first preached it4   
,the further they removed  from his     
decease1 the higher1 as was natural1 he 
rose in their esteem4  ,as one by one   
the fathers fell asleep1 and the early  
enthusiasm died1  and the law was felt  
to be more and more burdensome1 the less
 he seemed  to be a man of like passions
 with themselves1 till eventually they  
came  to regard him as 8omniscient and  

absolutely sinless40#ceb ,he had taken  
away their gods1 and disowned their     
religious cravings4 ,he professed to    
find no proper divine being to whom any 
instinct should attach  itself--yea1 in 
his dissection and analysis of human    
nature he found no  religious faculty to
 be relied upon2 but he could not unmake
 his  fellow-men1 whose religious       
instinct education can neither originate
 nor  eradicate2 and so1 defrauded of   
its natural gratification1 it inevitably
  turned to illegitimate methods of     
appeasing itself4 ,in the first         
instance1 it found the objects of its   
reverence in the relics which  survived 
him1 the law which he preached1 and the 
,order which he founded4  ,originally it
 could not be called worship2 it was    
more an expression of  affectionate     
homage4#cec ,but so strong is man's     
impulse to worship1  that very early    
they expressed it in images of ,buddha  
everywhere1 though  the images of the   
,law and of the ,order have only been   

found in the lands  where the ,northern 
,buddhism reigns4    ,this earliest     
triad of personalities1 called          
8triratna10 the three gems  or three    
holies1 seems to have been suggested by1
 and certainly  corresponds with1 the   
primitive triad of deities in the old   
,indian  ,pantheon4#ced ,it was the     
first indication of the bankruptcy of   
,buddhism1 of its failure out of its own
 resources to meet the religious  wants 
of its disciples1 and it marked only the
 beginning of a revolt1  which was to   
issue in complete disavowal of every    
doctrine essential to  original         
,buddhism4 ,the religious conscience and
 common sense which  rebelled against   
its unnatural atheism1 would not long be
 satisfied with  the worship of the     
memory of a completely vanished ,buddha1
 or of the  idea of an impersonal ,law1 
or of a miscellaneous ,order4 ,so pious 
,buddhists turned readily to a doctrine 
said to be taught by the ,master1  and  
formulated before the settlement of the 

,southern canon in its  present form1   
according to which ,buddha is not a     
distinctive name of  just one person1   
but a title descriptive of a long series
 of ,enlightened  ,ones1 who1 leaving1  
as he was supposed to have done1 the    
estate of a  ,bdhisatva#cee in the      
,tushita heavens1 appeared at distant   
intervals to  proclaim the same truth   
for the deliverance of men and gods4    
,the names  of twenty-four of these     
,buddhas who preceded ,gotama have been 
handed  down1 and the name of his       
successor1 to whom1 upon the attainment 
of  ,buddhahood1 he transferred his     
,bdhisatvaship1 and who is to appear    
after five thousand years for the       
rediscovery of the truth1 was  announced
 as ,mitrya4 ,to this coming one1 the   
,buddha of 8kindness and                
mercy0--thought to be a personification 
by some imaginative poet of the  gentle 
spirit of ,buddhism--the thoughts and   
the hopes of the disciples  turned1 and 
out of this hope arose a doctrinal      

system1 which1 expanding  and enlarging 
by manifold additions as the time went  
on1 showed that  however atheistic the  
original creed might be1 the religion   
itself had  become polytheistic4#cef ,to
 ,mitrya1 in his glorious heavens1 the  
deliverer of distant generations1       
prayers ascended1 and worship was       
rendered by all ,buddhists everywhere   
alike2 and out of this cult by far  the 
largest section of them began to evolve 
deity after deity1 till the  heavens1 in
 which ,buddha could find no superior to
 himself1 were crowded  with objects of 
idolatrous regard4    ,in this          
polytheistic development a very great   
distinction emerged  between the        
,northern or ,mahyna and the ,southern  
or ,hinyna system of  ,buddhism4 ,how   
the divergence originated has not been  
clearly  ascertained1 but about the     
beginning of the ,christian era it seems
 to  have been very manifest1 and at    
that time1 when sectarian controversy   
and philosophical speculation threatened

 to rend the system into  fragments1    
,ngrdjuna1#ceg a monk of ,nlanda1 is    
said to have done for  ,northern        
,buddhism what ,gregory and ,benedict   
did for the ,western ,church4  ,under   
him1 and certainly after him1 ,northern 
,buddhism1 both in respect  of expansive
 power and of dogmatic and ritualistic  
development1 left  ,southern ,buddhism  
far behind it4 ,the ,hinyna1 or the     
8little way0 of  deliverance1 is        
believed to have been applied by the    
,northern1 not  without contempt for the
 ,southern school's arrestment4 ,they   
did not  profess to contradict the      
,southern faith3 they simply included   
it1 and  advanced in their 8great way0  
beyond it4 ,to the ,southern the summum 
bonum of life meant ,arhatship1 for that
 once attained there would be no  more  
re-birth4 ,they acknowledged and        
worshipped only one ,bdhisatva1 the     
coming ,mitrya2 but the doctors of the  
,north1 properly conceiving the  estate 
of the ,bdhisatva to be nobler than that

 of ,arhat1 propounded it  as the goal  
of aspiration4 ,arhatship would indeed  
secure one's own  deliverance2 but      
,bdhisatvahood would enable them1 as    
possible coming  ,buddhas1 to confer the
 blessings of deliverance upon countless
  multitudes4 ,along with ,mitrya they  
discovered many persons who1 like       
,buddha's great disciples and their     
successors1 had through merit1  acquired
 in a long series of lives1 taken his   
,tushita heavens by  violence2 but who1 
unlike him1 were under no obligation to 
quit their  celestial abodes1 and       
proceed through ,buddhahood to ,nirvana4
 ,they might  enjoy their blessedness to
 the full1 and sit beside their nectar  
without  concern1 for they fulfilled    
every function expected of them in being
  objects of worship1 to whom mortals   
could appeal for comfort in sorrow  and 
help in time of need4    ,in ,india1 as 
early as ,fa-,hian's time1 and probably 
earlier in  ,china1#ceh out of these    
happy gods a new triad was formulated1  

receiving such worship as ,hindus would 
render to their later triad of  deities1
 ,brahma1 ,vishnu1 ,siva4 ,the title of 
one of these1 ,mandjus-ri1  was said to 
have been the name of the monk who1 two 
hundred and fifty  years after ,buddha1 
introduced the religion into ,nepaul1   
and founded the  system which ,ngrdjuna 
consolidated4#cei ,he in this connection
 is  believed to be the personification 
of that 8wisdom0 or 8spiritual  insight0
 which the ,northern school valued so   
highly4 ,another deity1  ,avalkits'vara1
 8the lord who sees from on high10 is   
supposed to be the  mythical term for   
that 8kindly providence0 which watched  
over the whole  ,buddhist world4 ,and   
,vajra-dhara1 8the thunderer10          
represented the power  which protected  
the faithful from the malice of demons4 
,how such a  worship1 so contradictory  
to the doctrines of primitive ,buddhism1
 came  to be introduced and recognised1 
is a puzzle to all our scholars4 ,rhys  
,davids and ,sir ,monier ,williams are  

inclined to regard it as suggested by   
the second ,hindu triad of deities      
already referred to4 ,professor ,max    
,mller#cfj considers it to be a graft   
from the superstitions of some  northern
 ,scythian or ,turanian race1 while ,dr4
 ,beal advances the theory  that it was 
in all probability introduced from a    
western monotheistic  religion1 either  
landward through ,persia1 or by sea from
 ,arabia4 ,however  it came1 from this  
date and onwards1 all over the wide     
extent of  territory covered by it1     
,buddhism rapidly deteriorated4 ,while  
the  ,southern system was everywhere    
yielding to the influence of the popular
  mythology1 and that so unmistakably   
that it became1 wherever it reached1    
8the unconscious propagator of ,hindu   
doctrine10 the ,northern became a       
heterogeneous mixture of all the        
superstitions which it met4 ,from this  
second triad of deities it went on      
discovering or inventing its five       
triads of ,dhyni-,buddhas1 among whom   

,gotama was the emanation of            
,avalkits'vara1 who again was the on of 
,amitbha1 8immeasurable  light40 ,behind
 all these again1 they professed to find
 the ,adi-,buddha1  the primordial      
,buddha1 who1 out of himself1 by the    
exercise of five  meditations1 evolved  
the ,five ,dhyni4#cfa ,each of these    
again by  8insight0 evolved their       
corresponding ons1 who in their turn    
from out  of their immaterial essence   
produced a material world4 ,it is as if 
the  ,gnosticism which had broken out in
 the ,west long before this time had    
also invaded the distant ,east1#cfb and 
as if its dreams1 more  restrained by   
,western sobriety1 were in the ,east    
free to produce a  phantasmagoria more  
confused still4 ,certainly it is a      
convincing proof  that1 notwithstanding 
its rich ethical sources1 the essential 
principles  of ,buddhism had no inherent
 propagative power4 ,for just as it had 
to  return from its atheism to the      
deities which it had discarded1 so it   

had  to substitute for its ,nihilism the
 ,western ,paradise1 where1 beyond the  
confines of the world1 the pious        
,buddhist at last hopes to join the one 
,supreme ,amitbha1 and millions of      
blessed ,buddhas discoursing upon all   
things good1 in a state in which there  
is no sorrow1 and1 8strangest to  say1  
no ,nirvana40#cfc    ,the more these    
imaginary deities increased1 the more   
must the earnest  moral teachings of    
,buddha have been obscured4 ,the        
discovery of the  ,bdhisatvas opened the
 way to a rapid declension from         
primitive  self-culture to a system of  
8voluntary humility40 ,discipleship     
became  easier in proportion as the     
worship of these shadowy creations      
extended4  ,it is much easier to idolise
 than obey1 to say1 8,lord1 ,lord10 than
 to do  the thing which he commands4    
,this falling away from the high        
,buddhist  rule of self-control1        
proceeding step by step with the growth 
of the  legends1 is just an illustration

 of the tendency in every religion to   
allow the ethical and metaphysical      
elements so to drift asunder1 that      
instead of being one in holy wedlock    
they become thoroughly and              
irreconcilably opposed4    ,it was      
inevitable in ,buddhism that morality1  
considered essential to  self-rescue1   
should be supplanted by that debasing   
belief in the  efficacy of rites which  
the system was launched to destroy4 ,its
 founder  went to the unnatural extreme 
of ignoring man's craving for           
reconciliation4 ,he had no faith in     
,divine forgiveness1 or in the grace  of
 repentance1 and he never wearied of    
pouring contempt upon sacrifice  and    
prayer4 ,no ,hebrew prophet could be    
more severe in his scorn of  useless    
rites2 but then the ,hebrew believed in 
the efficacy of one  sacrifice1 a 8heart
 broken by sorrow10 for sin not as a    
misfortune or a  folly1 but as an       
offence to a ,holy ,being who was ready 
to forgive1 and  to be pleased with the 

worship of a will surrendered in        
gratitude and in  love4 ,very early in  
his history man has indicated his sense 
of  alienation from ,god in his         
endeavours to discover an atonement4    
,the  instinctive sense of wrong        
relations to the powers that govern life
 has  been liable to fearful perversion1
 but ,buddha1 with all his              
denunciation1 could not destroy it1 nor 
reason men out of it4 ,he could  induce 
some to withdraw their imploring cries  
and glances from the gods1  but he could
 not sweep the heavens clean of them4   
,belief in the  existence#cfd of gods1  
and demons1 and fairies1 and charms     
against  ill-luck1 was strong in his    
disciples from the first2 and when an   
object  of worship was recognised and   
allowed1 an elaborate ritual of worship1
  and latterly of propitiation1 was     
rapidly developed4 ,in ,northern        
,buddhism this recoil was most extreme1 
for there1 especially in ,nepl  and     
,tibet1 belief in the efficacy of rites 

deteriorated into belief in  spells and 
incantations1 till it issued in the     
,tantra system--a mixture  of magic and 
sorcery whose abominable doctrines1     
,burnouf1 out of very  loathing1 refused
 to translate to us4#cfe ,christianity  
has had many  corrupters1 who have never
 scrupled to propose or to accept any   
compromise with heathenism at all       
calculated to strengthen the power of   
the priesthood1 but it never had its    
sanga1#cff who cleverly succeeded  in   
reconciling the demonolatry of the      
people of ,nepl and ,tibet with the     
acceptance of the ,buddhist system4     
,this he did by placing their male and  
female devils in the inferior heavens as
 worshippers of ,buddha and             
,avalkits'vara1 and by thus making it   
possible for the half-savage  tribes to 
bring their sacrifices1 even of blood1  
to their congenial  shrines1 and under  
cover of allegiance to the priests of   
the new to  continue the old hideous    
idolatry4    ,this discovery of sanga's 

is said to have secured the rapid       
extension  of the ,buddhist hierarchy in
 these half-barbarous regions2 but the  
hierarchy itself indicated a complete   
reversal of the primitive  constitution 
of the ,order4 ,buddha endeavoured to   
emancipate his  fellow-men from faith in
 the efficacy of a priesthood to mediate
 between  men and ,deity1 or to secure  
deliverance4 ,he never dreamed that     
either  temple or priest would arise in 
his system2 but the temple grew         
naturally out of the dagoba and the     
relics which it enshrined1 and the      
priesthood as naturally was evolved from
 the ,sthavira or senior ,bikkhu4  ,in  
,southern ,buddhism the priest is more  
like a ,protestant minister of  religion
 than like a priest in the ,romish sense
 of the word2 but in  ,northern         
,buddhism1 and especially in that form  
of it dominant in ,tibet1  the people   
from the seventh century have been      
completely under the power  of the      
,lamas who alone can work out their     

salvation4 ,with the exception  of a    
short interval of neglect and           
persecution1 a hierarchy marvellously   
similar to1 and no doubt in some        
respects suggested by1 that of ,romish  
,christianity1 has completely controlled
 all the relations of life1#cfg  with   
the terrible result that cruelty and    
immorality most abhorrent to  the good  
and gentle ,buddha have been permitted  
to assert themselves  unopposed1 though 
a devotee who slaughters his fellow-men 
in cold blood  will shudder with horror 
if by accident he should tread upon a   
worm or  crush an over-irritating       
flea4#cfh    ,only once in that region  
has it experienced any attempt at       
reform4 ,in  the fourteenth century1    
when the policy of the ,ming dynasty in 
reducing  the predominance of any one   
sect had prepared the way for him1      
,tsong-,kapa1 8the ,tibetan ,luther10   
endeavoured to effect a revival of the  
primitive rules of the ,order1 and      
succeeded in restoring something of  the

 ancient simplicity in dress1 the       
celibacy of the priests1 the            
fortnightly confession1 the season of   
yearly retreat1 and the invitation      
ceremony at its close4 ,he set his face 
also against the ,shamanism of the      
,tantra system1 adhered to the purer    
forms of the earlier ,mahyna  school1   
and succeeded in creating a new sect1   
whose leaders in the  fifteenth century 
were by the ,chinese ,emperor recognised
 as titular  lords over the ,church and 
tributary rulers over the ,state1 under 
the  titles of ,dalai ,lma and ,pantshen
 ,lma4 ,the dream of ,hildebrand or ,leo
  for the ,papacy was for centuries more
 than realised in the ,lmaism of        
,tibet1 for the ,lamas are more than    
,popes1 being re-incarnations of        
,avalkits'vara and of his father        
,amitabha1 who never die1 but at the    
act of dying transfer themselves into   
another body1 born at that very  moment1
 to be found in it in due time through a
 procedure1 according to  lot1 never yet

 known to fail4 ,when discovered1 he    
has1 however1 to be  accepted after the 
,erastian fashion by the ,chinese       
,government or its  representative1 who1
 with the ,desi or ,regent1 must also be
 present when  the final lot is         
drawn4#cfi    ,never under the ,papacy1 
even in the times when its pretensions  
were most  extravagant1 and its power   
was most unchecked1 has ,christianity   
deteriorated so fearfully as ,buddhism  
has done in ,nepl and ,tibet4 ,not  even
 in the ,abyssinian--the most degraded  
of all the ,churches that have  worn the
 name of ,christ1 in respect of its     
incorporation of old ,jewish  rites and 
,egyptian superstitions--can we find the
 contrivance of the  prayer-wheel1 or   
the poles with their silken flags       
blazoned with the six  sacred syllables1
 8om mani padme hum10#cgj fluttering    
their supposed  incantations to the     
heavens4 ,buddhism's ages of worship    
have been only a  long sad history of   
degradation1 of perpetual falling from  

bad to  worse4#cga ,the higher the      
worship of ,buddhists for the founder of
 their  system has risen1 the more have 
they fallen from his virtue2 but in     
,christianity the ages of strongest     
devotion to ,christ have ever been the  
periods of progress4 ,the more intense  
man's reverence for ,christ has  been1  
the loftier has been the standard of    
virtue attained4 ,worship and  pursuit  
of holiness have gone hand in hand1 and 
we cannot conceive of a  life truly     
offered up in adoration of ,christ ever 
proving immoral or  impure4    ,the     
story of ,buddhism in ,india1 where     
without much resistance it yielded  to  
the seductions of ,vishnaism and        
,sivaism1 the record of its conquests   
in the surrounding countries1 and       
especially in those just referred to1   
present few and slight analogies to the 
history of ,christianity2 but the  story
 of ,buddhism in ,china as related by   
those most competent to testify  of the 
changing forms which it assumed from the

 fourth century onwards1  is            
significantly akin to that of           
,christianity after it became the       
religion of the ,empire4 ,china1 unlike 
,india1 had before the ,christian  era a
 very ancient history1 marked by        
distinct epochs4 ,its annals1 even  of  
the eighth century ,b4,c41 seem to      
reflect a civilisation similar to  that 
of ,europe in the thirteenth century    
,a4,d4 ,two thousand years ,b4,c4  the  
,chinese are said to have attained to an
 idea of ,deity somewhat  equivalent to 
the ,el ,elion of ,melchizedek4#cgb     
,shangti1 the highest of  all spirits to
 whom the people sacrificed1 was the    
,creator1 ,preserver1  and ,governor of 
the world1 unapproachable by the sinner1
 but merciful to  all penitents2 and in 
this idea of ,god1 and in the morality  
which sprang  from it1 we have the      
secret of that social and political     
progress whose  arrestment and decay    
,confucius lamented4 ,living in a       
degenerate age1 he  laboured earnestly  

as a reformer of personal morality and  
social order2  but1 departing himself   
from the ancestral faith in a ,supreme  
,ruler of  nature and man1 8respecting1 
but keeping aloof1 as he said1 from all 
spiritual beings10 expressively silent  
as to the future1 and refusing to       
present motives of conduct drawn from   
consideration of it1 his vigorous       
ministry1 conducted for many years in   
many of the ,states1 could only  have   
the effect of preparing the way for a   
real regeneration of society4  ,he had  
great faith in man1 as born good1 with  
an innate moral faculty  which only     
contact with the world and the delusion 
of the senses prevent  from making him  
virtuous4 ,man was made for society1 and
 the five  relations of which society   
consists--that of ruler and subject1    
husband  and wife1 parent and child1    
elder brother and younger1 and friend   
and  friend--were ,divine ordinances4   
,his standard of personal righteousness 
and social purity1 his strong faith in  

the power of example1 his golden  rule1 
8,what you would not like to have done  
to yourself1 do not to any  other10#cgc 
his demand1 as urgent as was that of    
,isaiah or  ,socrates1#cgd that language
 should be used ever with scrupulous    
care to  express only the thing that is1
 have gone far to form1 with beneficial 
ethical results1 the ordinary ,chinese  
character4 ,his ignoring of  personal   
,deity1 only referred to under the vague
 term ,heaven1 and of the  future of    
man1 could not long arrest the          
degeneracy of society or purge  out the 
secret vices burrowing beneath its      
surface4 ,if ,buddha is to be  regarded 
in his bold metaphysical speculations as
 the first of ,gnostics1  ,confucius in 
his pure secularism may be designated   
the first ,agnostic1  and the monotonous
 and stagnant type of humanity which his
 teaching has  produced may be a warning
 of the kind of civilisation which the  
world  may expect should ever           
philanthropic secularism supplant or    

supersede  the religion of ,christ4#cge 
,contemporary with ,confucius1 though   
much older in years1 was ,lao-tsze  the 
,venerable1 the author of the celebrated
 ,to-teh-,king1 in which not  only      
,romish missionaries but scholars like  
,montucci of ,berlin 7#ahjh7 and        
,remusat#cgf 7#ahbc7 professed to find  
the mystery of the ,holy ,trinity  and  
the name of ,jehovah phonetically       
expressed4 ,twenty years later          
,stanislas ,julien#cgg dispelled these  
illusions1 and showed that the  treatise
 was as agnostic in its essential       
teachings as were the ,analects  of     
,confucius4 ,a poet and a mystic1 he    
gave his whole strength to enforce  the 
virtue of ,tao--the way#cgh of man's    
return to that spontaneity of  action   
without motive which prevails in nature1
 and which will manifest  itself in man1
 in humility1 gentleness1 refusal to    
take precedence in  the world1 in       
accounting the great as the small1 the  
small as the great1  and in recompensing

 injury with kindness4#cgi ,he does not 
affirm the  existence of ,god1 but he   
does not deny it1 and his language seems
 to  imply it4 ,certainly there is not a
 word which savours of superstition1    
and yet he is the reputed founder of a  
most idolatrous religion1 which  is     
found in shape five centuries after his 
death4 ,the works of his  earliest      
followers are said to be full of the    
most grotesque and absurd  beliefs4 ,as 
early as #bba ,b4,c4 some of them were  
in search of the ,eastern  ,hesperides1 
where grew the herb of immortality4 ,in 
the first century  ,a4,d4 another       
professor of ,taoism invented a pill    
containing the elixir  of life1 and     
spells which could tame and destroy by  
the touch of a  pencil millions of      
demons4 ,all through its history it has 
been a  conglomerate of superstitions so
 base1 and so contrasted with the       
teaching of the ,to-teh-,king1 that to  
make the author of that literary  relic 
bear the obloquy of even the slightest  

connection with ,taoism1  appears to be 
one of the grossest wrongs of           
history4#chj    ,these sages preceded   
,buddha by a century1 whose religion1   
though it came  into contact with ,china
 shortly after the reign of ,asoka1 did 
not  seriously begin to influence it    
till about the fourth century ,a4,d4    
,the  ,buddhism of that period was the  
religion of the ,northern school1 well  
advanced in its second stage of         
degeneracy4 ,wherever it was encouraged1
  or allowed to maintain itself1 it     
reared monasteries and nunneries1       
temples and shrines of idols and relics1
 and established the worship of  saints 
and images1 which sometimes1 like       
winking ,madonnas1 opened their  eyes   
and otherwise worked miracles4 ,its     
effect upon ,taoism was simply to       
absorb it2 for before then that religion
 had neither monasteries nor  temples1  
nor any system of worship4 ,all these it
 borrowed from ,buddhism1  whose        
,triratna and endless pantheon of       

deities it greedily accepted1  with the 
effect that though ,taoism has existed  
nominally distinct from  ,buddhism in   
,china1 it has simply been as ,buddhism 
in a native dress1 and  thus far the    
,hindu mind can be truly said to have   
powerfully influenced  ,chinese thought4
    ,by the ,confucians the reception of
 ,buddhism was very different4 ,they    
might have laughed at its idolatrous    
system budding vigorously into  life1   
but they could not endure its full-blown
 anti-social ,monasticism4  ,its        
morality they could appreciate1 though  
it seemed inferior to their  own2 for   
though its teaching as to future rewards
 commended itself to  the moral         
instincts of the masses1 the            
,confucians1 more logical than          
,buddhists1 averred that to avoid       
wrong-doing for fear of future          
punishment was not doing right for its  
own sake2 while to labour for  happiness
 hereafter led to neglect of the        
present1 and promoted lazy  inactivity4 

,such a scheme of religion was by them  
judged inimical to  virtue1 which was   
its own reward1 and the manner of life  
by which it was  illustrated was        
condemned as particularly immoral4 ,the 
,state1 the  ,family1 ,society1 were    
,divine institutions which ought to be  
maintained  and perfected4 ,industry1   
public and private1 was essential to    
their  ideal of propriety2 and          
,buddhism1 with its religion of         
inaction1 its  celibate rule1 and       
abandonment of all secular business1 was
 simply  odious to the instincts of a   
practical and kindly people4 ,there     
could  only be war between two such     
contradictory systems--a war not of     
words1  but1 on the ,chinese side at    
least1 of very hard blows4 ,their       
hostility  manifested itself in repeated
 and prolonged persecutions4 ,in one of 
these #bej1jjj monks and nuns were      
forced to return to social life1 while  
their property was confiscated1 and the 
copper of their images and bells  was   

minted into coin4 ,the ,confucians have 
long ceased to persecute1 but  they have
 never withdrawn their first indictment 
against the ,buddhists  for teaching    
what to them is criminal because        
disloyal1 and immoral#cha  because      
anti-social4    ,to the ethical system  
of ,china1 as represented by            
,confucians1 ,mahyna  ,buddhism could   
not add much1 if indeed anything1 of    
value2 but its  speculative philosophy  
seems peculiarly to have fascinated     
them1 and it  produced remarkable and   
permanent changes in their thinking4    
,the  literature and the art of ,china  
reflect not ,chinese but ,indian scenes 
and manners4 ,its grammatical and       
arithmetical sciences owe much to       
,indian tutelage4 ,an educated          
,chinaman1 while avowing himself        
,confucian  in respect of ethics1 will  
in all metaphysical problems reason     
according  to ,buddhist methods and     
enunciate ,buddhist ideas4 ,to this     
extent1  therefore1 it affected the     

,confucians1 but not with beneficial    
results4  ,it aided ,confucius in his   
evil work of shaking the faith of 8the  
classes0 in the personal ,ruler of the  
,universe1 while its effect upon  8the  
masses0 was even more injurious1 for it 
dragged them down to a  polytheism from 
which for centuries they had been free1 
and put in place  of the impersonal     
principle with which ,confucius had     
supplanted their  ancestral faith1 those
 shadowy crowds of ,buddhas and         
,bdhisatvas1 to  lead them still further
 away from the purer works and ways of  
more  reverential ages4#chb    ,the     
episodes in the history of ,chinese     
,buddhism from the fourth century       
onward were marvellously similar to the 
scenes and incidents witnessed  in      
,europe during the same period in       
connection with the ,christian  ,church4
 ,cardinal ,newman has somewhere said   
that in 8professing to write  the       
,decline and ,fall of the ,roman        
,empire1 ,gibbon has reluctantly1 but   

actually1 written the ,rise and         
,progress of ,christianity40 ,the most  
zealous defender of the faith1 however1 
must admit that the ,christianity  which
 maintained in ,europe from the fourth  
century onward had grievously  declined 
from that of the primitive ages4 ,it is 
the fashion in some  quarters to        
attribute this degradation to the       
alliance of the ,church  with the       
,state1 and to aver that had it kept    
apart from the embraces of  the         
,emperors it would have preserved itself
 from corruption4  ,unquestionably      
,constantine was a 8sair sanct0 to the  
,church2 a convert  more from expedience
 than conviction1 he and his successors 
endeavoured  to utilise the ,christian  
hierarchy to buttress their own throne4 
,unquestionably1 too1 the ,church       
suffered more indignity and harm from   
the ,christian ,emperors who patronised 
it1 than ever it did from the  heathen  
,emperors who persecuted it4 ,candid    
inquiries will1 however1  convince most 

people that the alliance with the       
,empire was more an  incident in than   
the cause of the ,church's degradation4 
,the transfer of  the seat of rule to   
the ,bosporus left the ,western ,church 
free from the  ,imperial influence to   
regulate its own affairs1 and yet it    
became not  less but even more corrupt  
than its ,oriental neighbour4 ,the truth
 seems  to be that the corruption of the
 ,church was due more to its external or
  material prosperity than to anything  
else4 ,to churches and to nations  that 
is the real ordeal by fire4 ,in the     
poverty and struggles they have  higher 
hopes1 but when difficulties are        
surmounted1 and they dwell at  ease1    
they mistake or forget their vocation4  
,the adversity and terrible  persecution
 of the ,church1 coincident with its    
primitive enthusiasm1 did  a very great 
deal to preserve its health and purity2 
and it was simply  natural1 and to be   
expected1 that when it emerged into     
prosperity and  popular favour1 like    

,jeshurun in his fatness1 it should have
 rebelled1  and instead of serving as it
 was ordained to do1 should have usurped
 the  power to rule4    ,the iconography
 of early ,christianity reflects even   
more clearly than  its literature the   
various stages of its deterioration4 ,as
 long as the  world was against it1 and 
it was compelled to use such places as  
the  ,catacombs for its shelter and     
worship1 its faith was pure1 and its    
life  was full of exhilaration and      
brightness4 ,its symbolism was          
thoroughly  ideal and spiritual1 in     
sharp and instructive contrast with     
every ,pagan  specimen that has been    
discovered1 and with its own            
subsequently  paganised art4 ,it was a  
symbolism1 moreover1 only of its hopes1 
and not  of its one object of faith or  
of worship4 ,it tolerated no symbol in  
worship save the water of ,baptism and  
the bread and the wine of the           
,eucharist4 ,it needed1 as yet1 no      
crucifix1 not even a cross1#chc and it  

would not allow any image to reveal to  
the imagination the present but         
invisible ,christ1 or to suggest the    
profound meaning of ,his atonement4     
,but when it went forth1 the admired of 
the world1 into the sunshine1 and  began
 to rear the grand basilicas1 and people
 them with the tombs of the  martyrs and
 the enshrined relics of the saints1 the
 very desire to rise  led it to fight   
heathenism with its own weapons1 and to 
copy its  splendours4#chd ,even before  
this it was falling back from the simple
  service of the synagogue to that of   
the destroyed temple1 but now it was    
found adopting the heathen festivals1 or
 accommodating its own to their  dates1 
and incorporating with its own the more 
imposing rites of still  popular heathen
 fanes4 ,to 8offer the new law's new    
oblation0 it invented  a new ritual and 
priesthood2 and seeing a priesthood must
 have somewhat  to offer1 it discovered 
a new sacrifice in the very sacrament   
which was  the ,divine pledge and human 

thanksgiving for the abrogation of all  
external sacrifice4#che ,then the       
government of the ,empire became the    
model of its organisation1 and soon it  
was crowned in a ,papacy  professing to 
dominate1 as vicegerent for ,christ1 a  
world which  confessedly it has not yet 
been able to convert4    ,it is not     
necessary to trace the sickening        
degradation of ,christianity  through   
all its encounters and compromises with 
heathenism1 till in the  gathering gloom
 its degenerate art reached a point     
where it dared to  portray to the eye of
 sense the death-pangs of the ,son of   
,god1 and its  worship touched a depth  
of idolatry in which it symbolised the  
mystery  of the ,holy ,trinity by a     
three-headed figure quite after the     
model of  the ,hindu ,trimurti4 ,it is  
sufficient to say that it appears to    
have  proceeded on parallel lines1 and  
at as rapid a pace as the degeneracy of 
,buddhism in the ,east4 ,it too has its 
iconography as well as its  literature1 

and it is interesting to trace its      
passage from its earliest  graffiti--the
 stone edicts of ,asoka1 where we have  
the religion without  even the name of  
the founder--through the carvings of the
 ,sanchi gateway1  where there is       
alteration1 though to no considerable   
extent1 on to those  at ,amravati1 where
 we have the full-blown ,buddhism to    
which ,china to a  considerable extent  
succumbed4#chf ,through all this period 
everywhere  in ,chinese ,buddhist       
temples were seen the idols of the      
saints1  everywhere were found their    
worshipped relics4 ,a bone1 a tooth1 a  
single  hair1 would be purchased by the 
revenue of a ,state and welcomed with   
imperial honours4 ,the rationalists of  
the ,west might protest as loudly  and  
as scoffingly as they pleased that there
 was as much wood of the  true cross and
 as many veritable nails of it in       
,europe as would suffice  to build a    
navy4 ,the ,confucian mandarins at the  
court of a  relic-worshipping ,emperor  

might indignantly denounce the          
desecration and  pollution of the royal 
palace by the introduction of part of   
the carrion  of a monk who had died long
 ago4#chg ,with the father of ,gideon1  
deriding the wonder-working powers of   
these relics1 they might insist  that   
they1 and even ,buddha himself1 should  
plead1 ,baal-like1 for  themselves      
against their iconoclastic ire2 but at  
that time neither law1  nor persecution1
 nor common sense could prevail to cure 
this perverted  disposition4 ,belief in 
the virtue of a fetich marks both the   
infancy and  decay of most religions4   
,in ,chinese ,buddhism to-day this      
belief is as  vigorous as ever1 and     
notwithstanding the influence of the    
,reformation1  and the spread of        
scientific discovery1 this belief marks 
an extreme of  thought from which       
neither ,romanism nor ,protestantism as 
yet can be said  to be free4    ,the    
,buddhism of the earliest traditions was
 concerned chiefly with  morality as    

essential to deliverance1 and the       
,christianity of the ,new  ,testament is
 a faith and hope and love1 dominating  
and fusing and  moulding life after a   
nobler type4 ,in ,china1 as elsewhere1  
the ,buddhism  of morality gave way to  
the ,buddhism of mystic contemplation4  
,yielding  to the same tendency which   
afterwards made so many ,christians     
abandon  the paths of obedience and     
practice of righteousness for the       
cultivation  of the inner life1         
,buddhism as early as #ebj ,a4,d4 was   
prepared to follow  eagerly             
,bdiharma1#chh who came from ,southern  
,india to sweep away the  alien growth  
of all book-instruction1 and to         
establish the truth that  8out of mind  
there is no ,buddha1 out of ,buddha     
there is no mind2 that  virtue is not to
 be sought1 and vice is not to be       
shunned2 that nothing  is to be looked  
upon as pure or polluted1 for all that  
is needed is to  avoid both good and    
evil1 and he that can do this is a truly

 religious  man40#chi    ,in proclaiming
 that ethical distinctions mark an      
inferior stage of  discipleship1 for a  
8good man1 though never against1 is     
always above  them10 ,bdiharma1 the     
nominal founder of ,esoteric ,buddhism1 
simply  formulated more clearly the     
teaching of ,ngrdjuna1 the reputed      
founder  of the ,mahyna system4 ,it was 
only another expression of that         
indefinable phase of thought1 found in  
all religions as mysticism1 and  which1 
though commonly identified only with its
 extravagant outbursts1  is really of   
the very essence of religion4 ,the      
dominating thought in a  religious man  
is that of a ,supreme ,one in whom we   
live and move and have  our being1 and  
there are times in his worship when the 
balance of  consciousness is disturbed1 
and self is lost in consciousness of the
  ,divine4 ,man without the aid of      
prayer or sacramental grace finds in    
himself the revelation1 and alas6 as his
 consciousness is always  imperfect1 and

 very often confused1 the revelation is 
too often  distorted and the reverse of 
,divine4#cij    ,mysticism1 as was      
natural in a religion quickening both   
thought and  emotion1 appeared early in 
,christianity1 and from the days of ,st4
 ,john  it has never lacked a           
representative4 ,in its manifold        
varieties and  aberrations it presents  
many similarities to the mysticism of   
the ,east1  but in reality it is as     
different from it in its nature as it is
 distant  from it in its source4        
,eastern mysticism has always been more 
speculative than practical in character4
 ,pantheistic in its origin1 it  assumes
 that all things are as divine as it is 
their nature to be1 and  aspires to get 
at the unity of being4 ,western         
mysticism1 on the other  hand1 starts   
always from a sense of the disorder and 
alienation of  things1 and endeavours to
 get at man's true life4 ,the ,eastern  
finds its  object within1 the ,western  
generally without2 the ,eastern         

considers  identity with ,deity a       
natural state1 the ,western regards     
perfect  fellowship with ,deity as a    
goal of spiritual attainment4 ,in       
,christianity  mysticism has been       
occasional in its manifestations1 and   
has always been  regarded as an         
innovation2 but in the ,east it is the  
normal deduction  from ,hindu ,pantheism
 and ,buddhist ,nihilism4#cia ,ngrdjuna 
and  ,bdiharma were the natural outcome 
of ,gotama's teaching4 ,in ,christianity
  it has often shown itself to be       
marvellously practical1 and generally in
  revolt from some stereotyped system of
 dogma or form of worship4 ,though      
associated in our thoughts more with the
 sentimental than the  intellectual     
aspects of religion1#cib it has         
manifested frequently a  decidedly      
rationalistic tendency4 ,refusing to be 
dominated by authority  or to be bound  
by antiquity1 it has questioned         
fearlessly the dicta of  ,scripture1    
avowing that reason is not superseded1  

but divinely inspired  and controlled as
 the organ of revelation4 ,in           
,christianity its  extravagances may be 
forgiven in consideration of the        
benefits which  have flowed from it4 ,it
 powerfully helped to bring about the   
,reformation1 and since then1 in the    
,churches1 whether reformed or          
unreformed1 it has tended to sweeten and
 intensify devotion4 ,it has kept  them 
mindful of their common lineage by      
insisting upon those essential  and     
universal truths which are confessed to 
be vital in all religions1  and         
especially by proclaiming the supremacy 
of the ,holy ,spirit as the  fountain of
 all enlightenment and activity4    ,as 
manifested in ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,john1
 mysticism is the recognition of  the   
,holy ,spirit as the ,witness of        
,christ1 and therefore the supreme lord 
over all man's emotions and reasonings  
and purposes4 ,consequently the         
asceticism with which mysticism has     
always been associated has been in      

,christianity more kept under control4  
,occasionally it has lapsed into        
frightful excesses2 indeed1 the         
extravagances practised in the ,east to 
attain to insight have been equalled by 
the devices resorted to by many  in the 
,west to gain the vision of the ,divine4
 ,in ingenious methods of  self-torture 
the ,west certainly vied with the ,east1
 but at self-torture  perverted         
,christianity stopped1 while degenerate 
,buddhism went on to  invent and put in 
practice most revolting methods of      
self-destruction as  well4 ,the law of  
,buddha prohibited this1 and forbade    
even the mention of  the advantages of  
death4 ,it was an offence of the gravest
 kind1 punished  by the severest penalty
 which the ,order could inflict1#cic for
 a monk  to procure a weapon for the    
purpose of taking away his life1 or to  
teach  how death may be procured4       
,still1 in ,india before ,fa-,hian's    
time1  self-murder was practised1 and in
 ,china ,imperial edicts against        

self-mutilation and self-immolation were
 required to prevent fanatics  evading  
the primitive law by the quibble1 that  
while prohibiting  suicide1 ,buddha     
enjoined the destruction of anger and   
lust1 and that it  was against these    
alone that they raised their hand1 in   
order to  complete their                
deliverance4#cid    ,christianity       
demands that an  shall be practised by  
all who  desire the illumination of the 
,spirit1 for all that is vile must be   
purged out of life1 and all that is     
animal in it must be subdued4 ,the      
discipline1 however1 is always moral as 
well as religious1 and it aims  only at 
controlling1 never1 like ,stoicism or   
,cynicism1 at stifling or  violating    
natural affection4 ,unlike ,plato1 who  
regarded matter as evil1  ,christ and   
,his apostles recognised it as the      
creature of ,god1 and taught  us to seek
 the seat of evil1 not in the body1 but 
in the perverted will4  ,in the spirit  
is the true fons et origo mali2 but as  

the occasion of  sin directly or        
indirectly often originates in some     
desire for bodily  indulgence or some   
dread of bodily pain1 temperance and    
fortitude demand  that the body1 if not 
inured to hardness1 should be at least  
kept under  control4 ,so bodily         
exercise1#cie though in itself profiting
 little1  profiteth much as moral       
discipline1 a means to a spiritual end4 
,consequently the fast in its literal   
sense has its place in the  ,christian  
system as an expedient generally most   
required in the times  when we are      
inclined to despise it4 ,the fanaticism 
which would destroy  or injure what is  
natural is condemned by ,christianity as
 severely as is  the sensuality which   
would unduly strengthen it4 ,what it    
demands is that  the whole nature be    
educated and ennobled by loving         
surrender to the  control of an         
infinitely holy ,will4 ,enjoyment of the
 vision beatific1  communion with the   
,divine ,being1 is the summum bonum of  

,christianity1  and that is the portion 
only of the sanctified4 8,blessed are   
the pure in  heart3 for they shall see  
,god40    ,bdiharma's mystic or esoteric
 ,buddhism had no such influences to    
steady  and sober it1 and its           
aberrations were wilder than the fancies
 of our  delirium4 ,the supernatural    
pretensions of mysticism have always    
been  disallowed or condemned in        
,christianity by overwhelming           
healthy-minded  majorities1 but the     
consequence of the practice of ,esoteric
 ,buddhism was  believed by all to be   
supernatural power4 ,an adept in it     
professed to  see through all ages and  
worlds1 and move through space by a     
sheer  exercise of will4 ,all the       
phenomena of modern spiritualism may    
have been  witnessed in ,india and      
,china two thousand years ago--yea1     
centuries  perhaps before ,buddha       
appeared4 ,the first pretenders to these
 mysteries  were the ,indian ,yogis and 
the medicine-men of savage and barbarous

  races4#cif ,the 8,neo-,buddhism0 and  
8,theosophy0 of to-day simply confront  
us in the cast-off yellow rags of these 
pitiful superstitions4 ,their  disciples
 attempt to warm themselves and to walk 
in the light of the  unhallowed flames  
which the deluded followers of ,bdiharma
 believed they  could kindle4 ,in       
whatever way the phenomena of           
spiritualism are to be  explained--and  
one cannot say what phenomena may emerge
 when the human  mind is abandoned to   
vacuity1 and the human will to an       
ungoverned  fancy--we may be certain    
that investigation of them will never   
disclose  the reality of benign         
supernatural power4 ,what capabilities  
may be  dormant in humanity no one can  
tell4 ,christ who redeemed us is the    
prophecy of what ,he can make us4 ,he   
had supernatural power because ,his     
being accorded perfectly with the       
,heavenly ,father's will2 but           
supernatural power as manifested by     
,christ is very different indeed from   

the ludicrous exhibitions of the        
8spiritualists40 ,christ's supernatural 
power was not manifested just in their  
ways1 and certainly not by their        
methods2 will it ever be acquired8#cig  
,it is not compatible with our space to 
trace the parallels between  ,esoteric  
,buddhism and some nineteenth-century   
forms of speculation in  which the      
finite is again seen to be going back to
 the absolute1 and the  reality of      
everything but the self is denied4 ,on  
the religious side1  however1 it is     
interesting to notice a later stage of  
it in a system  which1 originating not  
long after ,bdiharma1 took some four    
centuries to  establish itself4 ,the    
,t'ien-t'ai or ,chi-,che school differed
 from  ,biharma's theory of pure mental 
abstraction to be gained through        
complete withdrawal from all sensible   
surroundings1 in that it sought to  aid 
contemplation by sensuous exercises4    
,worship of gay idols1 music of  many   
persons chanting in unison1 postures of 

kneeling and standing1  exercises of    
continued and loud recitation1 with     
intervals of profound  silence and      
intense meditation1 were supposed to    
produce the desired  illumination4 ,it  
seemed to be the first recognition of   
feeling in the  ,buddhist religion1 and 
the first attempt to employ it to       
produce  ecstasy4 ,the same attempt has 
often been repeated in the history of   
,christianity1 sometimes in very        
grotesque and extravagant forms4 ,in    
every outburst of religious enthusiasm  
we may see rude examples of it1  but it 
is also the principle on which sthetic  
worship is generally  defended4 ,it is a
 reminder1 therefore1 to some very      
superior people1 of  our common human   
nature1 and a warning that when left to 
itself1 or  indulged1 even the sthetic1 
like all other instincts1 will just run 
the  same round of extravagance in      
manifold and ever-recurring variety4    
,the tendency in human nature to pervert
 a religion is as strongly  manifested  

in ,christianity as in ,buddhism2 but   
there is this outstanding  distinction  
between them1 that while a survey of    
,buddhism shows that  everywhere it has 
run its course1 and has exhausted its   
intellectual and  moral and spiritual   
resources1 ,christianity upon           
examination appears to  be only in an   
early stage of development4 ,in spite of
 the perversions of  the ,church1 and   
its repeated resistance to ,christian   
movements1  ,christianity has always    
produced what has condemned and         
corrected and  vanquished them4 ,it is  
the recuperative power of ,christianity 
which most  distinguishes it4 ,there is 
nothing in the history of ,buddhism     
which at  all corresponds with the      
,reformation4 ,to-day all over the world
 it is  stereotyped and unprogressive1  
whereas everywhere in ,christendom there
  is ferment of thought and stirring of 
life1 plainly indicating that  whatever 
power may claim the past1 ,christianity 
has the sure promise of  the future4    

,in ,china1 two hundred and seventy     
years ago1 originated a sect whose      
adherents1 scattered through the        
villages of the ,eastern ,provinces1 and
  belonging principally to the lower    
classes of society1 may be called       
,protestant or ,reformed ,buddhists4    
,they are described by ,dr4 ,edkins#cih 
as opposed to idolatry in all its forms1
 as having no temple1 but only  plain   
meeting-houses1 signalised with only the
 common tablet to heaven1  earth1 king1 
parents1 and teachers1 as their symbol  
of reverence4 ,their  worship consists  
not in ceremonies1 but in quiet         
meditation1 and inner  adoration of the 
all-pervading ,buddha4 ,they are called 
the 8,do-,nothing  ,sect10 not because  
they are idle1 like the ignorant inmates
 of the  monasteries--for they are      
really industrious and virtuous1--but   
because  they hold that the highest     
virtue is never intentional1 but wholly 
unconscious of self4 ,like ,m4          
,aurelius1#cii they consider that to ask

 to  be 8paid for virtue is as if the   
eye demanded a recompence for seeing40  
,in thinking of them1 the words of the  
,lord ,jesus recur to us3 8,do good1    
and lend1 hoping for nothing again40    
,george ,fox1 and the quiet and         
charitable ,society which he founded1   
and which still continues in formal     
garb his protest against all formalism  
in worshipping ,god1 not by  clamouring 
to ,him1 but in silently waiting till   
,he speaks1 seems to be  the realisation
 of what these good ,wu-wei-,kiau aspire
 to in their  religion4 ,they have not  
been able to free themselves from       
,buddhism or  ,taoism4 ,buddha1 though  
not worshipped1 is believed in by them1 
and they  have found an object of       
adoration in ,kn-mu1 the ,golden ,mother
 of the  soul1 who can protect and      
deliver from calamity1 and even save    
those  that have died from misery4 ,they
 have four principal festivals1 two of  
which celebrate the birth and death of  
,lo-tsu1 their founder4 ,on these       

occasions three small cups of tea and   
nine tiny loaves of bread are  placed on
 the tables1 according to the           
appointment of ,lo-tsu himself4 ,on     
this account they are nicknamed 8the    
,tea and ,bread ,sect40 ,they are       
strict vegetarians1 but in no other     
sense ascetics1 honouring marriage  and 
family life1 and having no monastic     
institute among them4 ,they aver  that  
one of their leaders during a           
persecution was crucified1 and their    
great hope is that the world will soon  
come to an end1 and that the  ,golden   
,mother will appear1 to take all her    
children--all who believe in  her as    
they do--home to her beautiful heaven4  
,this can hardly be called a reformation
 of ,buddhism according either to  its  
original form or its fundamental        
principles4 ,it is a departure from1    
and an immense improvement upon it1     
which is manifestly due to foreign  and 
probably ,christian influence4 ,the     
,nestorians entered ,china in the       

seventh1 and the ,jesuits in the        
sixteenth century1 while ,reformed      
,christianity only came in contact with 
,china in the present generation4  ,if  
it be denied that ,christianity helped  
to produce the ,do-,nothing ,sect1  it  
will be difficult to disprove the claim 
that1 directly or indirectly1  it has   
done much to produce the latest forms in
 which1 in ,china and  ,japan1 ,buddhism
 is now presented to the world4 ,in both
 countries  ,reformed ,buddhists are    
found differing in much from one        
another1 but  generally agreeing in     
rejecting polytheism for the worship of 
one  divinity3 in ,china1 ,kwan-yin1 who
 for long has changed sexes1 and is now 
the goddess of mercy2 in ,japan1        
,buddha1 whose attribute is ,amita1 the 
infinite4 ,one sect1 called the         
8,salvation without ,works ,sect10 has  
progressed greatly in ,japan1 under the 
title of ,shin-,shin1 8the true         
religion40 ,the worshipper renounces all
 merit1 and trusts for salvation  in    

nothing but the mercy of ,amita4#djj    
,the soul is brought into a state  of   
salvation by an act of faith1 and though
 sure of salvation1 the  faithful must  
not abandon the struggle with evil1 for 
holiness is not  the beginning1 but the 
result of salvation4 ,in ,kioti1 a      
,buddhist sect  has a college quite     
,western in its curriculum and          
arrangements4 ,there  too the ,japanese 
newspapers not only record the successes
 of able  ,buddhist preachers in        
spreading their doctrine1 and in        
founding schools1  they advertise a     
,buddhist propaganda for the conversion 
of ,europe and  ,america4 ,its only     
organ as yet is a little magazine called
 the ,bijou of  ,asia1 but it is printed
 in ,english for the enlightenment of   
all who  believe in the moribund creeds 
of the ,west1 and for the rescue        
especially of souls from the snare of   
that ,christian superstition which      
8happily all over the world is rapidly  
declining in power06    ,if this be not 

impure ,christianity1 no one will dare  
to call it pure  ,buddhism4 ,surely it  
is a hopeful indication for the future  
of ,japan1 as  being evidently a        
movement somewhat similar to that       
inaugurated in ,india  by ,rammohun     
,roy1 and greatly furthered in our days 
by ,chunder ,sen4 ,the  first professed 
to trace his reform to the ,upanishads  
rediscovered1 and  expounded1 and       
applied2 and the second to the ,vedas as
 the primitive  fountains of the faith4 
,both reformers and their work would    
have been  impossible two thousand years
 ago2 yea1 they would have been equally 
impossible to-day1 had not the ,west    
given of its thoughts to the ,east1  and
 ,christendom communicated to it        
something of its better life4 ,it is    
one thing to read the ,vedas and        
,upanishads1 as the ,rishis recited or  
the  ,brahmans expounded them long ago1 
and quite another to have them          
interpreted by natives of ,india1 around
 whose forefathers for several          

generations all the influences of       
,christian civilisation have been       
playing4 ,so is it with the reforming   
,buddhists of ,china and ,japan1 who    
have enterprise to send their sons to   
study at our ,british ,universities4    
,they are reading their old             
literature--even when rejecting our     
systems of  belief--with minds          
unconsciously saturated with ,christian 
intelligence1  and no doubt they often  
find there what the ,gospel has put in  
themselves4    ,we may rest assured that
 the reform of the ,oriental religions  
will only  be effected by the infusion  
into them of the spirit of              
,christianity4 ,a  higher religion      
meeting them as ,christianity does1 may 
not supplant or  destroy them1 but it   
will revive and transform them4 ,it will
 destroy  much that is false1 correct   
much that is wrong1 supply all they     
lack1  and so in the end annul them4    
,the product will not likely be a       
facsimile  of any of the ,churches of   

,christendom4 ,it may be a religion in  
which  ,buddha and the great teachers of
 his system will be lifted to their     
places among the prophets who1 8since   
the world began10 unconsciously         
testified1 by their errors as well as by
 their truths1 by their failures  as    
well as by their successes1 to the      
,mystery to be revealed4 ,the fact  that
 in ,buddhism the object of worship is  
not the ,buddha that was1 but  ,mitrya  
who is to be1 is a pathetic confession  
that its ,messiah has yet  to come4     
,though ,buddha did not proclaim ,his   
coming1 the result of his  mission bears
 witness to the need of ,him4 ,so he was
 a lawgiver preparing  the way for      
,moses1 even as ,moses prepared the way 
for the ,baptist1 and  as the ,baptist  
heralded the ,christ of ,god4 ,could his
 voice reach down  to-day from 8the     
quiet shore0 to the millions who have   
taken hold of him  in hope of finding   
deliverance from the miseries and       
perplexities of  this sinful world1 it  

would be to repeat a testimony once     
heard on  ,jordan's banks from him than 
whom no one born of woman was greater3  
8,there standeth ,one among you whom ye 
know not1 the latchet of whose  shoes ,i
 am not worthy to unloose40    ,footnote
 #cai3      ,mahparanibhna ,sutta1 ii4  
#cc4 #ce4    ,footnote #cbj3      #a    
,corinthians xiv4    ,footnote #cba3    
8,das ,christenthum ist das             
allervernderlichste2 das ist sein       
besonderer ,ruhm40--,rothe1 ,stille     
,stunden1 p4 #ceg4    ,footnote #cbb3   
,acts xxviii4 #ac2 ,rom4 xv4 #bd2 #b    
,tim4 iv4 #aj2 #a ,peter i4 #a4         
,footnote #cbc3      ,greg4 ,nyss4 ,op4 
iii4 #egd4    ,footnote #cbd3           
,keim1 ,rom und ,christenthum1 p4 #dag4 
,footnote #cbe3      ,uhlhorn1 ,conflict
 of ,christianity1 pp4 #ed1 #ij4        
,footnote #cbf3      ,neander1 ,church  
,history1 vol4 i4 pp4 #aj1 #dj4         
,footnote #cbg3      ,orig4 cont4 ,cels4
 iii4 #dd-ed2 ,tatian1 c4 #cc2 ,minut4  
,felix1 ,octav4    #h4 #ab2 ,tertull4   

,apolog4 #cg et passim4    ,footnote    
#cbh3      ,newman1 ,grammar of ,assent1
 pp4 #dfj seq4    ,footnote #cbi3       
,kullavagga1 iv4 #ad4 #be2 also ibid4   
vii4 #a4 #e2 ,sacred ,books of the      
,east1 vol4 xx4    ,footnote #ccj3      
,e4 ,burnouf1 ,science of ,religions1 p4
 #bhh1 notes the analogy between        
,pryadarsi and 8a man greatly beloved0  
in ,daniel ix4 #bc4    ,footnote #cca3  
,see ,lotus de la bonne ,loi1 ,app4 x4  
p4 #fei seq43 ,prinsep's trans41        
,jour4 ,asiat4 ,soc4 ,beng4 vol4 vii4   
pp4 #bai seq42 ,prof4 ,h4 ,h4           
,wilson's1 vol4 xii4 of ,jour4 ,asiat4  
,soc4 ,beng4 pp4 #aec seq4    ,footnote 
#ccb3      ,wheeler1 ,history of ,india1
 vol4 iii4 p4 #bad4    ,footnote #ccc3  
,t4 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids1 ,handbook of     
,buddhism1 p4 #bbe4    ,footnote #ccd3  
,dipavamso1 chap4 viii4    ,footnote    
#cce3      ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids1       
,handbook of ,buddhism1 p4 #bei4        
,footnote #ccf3      ,buddhist ,records 
of the ,western ,world1 trans4 by ,prof4

 ,beal1 vol4    i42 ,fo-,kwo-ki1 chap4  
xxii4 p4 xlix1 vol4 ii2 ,hiuen ,tsiang1 
,b4 vi4 pp4    #ac1 #ad4    ,footnote   
#ccg3      ,lassen1 ,indische ,alterth4 
vol4 ii4 p4 #ajgh2 vol4 iv4 p4 #gda4    
,footnote #cch3      ,dr4 ,beal1        
,buddhism in ,china1 p4 #fa2 ,dr4       
,edkins1 ,chinese ,buddhism1            
,preface1 p4 i4    ,footnote #cci3      
,buddhism in ,tibet1 ,e4 ,schlagintweit1
 pp4 #fa-ge4    ,footnote #cdj3         
,comparative ,progress of ,ancient and  
,modern ,missions4    ,footnote #cda3   
,dr4 ,maclear1 ,gradual ,conversion of  
,europe1 pp4 #f-ab4    ,footnote #cdb3  
,nouveau ,journ4 ,asiat4 pp4 #ajf1 #acg1
 #aci4    ,footnote #cdc3      ,dr4     
,edkins1 ,chinese ,buddhism1 pp4 #hd1   
#bjg4    ,footnote #cdd3      8,it may  
be safely asserted that no ,aryan race1 
while existing in    anything like      
purity1 was ever converted to ,buddhism1
 or could    permanently adopt its      
doctrines40--,fergusson1 ,tree and      
,serpent    ,worship1 p4 #fg4 ,the old  

,turanian race1 far from being savage1  
or even    barbarous1 not only laid the 
basis of ,chinese civilisation1 but     
seems    to have been also the first    
civiliser of ,western ,asia1 and the    
first    to spread art and science along
 the southern coasts of ,europe4 ,the   
,iberian1 ,etruscan1 ,phnician1         
,hittite1 even ,egyptian monuments1 are 
now acknowledged to be relics of this   
mighty race1 which must have    sent    
horde after horde over ,asia and ,europe
 long before the historic    advance    
westwards in the thirteenth century     
,a4,d42 its latest invasion    of ,india
 may have been represented1 not by      
,scythian ancestors of    ,buddha1 but  
the ,sikhs4--,conder1 8,early ,races of 
,western ,asia10 ,journ4    ,anthrop4   
,inst4 ,august #ahhi1 pp4 #cj-dc4       
,footnote #cde3      ,sir ,monier       
,williams1 ,buddhism1 ,introduction2    
,eitel1 ,lectures on    ,buddhism4      
,footnote #cdf3      ,sir ,monier       
,williams1 ,buddhism1 pp4 #aad1 #aef4   

,footnote #cdg3      ,wassilief1 ,le    
,bouddhisme1 etc41 pp4 #ad1 #ah4        
,footnote #cdh3      ,dvadatta's ,five  
,points 7,kullavagga1 vii4 #c4 #ad1 #ae7
 all insist upon a    more ascetic rule 
than the ,sangha practised4    ,footnote
 #cdi3      ,stanley1 ,eastern ,church1 
pp4 #de1 #ej4    ,footnote #cej3        
,turnour1 8,pali ,bud4 ,annals10 ,journ4
 ,asiat4 ,soc4 ,beng4 vol4 vi4 p4       
#gbi2 ,wassilief1 ,le ,bouddhisme1 etc41
 p4 #ah4    ,footnote #cea3      ,the   
beginning of the dissensions is related 
in ,kullavagga vii4 with    much        
legendary adornment4 ,there too1 in vii4
 #e1 and in ,mahavagga1 x4    #a4 #f1   
the distinction is drawn between        
8dissension0 and 8schism10 and    the   
woe predicted for the breaker-up of the 
,sangha when it was at    peace3 8,he is
 boiled for a kalpa in ,niraya1 doomed  
for so long to a    penance of misery40 
,the reconciler of a divided ,sangha was
 made happy    for a kalpa in heaven4   
,footnote #ceb3      ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys      

,davids1 ,handbook of ,buddhism1 p4     
#ahb4    ,footnote #cec3      ,beal1    
,chinese ,buddhism1 p4 #aja3 8a worship 
of association and    memory40          
,footnote #ced3      ,agni4 ,indra1     
,srya2 ,kern1 ,buddhismus1 vol4 ii4 p4  
#aef2 ,sir ,monier    ,williams1        
,buddhism1 p4 #age4    ,footnote #cee3  
8,a being whose essence 7sattva7 has    
become intelligence 7bodhu7    derived  
from self-enlightening intellect1 and   
who has only once more    to pass       
through human existence before attaining
 ,buddhahood40--,eitel1                 
,sanskrit-,chinese ,dict41 p4 #bf2 ,sir 
,monier ,williams' ,buddhism1 p4    #ih4
    ,footnote #cef3      ,wassilief1 ,le
 ,bouddhisme1 etc41 pp4 #abd seq42      
,burnouf1 ,le ,lotus    de la bonne     
,loi1 p4 #cjb4    ,footnote #ceg3       
,ngrdjuna1 the ,nagasna of the          
,milindipanha1 was the chief            
representative1 if not founder1 of one  
of the ,mahyna ,schools4 ,he has    been
 regarded as a mythical personage1 and  

the name has been supposed    to be the 
generic one of various authors and      
doctors of the system4    ,for an       
account of ,hinyna and ,mahyna doctrine1
 with its    subdivisions1 see          
,wassilief1 ,le ,bouddhisme1 etc41 pp4  
#i seq41 #aah    seq42 ,schlagintweit1  
,buddhism in ,tibet1 pp4 #ai-eg4 ,nlanda
 must    have been a very important     
centre in ,buddhist times4--,fergusson1 
,tree    and ,serpent ,worship1 p4 #gi4 
,footnote #ceh3      ,dr4 ,edkins says  
about #aij ,a4,d4    ,footnote #cei3    
,burnouf1 ,introd4  l'histoire du ,bud4 
,ind4 vol4 i4 pp4 #bbj1 #bbd    7,paris1
 #ahdd72 also ,burnouf1 ,le ,lotus de la
 bonne ,loi1 chap4 xxiv4    pp4         
#bfa-bfh2 also ,appendix ,,iii4 pp4     
#dih-eaa 7,paris1 #aheb74    ,footnote  
#cfj3      ,mller1 ,gifford ,lectures1  
,natural ,religion1 p4 #edc2 ,dr4 ,beal1
    ,buddhism in ,china1 p4 #abc2 ,sir  
,monier ,williams1 ,buddhism1 p4 #aie4  
,footnote #cfa3      ,hodgson1          
,illustrations of the ,literature and   

,religion of the    ,buddhists1 p4 #cj2 
,burnouf1 ,introduction1 etc41 pp4      
#aaf-aba2 also in    note at p4 #aah1   
quoting ,hodgson4    ,footnote #cfb3    
,though strong affinities exist between 
,gnosticism and ,buddhism1 which    may 
indicate later connection1 in their     
origin they appear to have    been quite
 distinct4 ,the methods1 aims1 and      
terminology of ,gnosticism1    all      
betoken derivation from purely ,western 
sources4 ,it is quite    possible that  
,gnosticism may have given ,adi-,buddha 
to the ,east1 but    the question of    
their relations is still undetermined4  
,see ,weber1    ,hist4 ,ind4 ,lit4 p4   
#cji2 ,obry's ,nirvana1 etc41 p4 #afa2  
,bishop    ,lightfoot1 ,essay on the    
,essenes 7,epistle to ,colossians71 p4  
#aeg2    ,home and ,foreign ,review1    
vol4 iii4 pp4 #adc seq4 7#ahfc74        
,footnote #cfc3      ,sir ,monier       
,williams1 ,buddhism1 p4 #bjc2 ,dr4     
,beal1 ,chinese ,buddhism1    p4 #abh2  
,dr4 ,eitel1 ,lectures1 p4 #ih4         

,footnote #cfd3      ,kullavagga1 v4    
#ba4 #d2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1   
vol4 xx4    ,footnote #cfe3             
,introd4  vi4 p4 #eeh3 8,la plume se    
refuse  transcrire des doctrines        
aussi misrables quant  la forme1        
qu'odieuses et dgradantes pour le       
fond40    ,footnote #cff3      ryasanga1
 founder of the ,ygacharya or           
contemplative system of    ,mahyna      
7circa #djj ,a4,d474 ,for an account of 
his doctrine1 see    ,wassilief1 ,le    
,boudd4 pp4 #bhh seq41 and              
,schlagintweit1 ,bud4 in    ,tibet1 pp4 
#ci seq41 #df seq42 ,rhys ,davids1      
,buddhism1 p4 #bjg    seq4    ,footnote 
#cfg3      ,a writer in the ,nineteenth 
,century1 ,october #ahhi1 professes to  
describe the testimony of the only      
reporter who has written of ,lhsa       
since ,huc and ,gabet were expelled from
 it forty-five years ago4    ,according 
to this witness1 the ,church is now     
actually in grip of the    ,state1      
though nominally dominant4 ,of five     

members of the ,council of    the ,grand
 ,lama four are laymen1 superior        
military officers1 with the    ,regent  
at their head4 ,till the ,grand ,lama is
 eighteen years of age1    the ,regent  
is supreme1 and for sixty years1 not a  
single ,grand ,lama1    chosen as an    
infant1 has survived his eighteenth     
birthday66    ,footnote #cfh3           
,buddhism1 however1 introduced into     
,tibet the benefits of the art of       
writing1 the reduction of its language  
to an alphabet1 and grammar2    and not 
only the sacred literature represented  
by the collection of    the ,kandjur1   
but the very miscellaneous literature of
 the ,tandjur4    ,several of its       
,buddhist missionaries and the kings who
 favoured them    were really great men4
 ,kublai ,khan and the first ,lamistic  
,pope    ,phags-pa1 #abei-id1 rendered  
lasting service to the cause of         
civilisation4 ,see ,kppen's ,die        
,lamaische ,hierarchie und ,kirche1     
being vol4 ii4 of his celebrated and    

most laborious work1 ,die    ,religion  
des ,buddha2 ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids1     
,art4 ,,lamaism1 ,encyc4 ,brit4    vol4 
xiv42 ,sir ,monier ,williams1 ,buddhism1
 pp4 #bfb-cjb4    ,footnote #cfi3       
,the most recent and reliable           
information as to this perverted form of
    ,buddhism--if it is to be called    
,buddhism1 for it seems to be no more   
,buddhism than ,vandoux worship can be  
called ,christianity--will be found     
in the works of ,t4 ,w4 ,rhys ,davids2  
,sir ,monier ,williams1 ,buddhism2      
,babu ,sarat ,chunder ,das1 8,religious 
,hist4 of ,thibet10 ,journ4 ,asiat4     
,soc4 ,beng4 #ahha2 ,life and ,works of 
,alex4 ,csoma de ,koros1 ,th4 ,duka1    
,lond4 #ahhe2 ,e4 ,colborne ,baber1     
,travels and ,researches in ,western    
,china2 ,bushell's 8,hist4 of ,thibet10 
,journ4 ,r4,a4,s4 vol4 xii4    #ahgh-gi4
    ,footnote #cgj3      ,an invocation 
of ,avalkits'vara1 who is believed to   
have delivered it    to the             
,tibetans4--,klaproth1 ,fragments       

,bouddhiques1 p4 #bg2 ,hodgson1         
,illustrations1 p4 #aga2 ,charles       
,loring ,brace1 ,gesta ,christi1 p4     
#dee4    ,footnote #cga3                
,schlagintweit1 ,buddhism in ,tibet1 pp4
 #bbg-bgb4    ,footnote #cgb3           
,chinese ,review1 vol4 xi4 p4 #afb2     
,beal1 ,buddhism in ,china1 p4 #bcc4    
,footnote #cgc3      ,once when a       
heathen asked ,hillel to show him the   
whole ,jewish religion    in a few      
words1 he replied1 8,do not unto others 
what thou wouldst not    should be done 
unto thee40 ,kuenen's ,religion of      
,israel1 p4 #bdc    7quotes ,talmud1    
,sabbath1 #ca a47    ,footnote #cgd3    
,see ,isaiah xxxii4 #e1 #f4 ,socrates   
says in ,phaedo1 8to use words          
wrongly and indefinitely is not merely  
an error in itself2 it also    creates  
evil in the soul40 ,a vast amount of    
mischief is done by the                 
misapplication of good adjectives to bad
 subjects4 ,all true reformers1    with 
,confucius1 labour for a rectification  

of names4    ,footnote #cge3      ,shu  
,king1 ,shi ,king1 ,pref4 and ,introd4  
pp4 #a-bg1 by ,dr4 ,legge2 ,sacred      
,books of the ,east1 vol4 iii4          
,footnote #cgf3      ,mmoire sur la ,vie
 et les ,opinions de ,lao-tsze4         
,footnote #cgg3      ,translation of the
 ,to-teh-,king1 under the title1 ,le    
,livre de la ,voie    et de la ,vertu4  
,footnote #cgh3      1 ,prof4 ,douglas1 
,confucianism and ,taoism1 p4 #ahi4     
,footnote #cgi3      ,it is very        
interesting to find1 so long before     
,christianity1 and so    far from its   
cradle1 this fundamental rule in        
,christian morals4 ,in the    ,book of  
,proverbs its enunciation may have      
preceded that in the    ,tao-teh-,king  
in point of time2 but its being uttered 
at the end of the    world1 along with  
the 8golden rule0 of ,confucius1 prove  
how    essentially one are the moral    
instincts of humanity4    ,footnote     
#chj3      ,dr4 ,legge's ,preface to    
vol4 iii4 of ,sacred ,books of the      

,east1 p4    xxi2 also ,art4            
,,lao-,,tsze1 ,encyc4 ,brit4 vol4 xiv4  
,footnote #cha3      ,dr4 ,edkins1      
,chinese ,buddhism1 pp4 #abh1 #bjb2     
,beal1 ,introduction to    ,fa-,hian1 p4
 #bg4    ,footnote #chb3      ,douglas1 
,confucianism1 p4 #hd2 ,beal1 ,buddhism 
in ,china1 p4 #bce2    ,edkins1 ,chinese
 ,buddhism1 p4 #ccc4    ,footnote #chc3 
,in the whole range of the ,catacombs no
 crucifix1 and only very few    crosses 
have been found1 and these generally in 
a disguised form4 ,the    communion of  
the early ,church was with ,christ risen
 and triumphant2 it    was only when the
 spirit and fervour of worship declined 
that it made    so much of the          
crucifixion4--,northcote and ,brownlow's
 ,abridgment of ,de    ,rossi's ,roma   
,sotterranea2 ,smith and ,cheetham1     
,dict4 of ,christian    ,antiq41 ,art4  
,,catacombs1 pp4 #bid seq42 ,witherow1  
,catacombs1 pp4    #bfj1 #bha4          
,footnote #chd3      ,the efficiency of 
relic-worship may be said to have been  

established    as early as the fourth   
century4 ,julian compares the churches  
to whited    sepulchres1 full of dead   
men's bones4 ,development of            
image-worship    proceeded pari passu   
with the erection of fine churches and  
their    adornment with painting and    
sculpture4 ,there were all along strong 
protests from individual bishops1 and   
even prohibitions by ,councils1    but  
the fashion was too strong for their    
fulminations4 ,even in the    eighth    
century the iconoclastic reformation of 
,leo the ,isaurian was    too late4 ,his
 zeal1 moreover1 was wrongly directed4  
,he assailed high    art1 and condemned 
only the truly fine paintings1 sparing  
the ruder    and more ancient           
productions1 and leaving untouched the  
worship of and    disgraceful traffic in
 relics1 real and spurious4 ,it is not  
to be    wondered at that in opposition 
to all this ,gregory in the ,west became
    the champion of art as an aid to    
devotion4--,milman1 ,lat4               

,christianity1 vol4 ii4 p4 #aeb4        
,footnote #che3      ,in protesting     
against the ,mass1 the ,reformed        
,churches maintain the    universal     
priesthood1 and therefore perpetual     
sacrifice1 of the    visible ,church4   
,as ,christ's witness on earth1 the     
,church must be    always offering      
itself1 in thanksgiving for its own     
redemption1 for    the salvation of the 
world4    ,footnote #chf3               
,fergusson1 ,tree and ,serpent ,worship1
 p4 #fg2 ,cunningham1 ,bhilsa    ,topes1
 p4 #acj4    ,footnote #chg3      ,dr4  
,edkins1 ,chinese ,buddhism1 p4 #abf2   
,judges vi4 #ca4    ,footnote #chh3     
,originally called ,bdhitara1 but       
renamed by his teacher ,payantara1 in   
token of his religious 8insight40 ,he is
 said to have brought to ,china    the  
famous alms-bowl1 which all the ,buddhas
 of the ,kalpa have used1    and will   
use1 and whose final disappearance will 
indicate that the    religion is about  
to perish4 ,thus ,buddhism has also its 

,san ,greal4    ,bdiharma is called the 
8wall-gazing ,brahman10 though a        
,kshatrya1    because on his arrival in 
,china he spent nine years in silent    
meditation4--,eitel1 ,sanskrit ,chinese 
,dict4 p4 #bd4    ,footnote #chi3       
,dr4 ,edkins1 ,chinese ,buddhism1 p4    
#acj4    ,footnote #cij3      ,men who  
have in vain sought ,god without have   
happily found ,him in the    witness of 
their own conscience and affection1 but 
generally they who    conceitedly reject
 the revelation without them only       
obscure the seeing    faculty within4   
8,when mysticism threw off external     
authority it went    mad1 as in the     
revolutionary pantheism of the ,middle  
,ages4 ,when it    incorporated itself  
more and more in revealed truth1 it     
became a    benign power--as on the eve 
of the ,reformation40--,vaughan1 ,hours 
with    the ,mystics1 vol4 ii4 p4 #cef4 
,footnote #cia3      8,mysticism10 ,a4  
,seth1 ,encyc4 ,brit4 vol4 xvii4 pp4    
#abi-acf4    ,footnote #cib3            

,correctly so1 if we are to judge of    
,mysticism even from its purest         
phases and its best representatives1    
e4g4 the ,quietism of ,madame    ,guyon1
 the ,spiritualism of ,swedenborg1 the  
,romanticism of ,f4 von    ,hardenberg1 
better known as ,novalis4 ,even on its  
speculative or    philosophical side1 it
 would not be difficult to cull from the
    writings of the ,cambridge          
,platonists1 and the ,idealists of      
,europe and    ,america1 extracts       
equivalent to the aphorisms of ,novalis1
 that 8action    is morbid10 8to dream  
is to overcome10 that 8the soul must    
abandon the    actual world if it would 
discover in the recesses of the mystic  
night    the ,queen of ,heaven1 ,eternal
 ,beauty40--,hymns to ,night1           
,schriften1    vol4 ii4 p4 #aeh4        
,footnote #cic3      ,ptimokkha2 ,prgik 
,dhamm1 #c2 ,sacred ,books of the ,east1
 vol4 xiii4    ,footnote #cid3          
,beal1 ,introduction to ,fa-,hian1 p4   
#db4 ,in an important aspect the        

perversion of ,christianity was worse   
than that of ,buddhism4 ,the            
,buddhist ascetics1 though merciless to 
themselves1 never tortured    their     
vanquished opponents4 ,there is no      
parallel to the ,romish    ,inquisition 
and some ,protestant atrocities in any  
of the annals of    ,buddhism4          
,footnote #cie3        1 #a ,tim4 iv4   
#h4    ,footnote #cif3      ,tylor1     
,primitive ,culture1 vol4 i4 p4 #ddj4   
,footnote #cig3      8,vient enfin le   
mysticisme de la dernire poque1 qui1 de 
mme que    tous les mysticismes1 finit  
de la manire la plus misrable1 et       
enfante une idoltrie grossire1 ainsi que
 les stupides pratiques de    la        
sorcellerie0 7,laboulaye1 ,introd4 to   
,la ,comme's transl4 of    ,wassilief's 
,buddhism1 p4 xlv74 ,this has often been
 verified in the    religious history of
 the ,west1 and the fate of many former 
8spiritual0    aspirants to enter or to 
peer into the ,invisible and            
,unutterable    should be a powerful    

warning to all who are now aiming at    
surpassing    the natural conditions of 
existence4 ,in endeavouring to transcend
    humanity1 we are likely to fall     
miserably below it4    ,footnote #cih3  
,chinese ,buddhism1 pp4 #cgj-cgi4       
,footnote #cii3      ,also ,seneca3 8,we
 do not love virtue because it gives us 
pleasure1 but    it gives us pleasure   
because we love it40--,de ,vit4 ,beat4  
c4 ix4 8,in    doing good man should be 
like the vine1 producing grapes1 and    
asking    for nothing in having done    
so40--,m4 ,aurel4 v4 #f and ix4 #db4    
,footnote #djj3      ,herzog1 ,encyclop4
 7,schaff71 vol4 i4 p4 #ccd4            
,,postscript4      ,in endeavouring to  
perform the very honourable task        
assigned to me1 ,i  have had to contend 
all along with the difficulty of        
comprising in six  what would require   
many more lectures properly to relate4  
,much which was  actually prepared ,i   
have been forced to omit1 consoling     
myself with the  thought that1 after    

all1 ,i had simply to lecture and not to
 write a  compendious treatise1 and that
 it was my business to sketch as        
truthfully as ,i could what it was      
simply impossible1 within the limits    
prescribed1 adequately to depict4 ,it   
was originally my intention to give  in 
parallel quotations the alleged         
similarities between the contents of    
the ,pitakas and the ,new ,testament1   
but the conditions of time and space    
compelled me to be content with         
references to specimens of them in the  
,sacred ,books of the ,east1 from which 
any ordinary ,english reader may  be    
able to form a judgment concerning them4
 ,moreover1 when well on with  the work1
 ,i discovered that a much more thorough
 examination of  ,professor ,seydel's   
,buddhist-,christian ,harmony than ,i   
could profess to  make had already been 
published by ,professor ,kellogg of     
,allegheny1 ,u4,s41  in his book on the 
,light of ,asia and the ,light of the   
,world4 ,an ,indian  missionary of      

eleven years' experience1 and the author
 of an excellent  ,grammar of the ,hindi
 language1 can write upon this subject1 
not only  with greater authority1 but to
 much better purpose1 than one who only 
knows ,indian books through the medium  
of ,european translations1 and who  has 
not seldom been compelled to take on    
trust what he felt strongly  inclined to
 question4 ,if ,dr4 ,kellogg's book is  
not extensively read in  this country1  
it certainly deserves to be4    ,our    
sketch has been confined to ,buddhism as
 a religion and as an ethical  system4  
,the philosophy which has grown out of  
it1 and especially the  psychology which
 lies at the base of its original       
dogmas1 would require  a large volume to
 expound4 ,a great field is open here   
for those who have  the ability and the 
leisure to cultivate it2 and though good
 work has  already been done in it1 we  
may be convinced that1 until this       
psychology  has been more thoroughly    
investigated1 we must continue in       

uncertainty  as to what original        
,buddhism was4 ,though much has been    
written upon the  origin and growth of  
,buddhism1 the first authoritative words
 are only  now beginning to be spoken by
 the learned translators of the ,pali   
texts2  and though they have dispelled  
illusions and corrected false           
impressions  not a few1 we cannot affirm
 that there is a strong consensus of    
opinion  among them as to the life and  
teaching of the founder of ,buddhism4   
,one  is greatly impressed by the modest
 hesitation with which they have        
presented their views1 but this very    
diffidence makes one fear that we  may  
be attributing to ,buddha sayings which 
he never uttered1 or that we  have drawn
 from them inferences which he would    
have disowned4    ,in working out a     
sketch like this1 the temptation        
constantly besetting  one is to compare 
or contrast actual ,buddhism with ideal 
,christianity4    ,i have endeavoured to
 bear in mind that our modern religion  

may in many  features grossly           
misrepresent that of its ,divine        
,author1 and1 indeed1  that             
8,christianity has all along been much  
embarrassed in being obliged  to        
apologise for ,christendom40#dja ,in    
like manner ,i have tried to make  plain
 the great distinction between the      
original system of ,buddha and  that    
which very soon came to be known by his 
name4 ,an ,oriental will  certainly     
misjudge ,christianity if he derives his
 knowledge of it from  medival theology 
or from some nineteenth-century sermons2
 and we may  unconsciously commit the   
same mistake in ascribing to the        
primitive  dogmas the interpretation put
 upon them by its later schools4#djb ,i 
have read several books in which this   
mistake was flagrant1 and ,i should  be 
extremely sorry to follow their bad     
example4 ,in the present state of  our  
knowledge1 however1 and until the       
earliest texts have been  accurately    
ascertained1 and sifted1 and classified1

 this1 to a certain  extent1 is         
inevitable1 and therefore excusable4 ,if
 ,i have failed in my  attempt to       
portray accurately even the salient     
features of this great  religion1 it has
 been from no desire to caricature it4  
,the days have  surely passed when it   
could be said that we were 8too         
infatuated by a  sense of the           
superiority of our own to make a fair   
survey of other  religions40#djc ,it is 
our duty1 and it will be for our        
interest1 to do  justice to them1 and1  
instead of being content with the       
schoolboy's  endeavour to prove them    
false1 we should seek carefully among   
the ruins  of the most degraded of them 
for all the elements of truth we can    
discover4 ,it is in this direction that 
we must proceed if we would find  solid 
foundations for a true ,christian       
theology1 and the more we address       
ourselves to the work the more likely   
shall we be to convince the ,church  of 
the proper value of the ,faith deposited

 in its keeping1 and to rouse  it to    
realise its destiny and fulfil its      
glorious mission to the world4    ,in   
correcting these sheets for the press1  
,i have often been sensible of  my great
 obligations to a very highly valued    
personal friend1 whose  goodness was as 
remarkable as his learning4 ,may ,i be  
forgiven if1 in  gratitude for his kind 
and generous help in these very studies1
 given  now long ago1 ,i desire to keep 
alive the memory of this justly esteemed
  ,sanskrit scholar1 by adding this     
little stone to his cairn1 and adorning 
my book with the name of ,dr4 ,john     
,muir4    ,footnote #dja3      ,eternal 
,atonement1 by ,dr4 ,r4 ,d4 ,hitchcock1 
p4 #aeg4    ,footnote #djb3      ,t4 ,w4
 ,rhys ,davids1 ,hibbert ,lectures1 p4  
#aif4    ,footnote #djc3      ,quinet1  
,le ,gnie des ,religions1 p4 #ac4       
,printed by ,t4 and ,a4 ,,constable1    
,printers to ,her ,majesty1 at the      
,edinburgh ,university ,press4          
,transcriber's ,notes3       ,text that 

was in italics is enclosed by           
underscores 7italics74       ,footnotes 
have been moved to follow the lectures  
in which they are        referenced4