APPENDIX. Ixxix 



former being common (though, of course, in more or less different senses) to all the 

 various schools of the latter — and, lastly, owing to our present ignorance how far and 

 in what sense the followers of these diverse speculative systems adopted the whole of that 

 which has come down to us as the practical religious system of the Buddhas, it becomes a 

 very nice and arduous task to estimate, with any degree of correctness, the meaning 

 of such detached statements as are presented to us, either by personal communication 

 with these religionists, or by reference (any thing but complete) to their voluminous 

 written authorities. 



From such sources, however, I shall now attempt an elucidation, in the shape of notes, 

 of such parts of my Buddha friend's sketch as seem to me to need it, and lie within the 

 compass of my own information and ability. 



Alterations in the Notes appended to the Sketch. 

 (For Note 1, substitute what follows. J 



(1.) Here a sentence is quoted from the Sambha Purana; and it was at first my inten- 

 tion to have retained the original Sanscrit of the passage, cited from sacred authority, in 

 this as in several subsequent instances. Upon reflection, however, I believe it will be 

 better to omit these citations altogether, which are of very various, and often (as I have 

 proved) of very doubtful authority or accuracy ; and to endeavour to illustrate the state- 

 ments of my friend by some remarks which my own more recent investigations have 

 enabled me to make. 



The Sambha or Swoyambha Purdna is a local work peculiar to Nipal ; but many 

 other Buddha scriptures, which are not local and are of high authority, symbolize the 

 ruling powers of nature by the letters of the alphabet ; — and some of those scriptures 

 (chiefly perhaps such as are of an Aishwarika tendency) ascribe the pre-eminence among 

 these letters to A, U, and M, forming the mystic word Aum, which would appear to be 

 not less reverenced by Bauddhas than by Brahmanists. The invocation of the Tri Ratna, 

 or Triad (" namah Buddhaiya, namah Dharmaiva, namah Sangaiya") is so popular 

 and prevalent with the Bauddhas that one might almost be justified in calling it their 

 confession of faith. 



A, the Bauddhas say, is the "vija mantra" of the person (surir) Buddha;— U, the 

 " vija mantra" of the person Dharma; — and M, that of the person Sanga; and these 

 three persons form the Buddhist Triad : — a Triad consisting not merely of the attributes 

 of a first cause or causes, nor (as has been supposed) of abstract moral qualities, — but of 

 persons ; at least of mythological persons. 



The Bauddhas, however, differ in their conceptions both of the relative rank and of the 

 positivecharacter of the two first of these three persons; as indeed they do upon many 

 other points of their mythology, owing to their philosophical differences. In this place I 

 can only observe, in regard to the Triad, that, according to the Aishwarikas, Buddha is 

 an immaterial principle, ("bodhan atmika iti Buddha ") the active agent in creation, and 

 the ^r«( member of the Triad: Dharma, a material principle ( " dhdran atmiha iti 

 DharTna"), the passive agent in creation, and the second member of the Triad ; Sanga, a 



