334 EETIEEMENT, TO 1897 : OF BOOKS, ETC. 



To the Same 



Dec. 18, 1893. 



Lillie's Buddhist books are most curious, but very badly 

 written — full of valuable suggestions. I cannot understand 

 the Church ignoring the teaching of the Buddhists, and 

 overlooking the startling fact, that it has taken over all 

 the Buddhist worship, vestments, appointments, litany, 

 orders of priesthood, nunneries and convents, &c, &c. 

 en bloc. The history of all this was no doubt burnt at 

 Alexandria. Some of it may turn up in Papyri yet. The 

 dark ages were indeed dark when so pregnant a fact was 

 disregarded or burked. Did the Christians absorb all of 

 Buddhism but Buddha and his miracles, or did the Bud- 

 dhists turn Christians en bloc, retaining their ceremonial ? 

 and when did it happen ? it could only be where many of 

 both were massed together — Alexandria ? Borne ? Con- 

 stantinople ? I can understand the conversion of a Buddhist 

 Lamasery and Seminary to Christianity, for the Buddhists 

 were not bigots, and I can understand the Christians (who 

 everywhere allowed and winked at a great deal of idolatrous 

 practice amongst their early converts) being dazzled by 

 the pomps of the Buddhist church and adopting them. 

 Both were ascetics, and both preached holy lives and good 

 will to all men, &c, &c, &c. Both had hazy inchoate 

 ideas of a future state and a Godhead — had community 

 of goods and so forth, but whilst one had a ceremonial, 

 &c, the other had none. It would have taken ages for the 

 Christians to have evolved and established the ritual, &c, 

 which the Buddhists had used for 600 years or so. 



A very similar subject recurs a little later. 

 To the Same 



April 23, 1894. 



I should very much like to see the notice to which you 

 allude of the Jesus in Tibet. I never heard of it. Theo- 

 retically it is likely enough, for I have often asked myself 

 what were the antecedents of Jesus' late life, and why 

 so short a time was spent in his preaching and teaching. 

 Was he not supposed to be eetat. 30 when he was baptized ? 

 On the other hand, it is difficult to suppose that had he 



