1 70 BUDDlirSM. 



BuddhiKm is now the chief leht^ion in Ceylon 

 Previous to its introduction in tlie third century B.C.,. 

 the aboriginals of the island worshipped demons and 

 serpents, and even recently consecrated serpents have- 

 been found in some of their tenijjles. According' to 

 mythological records, the ninth incarnation of the Hindu 

 god Vishnu was a white elephant, which became 

 Buddha, and a tenth incarnation is still expected by 

 his followei-s in Burmah and Siam. This is likewise 

 to be a white elephant, meaning a return of Buddha ;; 

 hence the great veneration this animal is held in by 

 the people of those countries, where he is lodged in a 

 royal pavilion. 



Historically, however. Buddhism rests upon the 

 Tripitaka, or Three Baskets — three collections of 

 writings transmitted in the Pali dialect. The first is 

 called Soutras, or Discourses of Buddha ; the second,. 

 Vinaya, or Discipline of the Monastic Orders ; and the 

 third, Dharma, Beligion or Contemplation for the Laity. 

 Fi'om these we learn that Gotama, or Buddha, was. 

 born at Patalipatra, on the confines of Nepaul, in B.C. 

 623, and died in B.C. 543 at Kusinagara, in Oude. 

 He came into the world to reform the Hindu religion ; 

 his mission was to purify the people from idolatry and 

 caste, and to teach a code of austere morality, a life of 

 virtue and charity. He strictly forbade the taking of 



