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traditio ; but the meaning of a word is determined by its 

 usage, and not merely by its derivation, and pdramita was 

 used to indicate the transcendent, not the traditional. The 

 ]jdramitas were the virtues practised by the Bodhisat, 

 so called because they were held to be transcendent, or 

 perfections. 



7. By false and superficial reasoning of the kind I have 

 mentioned, — and further instances might be very greatly 

 multiplied, as that Buddha was born of a virgin, of which no 

 thought is breathed in the early notices of his birth : that 

 there is some mysterious connexion between the name of his 

 mother Maya, and the name of Mary, the mother of Jesus : 

 that, as Burnouf states, the elements of the legend of Christ 

 are to be found even in the Vedas, and that the Vedic Agni is 

 to be identified with the Christian Agnus : that Chinst him- 

 self travelled to the far East, a pure assumption : that the 

 doctrine of a Messiah can be shown to have been introduced 

 into Judaism from the East, which it cannot : that the birth 

 of Buddha was attended by miracles, which is an addition to 

 the story in after ages : that Buddha taught the great doc- 

 trine of " vicarious suffering,^' of which there is nothing in 

 the first accounts of his teaching : that Buddha was born, 

 like Christ, on the " Sun's annual birthday," December 25th, 

 which cannot be proved either in the case of Buddha or 

 Christ ; that ancient prophecies were afloat marking that par- 

 ticular time as the birth-date of an expected Messiah, which 

 statement is entirely without foundation ; and by many other 

 equally groundless statements, — a glamour has been thrown 

 over the history of Buddhism which intrinsically it does not 

 possess; and it is to be feared that not a few minds have 

 thereby been greatly pei'plexed between the relative claims 

 of Buddhism and Christianity. That Christianity has only 

 been shining by borrowed light from India and Irania is a 

 theory which will not bear accurate investigation. 



8. But I do not propose to approach this subject further 

 to-night in the way of destructive criticism, though I have 

 ventured to give one or two instances of the kind of argument 

 one meets with. But within the compass of this short paper 

 I prefer now to draw attention to some of the facts of history 

 and tendencies of the human mind, which may, I think, 

 prove to be safe guides in our investigations as to what 

 Buddhism really is in its relation — if it have any relation 

 properly so-called — to Christianity. 



9. And now let us look more carefully at some of the 

 analogies that exist, or are said to exist, between Christianity 



