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the ancient Vedas. With regard to "Tathagata," the real meaning is 

 "Thus Come." It is the name of Buddha, and simply means " the one who 

 came, like other prophets before him." Like every great prophet who has 

 appeared in the world, he put forth that he came to fulfil, not to destroy, 

 the law, and he was the successor of previous Buddhas, and therefore called 

 himself Tathagata. I think Dr. Oldenberg is rather a dangerous authority 

 f V Mr. Collins to quote. I know him very well, and my impression is that 

 he would not quite support the views that have been attributed to him. 

 With regard to Nirvana, that is a very simple matter. If every one would 

 recollect the example Mr. Coles hus given with regard to the chariot and 

 the lamp, the matter would become more clear. We cannot call it rightly actual 

 annihilation, because there is nothing to annihilate. What Mr. Coles has said 

 is accurate, and Nirvana means a state of perfection to be reached here on 

 earth. The Buddhists did not believe in the existence of a soul, and to 

 suppose that Nirvana means the annihilation of the soul, is, therefore, a 

 mistake. I have only to add, that what Dr. Leitner has said about Greek 

 and other European influence in India in later Buddhism, touches on a most 

 interesting point. No one can look at the Buddhist sculptures without seeing 

 that theyare sculptures in which Greekinfluence is clearlyand disiinctlyshown, 

 although they are, undoubtedly. Buddhistic works ; and we all know that 

 Tibetan Buddhism owes a good deal to Christianity. Mr. Tylor, of Oxford, 

 has shown a number of diff"erent rosaries from different parts of the world, 

 Mahommedan and Buddhistic. Those are curious, as showing how exactly 

 similar all the I'osaries are. He holds that those rosaries were, probably, 

 Buddhistic in their origin, and were, perhaps, brought over and adopted by 

 the Mahommedans, and also by the Christians in Europe.* In the same way, 

 no doubt, various other beliefs and customs have been carried over from 

 Europe to the East. 



The Author.— There have been so many subjects touched upon by the 

 different speakers, that it would be almost impossible, at this late hour, to 

 reply to the greater part of what has been said. I Avill, however, just refer 

 to what Mr. Rhys Davids has advanced. It seems that he and I must 

 regard the Vedas from different points of view. It is quite true that we read 

 nothing about temples in the Eig Veda. But there was probably no reason 

 for naming them. The application of the word " ritual" may be misunder- 

 stood. The Vedic hymns do not, indeed, prescribe ritual ; that would be 

 foreign to their character ; but they disclose rites which imply ritual ; 

 there is the altar, the sacrifice, the sacrificer or priest, the sacred fire, the 

 oblation, especially the soma-libation ; and all connected with the ideas of 

 prayer, propitiation, and sometimes even the forgiveness of sins. And the 



* Their existence in the East is first mentioned a.d. 366. The F.C. Eosary 

 of 55 beads was introduced by Peter the Hermit, A.D. 1090 ; the larger 

 Rosary was invented by Donunic de Guzman, a.d. 1202. — Ep. 



