﻿AND THE DOCTRINES OF BHOODDiiA. 30 



" in the pofTefTion of, and taught by, the Brahmincs : 

 " they contain the principles of every fcience, but 

 " treat not of theology. ^Ve poffefs many books of 

 " the fame tendency, and equally profound, in the 

 " Pake language, fome of which have been tranllated 

 *' into the Singhalais. We have no knowledge of the 

 " Pooraansy I then urged the real contents of the 

 Vedas, that they were interfperfed with fpeculations 

 on metaphyfics, and difcourfes on the being and at- 

 tributes of God, and were confidcred of divine origin: 

 of the Pooraans, I added, that they comprifed a va- 

 riety of mythological hiftories, from the creation to 

 the incarnation of Ehooddha. 



Any further acquaintance with thefe books, than 

 what has been already mentioned, was difciaimed. But 

 as to the fuppofed incarnation of Bhooddha, " The 

 " Hindoos (rejoined the Prieft) muft furely be little 

 " acquainted with this fubjeft, by their allufion to 

 " onlv one. Bhooddha, if they mean Bhooddha 

 " Dherma Raja, became man, and appeared as fuch 

 " in the world at different periods, during ages, before 

 *' he had qualified himfelf to be a Bhooddha. Thefe 

 *' various incarnations took place by his own fupreme 

 " will and pleafure, and in confequence of his fu- 

 " perior qualifications and merits. I am therefore in- 

 " dined to believe, that the Hindoos, who thus fpeak 

 " of the incarnation of a Bhooddha, cannot allude 

 " to him whofe religion and law I preach, and who is 

 *' now a refident of the Hall of Glory, fituated above 

 " the 26th heaven." 



The temples of Bhooddha are properly called 

 Booddejlaneh, Siddejlaneh, and Maleegaxva. Thefe 

 epithets are, however, feldom ufed, when fpeaking 

 of fuch places: Vihare, and Viharagee, which ftriclly 

 mean the habitations of the priefts, that are always 

 built clofe to the temples dedicated to Bhooddha, 

 are the mofl general. 



C 4 The 



