1834.] Remusat' s Revieto of Buddhism. 427 



result only have I reached by means of these interminable trifles ; and 

 that is, strong presumptive proof that the cave temples of Western 

 India are the work of Buddhists solely, and that the most appar- 

 ently Brahmanical sculptures of those venerable fanes are, in fact, 

 Buddhist. A hint to this effect I gave so long ago as 1827, in the 

 Quarterly Oriental Magazine, (No. XIV. p. 219 ;) and can only 

 afford room to remark in this place, that subsequent research had tend- 

 ed strongly to confirm the impressions then derived from my very 

 learned old friend Amirta Nanda. The existence of an infinite 

 number of Buddhas ; the existence of the whole Dhyani class of 

 Buddhas ; the personality of the Triad : its philosophical meaning ; 

 the classification and nomenclature of the ascetical or true followers 

 of this creed ; the distinction of its various schools of philosophy ; 

 the peculiar tenets of each school, faintly but rationally indicated ; 

 the connexion of its philosophy with its religion ; and, as the re- 

 sult of all these, the means of speaking consistently upon the general 

 subject*, are matters for the knowledge of which, if Remusat be not 

 wholly indebted to me and my authorities, it is absolutely certain that 

 I am wholly w/iindebted to him and his ; for till he sent me, 10 months 

 ago, CI speak of the date of receipt,) his essay on the Triad, I had 

 never seen one line of his, or any other continental writer's lucubra- 

 tions on Buddhism. 



I have ventured to advance above that in the opinion of a learned 

 friend, the Chinese and Mongolian works on Buddhism, from which 

 the continental savans have drawn the information they possess on 

 that topic, are not per se adequate to supply any very intelligible views 

 of the general subject. 



As this is an assertion which it may seem desirable to support by 

 proof, allow me to propose the following. Remusat observes, that a 

 work of the first order gives the subjoined sketch of the Buddhist cos- 

 mogony. " Tous les etres etant contenus dans la tres pure substance 

 de la pensee, une id6e surgit inopinement etproduisit la fausse lumiere; 

 Quand la fausse lumiere fut nee, le vide et l'obscurite s'imposerent 

 reciproquement des limites. Les formes qui en resulterent etant inde- 

 termin^es, il y eut agitation et mouvement. De la naquit le tourbillon 

 de vent qui contient les mondes. L'intelligence lumineuse etoit le 

 principe de solidite, d'ou naquit la roue d'or qui soutient et protege la 



* A learned friend assures me that " a world of Chinese and Mongolian enig- 

 mas have been solved by means of your general and consistent outline of the system, 

 but for which outline the said enigmas would have continued to defy all the con- 

 tinental CEdipuses." 

 2 i 2 



