62 Quotations from original Sanscrit [Jan, 



The speculations of a writer of Sir W. Jones's day (Mr. Joinville), 

 tending to prove argumentatively, from the characters of Buddhism 

 and Brdhmanism, the superior antiquity of the former, have been lately 

 revived (see Asiatic Journal No. CLX.) with applause. But besides 

 that fine drawn presumprions are idle in the face of such a mass of 

 direct evidence as we now possess, the reasonings of Joinville appear 

 to me altogether based on errors of fact. Buddhism (to hazard a 

 character in few words), is monastic asceticism in morals, philosophical 

 scepticism in religion ; and whilst ecclesiastical history all over the 

 world aifords abundant instances of such a state of things resulting 

 from gross abuse of the religious sanction, that ample chronicle gives 

 us no one instance of it as a primitive system of belief. Here is a 

 legitimate inference from sound premises. But that Buddhism was, in 

 truth, a reform or heresy, and not an original system, can be proved by 

 the most abundant direct evidence both of friends and of enemies. The 

 oldest Sangata works incessantly allude to the existing superstition as 

 the Mdrcharya or way of the serpent, contradistinguishing their reform- 

 ation thereof as the Boddhi-charya or way of wise ; and the Brahma- 

 nical impugners of those works (who, upon so plain a fact, could not 

 lie), invariably speak of Buddhism as a notorious heresy. 



An inconsiderable section of the Sangatas alone, ever held the bold 

 doctrine of mortal souls : and the Swdbhdvika denial of a creation of 

 matter by the fiat of an absolutely immaterial being springs, not out of 

 the obesity of barbarian dulness, but out of the over refinement of 

 philosophical ratiocination. Joinville's idea of the speculative tenets 

 of Buddhism is utterly erroneous. Many of them are bad indeed : 

 but they are of philosophy all compact, profoundly and painfully 

 subtle-sceptical too, rather than atheistically dogmatic. 



At the risk of being somewhat miscellaneous in this preface, I must 

 allude to another point. The lamented Abel Rem us at sent me, just 

 before he died, a copy of his essay on the Sangata doctrine of the Triad ; 

 and Mr. Up ham, I find, has deduced from Remusat's interpretation of 

 that doctrine, the inference (which he supports by reference to sundry 

 expressions in the sacred books of Ceylon), that I am in error in deny- 



Magazine, No. xiv. pp. 218 — 222, for proofs of the fact that numberless Bauddha 

 remains have been mistaken for Brdhmanical by our antiquaries, and even by the 

 natives. In the same work I have proved this in reference to Crawfurd's Ar- 

 chipelago, Oriental Quarterly, No. xvi. pp. 232, 235. 



Yet, no sooner had I shown, from original authorities, how thoroughly Indian 

 Buddhism is, than it was immediately exclaimed * oh ! this is Nepdlese corrup- 

 tion ! these are merely popular grafts from Brdhmanism.' The very same charac- 

 ter belongs to the oldest monuments of Buddhism extant, in India and beyond 

 it ; and I have traced that character to the highest scriptural authorities. 



