426 Buddhism and its Legends. 



assisted pecuniarily by the King of Siam and a local chief, use 

 the printing press in their defence. Thus we have a very 

 remarkable collision of the western and eastern minds, from 

 which beneficial effects of the highest moment may happily 

 arise. 



The Buddhist views of the universe indicate their origin in 

 a pre-scientific period, when mystical imaginations took the 

 place of accurate observation. Boundless systems of worlds, 

 Sakwalas, scattered through space in groups of twos and 

 threes, can all be seen by Buddha, who can tell what is tran- 

 sacting in any one if he wills to know it. " In the centre of 

 each system is a mountain called Sineru, or Maha Meru. It is 

 1,680,000 miles from its base to its summit, half of which 

 mass is below and half above the surface of the ocean. On 

 each side it is of a different colour, being like silver towards 



the east, and like a sapphire towards the south It is 



supported on the three-peaked Trikuta rock, like a vessel upon 

 a tripod." It is also said to be firmly clasped by them as by 

 a pair of pincers. The three rocks rest upon a world of stone. 

 On the summit of Maha Meru is the heaven of Sekra ; in the 

 body of the earth are eight places of suffering. Between 

 Meru and the Sakwala ridge are seven circles of rocks, with . 

 seven seas between them, and the waters of the seas do not 

 evaporate, and no rain falls in them. The first world is 

 2,400,000 miles thick. At its base is a stone world, impervious 

 to water, 1,200,000 miles thick, and above it is the world of 

 the earth, which has the same thickness, and below it is the 

 world of water, 4,800,000 miles thick, and below that the 

 world of wind, 9,600,000. 



Each Sakwala has a sun and moon. The sun is 500 miles 

 in height, length, and breadth, and its circumference is 

 1,500,000 miles. The moon is 490 miles in height, length, and 

 breadth, and its circumference 1470 miles, etc., etc. 



Buddhist astronomy, physical geography, and natural 

 history proceed in this absurd style, offering an easy victory to 

 real science wherever members of the Buddhist faith can be 

 induced to study it, and to apply its teachings fairly and 

 honestly to the correction of this preposterous legend. 



Eclipses are occasioned by a monster nearly 50,000 miles 

 high, who sometimes hides the sun and moon in his mouth, 

 and sometimes covers them with his hand. 



It is supposed that Buddha has passed, and will pass 

 through endless forms of existence, for the benevolent pur- 

 pose of teaching sentient beings the way to permanent peace 

 — the nirwana which we have described; but, as might be 

 expected, the recorded sayings of Buddha are not consistent 

 with the pretensions of such enormous and varied experiences. 



