._r.YT.ON BRANCH ROYAL ASTATIC SOCIETY, 



7 



ON BUDHISM. 



BY THE REV. D. J. GOGEELY, 

 ( Bead on the 1st May, 1845. J 



The attention of several eminent Orientalists has of late- 

 been directed towards Budhism : and the fact that a -large 

 portion of the human race has received that religion, makes 

 an investigation of its nature interesting to those who are 

 engaged in examining the development of the Asiatic mind. 

 Many of the dissertations on the subject which have been 

 presented to the public appear to be defective, one reason of 

 which may be that there has been to much desire to theorize, 

 without a sufficient investigation of original documents. 

 Goutama does not appear to have laid down in any one dis- 

 course, or in any number of consecutive discourses, a syste- 

 matic arrangement of his doctrine : its fundamental principles 

 are indeed briefly stated in the first of those attributed to 

 him, and the frequent reference to the four principles or 

 leading doctrines there specified, mark their importance as 

 the bases of his peculiar tenets. He appears in general to 

 have received the current opinions of his day respecting 

 natural philosophy, and not to have varied materially from 

 the usual standard of morality, except with respect to the 

 propriety and efficacy of animal sacrifices, which he uniformly 

 opposed. The advantages of the various penances resorted 

 to by other sects he questions, but the general rules of 

 natural justice, as universally admitted, find a place in his 

 system ; he only affirming that the explication of the rules 

 by others is imperfect, while his teaching results from a com- 

 plete and perfect knowledge of all truth. These doctrines 

 are stated and illustrated in his discourses, as circumstances 

 occurred rendering explanation necessary ; and his views can 

 only be ascertained from the examination of a considerable 



