by Buddhist missionaries into Tibetan, Mongolian, and, as we shall
soon see, into Chinese and Mandshu,[57] the Pali originals of Ceylon
were carried to Burmah and Siam, and translated there into the
languages of those countries. Hardly anything has as yet been done for
exploring the literature of these two countries, which open a
promising field for any one ambitious to follow in the footsteps of
Hodgson, Csoma, and Turnour.
[Footnote 57: 'Melanges Asiatiques,' vol. ii. p. 373.]
A very important collection of Buddhist MSS. has lately been brought
from Ceylon to Europe by M. Grimblot, and is now deposited in the
Imperial Library at Paris. This collection, to judge from a report
published in 1866 in the 'Journal des Savants' by M. Barthelemy
Saint-Hilaire, consists of no less than eighty-seven works; and, as
some of them are represented by more than one copy, the total number
of MSS. amounts to one hundred and twenty-one. They fill altogether
14,000 palm leaves, and are written partly in Singhalese, partly in
Burmese characters. Next to Ceylon, Burmah and Siam would seem to be
the two countries most likely to yield large collections of Pali MSS.,
and the MSS. which now exist in Ceylon may, to a considerable extent,
be traced back to these two countries. At the beginning of the
sixteenth century, the Tamil conquerors of Ceylon are reported to have
burnt every Buddhist book they could discover, in the hope of thus
destroying the vitality of that detested religion. Buddhism, however,
though persecuted--or, more probably, because persecuted--remained
the national religion of the island, and in the eighteenth century it
had recovered its former ascendency. Missions were then sent to Siam
to procure authentic copies of the sacred documents; priests properly
ordained were imported from Burmah; and several libraries, which
contain both the canonical and the profane literature of Buddhism,
were founded at Dadala, Ambagapitya, and other places.
The sacred canon of the Buddhists is called the Tripi_t_aka, i. e. the
three baskets. The first basket contains all that has reference to
morality, or Vinaya; the second contains the Sutras, i. e. the
discourses of Buddha; the third includes all works treating of
dogmatic philosophy or metaphysics. The second and third baskets are
sometimes comprehended under the general name of Dharma, or law, and
it has become usual to apply to the third basket the name of
Abhidharma, or by-law. The first and second pi_t_akas contain each
five separate works; the third contains seven. M. Grimblot has secured
MSS. of nearly every one of these works, and he has likewise brought
home copies of the famous commentaries of Buddhaghosha. These
commentaries are of great importance; for although Buddhaghosha lived
as late as 430 A.D., he is supposed to have been the translator of
more ancient commentaries, brought in 316 B.C. to Ceylon from Magadha
by Mahinda, the son of A_s_oka, translated by him from Pali into
Singhalese, and retranslated by Buddhaghosha into Pali, the original
language both of the canonical books and of their commentaries.
Whether historical criticism will allow to the commentaries of
Buddhaghosha the authority due to documents of the fourth century
before Christ, is a question that has yet to be settled. But even as a
collector of earlier traditions and as a writer of the fifth century
after Christ, his authority would be considerable with regard to the
solution of some of the most important problems of Indian history and
chronology. Some scholars who have written on the history of Buddhism
have clearly shown too strong an inclination to treat the statements
contained in the commentaries of Buddhaghosha as purely historical,
forgetting the great interval of time by which he is separated from
the events which he relates. No doubt if it could be proved that
Buddhaghosha's works were literal translations of the so-called
Attakathas or commentaries brought by Mahinda to Ceylon, this would
considerably enhance their historical value. But the whole account of
these translations rests on tradition, and if we consider the
extraordinary precautions taken, according to tradition, by the LXX
translators of the Old Testament, and then observe the discrepancies
between the chronology of the Septuagint and that of the Hebrew text,
we shall be better able to appreciate the risk of trusting to Oriental
translations, even to those that pretend to be literal. The idea of a
faithful literal translation seems altogether foreign to Oriental
minds. Granted that Mahinda translated the original Pali commentaries
into Singhalese, there was nothing to restrain him from inserting
anything that he thought likely to be useful to his new converts.
Granted that Buddhaghosha translated these translations back into
Pali, why should he not have incorporated any facts that were then
believed in and had been handed down by tradition from generation to
generation? Was he not at liberty--nay, would he not have felt it his
duty, to explain apparent difficulties, to remove contradictions, and
to correct palpable mistakes? In our time, when even the
contemporaneous evidence of Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy, or Jornandes
is sifted by the most uncompromising scepticism, we must not expect a
more merciful treatment for the annals of Buddhism. Scholars engaged
in special researches are too willing to acquiesce in evidence,
particularly if that evidence has been discovered by their own efforts
and comes before them with all the charms of novelty. But, in the
broad daylight of historical criticism, the prestige of such a witness
as Buddhaghosha soon dwindles away, and his statements as to kings and
councils eight hundred years before his time are in truth worth no
more than the stories told of Arthur by Geoffrey of Monmouth, or the
accounts we read in Livy of the early history of Rome.
One of the most important works of M. Grimblot's collection, and one
that we hope will soon be published, is a history of Buddhism in
Ceylon, called the Dipavansa. The only work of the same character
which has hitherto been known is the Mahavansa, published by the
Honourable George Turnour. But this is professedly based on the
Dipavansa, and is probably of a much later date. Mahanama, the
compiler of the Mahavansa, lived about 500 A. D. His work was
continued by later chroniclers to the middle of the eighteenth
century. Though Mahanama wrote towards the end of the fifth century
after Christ, his own share of the chronicle seems to have ended with
the year 302 A.D., and a commentary which he wrote on his own
chronicle likewise breaks off at that period. The exact date of the
Dipavansa is not yet known; but as it also breaks off with the death
of Mahasena in 302 A.D., we cannot ascribe to it, for the present, any
higher authority than could be commanded by a writer of the fourth
century after Christ.
We now return to Mr. Hodgson. His collections of Sanskrit MSS. had
been sent, as we saw, to the Asiatic Society of Calcutta from 1824 to
1839, to the Royal Asiatic Society in London in 1835, and to the
Societe Asiatique of Paris in 1837. They remained dormant at Calcutta
and in London. At Paris, however, these Buddhist MSS. fell into the
hands of Burnouf. Unappalled by their size and tediousness, he set to
work, and was not long before he discovered their extreme importance.
After seven years of careful study, Burnouf published, in 1844, his
'Introduction a l'Histoire du Buddhisme.' It is this work which laid
the foundation for a systematic study of the religion of Buddha.
Though acknowledging the great value of the researches made in the
Buddhist literatures of Tibet, Mongolia, China, and Ceylon, Burnouf
showed that Buddhism, being of Indian origin, ought to be studied
first of all in the original Sanskrit documents, preserved in Nepal.
Though he modestly called his work an Introduction to the History of
Buddhism, there are few points of importance on which his industry has
not brought together the most valuable evidence, and his genius shed a
novel and brilliant light. The death of Burnouf in 1851, put an end to
a work which, if finished according to the plan sketched out by the
author in the preface, would have been the most perfect monument of
Oriental scholarship. A volume published after his death, in 1852,
contains a translation of one of the canonical books of Nepal, with
notes and appendices, the latter full of the most valuable information
on some of the more intricate questions of Buddhism. Though much
remained to be done, and though a very small breach only had been made
in the vast pile of Sanskrit MSS. presented by Mr. Hodgson to the
Asiatic Societies of Paris and London, no one has been bold enough to
continue what Burnouf left unfinished. The only important additions to
our knowledge of Buddhism since his death are an edition of the
Lalita-Vistara or the life of Buddha, prepared by a native, the
learned Babu Rajendralal Mittra; an edition of the Pali original of
the Dhammapadam, by Dr. Fausboell, a Dane; and last, not least, the
excellent translation by M. Stanislas Julien, of the life and travels
of Hiouen-Thsang. This Chinese pilgrim had visited India from 629 to
645 A.D., for the purpose of learning Sanskrit, and translating from
Sanskrit into Chinese some important works on the religion and
philosophy of the Buddhists; and his account of the geography, the
social, religious, and political state of India at the beginning of
the seventh century, is invaluable for studying the practical working
of that religion at a time when its influence began to decline, and
when it was soon to be supplanted by modern Brahmanism and
Mohammedanism.
It was no easy task for M. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire to make himself
acquainted with all these works. The study of Buddhism would almost
seem to be beyond the power of any single individual, if it required a
practical acquaintance with all the languages in which the doctrines
of Buddha have been written down. Burnouf was probably the only man
who, in addition to his knowledge of Sanskrit, did not shrink from
acquiring a practical knowledge of Tibetan, Pali, Singhalese, and
Burmese, in order to prepare himself for such a task. The same scholar
had shown, however, that though it was impossible for a Tibetan,
Mongolian, or Chinese scholar to arrive, without a knowledge of
Sanskrit, at a correct understanding of the doctrines of Buddha, a
knowledge of Sanskrit was sufficient for entering into their spirit,
for comprehending their origin and growth in India, and their
modification in the different countries where they took root in later
times. Assisted by his familiarity with Sanskrit, and bringing into
the field, as a new and valuable auxiliary, his intimate acquaintance
with nearly all the systems of philosophy and religion of both the
ancient and modern worlds, M. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire has succeeded
in drawing a picture, both lively and correct, of the origin, the
character, the strong as well as weak points, of the religion of
Buddha. He has become the first historian of Buddhism. He has not been
carried away by a temptation which must have been great for one who is
able to read in the past the lessons for the present or the future. He
has not used Buddhism either as a bugbear or as a _beau ideal_. He is
satisfied with stating in his preface that many lessons might be
learned by modern philosophers from a study of Buddhism, but in the
body of the work he never perverts the chair of the historian into the
pulpit of the preacher.
'This book may offer one other advantage,' he writes, 'and I regret to
say that at present it may seem to come opportunely. It is the
misfortune of our times that the same doctrines which form the
foundation of Buddhism meet at the hands of some of our philosophers
with a favour which they ill deserve. For some years we have seen
systems arising in which metempsychosis and transmigration are highly
spoken of, and attempts are made to explain the world and man without
either a God or a Providence, exactly as Buddha did. A future life is
refused to the yearnings of mankind, and the immortality of the soul
is replaced by the immortality of works. God is dethroned, and in His
place they substitute man, the only being, we are told, in which the
Infinite becomes conscious of itself. These theories are recommended
to us sometimes in the name of science, or of history, or philology,
or even of metaphysics; and though they are neither new nor very
original, yet they can do much injury to feeble hearts. This is not
the place to examine these theories, and their authors are both too
learned and too sincere to deserve to be condemned summarily and
without discussion. But it is well that they should know by the
example, too little known, of Buddhism, what becomes of man if he
depends on himself alone, and if his meditations, misled by a pride of
which he is hardly conscious, bring him to the precipice where Buddha
was lost. Besides, I am well aware of all the differences, and I am
not going to insult our contemporary philosophers by confounding them
indiscriminately with Buddha, although addressing to both the same
reproof. I acknowledge willingly all their additional merits, which
are considerable. But systems of philosophy must always be judged by
the conclusions to which they lead, whatever road they may follow in
reaching them; and their conclusions, though obtained by different
means, are not therefore less objectionable. Buddha arrived at his
conclusions 2400 years ago. He proclaimed and practised them with an
energy which is not likely to be surpassed, even if it be equalled. He
displayed a child-like intrepidity which no one can exceed, nor can it
be supposed that any system in our days could again acquire so
powerful an ascendency over the souls of men. It would be useful,
however, if the authors of these modern systems would just cast a
glance at the theories and destinies of Buddhism. It is not philosophy
in the sense in which we understand this great name, nor is it
religion in the sense of ancient paganism, of Christianity, or of
Mohammedanism; but it contains elements of all worked up into a
perfectly independent doctrine which acknowledges nothing in the
universe but man, and obstinately refuses to recognise anything else,
though confounding man with nature in the midst of which he lives.
Hence all those aberrations of Buddhism which ought to be a warning to
others. Unfortunately, if people rarely profit by their own faults,
they profit yet more rarely by the faults of others. (Introduction, p.
vii.)
But though M. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire does not write history merely
for the sake of those masked batteries which French writers have used
with so much skill at all times, but more particularly during the late
years of Imperial sway, it is clear, from the remarks just quoted,
that our author is not satisfied with simply chronicling the dry facts
of Buddhism, or turning into French the tedious discourses of its
founder. His work is an animated sketch, giving too little rather than
too much. It is just the book which was wanted to dispel the erroneous
notions about Buddhism, which are still current among educated men,
and to excite an interest which may lead those who are naturally
frightened by the appalling proportions of Buddhist literature, and
the uncouth sounds of Buddhist terminology, to a study of the quartos
of Burnouf, Turnour, and others. To those who may wish for more
detailed information on Buddhism, than could be given by M. Barthelemy
Saint-Hilaire, consistently with the plan of his work, we can strongly
recommend the work of a German writer, 'Die Religion des Buddha,' von
Koeppen, Berlin, 1857. It is founded on the same materials as the
French work, but being written by a scholar and for scholars, it
enters on a more minute examination of all that has been said or
written on Buddha and Buddhism. In a second volume the same learned
and industrious student has lately published a history of Buddhism in
Tibet.
M. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire's work is divided into three portions. The
first contains an account of the origin of Buddhism, a life of Buddha,
and an examination of Buddhist ethics and metaphysics. In the second,
he describes the state of Buddhism in India in the seventh century of
our era, from the materials supplied by the travels of Hiouen-Thsang.
The third gives a description of Buddhism as actually existing in
Ceylon, and as lately described by an eye-witness, the Rev. Spence
Hardy. We shall confine ourselves chiefly to the first part, which
treats of the life and teaching of Buddha.
M. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire, following the example of Burnouf, Lassen,
and Wilson, accepts the date of the Ceylonese era 543 B.C. as the date
of Buddha's death. Though we cannot enter here into long chronological
discussions, we must remark, that this date was clearly obtained by
the Buddhists of Ceylon by calculation, not by historical tradition,
and that it is easy to point out in that calculation a mistake of
about seventy years. The more plausible date of Buddha's death is 477
B.C. For the purposes, however, which M. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire had
in view, this difference is of small importance. We know so little of
the history of India during the sixth and fifth centuries B.C., that
the stage on which he represents Buddha as preaching and teaching
would have had very much the same background, the same costume and
accessories, for the sixth as for the fifth century B.C.
In the life of Buddha, which extends from p. 1 to 79, M. Barthelemy
Saint-Hilaire follows almost exclusively the Lalita-Vistara. This is
one of the most popular works of the Buddhists. It forms part of the
Buddhist canon; and as we know of a translation into Chinese, which M.
Stanislas Julien ascribes to the year 76 A.D., we may safely refer its
original composition to an ante-Christian date. It has been published
in Sanskrit by Babu Rajendralal Mittra, and we owe to M. Foucaux an
edition of the same work in its Tibetan translation, the first Tibetan
text printed in Europe. From specimens that we have seen, we should
think it would be highly desirable to have an accurate translation of
the Chinese text, such as M. Stanislas Julien alone is able to give
us.[58] Few people, however, except scholars, would have the patience
to read this work either in its English or French translation, as may
be seen from the following specimen, containing the beginning of Babu
Rajendralal Mittra's version:
'Om! Salutation to all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Aryas,
_S_ravakas, and Pratyeka Buddhas of all times, past,
present, and future; who are adored throughout the farthest
limits of the ten quarters of the globe. Thus hath it been
heard by me, that once on a time Bhagavat sojourned in the
garden of Anathapi_nd_ada, at _G_etavana, in _S_ravasti,
accompanied by a venerable body of 12,000 Bhikshukas. There
likewise accompanied him 32,000 Bodhisattvas, all linked
together by unity of caste, and perfect in the virtues of
paramita; who had made their command over Bodhisattva
knowledge a pastime, were illumined with the light of
Bodhisattva dhara_n_is, and were masters of the dhara_n_is
themselves; who were profound in their meditations, all
submissive to the lord of Bodhisattvas, and possessed
absolute control over samadhi; great in self-command,
refulgent in Bodhisattva forbearance, and replete with the
Bodhisattva element of perfection. Now then, Bhagavat
arriving in the great city of _S_ravasti, sojourned therein,
respected, venerated, revered, and adored, by the fourfold
congregation; by kings, princes, their counsellors, prime
ministers, and followers; by retinues of kshatriyas,
brahma_n_as, householders, and ministers; by citizens,
foreigners, _s_rama_n_as, brahma_n_as, recluses, and
ascetics; and although regaled with all sorts of edibles and
sauces, the best that could be prepared by purveyors, and
supplied with cleanly mendicant apparel, begging pots,
couches, and pain-assuaging medicaments, the benevolent
lord, on whom had been showered the prime of gifts and
applauses, remained unattached to them all, like water on a
lotus leaf; and the report of his greatness as the
venerable, the absolute Buddha, the learned and
well-behaved, the god of happy exit, the great knower of
worlds, the valiant, the all-controlling charioteer, the
teacher of gods and men, the quinocular lord Buddha fully
manifest, spread far and wide in the world. And Bhagavat,
having by his own power acquired all knowledge regarding
this world and the next, comprising devas, maras, brahmyas
(followers of Brahma), _s_rama_n_as, and brahma_n_as, as
subjects, that is both gods and men, sojourned here,
imparting instructions in the true religion, and expounding
the principles of a brahma_k_arya, full and complete in its
nature, holy in its import, pure and immaculate in its
character, auspicious is its beginning, auspicious its
middle, auspicious its end.'
[Footnote 58: The advantages to be derived from these Chinese
translations have been pointed out by M. Stanislas Julien. The
analytical structure of that language imparts to Chinese translations
the character almost of a gloss; and though we need not follow
implicitly the interpretations of the Sanskrit originals, adopted by
the Chinese translators, still their antiquity would naturally impart
to them a considerable value and interest. The following specimens
were kindly communicated to me by M. Stanislas Julien:
'Je ne sais si je vous ai communique autrefois les curieux
passages qui suivent: On lit dans le Lotus francais, p. 271,
l. 14, C'est que c'est une chose difficile a rencontrer que
la naissance d'un bouddha, aussi difficile a rencontrer que
la fleur de l'Udumbara, que l'introduction du col d'une
tortue dans l'ouverture d'un joug forme par le grand ocean.
'Il y a en chinois: un bouddha est difficile a rencontrer,
comme les fleurs Udumbara et Palaca; et en outre comme si
une tortue borgne voulait rencontrer un trou dans un bois
flottant (litt. le trou d'un bois flottant).
'Lotus francais, p. 39, l. 110 (les creatures), enchainees
par la concupiscence comme par la queue du Yak,
perpetuellement aveuglees en ce monde par les desirs, elles
ne cherchent pas le Buddha.
'Il y a en chinois: Profondement attachees aux cinq
desirs--Elles les aiment comme le Yak aime sa queue. Par la
concupiscence et l'amour, elles s'aveuglent elles-memes,
etc.'
]
The whole work is written in a similar style, and where fact and
legend, prose and poetry, sense and nonsense, are so mixed together,
the plan adopted by M. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire, of making two lives
out of one, the one containing all that seems possible, the other what
seems impossible, would naturally recommend itself. It is not a safe
process, however, to distil history out of legend by simply straining
the legendary through the sieve of physical possibility. Many things
are possible, and may yet be the mere inventions of later writers, and
many things which sound impossible have been reclaimed as historical,
after removing from them the thin film of mythological phraseology. We
believe that the only use which the historian can safely make of the
Lalita-Vistara, is to employ it, not as evidence of facts which
actually happened, but in illustration of the popular belief prevalent
at the time when it was committed to writing. Without therefore
adopting the division of fact and fiction in the life of Buddha, as
attempted by M. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire, we yet believe that in order
to avoid a repetition of childish absurdities, we shall best consult
the interest of our readers if we follow his example, and give a short
and rational abstract of the life of Buddha as handed down by
tradition, and committed to writing not later than the first century
B.C.