Legends and Theories of the Buddhist

The system attributed to Gotama Buddha is one of the oldest beliefs in the world. It demands, therefore, a place among the records of religious opinion, if for its antiquity alone. But it has other claims upon our attention. There is in it the germ of many of the speculations that are the most prominent in the shifting philosophies of the present day; and it is now professed, at the lowest computation, by three hundred millions of the human race. The information presented in this book has a further importance, as the Dharma is comparatively unknown in England. The first edition of this book was published in the Ceylon. Its principal aim was to reveal to adherents of the system the errors it contains; but the original form is retained, as the doctrines here attributed to Buddha have not been converted, so far as he can learn, by any of the priests; though, of course, they repudiate the inferences he has drawn from them. The book is the product of extensive study if this religion. The subject of the book is illuminating and delicate. Through the book is a rare one, it may recognized even by those who dissent from the author’s views.