Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-03-19
BUDDHISM IN RELATION TO
CHRISTIANITY.

/
At the last large meeting held in
February, by the Victoria (Philosophc-
all Institute. 6. Adelpi Terrace, London
paper was read by the Rev r. G.
Collins, NJ. A., on Buddhism in relation
to Christianity Referring to the par
allels between the persons and characters
of Buddha and Jesus Christ lie said
Take, as a prominent instance, the birth
stories. | need not here give details
which are to be found in any modern work
on Buddhism The supposed miraculous
conception; the bringing down of Budd-
ha from the Tusita heaven; the Devas
acknowledging his supremacy; the
presentation in the Temple, when the
images of Indra and other gods threw
themselves at his feet: the temptation
by Mara-which legends are embelished
by the modern writer I have already
quoted, under such phrases as Con
ceived by the Holy Ghost" "Born by
the Virgin Maya" Song OF the heav-
enlv host" Presentation in the Temple
and temptation in the wilderness -
none Of these is found in the early Pail
texts. The simple story of ancient
Buddhism is that az ascetic, whose fami-
" name was Gautama, preached q new
doctrine Of human suffering, and a new
way of deliverance from it. There is
no thought in the early Buddhism. of
which we read in the Pail texts, of de
liverance at the hands Of a god; but the
man Gautama Buddha stands alone in
his striving after the true emancipation
from sorrow and ignorance. The
accounts of his descending from heaven,
and being conceived in the world of
men, when a preteruatural light shOne
over the worlds, the blind received sight,
the dumb sang, the lame danced, the
sick were cured, together with all such
embellishments. are certainly added by
later hands; and if here we recognize
some rather remarkable likenesses in
thought or expression to things familiar
to Us in our Bibles we need nos be as
tuuished when we reflect how great
must have been the influence, as have
before hinted of the Christian story in
India in the early centuries of the
Christian era, and. perhaps long sub.
sequently. This is a point which has
been much overlooked; but is abundant
! lv evident from, among other proofs, the
! story of the god Krishna, which is a
manifest parody of the history of Christ.
! The Bhagavat Gita, a theosophical poem
put into the mouth of Krishna, is some
thing unique among the productions of
! the East, containing many gems of what
we should call Christian truth wrested
from their proper setting, to adorn this
creation of the Brahman poet and in
dicating rs plainly their origin as do the
stories of his life in the Maha-Bharata:
so that it has not unreasonably been
concluded thai The story Of Krshna was
/ inserted in the Maha-Bharata to furnish
a divine sanction TO the Bhagavat Gita.
! II, then, IS there is the strongest reason
to believe. the Christian story, some
where between the first and tenth cen
turtles Of the Christian era, forced itself
in the great Hindu epic. and was at the
foundation of the most remarkable poem
that ever saw the light in India, can we
| BE- surprised if we find Similarly borrowed
and initiated wonders in the late Budd-
! hist stories also? Several Home and
Colonial applications to join the Insti
tute as gum, Subscribers were received,
and its object being to investigate all
philosophical and scientific questions,
especially any said to initiate against
the truth of the Bible,-a discussion
ensued in which MIR Hormuzd Rassam,
Professor Leitner, from Lahore, Mr..
Coles. an earnest student of the question
during % years residence in Ceylon,
Professor Rhys Davids, and others took
part. All agreeing in and confirming
the statements of Mr. Collins paper,
Dr. Leitner brought large number of
photographs of early Indian and Tartar
sculptures. showing the first introduction
of the Christian story into those monu-
ments between about the second and
tenth centuries, and he pointed out the
value Of such additional confirmation of
Mr.. Collins statements.