Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1884-03-27
Buddhism in Relation to Christianity

ary, by the Victoria (Philsophical Insti-
tute, Z, Adelphi Terrace, London, a paper
was read by the Rev. r. G. Collins, M. A.
on Buddhism in relation to Christianity
Referring to the parallels between the
persons and characters of Buddha and
Jesus Christ, he said:
Take, as prominent instance, the birth
stories. | need not here give details, which
are to be found in any modern work on
Buddhism. The supposed miraculous con-
ception the bringing down Of Buddha
from the Tusita heaven; the Devas ac-
knowledging his supremacy the presenta-
ton in the Temple, when the images OF In
dra and other god3threw themselves at his
feet; the temptation by Mara-which
legends are embellished by the modern
writer have already quoted, under such
phrases as Conceived by the Wholly
Ghost" Born of the Virgin Maya" Song
OF the heavenly 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 Bud
dhism is that an ascetic, whose family
name was Gautama, preached new doe
trine of human suffering, and new way
of deliverance from it.
There is no thought in the early Bud
dhism, of which we read in the Pali texts,
of deliverance at the hands of a god but
the man GautamO 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 pre-
ternatural light shone over the world, 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 rec
OgniZe some rather remarkable Hkenesses
in thought or expression to things familiar
to us in our Bibles we need not be aston
ished. when we reflect how great must have
been the influence, as | have before hinted
of the Christian story in India in the ear
ly centuries of the Christian era, and, per-
haps, long subsequently. This is point
which has been much overlooked but it
is abundantly evident from, among other
proofs, the story of the god Krishna, which
is manifest parody ofthe history of Christ.
The Bhagauat- Gita' 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 indicat-
ing as plainly their origin as do the stories
of his life in the Mahd-Bharata 80 that it
has not unreasonably been concluded that
the story of Krishna was inserted in the
Maha- -Bhardta to furnish divine sanction
to the Bhagarat- Gita. If, then, as there is
the strongest reason to believe, the Chris
tian story, somewhere between the first
and tenth centuries of the Christian era .
forced itself into the great Hindu epic, and
was at the foundation of the most remark
able poem that ever saw the light in India,
can we be surprised if we find similarly
borrowed and initiated wonders in the later
Buddhist stories also?
Several Home and Colonial applications
to join the Institute as guinea Subscribers
were received, and its object being to in
vestigate all philosophical and scientific
questions, especially any said to initiate
against the truth OF the Bible-a discussion
Professor Leitner, from Lahore, Mr.. Coles,
In earnest student of the question during
25 years residence in Ceylon, Professor
Rhys Davis, and others took part. All
agreeing in and confirming the statements
If Mr.. Collins paper. DR.. Leitner brought
! large number of photographs of early
Indian and Tartar sculptures, showing the
irst introduction of the Christian story in
% those monuments between about the
second and tenth centuries, and he pointed |
'ut the value of such additional cOnfrma-
ion of Mr.. Collins statements.