Lexington weekly intelligencer., 1885-10-31

hism itself such philosophy Every
reason which F. T. gives for his belle
that the Buddhist believes III the i'm
mortality OF the soul, or future stat
of existence, is considered by Rhy
Davids, who finally concludes that h
does not so believe. We chose the ex
tract which we published from hin
carefully, for the reason that it con
sidered these apparent reasons fol
thinking that the Buddhist had hop
of Immortality.
Now, q word as to authorities
Dobbin may have written an excellen
book upon the heather religions. No
having seen it we can pass no judg
menr upon it. We do not find hi
name, however, at that world-knowl
round table of scientific philologists
who have made Sanskrit philosophy
the BrahmanicaI and Buddhistic reli
gions, their life-work. His labors may
one day place him there, but at this
time the books fail to quote him. We
thank him for one thing, however; i. e..
for naming his book "Errors' Chains.
as the title attests that nirvana is an
error, quite as much as lesser fallacies
taught by the Buddha, beautiful AZ
many of his precepts were. The names
which we find quoted as authorities
are, first of all Eugene Burnouf, who
is spoken of by philologists, as "the
true founder of scientific study OF
Buddhism" Rhys Davids, Bishop
Bigandet, Max Muller, and others
whose writings we have not at hand
Those mentioned stand at the very
head Of scientific philologists and care
full inquirers into the history and liter
ature of Buddhism. We cannot take
space here to mention their titles and
their books. 1t is not necessary.
There has been endless discussion as
to the meaning of nirvana. 1t is not
new subject. It has vexed the minds
of scholars, who coming out from
Christian influences have, like Max
Muller, hoped to be able to prove that
the Buddhist did look for heaven and
believe in a god. We have two objec-
tions to the extension of this controver-
sy, as our correspondent intimates,
neither of them personal to him, nor to
the triviality Of the circumstance out
of which the discussion grew. Our
objection is, that as country editor,
with the hundred and-one things
we must look after in the way of news,
We cannot give the subject the time or
thought that it deserves; and, second,
that in the space of newspaper article
80 much must be slurred over for the
sake of unavoidable brevlty. Inquiry
into oriental religions, history, litera-
ture and habits, has for some years very
much agitated the world, and we have
10 many good books regarding them.
hat the field is one so full of flowers by
The way side, that it would be more
pleasant to stop and gather, than to
,onfine ourselves to the lane in which
t is necessary to walk.
The Buddhist believes in transmit
grafton of life, from the highest to the
owest being; even q worm may be-
come q Buddha. He views life and
births as evils; and by the
practice of virtue hopes to obtain mir.
7ana-e extinction. Rhys Davids at
,ne time believed that this extinction
was not the extinction of a soul, but
,nly the "blowing out" of the baser
parts, but he changed his view, and as
ate as 1884 wrote:-"There can, how
,ver, now be no longer any doubt on
he point. Spence Hardy and Bigsn.
let find in the modern Singhalese and
Burmese books the same opinion as
Avis, Gogerly and especially Childers
lave found in the more ancient author
ties; and though the modern books of
he Northern Buddhists are doubtful,
eugene Burnouf has clearly proved
heir older texts contain only the same
doctrine as that held in the South.
Buddhism does not acknowledge the ez-
stence Of q soul as q thing distinct
rom the parts and powers of man 'Ohich
sre dissolved at death, and the ni,vana
# Buddhism is simply extinction "
Here is an array of authority-Spence
Hardy, Bigandet, Alvis, Gogerly,
Jhilders and Burnouf.
Max Muller says:-"The fact cannot
'e disputed away that the religion of
,uddha was from the beginning pure
y atheistic;" and in spite OF his evident
lesire to arrive at different conclusion,
e says in his Buddhist Nihilism:"
= NO person who reads with atten-
ion the metaphysical speculations on
he nirvana contained in the Budd-
list canon, can arrive at any other
onviction than that expressed by Bur.
out, namely, that nirvana, the highest
i'm, the summaun bonum of Budd-
ism, is the absolute nothing.
Bigandet says:-"The role of Budd-
"a, from beginning to end. is that of
eliverer, who breaches law designed
D secure to man deliverance from all
he miseries he is laboring under.
'ut by an inexplicable and
eplorable eccentricity, the pre-
ended savior, after having taught man
be way to deliver himself from the
granny of his passions, leads him, af-
sr all, into the bottomIess gulf of total
Bournouf, from his laborious
arrives at the same
esult, namely, that Buddhism, as
nown to US from its canonical books,
4 spite of its great qualities, ends in
theism and nihilism.
Wilson, in the latest edition ofI
chambers Cyclopedia says: "Accord-
ng to its etymology, the word means
extinction" "blowing OUT" as of a
andle; and most orientaIists are
greed that in the Buddhist scriptures,
enerally, it is equivalent to annihila-
ion."
Samuel NJ. Jackson, in the Schaff-
lerzog Encyclopedia of Religious
knowledge, says :-"What is nirvana? ?
Extinction. AnnihiIation ia really oil