The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-02-01
JESUS A BUDDHIST.
80 HOLDS NICHoLAS EOrOVIrcH IN A
RECENTLY WRITTEN BOOK.
BE Claims to Have Found Records Ia Con-
vents In India Which Go 10 Prove His
Asssrtisn-A synopsis Of the
Works Preface.

Some dozen or more years ago
Russian gentleman named Nicholas
NoIovitch, a famous writer aud a man
known throughout the literary world,
while making a tour Of the world
reached India, the land OF wonders.
The object of his trip was to know and
study the people and their morals,
also the grand archaeology AZ well as
the colossal nature, 80 full of majesty,
of that country. Pursuing his travels
aimlessly he finally came to country
known as 10 lax, in the western part
of Thibet, which is situated $4,000 feet
above the Baltic The inhabitants Of
thIs country belong to the Chinese
Houranian race, and are divided into
Lodakieus and lchampas. While
studying tn, habits OF these people,
which certa My are the most simple
in the world, Mr.. NotovitCh visited
some of the many converts which
abound In that district, and &C
recently Issued Of his history OF
that country, he was one day dumb.
founded while speaking to a chief
Lama on religious matters to
hear OF preacher named lssa,
who lived some 2O00 years ago, and
was executed in the country Of Israel,
where he had gone to preach the
principles OF Buddhism In another
convent he was told the same story,
and It resembled strikingly the life OF
Jesus Christ, but rs Could not obtain
any satisfactory replies to his ques-
tions on the subject at that time.
While i'm the province of LadaX he
WE invited to Buddhist convent,
he G1npl Himia, one of the most
ncient in Thibet, situsted south OF the
nius upon an isolated rock which
Uses in the midst of n pretty dale
where "a solemn fete, at which all the
inhabitants assist, is held every year.
The fete which he attended consisted
of series of representation and orig
inal ceremonies that were executed by
the monks and common people OF the
neighborhood disguised as monsters,
animals, demons, idols, warriors and
kings, more than n hundred mon
strous figures taking part in the spec
tacle.
Al or the spectacle he had u CONVEX
satlOn with the chief lama on the sub.
ject Of these id 1ls and these CeremO-
MES. which were far from COnfOl inning
to the principles of Buddhism, and
then no spoke TO the lama OF the
preacher Issa, concerning whom he
had been already told. Then the lama
repeated the story, added maDy de.
tMls, and said that In his library,
among copies and transIations of San
scTit manuscripts treating OF Bud
dhism and Buddhists was a detailed
history of Issa, who had been raised
in India but who had gone into the
west to preach Buddhism, where he
had been executed, and according to |
this lama, christianity is only corrupt.
ed Buddhism.
This story greatly excited Motto
vitch's curiosity, and few days later
nc r. solved to return to the convent |
This, however, was not easy, for, be. |
ing "A Russian, he was under suspicion |
by the Engli-h. While leaving the
town on horseback, however, his
horse stumbled and he was thrown |
off, fracturinG his left leg in the fall |
Then he was carried back to the con.
vent, where he arrived that evening
The monks received him with open
arms, and, thanks TO their care, he !
was able To leave the convent in
ew days. 1t was during this inter.
course that with the aid of an inter I
p reter he translated the manuscript in |
question.
Upon his return to Europe he con.
suited with many prominent men, but |
was urged and persuaded not to pub
lish his gleauings, Dl the reason that
"the church suffered too much from
the current OF atheistic ideas without
giving any fresh food for them to
chew at" He has recently published
a book on the subject himself in Paris,
France, how eVer, and copies Of II
which have reaChed this country are
accompanied with preiacH eSplana.
tory as iollows
Before approaching the life Of Jesus
the Buddhist chroniclers sketch the
history of the nation To which he be-
longed We thus see first that Moses
was prince OF Egypt, the son of
Pharaoh, and that he had only been
instructed By Jewish wise men. Then
they relate, without emitting the
most insignificant details, the birth,
education, sermons and execution of |
Jesus Christ.
The two manuscripts, from which
the lama of the convent of Himis read |
everything to Notovitch that treated |
of Issa-or Jesus, as the book calls
him-are formed from collection of
different copies written in the Tibetan
Language and from some rolls be-
longing to the library Of Lassa, and |
(which were brought from India and
.Nepale toward the year 200 after
j esus Christ, to convent built on