Ancient Faiths And Modern / A Dissertation upon Worships, Legends and Divinities in Central and Western Asia, Europe, and Elsewhere, Before the Christian Era. Showing Their Relations to Religious Customs as They Now Exist.

by Thomas Inman

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One may now ask, "Why did people think that it was part of the Christian's privileges or powers to speak with tongues?" The only answer which I can discover is indicated in Acts ii. 18, wherein we find it given as the opinion of Peter, that a certain vaticination in Joel applied to the followers of Jesus. The philosopher may wonder at the ignorance—possibly at the knowledge—which confounded "prophesying" with the utterance of unintelligible rubbish; but the philologist should be led to investigate more strictly the real signification of words, and to inquire into the theories which are traceable to false interpretations.

Considerations such as these, which might be multiplied indefinitely, I have come to the belief that the Apostles of Jesus were no better, as regards their knowledge of foreign tongues, than their predecessors, the missionaries sent by Asokâ, or than the modern envoys sent out by a London Society.

What renders it probable that Buddhist ascetics found their way, probably amongst the camp followers of Antiochus the Great, and endeavoured to promulgate their doctrines in western Asia, is the fact that a sect sprang up amongst the Jews after the Grecian conquest of Palestine—called "The Essenes," to which we have before referred, amongst whose tenets Buddhism and Judaism were closely mingled The asceticism practised by this sect was, so far as we know, different to anything known at that time in Greece or Western Asia, and as it came into fashion at the same time in Palestine as Indian elephants and Hindoo Mahouts, there is some reason for the belief that it was brought by disciples of Siddartha. Without dwelling upon this again, we return to the well ascertained fact that Buddhism was promulgated most widely in Eastern and Northern Asia about 250 b.c., that a collection of religious books was made about two hundred years prior to that date, and that these were revised again during Asokâ's reign. But, however earnest were the teachers and the taught, the scriptures which they respected were so voluminous and the facilities for multiplying them were so small, that it happened, as it did amongst early Christians, that many a church had no written book of the law. As a consequence of this, one part or another of Sakya's doctrines became exalted unduly in one locality, whilst in another a portion was left out of sight. Stories, also, of miracles became varied, just as we find that they have been by the writers in the New Testament, the tendency being, as in the history of the blind man near Jericho, to exaggerate the wonder—for example, Mark and Luke, chap. x. and xviii, give an account of one man being cured of blindness, whilst Matthew, chap, xx., tells us that there were two. The narrators under such circumstances act as if they thought that it is as easy for a divinity to heal two or two thousand as to cure one, and we who tolerate the practice in a Christian evangelist must not ridicule it in Buddhist disciples.

When we contemplate the confusion that existed in the Christian church—the gradual deterioration of the faith taught by Jesus, and more especially by Paul, and the steady absorption of Pagan rites into the worship inaugurated by Peter and the other apostles, we can readily understand that in the course of six or seven hundred years there would be reason in countries distant from the home of Siddartha to deplore the gradual decadence of Buddhism, and a desire amongst the devout for tuition at the fountain-head. In modern times we have read of hierarchs coming from the uttermost parts of the earth to consult the Roman Pontiff upon points of discipline affecting the church, and we therefore see without surprise that, about A.D. 400, six hundred years after it had been planted, the congregation of Buddhists in China had within it men who determined to go to India, and bring back to their fellow-worshippers what they hoped would be a purer doctrine than that which they were accustomed to, and, if possible, to secure authentic books. Pilgrimage, with this object, cannot be regarded as being so absurd as that which has in modern days taken numbers of Christians to Lourdes, in the Pyrenees, or to St. Paray-le-Monial.

Ere we describe this Chinese search after truth, let us imagine a Christian from Central Russia determining to seek for enlightenment at Antioch about a.d. 640, and subsequently at the seven churches named in the Apocalypse—and afterwards writing his experience. We should be certain to find him bewailing the fall of Christianity and the rise of Islam. We may indeed affirm that if such a history was now to be discovered undated, we should regard it as having been written before or after the date named, according as "the churches" were described as being the seat of Mahommedism or of Christianity. Still further, if in every place which this traveller visited, he found a general belief in the stories told of Jesus and in the efficacy of his doctrine, we should consider this as proof that the people remained faithful to their early teaching. If, on the other hand, the wanderer found himself proscribed in any locality as a benighted heathen, without knowledge of the way of salvation—he would naturally think that a teacher had given to its inhabitants instruction different from that which was familiar to him. I do not exaggerate when I say that a genuine account of the travels in search of sound Christian doctrine through every part of Europe in the fifth century of our era, would be invaluable as an indication of the tenure of certain doctrines, not only in various localities, but as to the existence or the reverse of dogmas now regarded as of supreme importance.

Such a manuscript, which, however, relates to Buddhism and not to Christianity, exists in China, and it has lately been translated into English Travels of Fah-Hian and Sung-Yun, Buddhist Pilgrims from China to India, 400 a.d. and 518 a.d., translated from the Chinese by Samuel Bea. (Trübner & Co., London, 1869.) It tells us, in a singularly terse style, how a large portion of China was traversed by these pilgrims;—of the terrible journey over the mountains to the north of Hindustan; of a visit to the birth-place of Siddartha; to Benares, to Calcutta, and to Ceylon;—with an account of the return voyage in a good-sized ship back again to China. Everywhere, with one single exception, they find the law of Buddha prevailing. The place referred to as exceptional is Yopoti, Java, of which it is said: "In this country, heretics and Brahmins flourish; but the law of Buddha is not much known" (p. 168). In every other spot which they visit the Chinese wanderers speak applaudingly of the hold which the religion of Siddartha has upon the people, and the exemplary conduct of the faithful. From the beginning of the journey to the end, the enquirers appear always to have found the same form of faith which had been preached in their own country six hundred years before. The most careful investigator fails to find a shadow of those doctrines in which the teaching of Jesus differs from that of Sakya. There is not any allusion made to an impending dissolution of the world, to baptism, or to any sacrament; every remark relates to the essentials of Buddhism as known in each place where Europeans have been able to peruse the authorized Buddhist scriptures.

We may now quote some passages bearing on important points. About the sources of the Indus: "All the priests asked Fah-Hian what he knew as to the time when the law of Buddha began to spread eastward from their country." Hian replied, "On enquiry, men of those lands agreed in saying that, according to an ancient tradition, Shamans from India began to carry the sacred books of Buddha beyond the river, from the time when the image of Maitreya Bodhisatwa was set up." This image was set up three hundred years or so after the Nirvana of Buddha (about B.C. 243—or, according to some estimates, B.C. 177), which corresponds with the time of Pingwang of the Chan family (b.c. 770—the Chinese date of Buddha's Nirvana being different from that which is usually received in India.) Hence it may be said that the diffusion of the great doctrine can be attributed to the influence of this image. For, apart from the power of the divine teacher Mait-reya, who followed in the footsteps of Sakya, who would have been sufficient to cause the knowledge of the three precious ones to be spread so far, that even men on the outskirts of the world acquired that knowledge? We may conclude, therefore, with certainty, that the origin of this diffusion of the law of Buddha was no human work, but sprung from the same cause as the dream of Ming Ti (pp. 23-25). The three precious ones above referred to, are the Buddhist trinity, everywhere acknowledged, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—or, as some say, Buddha—the law and the church. The dream of Ming Ti resembles that which we know as the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, and foretells the coming of "the Saviour," one of the names given to Siddartha. The vision of a divine being, 70 feet high, with a body like gold, and his head glorious as the sun—one who is fanciful may here discern a likeness to the individual described in Rev. i. 13, seq.—induced the king to send to India to seek after the law of Fo, or Buddha. Some one speaking of two great towers adorned with all the precious substances, which had been erected at a certain town—the Taxila of the Greeks—to commemorate episodes in the life of Buddha, makes the remark "The kings, ministers, and people of all the surrounding countries vie with each other in making religious offerings at these places, in scattering flowers and burning incense continually" (p. 33).

"In the city of Hilo is the Vitiara containing the relic of the skull-bone of Buddha. This Vitiara is entirely covered with plates of gold, and decorated with the seven precious substances (gold, silver, lapis lazuli, crystal, cornelian, coral, and ruby.) The king of the country reverences in a high degree this sacred relic." As this example shows well the Buddhist veneration for memorials of the dead, I will not quote more. It is clear that old bones were regarded with religious awe in Hindostan before they were enshrined in Christendom. In the case above recorded, "extraordinary pains are taken to preserve the relic from theft or substitution, and the king offers flowers and incense in front of it daily, then bends his head to the ground before it in adoration, and departs." In another place Buddha's robe is kept, although we may fairly doubt whether he ever possessed one, but doubtless it is quite as authentic as "the holy coat" of Treves, or the Virgin Mary's milk. There is another relic of Sakya not yet copied by Christian pagans, viz., the shadow of the great teacher—which lives in a cave, and can only be seen by the faithful (p. 45, 46). We commend this to thaumaturgical Gallican divines, such as those who describe how certain it is that Mary of Judea came to show herself at Lourdes, and to talk French.

On arriving at the Punjaub the record states, "The law of Buddha is prosperous and flourishing here..." On seeing disciples from China coming among them they were much affected, and spoke thus: "How wonderful to think that men from the ends of the earth should know the character of this religion, and should come thus far to seek the law of Buddha. We received from them all that we required, and were treated according to the provisions of the law" (p. 51,52). "All the kingdoms beyond the sandy deserts are spoken of as belonging to Western India. The kings of all these countries firmly believe in the law of Buddha" (pp. 53, 54).