Three lectures on Buddhism - Tapa blanda

Reseña del editor

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1871 Excerpt: ... of immorality and political anarchy, nnd especially to the primary work of tamin? sav age iribes whom it weaned from habits of. cruelly, blood-thirstiness and bestiality, whose intemperate habits wero successfully checked by enjoining complete abstinence, and who were taught to obey the law ami to submit to the rules of morality, and thus prepared for civilisation. Again, this system of monasticism, which offered a welcome 'to people of all classes and all nations, formed an excellent substitute for the nar. row-minded exclusivoDess of caste in India. In countries where Buddhism failed to extirpate caste, as for instance in Ceylon, this monastic and ecclesiastical system modified the pretensions of caste and counterbalanced its evils. In other countries, where warfare, despotism and feudal systems lacerated tho peace of Asiatic peoples, producing even greater evils than caste in India ever did, there this Buddhist system of monasticism came in most suitably, teaching the equality of all nations and establishmg a common brotherhood, a grand international league of morality, fraternity and abstinence. On the other hand, every system of monasticism is morally bad and loads to cramp the intellect. I say it is morally to be condemned because tho self-abnegation originally involved in giving up a worldly life is soon for consistency's sake supplemented I by a life of soltish or cowardly seclusion. Monasticism is also detrimental to a healthy development of the intellectual faculties, as history and experience abundantly prove. In the case of Buddhism I need only point to the fact, that it produced no literature worthy to be compared with even that of China, let alone that of European' nations; that it never encouraged art or science; that it failed to comprehend...