Studies in the Origins of Buddhism c2.4

c2.4

dations of Indian religion and culture. They have shown that a civilized non-Vedic culture once existed in prehistoric India. This invalidates the common assumption that all higher thought in India existing before Buddha must necessarily have had a Vedic origin. In fact, civilization in India, as elsewhere, has been a composite creation. Numerous races and cultural communities have met and struggled and mingled in the long history of Indian culture which has progressed through the synthesis of diverse conflicts. It seems desirable to review from this standpoint the development of Vedic religion and culture and of the social and intellectual tendencies of the Age of Buddha and Mahāvīra. The task is here attempted principally in Chapters VIII—IX.