A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v2.c32.81

v2.c32.81

“It was this phase of Buddhism that with the strenuous efforts of the missionaries and of the Emperor Asoka enables it to achieve success amongst the masses of the people; and what was wanting on the theistic side was supplied by the perfection and marvellous powers attributed to the founder of the religion. Without this faith in the perfection or, what we should call the divine nature of Buddha, a mere ethical religion would probably not have succeeded. Buddhism was not a social revolution as has been thought by some writers. It was a religion established and propagated by persons who had renounced the world and professed not to care for it. From times of old there existed in the Indian community such persons who were called Sramanas and belonged originally to all castes. These gave themselves to contemplation and sometimes propounded doctrines of salvation not in harmony with the prevalent creed. Buddhism was not even a revolt against caste, for though men from all castes were admitted to the monastic order, and though in the discourses of Buddha himself and others the distinction of caste is pronounced to be entirely worthless, still the object of those who elaborated the system was not to level caste distinctions. They even left the domestic ceremonies of their followers to be performed according to the Vedic ritual. This is one of the arguments brought against Buddhism by Udayanáchárya. "There does not exist," he says, "a sect, the followers of which do not perform the Vedic rites beginning with Garbhádhána and ending with the funeral, even though they regard them as having relative or tentative truth."* Buddhism, however, was a revolt against the sacrificial system and denied the authority of the Vedas as calculated to point out the path to salvation. And this is the root of the hostility between itself and Brahmanism.”*