Ceylon; an Account of the Island | Page 7

that in a work so extended in its scope, and
comprehending such a multiplicity of facts, errors are nearly
unavoidable both as to conclusions and detail. These, so far as I became
aware of them, I have endeavoured to correct in the present, as well as
in previous impressions.
But my principal reliance for the suggestion and supply both of
amendments and omissions has been on the press and the public of
Ceylon; whose familiarity with the topics discussed naturally renders
them the most competent judges as to the mode in which they have
been treated. My hope when the book was published in October last
was, that before going again to press I should be in possession of such
friendly communications and criticisms from the island, as would have
enabled me to render the second edition much more valuable than the
previous one. In this expectation I have been agreeably disappointed,
the sale having been so rapid, as to require a fourth impression before it
was possible to obtain from Ceylon judicious criticisms on the first.
These in due time will doubtless arrive; and meanwhile, I have
endeavoured, by careful revision, to render the whole as far as possible
correct.
J. EMERSON TENNENT.

NOTICE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
The call for a third edition on the same day that the second was
announced for publication, and within less than two months from the
appearance of the first, has furnished a gratifying assurance of the
interest which the public are disposed to take in the subject of the
present work.
Thus encouraged, I have felt it my duty to make several alterations in
the present impression, amongst the most important of which is the
insertion of a
Chapter on
the doctrines of Buddhism as it developes itself in Ceylon.[1] In the
historical sections I had already given an account of its introduction by
Mahindo, and of the establishments founded by successive sovereigns

for its preservation and diffusion. To render the narrative complete, it
was felt desirable to insert an abstract of the peculiar tenets of the
Buddhists; and this want it has been my object to supply. The sketch, it
will be borne in mind, is confined to the principal features of what has
been denominated "_Southern Buddhism_" amongst the Singhalese; as
distinguished from "_Northern Buddhism_" in Nepal, Thibet, and
China.[2] The latter has been largely illustrated by the labours of Mr.
B.H. HODGSON and the toilsome researches of M. CSOMA of Körrös
in Transylvania; and the minutest details of the doctrines and
ceremonies of the former have been unfolded in the elaborate and
comprehensive collections of Mr. SPENCE HARDY.[3] From
materials discovered by these and other earnest inquirers, Buddhism in
its general aspect has been ably delineated in the dissertations of
BURNOUF[4] and SAINT HILAIRE[5], and in the commentaries of
REMUSAT[6], STANISLAS JULIEN[7], FOUCAUX[8], LASSEN[9],
and WEBER.[10] The portion thus added to the present edition has
been to a great extent taken from a former work of mine on the local
superstitions of Ceylon, and the "_Introduction and Progress of
Christianity_" there; and as the section relating to Buddhism had the
advantage, previous to publication, of being submitted to the Rev. Mr.
GOGERLY, the most accomplished Pali scholar, as well as the most
erudite student of Buddhistical literature in the island, I submit it with
confidence as an accurate summary of the distinctive views of the
Singhalese on the leading doctrines of their national faith.
[Footnote 1: See
Part IV., c. xi.]
[Footnote 2: MAX MÜLLER; _History of Sanskrit Literature_, p. 202.]
[Footnote 3: _Eastern Monachism_, an account of the origin, laws;
discipline, sacred writings, mysterious rites, religious ceremonies, and
present circumstances of the Order of Mendicants, founded by Gotoma
Budha. 8vo. Lond. 1850; and A Manual of Buddhism in its Modern
Development. 8vo. Lond. 1853.]
[Footnote 4: BURNOUF, _Introduction à l'Histoire du Bouddhieme
Indien_. 4to. Paris. 1845; and translation of the Lotus de la bonne Loi.]

[Footnote 5: J. BARTHELEMY SAINT-HILAIRE Le Bouddha et sa
Religion. 8vo. Paris. 1800.]
[Footnote 6: Introduction and Notes to the _Fo[)e] Kou[)e] Ki_ of FA
HIAN.]
[Footnote 7: Life and travels of HIOUEN THSANG.]
[Footnote 8: Translation of _Lalitavistára_ by M. PH. ED.
FOUCAUX.]
[Footnote 9: Author of the _Indische Alterthumskunde;_ &c.]
[Footnote 10: Author of the _Indische Studien_; &c.]
A writer in the _Saturday Review_[1], in alluding to the passage in
which I have sought to establish the identity of the ancient Tarshish
with the modern Point de Galle[2], admits the force of the coincidence
adduced, that the Hebrew terms for "ivory, apes, and peacocks"[3] (the
articles imported in the ships of Solomon) are identical with the Tamil
names, by which these objects are known in Ceylon to the present day;
and, to strengthen my argument on this point, he adds that,