Hinduism and Buddhism, Volume 2

Hinduism and Buddhism, Volume 2

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3)
by Charles Eliot This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Hinduism And Buddhism, Volume II. (of 3) An Historical Sketch
Author: Charles Eliot
Release Date: August 19, 2005 [EBook #16546]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Transcriber's Note:
Volume 1 may be found at http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/2/5/15255/
Excerpts from the Preface to the book from Volume 1, regarding the method of transcription used.
"In the following pages I have occasion to transcribe words belonging to many oriental languages in Latin characters. Unfortunately a uniform system of transcription, applicable to all tongues, seems not to be practical at present. It was attempted in the Sacred Books of the East, but that system has fallen into disuse and is liable to be misunderstood. It therefore seems best to use for each language the method of transcription adopted by standard works in English dealing with each, for French and German transcriptions, whatever their merits may be as representations of the original sounds, are often misleading to English readers, especially in Chinese. For Chinese I have adopted Wade's system as used in Giles's Dictionary, for Tibetan the system of Sarat Chandra Das, for Pali that of the Pali Text Society and for Sanskrit that of Monier-Williams's Sanskrit Dictionary, except that I write s instead of s. Indian languages however offer many difficulties: it is often hard to decide whether Sanskrit or vernacular forms are more suitable and in dealing with Buddhist subjects whether Sanskrit or Pali words should be used. I have found it convenient to vary the form of proper names according as my remarks are based on Sanskrit or on Pali literature, but this obliges me to write the same word differently in different places, e.g. sometimes Ajatasatru and sometimes Ajatasattu, just as in a book dealing with Greek and Latin mythology one might employ both Herakles and Hercules. Also many Indian names such as Ramayana, Krishna, nirvana have become Europeanized or at least are familiar to all Europeans interested in Indian literature. It seems pedantic to write them with their full and accurate complement of accents and dots and my general practice is to give such words in their accurate spelling (Ramayana, etc.) when they are first mentioned and also in the notes but usually to print them in their simpler and unaccented forms. I fear however that my practice in this matter is not entirely consistent since different parts of the book were written at different times."
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS [From Volume 1]
The following are the principal abbreviations used:
Ep. Ind. Epigraphia India.
E.R.E. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (edited by Hastings).
I.A. Indian Antiquary.
J.A. Journal Asiatique.
J.A.O.S. Journal of the American Oriental Society.
J.R.A.S. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.
P.T.S. Pali Text Society.
S.B.E. Sacred Books of the East (Clarendon Press).

HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH

BY
SIR CHARLES ELIOT

In three volumes
VOLUME II

ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL LTD
Broadway House, 68-74 Carter Lane,
London, E.C.4.

First published 1921 Reprinted 1954 Reprinted 1957 Reprinted 1962

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
LUND HUMPHRIES LONDON - BRADFORD

CONTENTS
BOOK IV
THE MAHAYANA

CHAPTER
XVI.
MAIN FEATURES OF THE MAHAYANA
XVII. BODHISATTVAS
XVIII. THE BUDDHAS or MAHAYANISM
XIX. MAHAYANIST METAPHYSICS
XX. MAHAYANIST SCRIPTURES
XXI. CHRONOLOGY OF THE MAHAYANA
XXII. FROM KANISHKA TO VASUBANDHU
XXIII. INDIAN BUDDHISM AS SEEN BY THE CHINESE PILGRIMS
XXIV. DECADENCE OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA
BOOK V
HINDUISM
XXV. SIVA AND VISHNU
XXVI. FEATURES OF HINDUISM: RITUAL, CASTE, SECT, FAITH
XXVII. THE EVOLUTION OF HINDUISM. BH?GAVATAS AND P?SUPATAS
XXVIII. SANKARA. SIVAISM IN SOUTHERN INDIA. KASHMIR. LlNG?YATS
XXIX. VISHNUISM IN SOUTH INDIA
XXX. LATER VISHNUISM IN NORTH INDIA
XXXI. AMALGAMATION OF HINDUISM AND ISLAM. KABIR AND THE SIKHS
XXXII. S?KTISM
XXXIII. HINDU PHILOSOPHY

BOOK IV
THE MAHAYANA

CHAPTER XVI
MAIN FEATURES OF THE MAHAYANA
The obscurest period in the history of Buddhism is that which follows the reign of Asoka, but the enquirer cannot grope for long in these dark ages without stumbling upon the word Mahayana. This is the name given to a movement which in its various phases may be regarded as a philosophical school, a sect and a church, and though it is not always easy to define its relationship to other schools and sects it certainly became a prominent aspect of Buddhism in India about the beginning of our era besides achieving enduring triumphs in the Far East. The word[1] signifies Great Vehicle or Carriage, that is a means of conveyance to salvation, and is contrasted with Hinayana, the Little Vehicle, a name bestowed on the more conservative party though not willingly accepted by them. The simplest description of the two Vehicles is that given by the Chinese traveller I-Ching (635-713 A.D.) who saw them both as living