ddhism.]

This great theological system, enforced by a tyrannical hierarchy, did
not maintain itself without a conflict. Buddhism arose as its
antagonist. By an inevitable necessity, Vedaism must pass onward to
Buddhism. The prophetic foresight of the great founder of this system
was justified by its prodigious, its unparalleled and enduring
success--a success that rested on the assertion of the dogma of the
absolute equality of all men, and this in a country that for ages had
been oppressed by castes. If the Buddhist admits the existence of God,
it is not as a Creator, for matter is equally eternal; and since it
possesses a property of inherent organization, even if the universe
should perish, this quality would quickly restore it, and carry it on to
new regenerations and new decays without any external agency. It also is
endued with intelligence and consciousness. The Buddhists agree with the
Brahmins in the doctrine of Quietism, in the care of animal life, in
transmigration. They deny the Vedas and Puranas, have no castes, and,
agreeably to their cardinal principle, draw their priests from all
classes like the European monks. They live in monasteries, dress in
yellow, go barefoot, their heads and beards being shaved; they have
constant services in their chapels, chanting, incense, and candles;
erect monuments and temples over the relics of holy men. They place an
especial merit in celibacy; renounce all the pleasures of sense; eat in
one hall; receive alms. To do these things is incident to a certain
phase of human progress.

[Sidenote: Life of Arddha Chiddi.]

Buddhism arose about the tenth century before Christ, its founder being
Arddha Chiddi, a native of Capila, near Nepaul. Of his epoch there are,
however, many statements. The Avars, Siamese, and Cingalese fix it B.C.
600; the Cashmerians, B.C. 1332; the Chinese, Mongols, and Japanese,
B.C. 1000. The Sanscrit words occurring in Buddhism attest its Hindu
origin, Buddha itself being the Sanscrit for intelligence. After the
system had spread widely in India, it was carried by missionaries into
Ceylon, Tartary, Thibet, China, Japan, Burmah, and is now professed by a
greater portion of the human race than any other religion. Until quite
recently, the history of Arddha Chiddi and the system he taught have,
notwithstanding their singular interest, been very imperfectly known in
Europe. He was born in affluence and of a royal family. In his
twenty-ninth year he retir