tent of Moslim influence. Every student of Indian religion
should bear in mind this dictum of the great French savant. After the
sixteenth century there is no difficulty in supposing direct contact
with Roman Catholicism. Tukaram, the Maratha poet who lived
comparatively near to Goa, may have imitated the diction of the
Gospels.

Some authors[1101] are disposed to see Christian influence in Chinese
and Japanese Buddhism, particularly in the Amidist sects. I have
touched on this subject in several places but it may be well to
summarize my conclusions here.

The chief Amidist doctrines are clearly defined in the Sukha
vati-vyuha which was translated from Sanskrit into Chinese in the
latter half of the second century A.D. It must therefore have existed
in Sanskrit at least in the first century of our era, at which period
dogmatic Christianity could hardly have penetrated to India or any
part of Central Asia where a Sanskrit treatise was likely to be
written. Its doctrines must therefore be independent of Christianity
and indeed their resemblance to Christianity is often exaggerated, for
though salvation by faith in Amida is remarkably like justification by
faith, yet Amida is not a Saviour who died for the world and faith in
him is coupled with the use of certain invocations. The whole theory
has close parallels in Zoroastrianism and is also a natural
development of ideas already existing in India.

Nor can I think that the common use of rites on behalf of the dead in
Buddhist China is traceable to Christianity. In this case too the
parallel is superficial, for the rites are in most cases not prayers
_for_ the dead: the officiants recite formulae by which they acquire
merit and they then formally transfer this merit to the dead. Seeing
how great was the importance assigned to the cult of the dead in
China, it is not necessary to seek for explanations why a religion
trying to win its way in those countries invented ceremonies to
satisfy the popular craving, and Buddhism had no need to imitate
Christianity, for from an early period it had countenanced offerings
intended to comfort and help the departed.

Under the T'ang dynasty Manichaeism, Nestorianism and new streams of
Buddhism all entered China. These religions had some similarity to one
another, their clergy may have co-operated and Manichaeism certainly
adopted Buddhist ideas. There is no reason why Buddhism should not
have adopted Nestorian ideas and, in so far a