zing spirit awoke among
the disciples of the Indian reformer, an element entirely new in the
history of ancient religions. No Jew, no Greek, no Roman, no Brahman
ever thought of converting people to his own national form of worship.
Religion was looked upon as private or national property. It was to be
guarded against strangers. The most sacred names of the gods, the
prayers by which their favour could be gained, were kept secret. No
religion, however, was more exclusive than that of the Brahmans. A
Brahman was born, nay, twice-born. He could not be made. Not even the
lowest caste, that of the _S_udras, would open its ranks to a
stranger. Here lay the secret of Buddha's success. He addressed
himself to castes and outcasts. He promised salvation to all; and he
commanded his disciples to preach his doctrine in all places and to
all men. A sense of duty, extending from the narrow limits of the
house, the village, and the country to the widest circle of mankind, a
feeling of sympathy and brotherhood towards all men, the idea, in
fact, of humanity, were in India first pronounced by Buddha. In the
third Buddhist Council, the acts of which have been preserved to us in
the 'Mahavansa,'[76] we hear of missionaries being sent to the chief
countries beyond India. This Council, we are told, took place 308
B.C., 235 years after the death of Buddha, in the 17th year of the
reign of the famous king A_s_oka, whose edicts have been preserved to
us on rock inscriptions in various parts of India. There are sentences
in these inscriptions of A_s_oka which might be read with advantage by
our own missionaries, though they are now more than 2000 years old.
Thus it is written on the rocks of Girnar, Dhauli, and Kapurdigiri--

'Piyadasi, the king beloved of the gods, desires that the
ascetics of all creeds might reside in all places. All these
ascetics profess alike the command which people should
exercise over themselves, and the purity of the soul. But
people have different opinions, and different inclinations.'

And again:

'A man ought to honour his own faith only; but he should
never abuse the faith of others. It is thus that he will do
no harm to anybody. There are even circumstances where the
religion of others ought to be honoured. And in acting
thus, a man fortifies his own faith, and assists the faith
of others. He who acts otherwise, diminishes his own faith,
and hurts t