soka of the Rock Edicts was wiser, more tolerant, more humane
than the Christ of the Gospels.

Nowhere did Christ or the Fathers of His Church forbid slavery; nowhere
did they forbid religious intolerance; nowhere did they forbid cruelty
to animals.

The type of character displayed by the rock inscriptions of King Asoka
was a higher and sweeter type than the type of character displayed by
the Jesus of the Gospels.

Does this prove that King Asoka or his teacher, Buddha, was divine? Does
it prove that the Buddhist faith is the only true faith? I shall treat
this question more fully in another chapter.

Another Christian argument is the claim that the faithfulness of
the Christian martyrs proves Christianity to be true. A most amazing
argument. The fact that a man dies for a faith does not prove the faith
to be true; it proves that he believes it to be true--a very different
thing.

The Jews denied the Christian faith, and died for their own. Does that
prove that Christianity was not true? Did the Protestant martyrs prove
Protestantism true? Then the Catholic martyrs proved the reverse.

The Christians martyred or murdered millions, many millions, of innocent
men and women. Does _that_ prove that Christ was divine? No: it only
proves that Christians could be fanatical, intolerant, bloody, and
cruel.

And now, will you ponder these words of Arthur Lillie, M.A., the author
of _Buddha and Buddhism_? Speaking of the astonishing success of the
Buddhist missionaries, Mr. Lillie says:

This success was effected by moral means alone, for Buddhism
_is the one religion guiltless of coercion_.

Christians are always boasting of the wonderful good works wrought by
their religion. They are silent about the horrors, infamies, and shames
of which it has been guilty.

Buddhism is the only religion with no blood upon its hands. I submit
another very significant quotation from Mr. Lillie:

I will write down a few of the achievements of this inactive Buddha and
the army of Bhikshus that he directed:

1. The most formidable priestly tyranny that the world had ever seen
crumbled away before his attack, and the followers of Buddha were
paramount in India for a thousand years.

2. The institution of caste was assailed and overthrown.

3. Polygamy was for the first time assailed and overturned.

4. Woman, from being considered a chattel and a beast of burden, was
for the first time con