Buddha and Buddhism

Buddha and Buddhism is a historical and comparative study written by Arthur Lillie, one of the early Western authors deeply interested in Buddhist philosophy and religious history. The work seeks to reconstruct the life and teachings of the Buddha while situating Buddhism within the broader religious landscape of ancient India. The book begins by discussing the religious world preceding Buddhism, especially the cult of the Rishis, ancestor worship, sacred trees, stupas, pilgrimage sites, and Vedic cosmology. Lillie argues that early Buddhist ideas emerged gradually from earlier Indian religious traditions rather than appearing as a complete rejection of Brahmanism. He pays particular attention to concepts such as Nirvana, Brahma, saint worship, and the symbolic meaning of stupas and sacred geography. A major portion of the work is devoted to the life of the Buddha, including traditional narratives surrounding Queen Maya, the miraculous birth, prophetic signs, renunciation, enlightenment, and the spread of the Dharma. Lillie frequently compares Buddhist narratives with Christian traditions, especially apocryphal Gospel literature, highlighting similarities in motifs such as miraculous birth stories, wise sages, prophecies, and childhood wisdom narratives. The author also critiques nineteenth-century interpretations that portrayed Buddhism as purely atheistic or nihilistic. Instead, he argues that Buddhist thought developed through complex theological and philosophical evolution, shaped by broader Indian spiritual traditions. Throughout the book, Lillie combines textual quotations, historical speculation, comparative mythology, and religious philosophy in an attempt to explain Buddhism to Western readers of his time. Although some historical arguments reflect nineteenth-century scholarship and are debated today, the work remains valuable as an example of early Western Buddhist studies and comparative religion scholarship. It offers insight into how Buddhism was interpreted and presented in the intellectual climate of modern Europe.