Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion as Illustrated by Some Points in the History of Indian Buddhism

Lecture I, “The Place of Buddhism in the Development of Religious Thought,” establishes the comparative and historical method of the book. It discusses the proper and improper uses of comparing religions, warns against judging other traditions merely by their resemblance to Christianity, and places Buddhism within the long evolution of Indian religious ideas. Lecture II, “The Pāli Piṭakas,” examines the early Buddhist scriptures, their formation, transmission, and historical value. Rhys Davids treats the Pāli canon as a central source for reconstructing early Buddhist teaching, while also applying critical historical caution to questions of authorship, dating, and textual development. Lecture III, “The Buddhist Theory of Karma,” analyzes how Buddhism inherited and transformed the older Indian doctrine of transmigration. Rhys Davids highlights the Buddhist reinterpretation of karma without an eternal soul, linking moral causation, personal continuity, rebirth, and ethical responsibility. Lecture IV, “Buddhist Lives of the Buddha,” explores early representations of Gotama Buddha’s life. The lecture studies how Buddhist communities remembered the Buddha, shaped narratives of his character, and expressed reverence through biography, legend, and religious imagination. Lecture V, “Gotama’s Order,” focuses on the Buddhist Saṅgha, its origin, discipline, communal structure, and early institutional life. It presents the Order as a decisive factor in preserving and transmitting the Buddhist path. Lecture VI, “Later Forms of Buddhism,” discusses later Buddhist developments, including doctrinal expansion, the rise of broader devotional and salvific ideals, and the movement toward what later came to be associated with the “Great Vehicle.” The lecture also considers individuality, impermanence, non-self, and the final aims of Buddhist practice.