The Legends and Theories of the Buddhists Compared with History and Science

The book’s main content proceeds from a historical and critical testing of Buddhist legend to a systematic critique of Buddhist doctrine and cosmology. It first explains how legendary narratives should be assessed by historical evidence, using Indian, Roman, and Sinhalese examples to show the author’s criteria for separating history from myth. It then examines Buddhist sacred literature and chronology, especially the dating and transmission of the Pitakas. The following sections address Buddhist cosmology in detail, including the structure of the universe, Mount Meru, the sun and moon, oceans, continents, Jambudipa, the Himalaya, Anotatta Lake, fabulous trees, animals, and other natural descriptions, all compared with nineteenth-century science. The work then turns to Buddhist ontology, treating former births, rebirth, the denial of soul, nirvana, and mystic powers, presenting these as philosophical and religious problems. The final chapter discusses the development of Buddhism by questioning the historicity of Gotama Buddha’s life as preserved in Buddhist texts, comparing Buddhist legends with other religious traditions, reviewing monastic institutions and ethical teachings, and concluding with a Christian critique of Buddhist doctrine and practice.