Before T.W. Rhys Davids and some others ventured into interpretations of obscure sources of Buddhist philosophy and history, most of the material was lying scattered. It was strange, and very characteristic of the real meaning of true Buddhism, that there was no life of Gautama the Buddha in the Buddhist scriptures. Rhs Davids, in writing this book, regarded "Buddhism as a different kind of religion divorced from all that is known of religion in the traditional sense of the term."

The History and Literature of Buddhism, Rhys Davids, Munshiram Maniharkak, Paperback, 1896/1999, 127 pp, $12.00

T.W. Rhys Davids has been a member of Ceylon Civil Service and spent long time in India. He was a famous Pali scholar and well-known to all who are interested in the study of Indian religions. Few writers have contributed so much to our knowledge of Buddhism. He founded Pali Text Society in 1882 and was a constant contributor to its publications. He was made a Professor of Pali and Buddhist literature at the University College, London in 1882 and in 1904 was appointed Professor of Comparative Religion at Manchester. He also acted for some time as Secretary and Librarian, the Royal Asiatic Society.

Contents

Lecture 1
Religious Theories in India before Buddhism

Lecture 2
The Authorities on which Our Knowledge of Buddhism is Based

Lecture 3
The Life of the Buddha

Lecture 4
The Secret of Buddhism

Lecture 5
The Secret of Buddhism (contd.)

Lecture 6
Some Notes on the History of Buddhsm

Appendix to Lecture 2


Index