The Buddha and His Religion

by J. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire

The present work is a critical study of Buddhism and its doctrines, originally published in French as Le Bouddha et sa religion in 1866. It gives an outline of the history of Buddhism, the birth of Buddha, his renunciation, his teachings and his death. The Buddhist doctrines as put forth by the canons are carefully expounded in relation to western religion and philosophy, and judged according to their merits and defects. 

It also narrates the spread of Buddhism beyond its place of origin to Nepal, Tibet, Mangolia, China and Ceylon.

Particular emphasis is given to the state of Buddhism as it existed twelve hundred years after the death of Buddha, as is set forth in the Travels and memoirs of Xuanzang.

A separate chapter is devoted to Buddhism in Ceylon. Contribution of scholars, like B.H. Hodgson, Alexander Csoma, George Turnour, Eugene Burnouf and Spence Hardy who were pioneers in the study of Buddhism and are responsible for all that we know of Buddhism today is also discussed.

About the Author:

Jules Barthelemy-Saint-Hilaire (1805-1895) was a French politician, journalist, and scholar. He wrote in the areas of history, sociology, political economy, and languages. He published a translation of the works of Marcus Aurelius (1876) and wrote several studies of Oriental religions, but he is perhaps best remembered for his monumental 35-volume translation (1833-95) of the works of Aristotle. He studied Sanskrit under Eugene Burnouf. After the death of Burnouf he took his place as a writer of Indian matters in the Journal des Savants. His contribution to indology is also valuable, amongst his publications are: Des Vedas (1854); Du Bouddhisme (1855); Le Bouddha et sa religion (1866) and L'Inde Anglaise (1887).