Buddhist Philosophy in India and Ceylon

by A. Berriedale Keith

This book deals with almost every aspect of Buddhist Philosophy from Personality to doctrine of the Buddha, fundamental character, nature and spirit of philosophy, doctrine of causation and the path of salvation, the Saint and the Buddha to the School of Hinayana, the philosophy of consciousness and the origin, the development of Buddhisations and Buddhas.

The book covers the subject of Buddhism thoroughly in a manner which makes it interesting to read and easy to understand. A special care has been taken to put the principles of Buddhist philosophy in proper order so that the reader finds the book very useful and enjoyable.

About the Author:

Arthur Berriedale Keith (1879-1944), an eminent authority on Sanskrit language and literature, was born at Portobello, Edinburgh on 5 April 1879. After a brilliant academic career at Edinburgh and Balliol College, Oxford where he studied classics, Sanskrit and Pali, he entered the British Civil Service in 1901. In 1904, he was called to the bar at Inner Temple. Though better known for his deep study of Sanskrit language and literature, Keith also had a deep understanding of law. In 1914, he joined the University of Edinburgh as a Regius Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology and from 1922 he concurrently held the lectureship in the Constitution of the British Empire.

Apart from being a member of the Committee on Home Administration of Indian Affairs (1919), he was also a member of a number of important Commissions. He died in Edinburgh on 6 October 1944. Arthur Berriedale Keith's contributions on Sanskrit language and literature are diverse and are marked by a deep understanding of the obstruse subjects as is evident from his books and many articles in learned journals and translations of ancient Sanskrit Texts.

His History of Sanskrit Literature, Sanskrit Drama, Classical Sanskrit Literature, Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads, Samkhya System: A History of the Samkhya Philosophy, Responsible Government in the Dominions apart from the translations of the Karma-Mimamsa, Aitareya Aranyaka, Sankhayana Aranyaka and Mythology of All Raees: Indian and Iranian (jointly with Albert J. Carony) and Vedic Index of Names and Subjects (jointly with A.A. Macdonell) bear testimony to his deep scholarship.