Buddha: His Life, His Doctrine, His Order

This is a translation of a German work, Buddha, sein Leben, seine Lehre, sein Gemeinde by Prof. Hermann Oldenberg. The original had attracted the attention of European scholars and the name of Oldenberg is a sufficient guarantee of the value of its contents. The distinguised author has in this work demolished the sceptical theory of a solar Buddha put forward by M. Senart. He has sifted the legendary elements of Buddhist tradition and has given the reliable residuum of facts concerning Buddha’s life: he has examined the original teaching of Buddha, shown that the cardinal tenets of the pessimism which he preached are "the truth of suffering and the truth of the deliverance from suffering." he has expounded the ontology of Buddhism and placed Nirvana in a true light. To do this he has gone to the roots of Buddhism in pre-Buddhist Brahmanism: and has given to Indologists the original authorities for his views of Buddhist doctrines in Excurses at the end of the work. To thoughtful men who evince an interest in comparative study of religious beliefs, Buddhism, as the highest effort of pure intellect to solve the problem of being, is attractive. It is not less so to the metaphysician and sociologist who study the philosophy of the modern German pessimistic school and observe its social tendencies. To them Dr. Oldenberg’s work will be as valuable as it is for the Orientalist.