Not a single building or sculptured stone has been discovered in continental India of earlier date than the reign of this monarch. A remark able spirit of charity and toleration runs through these royal sermons. The 'king beloved of the gods' desires to sec the ascetics of all creeds living in all places, for they all teach the essen tial rules of conduct. "A man ought to honor his own faith only; hut he should never abuse the faith of others. . . . There are even circumstances where the religion of others ought to be honored, and in acting thus a man fortifies his own faith and assists the faith of others." For the glimpses v.e get of the state of Bud dhism in India we are indebted ehiefly to the accounts of Chinese pilgrims. Fa-bian, at the end of the Fourth Century, found some appear ances of decline in the east of Hindustan, its birthplace. but it was still strong in the Punjab and the north. In Ceylon it was flourishing in full vigor, the ascetics or monks numbering from 50,000 to 60.000. In the Seventh Century—that is. I200 years after the death of the Buddha iliouen-Thsang represents it as dominant but de caying, though patronized by powerful r5jas.
During the first four or five centuries of our era, and in some instances much earlier, Buddhists, perhaps driven from the great cities, retired among the hills of the west. and there construct
. ed those cave-temples which, for their number. vastness, and elaborate structure, continue to excite the wonder of all who see them. There are reckoned to be not fewer than 900 Buddhist excavations still extant in India, nearly all with in the l'resideney of Bombay. How the destruc tion of the Buddhist faith in Hindustan came about—whether from internal corruption, or the persecution of powerful princes, adherents of the old faith—we are utterly in the dark. But it is certain that from the time of Hicmen-Thsang's visit its decay must have been rapid beyond precedent, for about the Eleventh or Twelfth Century the last traces of it disappear from the Indian peninsula.
What. then. is the nature of this faith, which has been for so long, and is still, the sole light of so many millions of human beings? In an swering this question we must confine ourselves here to a brief outline of the intellectual theory on which the system is based, and of the general character of its morality and ritual observances. as they were conceived by the founder and his more immediate followers: referring for the various forms which the external observances have assumed to the several countries where it is believed and practiced. See BURMA : CEYLON :