Journal Of The Pali Text Society, 1906-1907 eBook

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. During the twenty centuries of development in the Far East Buddhism has been differentiated into many sects, which are so far distinct from their original Hindu types that we are justified in designating far-eastern Buddhism by a special name. Though, as a matter of course, all these different sects trace back their final authority to the Indian founder, and were introduced by Indian missionaries into the lands where they have been thriving throughout their long history, they would not have reached the present stage of perfection unless they had been elaborated by Chinese and Japanese geniuses. Students of Buddhism, therefore, cannot well afiord to ignore or neglect the study of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism, not only in its historical aspect, but also as a living and still growing spiritual force.