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LECTURE I.
THE PLACE OP BUDDHISM IN THE DEVE-
LOPEMENT OP RELIGIOUS THOUGHT.
Right and Wrong Uses of the Comparative Study of
Religious Beliefs.
It would be a hopeless task to attempt in six Lec-
tures, that is to say, in six hours, to give any adequate
account of that great movement which has influenced
the greater portion of the human race during the lapse
of so many centuries. It is therefore matter for con-
gratulation that the task allotted to us is a much lighter
one,to discuss those points in the history of Bud-
dhism which appear likely to throw light on the origin
and growth of religious belief. This means, as I un-
derstand it, the origin and growth of religion outside,
as well as inside, the circle of the Buddhist beliefs
themselves. What we have to do is, in a word, to
apply a particular method, the comparative method,
to the study of the facts revealed to us by the history
of Buddhism.
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