By a comparison of the various epochs assigned to his birth, it is
inferred that he lived about one thousand years before Christ.
He was the son of a king; and when in conformity to the usage of
the country he was, a few days after his birth, presented before
the altar of a deity, the image is said to have inclined its head
as a presage of the future greatness of the new-born prophet. The
child soon developed faculties of the first order, and became
equally distinguished by the uncommon beauty of his person. No
sooner had he grown to years of maturity than he began to reflect
deeply on the depravity and misery of mankind, and he conceived
the idea of retiring from society and devoting himself to
meditation. His father in vain opposed this design. Buddha escaped
the vigilance of his guards, and having found a secure retreat,
lived for six years undisturbed in his devout contemplations. At
the expiration of that period he came forward at Benares as a
religious teacher. At first some who heard him doubted of the
soundness of his mind; but his doctrines soon gained credit, and
were propagated so rapidly that Buddha himself lived to see them
spread all over India. He died at the age of eighty years.
The Buddhists reject entirely the authority of the Vedas, and the
religious observances prescribed in them and kept by the Hindus.
Pages:
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492