he spiritual aspirations of the nation. As Knox said in a period when
it was not particularly flourishing, the Hindu gods look after worldly
affairs but Buddha after the soul. When the island passed under
British rule and all religions received impartial recognition, the
result was not disastrous to Buddhism: the number of Bhikkhus greatly
increased, especially in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
And if in earlier periods there was an interval in which technically
speaking the Sangha did not exist, this did not mean that interest in
it ceased, for as soon as the kingdom became prosperous the first care
of the kings was to set the Church in order. This zeal can be
attributed to nothing but conviction and affection, for Buddhism is
not a faith politically useful to an energetic and warlike prince.

5

Sinhalese Buddhism is often styled primitive or original and it may fairly
be said to preserve in substance both the doctrine and practice inculcated
in the earliest Pali literature. In calling this primitive we must remember
the possibility that some of this literature was elaborated in Ceylon
itself. But, putting the text of the Pitakas aside, it would seem that the
early Sinhalese Buddhism was the same as that of Asoka, and that it never
underwent any important change. It is true that mediaeval Sinhalese
literature is full of supernatural legends respecting the Buddha,[101] but
still he does not become a god (for he has attained Nirvana) and the great
Bodhisattvas, Avalokita and Manjusri, are practically unknown. The
_Abhidhammattha-sangaha_,[102] which is still the text-book most in use
among the Bhikkhus, adheres rigidly to the methods of the Abhidhamma.[103]
It contains neither devotional nor magical matter but prescribes a course
of austere mental training, based on psychological analysis and culminating
in the rapture of meditation. Such studies and exercises are beyond the
capacity of the majority, but no other road to salvation is officially
sanctioned for the Bhikkhu. It is admitted that there are no Arhats
now--just as Christianity has no contemporary saints--but no other ideal,
such as the Boddhisattva of the Mahayanists, is held up for imitation.

Mediaeval images of Avalokita and of goddesses have however been found
in Ceylon.[104] This is hardly surprising for the island was on the
main road to China, Java, and Camboja[105] and Mahayanist teachers and
pilgrims must have continually passed through