ave worked for them, is to bestir themselves
to throw some light on their own origins and doctrines."

I am afraid we shall have to wait long for this help to come from the
Buddhist bhikkhus, almost the only learned men of Ceylon; at least I
have not been able during an intimate intercourse of twenty-two years,
to arouse their zeal. It has always seemed to me incongruous that an
American, making no claims at all to scholarship, should be looked to
by the Sinhalese to help them teach the dharma to their children; and
as I believe I have said in an earlier edition, I only consented to
write THE BUDDHIST CATECHISM after I had found that no bhikkhu would
undertake it. Whatever its demerits, I can at least say that the work
contains the essence of some 15,000 pages of Buddhist teaching that I
have read in connexion with my work.

H. S. O.

ADYAR, 7_th February_, 1903.

PREFACE

TO THE FORTIETH EDITION

The popularity of this little work is proved by the constant demand for
new editions, in English and other languages. In looking over the
matter for the present edition, I have found very little to change or
to add, for the work seems to present a very fair idea of the contents
of Southern Buddhism; and, as my object is never to write an extended
essay on the subject, I resist the temptation to wander off into
amplifications of details which, however interesting to the student of
comparative religion, are useless in a rational scheme of elementary
instruction.

The new Sinhalese version (38th edition) which is being prepared by my
respected friend, D. B. Jayatilaka, Principal of [=A]nanda (Buddhist)
College, Colombo, is partly printed, but cannot be completed until he
is relieved of some of the pressure upon his time. The Tamil version
(41st edition) has been undertaken by the leaders of the Panchama
community of Madras, and will shortly issue from the press. The
Spanish version (39th edition) is in the hands of my friend, Senor
Xifre, and the French one (37th edition) in those of Commandant Courmes.

So the work goes on, and by this unpretending agency the teachings of
the Buddha Dharma are being carried throughout the world.

H. S. O.

ADYAR, 7_th January_, 1905.

PREFACE

TO THE FORTY-SECOND EDITION

The writer of this Catechism has passed away from earth, but, before he
left the body, he had arranged with the High Priest Sumangala to make
some small corrections in the text. These are inc