543 B.C.--almost the time of the Buddha--and gives most
particulars of his life, as well as those of the Emperor Asoka and all
other sovereigns related to Buddhistic history.

103. Q. _By what names of respect is the Buddha called?_

A. Sakyamuni (the Sakya Sage); Sakya-Simha (the Sakyan
Lion); Sugata (the Happy One); Satthta (the Teacher); Jina (the
Conqueror), Bhagavat (the Blessed One); Lokanatha (the Lord of the
World); Sarvajna (the Omniscient One); Dharmaraja (the King of
Truth); Tathagata (the Great Being), etc.

[1] The word "religion" is most inappropriate to apply to Buddhism
which is not a religion, but a moral philosophy, as I have shown later
on. But, by common usage the word has been applied to all groups of
people who profess a special moral doctrine, and is so employed by
statisticians. The Sinhalese Buddhists have never yet had any
conception of what Europeans imply in the etymological construction of
the Latin root of this term. In their creed there is no such thing as
a "binding" in the Christian sense--a submission to or merging of self
in a Divine Being. _Agama_ is their vernacular word to express
their relation to Buddhism and the BUDDHA. It is pure Samskrt, and
means "approach, or coming"; and as "_Buddha_" is enlightenment, the
compound word by which they indicate Buddhism--_Buddhagama_--would
be properly rendered as "an approach or coming to enlightenment," or
possibly as a following of the Doctrine of SAKYAMUNI. The
missionaries, finding _Agama_ ready to their hand, adopted it as the
equivalent for "religion"; and Christianity is written by them
_Christianagama_, whereas it should be _Christianibandhana_, for
_bandhana_ is the etymological equivalent for "religion". The name
_Vibhajja vada_--one who analyses--is another name given to a
Buddhist, and Advayavadi is a third. With this explanation, I
continue to employ under protest the familiar word when speaking of
Buddhistic philosophy, for the convenience of the ordinary reader.

[2] See the definition of _deva_ given later.

[3] For an admirable account of this interview consult Dr. Paul Carus'
_Gospel of Buddha_, page 20, _et seq._

[4] The term Hindu, once a contemptuous term, used by the
Musalmans to designate the people of Sindh, whom they conquered, is
now used in an ecclesiastical sense.

[5] No reason is given in the canonical books for the choice of this
side of the tree, though an explanation is to be found in