Even Tibet, in his opinion, has not escaped "Western
influence." Let us hope to the contrary. It can be proved that Buddhist
missionaries were as numerous in Palestine, Alexandria, Persia, and even
Greece, two centuries before the Christian era, as the Padris are now in
Asia. That the Gnostic doctrines (as he is obliged to confess) are
permeated with Buddhism. Basilides, Valentinian, Bardesanes, and
especially Manes were simply heretical Buddhists, "the formula of
abjuration of these doctrines in the case of the latter, specifying
expressly Buddha (Bodda) by name."
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Leaflets from Esoteric History
The foregoing--a long, yet necessary digression--will show that the
Asiatic scholar is justified in generally withholding what he may know.
That it is not merely on historical facts that hangs the "historical
difficulty" at issue; but rather on its degree of interference with
time-honoured, long-established conjectures, often raised to the
eminence of an unapproachable historical axiom. That no statement
coming from our quarters can ever hope to be given consideration so long
as it has to be supported on the ruins of reigning hobbies, whether of
an alleged historical or religious character.
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