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Buddhism; Being a Sketch of the Life and Teachings of Gautama, the Buddha. Published Under the Direction of the Committee of General Literature and ... the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge
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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
- GenresBuddhism
272 pages, Hardcover
First published February 15, 2015
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About the author
T.W. Rhys Davids
237 books9 followersThomas William Rhys Davids was a British scholar of the Pāli language, founder of the Pali Text Society, and Chair of Comparative Religion at the University of Manchester. He took an active part in founding the British Academy and London School for Oriental Studies.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 16, 2025
#Binge Reviewing my previous Reads # Buddhism, Buddha’s Biography & Retellings
T.W. Rhys Davids’ Buddhism: Being a Sketch of the Life and Teachings of Gautama, the Buddha is a curious little book. First published under the aegis of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, it reflects a moment in the late nineteenth century when British scholarship was “discovering” Buddhism even as it filtered it through imperial and Protestant lenses.
Reading it now, with our twenty-first-century hindsight, is like opening a time capsule. It’s both a pioneering effort and an artefact of its era: earnest and informative, yet shaped by assumptions we can no longer ignore.
Rhys Davids, of course, was one of the founding figures of Pali studies and the Pali Text Society. His translations and commentaries helped introduce Theravāda Buddhism to English readers at a time when reliable sources were scarce. This slim volume aims to give a general audience a concise account of the Buddha’s life and core teachings. In that sense, it succeeds.
The narrative is straightforward: Siddhartha’s birth, the “Great Renunciation”, his enlightenment, and the main points of doctrine—the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, karma, rebirth, and nirvana. For Victorian readers raised on Sunday sermons, it must have been a revelation to see a non-Christian religious figure treated with such seriousness.
Yet the book also bears the marks of its context. Because it was published by SPCK, there is an undercurrent of comparison—sometimes implicit, sometimes explicit—between Buddhism and Christianity. Rhys Davids often stresses Buddhism’s “rational” and “ethical” character, as if reassuring his readers that it is not pagan superstition but a moral philosophy.
At the same time, he subtly frames Buddhism as lacking something Christianity supposedly supplies—grace, a personal God, or salvation beyond human effort. This doesn’t ruin the book, but it’s worth being aware of.
On the positive side, Rhys Davids writes with clarity and economy. He avoids sensationalism and treats the Buddha with obvious respect. His portrait of Gautama is largely sympathetic: a human teacher rather than a miracle worker, a reformer challenging ritualism, and a moral exemplar. For a book of its age, the tone is remarkably measured. And because Rhys Davids was steeped in Pali sources, his summaries of doctrine remain surprisingly accurate, if simplified.
Reading it today, I found myself alternating between admiration and critique. Admiration for a Victorian scholar who helped lay the groundwork for Buddhist studies; critique for the colonial framing that inevitably seeps in. As a historical text, it’s fascinating; as an introduction to Buddhism, it’s dated but still readable.
If you’re exploring the history of how Buddhism entered the Western imagination—or if you’re curious to see how the Buddha’s life was first “packaged” for English readers—this little book is invaluable. It shows both the promise and the limits of early scholarship: a bridge across cultures, built with the tools of its time.
T.W. Rhys Davids’ Buddhism: Being a Sketch of the Life and Teachings of Gautama, the Buddha is a curious little book. First published under the aegis of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, it reflects a moment in the late nineteenth century when British scholarship was “discovering” Buddhism even as it filtered it through imperial and Protestant lenses.
Reading it now, with our twenty-first-century hindsight, is like opening a time capsule. It’s both a pioneering effort and an artefact of its era: earnest and informative, yet shaped by assumptions we can no longer ignore.
Rhys Davids, of course, was one of the founding figures of Pali studies and the Pali Text Society. His translations and commentaries helped introduce Theravāda Buddhism to English readers at a time when reliable sources were scarce. This slim volume aims to give a general audience a concise account of the Buddha’s life and core teachings. In that sense, it succeeds.
The narrative is straightforward: Siddhartha’s birth, the “Great Renunciation”, his enlightenment, and the main points of doctrine—the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, karma, rebirth, and nirvana. For Victorian readers raised on Sunday sermons, it must have been a revelation to see a non-Christian religious figure treated with such seriousness.
Yet the book also bears the marks of its context. Because it was published by SPCK, there is an undercurrent of comparison—sometimes implicit, sometimes explicit—between Buddhism and Christianity. Rhys Davids often stresses Buddhism’s “rational” and “ethical” character, as if reassuring his readers that it is not pagan superstition but a moral philosophy.
At the same time, he subtly frames Buddhism as lacking something Christianity supposedly supplies—grace, a personal God, or salvation beyond human effort. This doesn’t ruin the book, but it’s worth being aware of.
On the positive side, Rhys Davids writes with clarity and economy. He avoids sensationalism and treats the Buddha with obvious respect. His portrait of Gautama is largely sympathetic: a human teacher rather than a miracle worker, a reformer challenging ritualism, and a moral exemplar. For a book of its age, the tone is remarkably measured. And because Rhys Davids was steeped in Pali sources, his summaries of doctrine remain surprisingly accurate, if simplified.
Reading it today, I found myself alternating between admiration and critique. Admiration for a Victorian scholar who helped lay the groundwork for Buddhist studies; critique for the colonial framing that inevitably seeps in. As a historical text, it’s fascinating; as an introduction to Buddhism, it’s dated but still readable.
If you’re exploring the history of how Buddhism entered the Western imagination—or if you’re curious to see how the Buddha’s life was first “packaged” for English readers—this little book is invaluable. It shows both the promise and the limits of early scholarship: a bridge across cultures, built with the tools of its time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review