Saunders opens his preface by acknowledging the abundance of books on Buddhism, but insists his is different: most, he says, “deal with the dead past,” whereas he treats Buddhism as a “living religion” with “remarkable powers of revival and adaptation.” This framing sets the tone for a work that is less a historical survey and more an assessment of contemporary Buddhist vitality. Writing in 1922, Saunders draws on twelve years of “intimate study of Buddhist countries” to argue that alongside much that is degenerate, there is “much that is very noble.” His stated aim is to estimate the “living forces” of the religion rather than emphasize its weaknesses.

A Missionary Lens on Buddhist Revival

Saunders writes explicitly for a Christian missionary audience, dedicating the volume to them and offering advice on “method of approach to their Buddhist friends.” He lists four “special qualifications” for missionaries: genuine sympathy, a sense of beauty and humour, Christian convictions, and a willingness to appreciate fresh truth. The last is particularly striking—he urges missionaries to believe that the Holy Spirit has guided nations in their search for truth and that Buddhists may find in Christ “hitherto undiscovered riches.” This is not a neutral academic study but a work of interfaith engagement, shaped by the conviction that “Oriental Christianity will definitely add strength to the universal Church.”

Mahāyāna Transformations and the Bodhisattva Ideal

In his chapter on Buddhism in Japan, Saunders traces key doctrinal shifts from early monastic Buddhism to the Mahāyāna, where the Arhat seeking his own salvation gives way to the Bodhisattva, the “compassionate servant of humanity.” He notes that Gotama himself was deified, “mounting the empty throne of Brahmā,” and that a docetic tendency emerged, portraying him as without human passion. Saunders also mentions a trinitarian doctrine relating the historical Buddha to an eternal Buddha. He cautiously raises the possibility of Christian influence on these developments, citing Arthur Lloyd, but adds that he finds a more scientific explanation—without specifying what that is. The excerpts do not reveal his full argument, only that he disagrees with Lloyd.

The Tension Between the Noble and the Degenerate

Throughout the preface, Saunders balances two opposing assessments: Buddhism contains “much that is degenerate” alongside “much that is very noble.” He insists it is “more scientific and more worth while to look at the strong than at the weak points of a religion.” Yet he also warns missionaries not to “shut his eyes to what is degenerate and unworthy.” This tension is central to his approach—he wants to appreciate Buddhism’s strengths while remaining committed to Christian mission. The excerpts do not specify which aspects he considers degenerate or noble, but the repeated pairing of these terms suggests a deliberate effort to avoid either wholesale condemnation or uncritical praise.

Saunders’s book is best read as a document of its time—a missionary scholar’s attempt to reconcile respect for Buddhism with Christian conviction. Readers should note that the excerpts provide only the preface and the opening of one chapter; the full work likely offers more detailed observations on specific Buddhist practices and modern movements. The author’s insistence on looking for the “noble” rather than the “degenerate” may color his descriptions, but it also makes the text a valuable record of early 20th-century interfaith dialogue.