But in Eastern Asia the influence of India has been notable in extent, strength and duration.  Scant justice is done to her position in the world by those histories which recount the exploits of her invaders and leave the impression that her own people were a feeble, dreamy folk, sundered from the rest of mankind by their sea and mountain frontiers.  Such a picture takes no account of the intellectual conquests of the Hindus.  Even their political conquests were not contemptible and were remarkable for the distance if not for the extent of the territory occupied.  For there were Hindu kingdoms in Java and Camboja and settlements in Sumatra[2] and even in Borneo, an island about as far from India as is Persia from Rome.  But such military or commercial invasions are insignificant compared with the spread of Indian thought.  The south-eastern region of Asia—­both mainland and archipelago—­owed its civilization almost entirely to India.  In Ceylon, Burma, Siam, Camboja, Champa and Java, religion, art, the alphabet, literature, as well as whatever science and political organization existed, were the direct gift of Hindus, whether Brahmans or Buddhists, and much the same may be said of Tibet, whence the wilder Mongols took as much Indian civilization as they could stomach.  In Java and other Malay countries this Indian culture has been superseded by Islam, yet even in Java the alphabet and to a large extent the customs of the people are still Indian.

In the countries mentioned Indian influence has been dominant until the present day, or at least until the advent of Islam.  In another large area comprising China, Japan, Korea, and Annam it appears as a layer superimposed on Chinese culture, yet not a mere veneer.  In these regions Chinese ethics, literature and art form the major part of intellectual life and have an outward and visible sign in the Chinese written characters which have not been ousted by an Indian alphabet[3].  But in all, especially in Japan, the influence of Buddhism has been profound and penetrating.  None of these lands can be justly described as Buddhist in the same sense as Burma or Siam but Buddhism gave them a creed acceptable in different forms to superstitious, emotional and metaphysical minds:  it provided subjects and models for art, especially for painting, and entered into popular life, thought and language.

But what are Hinduism and Buddhism?  What do they teach about gods and men and the destinies of the soul?  What ideals do they hold up and is their teaching of value or at least of interest for Europe?  I will not at once answer these questions by general statements, because such names as Hinduism and Buddhism have different meanings in different countries and ages, but will rather begin by briefly reviewing the development of the two religions.  I hope that the reader will forgive me if in doing so I repeat much that is to be found in the body of this work.