A. Yes. It is said that the Mussalmāns invaded, overran and conquered large areas of India; everywhere doing their utmost to stamp out our religion. 315. Q. _What cruel acts are they charged with doing?_ A. They burnt, pulled down or otherwise destroyed our vihāras, slaughtered our Bhikkhus, and consumed with fire our religious books. 316. Q. _Was our literature completely destroyed in India?_ A. No. Many Bhikkhus fled across the borders into Tibet and other safe places of refuge, carrying their books with them. 317. Q. _Have any traces of these books been recently discovered?_ A. Yes. Rai Bhādur Sarat Chandra Dās, C.I.E., a noted Bengali pandit, saw hundreds of them in the vihāra libraries of Tibet, brought copies of some of the most important back with him, and is now employed by the Government of India in editing and publishing them. 318. Q. _In which country have we reason to believe the sacred books of primitive Buddhism have been best preserved and least corrupted?_ A. Ceylon. The _Encyclopaedia Britannica_ says that in this island Buddhism has, for specified reasons, "retained almost its pristine purity to modern times". 319. Q. _Has any revision of the text of the Pitakas been made in modern times?_ A. Yes. A careful revision of the Vināya Pitaka was made in Ceylon in the year A.D. 1875, by a convention of the most learned Bhikkhus, under the presidency of H. Sumangala, Pradhāna Sthavīra. 320. Q. _Has there been any friendly intercourse in the interest of Buddhism between the peoples of the Southern and those of the Northern Buddhist countries?_ A. In the year A.D. 1891, a successful attempt was made to get the Pradhāna Nayakas of the two great divisions to agree to accept fourteen propositions as embodying fundamental Buddhistic beliefs recognised and taught by both divisions. These propositions, drafted by Colonel Olcott, were carefully translated into Burmese, Sinhalese and Japanese, discussed one by one, unanimously adopted and signed by the chief monks, and published in January 1892. 321. Q. _With what good result?_ A. As the result of the good understanding now existing, a number of Japanese bhikkhus and samaneras have been sent to Ceylon and India to study Pālī and Samskrt. 322. Q. _Are there signs that the Buddha Dharma is growing in favour in non-Buddhistic countries?_[1] A. There are. Translations of our more valuable books are appearing, many articles in reviews, magazines and newspapers are being published, and excellent original treatises by distinguished writers are coming from the press. Moreover, Buddhist and non-Buddhist lecturers are publicly discoursing on Buddhism to large audiences in western countries. The Shin Shu sect of Japanese Buddhists have actually opened missions at Honolulu, San Francisco, Sacramento and other American places. 323. Q. _What two leading ideas of ours are chiefly taking hold upon the western mind?_