A Visit to the Buddha

Charles Johnston (1867-1931) was an Irish writer, journalist, theosophist, linguist, naturalist, and Sanskrit scholar. Johnston He wrote numerous books on Indian philosophy, translating works from Sanskrit as well as on Theosophy. He was married to the niece of Madame Blavatsky and was involved in the development of the Theosophical Society in the United States. Johnston translated several works from Sanskrit and Russian. As an author, he devoted himself primarily to philosophical and theosophical topics, and wrote a great number and variety of articles and books, ranging from scholarly writings on scriptures to popular volumes of humor, travel, and history. The Johnston’s article A Visit to the Buddha, which we propose to our readers today, was published in January 1927 on the Theosophical Quarterly. «Something has been said of the relation of Siddhartha the Compassionate to the Masters, according to the Suttas and more modern witnesses. A living Aryan Master speaks of the Buddha as “our great Patron”, and tells his correspondent that “when our great Buddha, the Patron of all the Adepts, reached first Nirvana on earth, he became a Planetary Spirit”, adding that from the Planetary Spirits and from the Buddha the Masters of Wisdom learn of the mysteries beyond the cosmic veil».