Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Buddhism - History

Shin has long been one of the most popular forms of Buddhism in Japan. As a devotional tradition that emphasizes gratitude and trust in Amida Buddha, it is thought to have little to do with secrecy. Yet for centuries, Shin Buddhists met on secluded mountains, in homes, and in the backrooms of stores to teach their hidden doctrines and hold clandestine rites. Among their adherents was D. T. Suzuki's mother, who took her son to covert Shin meetings when he was a boy.

Even among Shin experts, covert followers were relatively unknown; historians who studied them claimed they had...

The Buddha's teaching on karma (literally, "action") is nothing other than his compassionate explanation of the way things are: our thoughts and actions determine our future, and therefore we ourselves are largely responsible for the way our lives unfold. Yet this supremely useful teaching is often ignored due to the misconceptions about it that abound in popular culture, especially oversimplifications that make it seem like something not to be taken seriously. Karma is not simple, as Traleg...

When researching and presenting their studies on Burma, most scholars of Southeast Asian studies have traditionally overlooked a critical chapter in Burmese history. The majority of texts pertaining to Burma typically do not explore the earliest roots of Buddhism in the region, and they frequently overlook the ancient accounts of the presence of Buddhism from local sources in Rakhaing.

Here, however, is a book that goes where others have not. It fills the gaps left by previous titles on the Rakhaing and corrects some of the oversights and mistakes earlier authors have made.

Written by a leading expert, this book will help you if you are studying for an important exam or essay, or if you simply want to improve your knowledge.

It is structured to mirror the way in which Buddhism is usually taught, starting with the life of the Buddha through to the prospects of Buddhism for the next generation.

The book covers all the key areas that are considered central to Buddhism, including the Buddha's teachings,...

The most influential work on Buddhism to be published in the nineteenth century, Introduction a l'histoire du Buddhisme indien, by the great French scholar of Sanskrit Eugene Burnouf, set the course for the academic study of Buddhism--and Indian Buddhism in particular--for the next hundred years. First published in 1844, the masterwork was read by some of the most important thinkers of the time, including Schopenhauer and Nietzsche in Germany and Emerson and Thoreau in America.
Katia Buffetrille and Donald S. Lopez Jr.'s expert English translation, Introduction to the History...

Much of The...

Much of The...

Buddhism is becoming increasingly popular in the United States. With its popularity comes an interest in the history of Buddhism and its early practitioners. Unfortunately, it can be...

Micah L. Auerback follows the changing fortune of the...

It is generally accepted in the West that Buddhism is a peaceful religion. The Western public tends to assume that the doctrinal rejection of violence in Buddhism would make Buddhist pacifists, and often expects Buddhist societies or individual Asian Buddhists to conform to the modern Western standards of peaceful behavior. This stereotype which may well be termed positive Orientalism, since it is based on assumption that an Oriental religion would be more faithful to its original non-violent teachings than Western Christianity has been periodically challenged by enthusiastic acquiescence...

When Buddhism was introduced into China at about the beginning of the Christian era, the Chinese were captivated at first by its overpowering world view. Consequently, Buddhism in China has usually been discussed in terms of the Indianization of Chinese life and thought, but Kenneth Ch'en shows that as Indian ideas were gaining ground the Chinese were choosing among them and modifying them to fit their situation.

To demonstrate how the Chinese transformed Buddhism the author investigates its role in the ethical, political, literary, educational, and social life of the Chinese....

In this pioneering study of the shifting status of the emperor within court society and the relationship between the state and the Buddhist community during the Heian period (794-1185), Asuka Sango details the complex ways in which the emperor and other elite ruling groups employed Buddhist ritual to legitimate their authority. Although considered a descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu, the emperor used Buddhist idiom, particularly the ideal king as depicted in the Golden Light Sutra, to express his right to rule. Sango's book is the first to focus on the ideals presented in the sutra...

When Buddhism was introduced into China at about the beginning of the Christian era, the Chinese were captivated at first by its overpowering world view. Consequently, Buddhism in China has usually been discussed in terms of the Indianization of Chinese life and thought, but Kenneth Ch'en shows that as Indian ideas were gaining ground the Chinese were choosing among them and modifying them to fit their situation.

To demonstrate how the Chinese transformed Buddhism the author investigates its role in the ethical, political, literary, educational, and social life of the Chinese....