Buddhist Precept and Practice: Traditional Buddhism in the Rural Highlands of CeylonWhen this book was first published in 1971, under the title Buddhist Precept and Practice, The Times Literary Supplement Wrote: This is an epoch-making piece of research which must mark a change in direction and appreciation if it is taken seriously and studied in details. Dr. Gombrich is concerned with religious change in belief and practice, not only in modern times but over the two and a half millennia during which Buddhism has flourished. He concludes that Sinhalese Buddhism has been remarkably conservative and rejects the assumption that it degenerated from an original high standard, by questioning whether it ever was as pure as a superficial reading of classical texts might suggest. It would be very difficult to provide a combination of scholarship and sympathy such as that which pervades Dr. Gombrich s book and makes it a landmark in the study of religion. Out of print for many years, the book is now republished corrected but substantially unchanged. Richard Gombrich has been Boden Professor of Sanskrit, Oxford University and Professor Fellow of Balliol College since 1976. He has published 8 books and about 40 articles, mostly on Buddhism. His most recent books are Theravada Buddhism: A social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo and Buddhism Transformed: Religious Change in Sri Lanka; the latter is intended to do for modern Sinhalese Buddhism in the cities what Precept and Practice did for its traditional manifestation in the countryside. |
Contents
ABBREVIATIONS xi | 1 |
Sinhalese BuddhismOrthodox or Syncretistic? | 47 |
The Basic Vocabulary of Buddhism | 67 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
ancient Anuradhapura arhat attain Bechert behaviour belief Bo tree Bodhisattva brahmin Buddha Buddha image Buddhaghosa Buddhavamsa Buddhist called caste century ceremony Ceylon Chapter Christian cognitive Colombo commentary context dānē dead death deities demons dēvālē Deyyō Dharma dhist Dīpamkara doctrine drummers Eight Precepts Enlightenment ethics Five Precepts give Gotama goyigama halese heaven Hindu ideal India Jātaka Jātaka stories Kandy Kandyan karma Kataragama king laymen live Low Country magic Mahā Mahāvamsa Mahāyāna Maitrī Māra means meditation merit Mīgala modern monastery monks Nikāya nirvāṇa Obeyesekere offering original Pali Canon perahära pinkama pirit poya days practice prārthanā preaching pretas pūjā Rahula rebirth reborn recited refer relics religion religious ritual Śakra Sangha Sanskrit seems sermon shrine Sinhalese Sinhalese Buddhist Siyam Nikaya society status stupa Sutta Tamil temple term Theravada tion told tradition translation Twelve Gods upāsaka usually vihāra village Vinaya Vishnu word worship yakku yakṣa
References to this book
Anthropologizing Sri Lanka: A Eurocentric Misadventure Susantha Goonatilake No preview available - 2001 |