A Concise History of BuddhismAn ideal introduction to the history of Buddhism. Andrew Skilton - a writer on and practitioner of Buddhism - explains the development of the basic concepts of Buddhism during its 2,500 years of history and describes its varied developments in India, Buddhism's homeland, as well as its spread across Asia, from Mongolia to Sri Lanka and from Japan to the Middle East. A fascinating insight into the historical progress of one of the world's great religions. "..an excellent synopsis of current scholarship..."--Alan Sponberg, Professor of Asian Philosophy and Religion, University of Montana |
Contents
ABOUT THE AUTHOR | 1 |
THE PRONUNCIATION OF SANSKRIT | 3 |
PREFACE | 5 |
BUDDHISM IN INDIA | 11 |
THE ANCIENT INDIAN CONTEXT | 13 |
THE BUDDHA | 19 |
THE BUDDHAS TEACHING | 25 |
THE PATH TO AWAKENING | 33 |
THE NEW SPIRITUAL IDEAL | 109 |
THE MADHYAMAKA | 117 |
THE YOGACARA | 121 |
THE TATHAGATAGARBHA DOCTRINE | 131 |
THE TANTRA AND VAJRAYANA BUDDHISM | 135 |
THE END OF BUDDHISM IN INDIA | 143 |
BUDDHISM IN SRI LANKA | 149 |
BUDDHISM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA | 155 |
THE EARLY SANGHA | 39 |
THE COUNCILS | 45 |
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE SANGHA | 51 |
THE BUDDHIST SCHOOLS | 59 |
THE TRIPITAKA | 73 |
THE ABHIDHARMA | 85 |
ORIGINS OF THE MAHAYANA | 93 |
THE MAHAYANA SUTRAS | 101 |
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Common terms and phrases
2nd century 8th century Abhidharma Amitabha appears arhat Aśoka Bodhi Bodhisattva Buddha Buddha's teaching Buddhahood Buddhist schools Buddhist tradition Burma Central Asia centres century BCE Ch'an CHAPTER China Chinese Council culture described dGe-lugs Dharma disciples discourses duḥkha dynasty earliest early Enlightenment forms of Buddhism history of Buddhism identified Indian influence insight king known lakṣaṇa later lineage Madhyamaka Madhyamaka School Mahā Mahasanghika Mahāvihāra Mahāyāna sūtras Mahāyānist Maitreya meditation mental mind monasteries monastic Mongol monks Muslim Nāgārjuna Nālandā nature Nepal nikāya non-Mahāyāna schools Order ordination original Pāli Canon Path patronage Perfection of Wisdom period Piṭaka prajñā Pure Land recitation reflected religion religious ritual rules Sangha Sanskrit Sarvāstivādin Sautrāntika spiritual practice Sri Lanka stūpas survived Sutra Sutta svabhāva tantras Tantric Tathāgatagarbha Tathāgatagarbha doctrine teacher texts Theravada Theravādin things Tibet Tibetan tion translation treatises Tripitaka ultimate existence unenlightened Vajrayāna Vihāra Vinaya Whilst Wisdom sūtras Yogācāra Yogācārin School