.................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ....................................................................... 6 Preface ...................................................................................... 7 I. Outline of the Research ........................................................... 7 II. Overview of the Thesis .........

Reflecting on the contemporary presentations of Buddhism within the Western context, particularly from the Tibetan traditions, this paper presents Buddhism from a ‘living tradition’ perspective arguing that the principle which links Buddhism across space and time is the concern with ‘lived experience.’ This perspective highlights the origins of Buddhism in the Buddha’s experience, and serves to...

In the last fifty years or so, since Yogācāra texts have been available to western academics, there has been a debate as to how Yogācāra Buddhism should be interpreted. This article seeks to establish that Yogācāra Buddhism is most properly interpreted as an idealist school of Buddhist thought. Specifically, it challenges the arguments that have been put forth in recent years that suggest a phe...

This article examines whether the American cultural phenomena of the practice of Buddhism or the Buddhism-derived technique of mindfulness are likely to be helpful to the political left. It summarizes the central teachings of the ancient Buddhist texts, with particular focus on the issues of mindfulness and politics. It also reviews the political history of Buddhist countries. The author argues...

Buddhism originated as a movement of spiritual renunciants who followed Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Shakya people in northern India around 500 B.C.E. (before the common era, often designated B.C.). Legend recounts that after Siddhartha confronted the realities of old age, illness, and death, he renounced his privileged social position to seek spiritual salvation. Through years spent stu...

This article places Nichiren within the context of three larger scholarly issues: de3nitions of the new Buddhist movements of the Kamakura period; the reception of the Tendai discourse of original enlightenment (hongaku) among the new Buddhist movements; and new attempts, emerging in the medieval period, to locate “Japan” in the cosmos and in history. It shows how Nichiren has been represented ...

IN THIS PAPER WE PROPOSE to survey the life and teachings of Kiyozawa Manshi for the role he played as a resource and inspiration for the modern revitalization of Buddhism. Observing this year the centennial of his death in 1903, we take particular note of his significance for our own time as we look for ways in which Buddhism may be relevant to contemporary society which is also marked by rapi...

The great Marxist sinologist Joseph Needham blamed Buddhism for stifling science and technology in China while they flourished in Europe. In claiming that everything is an illusion, Buddhism ‘played a part in strangling the development of Chinese science’. Zen Buddhism, in ‘rejecting all philosophy’ was also unfavourable to a scientific view. Since the Buddha refused to speculate, Buddhism disc...

Editor’s introduction: As very effectively portrayed by Rustam Sabirov in this chapter, Buddhism in the Russian Republic of Buryatia has had a dynamic and at times turbulent history due to factors beyond its control or influence. These dynamics help both contextualize and throw into relief the well-known suppression of Buddhist practices and leadership in Tibet under Chinese dominance since the...

Writers presenting Buddhism to European and North American audiences have often availed themselves of philosophical terminology from modern traditions to convey presumably less familiar ideas coming from various classical and medieval Asian settings. Since the Buddha and many philosophers who developed his ideas seem to have stressed the importance of practice over theory, Buddhism is frequentl...