Buddhism Introducing the Buddhist Experience

by Mitchell, Donald; Jacoby, Sarah

• ISBN13: 9780197750292
• ISBN10: 019775029X
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780197750308
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780199861873
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2024-11-07
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experience is the only up-to-date introductory text that covers the full spectrum of writings, practices, and perspectives animating the global Buddhist tradition.

Instructors struggle to expose students to a diverse array of Buddhist texts and voices. This volume is enhanced by primary sources and twenty-two gender-balanced personal narrative boxes. Each country chapter also concludes with an essay by a noted Buddhist practitioner-scholar. Another common challenge for instructors involves covering the variety of global Buddhist traditions; there are many such traditions, and only so much time in the semester. The authors solve this problem decisively. After discussing Buddhism's origins in India, they go on to cover: Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism; Buddhism in Southeast Asia, Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan; and the globalization of Buddhism with special emphasis on the United States.

A final, related challenge for instructors is to avoid overwhelming students. Indeed, instructors seem to face a paradox: they can cover the full variety of Buddhist texts and traditions only if they assign an unmanageable amount of reading. Buddhism's brief, accessible, pedagogically rich chapters show that this paradox is only apparent. While the text is authoritative and comprehensive, its coverage respects the average student's attention-span.

Author Biography

Donald Mitchell is Professor Emeritus of Asian and Comparative Philosophy and Religion at Purdue University. He is permanent Visiting Professor of Interreligious Dialogue at Sophia University Institute, Italy, and the editor of Claritas: Journal of Dialogue and Culture.

Sarah Jacoby is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of Undergraduate Studies at Northwestern University. She is the author of Love and Liberation (2014) and the coeditor of Buddhism beyond the Monastery (2009).

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Boxes, Figures, and Maps
Preface
Acknowledgments
Pronunciation Guide
Introduction

1. The Life of Gautama Buddha
The Early Life of Siddhartha Gautama
Birth
Youth
The Four Sights
The Great Renunciation
Spiritual Teachers
Asceticism
The Awakening of the Buddha
Enlightenment
Nirvana
The Mission of the Buddha
The Three Refuges
Important Conversions
Monasticism
Social Concern
Women's Ordination
The Rebellion of Devadatta
The Last Days of Gautama Buddha
Suggestions for Further Reading

2. The Teachings of the Buddha
The Three Characteristics
Impermanence
Dissatisfactoriness
No-Self
The Five Aggregates
Dependent Arising
Karma and Rebirth
Buddhist Cosmology
The Wheel of Life
The Four Noble Truths
The Middle Way
The First Noble Truth: Life Is Dukha
The Second Noble Truth: The Cause of Dukha
The Third Noble Truth: The Cessation of Dukha
The Fourth Noble Truth: The Eightfold Path to the Cessation of Dukha
Awakening
The Eightfold Path
Right Understanding
Right Thought
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Rigth Concentration
Nirvana
Suggestions for Further Reading

3. Early Buddhism and the Way of the Elders
The First Council: Three Baskets
The Vinaya Pitaka
The Sutra Pitaka
The Abhidharma Pitaka
Second and Third Councils: Many Paths
King Asoka
The Way of the Elders
Cultivating Morality
Purification and Wholesomeness
Releasement for Nirvana
Concentration
Mindfulness Practice
Four Divine Abodes
Four Lower and Higher Meditations
Supernormal Abilities
Tranquillity Meditation
Insight Meditation
Wisdom
Five Purifications
The Four Paths
Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia
Sri Lanka
Southeast Asia
Theravada Monastic and Lay Experience
New Buddhist Movements in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia
The Cultural Experience of Thai Buddhism Today,
Laohavanich Mano Mettanando
From Childhood to Adulthood
Marriages and Funerals
Popular Buddhist Practices
Contributions of Thailand to Buddhist Culture
Suggestions for Further Reading

4. The Great Vehicle
The Bodhisattva
Wisdom and Emptiness
Luminous Consiousness
Celestial Buddhas
The Mahayana Sutras
Discovering the Perfection of Wisdom
The Heart Sutra
A Layperson's S?tra
Exploring Consciousness
The Lotus
The Land of Bliss
The Great Journey of the Bodhisattva
The Six Perfections
The Ten Stages
A Joyous Choice
Purity, Luminosity, and Radiance
Meditation and Wisdom
Beyond Arhatship to Buddhahood
The Dharma Cloud
The Three Bodies of the Buddha
Celestial Buddhas
Celestial Bodhisattvas
Suggestions for Further Reading

5. South Asian Experiences of Buddhism
Abhidharma Philosophies
Mahayana Philosophies
The Middle Way
The Womb of the Buddha
Foundations of Consciousness
Tantric Buddhism
The Emergence of Tantra
The Quest for the Origins of Tantra
Key Themes and Classifications of Buddhist Tantras
Kriya Tantra
Carya Tantra
Yoga Tantra
Yoga-niruttara Tantra
Mahayoga Tantra
Yogini Tantras
Indian Buddhist Institutions of Higher Learning
New Buddhist Movements in South Asia
The Cultural Experience of Newar Buddhism Today
Three jewels in Newar Buddhism
Rituals in Newar Buddhism
Tantric Buddhist Initiations
Posadha: The Monthly or Fortnightly Abstinence
Rituals for Elders
Festivals of Newar Buddhism
Traditional Music and Dance in Newar Buddhism
Suggestions for Further Reading

6. Tibetan Experiences of Buddhism
The Early Dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet
The Later Dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet
Tantric Features of Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhism
Preliminary Practices
Major Schools of Tibetan Buddhism
The "Old" School: Nyingma
The "Scripture and Precept" School: Kadam
The "Gray Earth" School: Sakya
The "Oral Transmission" School: Kagyü
The "Virtuous Ones" School: Geluk
The Dalai Lama
Tibet in the Past Century
New Tibetan Buddhist Movements
The Cultural Experience of Tibetan Buddhism Today
Geshe Damdul Namgyal
Daily Rituals
Circumambulation
Prayer Wheels
Prayer Flags
The Ransom of Animals
Purifications
Auspicious Days
Pilgrimage
Wandering Storytellers
The Deeper Life
Suggestions for Further Reading

7. Chinese Experiences of Buddhism
Translation and Inculturation
New Translations and Scholarship
Persecution and Reform
Indian Foundations of the Chinese Experiences of Buddhism
The Abhidharma Schools
The Mahayana Schools
Defining the Chinese Experiences of Buddhism
The Tiantai School The Heavenly Terrace School
The Flower Garland School
The Meditation School
The Pure Land Practice School
Tung and Sung Dynasties Persecution and Decline
Later Developments
New Chinese Buddhist Movements
The Cultural Experience of Chinese Buddhism Today,
Dedong Wei
Temple Rituals
Buddhist Festivals
Popular Buddhist Practices
Suggestions for Further Reading

8. Korean Experiences of Buddhism
The Advent of Buddhism during the Three Kingdoms Period
Buddhism during the Unified Silla Dynasty: Innovation and Scholarship
Uisang
Wonhyo
The Five Buddhist Schools
Buddhism during the Kory? Dynasty: Searching for Unity
Uich'on
Chinul
The Korean Tripitaka
Repression during the Chos?n Dynasty
The Japanese Occupation and Recent Developments
Won Buddhism: A New Socially Engaged Movement
The Cultural Experience of Korean Buddhism Today,
Jongmyung Kim
Temple Rituals
Prayer and Pilgrimage
The Templestay Program
Buddhist Cultural Heritage in Korea
The Future of Popular Buddhism in Korean Culture
Suggestions for Further Reading

9. Japanese Experiences of Buddhism
Prince Shotoku
The Nara Period (710-784): The Six Schools from China
The Kusha School
The J?jitsu School
The Ritsu School
The Sanron School
The Hoss? School
The Kegon School
The Heian Period (794-1185): Tendai and Shingon
Tendai Buddhism
Shingon Buddhism
The Kamakura Period (1185-1333): Pure Land, Zen, and Nichiren
Pure Land Buddhism
Zen Buddhism
Nichiren Buddhism
The Muromachi Period (1338-1573): Zen and Japanese Culture
The Tokugawa Period (1603-1868): Struggle and Reform
The Meiji Period (1868-1912) and Recent Developments
New Japanese Buddhist Movements
The Cultural Experience of Japanese Buddhism Today,
Tomonobu Shinozaki
Buddhist Veneration of Ancestors
O-bon Festival
Popular Buddhist Practices and Holidays
The Bodhisattva Figure and Buddhist Practice Today
Suggestions for Further Reading

10. The Globalization of Buddhism
Early European Encounters and Scholarship
Buddhism in the United States
The Early Decades of the Twentieth Century
World War II and its Aftermath in the 1940s
The 1950s
1960s to the Present
Chinese Buddhism in the in the U.S. post-1960
Japanese Buddhism in the U.S. post-1960
Tibetan Buddhism in the U.S. post-1960
Theravada Buddhism in the U.S. post-1960
Korean Buddhism in the U.S. Post-1960
Vietnamese Buddhism in the U.S. Post-1960
Buddhism in Europe
Buddhism in Canada
Buddhism in Australia and New Zealand
Buddhism in Brazil
Buddhism in Africa
Ethnicity, Identity, and Practice
Women, Ordination, and Authority
Buddhist Ecumenism
Interreligious Dialogue
Social Engagement
Ecology and Science
Youth and the Internet
The Future of Global Buddhism
A Cultural Experience of Buddhism in America Today,
Rev. Heng Sure
Suggestions for Further Reading

Glossary of Technical Terms
Index