Buddhist Religions A Historical Introduction

by Robinson, Richard H.; Johnson, Willard L.; Bhikkhu, Thanissaro

• ISBN13: 9780534558581
• ISBN10: 0534558585
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-06-30
• Publisher: Cengage Learning

Summary

This historical introduction to Buddhism presents students with an engaging exploration of the diversity of thoughts and practices of a wide segment of followers of the Buddha. It covers five main aspects of Buddhism: ritual, devotionalism, doctrine, meditation, practice, and institutional history.

Table of Contents

PREFACE	xiv
MAP: THE WORLD OF BUDDHISM	xvi
ABBREVIATIONS	xviii
INTRODUCTION	xix
1 THE BUDDHA'S AWAKENING	1	(21)
1.1 The Social and Religious Context of Early Buddhism	1	(2)
1.2 Issues in Early North Indian Thought	3	(1)
1.3 The Quest for Awakening	4	(7)
1.3.1 The Birth and Youth of the Bodhisattva	5	(1)
1.3.2 The Great Renunciation	6	(2)
1.3.3 The Bodhisattva's Studies and Austerities	8	(1)
1.3.4 Temptation by Mara	8	(1)
1.3.5 The Awakening	9	(2)
1.4 The Lessons of Awakening	11	(11)
1.4.1 The Regularity of Phenomena	11	(8)
1.4.2 Nirvana	19	(1)
1.4.3 The Awakening as Paradigm	20	(2)
2 THE BUDDHA AS TEACHER AND POWER FIGURE	22	(21)
2.1 The Response to the Awakened One	22	(2)
2.2 The Buddha Begins Teaching	24	(3)
2.2.1 The First Encounter	24	(1)
2.2.2 Setting the Wheel of Dharma in Motion	25	(2)
2.3 An Analysis of the First Discourse	27	(5)
2.3.1 The Four Noble Truths	27	(4)
2.3.2 The Stages ofAwakening	31	(1)
2.4 The Spread of the Religion	32	(3)
2.4.1 Taking Refuge	32	(1)
2.4.2 The Development of the Sangha	33	(2)
2.5 The Middle Years	35	(2)
2.6 The Last Days and Beyond	37	(6)
2.6.1 Buddhist Devotionalism	39	(1)
2.6.2 The Etiquette of Devotion	40	(3)
3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY INDIAN BUDDHISM	43	(32)
3.1 Sources	43	(2)
3.2 The Formation of the Canons	45	(4)
3.2.1 The Early Monastic Lineages	46	(2)
3.2.2 The Early Councils and the Attitude toward Sectarianism	48	(1)
3.3 Norms for Religious Life	49	(9)
3.3.1 The Code of Discipline for Monks	49	(2)
3.3.2 Communal Governance	51	(1)
3.3.3 The Life of the Monks	52	(2)
3.3.4 The Life of the Nuns	54	(2)
3.3.5 The Laity	56	(2)
3.4 Anoka	58	(4)
3.5 Abhidharma	62	(5)
3.5.1 The Lists (Matrka)	63	(2)
3.5.2 Points of Controversy: The Nature of the Individual	65	(1)
3.5.3 Points of Controversy: The Nature of Existence	66	(1)
3.6 Past-Life Narratives	67	(5)
3.6.1 Jatakas and the Perfections	68	(2)
3.6.2 Avadanas and the Buddha-Field	70	(2)
3.7 The Stupa Cult	72	(3)
4 THE PERIOD OF THE THREE VEHICLES	75	(24)
4.1 Social Background	75	(3)
4.2 The Cult of Maitreya	78	(2)
4.3 Monuments to the Triple Gem	80	(4)
4.3.1 Buddha and Bodhisattva Images	80	(2)
4.3.2 The Cult of the Book	82	(1)
4.3.3 The Topography of Sacred Narrative	83	(1)
4.4 The Search for the Mahayana	84	(7)
4.4.1 The Ugrapariprcchd	86	(1)
4.4.2 The Aksobhya-Vyuha	87	(1)
4.4.3 The Pe fection of Discernment in 8,000 Lines	88	(2)
4.4.4 The Bodhisattva Elites	90	(1)
4.5 Two Levels of Truth	91	(8)
4.5.1 Vaibhasikas and Sautrantikas	92	(2)
4.5.2 Nagarjuna	94	(5)
5 EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIAN BUDDHISM	99	(25)
5.1 Portraits of a Buddhist Empire	99	(4)
5.2 Mahayana Sutras	103	(13)
5.2.1 The Dasabhumika Sutra	104	(1)
5.2.2 The Sukhdvati-Vyuha Sutras	105	(1)
5.2.3 Issues in the Perfection of Discernment	106	(10)
5.3 Scholastic Philosophy	116	(8)
5.3.1 Vasubandhu and the Abhidharmakosa	118	(1)
5.3.2 Asariga and the Yogacara	119	(2)
5.3.3 Bhavaviveka and the Madhyamaka	121	(3)
6 BUDDHISM IN LATE MEDIEVAL AND MODERN INDIA	124	(19)
6.1 The Culture of Belligerence	124	(4)
6.2 Vajrayana	128	(10)
6.2.1 Tantras	129	(3)
6.2.2 Siddhas	132	(3)
6.2.3 Sahaja	135	(1)
6.2.4 The Vajra Cosmos	135	(3)
6.3 The Decimation of Indian Buddhism	138	(1)
6.4 Buddhism in Nepal	139	(2)
6.5 The Buddhist Revival	141	(2)
7 BUDDHISM IN SRI LANKA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA	143	(29)
7.1 The Economy of Merit	143	(3)
7.2 Buddhism in "Further India"	146	(4)
7.3 The Theravada Connection	150	(3)
7.4 The Colonial Period	153	(4)
7.4.1 Sri Lanka	154	(1)
7.4.2 Burma	155	(1)
7.4.3 Thailand	156	(1)
7.5 The Post-colonial Period	157	(15)
7.5.1 Buddhism in the Village	159	(7)
7.5.2 Buddhism in the Wilderness	166	(3)
7.5.3 Buddhism in the City	169	(3)
8 BUDDHISM IN CENTRAL ASIA AND CHINA	172	(47)
Central Asia
8.1 The Dharma Travels the Silk Road	172	(3)
China
8.2 A Grand Assimilation	175	(1)
8.3 Buddhism on the Fringes of Society	176	(2)
8.4 Buddhism Enters the Mainstream of Chinese Culture	178	(7)
8.4.1 Buddho-Taoism	180	(3)
8.4.2 The Rise of Buddhist Scholasticism	183	(2)
8.5 The Sui and T'ang Dynasties (581-907)	185	(19)
8.5.1 T'ien-t'ai	188	(4)
8.5.2 Hua-yen	192	(5)
8.5.3 Pure Land (Ching-te)	197	(2)
8.5.4 The Three-Level Sect (San-chieh-chiao)	199	(1)
8.5.5 Ch'an	200	(4)
8.6 The Sung Dynasty (970-1279)	204	(6)
8.6.1 Ch'an Politics	205	(2)
8.6.2 Ch'an Meditation	207	(2)
8.6.3 The Rise of Neo-Confucianism	209	(1)
8.7 The Religion of the Masses (1279-1949)	210	(5)
8.7.1 Religious Life: Devotional	211	(2)
8.7.2 Religious Life: Monastic	213	(1)
8.7.3 Religious Life: Lay	213	(2)
8.8 Modern Chinese Buddhism	215	(1)
8.9 A Buddhist Charitable Organization	216	(3)
9 BUDDHISM IN KOREA AND VIETNAM	219	(21)
9.1 A Focal Point for Unity and Differences	219	(1)
Korea
9.2 The Three Kingdoms Period (18 B.C.E.-688 C.E.)	220	(2)
9.3 The Unified Silla Dynasty (668-918)	222	(2)
9.3.1 Hwaom (Hua-yen)	223	(1)
9.3.2 Son (Ch'an)	223	(1)
9.4 The Koryo Dynasty (918-1392)	224	(3)
9.4.1 Uich'on	225	(1)
9.4.2 Chinul	225	(1)
9.4.3 T'aego	226	(1)
9.5 The Yi/Choson Dynasty (1392-1910)	227	(1)
9.6 Japanese Rule (1910-1945) and Its Aftermath	228	(1)
9.7 Buddhism in Modern Korea	229	(1)
9.8 Life in a Son Monastery	230	(4)
Vietnam
9.9 Two Streams of Buddhism Converge	234	(4)
9.10 The Modern Period	238	(2)
10 BUDDHISM IN JAPAN	240	(28)
10.1 The Cult of Charisma	240	(2)
10.2 The Importation of Korean Buddhism	242	(1)
10.3 The Importation of Chinese Buddhism	243	(2)
10.4 The Heian Period (804-1185)	245	(4)
10.5 The Kamakura Period (1185-1333)	249	(6)
10.5.1 Zen	249	(3)
10.5.2 Pure Land	252	(2)
10.5.3 Nichiren	254	(1)
10.6 The Muromachi Period (1336-1603)	255	(3)
10.7 The Tokugawa Period (1603-1868)	258	(2)
10.8 State Shinto in Control (1868-1945)	260	(2)
10.9 Modern Urban Buddhism	262	(2)
10.10 A Religion of Self-Empowerment	264	(4)
11 BUDDHISM IN THE TIBETAN CULTURAL AREA	268	(24)
11.1 A Vajrayana Orthodoxy	268	(1)
11.2 The Dharma Comes to Tibet	269	(8)
11.2.1 The First Propagation	270	(3)
11.2.2 The Second Propagation	273	(4)
11.3 The Period of Consolidation	277	(6)
11.3.1 Historical Issues	277	(1)
11.3.2 Texts	278	(1)
11.3.3 Doctrinal Systems	279	(2)
11.3.4 Politics	281	(2)
11.4 The Age of the Dalai Lamas	283	(3)
11.5 The Dynamics ofTibetan Ritual	286	(5)
11.6 A Tradition at the Crossroads	291	(1)
12 BUDDHISM COMES WEST	292	(20)
12.1 Europe's Early Contact with Buddhism	292	(1)
12.2 The Awakening Meets the Enlightenment	293	(13)
12.2.1 Buddhism and the Science of Humanity	294	(3)
12.2.2 The Appropriation of Buddhist Ideas	297	(2)
12.2.3 The Crisis of Cultural Relativism	299	(4)
12.2.4 Calls for Reform	303	(3)
12.3 The Varieties of Buddhism in North America	306	(6)
12.3.1 Parent Traditions	307	(1)
12.3.2 Modes of Transmission	307	(2)
12.3.3 Grafting onto American Roots	309	(3)
AN OVERVIEW OF THE THREE MAJOR CANONS	312	(4)
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE	316	(5)
GLOSSARY	321	(9)
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY	330	(11)
INDEX	341