The Experience of Buddhism Sources and Interpretations

by Strong, John S.

• ISBN13: 9780495094869
• ISBN10: 0495094862
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-03-27
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing

Summary

Part of the "Religious Life in History Series," this comprehensive anthology provides translations of texts illustrative of Buddhist philosophy and doctrine as well as descriptive, concrete accounts of Buddhist practices, rituals, and experiences. Author John Strong gives careful consideration to many key aspects of the religion in a wide range of geographic and cultural arenas, from Asia to the United States, and gives students a sense of Buddhism's historical evolution in each area. In addition, this new edition of THE EXPERIENCE OF BUDDHISM uniquely offers students a list of pertinent bibliographic suggestions after each reading, giving them the opportunity to both enhance their understanding of the material and streamline their research and paper-writing process.

Table of Contents

The Life Story of the Buddha and Its Ramifications

The Eight Commemorative Shrines

A Royal Pilgrim Retraces the Life of the Buddha

¿nanda Recounts the Birth of The Buddha

Signs of Suffering

The Great Departure: Two Versions

Awakening Achieved

Remembering Past Lives

Viewing the Cosmos

Realizing the Four Noble Truths

The Death and Parinirv¿na of The Buddha

The Distribution of the Relics

A Story of a Buddha Image

The Future Buddha Maitreya

The Experience of the Sangha

Tales of Conversion

Rites of Passage

The Regulation of the Sangha

Sangha Situations

Buddhism and the State: The King and the Community

The Dharma: Some Perspectives of Mainstream Buddhism

Preliminaries: The Loss and Preservation of the Dharma

Suffering, Impermanence, and No-Self

The Arising of Suffering

The Cessation of Suffering

The Path

Doctrinal Issues

The Dharma: Some Mahayana Perspectives

Preliminary: The Parable of the Burning House

Basic Perspectives: The Perfection of Wisdom

Philosophical Formulations

The Bodhisattva Path

Saviors and Siddhas: The Mahayana Pantheon and Tantric Buddhism

The Life Span of the Tathagata

Savior Bodhisattvas

Savior Texts

Savior Buddhas and Pure Lands

Tantric Buddhism or the Vajrayana

The Development of Buddhism Outside India

Buddhists and the Practice of Buddhism: Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia

Mythic Histories

Divisional Issues

Regulation and Reform: The Efforts of King Parakramabahu

Rituals and Festivals

Meditational Endeavors: Visualizing the Victor's Cage

Women and the Sangha: A Twentieth-Century Case

Sangha and Society

Buddhists and the Practice of Buddhism: The Tibetan Cultural Area

Mythic History: Subduing the Demons of Tibet

Divisional Issues: Sudden versus Gradual Enlightenment

Regulation and Reform: The Efforts of At<$$$>a

Rituals and Festivals

Meditational Endeavors: Milarepa's Quest

Women and the Sangha: The Abbess of Samding and Ani Lochen

Sangha and Society

Buddhists and the Practice of Buddhism: China

Mythic History: Chinese and Japanese Legends

Divisional Issues: Do All Being Have the Buddha-Nature?

Regulation and Reform: An Apocryphal Monastic Code

Rituals and Festivals: Ordination at Pao-hua Shan

Meditational Endeavors

Women and the Sangha

Sangha and Society: The Commercialization of Services

Buddhists and the Practice of Buddhism: Japan

Mythic History: The Legend of Prince Shotoku

Divisional Issues: The Recitation of Amida's Name?

Once or Many Times?

Regulation and Reform: Saicho's Deathbed Admonitions

Rituals and Festivals: Rites in Tenth-Century Japan

Meditational Endeavors

Women and the Sangha: Nichiren on Chanting and Menstruation

Sangha and Society

Buddhists and the Practice of Buddhism: The West

Mythic Histories: Smokey the Bear S¿tra

Divisional Issues: The Veneration of Relics

Regulation and Reform: Toward an Androgynous Reconstruction of Buddhism

Rituals and Festivals: The Buddha's Birthday in Los Angeles

Meditational Endeavors

Women and the Sangha: Living as a Nun in the West

Sangha and Society: Engaged Buddhists in California

A Guide to the Transliteration and Pronunciation of Buddhist Terms

Glossary

Bibliography of Works Cited

Subject Index

Text and Author Index

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