For centuries, Buddhist teachers and laypeople have used stories, symbols, cultural metaphors, and anecdotes to teach and express their religious views. In this introductory textbook, Carl Olson draws on these narrative traditions to detail the development of Buddhism from the life of the historical Buddha to the present.
The book offers a comprehensive introduction to the main branches of the Buddhist tradition in both the Mahayana and Theravada schools, including the Madhyamika school, the Yogacara school, Pure Land devotionalism, Tibetan Tantric Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, and village folk Buddhist traditions. Chapters explore the life and teachings of the Buddha in historical context, the early development and institutionalization of Buddhism, its geographic spread across Asia and eventually to the United States, philosophy and ethics, the relationship between monks and laity, political and ethical implications, the role of women in the Buddhist tradition, and contemporary reinterpretations of Buddhism.
Drawn from decades of classroom experience, this creative and ambitious text combines expert scholarship and engaging stories that offer much-needed perspective to the existing literature on the topic.
Different Paths of Buddhism, Carl Olson, Rutgers University Press, Paperback, 2005, 289 Pages, $29.95
Carl Olson is a professor of religious studies at Allegheny College. His numerous books include Zen and the Art of Postmodern Philosophy: Two Paths of Liberation from the Representational Mode of Thinking and Indian Philosophers and Postmodern Thinkers: Dialogues on the Margins of Culture.
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Contents: Different Paths of Buddhism : A Narrative-historical
Introduction |
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Acknowledgments |
ix |
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PART ONE Origins and Historical Development |
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1. |
Crows and Monks: Introduction |
1 |
2. |
The Elephant and the Buddha
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21 |
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PART TWO Theravada Philosophy and Practice |
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3. |
The Narrative Path of the Buddha |
45 |
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Ethical and Political Implications of Buddhist
Narratives |
68 |
5.
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The Tale of Beggars and Donors |
88 |
6. |
The Feminine Narrative in Buddhism |
110 |
7. |
Stories from Buddhist Villages |
123 |
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PART THREE Major Mahayana Movements and Schools |
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8. |
The Bodhisattva's Path to Perfection |
143 |
9. |
Secret Narratives: Philosophies of Emptiness |
163 |
10. |
Devotional Voices of the Pure Land |
184 |
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Tales of Lamas: Tibetan Buddhism |
201 |
12. |
The No-Narrative of Seated Meditation: Zen |
225 |
13. |
New Narratives: Recent Paths of Reform and Revival |
245 |
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Chronology |
257 |
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Abbreviations |
261 |
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Notes |
263 |
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Index |
285 |
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