Representing the culmination of Dr. Kalupahana's thirty years of scholarly research and reflection, A History of Buddhism provides a complete, detailed analysis of both early and later Buddhism.
Part 1 is devoted to early Buddhism, opening with a thorough examination of pre-Buddhist thought and its absolutist character, followed by a biographical sketch of Siddartha, the historical Buddha. Each of the following nine chapters examines a major theme in Buddhist discourse: knowledge and understanding, experience and theory, language and communication, freedom and happiness, human personality, human suffering, the object, the moral life, and popular religious thought.
Part 2 examines later Buddhism by mapping its continuities with and divergences from early Buddhist doctrine. Dr. Kalupahana illustrates the movement of some schools toward substantialism and absolutism while other schools made a persistent attempt to retain the original teachings of the Buddha.
History of Buddhist Philosophy, David Kalupahana, Hawaii Press, Paperback, 304 pages, $19.00
David J. Kalupahana, Ph.D., is one of the most famous writers of Buddhism in the English language. Dr. Kalupahana has written nine books, more than thirty articles and contributed thirty-five minor articles and entries in the Encyclopedia of Buddhism.
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Contents: A History of Buddhist Philosophy: Continuities
and Discontinuities
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Introduction
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ix
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Abbreviations
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xv
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Part One: Early Buddhism
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I
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Indian Philosophy and the Search for the Ultimate Objectivity
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3
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II
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Life of the Buddha
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22
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III
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Knowledge and Understanding
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30
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IV
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Experience and Theory (Paticcasamutpapana and Paticcasamuppada)
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53
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Language and Communication
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60
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VI
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The Human Personality
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68
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VII
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The Object
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78
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VIII
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The Problem of Suffering
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85
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IX
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freedom and Happiness
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90
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X
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The Moral Life
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101
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XI
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Popular Religiouds Thought
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110
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Part Two: Continuities and Discontinuities
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XII
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The Emrgence of Absolutism
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121
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XIII
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Moggaliputa-tissa and the Kathavatthu
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132
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XIV
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Abhidhamma
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144
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XV
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The Perfection of Wisdom in the Vajracchedika
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153
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XVI
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Nagarjuna and the Mulamadhymakakarika
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160
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XVII
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The Saddharmapundarika-sutra and Conceptual Absolutism
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170
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XVIII
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The Lankavatara-sutra and the
Great Emptinss (Maha-sunyata)
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176
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XIX
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Vasubandhu and the Vijnaptimatratasiddhi
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184
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XX
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Dignaga's Epistemology and Logic
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194
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XXI
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Buddhaghosa, the Harmonizer
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206
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XXII
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Tantras and Parittas: The Voiceful Tradition
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217
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XXIII
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Silent Meditation and Ch'an (Zen): The Voiceless Tradition
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228
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Epilogue: Philosophy and History
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237
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Appendix: History of the Lankavatara
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241
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Notes
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247
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Select Bibliography
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269
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Index
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283
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