Buddhist Teaching in India
The earliest records we have today of what the Buddha said were written down several centuries after his death, and the body of teachings attributed to him continued to evolve in India for centuries afterward across a shifting cultural and political landscape. As one tradition within a diverse religious milieu that included even the Greek kingdoms of northwestern India, Buddhism had many opportunities to both influence and be influenced by competing schools of thought. Even within Buddhism, a proliferation of interpretive traditions produced a dynamic intellectual climate. Johannes Bronkhorst here tracks the development of Buddhist teachings both within the larger Indian context and among Buddhism's many schools, shedding light on the sources and trajectory of such ideas as dharma theory, emptiness, the bodhisattva ideal, buddha nature, formal logic, and idealism. In these pages, we discover the roots of the doctrinal debates that have animated the Buddhist tradition up until the present day.
|
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Abhidharma abstains already anatta ancient arhat ascetic atoms attainment Bareau Bodhi bodhisattva Brahmanical Bronkhorst Buddha Buddhist teaching Buddhist texts canonical cessation chariot concept conditioned factors conditioned origination consciousness dhar dharma theory dharmakaya dhism dhist dhyana Dignaga discussed doctrine early enlightenment find fire first five aggregates four noble truths Frauwallner Glasenapp Gombrich highest existence Hinayana ideas ideation important Indian influence interpretation Jainas Lamotte later liberating knowledge Madhyamaka Mahayana material form means mind momentary monks Nagarjuna Nagasena Nikaya nirvana non—Buddhist not—self objects Oetke ofthe old discourses Pali Pancavastuka passage path to liberation perfect person phenomenal world Philosophy practices prajnaparamita Pudgalavada Pudgalavadins reality realms rebirth reflections role Sanskrit Sarvastivadins Sautrantikas Schmithausen sensation sense sire six realms skandha so—called stage of meditation suffering sutras taints tathagatagarbha things thirst tion tradition translation unreal Upanisads Vallée Poussin Vasubandhu Vetter vijnana Vinaya wisdom words WZKS Yoga Yogacara Zafiropulo 1993