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Informationen zum Autor John S. Strong is Charles A. Dana Professor of Religious Studies at Bates College in Maine, USA. He is the author of four other books on Buddhism. Klappentext Buddhism or Buddhisms? By the time they move on to Buddhism in Japan, many students who have studied its origins in India ask whether this is in fact the same religion, so different can they appear. In Buddhisms: An Introduction, Professor John S. Strong provides an overview of the Buddhist tradition in all its different forms around the world. Beginning at the modern day temples of Lumbini, where the Buddha was born, Strong takes us through the life of the Buddha and a study of Buddhist Doctrine, revealing how Buddhism has changed just as it has stayed the same. Finally, Strong examines the nature of Buddhist community life and its development today in the very different environments of Thailand, Japan, and Tibet. Enriched by the author's own insights gathered over forty years, Buddhisms never loses sight of the personal experience amidst the wide-scope of its subject. Clear in its explanations, replete with tables and suggestions for further reading, this is an essential new work that makes original contributions to the study of this 2,500 year-old religion. Zusammenfassung A comprehensive survey of Buddhism as a religious tradition that is both coherent and diverse Inhaltsverzeichnis Preface Schemes and Themes Technicalities Note on abbreviations Chapter 1 Introduction: Lumbin¿, a Buddhist World Exposition 1.1 Therav¿da and Mah¿y¿na 1.2 Lumbin¿'s Eastern Monastic Zone: South and Southeast Asian Traditions 1.2.1 The Mah¿ Bodhi Society 1.2.2 The Sri Lanka Monastery 1.2.3 The Gautam¿ Center for Nuns 1.2.4 Myanmar (Burma) 1.2.5 Meditation Centers 1.3 Lumbin¿'s Western Monastic Zone: East Asian Traditions 1.3.1 China 1.3.2 Korea 1.3.3 Japan 1.3.4 Vietnam 1.4 Lumbin¿'s Western Monastic Zone: Tibetan Vajray¿na Traditions 1.4.1 The Great Lotus St¿pa 1.4.2 The Lumbin¿ Udyana Mahachaitya Part I: Foundations of the Triple Gem: Buddha/s, Dharma/s, and Sägha/s Chapter 2 ¿¿kyamuni, Lives and Legends 2.1 The Historical Buddha 2.2 The Buddha's World 2.3 The Buddha of Story 2.4 Past Buddhas and the Biographical Blueprint 2.5 The Start of ¿¿kyamuni's Career 2.6 Previous Lives (J¿takas) 2.6.1 The Donkey in the Lion's Skin 2.6.2 Vessantara J¿taka 2.6.3 The Tigress J¿taka 2.7 A Lifestory of ¿¿kyamuni 2.7.1 Birth and Childhood 2.7.2 Life in the Palace 2.7.3 The Beginnings of Discontent 2.7.4 The Great Departure 2.7.5 Paths Not Taken 2.7.6 Awakening 2.7.7 After Enlightenment 2.7.8 The First Sermon 2.7.9 Various Conversions and Miracles 2.7.10 Death and Parinirv¿¿a Chapter 3 Overcoming the Buddha's Absence 3.1 Seeing the Buddha in the Dharma 3.1.1 Excursus on the Buddhist Canon/s 3.2 Places of Pilgrimage 3.3 Relics 3.4 Buddha Images 3.5 The Masters of the Dharma 3.6 The Arhat Dharma-Protectors 3.7 Meeting Maitreya Chapter 4 Some Permutations of the Middle Way 4.1 The Middle Way 4.2 Karma and Säs¿ra 4.2.1 Why Do Good Deeds? 4.2.2 Contexts of Karma I: Neither Free Will nor Determinism 4.2.3 Contexts of Karma II: Both Jain and Upani¿adic Views 4.3 The Doctrine of Non-Self (An¿tman) 4.3.1 Breaking Down the False Sense of Self: the Five Aggregates and Impermanence 4.3.2 The Elements (Dharmas) 4.3.3 Countering the Breakdown of Self: Personal Continuity 4.3.4 Explications of Continuity...
