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Buddhist Religions : A Historical Introduction Paperback – 30 June 2004
by Richard Robinson (Author), Willard Johnson (Author), Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
Edition: 5th
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BUDDHIST RELIGIONS: A HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION walks you through the rich history of Buddhism and reveals how it has grown and changed over time while remaining true to the central teachings of the Buddha. And with this edition, you'll get more focused attention on the five main aspects of Buddhism: ritual, devotionalism, doctrine, meditation, and practice.
Review
Foreword.
Preface.
Map: The World of Buddhism.
Abbreviations.
Introduction.
Buddhism in India.
1. The Buddha's Awakening.
2. The Buddha as Teacher and Power Figure.
3. The Development of Early Indian Buddhism.
4. The Period of the Three Vehicles.
5. Early Medieval Indian Buddhism.
6. Late Medieval Indian Buddhism.
7. Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
8. Buddhism in Central Asia and China.
9. Buddhism in Korea and Vietnam.
10. Buddhism in Japan.
11. Buddhism in the Tibetan Cultural Area.
12. Buddhism Comes West.
An Overview of the Buddhist Scriptures.
Pronunciation Guide.
Glossary.
Select Bibliography.
Index.
==
About the Author
Willard L. Johnson received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of Wisconsin in 1973. He is now a professor emeritus of San Diego State University, where he teaches world religions, primal religions, shamanism, Asian religions, and religious experience.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) grew up in rural New York and Virginia, and was later ordained as a monk in Thailand in 1976. He trained for ten years under Ajaan Fuang Jotiko, a member of the Forest Tradition, until the latter's death in 1986. After returning to the States to help set up Metta Forest Monastery in 1991, he was made abbot of the monastery in 1993 and was formally made a preceptor in 1995. In addition to teaching at the monastery, he teaches regularly with the John Wayne Dhamma Center in Orange County, and the Barre Center of Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts. He is the author of The Mind Like Fire Unbound, The Buddhist Monastic Code, and The Wings to Awakening. He is also translator of a number of Thai meditation guides, including the complete writings of Ajahn Fuang's teacher, Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Per specialistiReviewed in Italy 🇮🇹 on 7 January 2016
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Un buon libro, non facile, ma indispensabile a chiunque sia interessato ad approfondire l'evoluzione della teoria e della prassi buddhiste.
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Squirrel
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great; insight-providing
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 5 September 2022
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This book provides a lot of insight (in a worldly sense) into the history of the world's now-many approaches to the teachings of the Buddha.
My only personal foible is that Thanissaro Bhikkhu is one of the contributors and I've never agreed 100% with his interpretations of things.
Verified Purchase
This book provides a lot of insight (in a worldly sense) into the history of the world's now-many approaches to the teachings of the Buddha.
My only personal foible is that Thanissaro Bhikkhu is one of the contributors and I've never agreed 100% with his interpretations of things.
Bhikkhu Bodhi has found some of his assertions questionable, as have I.
I don't remember now which ones made me cock my head to one side and say, "Huh?", but it's happened in the past. So I accept some of what he says but cautiously, and it's difficult, unpleasant, and counterproductive to feel one has to be on one's guard to any degree when studying the Dhamma, so I tend to avoid Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
That may be less of an issue with this book though, that venerable one being but one third of the authorship.
What I have read I have found enlightening (again, in a worldly sense) and will keep going back to it over time, I'm sure.
2 people found this helpfulReport
Steve Goodwin
5.0 out of 5 stars
That may be less of an issue with this book though, that venerable one being but one third of the authorship.
What I have read I have found enlightening (again, in a worldly sense) and will keep going back to it over time, I'm sure.
2 people found this helpfulReport
Steve Goodwin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Standard work in Buddhist Studies
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 8 January 2010
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This is one of the important surveys of Buddhism: origins, doctrine, history. Lots of information, and all conveyed clearly, reliably, readably. There are newer studies, of which I really can't speak, but this one is a classic I use continually for reference.
13 people found this helpfulReport
JASON
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 7 February 2017
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If you are looking for in depth textbook, minus all the new age BS, this is your guide!
2 people found this helpfulReport
See all reviews
Verified Purchase
This is one of the important surveys of Buddhism: origins, doctrine, history. Lots of information, and all conveyed clearly, reliably, readably. There are newer studies, of which I really can't speak, but this one is a classic I use continually for reference.
13 people found this helpfulReport
JASON
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 7 February 2017
Verified Purchase
If you are looking for in depth textbook, minus all the new age BS, this is your guide!
2 people found this helpfulReport
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===
Andy McLellan
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July 11, 2020
I really like this book! It seems to be an undergraduate level text looking at the development of Buddhism from its origins with the historical Buddha through early developments of different schools, the formation of the Mahayana tradition and sutras, and the spread of the dharma into new countries where it took root and developed new traditions.
Given the size of the book there is only so much depth that can be gone into on each different school and geographical area but I finished it feeling that there were few areas that were ignored and it filled in a lot of gaps for me, being particularly complementary reading with Paul Williams' Mahayana Buddhism book which goes into more detail about different Mahayana schools, sutras and philosophy without telling the story of the pattern of development.
I am a Buddhist practitioner rather than scholar but either way if you want a one-stop read on the history of Buddhism and its development right into the present day across Asia and into the west, this is a very reliable and informative book. For those who know a fair bit about Buddhism already, it will fill in the gaps in your knowledge. As a complete introduction, it will require a little more work.
===
Contents
PREFACE xiv
MAP: THE WORLD OF BUDDHISM xvi
ABBREVIATIONS xviii
INTRODUCTION xix
1 THE BUDDHA'S AWAKENING 1
1.1 The Social and Religious Context of Early Buddhism
1.2 Issues in Early North Indian Thought 3
1.3 The Quest for Awakening 4
1.3.1 The Birth and Youth of the Bodhisattva 5
1.3.2 The Great Renunciation 6
1.3.3 'The liodhisattva’s Studies and Austerities 8
1.3.4 Temptation by Mara 8
1.3.5 The Awakening 9
1.4 The Lessons of Awakening 11
1.4.1 Ike Regularity of Phenomena 11
1.4.2 Nirvana 19
1.4.3 The Awakening as Paradigm 20
CONTENTS
2 THE BUDDHA AS TEACHER
AND POWER FIGURE 22
2.1 The Response to the Awakened One 22
2.2 The Buddha Begins Teaching 24
2.2.1 The First Encounter 24
2.2.2 Setting the Wheel of Dharma in Motion 25
2.3 An Analysis of the First Discourse 27
2.3.1 The Four Noble Truths 27
2.3.2 77/e Stages of Awakening 31
2.4 The Spread of the Religion 32
2.4.1 Taking Refuge 32
2.4.2 The Development of the Sangha 33
2.5 The Middle Years 35
2.6 The Last Days and Beyond 37
2.6.1 Buddhist Devotionalism 39
2.6.2 The Etiquette of Devotion 40
3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY INDIAN
BUDDHISM 43
3.1 Sources 43
3.2 The Formation of the Canons 45
3.2.1 Ihe Early Monastic Lineages 46
3.2.2 The Early Councils and the Attitude toward Sectarianism 48
3.3 Norms for Religious Life 49
3.3.1 'Ihe Code of Discipline for Monks 49
3.3.2 Communal Governance 51
3.3.3 The Life of the Monks 52
3.3.4 Ihe Life of the Nuns 54
3.3.5 The Laity 56
3.4 As oka 58
3.5 Abhidharma 62
3.5.1 The Lists (Matrkd) 63
3.5.2 Points of Controversy: The Nature of the Individual 65
3.5.3 Points of Controversy: The Nature of Existence 66
CONTENTS
3.6 Past-Life Narratives 67
3.6.1 Jatakas and the Perfections 68
3.6.2 Avadanas and the Buddha-Field 70
3.7 The Stupa Cult 72
4 THE PERIOD OF THE THREE VEHICLES 75
4.1 Social Background 75
4.2 The Cult of Maitreya 78
4.3 Monuments to the Triple Gem 80
4.3.1 Buddha and Bodhisattva Images 80
4.3.2 The Cult of the Book 82
4.3.3 The Topography of Sacred Narrative 83
4.4 The Search for the Mahayana 84
4.4.1 The Ugrapariprccha 86
4.4.2 The Aksobhya- Vyuha 87
4.4.3 The Perfection of Discernment in 8,000 Lines 88
4.4.4 The Bodhisattva Elites 90
4.5 Two Levels ofTruth 91
4.5.1 Vaibhasikas and Sautrantikas 92
4.5.2 Nagaijuna 94
5 EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIAN BUDDHISM 99
5.1 Portraits of a Buddhist Empire 99
5.2 Mahayana Sutras 103
5.2.1 The Dasabhumika Sutra 104
5.2.2 The SukhavatT-Vyuha Sutras 105
5.2.3 Issues in the Perfection of Discernment 106
5.3 Scholastic Philosophy 116
5.3.1 Vasubandhu and the Abhidharmakosa 118
5.3.2 Asahga and tlieYogacara 119
5.3.3 Bhavaviveka and the Madhyamaka 121
X
CONTENTS
6 BUDDHISM IN LATE MEDIEVAL
AND MODERN INDIA 124
6.1 The Culture of Belligerence 124
6.2 Vajrayana 128
6.2.1 Tantras 129
6.2.2 Siddhas 132
6.2.3 Sahaja 135
6.2.4 The Vajra Cosmos 135
6.3 The Decimation of Indian Buddhism 138
6.4 Buddhism in Nepal 139
6.5 The Buddhist Revival 141
7 BUDDHISM IN SRI LANKA
AND SOUTHEAST ASIA 143
7.1 The Economy of Merit 143
7.2 Buddhism in “Further India” 146
7.3 The Theravada Connection 150
7.4 The Colonial Period 153
7.4.1 Sri Lanka 154
7.4.2 Burma 155
7.4.3 Thailand 156
7.5 The Post-colonial Period 157
7.5 .1 Buddhism in the Village 159
7.5.2 Buddhism in the Wilderness 166
7.5.3 Buddhism in the City 169
8 BUDDHISM IN CENTRAL ASIA AND CHINA 172
Central Asia
8.1 The Dharma Travels the Silk Road 172
China
8.2 A Grand Assimilation 175
8.3 Buddhism on the Fringes of Society 176
8.4 Buddhism Enters the Mainstream of Chinese Culture 178
8.4.1 Buddlto-Taoism 180
8.4.2 'Hie Rise of Buddhist Scholasticism 183
CONTENTS
8.5 The Sui and T’ang Dynasties (581—907) 185
8.5.1 T’ien-t’ai 188
8.5.2 Hua-yen 192
8.5.3 Pure Land (Ching-te) 197
8.5.4 The Three-Level Sect (San-chieh-chiao) 199
8.5.5 Ch ’an 200
8.6 The Sung Dynasty (970-1279) 204
8.6.1 Ch’an Politics 205
8.6.2 Ch’an Meditation 207
8.6.3 The Rise of Neo-Confucianism 209
8.7 The Religion of the Masses (1279-1949) 210
8. 7. 1 Religious Life: Devotional 211
8.7.2 Religious Life: Monastic 213
8.7.3 Religious Life: Lay 213
8.8 Modern Chinese Buddhism 215
8.9 A Buddhist Charitable Organization 216
9. BUDDHISM IN KOREA AND VIETNAM 219
9.1 A Focal Point for Unity and Differences 219
Korea
9.2 The Three Kingdoms Period (18 n.c.E.—688 c.e.) 220
9.3 The Unified Silla Dynasty (668-918) 222
9.3.1 Hwaom (Hua-yen) 223
9.3.2 Son (Ch’an) 223
9.4 The Koryo Dynasty (918—1392) 224
9.4.1 Uich’on 225
9.4.2 Chinul 225
9.4.3 T’aego 226
9.5 TheYi/Choson Dynasty (1392—1910) 227
9.6 Japanese Rule (1910—1945) and Its Aftermath 228
9.7 Buddhism in Modern Korea 229
9.8 Life in a Son Monastery 230
Vietnam
9.9 Two Streams of Buddhism Converge 234
9.10 The Modern Period 238
CONTENTS
10 BUDDHISM IN JAPAN 240
10.1 The Cult of Charisma 240
10.2 The Importation of Korean Buddhism 242
10.3 The Importation of Chinese Buddhism 243
10.4 The Heian Period (804—1185) 245
10.5 The Kamakura Period (1185—1333) 249
10.5.1 Zen 249
10.5.2 Pure Land 252
10.5.3 Nidi i ren 254
10.6 The Muromachi Period (1336—1603) 255
10.7 TheTokugawa Period (1603—1868) 258
10.8 State Shinto in Control (1868—1945) 260
10.9 Modern Urban Buddhism 262
10.10 A Religion of Self-Empowerment 264
11 BUDDHISM IN THE TIBETAN CULTURAL AREA 268
11.1 A Vajrayana Orthodoxy 268
11.2 The Dharma Comes to Tibet 269
11.2.1 The First Propagation 270
11.2.2 The Second Propagation 273
11.3 The Period of Consolidation 277
11.3.1 Historical Issues 277
11.3.2 Texts 278
11.3.3 Doctrinal Systems 210
11.3.4 Politics 281
11.4 The Age of the Dalai Lamas 283
11.5 The Dynamics ofTibetan Ritual 286
11.6 A Tradition at the Crossroads 291
12 BUDDHISM COMES WEST 292
12.1 Europe’s Early Contact with Buddhism 292
12.2 The Awakening Meets the Enlightenment 293
12.2.1 Buddhism and the Science of Humanity 294
12.2.2 The Appropriation of Buddhist Ideas 297
CONTENTS
xiii
12.2.3 The Crisis of Cultural Relativism 299
12.2.4 Calls for Reform 303
12.3 The Varieties of Buddhism in North America 306
12.3.1 Parent Traditions 307
12.3.2 Modes of Transmission 307
12.3.3 Grafting onto American Roots 309
AN OVERVIEW OF THE THREE MAJOR CANONS 312
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE 316
GLOSSARY 321
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 330
INDEX 341
=====
Preface
This edition of Buddhist Religions represents a thorough rethinking of the
book with the aim of bringing it more up-to-date with current scholar¬
ship and making it more useful to the student. One change will be readily
apparent:The title The Buddhist Religion, used for the first four editions, has now been changed, for reasons explained in the Introduction. For anyone familiar
with those earlier editions, other changes will become apparent as you go
through the book. In particular, the chapters on Indian Buddhism have been
radically revised and reorganized, with two chapters—four and five—entirely
new. All of the remaining chapters contain major revisions as well, which we
hope will make this edition a major advance over what has gone before.
The revision process was set in motion by two thorough and helpful critiques of the previous edition—one, of the entire book, by Jan Nattier of
Indiana University; and another, of the last five chapters, by Peter Gregory of
Smith College. As the manuscript for the new edition was in progress, Jan
Nattier also provided valuable feedback on many of the chapters; John McRae
of Indiana University, Richard Seager of Hamilton College, Karma Lekshe
Tsomo of San Diego University, Gil Fronsdal of the Sati Center for Buddhist
Studies, and Clark Strand, formerly of Tricycle: The Buddhist Journal, offered
advice in their respective fields of expertise. Sarah Dubin-Vaughn and Thomas
Patton read through many of the chapters and offered helpful comments. Helen
Newmark also offered assistance. At Wadsworth, our editor Anna Lustig pro¬
vided constant encouragement; and Terri Winsor, our copy editor, helped bring
clarity and consistency to the book.
We are also grateful to the Wadsworth reviewers: Jonathon R. Herman,
Georgia State University; Harry Krebs, Dickinson College; Janies P. McDermott,
Canisius College; and Janies Santucci, Fullerton State College.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of these people for their
assistance; the book is much, much clearer and more accurate because of their
help. Any errors that remain in the book, of course, are our own.
Willard L. Johnson
San Diego State University
Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff)
Metta Vorest Monastery
KUCHA •
TUNHUANG •
KHOTAN •
MONGOLIA
VUNKANC CAVES
SEA OF
JAPAN
SEA
SOUTH CHINA SEA
THE WORLD OF
BUDDHISM
INDONESIA
o
Abbreviations
Texts from the Pali Canon:
AN
Anguttara Nikaya
Cv
Cullavagga
DN
DTgha Nikaya
MN
Majjhima Nikaya
Mv
Mahcwagga
SN
Samyutta Nikaya
Sn
Sutta-Nipdta
References to DN and MN are to Sutta. References to Mv and Cv are to section
and subsection. References to the remaining texts are to section ( samyutta, nipdta,
or vaggd) and Sutta.
Other texts:
A st a
Astasdhasrika-prajndpdramitd Sutra
Kosa
A bhidhartnakosa
Lanka
Lankdvatara
MMK
MiUa-madhyamaka-karika
Pahca
Pancavimsatisdhasrikd-prajndpdramitd Sutra
Pratyutpanna
Pratyutpanna-buddha-sammukhdmstlnta-samddhi Sutra
Tattvasamgraha
Sarvatathagatatattvasamgraha
xviii
Introduction
Buddhism —as a term to denote the vast array of social and cultural phenom¬
ena that have clustered around the teachings of a figure called the Buddha,
the Awakened One—is a recent invention. It comes from the thinkers of
the eighteenth century European Enlightenment and their quest to subsume
religion under comparative sociology and secular history. Only recently have
Asian Buddhists come to adopt the term and the concept behind it.
Previously, the terms they used to refer to their religion were much more limited in scope: the Dharma, the Buddha’s message, or the Buddha’s way.
In other words, they conceived of their religion simply as the teaching of the Buddha—what the earliest Buddhist sources call Dharma-Vinaya, Doctrine and Discipline.
Whereas Dharma- Vinaya is meant to be prescriptive—advocating a way of life and practice— Buddhism is descriptive, in that it simply denotes the actions of people who follow a vision of Dharma-Vinaya, without passing judgment on the validity of that vision or suggesting that the reader accept that vision or follow it.
This is a book about Buddhism. Although it will describe the various ways
that Buddhists over the centuries have defined Dharma-Vinaya in their words
and actions, it will not attempt a definition of its own. Its purpose is to portray
the thoughts and actions of the large segment of the human race who have
called themselves followers of the Buddha. The authors have felt that this would
be a worthwhile enterprise in exploring part of the range of the human condi¬
tion. As Socrates once said, an unexamined life is not worth living. One of the
best ways to begin the examination of one’s own life is to examine the lives and
beliefs of others, so that one’s unconscious assumptions can be thrown into
sharp relief by the perspective offered by the assumptions, unconscious and
conscious, of the rest of humanity. This book is meant to help provide a part of
that perspective.
The serious study of Buddhism in the West began in 1844, when the French
philologist Eugene Burnouf came to the conclusion that certain religions encoun¬
tered by European explorers and traders in East Asia, Tibet, India, Sri Lanka, and
Southeast Asia were in fact branches of a single tradition whose home was in India.
Burnouf s discovery of the connecting thread among these Buddhist traditions was
such a major intellectual feat that it has continued to shape perceptions about those
traditions: that despite their superficial differences, they share a common core. Thus
the West has perceived Buddhism as a single religion, much like Christianity or
Islam, with the differences among its various permutations analogous to the differ¬
ences among Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Christians. For more
than a century after Burnouf’s discovery, Buddhologists—scholars of the Buddhist
tradition—tried to delineate the essential characteristics of that common core, but
the data refused to fit into any clearly discernible mold. As the Thais would say, it
was like trying to gather live crabs into an open basket: The old crabs kept crawling
out faster than any new ones could be caught and thrown in.
To deal with this great variety, scholars tried to define an “ideal Buddhism,”
against which actual forms of Buddhism could be measured to see how well they
managed to embody the ideal. The arbitrary nature of this process was best
revealed by the lack of agreement on how the ideal could be found. Some schol¬
ars defined the ideal in terms of the earliest teachings: What the historical
Buddha taught must be the most authentic Buddhism; any tradition deviating
from that must be degenerate or corrupt. Phis approach ran into the problem
that there is no unassailable account of what the Buddha taught; thus the ideal
turned out to be little more than a product of each scholar’s attempt at recon¬
struction. Other scholars defined the ideal form of Buddhism in terms of a doc¬
trine they found particularly advanced or insightful, such as the doctrines of
emptiness or original Awakening, but this too was an arbitrary choice, based on
the individual scholars personal preferences or nationalistic sentiments. In either
case, it ultimately became obvious that the definition of an ideal Buddhism was
less a useful rubric for organizing knowledge than a means for passing judgment
on what one did or didn’t like about Buddhist traditions.
More recently, the reaction against this search for an ideal Buddhism—called
“essentialism”—has led scholars to define Buddhism simply as that which any¬
one who calls him- or herself a Buddhist does and believes. This approach—
which might be termed “inclusionism”—has the advantage of allowing a wider
range of Buddhist activities to be studied without prejudice. But when com¬
bined with the perception that Buddhism is a single religion, it has the conse¬
quence of privileging those Buddhist traditions that are also inclusionistic—
enclosing the largest range of Buddhist beliefs and practices in their
framework—as the most complete expressions of the religion. This is unfortu¬
nate, in that it implicitly denigrates less inclusionistic forms of Buddhism as par¬
tial or incomplete, suggesting that they would best achieve completeness by
submitting to the rubric provided by another, very different Buddliist tradition.
For a scholar to tell practicing Buddhists that the particular tradition to which
they have devoted their lives is incomplete is as great an error as telling them
that their tradition is degenerate or corrupt.
To avoid this error, it seems better to regard the term Buddhism as describing
a family of religions, each with its own integrity, much as monotheism covers
a family of religions that are related but so inherently different that they cannot
be reduced to a common core. How can we prove that the different forms of
Buddhism are actually different religions? Unfortunately, there is no universal
set of criteria to decide whether the differences between two particular tradi¬
tions are great enough to class them as different religions rather than different
sects within the same religion. Historically, these decisions in the West have
been shaped more by political forces than by clearly articulated standards. Still,
a few general criteria for designating two traditions as separate religions would
include the following:
1. They are institutionally separate.
2. They cite different sources of inspiration as providing the final word on their
doctrines and practices. If they have some sources in common, at least one of
the traditions must state that the common sources provide only a partial
expression of the truth, whose complete expression is to be found in sources
exclusive to it.
3. They have different views of the ultimate nature of the primary focus of their
veneration. In monotheistic religions, this would involve radically different
notions of the Godhead. In Buddhist religions, this would involve radically
different notions of who or what, in an ultimate sense, the Buddha is.
4. They have different views on the goal of their practice and the legitimate
means used to attain that goal. Again, if they have some views in common on
these matters, at least one of the traditions must maintain that the common
elements are only a partial or inferior vision of the religious life, whose
complete expression is found in the exclusive elements of its vision.
When these criteria are applied to the living Buddliist traditions of the mod¬
ern world, it becomes clear that at least three separate Buddhist religions can be
delineated: the Theravada tradition centered on the Pali Canon; the East Asian tra¬
dition, centered on the Chinese Canon; and the Tibetan tradition, centered on the
Tibetan Canon. Arguments have been advanced that these religions contain sub¬
traditions that should also be classified as separate religions, but for the purposes of
this book we will limit our classification to these three. Each of the three religions
is derived from one of the three “courses” or “vehicles”—visions of the path of
Buddhist practice—that developed in India. Theravada is dominated by the
Sravaka-yana, or Disciple Course; East Asian Buddhism by the Mahayana or Great
Course; andTibetan Buddhism by theVajrayana or Adamantine Course. However,
it would be a mistake simply to equate each of these religions with its dominant
course, for each contains elements of all three courses. Still, the dominant course
in each case provides the framework that assigns meaning to the elements of the
other courses, meanings that vary drastically from one of these religions to the
next. Thus, even though they derive from common sources, the structural differ¬
ences in the way they interpret those sources makes them separate.
When the three courses had become delineated in the Indian Buddhist tradi¬
tion by the seventh or eighth centuries C.E., the last three of the previously noted
criteria for classifying separate religions were already in place. The first, however,
was not, in that the institutions of monastic Buddhism encompassed all three
courses. However, when the Buddhist homeland in the Ganges Valley was deci¬
mated in the thirteenth century, Buddhists in other parts of Asia began to
develop their own independent interpretations of what they had inherited from
India, at the same time developing their own separate monastic institutions. At
that point, the break into separate religions was complete. The discussion in this
book will treat in detail how this happened.
The advantages of viewing these three traditions as separate religions are
many, but here we will focus on two. (1) Each tradition is granted its own
integrity, without invidious comparisons as to whether it is a corrupt, partial, or
primitive expression of what it “should” be. (2) Students of comparative religion
are alerted to the fact that no one tradition speaks for all of Buddhism. Just as it
is obvious that there is no point in asking about “the monotheistic position” on a
particular moral, political, or spiritual issue, there is no point in asking about “the
Buddhist position.” When the religions of the world are compared, for whatever
purpose, then at the very least representatives of all three Buddhist religions
should have a place at the table.
Some people, especially in the West, may feel uncomfortable at the idea of
dividing Buddhism into different religions, for division among the monotheistic
religions has often been underscored by pogroms, genocide, and war. To divide
Buddhism into separate religions would thus seem like an invitation for more
violence and disharmony in the world. However, many Asian Buddhists have long
conunented that, on encountering other forms of Buddhism, they are struck by
how radically different they are, as if they did not belong to the same tradition. Yet
they have never felt motivated by this observation to wage war on the other
forms. T hus in viewing the different traditions as separate religions and yet noting
how those religions have never turned violent on one another, we gain examples
of how different religions can maintain their differences and yet live together
in peace.
Despite their differences, however, it is instructive to view the Buddhist
religions as a family, to see how those differences developed and where the fam¬
ily resemblances lie: thus this book. There is a tendency in books on Buddhism
to engage in what might be called the amoeba fallacy: to view the tradition as
an entity with a will to live that moves into a society and adapts itself to its sur¬
roundings in order to survive. Here we have tried to avoid that fallacy, and
instead have depicted Buddhism as a body of traditions handed down from
generation to generation. Although the existence of a tradition may influence
the way a particular group of people define their perceived religious needs, they
are the active agents in bringing about change in the tradition, just as their
embrace or rejection of parts of the tradition brings about changes in them. In
using the tradition to meet their own needs, they have applied it to questions
and purposes that in some cases it may have never been applied to before. As
these new applications are tested in experience and found useful, they become
part of the tradition handed down to the next generation. Thus Buddhism has
developed, not as a willful entity, but as a result of the contributions of many
human beings with varying needs and agendas. In our discussion, we have tried
to keep this human element always in mind.
Our presentation here tries to cover five main aspects of the Buddhist reli¬
gions in a relatively balanced way: ritual, devodonalism, doctrine, meditation
practice, and institutional history. The five aspects fit rather neatly with the Triple
Gem—the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha—which, in varying definitions, serves
as the basis of all the Buddhist religions. Ritual and devotionalism relate to the
respect accorded the Buddha and bodhisattvas (Buddhas-to-be); doctrine and
meditation practice correspond to the Dharma; and institutional history corre¬
sponds to the Sangha.
The balance among these elements varies from chapter to chapter partly
because of the authors’ interests, and partly because the available sources con¬
cerning that particular period or country may tend to be weighted in one direc¬
tion more than others. We have chosen what might be termed a “block and
bridge” approach to the material, delving into a particular block of material in
detail, and then skimming over large areas before delving into another block. In
trying to cover a topic as large as Buddhism in the small space of a book, this
approach has the advantage of bringing some occasional depth to the discussion.
However, the fact that a particular topic has been skinuned over does not mean
that it is unimportant, simply that it did not meet our—admittedly subjective—
notions of what is interesting and useful to know. In many cases we have given
more emphasis to the Dharma than to other aspects of Buddhism, both because
of its intrinsic interest and because of its pervasive influence on those other
aspects. Rituals and institutions have meaning only when interpreted in light of
the doctrine through which that meaning is articulated. In choosing this empha¬
sis, wc are honoring an assumption common to all Buddhist religions: that the
mind is the primary shaper of the world, rather than vice versa. Readers who
prefer to approach the tradition from its more material aspects, such as its eco¬
nomic history, are directed to the bibliography.
The book falls into two parts: the first six chapters covering the history of
Buddhism in India; the latter six, Buddhism outside of India. The emphasis on
India is due to the fact that Indian Buddhism forms the common stock from
which all other Buddhist traditions stem. To understand the relationship between,
say, Japanese and Burmese Buddhism, it is necessary to trace back through events
in India. In both parts we have tried to cover what the most reliable recent
historical scholarship has been able to unearth of what actually happened in the
past, as well as how Buddliists in those times and places viewed their own history.
We have also touched on some of the grand doctrinal syntheses—the work of
Asanga, Buddhaghosa, Chih-i, Fa-tsang, Kukai, and Tsongkhapa, among others—
to show how Asian Buddhists themselves tried to deal with the bewildering
wealth of their tradition. In addition, we have covered in detail the history of
the meditation and devotional traditions now coming to the West, so that this
book will be useful to students not only of Buddhism past, but also of Buddhism
present and yet to come.
