The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice, and History

Front Cover
Inner Traditions / Bear & Co, 1991 - Religion - 337 pages
This is the first definitive guide to the complete panorama of Buddhist teaching, practice, schools, and history. One of the fastest growing religions in the world, Buddhism includes with its scope numerous traditions. The Buddhist Handbook provides a comprehensive and nonsectarian survey of these traditions and their contemporary exponents throughout the world, providing necessary information for those who wish to explore the various options thoroughly and find one that is suited to their needs. For those already practicing in a particular school of Buddhism, it offers illuminating insight into the teachings of other schools for a more holistic view.
 

Contents

Why Buddhism?
1
The Heart of the Matter
4
The Buddha
7
The Indian Background
9
The Buddha The Early Years
15
The Buddha The Teaching Career
22
The Basic Teachings and Practices
33
The Buddhist World View
35
The Northern Transmission Vietnam and Korea
143
The Northern Transmission Japan
147
The Northern Transmission Tibet
163
The Northern Transmission Mongolia Russia Himalayan Region Nepal and Bhutan
180
Buddhism Comes West
187
Slow Beginnings
189
The Flowering of the Lotus
199
The North American Connection
230

The Basic Teachings and Practices
40
The Development of Buddhism in India
69
Four Councils and Eighteen Schools
71
Mahayana
79
Tantra
89
The Spread of Buddhism
99
The Southern Transmission Sri Lanka Burma Thailand Laos Kampuchea and Indonesia
101
The Northern Transmission The Northwestern Springboard and the Silk Route
112
The Northern Transmission China
117
Buddhism and Psychotherapy
241
APPENDIXES
255
Whos Who in Buddhism A Modern Western Perspective
257
Useful Addresses
316
Major Buddhist Festivals
324
Further Reading
327
Index
335
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