Indian Buddhism

This book compares all available original sources in different languages to describe the Buddhism of India. It is divided into three parts that are roughly equal. The first part is a reconstruction based on the traditions of different schools. It primarily uses the existing methods of textual critic, drawing out the oldest extant texts from the various schools their common kernel. This is the common Buddhism that existed before the great schisms in the fourth and third centuries BC. Although it may be the Buddhism of Buddha himself, it cannot be proven. It is, however, a Buddhism that was presupposed to have existed around a hundred years after Parinirvana for the Buddha. There is no evidence that it was created by anyone other than the Buddha or his immediate disciples. The second section traces the evolution of the eighteen schools of early Buddhism and shows how they derived their doctrines from the common kernel. We can see how the Sthaviravada or ‘Theravada ‘of the Pali tradition among others, modified or added to the original doctrine. The third section describes the Mahayana movement, the Mantrayana and the Way of the Bodhisattva. It is detailed how the Mahayana relates to early schools, and its possible affiliation to one of them (the Purva Saila), as indicated by the consensus evidence. This book focuses on the social teachings of Buddhism. It is the part that relates to the “world” rather than to Nirvana, and has been neglected in modern Buddhist writings.
This book presents the Buddhism of India based on the comparison of all available original sources in different languages. It is divided into three parts that are roughly equal. The first part is a reconstruction based on the traditions of different schools. It primarily uses the existing methods of textual critic, drawing out the oldest extant texts from the various schools their common kernel. This is the common Buddhism that existed before the great schisms in the fourth and third centuries BC. Although it may be the Buddhism of Buddha himself, it cannot be proven. It is presupposed to be a Buddhism that existed around a hundred years after Parinirvana for the Buddha. There is no evidence to support the Buddha or his immediate disciples as the originator. The second section traces the evolution of the eighteen schools of early Buddhism and shows how they derived their doctrines from the same kernel. This section shows how the Sthaviravada, or ‘Theravada,’ from the Pali tradition, added or modified the original doctrine. The third section describes the Mahayana movement, the Mantrayana and the Way of the Bodhisattva. It is detailed how the Mahayana relates to early schools, and its possible affiliation to one of them (the Purva Saila), as indicated by the consensus evidence. This book focuses on the social teachings of Buddhism. It is the part that relates to the “world” rather than to Nirvana, and has been neglected in modern Buddhist writings.