Table of Contents

Linguistic Conventions and References Acknowledgements Chapter I: A World Religion Chapter II: Buddha Chapter III: Meditation Chapter IV: Embellishing the Dhamma-Vinaya Chapter V: Buddhist India Chapter VI: Debate, Adaptation and Extinction Chapter VII: Guild Monasticism in the East Chapter VIII: State Buddhism in Asia Chapter IX: Why has Bodhidharma left for the West? List of Maps and Figures Further Reading Index

Promotional Information

Buddhism is often characterised as one of the most complex and enigmatic of all the world's religions. This work shows that the story of Buddhism as a global system of belief begins with the life of the Buddha in northern India in the fifth century BCE.

About the Author

Alexander Wynne, a former student of Richard Gombrich, is currently Lecturer in Buddhist Studies at Mahidol University, Thailand, and a translator for the prestigious Clay Sanskrit Library. He is the author of two previous books: The Origin of Buddhist Meditation (2007), and The Book of Liberation I: A New Edition and Translation of the Moksa Section of the Mahabharata's Santiparvan (2009, forthcoming).

Reviews

'An engaging introductory survey of Buddhism that is alert to scholarly debates and that includes a thought-provoking account of meditation in early Buddhism.' - B Peter Harvey, Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Studies, University of Sunderland, and author of An Introduction to Buddhism (1990) and An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics (2000)