Buddhism is a vast and complex religious and philosophical tradition with a history that stretches back over 2,500 years. In this book, Rupert Gethin investigates the common threads connecting diverse traditions of Buddhist thought and practice: the story of the Buddha, the scriptural tradition of his teachings, the four noble truths, monastic and lay ways of life, karma and rebirths, ethics, meditation, and philosophy. While concentrating on the formative phase of Buddhism in India, he also considers the ways in which these foundations have shaped the development of Buddhism beyond India and into the twentieth century.
Foundations of Buddhism, Rupert Gethin, Oxford University Press, 330 pp., $16.95
Rupert Gethin is co-founder of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol and a specialist in Indian Buddhism.
Introduction
1. The Buddha: The Story of the Awakened One
2. The Word of the Buddha: Buddhist Scriptures and Schools
3. Four Truths: The Disease, the Cause, the Cure, the Medicine
4. The Buddhist Community: Monks, Nuns, and Lay Followers
5. The Buddhist Cosmos: The Thrice Thousandfold World
6. No self: Personal Continuity and Dependent Arising
7. The Buddhis Path: The Way of Calm and Insight
8. The Abhidharma: The Higher Teaching
9. The Mahayana: The Great Vehicle
10. Evolving Traditions of Buddhism
