Buddhism or Buddhisms? By the time they move on to Buddhism in Japan, many students who have studied its origins in India ask whether this is in fact the same religion, so different can they appear. In Buddhisms: An Introduction, Professor John S. Strong provides an overview of the Buddhist tradition in all its different forms around the world. Beginning at the modern day temples of Lumbini, where the Buddha was born, Strong takes us through the life of the Buddha and a study of Buddhist Doctrine, revealing how Buddhism has changed just as it has stayed the same. Finally, Strong examines the nature of Buddhist community life and its development today in the very different environments of Thailand, Japan, and Tibet. Enriched by the author's own insights gathered over forty years, Buddhisms never loses sight of the personal experience amidst the wide-scope of its subject. Clear in its explanations, replete with tables and suggestions for further reading, this is an essential new work that makes original contributions to the study of this 2,500 year-old religion.

Buddhisms: An Introduction, John Strong, One World, Paperback, 2020, 450 Pages, $35.00

John Strong is Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Bates College in Maine, USA.

CONTENTS: The Buddha
Tables		ix
Illustrations		x
Preface		xi
Pronunciation and transliteration of terms		xiv
1	Introduction: the lifestory of the Buddha	1
2	Previous lives of the Buddha	19
3	Ancestry, birth, and youth	47
4	Quest and enlightenment	65
5	Teachings and community	101
6	Daily routines, miracles, and distant journeys	131
7	Final days, the parinirvana, and the nirvana of the relics	163
Sources and further reading		194
Glossary of Sanskrit names and terms with Pali equivalents		224
Bibliography		232
Index		249