The Buddhist World joins a series of books on the world's great religions and cultures, offering a lively and up-to-date survey of Buddhist studies for students and scholars alike. It explores regional varieties of Buddhism and core topics including buddha-nature, ritual, and pilgrimage. In addition to historical and geo-political views of Buddhism, the volume features thematic chapters on philosophical concepts such as ethics, as well as social constructs and categories such as community and family. The book also addresses lived Buddhism in its many forms, examining the ways in which modernity is reshaping traditional structures, ancient doctrines, and cosmological beliefs.

The Buddhist World, Edited by: John Powers, Routledge, Hardcover, 2016, 678 pages, $250.00

John Powers is Professor of Asian Studies in the School of Culture, History and Language, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities. He is the author of fourteen books and more than seventy articles and book chapters. His publications include A Bull of a Man: Images of Masculinity, Sex, and the Body in Indian Buddhism (2015) and Historical Dictionary of Tibet (with David Templeman, 2012).

List of Illustrations.
List of Contributors.
Buddhism Chronology. Introduction – John Powers
Part I: The Historical and Geo-political Buddhist World.
1. Buddhas and Buddhisms – John Powers.
2. Indian Buddhist Narratives about the Buddha, His Community, and His Teachings – Karen Lang.
3. Buddhism in Southeast Asia – Craig J. Reynolds.
4. Sinitic Buddhism in China, Korea, and Japan – Scott Pacey.
5. Himalayan Buddhism (Newars and Other Tibeto-Burman peoples) – Todd Lewis.
6. Time Travel in Tibet: Tantra, Terma and Tulku – Mark Stevenson.
7. The Emergence of American Buddhism – Charles Prebish.
Part II: The Religio-Philosophical Buddhist World.
8. Abhidharma – Joseph Walser.
9. Ethics – Daniel Cozort.
10. Orthodoxy, Canon, and Heresy – Jamie Hubbard.
11. Language – Mario D’Amato
12. The Pure Land in the History of Chinese Buddhism – Charles B. Jones.
13. Buddha-Nature and the Logic of Pantheism – Douglas Duckworth.
14. Body – David Gardiner.
15. Buddhist Art for the World – Marylin Rhie.
16. Death and Afterlife – Paul Hackett.
17. Buddhism and Modernity – Jay L. Garfield.
Part III: The Buddhist Social World.
18. Buddhism and Gender – Karma Lekshe Tsomo.
19. A History of Buddhist Ritual – Todd Lewis.
20. Magic and Buddhism – Craig J. Reynolds.
21. Merit – Douglas Osto.
22. Buddhist Sectarianism – David B. Gray.
23. Community – D. Mitra Barua and Mavis Fenn.
24. The Buddhist Sangha: Buddhism’s Monastic and Lay Communities – Charles S. Prebish.
25. Contemporary Chinese Buddhist Practice – Scott Pacey.
26. Buddhist Environmental Imaginaries – Susan M. Darlington.
27. Renouncing the World, Renouncing the Family – Geoff Childs.
28. Toward a Buddhist Theory of the ‘Just War’ – Damien Keown.
Part IV: Biographies.
29. The Buddha – Richard Hayes.
30. Nagarjuna – Joseph Walser.
31.Vasubandhu: Constructing a Buddhist Mainstream – Jonathan Gold.
32. Dignaga and Dharmakirti on Perception and Self-Awareness – Chrisna Coseru.
33. Wonhyo – Charles Muller.
34. Dogen – Steven Heine.
35. Milarepa – Ruth Gamble.
36. Tsongkhapa – John Powers.
37. Nichiren – Daniel S. Métraux.
38. Thich Nhat Hanh – John Powers.
39. Master Yinshun – Bhikkhu Bodhi.
40. Tenzin Gyatso, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama – John Powers.
41. Buddhadasa Bhikkhu – Royce Wiles.
General Index