Description
Buddhism, after a spell of dormant state for almost a millennium, seems to be attracting attention and we are witnessing the beginning of a sort of revival of Buddhist studies in the recent past. The present study is in the form of collection of essays written over the years, which have been duly modified and updated in the light of subsequent study and reflection.
The subjects covered in the work include: ‘Rise of Heterodoxy’, ‘Date of Buddha’, ‘Evolution of the Order’, ‘Origin of Sects’, ‘Doctrinal Disputes’, ‘Dilution of Arhatship’, ‘Buddha’s Divinisation’, ‘Reflections on Nirvana’, ‘Asoka and Buddhism’, ‘Buddhism and Social Change’, ‘Women Images’, ‘Universality of Buddhism’, ‘Ascetic Rivals’. The thematic essays are followed by an appendix about Early Buddhism in the Himalayas. The entire work is intended to evince not only a strong thread that binds the kindred subjects together but it also delineates a sequential evolution to justify the context.