19 research outputs found
Buddhist Philosophy in Theory and Practice. By Herbert V. Guenther. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1972. xii, 240 pp. Illustration, Bibliography, Index. Paperback, $2.45.
An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices. By Peter Harvey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. xxii, 374 pp. 14.95 (paper).
The Dynamic Psychology of Early Buddhism. By Rune E. A. Johansson. London: Curzon Press (Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies Monograph Series No. 37), 1979. References, Index of technical terms, Index of quotations from Nikāya texts. £4.75 (paper).
The Age of Vinaya. By G. S. P. Misra. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1972. xvi. 298 pp. Appendix, Bibliography, Index. Rs. 38.
Buddhist Ethics. By H. Saddhatissa. New York: George Braziller, 1970. 202 pp. Bibliography, Index. $1.95 (paper).
The faces of Buddhism in America
Buddhism is the fastest growing religion in the United States, with adherents estimated in the several millions. But what exactly defines a "Buddhist"? This has been a much-debated question in recent years, particularly in regard to the religion's bifurcation into two camps: the so-called "imported" or ethnic Buddhism of Asian immigrants and the "convert" Buddhism of a mostly middle-class, liberal, intellectual elite. In this timely collection Charles S. Prebish and Kenneth K. Tanaka bring together some of the leading voices in Buddhist studies to examine the debates surrounding contemporary Buddhism's many faces.The contributors investigate newly Americanized Asian traditions such as Tibetan, Zen, Nichiren, Jodo Shinshu, and Theravada Buddhism and the changes they undergo to meet the expectations of a Western culture desperate for spiritual guidance. Race, feminism, homosexuality, psychology, environmentalism, and notions of authority are some of the issues confronting Buddhism for the first time in its three-thousand-year history and are powerfully addressed here.In recent years American Buddhism has been featured as a major story on ABC television news, National Public Radio, and in other national media. A strong new Buddhist journalism is emerging in the United States, and American Buddhism has made its way onto the Internet. The faces of Buddhism in America are diverse, active, and growing, and this book will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding this vital religious movement
Westward dharma: Buddhism beyond Asia
The first authoritative volume on the totality of Buddhism in the West, Westward Dharma establishes a comparative and theoretical perspective for considering the amazing variety of Buddhist traditions, schools, centers, and teachers that have developed outside of Asia. Leading scholars from North America, Europe, South Africa, and Australia explore the plurality and heterogeneity of traditions and practices that are characteristic of Buddhism in the West. This recent, dramatic growth in Western Buddhism is accompanied by an expansion of topics and issues of Buddhist concern. The contributors to this volume treat such topics as the broadening spirit of egalitarianism; the increasing emphasis on the psychological, as opposed to the purely religious, nature of practice; scandals within Buddhist movements; the erosion of the distinction between professional and lay Buddhists; Buddhist settlement in Israel; the history of Buddhism in internment camps; repackaging Zen for the West; and women's dharma in the West. The interconnections of historical and theoretical approaches in the volume make it a rich, multi-layered resource