This scholarly work offers a fascinating examination of the lore surrounding the life of Buddha. From his ancestry, birth, and youth to his final days, it chronicles Buddha's preaching, his 20 years' wandering, the establishment of rival schools of philosophy, and much more -- including thought-provoking perspectives on Buddhism as religion and philosophy.

Seeks To Trace The Growth Of The Buddhist Community, To Indicate Its Relation To The World Of Hindu And Non-Hindu Society And To Follow The Rise And Development Of The Doctrines From Their Legendary Origin Into The System Which Has Sread Over A Great Part Of Asia. This Reprint Of The Work Originally Published In London In 1933, Contains 19 Chapters, 2 Appendices, 4 Plates, Bibliography And Index.

William Montgomery McGovern’s Introduction to Mahayana Buddhism was one of the first books on Mahayana Buddhism written for a Western audience. It predates influential English language overviews of Buddhism by D. T. Suzuki, A. Watts, and W. Rahula. The author was born in New York City in 1897 and spent his latter teenage years (1914-1917) training at the Nishi Hongwanji Mahayana Buddhist monastery in Kyoto, Japan. He founded the Mahayana Association at age eighteen and edited and published the journal "Mahayanist" while completing his studies at the monastery. Introduction to Mahayana Buddhism was written as part of a thesis which secured him his Buddhist degree and an honorary ordination as a Buddhist priest. Intended as a simplified and introductory text for a lay audience, the book reflects the unique perspective of a Westerner trained in Japan at a time when Mahayana Buddhism was little known in the West. Referencing Buddhist literature, it gives a short history of Buddhism and the divergence of schools of Buddhist philosophy, introduces the four noble truths, the philosophy of Karma, the nature of Buddhahood, reincarnation and the road to nirvana, Buddhist cosmology, and psychological and philosophical elements of Buddhist teachings. Although the divisions of non Mahayana Buddhist sects and philosophy described may be considered dated, Introduction to Mahayana Buddhism remains significant for its historical value in presenting Eastern religious and philosophical thought to Westerners at a pivotal time in history.

The Buddha-Womb and the way to Liberation This volume resolves the ontology from the two previous volumes concerning the concept of a ‘subtle self’. First a commentary of the Tantra Great Gates of Diamond Liberation, that presents detailed information concerning the nature of the Heart, Throat, Diaphragm, and Splenic centres I and II. This adds to what was earlier provided on the Solar Plexus, Sacral and Base of Spine centres. The focus of this book concerns the attributes of the Sambhogakāya Flower, utilising The Uttaratantra of Maitreya and the Buddha’s testimony, thus revealing an esoteric doctrine that has been veiled in Buddhist scriptures.

A contemporary and provocative examination of the life of the Buddha highlighting the influence of women from his journey to awakening through his teaching career--based on overlooked or neglected stories from ancient source material. In this retelling of the ancient legends of the women in the Buddha’s intimate circle, lesser-known stories from Sanskrit and Pali sources are for the first time woven into an illuminating, coherent narrative that follows his life from his birth to his parinirvana or death. Interspersed with original insights, fresh interpretations, and bold challenges to the status quo, the stories are both entertaining and thought-provoking—some may even appear controversial. Focusing first on laywomen from the time before the Buddha’s enlightenment—his birth mother and stepmother, his co-wives, and members of his harem when he was known as Prince Siddhartha—then moving on to the Buddha’s first female disciples, early nuns, and to female patrons, Wendy Garling invites us to open our minds to a new understanding of their roles.

Hans Penner takes a new look at the classic stories of the life of the Buddha. In the first part of the book, he presents a full account of these stories, drawn from various texts of Theravada Buddhism, the Buddhism of South and Southeast Asia. Penner allots one chapter to each of the major milestones in Buddha's life, with titles such as: Birth and Early Life, Flight from the Palace, Enlightenment and Liberation, Last Watch and Funeral. In the process, he brings to the fore dimensions of the myth that have been largely ignored by western scholarship. In Part II, Penner offers his own original interpretations of the legends. He takes issue with Max Weber's assertion that "Buddhism is an other-worldly ascetic religion," a point of view that remains dominant in the received tradition and in most contemporary studies of Buddhism. His central thesis is that the "householder" is a necessary element in Buddhism and that the giving of gifts, which creates merit and presupposes the doctrine of karma, mediates the relation between the householder and the monk. Penner argues that the omission of the householder - in his view one-half of what constitutes Buddhism as a religion - is fatal for any understanding of Buddha's life or of the Buddhist tradition. This boldly revisionist and deeply learned work will be of interest to a wide range of scholarly and lay readers.