A Survey of Buddhist Temples and Monasteries

The book is organized into four major chapters. The first chapter, “History of Buddhism,” surveys the origin of Buddhism from the life of Siddhartha Gautama, his enlightenment, teaching career, and the development of early Buddhist communities, then follows the expansion of Buddhism across Sri Lanka, Central Asia, China, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and the West. It also discusses major historical phases such as the rise of Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna, the decline of Buddhism in India, the Theravāda renaissance, and later Buddhist councils. The second chapter, “Buddhist Philosophy,” introduces core teachings such as the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Five Precepts, Nirvāṇa, the Three Jewels, the Three Marks of Existence, skandhas, cosmology, and Dharma. The third chapter, “Buddhist Temple,” provides a geographical survey of Buddhist temples in many countries and regions, including Korea, China, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The fourth chapter, “Buddhist Monasteries,” lists and describes Buddhist monastic institutions from different traditions and regions, including Tibetan, Bhutanese, Russian, Indian, and modern Western monasteries, thereby presenting monasteries as religious, educational, cultural, and architectural centres in the Buddhist world.