Buddhism: A Modern Perspective

The book is structured as a multi-author academic manual covering both Indian Buddhism and Buddhism outside India. It begins with “The Background to Buddhism,” explaining the Indus Valley Civilization, Vedic culture, Upaniṣadic inheritance, and the age of wanderers that shaped the religious environment into which Buddhism emerged. It then presents “Life of the Buddha,” “Early History of the Buddhist Order,” “Buddhist Councils and Divisions in the Order,” and “Aśoka and the Missionary Activity of the Buddhists,” establishing the historical foundation of the Buddha, the Saṅgha, early monastic development, councils, sectarian divisions, and royal patronage. The doctrinal and textual core includes essays on early Buddhist doctrines, the Vinaya Piṭaka, Sūtra Piṭaka, Abhidharma Piṭaka, nirvāṇa, cosmology, Buddhist logic, and meditation, providing a systematic entry into Buddhist teaching and practice. The Mahāyāna section introduces Prajñāpāramitā, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra, Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa, Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, and Pure Land texts, showing the doctrinal expansion of Buddhism beyond early Indian forms. The final large section surveys Buddhism beyond India, including Ceylon, Southeast Asia, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, and the West, with attention to monastic life, regional transmission, doctrinal schools, political challenges, new religious movements, and modern Buddhist communities. The book concludes with an appendix listing representative Buddhist groups in the United States, followed by glossary, bibliography, and index.