How Buddhism Began: The Conditioned Genesis of the Early Teachings

Introduction to the Second Edition — Explains the book’s main purpose: to place the Buddha’s ideas in historical context, especially in relation to Brahmanical thought and early doctrinal development. Preface — Describes the origin of the book in the Jordan Lectures in Comparative Religion and clarifies the author’s method, terminology, and transliteration choices. Abbreviations — Lists abbreviations for Pāli texts, commentaries, Sanskrit sources, and reference works. I. Debate, Skill in Means, Allegory and Literalism — Discusses how the Buddha’s teaching developed through debate, adaptive communication, metaphor, and later literal interpretation. II. How, not What: Kamma as a Reaction to Brahminism — Analyzes Buddhist kamma as a radical ethical reinterpretation of Brahmanical ritual action. III. Metaphor, Allegory, Satire — Examines the Buddha’s use of figurative language, including fire imagery, nirvāṇa, allegorical narrative, and satire of Brahmanical concepts. IV. Retracing an Ancient Debate: How Insight Worsted Concentration in the Pali Canon — Investigates the relationship between insight, concentration, jhāna, and liberation in early Buddhist textual traditions. V. Who was Aṅgulimāla? — Reconsiders the Aṅgulimāla narrative through philological and historical analysis.