The Religion of the Buddha and Its Relation to Upanisadic Thought

The book is organized into an Introduction and three main parts. The Introduction surveys religious and philosophical beliefs in pre-Buddhist India, including Brahmanical sacrifice, popular religious practices, Upaniṣadic doctrines of suffering, desire, ignorance, mokṣa, transmigration, karma, self, ultimate reality, mysticism, yoga, morality, renunciation, ascetic movements, independent teachers, and social and political conditions. Part I presents the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha, beginning with a short biography and then analyzing the central doctrines of suffering, impermanence, the question of soul, ultimate reality, the cause of suffering, rebirth, karma, nirvāṇa, the status of the arhat after death, the Eightfold Path, the factors of enlightenment, the Sangha, and the relation between Buddhism and the Upaniṣads. Part II follows the development of Buddhism into Mahāyāna, discussing the evolution of Buddhahood, the Bodhisattva ideal, Bodhisattvas as objects of worship, the pāramitās, Madhyamaka philosophy, Yogācāra or Vijñānavāda, the Mahāyāna conception of nirvāṇa, and the growth of miracle, superstition, and mythology in Buddhist religion. Part III studies Buddhism beyond India, the causes of its decline in India, its influence on Hinduism, its revival in India, its reception in the West, and the future prospects of Buddhism as a world religion.