Table of Contents

Boxes, Figures, and Maps; Acknowledgments; Pronunciation Guide; Introduction; 1. THE LIFE OF GAUTAMA BUDDHA; The Early Life of Siddhartha Gautama; The Great Renunciation; The Awakening of the Buddha; The Mission of the Buddha; The Last Days of Gautama Buddha; 2. THE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA; The Three Characteristics; The Five Aggregates; Dependent Arising; Karma and Rebirth; The Four Noble Truths; The First Noble Truth: Life Is Duhkha; The Second Noble Truth: The Cause of Duhkha; The Third Noble Truth: The Cessation of Duhkha; The Fourth Noble Truth: The Eightfold Path to the Cessation of Duhkha; The Eightfold Path; Nirvana; 3. THE WAY OF THE ELDERS; The Three Baskets; The Sutra Pitaka; The Vinaya Pitaka; The Abhidharma Pitaka; The Second and Third Councils; King Asoka; Theravada's Path of Purification; Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia; THE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE OF THAI BUDDHISM TODAY, METTANANDO BHIKKU; 4. THE GREAT VEHICLE; The Mahayana Sutras; The Great Journey of the Bodhisattva; Celestial Bodhisattvas and Buddhas; 5. THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE OF BUDDHISM; The Abhidharma Schools; The Mahayana Schools; Logic, Tantra, and the Extinction of Buddhism in India; 6. THE TIBETAN EXPERIENCE OF BUDDHISM; The First Dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet; The Second Dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet; The Geluk School and the Dalai Lama; The Tantric Experience; Schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Distinctive Practices; Recent Events in Tibet; THE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM TODAY, GESHE DAMDUL NAMGYAL; 7. THE CHINESE EXPERIENCE OF BUDDHISM; Translation and Inculturation; New Translations and Scholarship; Persecution and Reform; The Chinese Schools I: Laying the Foundation of the Chinese Experience; The Chinese Schools II: Defining the Chinese Experience; Persecution and Decline; Later Developments; THE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE OF CHINESE BUDDHISM TODAY, DEDONG WEI; 8. THE KOREAN EXPERIENCE OF BUDDHISM; The Advent of Buddhism during the Three Kingdoms Period; Buddhism during the Unified Silla Dynasty: Innovation and Scholarship; Buddhism during the Koryo Dynasty: Searching for Unity; Repression during the Choson Dynasty; The Japanese Occupation and Recent Developments; THE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE OF KOREAN BUDDHISM TODAY, JONGMYUNG KIM; 9. THE JAPANESE EXPERIENCE OF BUDDHISM; Prince Shotoku; The Nara Period (710-784): The Six Schools; The Heian Period (794-1185): The Tendai and Shingon Schools; The Kamakura Period (1185-1333): Pure Land, Zen, and Nichiren; The Muromachi Period (1338-1573): Zen and Japanese Culture; The Tokugawa Period (1603-1868): Struggle and Reform; The Meiji Period (1868-1912) and Recent Developments; THE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE OF JAPANESE BUDDHISM TODAY, TOMONOBU SHINOZAKI; O-bon Festival; 10. MODERN BUDDHISM IN ASIA; New Buddhist Movements in Asia; Women's Experience of Buddhism in Modern Asia; 11. BUDDHISM IN THE WEST; Buddhism in Europe; Buddhism in Canada; Buddhism in Australia; Western Buddhism and Globalization; Buddhism in the United States; The Experience of Buddhism in the United States; THE CULTURAL EXPERIENCE OF AMERICAN BUDDHISM TODAY, REV. HENG SURE

Reviews

"Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experience has only strengths, as unbelievable as that sounds. It is probably the best introduction to Buddhism available. Mitchell presents not only the rich historical development of Buddhism, its major texts and doctrines right up to the present; he also guides us through the enormous variety of Buddhist cultures, sects, and schools in a clear and engaging fashion. Brief autobiographical narratives of well-known Buddhist practitioners and scholars as well as individual essays on the contemporary lived experience of Buddhism in various countries add greatly to this book's uniqueness and value. We get real Buddhism, not just textbook Buddhism."--Bradley Malkovsky, University of Notre Dame"Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experience uses a very broad historical and cultural framework to introduce and accommodate a whole wide spectrum of 'Buddhist experiences'--across 2,500 years and the entire continent of Asia and beyond. Such an endeavor, to my knowledge, is perhaps the most ambitious and comprehensive treatment given to the subject. This book is truly one of a kind."--Wei Zhang, University of South Florida"The author has done an excellent job of presenting a clear and accurate exposition of Buddhism."-Paul J. Griffiths, University of Illinois at Chicago"Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist Experience is among the most clearly written and even-handed treatments of the whole of Buddhist history for undergraduate classroom use on the market today."--Linda Penkower, University of Pittsburgh