Table of Contents

Pt I. Selections from the Theravāda tradition. Jātaka Tales (former lives of the Buddha)
Life of the Buddha
Teachings of the Buddha: causality
Teachings of the Buddha: four noble truths
Teachings of the Buddha: non-self
Teachings of the Buddha: nibbāna
Teachings of the Buddha: meditation
Teachings of the Buddha: ethical issues and virtues
Monastic life and regulations
The feminine thread in Buddhism
Theravāda hagiographical literature
pt. II: Selections from the Mahāyāna tradition. Prajñāpāramitā literature
Mahāratnakūta Sūtra
The true lion's roar of Queen Śrīmālā
Pure Land Sūtra
Mahāyāna school of thought: Mādhyamika
Mahāyāna school of thought: Yogācāra
Tibetan Buddhist tradition
Chinese Buddhist tradition. Hua-yen school ; T'ien T'ai school ; Chinese Pure Land school ; Ch'an School
Japanese Buddhist tradition. Pure Land Buddhism ; Zen Buddhism
Mahāyāna hagiographical literature
The feminine thread in Mahāyāna literature

About the Author

CARL OLSON is a professor of religious studies at Allegheny College. His numerous books include Zen and the Art of Postmodern Philosophy: Two Paths of Liberation from the Representational Mode of Thinking and Indian Philosophers and Postmodern Thinkers: Dialogues on the Margins of Culture.

Reviews

This superb collection of primary sources in translation drawn from all major schools of Buddhism explains clearly, and with great subtlety, the main Buddhist doctrines and developments in their Asian homelands. More wide-ranging than any previous edition of Buddhist texts, this is a very accessible book and most enjoyable to read. Carl Olson is to be congratulated on creating such an excellent resource for the study of Buddhism. - Ursula King (Professor Emerita of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Bristol, Engl)