Books in the Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism series

Combines the voices of scholars and practitioners in documenting and analysing Buddhist women's history. The book includes 26 articles - written by a range of Asian, Asian-American and Western Buddhists - which document the lives of women who have set in motion changes within Buddhist societies.

Presents Buddhist philosophy and practice as a resource for psychotherapy which is responsive to the needs for a three-way dialogue between Buddhism, psychotherapy and contemporary discourse.

The political, ethical and philosophical questions surrounding human rights are debated vigorously in political and intellectual circles throughout the world and now in this volume.

The notion of 'view' or 'opinion' (ditthi) as an obstacle to 'seeing things as they are' is a central concept in Buddhist thought. Through its argument, this book makes a valuable addition to the study of Buddhist philosophy.

This book reconstructs and appropriates in contemporary language the Middle Way philosophy of Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), arguably Tibet's greatest philosopher.

This book analyses the transplantation, development and adaptation of the two largest Tibetan and Zen Buddhist organisations currently active on the British religious landscape.

Focuses on funeral rituals in Tibetan Buddhism with an emphasis on their structure and performance. Drawing on historical travel literature, anthropological studies and ethnographic literature, as well as Tibetan texts and existing academic studies, this title describes Tibetan Buddhist funeral rituals since the earliest available records.

Applying the insights of social psychology in order to understand the religious motivation of the people who constituted the early Buddhist community, this work addresses the question of how world religions come into being.

This work examines the emergence of American Buddhism as a significant research field. Issues examined include: identity in Asian-American Buddhism; the new Buddhism; Buddhism and American culture; and the scholar's place in American Buddhist studies.

A research tool for Vinaya studies, this work covers both primary and secondary sources in Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan and Chinese, as well as modern sources in English, French, German and Japanese.

Presents an insight into contemporary British Buddhist practice. This book provides a survey of seven largest Buddhist traditions in the United Kingdom. It determines how and to what extent British Buddhist groups are changing from their Asian roots, and whether any forms of British Buddhism are beginning to emerge.

The new Buddhist religious movements of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and Santi Asoke, emerged Thailand in the 1970s at a time of political uncertainty. This book explores why they have come into being, what they have reacted against and what they offer to their members.

Presents the study of the important Mahayana Buddhist scripture Gandavyuha-sutra. This book provides a fresh approach to the study of Mahayana Buddhist sources, the 'systems approach', by which literature is viewed as embedded in a social system. It analyses the key themes of power, wealth and women to its social context in ancient India.

Explores the concept of self-awareness or self-consciousness in Buddhist thought. This book is a resource for the study of the Buddhist philosophy of mind.

Identifies what is meant by sati, usually translated as 'mindfulness', in early Buddhism, and examines its soteriological functions and its central role in the early Buddhist practice and philosophy. This book elucidates how mindfulness functions in the path to liberation from a psychological perspective.

Explores the British encounter with Buddhism in nineteenth century Sri Lanka, examining the way Buddhism was represented and constructed in the eyes of the British scholars, officials, travellers and religious seekers who first encountered it.

This book presents an analysis of one of the fundamental Mahayana Buddhist teachings, namely the three bodies of the Buddha (the Trikaya Theory), which is considered the foundation of Mahayana philosophy.

By providing an annotated translation of, and applying the methods of literary criticism to, a first-century account of the life of the saint Purna, this study introduces the reader to a genre which has played an essential role in Buddhist self-understanding for over 2000 years.

Presents a sophisticated study of some of the underlying assumptions involved in the study of Buddhism. Placing a distinct emphasis on Indian Buddhism, this book is suitable for those interested in Buddhism and India, and also scholars of religion and history.

Explores the intimate relationship between Japanese institutional Buddhism and militarism during the Second World War.

Presents a logical examination of the metaphysical and ethical dimensions of early Buddhist literature. This book determines the meaning of nature in the early Buddhist context from general Buddhist teachings on dhamma, paticcasamuppada, samsara and the cosmogony of the "Agganna Sutta".

This volume brings together the views of leading scholars on a range of controversial subjects including human rights, animal rights, ecology, abortion, euthanasia, and contemporary business practice.

This work focuses on the relationship between identity and perception in early Buddhism, drawing out and explaining the way they relate in terms of experience. It presents a picture of these issues in the context of Buddhist teachings as a whole and suggests they represent what Buddha taught.