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Stanford scholar discusses Buddhism and its origins

Stanford religious studies Professor Paul Harrison talks about the latest research on the origin of Buddhism and the rise of Mahayana Buddhism, which has influenced most of today’s Buddhist practices around the world.

It’s hard to find a self-help book today that doesn’t praise the benefits of meditation, mindfulness and yoga.

Many individuals engage in meditation and other practices associated with Buddhism. But not all realize the complexities of the religion, according to Stanford expert Paul Harrison. (Image credit: FatCamera / Getty Images)

Many of these practices are rooted in the ancient tradition of Buddhism, a religion first developed by people in India sometime in the fifth century BCE.

But according to Stanford Buddhist scholar Paul Harrison , Buddhism is more than finding zen: It is a religious tradition with a complicated history that has expanded and evolved over centuries. Harrison has dedicated his career to studying the history of this religion, which is now practiced by over 530 million people.

In a recent book he edited, Setting Out on the Great Way: Essays on Early Mahāyāna Buddhism , Harrison brings together the latest perspectives on the origins and early history of a type of Buddhism that has influenced most of today’s Buddhist practices around the world.

This new work focuses on the rise of Mahayana Buddhism, which evolved about 400 years after the birth of Buddhism. It is an elaborate web of ideas that has seen other types of Buddhism branch from its traditions. Unlike other Buddhists, Mahayana followers aspire to not only liberate themselves from suffering but also lead other people toward liberation and enlightenment.

Stanford News Service interviewed Harrison, the George Edwin Burnell Professor of Religious Studies in the School of Humanities and Sciences, about Buddhism and the latest research on its origins.

What are some things that people may not know about Buddhism?

Some people, especially those in the Western world, seem to be bewitched and mesmerized by the spell of Buddhism and the way it’s represented in the media. We’re now saturated with the promotion of mindfulness meditation, which comes from Buddhism.

Paul Harrison (Image credit: Connor Crutcher)

But Buddhism is not all about meditation. Buddhism is an amazingly complex religious tradition. Buddhist monks don’t just sit there and meditate all day. A lot of them don’t do any meditation at all. They’re studying texts, doing administrative work, raising funds and performing rituals for the lay people, with a particular emphasis on funerals.

Buddhism has extremely good press. I try to show my students that Buddhism is not so nice and fluffy as they might think. Buddhism has a dark side, which, for example, we’ve been seeing in Myanmar with the recent persecution of the Rohingya people there.

It’s as if we need to believe that there is a religion out there that’s not as dark and black as everything else around us. But every religion is a human instrument, and it can be used for good and for bad. And that’s just as true of Buddhism as of any other faith.

Why is it important to study the origin of Buddhism and other religions?

Religion plays a hugely important role in our world today. Sometimes it has extremely negative consequences, as evidenced by terrorism incidents such as the Sept. 11 attacks. But sometimes it has positive consequences, when it’s used to promote selfless behavior and compassion.

Religion is important to our politics. So, we need to understand how religions work. And part of that understanding involves trying to grasp how religions developed and became what they became.

This new book of essays on Mahayana Buddhism is just a small part of figuring out how Buddhism developed over time.

What is Mahayana Buddhism and what are its distinct features?

The word Mahayana is usually translated as “the great vehicle.” The word maha means “great,” but the yana bit is trickier. It can mean both “vehicle” and “way,” hence the title of this book.

As far as we know, Mahayana Buddhism began to take shape in the first century BCE. This religious movement then rapidly developed in a number of different places in and around what is now India, the birthplace of Buddhism.

Buddhism itself started sometime in the fifth century BCE. We now think that the Buddha, who founded the religion, died sometime toward the year 400 BCE. As Buddhism developed, it spread beyond India. A number of different schools emerged. And out of that already complicated situation, we had the rise of a number of currents, or ways of thinking, which eventually started being labeled as Mahayana.

The kind of Buddhism before Mahayana, which I call mainstream Buddhism, is more or less a direct continuation of the teachings of the founder. Its primary ideal is attaining liberation from suffering and the cycle of life and rebirth by achieving a state called nirvana. You can achieve nirvana through moral striving, the use of various meditation techniques and learning the Dharma, which is the Buddha’s teachings.

Eventually, some people said that mainstream Buddhism is all fine and well but that it doesn’t go far enough. They believed that people need to not just liberate themselves from suffering but also liberate others and become Buddhas too.

Mahayana Buddhists strive to copy the life of the Buddha and to replicate it infinitely. That effort was the origin of the bodhisattva ideal. A bodhisattva is a person who wants to become a Buddha by setting out on the great way. This meant that Mahayana Buddhists were allegedly motivated by greater compassion than the normal kind of Buddhists and aimed for a complete understanding of reality and greater wisdom.

That’s Mahayana in a nutshell. But along with that goes a whole lot of new techniques of meditation, an elaborate cosmology and mythology, and a huge number of texts that were written around the time of the birth of Mahayana.

What’s the biggest takeaway from the latest research on the origin of Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism?

The development of Buddhism and its literature is much more complicated than we have realized. In the middle of the 20th century, scholars thought Mahayana Buddhism was developed by lay people who wanted to make a Buddhism for everybody. It was compared to the Protestant movement in Christianity. But we now know that this picture is not true.

The evidence shows that Mahayana Buddhism was spearheaded by the renunciants, the Buddhist monks and nuns. These were the hardcore practitioners of the religion, and they were responsible for writing the Mahayana scriptures and promoting these new ideas. The lay people were not the initiators.

But the full story is even more complicated than that. Buddhism’s development is more like a tumbleweed than a tree. And Mahayana Buddhism is sort of like a braided stream of several river currents, without one main current.

Why is it challenging to figure out how Mahayana Buddhism came about?

What’s special about Buddhist studies and makes it different from studying religions like Christianity is that there is still a huge amount of material that has not been translated or studied properly.

In the last two or three decades, scholars have also discovered a whole lot of texts in a long-lost language, called Gandhari, some of which are related to the Mahayana. These documents, the oldest of which date to the first century BCE, have been found in a region that now includes Pakistan and parts of North India, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

A lot of these texts are very hard to translate and understand. And there is more material that keeps surfacing. All of that is changing our view of the early history of Buddhism.

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2 Buddhism and Science

B. Alan Wallace is founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies.

• Published: 02 September 2009
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While Buddhism is often referred to as a ‘non-theistic religion’, it has the potential to play a unique mediating role between theistic religions, with their emphasis on faith and divine revelation, and the natural sciences, with their ideals of empiricism, rationality, and scepticism. The main body of this article focuses on Buddhist approaches to cultivating eudaimonic well-being, probing the nature of consciousness, and understanding reality at large. In each case, religious, scientific, and philosophical elements are blended in ways that may not only lend themselves to dialogue with Western science, but push forward the frontiers of scientific research as well as interdisciplinary and cross-cultural inquiry. The article also argues that Buddhism has developed a science of consciousness, with a few exceptions regarding sciences with no controlled experiments.

Introduction

When reading an essay on Buddhism and science, it is natural to assume that Buddhism is a religion, together with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, because our Western concept of religion has been modelled primarily on the basis of the three Abrahamic traditions. In the West we have developed separately the constructs of science and philosophy , as initially inspired by Greek and Roman modes of inquiry. Since Buddhism is one among many traditions of inquiry that arose outside the Mediterranean basin, there is no reason to expect it to fit neatly into any of the categories of religion, science, and philosophy that have been forged in the West. To understand what Buddhism brings to the dialogue between religion and science, it should be met on its own terms, without insisting that it conform to Western conceptual categories. Buddhism is both more and less than the sum of these three Western traditions of inquiry.

While Buddhism is often referred to as a ‘non‐theistic religion’, a problematic characterization in many ways, it does have the potential to play a unique mediating role between theistic religions, with their emphasis on faith and divine revelation, and the natural sciences, with their ideals of empiricism, rationality, and scepticism. It may serve as a catalyst for reintroducing the spirit of empiricism in religion with respect to the natural world and in science with respect to spiritual realities and subjective experience in general. This might even lead to a science of religions that would earn the respect and trust of religious believers, scientists, and the public at large.

Religion is often regarded as addressing questions concerning the meaning and purpose of life, our ultimate origins and destiny, and the experiences of our inner life. Moreover, we commonly deem a system of belief and practice to be religious if it is concerned primarily with universal and elemental features of existence as they bear on the human desire for liberation and authentic existence ( Harvey 1981 : ch. 8 ; Gilkey 1985: 108–16 ; Gould 1999: 93 ). Stated in such broad terms, Buddhism can certainly be classified as a religion.

Science may be defined as an organized, systematic enterprise that gathers knowledge about the world and condenses that knowledge into testable laws and principles. In short, it addresses questions of what the universe is composed of and how it works ( Wilson 1998: 58 ; Gould 1999: 93 ). Buddhism is an organized, systematic enterprise aimed at understanding reality, and it presents a wide range of testable laws and principles, such as the propositions set forth in the Four Noble Truths ( Dalai Lama 1997 ). Although Buddhism has not developed historically along the lines of Western science, it is a time‐tested discipline of rational and empirical inquiry that could further evolve in ways more closely resembling science as we have currently come to understand it.

Furthermore, philosophy, as it is defined primarily within the context of Western civilization, consists of theories and modes of logical analysis of the principles underlying conduct, thought, knowledge, and the nature of the universe, and it includes such branches as ethics, aesthetics, logic, epistemology, and metaphysics. While there is a general consensus that scientific theories must be testable, at least in principle, by empirical observation or experiment, no such stipulation is made for philosophical theories. They may be evaluated on the basis of reason alone. Buddhism has from its origins included theories and modes of logical analysis of the principles underlying conduct, thought, knowledge, and the nature of the universe. So in this regard, Buddhism may be viewed as a philosophy, or—given the great range of theories within the Buddhist tradition—as a diverse array of philosophies.

While theistic religions are centrally concerned with transcendental realities, such as God, Buddhism is naturalistic in the sense that it is centrally concerned with the causality within the world of experience (Sanskrit: loka ). Its fundamental framework is the Four Noble Truths, pertaining to the reality of suffering, its necessary and sufficient causes, the possibility of freedom from suffering and its causes, and the practical means for achieving such freedom. This basic structure of the Buddhist enterprise is pragmatic, rather than supernatural or metaphysical, so it bears only some of the family resemblances of Western religions.

While science has overwhelmingly focused on understanding the objective, quantifiable, physical universe in order to gain power over the natural world (Bacon 2004), Buddhism is primarily focused on understanding subjective, qualitative states of consciousness as a means to liberate the mind from its afflictive tendencies ( klesha ) and obscurations ( avarana ). Given the scientific focus on the outer world, the Western scientific study of the mind did not begin until more than 300 years after the time of Copernicus, whereas the rigorous, experiential examination of the mind has been central to Buddhism from the start. Buddhist theories are not confined to the Buddha's inquiries alone, but have been rationally analysed and experientially tested by generations of Buddhist scholars and contemplatives over the past 2,500 years ( Wallace 2000: 103–18 ). Buddhist insights into the nature of the mind and related phenomena are presented as genuine discoveries in the sense that any competent practitioner with sufficient training can replicate them (though different kinds of training pursued within different conceptual contexts do lead to different, and sometimes conflicting, insights). They could thus be said to be empirical in the sense that they are based on immediate experience, but that experience consists primarily of first‐person, introspective observations, not the third‐person externalist observations more commonly associated with science.

In addition, many Buddhist writings are clearly philosophical in nature and can be cross‐culturally evaluated as such ( Bronkhorst 1999 ; Tillemans 1999 ). However, empirical or intellectual inquiry motivated simply by curiosity or knowledge for its own sake has never been a widespread Buddhist ideal. Unlike both Western science and philosophy, the Buddhist pursuit of knowledge occurs within the framework of ethics ( shila ), focused attention ( samadhi ), and wisdom ( prajña ). These comprise the essence of the Four Noble Truths, the path to liberation.

The main body of this chapter focuses on Buddhist approaches to cultivating eudaimonic well‐being, probing the nature of consciousness, and understanding reality at large. In each case, religious, scientific, and philosophical elements are blended in ways that may not only lend themselves to dialogue with Western science, but push forward the frontiers of scientific research as well as interdisciplinary and cross‐cultural inquiry.

The Buddhist Pursuit of Eudaimonic Well‐being

Buddhist tradition identifies itself not in terms of the Western constructs of religion, science, and philosophy, but with the Indian notion of dharma . While this word takes on a wide variety of meanings within different contexts, ‘Buddhadharma’ refers to the Buddhist world‐view and way of life that lead to the elimination of suffering and the realization of a lasting state of well‐being. Such ‘sublime dharma’ ( saddharma ) is presented in contrast to mundane dharmas ( lokadharma ), which include the classic set of ‘eight mundane concerns’: namely, material gain and loss, stimulus‐driven pleasure and pain, praise and ridicule, and fame and ill repute ( Wallace 1993 : ch. 1 ).

These two types of dharma correspond closely to two approaches to well‐being studied in psychology today: hedonic and eudaimonic ( Ryan and Deci 2001 ). The hedonic approach, corresponding to mundane dharma, is defined in terms of the pursuit of mental and physical pleasure and the avoidance of pain, whereas the eudaimonic approach, corresponding to sublime dharma, focuses on striving for the perfection that represents the realization of one's true potential ( Ryff 1995: 100 ; Kahneman, Diener, and Schwarz 1999 ). Hedonic well‐being includes pleasurable emotions and moods aroused by agreeable stimuli. I would argue that the evolutionary process of natural selection facilitates such happiness in the course of modifying living organisms so that they can survive and procreate. Eudaimonic well‐being, on the other hand, appears to arise not as a result of natural selection, but primarily from practices of the kind Buddhists call sublime dharma .

A Buddhist Model of Suffering

The sublime dharmas taught in Buddhism as a whole have as their principal aim the decrease and eventual complete liberation from suffering ( duhkha ), of which three levels are commonly identified: explicit suffering, the suffering of change, and ubiquitous suffering of conditionality ( Tsong‐kha‐pa 2000: 289–92 ). Explicit suffering refers to all physical and mental feelings of pain and distress. The suffering of change refers not to unpleasant feelings, but to pleasurable feelings and mental states aroused by pleasant stimuli, as well as the stimuli themselves. It is so called because when the stimulus is removed, the resultant happiness fades, revealing the underlying dissatisfaction that was only temporarily veiled by the pleasant stimulus. The ubiquitous suffering of conditionality refers to the state of existence in which one is constantly vulnerable to all kinds of suffering due to the mind's afflictive tendencies. These include the ‘three mental toxins’ of craving, hostility, and delusion, which are fundamental sources of dissatisfaction. In short, the ground state of such an afflicted mind is suffering, even when one is experiencing hedonic well‐being, and this is overcome only through the pursuit of eudaimonic well‐being, in which all forms of suffering are ultimately severed from their root.

A Buddhist Model of Happiness

As a remedy to the above three‐tiered model of suffering, Buddhists aim toward a similarly three‐tiered model of happiness ( sukha ). The most superficial level of sukha consists of all forms of explicit pleasure that arise from pleasant chemical, sensory, intellectual, aesthetic, and interpersonal stimuli. Some of these are ethically neutral, such as the pleasure of eating sweets; some are ethically positive, such as the joy of performing an act of altruistic service, or taking delight in one's children's success; and some are ethically malignant, such as taking satisfaction in another's misery. A second level of sukha consists of traits of eudaimonic well‐being that arise from an ethical way of life and from exceptional states of mental health and balance. The highest level of sukha consists of the eudaimonic well‐being resulting from freedom from all mental afflictions and obscurations and the complete realization of one's potentials for virtue. One who experiences such total freedom and realization is known as a buddha , literally ‘one who is awake’.

Hedonic psychology is concerned with the avoidance of explicit suffering and the accomplishment of explicit happiness, and it measures the success of that approach in terms of the amount of happiness and suffering one experiences from day to day. The Buddhist pursuit of eudaimonic well‐being, on the other hand, is primarily concerned with gaining freedom from the second and third levels of duhkha and realizing the second two levels of sukha . However, there is an asymmetry in the causal relation between hedonic and eudaimonic well‐being. While the hedonic pursuit of stimulus‐driven pleasures may or may not contribute to eudaimonic well‐being and may actually interfere with it, the eudaimonic approach enables one to derive increasing pleasure from life in the midst of both adversity and felicity. The hedonic approach focuses on the short‐term causes of stimulus‐driven happiness, whereas the eudaimonic approach focuses on the long‐term causes of well‐being that arise from mental balance.

While hedonic well‐being is contingent upon outer and inner pleasant stimuli, and is often pursued with no regard for ethics, the Buddhist eudaimonic approach begins with ethics, then focuses on the cultivation of mental balance, and finally centres on the cultivation of wisdom, particularly that stemming from insight into one's own nature. In this regard, eudaimonic well‐being may be characterized as having three levels: social and environmental well‐being stemming from ethical behaviour in relation to other living beings and the environment, psychological well‐being stemming from mental balance, and spiritual well‐being stemming from wisdom. These three elements—ethics, mental balance derived from the cultivation of focused attention, and wisdom—are the three ‘higher trainings’ that comprise the essence of the Buddhist path to awakening.

The essence of the first training in ethics consists of the avoidance of injurious behaviour and the cultivation of behaviour that is conducive to one's own and others' well‐being. While the topic of ethics in Western civilization is commonly a matter of religious belief or philosophical analysis, and has not been a focus of psychology, in the Buddhist tradition as a whole it is a practical, experiential matter that is at the very core of well‐being. All of us are called upon to examine our own physical, verbal, and mental behaviour, noting both short‐term as well as long‐term consequences of our actions. Although some activity may yield immediate pleasure, if over time it results in unrest, conflict, and misery, it is deemed unwholesome ( akushala ). On the other hand, even if a choice of behaviour involves difficulties in the short term, it is regarded as wholesome ( kushala ) if it leads eventually to contentment, harmony, and eudaimonic well‐being for oneself and others. This raises the possibility of ecological, sociological, and psychological research into the role of ethics, not in terms of religious doctrines or societal contracts, but with respect to the types of behaviours that impede and nurture our own and others' genuine well‐being.

In Buddhist tradition, ethics is taught before introducing the second kind of training—meditative practices designed to reduce mental afflictions and enhance mental balance—for it has been found that without this foundation, such practices will be of little or no value. Indeed, they may aggravate pre‐existing neuroses and other mental imbalances. Likewise, we can reflect upon the limited benefits of teaching people sophisticated therapeutic techniques to reduce depression, anxiety, or rage without exploring the effects of how they are leading their lives.

Mental Balance

While many environmental problems and social conflicts stem from unethical behaviour, according to Buddhism most mental suffering is due to imbalances of the mind to which virtually all of us are prone. A person whose mind is severely imbalanced is highly vulnerable to all forms of duhkha , including anxiety, frustration, boredom, restlessness, and depression. These are some of the symptoms of an unhealthy mind, and Buddhists claim that the underlying problems can be remedied through skilful, sustained mental training ( Gethin 2001 ). On the other hand, just as a healthy, uninjured body is relatively free of pain, so a healthy, balanced mind is relatively free of psychological distress.

This is the point of the second phase of Buddhist practice, a key element of which is the cultivation of focused attention ( samadhi ). The training in samadhi , however, refers to much more than the development of attentional skills. More broadly, it includes (1) conative balance , or the cultivation of desires and intentions conducive to eudaimonic well‐being ( Tsong‐kha‐pa 2000 ); (2) attentional balance , including the development of exceptional attentional stability and vividness ( Gunaratana 1991 ; Lamrimpa 1995 ; Wallace 2005 a ); (3) cognitive balance , including the application of mindfulness to one's own and others' bodies, minds, and the environment at large ( Nyanaponika Thera 1973 ; Gunaratana 1991 ); and (4) affective balance , in which one's emotional responses are appropriately measured and conducive to one's own and others' well‐being ( Goleman 1997 , 2002 ; Davidson et al. 2005 ; Nauriyal 2005; Wallace 2005 b ).

A basic hypothesis of Buddhism is that to the extent that the mind loses its balance of any of the above four kinds, its ground state, prior to any chemical, sensory, or conceptual stimulation, is one of duhkha , or dis‐ease. In response to such dissatisfaction, there are two major options: (1) to follow the hedonic approach of smothering the unpleasant symptoms of these fundamental imbalances; (2) to adopt the eudaimonic approach of getting to the root of these symptoms by cultivating mental balance. Modern society has provided us with a plethora of means to stifle unhappiness, from mood‐altering drugs to sensory bombardment, to extreme sports. The more the mind is in a state of imbalance, the more intense the stimuli it requires to smother its internal unrest.

According to Buddhism, no pleasurable stimuli are true sources of happiness in the sensethatanartesianwellisasourceofwaterand the sunisasourceofheat.Ifthey were, we should experience happiness whenever we encounter pleasurable stimuli, and the degree of our happiness should be directly correlated to the intensity and duration of our contact with those stimuli. While sensory experiences, attitudes, other people, and situations seemto‘makeus happy’, infact the most theycandois contribute to our well‐being; they cannot literally deliver happiness to us. The only way, according to the Buddhist hypothesis, to achieve eudaimonic well‐being is to balance the mind, and to the extent that this occurs, one discovers a sense of well‐being from within, which lingers whether one is alone or with others, active or still.

We turn now to the third element of Buddhist practice, the cultivation of wisdom, particularly through the investigation of consciousness.

Buddhist Science of Consciousness

In his classic work Science and Civilization in China (1956) Joseph Needham explored the historical reasons why the civilizations of China and India never developed science as we understand it in the modern West: namely, a quantitative, technologically driven science of the outer, physical world. Similarly, one may ask why Western civilization has never developed a science of consciousness ( Whitehead 2004 ), in which a consensus is reached regarding the definition of consciousness and means are devised to examine directly the nature of consciousness, as well as its necessary and sufficient causes and its causal influences. Buddhism, I maintain, has developed such a rational and empirical discipline of inquiry.

I shall begin by outlining a hierarchy among the natural sciences, showing both the strengths and weaknesses of modern science. While the physical sciences rely heavily on quantitative analysis, axioms of mathematics do not define, predict, or explain the emergence of the physical universe. Isaac Newton modelled the physical laws presented in his Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy on the axioms of geometry, but his discoveries would have been impossible without careful observations of celestial and terrestrial physical phenomena. Likewise, the current laws of physics alone do not define, predict, or explain the emergence of life in the universe. Biologists needed to develop their own unique modes of observing living organisms, such as Darwin's studies on the Galapagos Islands, as a basis for defining and explaining the emergence and evolution of life in the universe. Similarly, the laws of biology alone do not define, predict, or explain the emergence of consciousness in living organisms; nor is consciousness detected by the instruments of biology. Given the pattern of the physical and life sciences, it follows that cognitive scientists must also devise sophisticated, rigorous means of directly observing mental phenomena as a basis for defining and explaining the origins and nature of consciousness. Galileo refined the telescope and used it to make precise observations of celestial phenomena, and Van Leeuwenhoek used the microscope to make precise observations of minute living organisms. But cognitive scientists have failed to devise a methodology for making reliable, direct observations of the whole spectrum of mental phenomena themselves, which can be made only from a first‐person perspective, as I shall discuss below.

William James, a great pioneer of American psychology, proposed that psychology should consist of the study of subjective mental phenomena, their relations to their objects, to the brain, and to the rest of the world. To develop this scientific study of the mind, he proposed a threefold strategy: mental phenomena should be studied indirectly through the careful observation of behaviour and of the brain, and they should be examined directly by means of introspection. Among these three approaches, he declared that for the study of the mind, ‘ Introspective Observation is what we have to rely on first and foremost and always ’ ( James 1890/1950: i. 185 ). Much as the theories of Copernicus, Darwin, and Mendel were largely ignored for decades after their deaths, so this threefold strategy of James has been discarded for the most part, while behaviourism, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience have dominated the cognitive sciences. The current means of observing mental phenomena directly has not achieved the level of sophistication of the behavioural and neurosciences, so, in this regard, James's comment that psychology today is hardly more than what physics was before Galileo still retains a high degree of validity (James 1892).

There are certainly problems in incorporating introspection—a first‐person, qualitative mode of inquiry—into the framework of science, which is centred upon third‐person, quantitative methods. Indeed, there have been examples in Western psychology of employing inadequately developed methods of self‐reporting that were never able to clarify general principles for understanding mental functions ( Danziger 1980 ). However, these problems may be surmounted by improving the necessary skills for making precise, reliable, introspective observations. Another reason why first‐person observation has been so neglected since the time of James is the neuroscientific interest in identifying the mechanisms underlying mental processes. Despite this focus, cognitive scientists have yet to identify any mechanism that explains how neural processes generate or even influence subjectively experienced mental processes, or, conversely, how mental events influence the brain. They have succeeded in identifying the neural correlates to specific perceptual and conceptual processes, but the exact nature of those correlations remains a mystery. A widespread assumption among cognitive scientists is that neural and mental processes are actually flip sides of the same coin, but this belief has yet to be validated by either empirical evidence or rational argument. All we really know is that specific kinds of neural events are necessary for the generation of specific kinds of mental processes. That hardly amounts to a proof of identity.

In light of the history of science, this insistence on identifying the mechanisms of mental processes may be premature. From the time when Newton identified the natural laws of gravity in 1687, it was 228 years before the mechanism of gravity was explained in Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Likewise, for the laws of natural selection, a century passed after the publication of Darwin's On the Origins of Species in 1859 and Gregor Mendel's formulation of his theories of genetics in 1865 before James Watson and Francis Crick were able to model the structure of DNA. And according to quantum theory, which is commonly cited as the most successful of all scientific theories, no mechanisms have yet been found to explain such phenomena as non‐locality, the uncertainty principle, or the collapse of probabilistic wave functions.

It is quite possible that no mechanisms will ever be found to explain the causal interactions between neural and mental events, but this should not deter scientists from developing rigorous methods for observing mental phenomena in the only way possible: through first‐person, introspective observation in conjunction with careful observation of behaviour and of the brain, as James proposed more than a century ago.

The physical sciences have undergone two revolutions: the Copernican revolution and the twentieth‐century revolution of relativity and quantum theory. The biological sciences have witnessed one revolution, beginning with Darwin and culminating in the Human Genome Project. The cognitive sciences have achieved no similar radical shift in their understanding of mind or consciousness. The basic assumptions about the mind and its relation to the brain that were common in the late nineteenth century remain unchanged and largely unchallenged to this day. Although great advances have been made recently in measuring neural correlates of mental phenomena, it is far from clear whether these objective measures will ever reveal the nature of those correlations and therefore the nature of mind–brain interactions or consciousness itself.

Despite the West's failure to bring about a revolution in the cognitive sciences, it would be hasty to assume that no other civilization has revolutionized the scientific study of the mind. Much as Galileo refined the telescope and used it in unprecedented ways to directly observe celestial phenomena, so the Buddha refined the practice of samadhi and used it in unprecedented ways to explore states of consciousness and their objects ( ÑāŅamoli 1992 ). As a result of his own experiential explorations, he came to the conclusion: ‘The mind that is established in equipoise comes to know reality as it is' ( Kamalaśīla 1958: 205 ). While such introspective inquiry may seem more philosophical than scientific, consider the definition of the scientific method as ‘principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses’ ( Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary ). There is nothing in that definition that insists on third‐person observation or quantitative analysis, especially for phenomena that are irreducibly first‐person in nature ( Searle 1994 ).

Derived from exactly this kind of exploration, three dimensions of consciousness may be posited on the basis of contemplative writings common to the Mahayana Buddhist tradition (which emerged around the beginning of the Christian era). The first of these is the psyche ( chitta )—the whole array of conscious and unconscious mental processes that occur from birth to death. In Buddhism the primary reason for exploring the psyche is to identify and learn to overcome the afflictive mental processes that generate suffering internally. This is the central theme of the Four Noble Truths and the Buddhist pursuit of liberation.

A thorough understanding of the human psyche must include insight into its origins. The vast majority of contemporary cognitive scientists assume, often unquestioningly, that the brain is solely responsible for producing all mental processes. The uniformity of this view is remarkable in light of the fact that scientists have yet to identify the neural correlates of consciousness or its necessary and sufficient causes ( Searle 2002: 49–50 ; Searle 2004: 119 ). Researchers in the field of artificial intelligence question whether a carbon‐based brain is necessary for the generation of consciousness, and there is no scientific consensus regarding its sufficient causes. The belief that the brain is solely responsible for all states of consciousness stems immediately from the metaphysical principles of scientific materialism, which dominate most scientific thinking today, muchas Roman Catholic theology dominated and constrained intellectual life during the time of Galileo ( Wallace 2000 ).

Substrate Consciousness

Through the development and utilization of highly advanced stages of samadhi , which remain unexplored by science, contemplatives in the ‘Great Perfection’ (Dzogchen) tradition of Indo‐Tibetan Buddhism claim to have discovered a second dimension of consciousness: a continuum of individual mental awareness that precedes this life and continues on beyond death, which they call the substrate consciousness (alayavijñana) ( Wallace 1996 : ch. 23 ; Düdjom Lingpa 2004: 31 and 68 ; Wallace 2000 a : 77–8 and 164–6). This relative ground state of the mind is characterized by three qualities: bliss, luminosity, and non‐conceptuality. It is most vividly apprehended by meditatively enhancing the stability and vividness of attention, but it naturally manifests in deep sleep and in the dying process.

The human psyche, the first dimension of consciousness mentioned above, emerges, they conclude, not from the body but from this underlying stream of consciousness that precedes species differentiation. While the body conditions the mind and is necessary for specific mental processes to arise as long as the substrate consciousness is embodied, the psyche emerges from this underlying stream of consciousness that is embodied in life after life. This theory is compatible with all current scientific knowledge of the mind and the brain, so there is nothing illogical about it; nor is it simply a faith‐based proposition as far as advanced Buddhist contemplatives are concerned. Scientific materialists, however, insist that mental phenomena emerge solely from the brain, much as bile is secreted from the gall bladder ( Searle 2002: 115 ). What they commonly overlook, though, is that mental phenomena, unlike all other emergent phenomena known to science, cannot be observed by any objective, scientific means. So this assertion is a metaphysical assumption, not an established scientific fact. Something that is purely a matter of religious faith or philosophical speculation as far as scientists in the West are concerned may be an experientially confirmed hypothesis for contemplatives in the East. The demarcation between science and metaphysics—between theories that can and cannot be tested empirically—is determined by the limits of experiential inquiry, not Nature or God.

Thus far, experiential inquiry in science has been confined largely to the exploration of the objective world by way of our five physical senses and the instruments of technology. Mental phenomena themselves, as opposed to their neural and behavioural correlates, are invisible to such objective modes of observation. So, to this day, cognitive scientists have yet to come to a consensus regarding the definition of consciousness; they have noobjective meansof detecting the presenceof consciousness in anything; they have failed toidentify even the neural correlatesofconsciousness, and therefore remain in the dark regarding the necessary and sufficient causes of consciousness. All this suggests that mental phenomena are irreducibly first‐person phenomena, and that the only way to restore a true sense of empiricism to the scientific study of the mind is to acknowledge the primary role of introspective observation.

A major reason for the resistance on the part of many scientists to including introspection as a legitimate method of empirical inquiry is that it is quintessentially a private, first‐person kind of experience. Scientific inquiry, on the other hand, has achieved its great successes by way of public, third‐person observations. It is important to note that these advances in scientific knowledge have focused primarily on objective, quantifiable, physical processes, while conscious mental processes are subjective, qualitative, and invisible to the physical means of observation developed by science. But now, with the recent development of sophisticated psychological and neurophysiological methods of inquiry, the first‐person methods of introspection (based on the development of advanced stages of samadhi ) may be cross‐checked with the third‐person methods of the cognitive sciences in ways that may expand the horizons of both scientific and contemplative inquiry.

The Buddha claimedtohavegained direct knowledgeofthis continuityofindividual consciousness beyond death, as well as direct knowledge of the patterns of causal relationships connecting multiple lifetimes ( ÑāŅamoli 1992: 23–6 ). Many generations of Buddhist contemplativesthroughout Asia claimtohavereplicatedhis discoveries, so such reports are not confined to the testimony of one individual. From a third‐person perspective, all such discoveries based on introspective inquiry remain anecdotal, so only practitioners have ‘proof’ of their validity. As such, they are accessible only to a privileged few, but this has always been true of many of the most profound scientific truths. It takes years of training to become a qualified ‘third person’ capable of testing others' alleged discoveries in any advanced Weld of science. They have never been testable by the general public, who often take them on faith, much as religious believers take on faith the claims of their church. The Buddhist training in samadhi required to gain experiential access to the substrate may easily take 10,000–20,000 hours— comparable to the time required for graduate work in science—and until now, such professional training has never been available to cognitive scientists.

Particularly in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, for centuries there has been keen interest in identifying children who were allegedly accomplished meditators and teachers in their past lives. This has commonly been done by seeking out children who appear to remember their past‐life experiences, and scientific research into such instances has also begun ( Stevenson 1997 ). Most cognitive scientists have refused to consider any theory of reincarnation, insisting that it cannot belong in a scientific dialogue per se.

While there does not appear to be any neuroscientific means of disproving the hypothesis that the brain is necessary for all states of consciousness, few scientists have expressed concern over the non‐scientific nature of their fundamental assumptions about the mind—body problem. Similarly, the Buddhist hypothesis of the substrate consciousness does not easily lend itself to scientific repudiation; but scientific inquiry, with a suspension of disbelief, should Wrst be directed to examining whether any positive evidence exists, before worrying about whether it can be repudiated.

Indirect evidence may be provided by third‐person methods, such as the Weld studies of Ian Stevenson and his scientific successor Jim Tucker (2005) . The quantitative, objective tools of observation of science provide no immediate access to any kind of mental phenomena, so they are not likely to reveal any evidence for the substrate consciousness. This can come only from rigorous, Wrst‐person methods such as those proposed by the Buddhist tradition. Just as the existence of the moons of Jupiter can be verified only by those who gaze through a telescope, so the existence of subtle dimensions of consciousness can be verified experientially only by those willing to devote themselves to years of rigorous attentional training. And dedication to such refinement of attention is not contingent on accepting the hypotheses of Buddhism or any other contemplative tradition beforehand.

Primordial Consciousness

There is yet a third dimension of consciousness, known as primordial consciousness ( jñana ), or the Buddha‐nature ( buddhadhatu ) ( Ruegg 1989 ; Thrangu Rinpoche 1993 ;   Dalai Lama 2000 ). This is regarded in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition as the ultimate ground state of consciousness, prior to the conceptual dichotomies of subject and object, mind and matter, and even existence and non‐existence. This realm of consciousness is described metaphorically as being space‐like and luminous, forever unsullied by mental afflictions or obscurations of any kind. The realization of this state of consciousness is said to yield a state of well‐being that represents the culmination of the Buddhist pursuit of eudaimonic well‐being, knowledge, and virtue. With such insight, it is said that one comes to understand not only the nature of consciousness, but also its relation to reality as a whole. This raises the truly astonishing Buddhist hypothesis: ‘All phenomena are preceded by the mind. When the mind is comprehended, all phenomena are comprehended. By bringing the mind under control, all things are brought under control’ ( Śāntideva 1961: 68 ).

This primordial consciousness is, then, the ultimate basis for the other two dimensions of awareness. While each human psyche emerges from its individual substrate consciousness, all streams of substrate consciousness emerge ultimately from primordial consciousness, which transcends individuality. The substrate consciousness can allegedly be ascertained with the achievement of advanced stages of samadhi, whereas primordial consciousness can be realized only through the cultivation of contemplative insight ( vipashyana ) ( Bielefeldt 1988 ; Karma Chagmé 1998 ; Padmasambhava 1998 ; Wallace 2005 b : ch. 14 ). Thus, Buddhism postulates this dimension of awareness not as a mystical theology, but as a hypothesis that can be put to the test of immediate experience through advanced contemplative training open to anyone, without any leap of faith that violates reason.

The above theory of the multiple levels of emergence of consciousness flies in the face of the widespread assumption of cognitive scientists that the brain alone produces all states of consciousness. Such scientists commonly assume that they already know that consciousness has no existence apart from the brain, so the only question to be solved is how the brain produces conscious states. Neurologist Antonio Damasio, for instance, while acknowledging that scientists have yet to understand consciousness, declares, ‘Understanding consciousness says little or nothing about the origins of the universe, the meaning of life, or the likely destiny of both’ ( Damasio 1999: 28 ). This assumption is an instance of what historian Daniel Boorstin calls ‘an illusion of knowledge’. It is such illusions, he proposes, and not mere ignorance, that have historically acted as the greatest impediments to scientific discovery ( Boorstin 1985: p. xv ).

Prospectively, were the Buddhist theories of the substrate consciousness and primordial consciousness and the practices for realizing eudaimonic well‐being to be introduced into the realm of scientific inquiry, radical changes might occur in both traditions. Buddhism, like all other religions, philosophies, and sciences, is prone to dogmatism. As they encounter the empiricism and scepticism of modern science and philosophy, contemporary Buddhists may be encouraged to take a fresh look at their own beliefs and assumptions, putting them to the test, wherever possible, of rigorous third‐person inquiry. Buddhist societies have never developed a science of the brain, nor any quantitative science of behaviour or the physical world, so its understanding of the human mind may be enhanced by close collaboration with various branches of modern science.

The encounter between the cognitive sciences and Buddhism and other contemplative traditions may also bring about deep changes in the scientific understanding of the mind. One possibility is that the first revolution in the cognitive sciences may result from the long‐delayed synthesis of rigorous first‐person and third‐person means of investigating a wide range of mental phenomena. This would be the fulfilment of William James's strategy for the scientific study of the mind, which has been marginalized over the past century. This revolution could be analogous to the emergence of classical physics, culminating in the discoveries of Isaac Newton. If we speculate further into the future, we may envision a second revolution in the cognitive sciences emerging from the study of and with individuals with exceptional mental skills and insights acquired through sophisticated, sustained contemplative training. This might parallel the revolution in physics in the early twentieth century, which challenged many of our deepest assumptions about the nature of space, time, mass, and energy. Such revolutions in the cognitive sciences may equally challenge current scientific assumptions about the nature of consciousness and its relation to the brain and the rest of the world.

A Return to Empiricism

A reasonable scientific response to the above presentation of Buddhist views on the nature of eudaimonic well‐being and the three dimensions of consciousness is one of open‐minded scepticism. But such scepticism should be equally directed to one's own beliefs, which may be ‘illusions of knowledge’ masquerading as scientific facts. Richard Feynman wonderfully expressed this ideal of scientific scepticism thus:

One of the ways of stopping science would be only to do experiments in the region where you know the law. But experimenters search most diligently, and with the greatest effort, in exactly those places where it seems most likely that we can prove our theories wrong. In other words we are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we find progress. ( Feynman 1983: 158 )

Buddhism, too, expresses a comparable ideal of scepticism. The Buddha is recorded as having said: ‘Monks, just as the wise accept gold after testing it by heating, cutting, and rubbing it, so are my words to be accepted after examining them, but not out of respect for me’ ( Shastri 1968 : k. 3587). The Dalai Lama maintains this self‐reflective spirit of scepticism when he writes: ‘A general basic stance of Buddhism is that it is inappropriate to hold a view that is logically inconsistent. This is taboo. But even more taboo than holding a view that is logically inconsistent is holding a view that goes against direct experience’ ( Varela and Hayward 1992: 37 ).

I have argued in this chapter that Buddhism has developed a science of consciousness, but serious objections may be raised. It may be pointed out that science is characterized by controlled experiments, repeated iterative evolving cycles of hypothesis formation, controlled testing, hypothesis revision, and prediction. However, these traits are not common to all branches of science. Astronomy, geology, meteorology, and ecology are some examples that do not lend themselves to all the above methods. Buddhist rational and experiential inquiry into the nature of consciousness and the world at large bears some qualities in common with modern science, but not all. This opens the possibility of a new contemplative science emerging from the interface between Buddhism and the cognitive sciences, in which rigorous Wrst‐person and third‐person methodologies are integrated in unprecedented ways. Such a science may serve to bring together spiritual and scientific modes of inquiry, to the enrichment of everyone.

Buddhism is also poised to serve as a mediator between theistic religions, which regard God (existing independently of human experience) as their ultimate authority, and science, which takes Nature (existing independently of human experience) as its ultimate authority. While many theologians claim that God can be known only through faith or reason (versus direct experience), and many scientists claim that the mind can be scientifically studied only inferentially by examining the brain and behaviour, Buddhist contemplatives claim that the potential range of immediate experience is far greater than is commonly assumed. The Buddhist challenge here is to retrieve spiritual realities and physical realities from their respective black boxes and return them to the world of experience, where they rightfully belong.

Such a move accords with William James's proposal of a science of religion that differs from philosophical theology by drawing inferences and devising imperatives based on the scrutiny of ‘the immediate content of religious consciousness’ ( James 1902/1985: 12 ). Such a science of religions, he suggested, might offer mediation between scientists and religious believers, and might eventually command public adherence comparable to that presently granted to the natural sciences. I conclude this chapter with James's challenge to restore a true spirit of empiricism to both religion and science:

Let empiricism once become associated with religion, as hitherto, through some strange misunderstanding, it has been associated with irreligion, and I believe that a new era of religion as well as philosophy will be ready to begin … I fully believe that such an empiricism is a more natural ally than dialectics ever were, or can be, of the religious life. ( James 1909/1977: 142 )

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Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures pp 1627–1638 Cite as

Environment and Nature in Buddhism

• Leslie E. Sponsel 2 &
• Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel 3  
• Reference work entry
• First Online: 01 January 2016

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Buddhism is an enormous, diverse, and complex subject. There are many variations on Buddhism’s basic themes manifested in the three major traditions (Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana or Tantric) and also in variants of these in the form of at least 18 schools and their numerous sects. Much of the diversity in the expression of Buddhism results from the diversity of its numerous geographical, ecological, demographic, historical, cultural, linguistic, religious, national, and political contexts. Although estimates vary, there are around 488 million Buddhists living in 86 countries of the world. Another complication is that many Buddhists adhere to more than one religion or follow a mixture of elements from different religions, such as Animism and Hinduism in Thailand, Confucianism and Daoism in China, and Shintoism in Japan. An additional variable is that, as in any religion, in Buddhism too there are differences between ideals and practice, text and context, clergy and laity, scholar...

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Sponsel, L.E., Natadecha-Sponsel, P. (2016). Environment and Nature in Buddhism. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7747-7_8564

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• Buddhism in America
• The Buddhist Experience
• Issues for Buddhists in America

The Path of Awakening

Prince Siddhartha: Renouncing the World

Becoming the “Buddha”: The Way of Meditation

The Dharma: The Teachings of the Buddha

The Sangha: The Buddhist Community

The Three Treasures

The Expansion of Buddhism

As Buddhism spread through Asia, it formed distinct streams of thought and practice: the Theravada ("The Way of the Elders" in South and Southeast Asia), the Mahayana (the “Great Vehicle” in East Asia), and the Vajrayana (the “Diamond Vehicle” in Tibet), a distinctive and vibrant form of Mahayana Buddhism that now has a substantial following. ... Read more about The Expansion of Buddhism

Theravada: The Way of the Elders

Mahayana: The Great Vehicle

Vajrayana: The Diamond Vehicle

Buddhists in the American West

Discrimination and Exclusion

East Coast Buddhists

At the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions

The 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions, held at that year's Chicago World’s Fair, gave Buddhists from Sri Lanka and Japan the chance to describe their own traditions to an audience of curious Americans. Some stressed the universal characteristics of Buddhism, and others criticized anti-Japanese sentiment in America. ... Read more about At the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions

Internment Crisis

Building “American Buddhism”

New Asian Immigration and the Temple Boom

Popularizing Buddhism

The Image of the Buddha

Ever since the first century, Buddhists have created images and other depictions of the Buddha in metal, wood, and stone with stylized hand-positions called mudras . Images of the Buddha are often the focus of reverence and devotion. ... Read more about The Image of the Buddha

The Practice of Mindfulness

People commonly equate Buddhism with meditation, but historically very few Buddhists meditated. Those who did, however, drew from a long and rich tradition of Buddhist philosophical and contemplative practice. ... Read more about The Practice of Mindfulness

One Hand Clapping?

Sesshin: A Meditation Retreat

Intensive Zen meditation retreats, or sesshins , such as one in Mt. Temper, New York, are designed for participants to focus intensively on monastic Buddhist practice and meditation. Retreats include many rituals to allow students to fully immerse themselves in their practice—even during mealtime. ... Read more about Sesshin: A Meditation Retreat

Chanting the Sutras

Chanting scriptures and prayers to buddhas and bodhisattvas is a central practice in all streams of Buddhism, intended both to reflect upon content and to focus the mind. ... Read more about Chanting the Sutras

Creating a Mandala

Becoming a Monk

The many streams of Buddhism differ in their approaches to monasticism and initiation rituals. For example, is it common in the Theravada tradition for young men to become novice monks as a rite of passage into adulthood. In some Mahayana traditions, women can take the Triple Platform Ordination and become nuns. Meanwhile, in some Japanese traditions, priests and masters can marry and have children. ... Read more about Becoming a Monk

From Street Gangs to Temple

In Southern California, some Theravada temples have taken up the practice of granting temporary novice ordinations to Cambodian American gang members, with the hope of reorienting the youth toward their families’ religion and culture. ... Read more about From Street Gangs to Temple

Devotion to Guanyin

The compassionate bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, also known as Guanyin, is central to the practice of Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists in America. A bodhisattva is an enlightened one who remains engaged in the world in order to enlighten all beings, and Buddhists channel the bodhisattva Guanyin by cultivating compassion for all beings in the world. ... Read more about Devotion to Guanyin

Buddha’s Birthday

Buddhists often consider the Buddha’s birthday an occasion for celebration, and Chinese, Thai, and Japanese temples in America all celebrate differently. ... Read more about Buddha’s Birthday

Remembering the Ancestors

Celebrating the New Year

Although the Lunar New Year is not a particularly “Buddhist” holiday, many Thai and Chinese Buddhists observe the occasion with celebration and visits to family and activities at Buddhist temples. ... Read more about Celebrating the New Year

Building a Pure Land on Earth

Pure Land Buddhists pay respect to Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, who created a paradise for Buddhist devotees called the “Land of Bliss.” Pure Land Buddhists in America seek to create a Pure Land here on Earth through ritual acts of devotion, care for animals and human beings, study, meditation, and acting compassionately in the public sphere. ... Read more about Building a Pure Land on Earth

Monastery in the Hudson Valley

The Chuang Yen Monastery in Kent, New York, is a prime example of how Chinese Buddhism has flourished in America, in all its richness and complexity. ... Read more about Monastery in the Hudson Valley

One Buddhism? Or Multiple Buddhisms?

There are two distinct but related histories of American Buddhism: that of Asian immigrants and that of American converts. The presence of the two communities raises such questions as: What is the difference between the Buddhism of American converts and Buddhism of Asian immigrant communities? How do we characterize the Buddhism of a new generation Asian-American youth—as a movement of preservation or transformation? ... Read more about One Buddhism? Or Multiple Buddhisms?

The Difficulties of a Monk

A reflection on American Buddhist monasticism from the Venerable Walpola Piyananda highlights the tensions that arise when immigrant Buddhism encounters American social customs that differ from those in Asia. ... Read more about The Difficulties of a Monk

Changing Patterns of Authority

American convert Buddhism and immigrant Asian Buddhism have dramatically different models of authority and institutional hierarchy. Buddhist organizations and communities in America are forced to attend to the question of how spiritual, social, financial, and organizational authorities will be dispersed among its leaders and members. ... Read more about Changing Patterns of Authority

Women in American Buddhism

American Buddhism has created new roles for women in the Buddhist tradition. American Buddhist women have been active in movements to revive the ordination lineages of Buddhist nuns in the Theravada and Vajrayana traditions. ... Read more about Women in American Buddhism

Buddhism and Social Action: Engaged Buddhism

Pioneered by the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh in the 1970s, “Engaged Buddhism” brings a Buddhist perspective to the ongoing struggle for social and environmental justice in America. ... Read more about Buddhism and Social Action: Engaged Buddhism

Ecumenical and Interfaith Buddhism: Coming Together in America

Since the 1970s, Buddhist leaders from various traditions have engaged together in ecumenical councils and organizations to address prevalent challenges for Buddhism in North America. These events have brought together Buddhist traditions that, in the past, have had limited contact with one another. In addition, these groups have become involved in interfaith partnerships, particularly with Christian and Jewish organizations. ... Read more about Ecumenical and Interfaith Buddhism: Coming Together in America

Teaching the Love of Buddha: The Next Generation

How do Buddhists in America transmit their culture and tradition to new generations? In the Jodo Shinshu school of Japanese Buddhism, Sunday School classes have become an important religious educational tool to address this question, and its curriculum offers a particularly American approach to educating children about their tradition. ... Read more about Teaching the Love of Buddha: The Next Generation

Image Gallery

Silicon Valley Start-Up Aims to Unlock Buddhist Jhana States with Tech

How lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and fortune, is depicted in jainism and buddhism, boston museum to return 14th-century 'sarira' to korea after 85 years.

• Shinran Shonin
• Dharma transmission
• Shambhala Vajradhatu International
• Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro
• Hanh, Thich Nhat

Buddhism Timeline

7627213d930e1981366069359e5a876e, buddhism in the world (text), ca. 6th-5th c. bce life of siddhartha gautama, the buddha.

The dates of the Buddha remain a point of controversy within both the Buddhist and scholarly communities. Though many scholars today place the Buddha’s life between 460-380 BCE, according to one widely accepted traditional account, Siddhartha was born as a prince in the Shakya clan in 563 BCE. After achieving enlightenment at the age of 36, the Buddha spent the remainder of his life giving spiritual guidance to an ever-growing body of disciples. He is said to have entered into parinirvana (nirvana after death) in 483 BCE at the age of 81.

c. 480-380 BCE The First Council

Though specific dates are uncertain, a group of the Buddha’s disciples is said to have come together shortly after the Buddha’s parinirvana in hopes of establishing guidelines to ensure the continuity of the Sangha. According to tradition, as many as 500 prominent arhats gathered in Rajagriha to recite together and standardize the Buddha’s sutras (discourses on Dharma) and vinaya (rules of conduct).

c. 350 BCE The Second Council

It remains unclear if what is known as the Second Council refers to one particular assemblage of monks or if there were several meetings convened during the 4th century BCE to clarify points of controversy. It also remains unclear precisely what matters of doctrine or conduct were in dispute. What is clear is that this council resulted in the first schism in the Sangha, between the Sthaviravada and the Mahasanghika.

269-232 BCE The Spread of Buddhism Through South Asia

After witnessing the great bloodshed and suffering caused by his military campaigns, Indian Emperor Ashoka Maurya converted to Buddhism, sending missionaries throughout India and into present day Sri Lanka.

200 BCE-200 CE Emergence of Two Schools of Buddhism

Differing interpretations of the Buddha’s teachings resulted in the development of two main schools of Buddhism. The first branch, Mahayana, referred to itself as the “Great Vehicle,” and is today principally found in China, Korea, and Japan. The second branch comprised 18 schools, of which only one exists today — Theravada, or the “Way of the Elders.” Theravada Buddhism is presently followed in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.

65 CE First Mention of Buddhism in China

Han dynasty records note that Prince Ying of Ch’u, a half-brother of the Han emperor, provided a vegetarian feast for the Buddhist laity and monks living in his kingdom around 65 CE. This indicates that a Buddhist community had already formed there.

c. 100 CE Ashvaghosha Writes Buddhacarita

Among the early biographies of the Buddha was the Buddhacarita, written in Sanskrit by the Indian poet Ashvaghosha. Buddhacarita, literally “Life of the Buddha,” is regarded as one of the greatest epic poems of all history.

200s CE Nagarjuna Founds the Madhyamaka School

Nagarjuna is one of the most important philosophers of the Buddhist tradition. Based on his reading of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras, Nagarjuna argued that everything in the world is fundamentally sunya, or “empty” — that is, without inherent existence. This idea that the world is real yet radically impermanent and interdependent has played a central role in Buddhist philosophy.

372 CE Buddhism Introduced to Korea from China

In 372 CE the Chinese king Fu Chien sent a monk-envoy, Shun-tao, to the Koguryo court with Buddhist scriptures and images. Although all three of the kingdoms on the Korean peninsula soon embraced Buddhism, it was not until the unification of the peninsula under the Silla in 668 CE that the tradition truly flourished.

400s CE Buddhaghosa Systematizes Theravada Teachings

Buddhaghosa was a South Indian monk who played a formative role in the systematization of Theravada doctrine. After arriving in Sri Lanka in the early part of the fifth century CE, he devoted himself to editing and translating into Pali the scriptural commentaries that had accumulated in the native Sinhalese language. He also composed the Visuddhimagga, “Path of Purity,” an influential treatise on Theravada practice. From this point on, Theravada became the dominant form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and eventually spread to Southeast Asia.

402 CE Pure Land Buddhism Established in China

In 402 CE, Hui-yuan became the first Chinese monk to form a group specifically devoted to reciting the vow to be reborn in the Western Paradise, and founded the Donglin Temple at Mount Lu for this purpose. Subsequent practitioners of Pure Land Buddhism regard Hui-yuan as the school’s founder.

520 CE Bodhidharma and Ch’an (Zen) in China

The Ch’an (Zen) school attributes its establishment to the arrival of the monk Bodhidharma in Northern China in 520 CE. There, he is said to have spent nine years meditating in front of a wall before silently transmitting the Buddha’s Dharma to Shen-Kuang, the second patriarch. All Zen masters trace their authority to this line.

552 CE Buddhism Enters Japan from Korea

In 552 CE the king of Paekche sent an envoy to Japan in hopes of gaining military support. As gifts, he sent an image of Buddha, several Buddhist scriptures, and a memorial praising Buddhism. Within three centuries of this introduction, Buddhism would become the major spiritual and intellectual force in Japan.

700s CE Vajrayana Buddhism Emerges in Tibet

Buddhist teachings and practices appear to have first made their way into Tibet in the mid-7th century CE. During the reign of King Khri-srong (c. 740-798 CE), the first Tibetan monastery was founded and the first monk ordained. For the next four hundred years, a constant flow of Tibetan monks made their way to Northern India to study at the great Buddhist universities. It was from the university of Vikramasila around the year 767 that the yogin-magician Padmasambhava is said to have carried the Vajrayana teachings to Tibet, where they soon became the dominant form of Buddhism.

1044-1077 CE Theravada Buddhism Established in Burma

Theravada Buddhism was practiced in pockets of southern Burma since about the 6th century CE. However, when King Anawrahta ascended the throne in 1044, Shin Arahan, a charismatic Mon monk from Southern Burma, convinced the new monarch to establish a more strictly Theravadin expression of Buddhism for the entire kingdom. From that time on, Theravada would remain the tradition of the majority of the Burmese people.

c. 1050 CE Development of Jogye Buddhism in Korea

The Ch’an school, which first arrived in Korea from China in the 8th century CE, eventually established nine branches, known as the Nine Mountains. In the 11th century, these branches were organized into one system under the name of Jogye. Although all Buddhist teachings were retained, the kong-an (koan) practice of Lin-chi Yixuan gained highest stature as the most direct path to enlightenment.

1100s CE Pure Land Buddhism Established in Japan

Following a reading of a Chinese Pure Land text, the Japanese monk Honen Shonin (1133-1212 CE) became convinced that the only effective mode of practice was nembutsu: chanting the name of Amitabha Buddha. This soon became a dominant form of Buddhist practice in Japan.

1100s CE Rinzai School of Zen Buddhism Established in Japan

In the 12th century CE, a Japanese monk named Eisai returned from China, bringing with him both green tea and the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism. In the form of meditation practiced by this school, the student’s only guidance is to come from the subtle hint of a raised eyebrow, the sudden jolt of an unexpected slap, or the teacher’s direct questioning on the meaning of a koan.

1203 CE Destruction of Buddhist Centers in India

By the close of the first millennium CE, Buddhism had passed its zenith in India. Traditionally, the end of Indian Buddhism is identified with the advent of Muslim Rule in Northern India. The Turk Muhammad Ghuri razed the last two great Buddhist universities, Nalanda and Vikramasila, in 1197 and 1203 respectively. However, recent histories have suggested that the destruction of these monasteries was militarily, rather than religiously, motivated.

1200s CE True Pure Land Buddhism Established

Honen’s disciple Shinran Shonin (1173-1262 CE) began the devotional “True Pure Land” movement in the 13th century CE. Considering the lay/monk distinction invalid, Shinran married and had several children, thereby initiating the practice of married Jodo Shinshu clergy and establishing a familial lineage of leadership — traits which continue to distinguish the school to this day.

1200s CE Dōgen Founds Soto Zen in Japan

Dōgen (1200-1253 CE), an influential Japanese priest and philosopher, spent most of his two years in China studying T’ien-t’ai Buddhism. Disappointed by the intellectualism of the school, he was about to return to Japan when the Ts’ao-tung monk Ju-ching (Rujing) explained that the practice of Zen simply meant “dropping off both body and mind.” Dōgen, immediately enlightened, returned to Japan, establishing Soto (the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese graphs for Ts’ao-tung) as one of the pre-eminent schools.

1253 CE Nichiren Buddhism Established in Japan

As the sun began to rise on May 17, 1253 CE, Nichiren Daishonin climbed to the crest of a hill, where he cried out “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,” “Adoration to the Sutra of the Lotus of the Perfect Truth.” Nichiren considered the recitation of this mantra to be the core of the true teachings of the Buddha. He believed that it would eventually spread throughout the world, a conviction sustained by contemporary sects of the Nichiren school, especially the Soka Gakkai.

1279-1360 CE Theravada Buddhism Established in Southeast Asia

With Kublai Khan’s conquest of China in the thirteenth century CE, ever greater numbers of Tai migrated from southwestern China into present day Thailand and Burma. There, they established political domination over the indigenous Mon and Khmer peoples, while appropriating elements of these cultures, including their Buddhist faith. By the time that King Rama Khamhaeng had ascended the throne in Sukhothai (central Thailand) in 1279, a monk had been sent to Sri Lanka to receive Theravadin texts. During the reigns of Rama Khamhaeng’s son and grandson, Sinhala Buddhism spread northward to the Tai Kingdom of Chiangmai. Within a century, the royal houses of Cambodia and Laos also became Theravadin.

1391-1474 CE The First Dalai Lama

Gedun Drupa (1391-1474 CE), a Tibetan monk of great esteem during his lifetime, was considered after his death to have been the first Dalai Lama. He founded the major monastery of Tashi Lhunpo at Shigatse, which would become the traditional seat of Panchen Lamas (second only to the Dalai Lama).

1881 CE Founding of Pali Text Society

Ever since its founding by the British scholar T.W. Rhys Davids in 1881 CE, the Pali Text Society has been the primary publisher of Theravada texts and translations into Western languages.

1891 CE Anagarika Dharmapala Founds Mahabodhi Society

Sri Lankan writer Anagarika Dharmapala played an important role in restoring Bodh-Gaya, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment, which had badly deteriorated after centuries of neglect. In order to raise funds for this project, Dharmapala founded the Mahabodhi Society, first in Ceylon and later in India, the United States, and Britain. He also edited the society’s periodical, The Mahabodhi Journal.

1930 CE Soka Gakkai Established in Japan

Soka Gakkai is a Japanese Buddhist movement that was begun in 1930 CE by an educator named Tsunesaburo Makiguchi. Soon after its founding, it became associated with Nichiren Shoshu, a sect of Nichiren Buddhism. Today the organization has over twelve million members around the world.

1938 CE Rissho Kosei-Kai Established in Japan

The Rissho Kosei-Kai movement was founded by the Rev. Nikkyo Niwano in 1938 CE, and is based on the teachings set forth in the Lotus Sutra and works for individual and world peace. Rev. Niwano was awarded the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1979 and honored by the Vatican in 1992. The Rissho Kosei-Kai has since been active in interfaith activities throughout the world.

1949 CE Buddhist Sangha Flees Mainland China

With the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, Buddhist monks and nuns fled to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. Many of these monks and nuns subsequently immigrated to Australia, Europe and the United States.

1950 CE World Fellowship of Buddhists Inaugurated in Sri Lanka

The World Fellowship of Buddhists was established in 1950 CE in Sri Lanka to bring Buddhists together in promoting common goals. Since 1969, its permanent headquarters have been in Thailand, with regional offices in 34 different countries.

1956 CE Buddhist Conversions in India

On October 14, 1956 CE, Bhim Rao Ambedkar (1891-1956), India’s leader of Hindu untouchables, publicly converted to Buddhism as part of a political protest. As many as half a million of his followers also took the three refuges and five precepts on that day. In the following years, over four million Indians, chiefly from the castes of untouchables, declared themselves Buddhists.

1959 CE Dalai Lama Flees to India

With the Chinese occupation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama, the Karmapa, and other Vajrayana Buddhist leaders fled to India. A Tibetan government in exile was established in Dharamsala, India.

1966 CE Thich Nhat Hanh Visits the U.S. and Western Europe

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese monk, teacher, and peace activist. While touring the U.S. in 1966, Nhat Hanh was outspoken against the American-supported Saigon government. As a result of his criticism, Nhat Hanh faced certain imprisonment upon his return to Vietnam. He therefore decided to take asylum in France, where he founded Plum Village, today an important center for meditation and action.

1975 CE Devastation of Buddhism in Cambodia

Pol Pot’s Marxist regime came to power in Cambodia in 1975 CE. Over the four years of his governance, most of Cambodia’s 3,600 Buddhist temples were destroyed. The Sangha was left with an estimated 3,000 of its 50,000 monks. The rest did not survive the persecution.

1989 CE Founding of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB)

The International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) began in Thailand in 1989 as a conference of 36 monks and lay persons from 11 countries. Today, it has expanded to 160 members and affiliates from 26 countries. As its name suggests, INEB endeavors to facilitate Buddhist participation in social action in order to create a just and peaceful world.

1989 CE Dalai Lama Receives Nobel Peace Prize

Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his tireless work spreading a message of non-violence. He has said on many occasions about Buddhism, “My religion is very simple – my religion is kindness.”

2010 CE Western Buddhist Teachers call for U.S. Commission of Inquiry to Burma

In 2010, prominent Buddhist teachers in the U.S. signed a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to repudiate the results of the upcoming Burmese election, in light of crimes against ethnic groups committed by the Burmese military regime.

With over 520 million followers, Buddhism is currently the world’s fourth-largest religious tradition. Though Theravada and Mahayana are its two major branches, contemporary Buddhism comprises a wide diversity of practices, beliefs, and traditions — both throughout East and Southeast Asia and worldwide.

Buddhism in America (text)

1853 ce the first chinese temple in “gold mountain”.

Attracted by the 1850s Gold Rush, many Chinese workers and miners came to California, which they called “Gold Mountain” — and brought their Buddhist and Taoist traditions with them. In 1853, they built the first Buddhist temple in San Francisco’s Chinatown. By 1875, Chinatown was home to eight temples, and by the end of the century, there were hundreds of Chinese temples and shrines along the West Coast.

1878 CE Kuan-yin in Hawaii

In 1878, the monk Leong Dick Ying brought to Honolulu gold-leaf images of the Taoist sage Kuan Kung and the bodhisattva of compassion Kuan-yin. He thus established the Kuan-yin Temple, which is the oldest Chinese organization in Hawaii. The Temple has been located on Vineland Avenue in Honolulu since 1921.

1879 CE The Light of Asia Comes West

Sir Edwin Arnold’s The Light of Asia, a biography of the Buddha in verse, was published in 1879. This immensely popular book, which went through eighty editions and sold over half a million copies, gave many Americans their first introduction to the Buddha.

1882 CE The Chinese Exclusion Act

Two decades of growing anti-Chinese sentiment in the U.S. led to the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. The act barred new Chinese immigration for ten years, including that by women trying to join their husbands who were already in the U.S., and prohibited the naturalization of Chinese people.

1893 CE Buddhists at the Parliament of the World’s Religions

The 1893 Parliament of the World’s Religions, held in Chicago in conjunction with the World Columbian Exposition, included representatives of many strands of the Buddhist tradition: Anagarika Dharmapala (Sri Lankan Maha Bodhi Society), Shaku Soyen (Japanese Rinzai Zen), Toki Horyu (Shingon), Ashitsu Jitsunen (Tendai), Yatsubuchi Banryu (Jodo Shin), and Hirai Kinzo (a Japanese lay Buddhist). Days after the Parliament, in a ceremony conducted by Anagarika Dharmapala, Charles T. Strauss of New York City became the first person to be ordained into the Buddhist Sangha on American soil.

1894 CE The Gospel of Buddha

The Gospel of Buddha was an influential book published by Paul Carus in 1894. The book brought a selection of Buddhist texts together in readable fashion for a popular audience. By 1910, The Gospel of Buddha had been through 13 editions.

1899 CE Jodo Shinshu Buddhism and the Buddhist Churches of America

The Young Men’s Buddhist Association (Bukkyo Seinenkai), the first Japanese Buddhist organization on the U.S. mainland, was founded in 1899 under the guidance of Jodo Shinshu missionaries Rev. Dr. Shuya Sonoda and Rev. Kakuryo Nishijima. The following years saw temples established in Sacramento (1899), Fresno (1900), Seattle (1901), Oakland (1901), San Jose (1902), Portland (1903), and Stockton (1906). This organization, initially called the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Mission of North America, went on to become the Buddhist Churches of America (incorporated in 1944). Today, it is the largest Buddhist organization serving Japanese-Americans, entailing some 60 temples and a membership of about 19,000.

1900 CE First Non-Asian Buddhist Association

In 1900, a group of Euro-Americans attracted to the Buddhist teachings of the Jodo Shinshu organized the Dharma Sangha of the Buddha in San Francisco.

1915 CE World Buddhist Conference

Buddhists from throughout the world gathered in San Francisco in August 1915 at a meeting convened by the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Mission of North America. Resolutions from the conference were taken to President Woodrow Wilson.

1931 CE Sokei-an and Zen in New York

The Buddhist Society of America was incorporated in New York in 1931 under the guidance of Rinzai Zen teacher Sokei-an. Sokei-an first came to the U.S. in 1906 to study with Shokatsu Shaku in California, though he completed his training in Japan where he was ordained in 1931. Sokei-an died of poor health in 1945, after having spent two years in a Japanese internment camp. The center he established in New York City would evolve into the First Zen Institute of America.

1935 CE Relics of the Buddha to San Francisco

In 1935, a portion of the Buddha’s relics was presented to Bishop Masuyama of the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Mission of North America, based in San Francisco. This led to the construction of a new Buddhist Church of San Francisco, with a stupa on its roof for the holy relics, located on Pine Street and completed in 1938.

1942 CE Internment of Japanese Americans

Two months after Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 which eventually removed 120,000 Japanese Americans, both citizens and noncitizens, to internment camps where they remained until the end of World War II. Buddhist priests and other community leaders were among the first to be targeted and evacuated. Zen teachers Sokei-an and Nyogen Senzaki were both interned. Buddhist organizations continued to serve the internees in the camps.

1949 CE Buddhist Studies Center in Berkeley

The Buddhist Studies Center was first established in 1949 in Berkeley, California, under the auspices of the Buddhist Churches of America. In 1966, the center changed its name to the Institute of Buddhist Studies and became the first seminary for Buddhist ministry and research. The Institute affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union in 1985, and today is active in training clergy for the Buddhist Churches of America.

1955 CE Beat Zen and Zen Literature

The Beat Movement was started by American authors who explored American pop culture and politics in the post-war era, with strong themes from Eastern spirituality. The first public reading of the poem “Howl” by Allen Ginsberg in 1955 at the Six Gallery in San Francisco is said to have signalled the beginning of the Beat Zen movement. The late 1950s also saw a Zen literary boom in the U.S. Several popular books on Buddhism were published, including Alan Watt’s bestseller The Way of Zen and Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums.

1960 CE Soka Gakkai in the U.S.

Daisaku Ikeda, President of Soka Gakkai, visited the United States in 1960, largely introducing Soka Gakkai to Americans. By 1992, Soka Gakkai International–USA estimated that it had 150,000 American members.

1965 CE Immigration and Nationality Act

The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act ended the quota system which had virtually halted immigration from Asia to the United States for over forty years. Following 1965, growing numbers of Asian immigrants from South, Southeast, and East Asia settled in America; many brought Buddhist traditions with them.

1966 CE The Vietnam Conflict and Thich Nhat Hanh in America

The Vietnam conflict incited a surge of Buddhist activism in Saigon, which included some monks immolating themselves as an act of protest. In response, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Cabot Lodge met with Vietnamese and Japanese Buddhist leaders, and the State Department established an Office of Buddhist Affairs headed by Claremont College Professor Richard Gard. In 1966, Vietnamese monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh came to the United States to speak about the conflict. His visit, coupled with the English publication of his book, Lotus in a Sea of Fire, so impressed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that King nominated Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize.

1966 CE First Buddhist Monastery in Washington D.C.

The Washington Buddhist Vihara was the first Sri Lankan Buddhist temple in America. It was established in Washington, D.C. in 1966 as a missionary center with the support of the Sri Lankan government. The Ven. Bope Vinita Thera brought an image and a relic of the Buddha to the nation’s capital in 1965. The following year, the Vihara was incorporated, and in 1968, it moved to its present location on 16th Street, NW.

1969 CE Tibetan Center in Berkeley

Tarthang Tulku, a Tibetan monk educated at Banaras Hindu University in India, came to Berkeley and in 1969 established the Nyingma Meditation Center, the first Tibetan Buddhist center in the U.S.

1970 CE Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche to America

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche was an Oxford-educated Tibetan teacher who brought the Karma Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist lineage to the U.S. in 1970. In 1971, he established Karma Dzong in Boulder, Colorado, and in 1973, he founded Vajradhatu, an organization consolidating many Dharmadhatu centers. Cutting through Spiritual Materialism, his classic introduction to Trungpa’s form of Tibetan Buddhism, was published in 1973.

1970 CE International Buddhist Meditation Center

The International Buddhist Meditation Center was established by Ven. Dr. Thich Thien-An, a Vietnamese Zen Master, in Los Angeles in 1970. The College of Buddhist Studies is also located on the grounds of the Center, which is currently under the direction of Thien-An’s student, Ven. Karuna Dharma.

1972 CE Korean Zen Master comes to Rhode Island

Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn came to the United States in 1972 with little money and little knowledge of English. He rented an apartment in Providence and worked as a washing machine repairman. A note on his door said simply, “What am I?” and announced meditation classes. Thus began the Providence Zen Center, followed soon by Korean Zen Centers in Cambridge, New Haven, New York, and Berkeley, all part of the Kwan Um School of Zen.

1974 CE Buddhist Chaplain in California

In 1974, the California State Senate appointed Rev. Shoko Masunaga as its first Buddhist and first Asian-American chaplain.

1974 CE First Buddhist Liberal Arts College

Naropa Institute was founded in Boulder, Colorado in 1974 as a Buddhist-inspired but non-sectarian liberal arts college. It aimed to combine contemplative studies with traditional Western scholastic and artistic disciplines. The accredited college now offers courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels in Buddhist studies, contemplative psychotherapy, environmental studies, poetics, and dance.

1974 CE Redress for Internment of Japanese Americans

In 1974, Rep. Phillip Burton of California addressed the U.S. House of Representatives on the topic “Seventy-five Years of American Buddhism” as part of an ongoing debate surrounding redress for Japanese Americans interned during World War II.

1975 CE The Fall of Saigon and the Arrival of Refugees

About 130,000 Vietnamese refugees, many of them Buddhists, came to the U.S. in 1975 after the fall of Saigon. By 1985 there were 643,200 Vietnamese in the U.S. Dr. Thich Thien-an, a Vietnamese monk and scholar already in Los Angeles, began the first Vietnamese Buddhist temple in America – the Chua Vietnam – in 1976. The temple is still thriving on Berendo Street, not far from central Los Angeles. With the end of the war, some 70,000 Laotian, 60,000 Hmong, and 10,000 Mien people also arrived in the U.S. as refugees bringing their religious traditions, including Buddhism, with them.

1976 CE Council of Thai Bhikkhus

The Council of Thai Bhikkhus, a nonprofit corporation founded in 1976 and based in Denver, Colorado, became the leading nationwide network for Thai Buddhism.

1976 CE City of 10,000 Buddhas

The City of 10,000 Buddhas was established in 1976 in Talmage, California by the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association as the first Chinese Buddhist monastery for both monks and nuns. The City of 10,000 Buddhas consists of sixty buildings, including elementary and secondary schools and a university, on a 237-acre site.

1976 CE First Rinzai Zen Monastery

On July 4 1976, Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji, America’s first Rinzai Zen monastery, was established in Lew Beach, New York, under the direction of Eido Tai Shimano-roshi.

1979-1989 CE Cambodian Refugees Come to the U.S.

The regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge ended in 1979 with the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. Over the following ten years, 180,000 Cambodian refugees were relocated from Thailand to the United States. In 1979, the Cambodian Buddhist Society was established in Silver Spring, Maryland, as the first Cambodian Buddhist temple in America. Later in 1987, the nearly 40,000 Cambodian residents of Long Beach, California, purchased the former headquarters of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union and converted the huge building into a temple complex.

1980 CE First Burmese Temple

Dhammodaya Monastery, the first Burmese Buddhist temple in America, was established in Los Angeles in 1980.

1980 CE Buddhist Sangha Council

The Buddhist Sangha Council of Los Angeles (later of Southern California) was established under the leadership of the Ven. Havanpola Ratanasara in 1980. It was one of the first cross-cultural, inter-Buddhist organizations, bringing together monks and other leaders from a wide range of Buddhist traditions.

1986 CE Buddhist Astronaut on Challenger

Lt. Col. Ellison Onizuka, a Hawaiian-born Jodo Shinshu Buddhist, was killed 73 seconds after takeoff in the space shuttle Challenger in 1986. He was the first Asian-American to reach space.

1987 CE American Buddhists Get Organized

For ten days in July of 1987, Buddhists from all the Buddhist lineages in North America came together in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for a Conference on World Buddhism in North America — intended to promote dialogue, mutual understanding, and cooperation. In the same year, the Buddhist Council of the Midwest gathered twelve Chicago-area lineages of Buddhism; in Los Angeles, the American Buddhist Congress was created, with 47 Buddhist organizations attending its inaugural convention. Also in 1987, the Sri Lanka Sangha Council of North America was established in Los Angeles to serve as the national network for Sri Lankan Buddhism.

1987 CE Buddhist Books Gain Wider Audience

In 1987, Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield published what became a classic book on vipassana meditation – Seeking the Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation. Thich Nhat Hanh, who was residing at Plum Village in France and visiting the United States annually, also published Being Peace, a classic treatment of “engaged Buddhism” – Buddhism that is concerned with social and ecological issues.

1990s CE Popular Buddhism

Throughout the 1990s, immigrant and American-born Buddhist communities were growing and building across the United States. In the midst of this flourishing, there emerged a popular “Hollywood Buddhism” or a Buddhism of celebrities which persists today. Espoused by figures from Tina Turner to the Beastie Boys to bell hooks, Buddhism became a larger part of mass culture during the 90s.

1991 CE Tricycle: the Buddhist Review

The first issue of Tricycle: the Buddhist Review, a non-sectarian national Buddhist magazine, was published in 1991. The journal features articles by prominent Buddhist teachers and writers as well as pieces on Buddhism and American culture at large.

1991 CE Tibetan Resettlement in the United States

The National Office of the Tibetan Resettlement Project was established in New York in 1991 after the U.S. Congress granted 1,000 special visas for Tibetans, all of them Buddhists. Two years later, the Tibetan Community Assistance Program opened to assist Tibetans resettling in New York. Cluster groups of Tibetan refugees have since established their own small temples and have begun to encounter Euro-American practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism.

1991 CE Dalai Lama in Madison Square Garden

For more than a week in October in 1991, the Dalai Lama gave the “Path of Compassion” teachings and conferred the Kalachakra Initiation in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1993 CE Centennial of the World’s Parliament of Religions

There were many prominent Buddhist speakers at the 1993 Centennial of the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago, among them Thich Nhat Hanh, Master Seung Sahn, the Ven. Mahaghosananda, and the Ven. Dr. Havanpola Ratanasara. The Dalai Lama gave the closing address. There were myriad Buddhist co-sponsors of the event, including the American Buddhist Congress, Buddhist Churches of America, Buddhist Council of the Midwest, World Fellowship of Buddhists, and Wat Thai of Washington, D.C.

2006 CE American Monk Named First U.S. Representative to World Buddhist Supreme Conference

In 2006, Venerable Bhante Vimalaramsi (Sayadaw Gyi U Vimalaramsi Maha Thera) was nominated and confirmed as the first representative from the United States for the World Buddhist Supreme Conference, which is held every two years and includes representatives from fifty countries.

2007 CE First Buddhist Congresswoman Sworn In

Rep. Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, in 2007 became the first Buddhist to be sworn into the United States Congress.

Today, Buddhism thrives in America, with American Buddhists comprising myriad backgrounds, identities, and religious traditions and often integrating Buddhism with other forms of spiritual practice. It is estimated that there are roughly 3.5 million Buddhist practitioners in the United States at present. Many live in Hawaii or Southern California, but there are surely followers of Buddhism around the nation.

Selected Publications & Links

Takaki, Ronald . A Different Mirror . Boston: Little, Brown & Co. 1993.

Sidor, Ellen S . A Gathering of Spirit: Women Teaching in American Buddhism . Cumberland: Primary Point Press, 1987.

Tweed, Thomas A., and Stephen Prothero (eds.) . Asian Religions in America: A Documentary History . New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Access to Insight

America burma buddhist association, american buddhist congress, buddha’s light international association, buddhist churches of america, explore buddhism in greater boston.

Buddhism arrived in Boston in the 19th century with the first Chinese immigrants to the city and a growing intellectual interest in Buddhist arts and practice. Boston’s first Buddhist center was the Cambridge Buddhist Association (1957). The post-1965 immigration brought new immigrants into the city—from Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea. These groups brought with them a variety of Buddhist traditions, now practiced at over 90 area Buddhist centers and temples. Representing nearly every ethnicity, age, and social strata, the Buddhist community of Greater Boston is a vibrant presence in the city.

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Moderating role of observing the five precepts of Buddhism on neuroticism, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms

Nahathai Wongpakaran

1 Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Phurich Pooriwarangkakul

2 Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Nadnipa Suwannachot

Zsuzsanna mirnics.

3 Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church, Budapest, Hungary

Zsuzsanna Kövi

Tinakon wongpakaran, associated data.

All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

Evidence has shown that the Five precepts significantly affect the relationship between attachment and resilience; however, little is known whether observing the Five Precepts would help reduce depressive symptoms among those who experience risks. The aim of this study was to examine the moderating role of the Five Precepts in the mediation model relationship among neuroticism, perceived stress, and depression.

Patients and methods

The study employed a cross-sectional survey design and data were collected from the end of 2019 to September 2022 in Thailand. In all, 644 general participants completed questionnaires on the Neuroticism Inventory (NI), the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Depression Subscale, and the Five-Precept Subscale of the Inner Strength-based Inventory (SBI-PP). Mediation and moderation analyses with 5000 bootstrapping methods were used.

Among all, 74.2% were female, and the mean age totalled 28.28 years (SD = 10.6). SBI-PP was shown to have a moderation effect on the relationship between NI, PSS and depressive symptoms. The moderating effect between SBI-PP and PSS was significant, whereas SBI-PP and NI was not. The index of moderated mediation from the Five Precepts was significant (b = -0.019 (95%CI -0.029, -0.009)). The moderated mediation model increased the percent variance explaining depressive symptoms to 47.6%, compared with 32.6% from the mediation model alone.

Observing the Five Precepts offers evidence that it buffers the effect of perceived stress on depression. People with high levels of observing the Five Precepts are less likely to develop depressive symptoms. Implications as well as possible future research are discussed.

Introduction

Around 322 million people in this world are living with depression, and nearly one half of these people live in the Southeast Asia and Western Pacific Regions [ 1 ]. Many factors are related to the development of depression, and one of those is the personality trait of neuroticism [ 2 – 5 ]. Neuroticism is one of the Big Five personality dimensions, characterized by the tendency to experience negative emotions, including anger, anxiety, fear, self‐consciousness, irritability, emotional instability, and depression [ 6 , 7 ]. A clinically significant depressive symptom is usually attributable to an interaction of the trait of neuroticism with a life stressor [ 7 ].

Literature reviews show that the relationship between neuroticism and depression is robust, with the risk ratio of 1.25 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.45) [ 8 ]. This significant relationship is also evident across cultures [ 2 – 5 , 9 ].

In addition to the direct effect on depression, neuroticism is found to have an indirect effect through other variables such as social inhibition [ 4 , 10 ], and perceived stress [ 11 ], catastrophic and anxiety-provoking appraisals [ 12 ], and cognitive emotion regulation [ 13 ]. In particular, perceived stress, thoughts or the feelings that individuals experience after encountering stressful life events, is strongly associated and often significantly antecedent to depression, which has been shown to be a mediator or moderator of the effect of neuroticism on depression [ 14 – 24 ].

The relationship among neuroticism, perceived stress, and depression is illustrated in many related research articles [ 3 , 4 , 25 – 29 ]. Evidence has shown that neuroticism indirectly affects depression through perceived stress.

On the other hand, the effect of neuroticism and perceived stress on depression may be buffered by the positive variables involved [ 30 , 31 ], including self-efficacy [ 32 , 33 ], resilience [ 34 ], equanimity [ 35 ], and the religious participation [ 36 ]. Relating to equanimity, a strength found in Buddhist discipline and the one the authors have found relevant in clinical encounters is the observance of the Five Precepts. The Five Precepts are one of the most well-known and common practices for Buddhists. The Five Precepts include refraining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, telling bad-intentioned lies, and using intoxicants [ 37 ].

The observance of precepts ( Sila ) serves as the preliminary foundation to refine higher virtues development, and the most important step on the spiritual journey. Paving the way to right concentration, and wisdom is considered a crucial practice, that would lead the person to the highest religious goal of Nibbana [ 38 , 39 ]. For general people or nonserious practitioners, observance of the Five Precepts increases wellbeing and quality of life [ 40 , 41 ]. However, observance of the Five Precepts is not well-known among international academic circles compared with mindfulness meditation, despite the fact that thousands of articles of observance of the Five Precepts have been published in Thailand [ 42 ].

By its characteristics, precepts may be seen as socially adaptive behaviors requiring motivation, and self-control to carry out. As the Five Precepts include items related to congruent moral behavior, higher values on this scale might mean higher self-congruence (together with higher self-control), and this can be a part of the buffering effect of perceived stress on depression. While self-control is shown to have a moderating effect on positive outcomes such as self-efficacy, academic success [ 43 ], and self-management behaviors [ 44 ]. Little is known about the role of observance of the Five Precepts on negative mental outcomes such as perceived stress, neuroticism and depression. The authors therefore analyzed to see whether observance of the Five Precepts would serve as a buffer for any mental health outcome the same way as self-control does. Specifically, the authors examine the moderating effect on the relationship among neuroticism, perceived stress and depression. We hypothesized that precept practice may buffer the relationship between neuroticism, perceived stress, and depression. By that the high level of precept observance would reduce the effect of neuroticism and perceived stress on depressive symptom.

Material and methods

Participants.

This study was conducted using an online survey in Thailand from December 2019 to September 2020. The target group comprised the general population. A convenience sampling method was applied. Flyers, websites, Facebook, Instagram, and LINE were used to invite participation. Inclusion criteria included 1) age between 18 and 59 years, 2) fluent in Thai and 3) able to access to the Internet and Google form. Exclusion criteria consisted of 1) having psychiatric history or being treated for psychiatric disorder and 2) being intoxicated.

Sample size estimation for power analysis of the mediation model was based on correlation coefficients between variables from the prior result, and type I error (alpha) at 0.05, type II error (beta, 1-power) at 0.01, with two-tailed test of significance. The expected minimum sample size was 95 to yield a power of 99% (95%CI .95, 1.00). However, in this survey 644 respondents took part in the study, and we used all data for analysis. Each gave written informed consent before filling out the questionnaires. The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of the Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University (study code, 184/2562 and date of approval, 8 July 2019).

Measurements

10-item perceived stress scale (pss-10).

This scale is used to assess to what extent the respondent feels about the stress he/she has perceived over four weeks. PSS-10 comprises 10 items and uses a 5-point Likert type scale format (0 = never to 4 = very often), and the total score ranges from 0 to 40 [ 45 ]. Higher scores suggest greater perceived stress. PSS-10 has been widely used for both clinical and nonclinical samples. The Thai version showed good reliability and validity [ 46 ]. In this study sample, the PSS-10 demonstrated a good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha was .78).

Neuroticism Inventory (NI)

The NI is a dimensional measure of the neuroticism personality trait based on Eysenck’s five-factor model [ 47 ]. The NI, developed by Wongpakaran et al., consists of a self-rating scale including 15 items with a 0 to 4 Likert type scale (1 = never like me to 4 = always like me) [ 48 ]. and the total score ranges from 15 to 60. A higher score indicates a higher level of neuroticism. The previous studies showed that the NI had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha was .91 - .92) [ 35 , 49 ],and NI showed good validity and reliability [ 48 ]. In this study sample, the Cronbach’s alpha was .90.

Core Symptom Index -Depression subscale (CSI-D)

CSI is a scale used to measure common psychological symptoms. The CSI instructions asked respondents to answer the items based on how they felt over the past week [ 50 ]. The CSI consisted of 17 items, 5 items representing depression, 4 items for anxiety, and 6 items for somatization symptoms. Response options were based on a 5-point Likert type scale, i.e., values of 0 (never), 1 (rarely), 2 (sometimes), 3 (frequently) and 4 (almost always), and the total score ranges from 0 to 60. The higher the score reflects the higher the level of psychopathology. The CSI showed good validity and reliability [ 51 ]. Depression subscale (CSI-D) was used in this study, and the total score ranges from 0 to 20. In this study sample, the CSI-D demonstrated a good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha was .79).

Precept Practice (SBI-PP) or Observance Five Precepts

SBI-PP is an item drawn from the 10 inner Strength-Based Inventory (SBI), e.g., loving-kindness and equanimity [ 52 ]. It comprises a single item with 5 multiple-choice options. The SBI item provided optional outcome response attributing to the cognitive-behavioral aspect of each strength. Precept practice is to measure the level of observing the Five Precepts. The stem begins with moral virtues including to refrain from 1) killing, 2) stealing, 3) sexual misconduct, 4) telling bad-intentioned lies, and 5) intoxicants such as alcohol and addictive drugs”. The response choices ranged from 1 “I never thought to follow the moral virtues” to 5, “I always follow the moral virtues. As I can remember, I have never broken them before”. A higher score indicates a higher level of observance of the Five Precepts. SBI-PP was significantly correlated with other strengths, e.g., patience and endurance, r = .164, p < .001). As SBI-PP is a single item, internal consistency is not calculated. Nevertheless, test-retest may be a better option for evaluating the participant consistency [ 53 ]. Two-week test-retest reliability using intraclass correlation coefficient of the SBI-PP was .87 (95%CI = .70, .95, p < .0001), indicating good reliability.

Statistical analysis

Descriptive statistics was used for sociodemographic and scores of the measurements. Mean and standard deviation were calculated for continuous data, i.e., the total score of each measurement. Correlation analysis for continuous variables, e.g., CSI-dep and PSS used Pearson’s correlation, for categorical or ordinal variables, e.g., sex and education, polychoric correlation was used, for categorical or ordinal and continuous variables, e.g., marital status and neuroticism, polyserial correlation was performed to determine significant relationships between variables.

Data were checked and shown to have normal error distribution, linearity and homoscedasticity. No multicollinearity and outliers were demonstrated. All indicated valid data for performing mediation analysis. Mediation and moderation analyses were carried out, beginning with testing the mediation model of neuroticism, depression, and perceived stress. By that neuroticism was independent (X) and depression was outcome (Y), whereas perceived stress served as a mediator (M1) [ 54 ]. The path or regression coefficients between X and M, M and Y, and X and Y was a, b, and c’, respectively ( Fig 1 ).

For moderation analysis, the plots were created between neuroticism (X) and perceived stress (M), neuroticism (X) and depression (Y), and between perceived stress (M) and depression (Y), according to the high and low levels of observing the Five Precepts. Significant interaction of each plot was investigated by visualizing predicted values of neuroticism or perceived stress scores with the high or low level of observing the Five Precepts [ 54 ]. The moderation model that illustrated the presence of moderating effects would be included in the full moderated moderation model. According to Hayes [ 54 ], if the moderation effect existed at a, b, and c’, then 7 moderated mediation models were possibly produced; and therefore, each model would be tested.

To produce more accurate results of mediation and moderation analysis, resampling or bootstrapping methods was applied [ 54 , 55 ]. The results were reported by unstandardized estimates, standard errors, p-values. Bootstrap confidence intervals for conditional indirect effects were applied. We used bootstrap instead of traditional Baron and Kenny’s mediation methods and the Sobel test because indirect effects are unlikely to be normally distributed. Bootstrap is a resampling technique with replacement, and no assumption is made about the shape of the sampling distribution of indirect effect, the results will get more credibility, and the bootstrap confidence interval tends to have higher power than the Sobel test [ 56 ]. Confidence intervals that do not include zero are indicative of statistical significance. For all the analyses, the level of significance was set at p <0.05. All statistical analyses were carried out using the IBM SPSS Program, 22.0. MedCalc, Version 19.7 was used to produce scatter plots and regression lines. PROCESS, Version 3.5 annexed to IBM SPSS was used for all mediation and moderation analyses.

The participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 72, with an average of 28 years old. Over 70 were female, lived alone, and had obtained a bachelor’s degree. Over half of the participants earned a moderate level of income. All participants were Thai, and 93.3% were Buddhist. For clinical variables, the average NI, CSI-D, and PSS scores were mild to moderate, whereas the SBI-PP score of the sample was slightly over the mid-point. The details are shown in Table 1 .

NI = Neuroticism Inventory, CSI–D = Depression scale of Core Symptom Index, PSS = Perceived stress scale, SBI–PP = Equanimity scale of the inner Strength–based Inventory, THB = Thai baht; 1 THB = 0.026 US Dollars, M = mean, SD = standard deviation.

Table 2 shows the correlation coefficients among variables. Being male was associated with higher education (p < .05) but negatively related to the low level of income (p < .05) and the level of SBI-PP(p < .01). Age was associated with living alone, high level of education, income, and high level of SBI-PP (all p < .01), but negatively related to CSI-D score (p < .01). Living alone was positively associated with the level of education and income (all p < .01), but not with other clinical variables. Monthly income was negatively associated only with CSI-D (p < .05). As expected, NI was positively correlated with CSI-D and PSS scores, but negatively associated with SBI-PP score (all p < .01). CSI-D and PSS scores were positively correlated but negatively correlated with SBI-PP (p < .01). Along the same line, PSS was conversely related to SBI-PP scores(p < .01).

*p< 0.05

**p< 0.01, NI = Neuroticism Inventory, CSI–D = Depression scale of Core Symptom Index, PSS = Perceived stress scale, SBI–PP = Precept practice scale of the inner Strength–based Inventory.

Hierarchical regression analysis was used to identify potential confounders. The results showed that age, sex, and marital status were the significant predictors that reduced the effect size of neuroticism on depression, which was considered confounders; therefore, these three variables were controlled as covariates in the moderated mediation model.

Table 3 shows the summary of mediation analysis of neuroticism and perceived stress predicting depressive symptoms controlling for age, sex, and marital status. NI, PSS, and marital status (lived alone) predicted depressive symptoms (t = 11.000, p < .0001, t = 10.350, p < .0001, and t = 4.334, p < .0001, respectively.). By adding PSS, the model of the variance of depressive symptom increased from 36.3% to 45.5%. NI had a significantly indirect effect via PSS (β = .072, p < .001).

Note: NI = Neuroticism Inventory, CSI–D = Depression scale of Core Symptom Index, PSS = Perceived stress scale, SBI–PP = SBI–PP = Practice precept scale of the inner Strength–based Inventory, SE = standard error.

Fig 2 displays the slope of the regression lines along with the observation between PSS and CSI-D. In the low practice level of the Five Precepts, the slope coefficient was .375 (p < .001), whereas in the high-level practice population, the slope coefficient was .244 (p < .001). A significant difference between two slopes was noted (t = -3.561, p < .001).

Fig 3 displays the slope of the regression line along with the observation between NI and CSI-D. In the low practice level of the Five Precepts, the slope coefficient was .225 (p < .001), whereas in the high-level practice population, the slope coefficient was .164 (p < .001). A significant difference between two slopes was noted (t = -2.644, p = .008).

For the regression lines between PSS and NI, the slope coefficient was 0.361 (p < .001) in the low practice level of the Five Precepts, and the slope coefficient was 0.335 (p < .001) in the high-level practice population. However, no significant difference was observed between the two slopes (t = -.620, p = .535) (Figure not shown).

Based on the significant interaction effect between SBI-PP and PSS, but not SBI-PP and NI, the two possible models were Models 14 and Model 15. Model 14 indicated the moderation of the relationship between PSS and CSI-D by SBI-PP (b path), whereas Model 15 illustrated the moderating effect of SBI-PP between PSS and CSI-D, and between NI and CSI-Dep (c’ path) ( Fig 4 ). The results showed that Model 14 best described the data. The variance of CSI-D was explained by this model for 47.6%.

Legend: Model 14 (excluding the dotted line) and Model 15 (including the dotted line).

Table 4 shows the significant direct and indirect effects of the predictors. The moderating effect of SBI-PP and PSS was shown to be negatively associated with depression scores. This could be interpreted in that for the low level of precepts practice, every score of stress perceived provides us 0.273 point on depression score. For the average level precepts practice, every score of stress perceived provides us 0.215 point on depression score, and for the high level of precepts practice, every score of stress perceived provides us 0.157 point on depression score. The index of moderated mediation model was significant (B = -0.021, 95% CI: -.033, -0.009). That is, the mediation of the effect of neuroticism on depression through perceived stress is moderated by the precepts practice.

Note: NI = Neuroticism Inventory, CSI–D = Depression scale of Core Symptom Index, PSS = Perceived stress scale, SBI–PP = Practice precept scale of the inner Strength–based Inventory, SE = standard error.

Table 4 shows the summary of moderated mediation analysis of precept practice, neuroticism and perceived stress predicting depressive symptoms controlling for age, sex, and marital status. NI, PSS, sex, and marital status (being alone) predicted the depressive symptoms (t = 2.95, p = .004, t = 6.29, p < .0001, t = 2.16, p = .030, and t = 4.334, p = .0001, respectively.). SBI-PP showed a moderating effect only on PSS but not on NI (t = 3.22, p = .001). By adding interactions, the model explained the variance of depressive symptom more, from 36.3 to 47.6%. The index of moderated mediation model was significant (B = -0.021, 95% CI: -.032, -0.009).

Table 5 shows the direct effect of neuroticism → depression path was significant in all three conditions of the observance of the Five Precepts (low, medium, high). The conditional indirect effect of neuroticism → perceived stress → depression path was significant in all three conditions of the value of the observance of the Five Precepts; however, the conditional indirect effect decreased when the level of observance of the Five Precepts increased, denoted by the negative index of the moderated mediation (-.0206).

NI = Neuroticism Inventory, CSI–D = Depression scale of Core Symptom Index, PSS = Perceived stress scale, SBI–PP = Practice precept scale of the inner Strength–based Inventory, SE = standard error, BootSE = bootstrap standard error, BootULCI = bootstrap upper–level confidence interval, BootLLCI = bootstrap lower–level confidence interval.

The present study examined the role of perceived stress on the relationship between neuroticism and depressive symptoms. Also, how observing the Five Precepts buffered their effects on depressive symptoms. The findings can be interpreted in that the effect of perceived stress on depression depended on the level of observing the Five Precepts. At a high level, the relationship between perceived stress and depression was significant lower. In all, observing the Five Precepts significantly buffered the perception of stress on depression.

As hypothesized, observing the Five Precepts can be viewed as behavioral control requiring many positive attributes to achieve. Five Precepts are not only a part of the ten perfections, but also viewed as a constitution of right speech, right livelihood, right action, the three of the Noble eightfold path, the principal teaching of Buddhism [ 57 ]. As mentioned, any attribute is not a standalone. Moral virtue requires a person to have right view, right effort, or right mindfulness for successful observance. This implies that a person who is practicing observing the Five Precepts may have elevated levels of their positive mental strength during such periods.

Even though no study has been reported before regarding this association, a comparable research could be discovered in resilience and equanimity that were shown to have moderating and mediating roles in the connection of neuroticism and depressive symptoms [ 34 , 35 ]. The mechanism of change of observing the Five Precepts may be similar to equanimity. It might be involved in rendering a calming state of mind and living, and gaining more self-awareness, which would reduce the feeling of stress one is experiencing. One study revealed that the interaction of Buddhist affiliation and religious participation is negatively associated with depressive symptoms [ 36 ]. Observing Five Precepts might be a part of such religious participation and practice. However, more research is needed for a full explanation.

Like resilience or equanimity, observing the Five Precepts is a positive attribute that can be learned or acquired, while neuroticism is a trait that is more likely to be difficult to change. Cultivating the observance of the Five Precepts may change the association between neuroticism, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms.

Observing the Five Precepts should be encouraged to practice as mindfulness meditation. Based on Buddhism, it has been suggested to be practiced simultaneously. Even though, the Five Precepts, is from Buddhist ideology, non-Buddhists may adhere to this observance as this self- control behavior seem to make individuals adhering to it be regarded as a ‘no harm and safe’ person for society. It would be interesting to study this issue in a non-Buddhist culture.

Our findings suggested that people exhibiting high levels of neuroticism, and high levels of stress, may tend to develop depressive symptoms that may be buffered when obtaining a high level of observing the Five Precepts.

Implications of the study

In clinical implication, observing the Five Precepts may be promoted along with any form of mindfulness meditation or mindfulness-related therapy [ 58 – 60 ]. In addition to buffering adverse mental health outcomes, observing the Five Precepts has been shown to be associated with well-being [ 61 ]. Therefore, it should be promoted even among the general population and those who have yet to experience stress. Researchers should carry out the practice of the Five Precepts further in the future. For example, research concerning an association between observing the Five Precepts and other positive strengths, such as resilience, grit, perseverance, and patience, should be examined, in addition to adverse mental health outcomes.

However, although Five Precepts can be viewed as healthy behaviors to be fostered for oneself and others, some, especially non-Buddhists, may find it uncomfortable when considering it as culture or religion related. Therefore, mental health professionals may adopt a careful approach emphasizing “behaviors” rather than religious matters, the same way mindfulness meditation is recognized. Such an approach may make it more acceptable and open to practice and further research.

Strengths and limitations

Although, this study constitutes one of the first studies to assess a relationship among observing the Five Precepts, neuroticism, perceived stress, and depression, it encountered limitations. First, due to a cross-sectional design, any cause-effect relationships cannot be confirmed. Longitudinal data analysis should be warranted.

Second, this study was limited to people who could access the online survey. The invitation was carried out using social media and flyers. It was difficult to control for equality of sex and other demographic factors. The results can only tell that females and people who live alone participated the most in the study. The disproportionate sex ratio makes it unlikely to be representative of Thai people. Third, observing the Five Precepts is a single item presenting the levels of all Five Precepts as a whole. This might influence responses from those who adhere only to some precepts, so a separate five-item questionnaire in further research should help remove this doubt. Finally, we have no data about the religious involvement of the sample, therefore relation toward the Five Precepts is more an attitudinal and less a behavioral index, it is unknown whether its subscales are correlated with religious practice. The present findings need to be supported by further behavioral indices of religious involvement in the future to better understand the meaning of the current results.

Observing the Five Precepts showed evidence that it buffers the effect of perceived stress on depression. People with the high levels of observing the Five Precepts would be less likely to develop depressive symptoms. Implications for either clinical or nonclinical settings are discussed. Further research should be warranted.

Supporting information

Acknowledgments.

We are thankful to our assistants for the data collection and all participants who made this research successful.

Funding Statement

This research was supported by the Faculty of Medicine Research Fund of Chiang Mai University (grant no. 152/2562). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Data Availability

• PLoS One. 2022; 17(11): e0277351.

Decision Letter 0

15 Sep 2022

PONE-D-22-01483Moderating role of observing the five precepts on neuroticism, perceived stress, and depressive symptomsPLOS ONE

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Reviewer #1: Dear Authors, please go through the below text for detailed concerns, each referenced with the line number in the original manuscript for your convenience.

Title: It would helpful to elaborate in your title the five precepts “of buddhism” for people not very familiar with buddhism or these precepts in the worldwide scientific community may not be clear what the manuscript is about.

Abstract: You have mentioned aim is to study how the 5 precepts affect depressive symptoms. What about other mental health symptoms? Could you mention if any studies exist looking at other mental health symptoms or diagnoses too?

These are several positives in your manuscript. You have chosen to write about and research a very interesting topic that appears to be on the cusp of neuroscience and spirituality. I appreciate that you have also explored how practicing of these precepts even in non-Buddhists may potentially be helpful, but does need to be studied separately outside the Buddhism context too, to be evaluated more universally. Since the pretext of your study is that observing the precepts may be a modulating and mediating factor in developing of depression, but it cannot be clearly shown that there is a direct causal relationship, I appreciate that you have stated this in limitations section, that the cause effect relationship cannot be confirmed as it is a cross sectional study.

48: Language could be clearer, eg. Depressive episodes often represent an interaction of the trait of neuroticism with a life stressor.

69: Abstaining from killing any living beings

102 Could you elaborate on why Exclusion criteria consisted of having psychiatric history or being treated for psychiatric disorder and having been diagnosed or being treated for substance use disorder. ?

128. Unclear as 2 Cronbach’s alpha values are mentioned in this line one was .83 and one was .90. If you can clarify which is for which.

152: Not mentioned clearly: Is SBI-FPO and SBI PP the same ?

Keywords: More specific keywords may be included, especially ones like “precepts”.

Statistics: Overall, statistical analysis appears to be done in a very rigorous manner. You have appropriately used the bootstrap method for mediation analysis, but you could also elaborate more on why this method was chosen over other analytical methods like Baron and Kenny logic or Sobel test. You have a good N of 644 which indicates good study power.

What statistical analyses have been done to rule out confounding and/or presence of third variables/confounding factors?

Cronbach’s alpha - which is a good measure for internal consistency - would be helpful to mention that it is a measure of internal consistency, whenever you mention this parameter.

Among participants most were female and lived alone - why was that the case. Any possible confounding factors related to this skewed demographic? Does this population truly represent Thai general population? Some remarks on this would help, maybe in limitations section.

Reviewer #2: Title: Adequate

Abstract: Please include from where the data was collected.

Introduction: At the end of the study, please clearly state the research gap and the need of the current study.

Material & Method: Data collection was done between the period of December 2019 and September 2020. Any reason why the data collection took 10 months?

What was the locale of the participants. Ethnicity of the participants is important for the current study because the five precepts are received and followed in different ways based on one’s cultural background.

Under exclusion criteria: substance use disorder is also one of the psychiatric disorders. So you can include it within the first exclusion criterion itself.

From page 7, citation represented by numbers are not placed as superscripts. For instance, line number 121 and 122.

Results: Please describe the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, as well as the correlation among sociodemographic features and test scores.

Table 2: Under Marital Status, only “no partner” (unmarried?) category was given. Why other marital status categories were excluded?

Similarly, for Education and Monthly Income, not all categories are described. Please explain why.

Discussion: “Observing the Five Precepts can be trained as mindfulness mediation”. Please add citation(s) for this statement.

To justify the need and significance of the current study, please add the implications of the study at the end of the discussion.

Also, it is required to highlight the role of culture in practice of Five Precepts and how mental health professionals should be sensitive toward the same.

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Reviewer #1:  Yes:  Manan J Shah

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Author response to Decision Letter 0

13 Oct 2022

Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Thailand

12 October 2022

Re: PONE-D-22-01483 - Moderating role of observing the five precepts on neuroticism, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms

Dear Editor,

Thank you for providing us an opportunity to revise our manuscript. We now have completed our revised manuscript based on the reviewers’ comments and suggestions.

Please see below the point-by-point response to those comments.

Please provide an amended statement that declares *all* the funding or sources of support (whether external or internal to your organization) received during this study, as detailed online in our guide for authors at http://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submit-now . Please also include the statement “There was no additional external funding received for this study.” in your updated Funding Statement. Please include your amended Funding Statement within your cover letter. We will change the online submission form on your behalf.

Thank you very much. We have updated the cover letter and provided an amended statement that declares *all* the funding or sources of support received during this study online.

Reviewer #1: Dear Authors, please go through the below text for detailed concerns, each referenced with the line number in the original manuscript for your convenience.

Title: It would be helpful to elaborate in your title the five precepts “of buddhism” for people not very familiar with buddhism or these precepts in the worldwide scientific community may not be clear what the manuscript is about.

Response: Thank you. We agree that the title should be added “ of Buddhism” for more clarity.

Response: We have revised this point as follows.

Evidence has shown that the Five precepts significantly affect the relationship between attachment and resilience; however, little is known whether observing the Five Precepts would help reduce depressive symptoms among those who experience risks.

Response: Thank you for this support.

Response. We have revised to be more clarified as follows.

A clinically significant depressive symptom is usually attributable to an interaction of the trait of neuroticism with a life stressor.

We revised the word ‘abstaining’ to ‘refraining’

Refraining from killing any living beings

102 Could you elaborate on why Exclusion criteria consisted of having psychiatric history or being treated for psychiatric disorder and having been diagnosed or being treated for substance use disorder?

We are afraid that having a psychiatric disorder would affect the depressive symptom and would affect how the respondent accurately responded to the questionnaire. We would like the sample to be more representative of general people who may experience some depressive symptoms but not due to the depressive disorder.

In the case of a substance use disorder, we apologize for this mistake. We have changed “having been diagnosed or being treated for substance use disorder” to “being intoxicated”. The reason is that we cannot be confident whether they were under the influence, which would affect the reliability of the data.

Response. We have revised it as follows.

The previous studies showed that the NI had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha was .91 - .92)35,49,and NI showed good validity and reliability.48 In this study sample, the Cronbach’s alpha was .90.

Response. We apologize for this mistake, it has been changed from SBI-FPO to SBI-PP.

Response: Thank you for this suggestion. We have added it accordingly.

Response. Thank you. We have added these parts shown below.

We used bootstrap instead of traditional Baron and Kenny’s mediation methods and the Sobel test because indirect effects are unlikely to be normally distributed. Bootstrap is a resampling technique with replacement, and no assumption is made about the shape of the sampling distribution of indirect effect, the results will get more credibility, and the bootstrap confidence interval tends to have higher power than the Sobel test.56

Response. We have added the following statements

Response. Thank you.

We now revised it as follows.

In this study sample, the PSS-10 demonstrated a good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha was .78).

Yes, we agree with that. This study was limited to people who could access the online survey. The invitation was carried out using social media and flyers. It was difficult to control for equality of sex and other demographic factors. The results can only tell that females and people who live alone participated the most in the study. The disproportionate sex ratio makes it unlikely to be representative of Thai people. We have added this point to the limitation.

Reviewer #2: Title: Adequate

Thank you. However, we have added the word “of Buddhism” for clarity based on the first reviewer’s suggestion.

Response. We have included this information.

The study employed a cross-sectional survey design, collected data from the end of 2019 to September 2022 in Thailand.

Response. We have added the research gap as suggested.

Little is known about the role of observance of the Five Precepts on negative mental outcomes such as perceived stress, neuroticism and depression.

The authors therefore analyzed to see whether observance of the Five Precepts would serve as a buffer for any mental health outcome the same way as self-control does. Specifically, the authors examine the moderating effect on the relationship among neuroticism, perceived stress and depression.

Response. Thank you for this careful observation.

Initially, the project provided two options for the respondent to complete the questionnaires, paper or online forms. However, after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the researchers decided to cancel the paper method to avoid human-to-human contact. As a result, the authors had to resubmit the protocol amendment to the ECs, which took time to approve before restarting data collection.

Response. Thank you for this comment.

We have added the missing data as follows.

All participants were Thai, and 93.3% were Buddhist.

Response. Yes, you’re right. We apologize for this mistake. We have changed “having been diagnosed or being treated for substance use disorder” to “being intoxicated”.

Response. Thank you for pointing these out.

We have identified lots of abnormal citations and corrected all of those.

Response. We have revised this part of the results.

The data were, in fact, not about the marital status but living status, which has two categories- alone and with partner. Therefore, we have revised these data for correctness.

Response. For correlational analysis, we categorized them into two groups and using point biserial correlation because it is easy for interpretation.

Response. We apologize for using the misleading statement.

We have revised the text as follows.

Observing the Five Precepts should be encouraged to practice as mindfulness meditation.

Response. We have added this section as suggested. Please see below.

In clinical implication, observing the Five Precepts may be promoted along with any form of mindfulness meditation or mindfulness-related therapy.[57-59] In addition to buffering adverse mental health outcomes, observing the Five Precepts has been shown to be associated with well-being.[60] Therefore, it should be promoted even among the general population and those who have yet to experience stress. Researchers should carry out the practice of the Five Precepts further in the future. For example, research concerning an association between observing the Five Precepts and other positive strengths, such as resilience, grit, perseverance, and patience, should be examined, in addition to adverse mental health outcomes.

However, although Five Precepts can be viewed as healthy behaviours to be fostered for oneself and others, some, especially non-Buddhists, may find it uncomfortable when considering it as culture or religion related. Therefore, mental health professionals may adopt a careful approach emphasizing “behaviours” rather than religious matters, the same way mindfulness meditation is recognized. Such an approach may make it more acceptable and open to practice and further research.

________________________________________

Thank you again for your consideration of our revised manuscript. Hopefully, we can sufficiently address all the concerns. We are looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Best Regards,

Submitted filename: Response to reviewers.docx

Decision Letter 1

26 Oct 2022

PONE-D-22-01483R1

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Tibetan Buddhism: Main

Khenpo Sherab Sangpo, The Heart of Tibetan Buddhism: Advice for Life, Death, and Enlightenment (2024)

Khenpo Sodargye, Tibetan Buddhism: A Guide to Contemplation, Meditation, and Transforming Your Mind, trans. Wisdom and Compassion Translation Group (2024)

Luigi Fieni & Kenneth Parker, Tibetan Mustang: A Cultural Renaissance (2023)

Bruce Newman, A Beginner's Guide to Tibetan Buddhism: Practice, Community, and Progress on the Path, rev. ed. (2022)

Barbara Demick, Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town (2021)

Holly Gayley (ed.), Voices from Larung Gar: Shaping Tibetan Buddhism for the Twenty-First Century (2021)

John Powers & David Templeman (eds.), Historical Dictionary of Tibet, 2nd ed. (2020)

Marya Waifoon Schwabe, Road to Freedom. A Journey from Occupied Tibet: The True Story of the Search, Discovery, and Escape of a Reincarnate Lama (2020)

Douglas S. Duckworth, Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy of Mind and Nature (2019)

Melvyn C. Goldstein, A History of Modern Tibet, Volume 4: In the Eye of the Storm, 1957-1959 (2019)

Gillian G. Tan, In the Circle of White Stones: Moving Through Seasons with Nomads of Eastern Tibet (2016)

Karl E. Ryavec, An Historical Atlas of Tibet (2015)

Giuseppe Tucci, The Religions of Tibet, trans. Geoffrey Samuel (2014)

José Ignacio Cabezón, The Buddha's Doctrine and the Nine Vehicles: Rog Bande Sherab's Lamp of the Teachings (2013)

Franz-Karl Ehrhard, Buddhism in Tibet and the Himalayas: Texts and Traditions (2013)

Melvyn C. Goldstein, A History of Modern Tibet, Volume 3: The Storm Clouds Descend, 1955-1957 (2013)

Matthew T. Kapstein, Tibetan Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction (2013)

Sam van Schaik, Tibet: A History (2013)

Joan Halifax, Seeing Inside: Photographs (2012)

Geoffrey Samuel, Introducing Tibetan Buddhism (2012)

David Snellgrove, Himalayan Pilgrimage: A Study of Tibetan Religion by a Traveller Through Western Nepal (2012)

Sangharakshita, Tibetan Buddhism: An Introduction (2010)

John Powers, A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism (2008)

Andy Karr, Contemplating Reality: A Practitioner's Guide to the View in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism (2007)

John Powers, Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism (2007)

Ian Baker, The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet's Lost Paradise (2006)

Matthew T. Kapstein, The Tibetans (2006)

Sheila Rock, Sera: The Way of the Tibetan Monk (2005)

Geoff H. Childs, Tibetan Diary: From Birth to Death and Beyond in a Himalayan Valley of Nepal (2004)

Don Farber, Tibetan Buddhist Life (2003)

W.Y. Evans-Wentz, Tibetan Yoga and its Secret Doctrines: Attaining Right Knowledge (2003)

B. Alan Wallace et al, Buddhism with an Attitude: The Tibetan Seven-Point Mind Training (2003)

B. Alan Wallace, Choosing Reality: A Buddhist View of Physics and the Mind (2003)

Reginald A. Ray, Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism (2002)

Charles Bell, The Religion of Tibet (2000)

Rebecca McClen Novick, Fundamentals of Tibetan Buddhism (1999)

Eva M. Dargyay, The Rise of Esoteric Buddhism in Tibet (1998)

Robert Thurman, Inside Tibetan Buddhism: Rituals and Symbols Revealed (1995)

John Crook & Henry Osmaston (eds.), Himalayan Buddhist Villages: Environment, Resources, Society and Religion Life in Zagskar, Ladakh (1994)

Geoffrey Samuel, Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies (1993)

Melvyn C. Goldstein, A History of Modern Tibet, Volume 1: The Demise of the Lamaist State, 1913-1951 (1991)

Geshe Lhundup Sopa, Cutting Through Appearances: The Practice and Theory of Tibetan Buddhism, ed. & trans. Jeffrey Hopkins (1989)

Stephen batchelor (ed.), the jewel in the lotus: a guide to the buddhist traditions of tibet (1987).

Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, An Introduction to Buddhist Esoterism (1980)

R.A. Stein, Tibetan Civilization (1972)

Herbert V. Guenther, Treasures on the Tibetan Middle Way (1971)

Kshanika Saha, Buddhism and Buddhist Literature in Central Asia (1970)

David Snellgrove & Hugh Richardson, A Cultural History of Tibet (1968)

Robert B. Ekvall, Religious Observances in Tibet: Patterns and Function (1964)

Helmut Hoffmann, The Religions of Tibet (1961)

L. Austine Waddell, The Buddhism of Tibet: or, Lamaism, 2nd ed. (1958)

Aurel Stein, Serindia: A Detailed Report of Explorations in Central Asia and Westernmost China, 5 vols. (1921)

This book is the ideal starting point for students wishing to undertake a comprehensive study of Tibetan religion. This lively introduction covers the whole spectrum of Tibetan religious history, from early figures and the development of the old and new schools of Buddhism to the spread and influence of Tibetan Buddhism throughout the world. Geoffrey Samuel covers the key schools and traditions, as well as Bon, and bodies of textual material, including the writings of major lamas. He explores aspects such as the path to liberation through Sutra and Tantra teachings, philosophy, ethics, ritual, and issues of gender and national identity. Illustrated throughout, the book includes a chronology, glossary, pronunciation guide, summaries, discussion questions and recommendations for further reading to aid students' understanding and revision.

In this rich and deeply personal account of life in the highlands of Nepal, Childs chronicles the daily existence of a range of people, from venerated lamas to humble householders. Offering insights into the complex dynamics of the ethnically Tibetan enclave of Nubri, Childs provides a vivid and compelling portrait of the ebb and flow of life and death, of communal harmony and discord, and of personal conflicts and social resolutions. Part ethnography, part travelogue, and part biography, this is a one-of-a-kind book that conveys the tangled intricacies of a Tibetan society. The immensely readable and informative narrative incorporates contemporary observations as well as vignettes culled from first-person testaments including oral histories and autobiographies. Examining the tensions between cultural ideals and individual aspirations, he explores certain junctures in the course of life: for example, how the desire to attain religious knowledge or to secure a caretaker in old age contrasts with social expectations and familial obligation. The result is a vivid and unparalleled view of the quest for both spiritual meaning and mundane survival.

This book examines the nature and evolution of religion in Tibetan societies from the ninth century up to the Chinese occupation in 1950. Geoffrey Samuel argues that religion in these societies developed as a dynamic amalgam of strands of Indian Buddhism and the indigenous spirit-cults of Tibet. Samuel stresses the diversity of Tibetan societies, demonstrating that central Tibet, the Dalai Lama's government at Lhasa, and the great monastic institutions around Lhasa formed only a part of the context within which Tibetan Buddhism matured. Samuel identifies the two main orientations of this religion as clerical (primarily monastic) and shamanic (associated with Tantric yoga). The specific form that Buddhism has taken in Tibet is rooted in the pursuit of enlightenment by a minority of the people - lamas, monks, and yogins - and the desire for shamanic services (in quest of health, long life, and prosperity) by the majority. Shamanic traditions of achieving altered states of consciousness have been incorporated into Tantric Buddhism, which aims to communicate with Tantric deities through yoga. The author contends that this incorporation forms the basis for much of the Tibetan lamas' role in their society and that their subtle scholarship reflects the many ways in which they have reconciled the shamanic and clerical orientations. This book, the first full account of Tibetan Buddhism in two decades, ranges as no other study has over several disciplines and languages, incorporating historical and anthropological discussion. Viewing Tibetan Buddhism as one of the great spiritual and psychological achievements of humanity, Samuel analyzes a complex society that combines the literacy and rationality associated with centralized states with the shamanic processes more familiar among tribal peoples.

This book presents the practice and theory of Tibetan Buddhism. First is a meditation manual written by the Fourth Panchen Lama (1781–1852), based on Tsongkhapa's Three Principal Aspects of the Path, which covers the daily practice of Tibetan monks and yogis. It details how to properly conduct a meditation session that contains the entire scope of the Buddhist path. Next is the Presentation of Tenets, written by Gon-chok-jik-may-wang-bo. It covers Indian Buddhist schools, as viewed in Tibet, and provides a solid introduction to the Buddhist theory animating the practice. Topics include the two truths, consciousness, hindrances to enlightenment, paths to freedom, and fruits of practice.

Scholarly Perspectives on Tibet

Lewis Doney (ed.), Bringing Buddhism to Tibet: History and Narrative in the Dba' bzhed Manuscript (2021)

Dominique Townsend, A Buddhist Sensibility: Aesthetic Education at Tibet`s Mindröling Monastery (2021)

Douglas S. Duckworth, J. Abraham Vélez de Cea, & Elizabeth J. Harris (eds.), Buddhist Responses to Religious Diversity: Theravada and Tibetan Perspectives (2020)

Sara E. Lewis, Spacious Minds: Trauma and Resilience in Tibetan Buddhism (2020)

Brenton Sullivan, Building a Religious Empire: Tibetan Buddhism, Bureaucracy, and the Rise of the Gelukpa (2020)

Geoffrey Barstow (ed.), The Faults of Meat: Tibetan Buddhist Writings on Vegetarianism (2019)

Geoffrey Barstow, Food of Sinful Demons: Meat, Vegetarianism, and the Limits of Buddhism in Tibet (2019)

José I. Cabezón & Penpa Dorjee, Sera Monastery (2019)

Suchandana Chatterjee (ed.), Trans-Himalayan Buddhism: Reconnecting Spaces, Sharing Concerns (2019)

Association of Geluk Masters et al (eds.), Understanding the Case Against Shukden: The History of a Contested Tibetan Practice, trans. Gavin Kilty (2019)

Eric Huntington, Creating the Universe: Depictions of the Cosmos in Himalayan Buddhism (2019)

Michael R. Sheehy & Klaus-Dieter Mathes (eds.), The Other Emptiness: Rethinking the Zhentong Buddhist Discourse in Tibet (2019)

Ingo Strauch & Blain Auer (eds.), Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia (2019)

Karl Brunnhölzl, A Lullaby to Awaken the Heart: The Aspiration Prayer of Samantabhadra and its Tibetan Commentaries (2018)

Karine Gagné, Caring for Glaciers: Land, Animals, and Humanity in the Himalayas (2018)

Eva Natanya, Open Mind: View and Meditation in the Lineage of Lerab Lingpa, trans. B. Alan Wallace (2018)

Yael Bentor & Meir Shahar (eds.), Chinese and Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism (2017)

Maho Iuchi, An Early Text on the History of Rwa Sgreng Monastery (2017)

Guy Newland, Changing Minds: Contributions to the Study of Buddhism and Tibet in Honor of Jeffrey Hopkins (2017)

Gombozhab T. Tsybikov, A Buddhist Pilgrim at the Shrines of Tibet, ed. Marybeth Sollins, trans. Paul Williams (2017)

Tsering Wangchuk, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha-Nature Treatise (2017)

Dan Smyer Yu & Jean Michaud (eds.), Trans-Himalayan Borderlands: Livelihoods, Territorialities, Modernities (2017)

Dhongthog Rinpoche, The Sakya School of Tibetan Buddhism: A History, trans. Sam van Schaik (2016)

Hildegard Diemberger et al (eds.), Tibetan Printing: Comparison, Continuities, and Change (2016)

James Duncan Gentry, Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism: The Life, Writings, and Legacy of Sokdokpa Lodrö Gyeltsen (2016)

Christopher A. Howard, Mobile Lifeworlds: An Ethnography of Tourism and Pilgrimage in the Himalayas (2016)

Donald S. Lopez, Jr., A Study of Svātantrika (2016)

Megan Adamson Sijapati & Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz (eds.), Religion and Modernity in the Himalaya (2016)

Tom J.F. Tillemans, How Do Madhayamikas Think? and Other Essays on the Buddhist Philosophy of the Middle (2016)

Elijah S. Ary, Authorized Lives: Biography and the Early Formation of Geluk Identity (2015)

Georges B.J. Dreyfus, The Svatantrika-Prasangika Distinction: What Difference Does a Difference Make?, trans. L. Sara McClintock (2015)

Yaroslav Komarovski, Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Experience (2015)

Alex McKay, Kailas Histories: Renunciate Traditions and the Construction of Himalayan Sacred Geography (2015)

Alex McKay, Pilgrimage in Tibet (2015)

Carmen Meinert (ed.), Transfer of Buddhism Across Central Asian Networks (7th to 13th Centuries) (2015)

Jim Rheingans, Tibetan Literary Genres, Texts, and Text Types: From Genre Classification to Transformation (2015)

John Whalen-Bridge, Tibet on Fire: Buddhism, Protest, and the Rhetoric of Self-Immolation (2015)

Benoy K. Behl, Northern Frontiers of Buddhism: Buddhist Heritage of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kalmykia, Tibet, China, Mongolia, and Siberia (2014)

Benjamin Bogin & Andrew Quintman, Himalayan Passages: Tibetan and Newar Studies in Honor of Hubert Declerr (2014)

Panchen Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen, The Panchen Lama's Debate Between Wisdom and the Reifying Habit, trans. Kenneth Liberman (2014)

Christopher Hatchell, Naked Seeing: The Great Perfection, The Wheel of Time, and Visionary Buddhism in Renaissance Tibet (2014)

Agnieszka Helman-Wazny, The Archaeology of Tibetan Books (2014)

Amy Holmes-Tagchungdarpa, The Social Life of Tibetan Biography: Textuality, Community, and Authority in the Lineage of Tokden Shakya Shri (2014)

Daniel Perdue, A Course in Buddhist Reasoning and Debate: An Asian Approach to Analytical Thinking Drawn from Indian and Tibetan Sources (2014)

Kurtis R. Schaeffer, The Culture of the Book in Tibet (2014)

Tom J. F. Tillemans, Scripture, Logic, Language: Essays on Dharmakirti and His Tibetan Successors (2014)

David Zurick, Land of Pure Vision: The Sacred Geography of Tibet and the Himalaya (2014)

Sampildondov Chuluun & Uradyn E. Bulag (eds.), The Thirteenth Dalai Lama on the Run (1904-1906) (2013)

Yangdon Dhondup et al (eds.), Monastic and Lay Traditions in North-Eastern Tibet (2013)

Thomas H. Doctor, Reason and Experience in Tibetan Buddhism: Mabja Jangchub Tsöndrü and the Traditions of the Middle Way (2013)

Matthew Kapstein, Reason's Traces: Identity and Interpretation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Thought (2013)

Saul Mullard (ed.), Critical Readings on the History of Tibetan Foreign Relations, 4 vols. (2013)

Glenn H. Mullin, The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation (2013)

Gray Tuttle & Kurtis R. Schaeffer (eds.), The Tibetan History Reader (2013)

Katia Buffetrille (ed.), Revisiting Rituals in a Changing Tibetan World (2012)

Dudjom Rinpoche et al (eds.), The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History (2012)

James Duerlinger, The Refutation of the Self in Indian Buddhism: Candrakirti on the Selflessness of Persons (2012)

Georgios T. Halkias, Luminous Bliss: A Religious History of Pure Land Literature in Tibet, ed. Richard K. Payne (2012)

Clare E. Harris, The Museum on the Roof of the World: Art, Politics, and the Representation of Tibet (2012)

Pashaura Singh & Michael Hawley (eds.), Re-Imagining South Asian Religions: Essays in Honour of Professors Harold G. Coward and Ronald W. Neufeldt (2012)

Carl Yamamoto, Vision and Violence: Lama Zhang and the Politics of Charisma in Twelfth-Century Tibet (2012)

Bryan J. Cuevas & Jacqueline I. Stone (eds.), The Buddhist Dead: Practices, Discourses, Representations (2011)

Jacob P. Dalton, The Taming of the Demons: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism (2011)

Sheldon Pollock (ed.), Forms of Knowledge in Early Modern Asia: Explorations in the Intellectual History of India and Tibet, 1500-1800 (2011)

Sam van Schaik & Imre Galambos, Manuscripts and Travelers: The Sino-Tibetan Documents of a Tenth-Century Buddhist Pilgrim (2011)

Tulku Thondup, Incarnation: The History and Mysticism of the Tulku Tradition of Tibet (2011)

Alexander Berzin, Wise Teacher, Wise Student: Tibetan Approaches to a Healthy Relationship (2010)

J. H. Brennan, Magic and Mysticism in Tibet (2010)

Margaret Gouin, Tibetan Rituals of Death: Buddhist Funerary Practices (2010)

Anne C. Klein, Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse: A Story of Transmission (2010)

Thea Mohr & Jampa Tsedroen (eds.), Dignity and Discipline: Reviewing Full Ordination for Buddhist Nuns (2010)

Alexander Norman, The Secret Lives of the Dalai Lama (2010)

Tsepon Wangchuck Deden Shakabpa, One Hundred Thousand Moons: An Advanced Political History of Tibet trans. Derek F. Maher (2010)

Rolf A. Stein, Rolf Stein's Tibetica Antiqua: With Additional Materials ed. Arthur P. McKeown (2010)

José Ignacio Cabezón, Tibetan Ritual (2009)

Glenn H. Mullin, Living in the Face of Death: The Tibetan Tradition (2009)

Guy Newland, Appearance and Reality: The Two Truths in Four Buddhist Systems (2009)

Craig Preston, Buddhist Tenets: Based on Jay-dzün Chö-gyi-gyel-tsen's Presentation of Tenets (2009)

Katherine Rogers, Tibetan Logic (2009)

Kevin A. Vose, Resurrecting Candrakirti: Disputes in the Tibetan Creation of the Prasangika (2009)

Michael L. Walter, Buddhism and Empire: The Political and Religious Culture of Early Tibet (2009)

Leah Zahler, Study and Practice of Meditation: Tibetan Interpretations of the Concentrations and Formless Absorptions (2009)

Sienna Craig, Horses Like Lightning: A Story of Passage Through the Himalayas (2008)

Bryan J. Cuevas, Travels in the Netherworld: Buddhist Popular Narratives of Death and the Afterlife in Tibet (2008)

Erik D. Curren, Buddha's Not Smiling: Uncovering Corruption at the Heart of Tibetan Buddhism Today (2008)

Frances Mary Garrett, Religion, Medicine and the Human Embryo in Tibet (2008)

Toni Huber, The Holy Land Reborn: Pilgrimage and the Tibetan Reinvention of Buddhist India (2008)

Angela Sumegi, Dreamworlds of Shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism: The Third Place (2008)

Uradyn E. Bulag & Hildegard Diemberger (eds.), The Mongolia-Tibet Interface: Opening New Research Terrains in Inner Asia (2007)

José Ignacio Cabezón & Geshe Lobsang Dargyay (eds.), Freedom from Extremes: Gorampa's "Distinguishing the Views" and the Polemics of Emptiness (2007)

Hildegard Diemberger, When a Woman Becomes a Religious Dynasty: The Samding Dorje Phagmo of Tibet (2007)

Matthew Kapstein & Brandon Dotson (eds.), Contributions to the Cultural History of Early Tibet (2007)

Traleg Kyabgon, The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion Through Training the Mind (2007)

Fernanda Pirie, Peace and Conflict in Ladakh: The Construction of a Fragile Web of Order (2007)

Peter Alan Roberts, The Biographies of Rechungpa: The Evolution of a Tibetan Hagiography (2007)

Bryan J. Cuevas & Kurtis R. Schaeffer (eds.), Power, Politics, and the Reinvention of Tradition: Tibet in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (2006)

Glenn H. Mullin, The Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa (2006)

John B. Buescher, Echoes from an Empty Sky: The Origins of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Two Truths (2005)

Andreas Doctor, Tibetan Treasure Literature: Revelation, Tradition, and Accomplishment in Visionary Buddhism (2005)

Randall Studstill, The Unity of Mystical Traditions: The Transformation of Consciousness in Tibetan and German Mysticism (2005)

James Blumenthal, The Ornament of the Middle Way: A Study of the Madhyamaka Thought of Santaraksita (2004)

Karl Brunnhölzl, The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyü Tradition (2004)

Matthew T. Kapstein (ed.), The Presence of Light: Divine Radiance and Religious Experience (2004)

Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol, Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat, trans. Padmakara Translation Group (2004)

Victoria Sujata, Tibetan Songs of Realization: Echoes from a Seventeenth-Century Scholar and Siddha in Amdo (2004)

Vessantara, The Vajra and Bell (2004)

Alexandre Andreyev, Soviet Russia and Tibet: The Debacle of Secret Diplomacy, 1918-1930s (2003)

Jeffrey Hopkins, Maps of the Profound: Jam-yang-shay-ba's Great Exposition of Buddhist and Non-Buddhist Views on the Nature of Reality (2003)

June Campbell, Traveller in Space: Gender, Identity and Tibetan Buddhism, rev. ed. (2002)

Philippe Cornu, Tibetan Astrology (2002)

Helmut Eimer & David Germano (eds.), The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism (2002)

Elizabeth C. English, Vajrayogini: A Study of Her Visualizations, Rituals, and Forms (2002)

Rebecca Redwood French, The Golden Yoke: The Legal Cosmology of Buddhist Tibet (2002)

Ellen Pearlman, Tibetan Sacred Dance: A Journey into the Religious and Folk Traditions (2002)

Alexander Studholme, The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum: A Study of Karandavyuha Sutra (2002)

Glenn Wallis, Mediating the Power of Buddhas: Ritual in the Mañjusrīmulakalpa (2002)

Richard J. Davidson & Anne Harrington (eds.), Visions of Compassion: Western Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature (2001)

Richard J. Kohn, Lord of the Dance: The Mani Rimdu Festival in Tibet and Nepal (2001)

Per Kvaerne, The Bon Religion of Tibet: The Iconography of a Living Tradition (2001)

Dan Martin, Unearthing Bon Treasures: Life and Contested Legacy of a Tibetan Scripture Revealer, with a General Bibliography of Bon (2001)

Matthew T. Kapstein, The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism: Conversion, Contestation, and Memory (2000)

Lorne Ladner (ed.), The Wheel of Great Compassion: The Practice of the Prayer Wheel in Tibetan Buddhism (2000)

William A. Magee, The Nature of Things: Emptiness and Essence in the Geluk World (2000)

Brook Ziporyn, Evil and/or/as the Good: Omnicentrism, Intersubjectivity, and Value Paradox in Tibetan Buddhist Thought (2000)

Pieter C. Verhagen, A History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet, Volume 1: Transmission of the Canonical Literature (1993/2000)

Pieter C. Verhagen, A History of Sanskrit Grammatical Literature in Tibet, Volume 2: Assimilation into Indigenous Scholarship (1993/2000)

Stephen G. Beyer (ed.), Magic and Ritual in Tibet (1999)

Herbert V. Guenther, Meditation Differently: Phenomenological-Psychological Aspects of Tibetan Buddhist Practices from Original Tibetan Sources (1999)

Toni Huber, The Cult of Pure Crystal Mountain: Popular Pilgrimage and Visionary Landscape in Southeast Tibet (1999)

Daniel Cozort, Unique Tenets of the Middle Way Consequence School (1998)

Melvyn C. Goldstein & Matthew T. Kapstein (eds.), Buddhism in Contemporary Tibet: Religious Revival and Cultural Identity (1998)

Cornelle Jest, Tales of the Turquoise: A Pilgrimage in Dolpo, trans. Margaret Stein (1998)

Lati Rinbochay & Denma Locho Rinbochay, Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism: The Concentrations and Formless Absorptions, ed. Leah Zahler, trans. Jeffrey Hopkins (1998)

B. Alan Wallace, The Bridge of Quiescence: Experiencing Tibetan Buddhist Meditation (1998)

John Crook & James Low, The Yogins of Ladakh: A Pilgrimage Among the Hermits of the Buddhist Himalayas (1997)

John Makransky, Buddhahood Embodied: Sources of Controversy in India and Tibet (1997)

Paul Williams, The Reflexive Nature of Awareness: A Tibetan Madhyamaka Defence (1997)

René de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles and Demons of Tibet: The Cult and Iconography of the Tibetan Protective Deities (1996)

Jeffrey Hopkins, Emptiness Yoga: The Tibetan Middle Way, ed. Joe B. Wilson (1995)

Ernest Steinkellner & Helmut Tauscher (eds.), Contributions on Tibetan and Buddhist Religion and Philosophy: Contributions on Tibetan Language, History, and Culture, Volume 2 (1995)

José Ignacio Cabezón, Buddhism and Language: A Study of Indo-Tibetan Scholasticism (1994)

Herbert V. Guenther, Wholeness Lost and Wholeness Regained: Forgotten Tales of Individuation from Ancient Tibet (1994)

Anne Carolyn Klein (ed.), Path to the Middle: Oral Madhyamika Philosophy in Tibet (1994)

Christopher I. Beckwith, The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power etc. (1993)

Steven D. Goodman & Ronald M. Davidson (eds.), Tibetan Buddhism: Reason and Revelation (1992)

Janet Gyatso (ed.), In the Mirror of Memory: Reflections on Mindfulness and Remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism (1992)

Guy Newland, The Two Truths: in the Madhyamika Philosophy of the Ge-luk-ba Order of Tibetan Buddhism (1992)

Daniel E. Perdue, Debate in Tibetan Buddhism, (1992)

Anagarika Govinda, Insights of a Himalayan Pilgrim, ed. Sylvia Gretchen (1991)

Dorje Yudon Yuthok, House of the Turquoise Roof, ed. & trans. Michael Harlin (1990)

Tibetan Buddhism teaches compassion toward all beings, a category that explicitly includes animals. Slaughtering animals is morally problematic at best and, at worst, completely incompatible with a religious lifestyle. Yet historically most Tibetans―both monastic and lay―have made meat a regular part of their diet. In this study of the place of vegetarianism within Tibetan religiosity, Geoffrey Barstow explores the tension between Buddhist ethics and Tibetan cultural norms to offer a novel perspective on the spiritual and social dimensions of meat eating. This book shows the centrality of vegetarianism to the cultural history of Tibet through specific ways in which nonreligious norms and ideals shaped religious beliefs and practices. Barstow offers a detailed analysis of the debates over meat eating and vegetarianism, from the first references to such a diet in the tenth century through the Chinese invasion in the 1950s. He discusses elements of Tibetan Buddhist thought―including monastic vows, the Buddhist call to compassion, and tantric antinomianism―that see meat eating as morally problematic. He then looks beyond religious attitudes to examine the cultural, economic, and environmental factors that oppose the Buddhist critique of meat, including Tibetan concepts of medicine and health, food scarcity, the display of wealth, and idealized male gender roles. Barstow argues that the issue of meat eating was influenced by a complex interplay of factors, with religious perspectives largely supporting vegetarianism while practical concerns and secular ideals pulled in the other direction. He concludes by addressing the surge in vegetarianism in contemporary Tibet in light of evolving notions of Tibetan identity and resistance against the central Chinese state.

This book offers an extensive presentation of Svatantrika Madhyamika that analyzes debates central to Indian philosophy during the final development of Buddhist thought in India. Written by one of the leading scholars of Buddhism, it presents one of the most influential philosophical schools of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, sometimes called the Autonomous School. For historical reasons, this school's voice was muted, but its impact on the articulation of Buddhist views throughout the South Asian Buddhist world cannot be overestimated.

In this book, Elijah Ary, former Geluk monk, recognized tulku, and Harvard-trained scholar, looks at various commonly accepted conceptions of Tsongkhapa's biography. He demonstrates how these conceptions evolved in the decades after his death. This is the first work devoted to early Geluk history and to the role of biographies in shifting established lineages. As the dominant tradition of Tibetan Buddhism that provides the intellectual backdrop for the Dalai Lama's teachings, the Geluk lineage traces its origins to the figure of Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa (1357-1419). Gelukpas today believe Tsongkhapa is a manifestation of the bodhisattva Manjushri and revere him with his two heart disciples, Gyaltsap and Khedrup. But as Elijah Ary, a former Geluk monk and Harvard-trained scholar, points out, both of these conceptions of Tsongkhapa arose many decades after his death. Delving into the early Geluk biographical tradition, Ary follows the tracks of this evolution in the biographies of Tsongkhapa, Khedrup, and the influential early Geluk writer and reformer Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen.

Buddhism is in many ways a visual tradition, with its well-known practices of visualization, its visual arts, its epistemological writings that discuss the act of seeing, and its literature filled with images and metaphors of light. Some Buddhist traditions are also visionary, advocating practices by which meditators seek visions that arise before their eyes. This book investigates such practices in the context of two major esoteric traditions, the Wheel of Time (Kalacakra) and the Great Perfection (Dzogchen). Both of these experimented with sensory deprivation, and developed yogas involving long periods of dwelling in dark rooms or gazing at the open sky. These produced unusual experiences of seeing, which were used to pursue some of the classic Buddhist questions about appearances, emptiness, and the nature of reality. Along the way, these practices gave rise to provocative ideas and suggested that, rather than being apprehended through internal insight, religious truths might also be seen in the exterior world-realized through the gateway of the eyes. Christopher Hatchell presents the intellectual and literary histories of these practices, and also explores the meditative techniques and physiology that underlie their distinctive visionary experiences. The book also offers for the first time complete English translations of three major Tibetan texts on visionary practice.

In this book, Mullin vividly brings to life the myth and succession of all fourteen Dalai Lamas in one volume for the first time. The book contains a chapter on each Dalai Lama; Mullin has also included characteristic excerpts from the Dalai Lamas' teachings, poetry, and other writings that illuminate the principles of Tibetan Buddhism expressed in their lives. The 14th Dalai Lama, spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetans in exile, is well-known, but the 600-year tradition to which he is heir is less familiar. From the birth of the first Dalai Lama in a cowshed in 1391, each subsequent Dalai Lama has been the reincarnation of his predecessor, choosing to take up the burdens of a human life for the benefit of the Tibetan people. For almost six centuries, the Dalai Lamas have served as the Tibetans' spiritual leader and have held secular power for almost half that time. All the Dalai Lamas are revered as incarnations of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist deity of compassion, but each has been a unique individual with different abilities and temperaments. Over the ages, various Dalai Lamas have been poets, statesmen, builders, philosophers; most have been disciplined monastics, but one was a lover of women. The potential of some was tragically lost when their lives were cut short, possibly the victims of political intrigue, while others lived long enough to shape entire eras of Tibetan history.

This book examines mythic and ritual themes of violence, demon taming, and blood sacrifice in Tibetan Buddhism. Taking as its starting point Tibet’s so-called age of fragmentation (842 to 986 C.E.), the book draws on previously unstudied manuscripts discovered in the “library cave” near Dunhuang, on the old Silk Road. These ancient documents, it argues, demonstrate how this purportedly inactive period in Tibetan history was in fact crucial to the Tibetan assimilation of Buddhism, and particularly to the spread of violent themes from tantric Buddhism into Tibet at the local and the popular levels. Having shed light on this “dark age” of Tibetan history, the second half of the book turns to how, from the late tenth century onward, the period came to play a vital symbolic role in Tibet, as a violent historical “other” against which the Tibetan Buddhist tradition defined itself.

Tibetan Primary Texts in English Translation

Anne Carolyn Klein (trans.), Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse: Foundational Practices and the Transmission of the Longchen Nyingthig (2020)

Jigme Lingpa, Yeshe Lama: Vidyadhara Jigmed Lingpa, trans. Lama Chonam & Sangye Khandro (2020)

Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo, The Extremely Secret Dakini of Naropa: Vajrayogini Practice and Commentary, trans. David Gonsalez (2020)

Jan-Ulrich Sobisch (trans.), The Buddha's Single Intention: Drigung Kyobpa Jikten Sumgön’s Vajra Statements of the Early Kagyü Tradition (2020)

Khenchen Thrangu, A Harmony of Views: Three Songs by Ju Mipham, Changkya Rolpay Dorje, and Chögyam Trungpa (2020)

Asaṅga, A Compendium of the Mahāyāna Asaṅga's Mahāyānasaṃgraha and its Indian and Tibetan Commentaries, 3 vols., trans. Karl Brunnhölzl (2019)

Changkya Rölpai Dorjé, Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru: A Presentation of Classical Indian Philosophy, trans. Donald S. Lopez, Jr. (2019)

Wangchuk Dorje, The Karmapa's Middle Way: Feast for the Fortunate, trans. Tyler Dewar (2019)

Gyumé Khensur Lobsang Jampa, Guhyasamāja Practice in the Ārya Nāgārjuna System, Volume 1: The Generation Stage, trans. Artemus B. Engle (2019)

Chim Jampalyang, Ornament of Abhidharma: A Commentary on Vasubandhu's Abhidharmakośa, trans. Ian James Coghlan (2019)

Thupten Jinpa (ed.), Tales from the Tibetan Operas, trans. Gavin Kilty (2019)

Shabkar Tsogdruk Rangdrol, The Emanated Scripture of Manjushri: Shabkar's Essential Meditation Instructions (2019)

Künzang Sönam, The Profound Reality of Interdependence: An Overview of the Wisdom Chapter of the Way of the Bodhisattva, trans. Douglas S. Duckworth (2019)

Asanga, Maitreyanatha, & Jamgon Mipham, A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle: An Explanation of the Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras \ Maitreya's Mahāyānasūtrālaṅkāra, trans. Padmakara Translation Group (2018)

Thupten Jinpa (ed.), The Tibetan Book of Everyday Wisdom: A Thousand Years of Sage Advice, trans. Beth Newman (2018)

Arya Maitreya, Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra with Commentary, trans. Rosemarie Fuchs (2018)

Gampopa, Ornament of Precious Liberation, ed. Thupten Jinpa, trans. Ken Holmes (2017)

Rongtön Sheja Künrig, Adorning Maitreya's Intent: Arriving at the View of Nonduality, trans. Christian Bernert (2017)

Patrul Rinpoche, The Essential Jewel of Holy Practice, ed. & trans. Jay L. Garfield & W. Emily McRae (2017)

Jigmé Lingpa et al, The Gathering of Vidyadharas: Text and Commentaries on the Rigdzin Dupa, trans. Guillaume Avertin (2017)

Geshe Lhundup Sopa & Roger R. Jackson (eds. & trans.), The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems: A Tibetan Study of Asian Religious Thought (2017)

Asanga, The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment: A Complete Translation of the Bodhisattvabhumi, trans. Artemus B. Engle (2016)

George N. Roerich (ed. & trans.), The Blue Annals (2016)

Vimalamitra, Buddhahood in This Life: The Great Commentary by Vimalamitra, ed. Michael Tweed & Osa Karen Manell, trans. Malcolm Smith (2016)

Sam van Schaik, The Spirit of Tibetan Buddhism (2016)

Karl Brunnhölzl (trans.), When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge Between Sutra and Tantra (2015)

Dolpa, Gampopa, and Sakya Pandita, The Stages of the Buddha's Teachings: Three Key Texts, trans. by Ulrike Roesler et al (2015)

Peter Alan Roberts (trans.), The Mind of Mahamudra: Advice from the Kagyü Masters, ed. Thupten Jinpa (2015)

Karl Brunnhölzl (trans.), Straight from the Heart: Buddhist Pith Instructions (2014)

Rangjung Dorje, The Profound Inner Principles, trans. Elizabeth M. Callahan (2014)

Thupten Jinpa (trans.), Mind Training: The Great Collection (2014)

Thupten Jinpa & Jas Elsner (ed. & trans.), Songs of Spiritual Experience: Tibetan Buddhist Poems of Insight and Awakening (2014)

Maitreya, Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sutras: Maitreya's Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra with commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham, trans. Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2014)

Acarya Nagarjuna & King Gautamiputra, The Tibetan Corpse Stories, trans. Ryoshun Kajihama (2014)

Cyrus Stearns (ed. & trans.), Taking the Result As the Path: Core Teachings of the Sakya Lamdre Tradition (2014)

Butön Rinchen Drup, Butön's History of Buddhism in India and Its Spread to Tibet: A Treasury of Priceless Scripture, trans. Lisa Stein & Ngawang Zangpo (2013)

Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen, Opening the Treasure of the Profound: Teachings on the Songs of Jigten Sumgön and Milarepa, ed. Khenmo Trinlay Chodron (2013)

Thupten Jinpa (trans.), Wisdom of the Kadam Masters (2013)

Sera Khandro, Refining Our Perception of Reality: Sera Khandro's Commentary on Dudjom Lingpa's Account of His Visionary Journey, trans. Ngawang Zangpo & Christina Monson (2013)

Maitreya, Distinguishing Phenomena from Their Intrinsic Nature: Maitreya's Dharmadharmatāvibhanga, ed. Khenpo Shenga & Ju Mipham, trans. Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2013)

Maitreya, Mining for Wisdom Within Delusion: Maitreya's Distinction Between Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena and its Indian and Tibetan Commentaries, trans. Karl Brunnhölzl (2013)

Kurtis R. Schaeffer et al (eds.), Sources of Tibetan Tradition (2013)

Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo, Establishing Appearances As Divine: Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo on Reasoning, Madhyamaka, and Purity, ed. & trans. Heidi I. Koppl (2013)

Jigme Lingpa, Treasury of Precious Qualities, Book Two: Vajrayana and the Great Perfection, trans. Longchen Yeshe Dorje & Kangyur Rinpoche (2013)

Khenpo Ngawang Palzang, Wondrous Dance of Illusion: The Autobiography of Khenpo Ngawang Palzang, ed. Gyurme Dorje (2013)

Gampopa, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation: The Wish-Fulfilling Gem of the Noble Teachings, ed. & trans. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (2013)

Karl Brunnhölzl (ed. & trans.), Gone Beyond, Volume Two: The Prajñāpāramitā Sutras, The Ornament of Clear Realization, and Its Commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyü Tradition (2012)

Khenchen Thrangu, Pointing Out the Dharmakaya (2012)

Tsongkhapa et al, Groundless Paths: The Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, the Ornament of Clear Realization, and Its Commentaries in the Tibetan Nyingma Tradition, trans. Karl Brunnhölzl (2012)

Karl Brunnhölzl (ed. & trans.), Gone Beyond, Volume One: The Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, the Ornament of Clear Realization, and Its Commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyü Tradition (2011)

Shechen Gyaltsap IV & Rinchen Dargye, A Practice of Padmasambhava: Essential Instructions on the Path to Awakening, trans. Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2011)

Mipham Jamyang Namgyal Gyatso, The Middle Way: A Commentary on Santaraksita's Madhyamakalamkara, trans. Thomas H. Doctor (2011)

Thupten Jinpa (trans.), Essential Mind Training: Tibetan Wisdom for Daily Life (2011)

Khen Rinpoche Namdrol et al (trans.), The Guhyagarbha Tantra: Secret Essence Definitive Nature Just As It Is, (2011)

Peter Alan Roberts (ed. & trans.), Mahamudra and Related Instructions: Core Teachings of the Kagyü Schools (2011)

Mabja Jangchub Tsondru, Ornament of Reason: The Great Commentary to Nagarjuna's Root of the Middle Way, trans. Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2011)

Kenchen Thrangu, Everyday Consciousness and Primordial Awareness, ed. & trans. Susanne Schefczyk (2011)

Khenchen Thrangu, The Ninth Karmapa's Ocean of Definitive Meaning, ed. Lama Tashi Namgyal (2011)

Mipham Jampal Gyepa'i Dorje, Essence of Clear Light: An Overview of the Secret Commentary Thorough Dispelling of Darkness Throughout the Ten Directions, trans. Khen Rinpoche Namdrol et al (2010)

Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso, Stars of Wisdom: Analytical Meditation, Songs of Yogic Joy, and Prayers of Aspiration, trans. Ari Goldfield & Rose Taylor (2010)

Desi Sangye Gyatso, A Mirror of Beryl: A Historical Introduction to Tibetan Medicine, trans. Gavin Kilty (2010)

Jigmé Lingpa & Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Treasury of Precious Qualities, Book One: The Rain of Joy, trans. Padmakara Translation Group (2010)

Dodrupchen Jigme Tenpa'i Nyima, Key to the Precious Treasury: A Concise Commentary on the General Meaning of the Glorious Secret Essence Tantra, trans. Khen Rinpoche Namdrol (2010)

Kunzang Pelden, The Nectar of Manjushri's Speech: A Detailed Commentary on Shantideva's Way of the Bodhisattva, trans. Padmakara Translation Group (2010)

Geshe Sonam Rinchen, The Three Principal Aspects of the Path, trans. Ruth Sonam (2010)

Shantarakshita & Jamgön Mipham, The Adornment of the Middle Way: Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara with Commentary by Jamgön Mipham, trans. Padmakara Translation Group (2010)

Taranatha, Taranatha's History of Buddhism in India, ed. & trans. Alaka Chattopadhaya & Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya (2010)

Chögyam Trungpa et al (trans.), The Rain of Wisdom: The Essence of the Ocean of True Teaching etc. (2010)

Jan Westerhoff (ed. & trans.), Twelve Examples of Illusion: Sgyu ma'i dpe bcu gñis (2010)

Dol-bo-ba Shay-rap-gyel-tsen, Mountain Doctrine: Tibet's Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha Matrix trans. Jeffrey Hopkins (2009)

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Medicine Buddha Teachings, trans. Yeshe Gyamtso & Tashi Namgyal (2009)

Vasubandhu & Sthiramati, The Inner Science of Buddhist Practice: Vasubandhu's "Summary of the Five Heaps" with Commentary by Sthiramati, trans. Artemus B. Engle (2009)

Wangchen Rinpoche, Buddhist Fasting Practice: The Nyungne Method of Thousand-Armed Chenrezig (2009)

Aryadeva, Aryadeva's Four Hundred Stanzas on the Middle Way: with Commentary by Gyel-tsap, trans. Ruth Sonam (2008)

Atiśa, The Book of Kadam: The Core Texts, trans. Thupten Jinpa (2008)

The Third Dzogchen Rinpoche, Great Perfection, Volume One: Outer and Inner Preliminaries, trans. Cortland Dahl (2008)

The Third Dzogchen Rinpoche, Great Perfection, Volume Two: Separation and Breakthrough, trans. Cortland Dahl (2008)

Tangtong Gyalpo, King of the Empty Plain: The Tibetan Iron-Bridge Builder Tangtong Gyalpo, trans. Cyrus Stearns (2007)

Vidyadhara Jigmed Lingpa, Yeshe Lama: From the Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse of the Great Perfection, A Practice Manual for the Stages of the Path of the Original Protector, trans. Lama Chonam & Sangye Khandro (2007)

Shechen Rabjam Jigme Chokyi Senge & Shechen Gyaltsap Pema Namgyal, The Great Medicine That Conquers Clinging to the Notion of Reality: Steps in Meditation on the Enlightened Mind (2007)

Khenpo Shenga & Ju Mipham, Middle Beyond Extremes: Maitreya's Madhyāntavibhāṅga with Commentaries, trans. Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2007)

Taranatha, The Essence of Other-Emptiness, ed. Lodro Namgyel, trans. Jeffrey Hopkins (2007)

Ringu Tulku, Mind Training, ed. B.M. Shaughnessy (2007)

Mikyö Dorje, The Moon of Wisdom: Chapter Six of Chandrakirti's Entering the Middle Way, trans. Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche et al (2006)

Mi-pam-gya-tso & Khetsun Sangpo Rinbochay, Fundamental Mind: The Nyingma View of the Great Completeness, trans. Jeffrey Hopkins (2006)

Victoria Huckenpahler (ed.), The Great Kagyu Masters: The Golden Lineage Treasury, trans. Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen (2006)

Khenchen Thrangu, On Buddha Essence: A Commentary on Rangjung Dorje's Treatise, ed. Clark Johnson, trans. Peter Alan Roberts (2006)

Chandrakirti, Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara, trans. Padmakara Translation Group (2005)

Samten G. Karmay (ed. & trans.), The Treasury of Good Sayings: A Tibetan History of Bon (2005)

Maitreyanatha, Maitreya's Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being, trans. Jim Scott (2004)

Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang, A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher (2004)

Daniel Cozort & Craig Preston, Buddhist Philosophy: Losang Gönchok's Short Commentary to Jamyang Shayba's Root Text on Tenets (2003)

Chogye Trichen Rinpoche, Parting from the Four Attachments: Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen's Song of Experience on Mind Training and the View, ed. John Deweese (2003)

Ringu Tulku, Path to Buddhahood: Teachings on Gampopa's Jewel Ornament of Liberation, ed. Briona Nic Dhiarmada et al (2003)

Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltshen, Jared Douglas Rhoton (trans.), A Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes: Essential Distinctions among the Individual Liberation, Great Vehicle, and Tantric Systems (2002)

Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub, The Three Visions: Fundamental Teachings of the Sakya Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism (2002)

Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light, ed. Michael Katz (2002)

Rig'dzin Dorje, Dangerous Friend: The Teacher-Student Relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism (2001)

Khedrup Norsang Gyatso, Ornament of Stainless Light: An Exposition of the Kālacakra Tantra, ed. Thupten Jinpa, trans. Gavin Kilty (2001)

Hildegard Diemberger & Pasang Wangdu (ed. & trans.), dBa'bzhed: The Royal Narrative Concerning the Bringing of the Buddha's Doctrine to Tibet (2000)

W.Y. Evans-Wentz (ed. & trans.), The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation: or, The Method of Realizing Nirvana Through Knowing the Mind (2000)

W.Y. Evans-Wentz (ed. & trans.), Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines: or, Seven Books of Wisdom of the Great Path (2000)

Geshe Sonam Rinchen, The Bodhisattva Vow, ed. & trans. Ruth Sonam (2000)

The Seventh Dalai Lama, Meditations to Transform the Mind, ed. & trans. Glenn H. Mullin (1999)

Glenn H. Mullin (ed. & trans.), Gems of Wisdom from the Seventh Dalai Lama (1999)

Alex Wayman (ed. & trans.), Yoga of the Guhyasamajatantra: The Arcane Lore of Forty Verses. A Buddhist Tantra Commentary (1999)

Gampopa, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation: The Wish-Fulfilling Gem of the Noble Teachings, ed. Ani K. Trinlay Chödron, trans. Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche (1998)

N. Ross Peat, The Salistamba Sutra: including the Tibetan original, Sanskrit reconstruction, English translation, and critical notes (1998)

Tenzin Wangyai Rinpoche, The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep, ed. Mark Dahlby (1998)

Alex Wayman & R. Tajima (eds. & trans.), The Enlightenment of Vairocana (1998)

Geshe Belden Drakba, Knowing, Naming, and Negation: A Sourcebook on Tibetan Sautrantika, trans. Anne Carolyn Klein (1997)

Donald S. Lopez (ed.), Religions of Tibet in Practice (1997)

Geshe Sonam Rinchen, Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, ed. & trans. Ruth Sonam (1997)

Sakyapa Sonam Gyaltsen, The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age, trans. McComas Taylor (1996)

Robert mayer, a scripture of the ancient tantra collection: the phur-pa bcu-gnyis (1996).

Khempo K. Rinpoche, The Instructions of Gampopa: A Precious Garland of the Supreme Path, ed. Laura Roth (1996)

Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Peacock in the Poison Grove: Two Buddhist Texts on Training the Mind, ed. Leonard Zwilling (1996)

Lobsang Gyatso, The Four Noble Truths, trans. Sherab Gyatso (1994)

Patrul Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher (1994)

José Ignacio Cabezón, A Dose of Emptiness: An Annotated Translation of the sTong thun chen mo of mKhas-grub dGe-legs-dpal-bzang (1992)

Gen Lamrimpa (Ven. Jampal Tenzin), Calming the Mind: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on Cultivating Meditative Quiescence, ed. Hart Sprager, trans. B. Alan Wallace (1992)

E. K. Neumaier-Dargyay, The Sovereign All-Creating Mind: The Motherly Buddha: A translation of the Kun byed rgyal po'i mdo (1992)

Martin Willson (ed. & trans.), In Praise of Tara: Songs of the Saviouress. Source Texts from India and Tibet on Buddhism's Great Goddess (1992)

Konstanty Regamey (ed. & trans.), The Bhadramayakaravyakarana: Introduction, Tibetan Text, Translation and Notes (1990)

The most lucid and penetrating survey of classical Indian philosophy in the Tibetan language, Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru by Changkya Rölpai Dorjé (1717–86) is a work of doxography, presenting the distinctive philosophical tenets of the Indian Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools in a systematic manner that ascends through increasingly more subtle views. It is a Tibetan corollary to contemporary histories of philosophy. Changkya’s work excels in particular in its treatment of the two Mahayana Buddhist schools, the Yogacara (here called the Vijñaptimatra) and the Madhyamaka. Beautiful Adornment is often praised for the clarity of its prose and its economical use of citations from Indian texts. The manageable size of Beautiful Adornment and, more importantly, its lucid literary style, made this work the classic source for the study of Indian thought, used by students the across Tibetan cultural sphere.

This book offers the Buddha's definitive teachings on how we should understand the ground of enlightenment and the nature and qualities of buddhahood. All sentient beings, without exception, have buddha nature—the inherent purity and perfection of the mind, untouched by changing mental states. Thus there is neither any reason for conceit nor self-contempt. This is obscured by veils that are removable and do not touch the inherent purity and perfection of the nature of the mind. The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra, one of the “Five Treatises” said to have been dictated to Asanga by the Bodhisattva Maitreya, clarifies the nature and qualities of buddhahood.

This book offers a vibrant philosophical and ethical poem by one of Tibet’s great spiritual masters. Patrul Rinpoche presents a complete view of the path of liberation from the perspectives of the Madhyamaka understanding of emptiness and the Mahayana ideal of compassionate care refracted through the Dzogchen perspective on experience, yielding a sophisticated philosophical approach to practice focusing on the cultivation of clear, open, luminous, empty awareness and of liberation leading to the transformation of one’s moral capacity and sensitivity.

A leading writer and researcher on Tibet, Sam van Schaik offers an accessible and authoritative introduction to Tibetan Buddhism by examining its key texts, from its origins in the eighth century to teachings practiced across the world today. In addition to demonstrating its richness and historical importance, van Schaik’s fresh translations of and introductions to each text provide a comprehensive overview of Tibetan Buddhism’s most popular teachings and concepts—including rebirth, compassion, mindfulness, tantric deities, and the graduated path—and discusses how each is put into practice. The book unfolds chronologically, conveying a sense of this thousand-year-old tradition’s progress and evolution. Under the spiritual leadership of the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism has an estimated ten to twenty million adherents worldwide. Written for those new to the topic, but also useful to seasoned Buddhist practitioners and students, this much-needed anthological introduction provides the deepest understanding of the key writings currently available.

The phrase "Kadam masters" evokes for many Tibetans a sense of a spiritual golden age--the image of a community of wise yet simple monks devoted to a life of mental cultivation. These eleventh- and twelfth-century masters were particularly famed for their pithy spiritual sayings that captured essential teachings in digestible bites. In these sayings one unmistakably detects a clear understanding of what comprises a truly happy life, one that is grounded in a deep concern for the welfare of others. Like the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Lao Tzu, or Rumi, the teachings contained in Wisdom of the Kadam Masters can be approached as a part of the wisdom heritage of mankind, representative of the long history of the long human quest to understand our existence and its meaning. This volume offers some of the most beloved teachings of the Tibetan tradition.

The Bodhicharyavatara, or Way of the Bodhisattva, composed by the eighth-century Indian master Shantideva, has occupied an important place in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition throughout its history. It is a guide to cultivating the mind of enlightenment through generating the qualities of love, compassion, generosity, and patience. In this commentary, Kunzang Pelden has compiled the pith instructions of his teacher Patrul Rinpoche, the celebrated author of The Words of My Perfect Teacher.

Classical Tibetan Language & Literature

Matthew T. Kapstein, Tibetan Manuscripts and Early Printed Books, 2 vols. (2024)

Jamgon Mipham, Gesar: Tantric Practices of the Tibetan Warrior King, ed. & trans. Gyurme Avertin (2023)

Matthew T. Kapstein & Charles Ramble (eds.), The Many Faces of King Gesar: Tibetan and Central Asian Studies in Homage to Rolf A. Stein (2022)

Jane Hawes et al (trans.), The Taming of the Demons: From the Epic of Gesar of Ling (2021)

Stefan Larsson & Kristoffer af Edholm, Songs on the Road: Wandering Religious Poets in India, Tibet, and Japan (2021)

Paul Hackett, Learning Classical Tibetan: A Reader for Translating Buddhist Texts, with Grammatical Annotations and Translations (2019)

Paul Hackett, A Tibetan Verb Lexicon, 2nd ed. (2019)

Jonathan Samuels, Colloquial Tibetan: The Complete Course for Beginners (2018)

William A. Magee & Elizabeth S. Napper, Fluent Tibetan: A Proficiency Oriented Learning System, Novice and Intermediate Levels (2016)

Robin Kornman et al (trans.), The Epic of Gesar of Ling: Gesar's Magical Birth, Early Years, and Coronation as King (2015)

Tenzin Wangmo, The Prince and the Zombie: Tibetan Tales of Karma, trans. Sherab Chödzin Kohn (2015)

Yael Bentor, A Classical Tibetan Reader: Selections from Renowned Works with Custom Glossaries (2013)

Sanje Elliott, Tibetan Calligraphy: How to Write the Alphabet and More (2012)

Yeshi Dorjee, The Three Boys: and Other Buddhist Folktales from Tibet, ed. John S. Major (2007)

Ronald M. Davidson & Christian Wedemeyer (eds.), Tibetan Buddhist Literature and Praxis: Studies in its Formative Period, 900–1400 (2006)

Craig Preston (ed. & trans.), How to Read Classical Tibetan, Volume One: Summary of the General Path. Excerpted from the Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (2005)

Nicolas Tournadre & Sangda Dorje, Manual of Standard Tibetan: Language and Civilization (2005)

Alexandra David-Néel & Lama Yongden, The Superhuman Life of Gesar of Ling, trans. Violet Sydney (2001)

Frederick & Audrey Hyde-Chambers, Tibetan Folk Tales, illus. Kusho Ralla (2001)

Andrew Bloomfield, Learning Practical Tibetan, trans. Yanki Tsering (1998)

José Ignacio Cabezón & Roger R. Jackson (eds.), Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre (1996)

Stephan V. Beyer, The Classical Tibetan Language (1992)

Joe B. Wilson, Translating Buddhism from Tibetan (1992)

This book contains the first and only English translation of the centuries-old Tibetan spiritual allegory of King Gesar, a tale on a par with The Arabian Nights or the King Arthur stories. For hundreds of years, versions of the Gesar of Ling epic have been sung by bards in Tibet, China, Central Asia, and across the eastern Silk Route. King Gesar, renowned throughout these areas, represents the ideal warrior. As a leader with his people's loyalty and trust, he conquers all their enemies and protects the peace. The example of King Gesar is also understood as a spiritual teaching. The "enemies" in the stories represent the emotional and psychological challenges that turn people toward greed, aggression, and envy and away from the true teachings of Buddhism. The epic of Gesar is the longest single piece of literature in the world canon, encompassing some 120 volumes; here the first three volumes are translated.

This book answers a long-standing need for well chosen readings to accompany courses in classical Tibetan language. Professor Bentor has built her Tibetan reader out of time-tested selections from texts that she has worked with while teaching classical Tibetan over the past twenty years. She has assembled here a selection of Tibetan narratives, organized to introduce students of the language to complex material gradually, and to arm them with ample reference materials in the form of glossaries customized to individual readings. Instructors will find this reader an invaluable tool for preparing lesson plans and providing high-quality reading material to their students. Students, too, will find the selections contained in the reader engaging. Even novice readers of Tibetan will feel welcomed and encouraged.

In this series of tales, a prince must capture and bring back to his country a zombie who is endowed with magical powers—but in order to succeed, he must keep himself from speaking even one word to the zombie. The zombie is wily, and during the long journey he recounts fascinating tales to the prince, who is carrying him in a sack on his back. Spellbound by the stories, the prince is drawn into making some comment on them. But the very moment he opens his mouth, the zombie escapes, and the prince has to go back to India to catch the zombie all over again—until the prince truly learns his lesson. These zombie stories, known as the Vetalapancavimsati in Sanskrit, are engrossing Buddhist teaching tales that originated in ancient India but have become popular in the Buddhist culture of Tibet and elsewhere.

Scholarly Perspectives on Nepal & Bhutan

Kelzang T. Tashi, World of Worldly Gods: The Persistence and Transformation of Shamanic Bon in Buddhist Bhutan (2023)

Stephanie Guyer-Stevens & Françoise Pommaret, Divine Messengers: The Untold Story of Bhutan's Female Shamans (2021)

Holly Walters, Shaligram Pilgrimage in the Nepal Himalayas (2020)

Lauren G. Leve, The Buddhist Art of Living in Nepal (2017)

Robert Desjarlais, Subject to Death: Life and Loss in a Buddhist World (2016)

Lauren Leve, Ethical Practice, Religious Reform, and the Buddhist Art of Living in Nepal: Seeing Things as They Are (2016)

Kory Goldberg & Michelle Decary, Along the Buddhist Path: The Meditator's Companion to the Sacred Sites in India and Nepal (2015)

Gregory P. Grieve, Retheorizing Religion in Nepal (2015)

Seiji Kumagai, Bhutanese Buddhism and Its Culture (2014)

Karma Phuntsho, The History of Bhutan (2014)

Richard Widdess, Dapha - Sacred Singing in a South Asian City: Music, Performance and Meaning in Bhaktapur, Nepal (2013)

David N. Gellner, Monk, Householder, and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and Its Hierarchy of Ritual (2009)

Terese Tse Bartholomew & John Johnston (eds.), The Dragon's Gift: Sacred Arts of Bhutan (2008)

C.T. Dorji, A Concise Religious History of Bhutan (2008)

Ken Haigh, Under the Holy Lake: A Memoir of Eastern Bhutan (2008)

Francis Khek Gee Lim, Imagining the Good Life: Negotiating Culture and Development in Nepal Himalaya (2008)

John A. Ardussi & Françoise Pommaret (eds.), Bhutan: Traditions and Changes (2007)

Charles Ramble, The Navel of the Demoness: Tibetan Buddhism and Civil Religion in Highland Nepal (2007)

Dilliramana Regmi, Ancient Nepal (2007)

Will Tuladhar-Douglas, Remaking Buddhism for Medieval Nepal: The Fifteenth-Century Reformation of Newar Buddhism (2006)

John Berthold, Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon (2005)

Sarah LeVine & David N. Gellner, Rebuilding Buddhism: The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal (2005)

Peter Moran, Buddhism Observed: Travellers, Exiles and Tibetan Dharma in Kathmandu (2004)

Robert R. Desjarlais, Sensory Biographies: Lives and Deaths among Nepal’s Yolmo Buddhists (2003)

Sarah Harding (trans.), The Life and Revelations of Pema Lingpa (2003)

Kathryn S. March, "If Each Comes Halfway": Meeting Tamang Women in Nepal (2002)

William F. Fisher, Fluid Boundaries: Forming and Transforming Identity in Nepal (2001)

Todd T. Lewis, Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal: Narratives and Rituals of Newar Buddhism (2000)

Robert Thurman & Tad Wise, Circling the Sacred Mountain: A Spiritual Adventure Through the Himalayas (2000)

Christian Schicklgruber & Francoise Pommaret (eds.), Bhutan: Mountain Fortress of the Gods (1997)

Joanne C. Watkins, Spirited Women: Gender, Religion and Cultural Identity in the Nepal Himalaya (1996)

Stanley R. Mumford, Himalayan Dialogue: Tibetan Lamas and Gurung Shamans in Nepal (1989)

Sherry B. Ortner, High Religion: A Cultural and Political History of Sherpa Buddhism (1989)

Michael Aris, Bhutan: The Early History of a Himalayan Kingdom (1980)

Sherry B. Ortner, The Sherpas Through Their Rituals (1978)

Rajendra Ram, A History of Buddhism in Nepal, A.D. 704-1396 (1978)

If any anthropologist living today can illuminate our dim understanding of death’s enigma, it is Robert Desjarlais. With this book, Desjarlais provides an intimate, philosophical account of death and mourning practices among Hyolmo Buddhists, an ethnically Tibetan Buddhist people from Nepal. He studies the death preparations of the Hyolmo, their specific rituals of grieving, and the practices they use to heal the psychological trauma of loss. Desjarlais’s research marks a major advance in the ethnographic study of death, dying, and grief, one with broad implications. Ethnologically nuanced, beautifully written, and twenty-five years in the making, this work is an insightful study of how fundamental aspects of human existence—identity, memory, agency, longing, bodiliness—are enacted and eventually dissolved through social and communicative practices.

This work is an engaging and thought-provoking study of Religion in South Asia, with important insights for the study of religion and culture more broadly conceived. Grieve uses ethnographic material as well as poststructuralist and postcolonialist approaches to critique and expand religious studies as a discipline. Gregory Price Grieve is Assistant Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA. He has published articles in Numen, Culture, Theory and Critique, Journal of Material Religion, and Studies in Nepalese History and Society.

In 2008, Bhutan emerged as the world's youngest democracy and crowned the world's youngest monarch. Today, it continues to enchant the rest of the world with its policy of Gross National Happiness and has become a popular travel destination. But despite its growing popularity and the rising scholarly interest in the country, Bhutan remains one of the most poorly studied places on earth. Karma Phuntsho's book combines both traditional perspectives and modern academic analysis and tells the full story of Bhutan for the first time in the English language. Primarily a historical account, it also includes substantive discussions of Bhutan's geography, culture and society to give readers an incisive introduction to the country.

Dāphā, or dāphā bhajan, is a genre of Hindu-Buddhist devotional singing, performed by male, non-professional musicians of the farmer and other castes belonging to the Newar ethnic group, in the towns and villages of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The songs, their texts, and their characteristic responsorial performance-style represent an extension of pan-South Asian traditions of rāga- and tāla -based devotional song, but at the same time embody distinctive characteristics of Newar culture. This culture is of unique importance as an urban South Asian society in which many traditional models survive into the modern age. There are few book-length studies of non-classical vocal music in South Asia, and none of dāphā. Richard Widdess describes the music and musical practices of dāphā, accounts for their historical origins and later transformations, investigates links with other South Asian traditions, and describes a cultural world in which music is an integral part of everyday social and religious life. The book focusses particularly on the musical system and structures of dāphā, but aims to integrate their analysis with that of the cultural and historical context of the music.

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Concepts of Buddhism Research Paper

Introduction, history ofbuddhism, beliefs ofbuddhists, buddhists’ ethics, works cited.

Buddhism is a religion of practice and experiences as opposed to other religions that emphasize on believing in the tenets that define them. This and many other factors have made it hard for many people to maintain their faith in this kind of religion strongly. Like any other religion in the world, Buddhism has its own set of cultural systems, beliefs and symbols, which define acceptable human practices, in terms of spirituality.

Additionally, Buddhism has some secret traditions that focus on individual spiritual development and a deeper insight of the true nature of life (British Broadcasting Corporation 1). Therefore, although Buddhism is one of the common religions, to some level it is a unique religion, because of its traditions, belief systems, and general practices.

The origins of this religion can be traced to a prince of the Sakya tribe (Nepal), Buddhain 566 BC. At the age of twenty-nine, he left the comforts of the palace and went out to seek the real meaning of life (Tambiah 121). After six years of arduous yogic training, he abandoned the way of self-mortification and sat under a bodhi tree where he hard a mindful reflection on the misery people went through(British Broadcasting Corporation1).

After this, he wentto the plains of northeastern India for an additional of forty-five more years. His mission was to teach the path of Dharma, which he hard realized during his meditation. During his travelling, he drew many followers from different communities, the Sangha of monks, and later on nuns from different societies; whereby, he made surethat all his converts devoted their lives to practicing this path (Kennedy67).

The four noble truths

During his meditations under the bodhi tree, Buddha leant the meaning of the following four noble truths; truths that he taught his followers during his forty-five years of travelling. According to Buddha, religion is a belief and faith, which should be acknowledging by accepting its beliefs. However, during his teachings, instead of just believing, he taught his followers that there was no teaching without testing. Hence, they should practice the teachings in order for them to realize the truth.

The First Noble Truth: Suffering (Dukkha)

This truth is the root of the other three truths, since it explains about life and suffering. The word Dukkha refers to anything that is in a temporary condition.In other words, it will end including the precious and enjoyable Dukkha(Tambiah 145).

According to Buddha, suffering goes beyond life; the nature of life is closely related to the nature of self and human beings are not just temporal but they are compounded to many aspects of life. Therefore, for them to understand life and death,they must first understand the self. Fortunately, Buddha’s teachings do not end there, but go ahead to explain how human beings can endany form of suffering (British Broadcasting Corporation1).

Second noble truth: The origin of suffering (Samudaya)

Buddha claimed to have found out that, the root of suffering was desire (tanha) and it hard three causes, which he called,the three roots of evil, the three fires, or the three poisons(Boeree 33). They included greed or desire, ignorance or delusion, and hatred or destructive urges. He further argued that the connecti o n between positive, negative and neutral sensation and thoughts were the cause of suffering (Tambiah183).

The Third noble truth: Cessation of suffering (Nirodha)

This involves blowing off, letting go, or just simply complete nothingness of any hatred, ignorance and desire.According to him, it is a way of letting go of the three fires (sources of suffering). He emphasized on complete avoiding of these three fires and liberating oneself from their bond (British Broadcasting Corporation1). By letting go all the pleasure and comfort of the palace by moving into the common world to see and experience actual suffering, he demonstrated an example on how people should live.

Under this truth, Buddha introducedNirvana (extinguishing any attachment to the three “poisons” and the significance of reaching enlightenment. He spoke about birth and not so much about death and what happens after death, because all he wanted his followers to concentrate on was how to free their souls from the cycle of suffering (Bradley 1).

The Forth noble truth: Path to the cessation of suffering (Magga)

According to this, for individuals to end their anguish’s, they have to adhere to a set of principles that are known as the Eightfold Path (Boeree62).

This path had eight principles, which were symbolized by the wheel of Dharma. They were Samma ditthi (meaning the acceptance of Buddhist teaching and the right understanding of all the practices), Samma sankappa (right intention or commitment), Samma vaca (telling the truth, avoiding slander and gossip), and Samma kammanta (behaving peacefully and harmoniously).

Others were Samma Vayama (developing positive state of mind), Samma sati (being aware of one’s body sensations feelings and state of mind) and lastly Samma Samadhi (building mental focus that is important for this awareness). This was to act as the bridge or raft for crossing to the other side of enlightenment (Boeree 89).

To start with, by all means all believers and other individuals should refrain from any abortion related acts. Buddhists believe that, nobody has the right to annihilate life, because they assume that, causing death is immoral.

This religion is an animal friendly religion and it expects humans to treat animal with kindness, although in the three fires that causes suffering, it uses animal symbols. The second main principle ethic centers onpunishment.According to the teachings of this religion, there should no coalesced policy on capital punishment, because of the existence of different forms of Buddhism (Boeree 124).

Another ethic is on contraception.According to the teachings of this religion, it is ungodly to use any medicine that prevents conception, because the use of these drugs is a form of causing death (Tambiah200).In addition, according to this religion’s teachings, euthanasia and going to war is wrong. On the other hand, there are no rules about organ donations, but its followers look at it a way of stopping suffering or being charitable (Bradley 1).

One of the main customs of this religion is venerating the Buddha. This is a practice that that is respect, because it is taken to be a way of meditating and honoring the qualities of Buddha. Another custom is the sacred mandala. This comprises of a picture of the universe painted on a wall or on a scroll that represent an imaginary palace that the Buddhists reflect on during contemplation (Bradley 1).

The third common custom is meditation.According to this religion, the state of being mentally and physically involved in an action that detaches one from his or her thoughts and feelings, with an aim of becoming more aware.In addition to these, adherents of this faith also believe in worship.

They do worship from both home and temples, but at home, they set aside a room to serve as the shrine. This room has a statue of Buddha, a rile banner and some candles in front of the statue(Boeree 89).

On f the holy days of this religion is Dharma Day or Asalha Puja. Followers of this religion have set aside this day as one their holy days, because it marks the beginning of Buddha’s teachings after his enlightenment. This religion also celebrates Kathina Day. It is the oldest festive and it is the day at the end of the Vassa (monsoon period).

This day is commemorate to remind believers of this religion some of the places where the nomadic Buddhist spent their three months. In addition to these days, this religion has aLoser‘s day, which is day that marks the Tibetan New Year(Boeree 43).

On the other hand, buddhists celebrate Parinirvana Day, which is the day of the Mahayana festive that marks the death of the Buddha. Another holly day that is important to this religion is the Sangha Day. This is one of the most vital days in this religion, because it is celebrated to honor the Buddhist community(Boeree165).

Buddhism Demographics

Buddhism spread fast during the fourth and fifth century and currently it has over three hundred million followers in the world. Some of its sub-divisions are Korean Zen Buddhism, which has over eleven million followers and nine thousand temples, Mahayana Buddhism that is the strongest in Tibet, China, Taiwan, Japan and Mongolia.

Another subdivision is the Nichiren Buddhism, which is found majorly in Japan, although it also has a fast growing number of followers in the United Kingdom (Boeree 187) in addition to these, there is also Pure land Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism, which is the strongest in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, and sections of Laos. Finally, there is Zen Buddhism, which a combination of Indian Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism from China, Korea and Japan, Tibetan Buddhism (Boeree174).

In conclusion, Buddhists do not worship gods or deities. This religion started more than two thousands five hundred years ago with just one leader (Siddhartha Gautama) and five followers, but presently, it has over three hundred and seventy six million followers globally (Bradley 1). This religion is one of the unique religions, because of its unique principles, teachings, and morals, which mainly focus on methods of alleviating human suffering, unlike other religions that emphasize on only how to live a righteous life.

Boeree, George. The Basics of Buddhism Wisdom . Pennsylvania : Shippensburg University Press, 1989. Web. < http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhawise.html >

British Broadcasting Corporation. “Buddhism. BBC . Web. < http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/subdivisions/tibetan_1.shtml >

Bradley, Cheryl. Buddha’s Trellis. Buddhism and the Tree of life. Tarot Canada. 17 th April. 2010. Web. < http://tarotcanada.tripod.com/BuddhasTrellis.html >

Kennedy, Chen. “Buddhism History. Buddhism in China. Pennsylvania : Princeton University Press, 1964. Print.

Tambiah, SJ. Essentials of Buddhism.(1976): 221. < http://www.buddhaweb.org/2.html >

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1. IvyPanda . "Concepts of Buddhism." December 13, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/concepts-of-buddhism/.

Bibliography

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Buddhism Research Paper

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More than two millennia ago in India, Siddhartha Gautama became “the Buddha” and began to teach that one can only escape suffering and sorrow by living along a righteous path that ends with the extinction of desire and ignorance. The Buddha’s teachings lie at the core of what has become one of the world’s largest religions.

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Buddhism is the world’s fourth-largest religion after Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Buddhism is approximately twenty-five hundred years old and has influenced cultures, events, and thought for generations. It is devoted to the improvement and eventual enlightenment of people, primarily through their own efforts.

The Indian philosopher Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism. The traditional dates of his life are 566 to 486 BCE, although recent studies suggest that Gautama was born as much as a century later. Gautama became known as “the Buddha” (the Enlightened One) after achieving enlightenment. He was born a prince of the Sakya clan in a small Indian kingdom in what is now Nepal. He had every luxury of the day and on the surface an apparently satisfying life. He married, had a son, and was destined to inherit his father’s kingdom. However, at the age of twenty-nine he became dissatisfied with his life of ease after being exposed to the true lot of humankind: suffering, old age, disease, and death. His father had protected him from these things because of a prophecy that Siddhartha would become either a great king or a great spiritual leader. His father’s hopes for a powerful successor were dashed when Siddhartha walked away from this life of ease and became an ascetic, a wandering holy man.

For six years he studied and learned from various gurus and holy men while depriving himself of all but the most meager nourishment. Siddhartha discovered that the extremes of self-deprivation were no better than the extremes of luxury and self-indulgence, so he sought the “Middle Way,” another name for Buddhism. Gautama found enlightenment while meditating under a bodhi tree. The Buddha achieved nirvana—the extinction of all desire and ignorance—and proceeded to teach others how to achieve the same state for the next forty-five years. Through discussions, parables, teaching, and living, the Buddha taught the “path of truth or righteousness” (Dhammapada). The scripture (sutta), “The Foundation of the Kingdom of Righteousness,” contains a succinct exposition of the major points that the Buddha taught.

Basic Beliefs

The Buddha preached “the Four Noble Truths” that define the existence of humankind: (1) Life is sorrow or suffering, (2) this suffering is caused by our selfish craving and desires, (3) we can remove sorrow by removing our desires, and (4) the removal of our desires is achieved by following the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold Path defines the “correct” behavior as right conduct, right effort, right speech, right views, right purpose or aspiration, right livelihood, right mindfulness, and right contemplation or meditation. The Buddha had few prohibitions but listed “five precepts” that good Buddhists should generally adhere to: not to kill, not to steal, not to lie, not to imbibe intoxicants, and not to be unchaste or unfaithful.

The Buddha taught that skandas (experiential data) create our existence from moment to moment and that only karma (the law of cause and effect) operates through our experience and is never lost. However, everything is changeable and impermanent. The Buddha made few concrete statements about the afterlife or the nature of “god”—realizing that the Middle Way can be taught but that each person must experience dharma—the realization of nirvana. His final admonition to his followers was to “work out your salvation with diligence” (Buddhist suttas 2000, 114).

After the Buddha—Growth in India

The Buddha was a practical teacher who knew that people need instruction, and he established the sangha (community of Buddhist monks and nuns) to carry on his work and the work of their own salvation. The Buddha instructed the sangha that it could change or delete any of the lesser rules after his passing if the sangha saw fit. Ultimately, the Buddha urged his followers to be “a lamp unto themselves.” Buddhism provides a system that demonstrates where we err and how to correct our errors not by miracles but rather by hard work and contemplation.

One of the most noted people who helped to expand Buddhism was the Mauryan ruler Asoka, who ruled from 272 to 231 BCE. The Maurya Empire (c. 324–200 BCE) grew from the state of Magadha after the time of the Buddha and rapidly expanded after Alexander of Macedon invaded India in the 320s bce, creating the first really unified kingdom in India. Asoka became a convert to Buddhism and helped to expand it by providing for missionaries and monks, so that Buddhism became a world religion while Hinduism remained confined to India. He is often compared with Roman emperor Constantine in the West, whose conversion to Christianity in 312 CE helped that religion to grow. Inscriptions on pillars and rocks throughout Asoka’s realm encouraged the citizens of the empire to follow the dharma, limit the killing and cruelty to animals, and live a righteous life. Like Christianity, Buddhism may also have provided Asoka and the Mauryans with a code of conduct and a way to help manage, enlarge, and consolidate the empire. Buddhism also benefited from the patronage of a king who helped it to reach beyond the borders of India.

Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Sects

The Maha-Parinibbana Sutta (Book of the Great Decease) concerns the final days and death of the Buddha and is important because the Buddha did not consider himself to be a deity. It illustrates the relationship between the Buddha and Ananda, a cousin of the Buddha who was a disciple and his personal servant. A warm, trusting relationship between the two shines through the text. The first Council of Buddhism met to organize and retain the teachings of the Buddha several months after his death. The Buddhist Suttas, probably recorded by the first or second century BCE, is the canon of the Buddhist faith.

However, by the second and first centuries BCE Buddhism had already begun to diverge into schools of thought that evolved into the major sects of Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. The Theravada claimed to adhere closely to the original teachings of the Buddha and evolved along more monastic lines to spread through Southeast Asia to Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Cambodia. Theravada is also known as “Hinayana,” which means “lesser vehicle.” Mahayana (greater vehicle) Buddhism became the more adaptive Buddhism. With an emphasis on compassion and flexibility, it meshed with the cultures it encountered to spread to China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Mahayanists also developed the idea of the bodhisattva (a being who compassionately refrains from entering nirvana in order to save others and is worshipped as a deity). Vajrayana (diamond vehicle) Buddhism is also known as “tantric Buddhism” and spread to Central Asia, primarily Tibet.

The Silk Roads and the Spread of Buddhism in Asia

A network of trade routes called the Silk Roads made travel possible from China to the Mediterranean and to India from about the second century CE to approximately the fifteenth century, connecting the world in ways it had not been before. Religions in particular found their way to new lands and different cultures via the Silk Roads. Buddhism originated in India and spread to the Kushan areas, part of what is today Pakistan and Afghanistan, by the first century CE. Buddhism developed a number of sects, built many monasteries, and became a consumer of many of the luxuries of the day, especially silk. Buddhist monasteries often provided solace for weary travelers, and Buddhist monks, nuns, and their devotees acquired massive quantities of silk for ceremonial functions. A symbiotic relationship existed whereby the growth of Buddhist monasteries increased demand for silk while also supporting its trade and movement.

The earliest schools of Buddhism to spread along the Silk Roads were the Mahasanghikas, Dharmaguptakas, and Sarvastivadins, eventually to be subsumed by the Mahayana sect. As Buddhism spread to Central Asia and China, pilgrims began to seek the origins of Buddhism, visiting its holy sites and bringing home its sacred texts. The travels of fifty-four Buddhists, starting as early as 260 CE, are documented in Chinese sources.

Xuanzang, also known as Hsuan-tsang, was a Chinese Buddhist monk; like many others he sought a more in-depth understanding of his faith by seeking out original documents and visiting places where the faith began in India. Xuanzang began his 16,000- kilometer journey in 629 CE and returned in 645. As Xuanzang began his journey, the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) emperor, Taizong, was beginning to restore China and make it a powerful force in Central Asia.

Xuanzang encountered Buddhist stupas (usually dome-shaped structures serving as Buddhist shrines) at Balkh and two large Buddhist figures at Bamian in Afghanistan. Although many areas of former Buddhist expansion were in decline, Xuanzang found in Kashmir one hundred Buddhist monasteries and five thousand monks. Welcomed in India at Nalanda by thousands, Xuanzang found a place of intellectual ferment. Cave paintings at Dunhuang record the triumphant passage of Xuanzang back to China; Xuanzang finished The Record of the Western Regions in 646 to document his journey. Gaozong, Taizong’s son and successor, built the Big Wild Goose Pagoda at Xuanzang’s urging to house relics and Buddhist scriptures.

A chaotic period of religious exchange and development began with the rise of the Mongols during the 1100s and 1200s. The Silk Roads’ pivotal role in cultural and religious exchange eventually declined with the advent of the Age of Exploration during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Additionally, Muslim control of long-distance trade routes helped to enhance the Islamization of Central Asia. Central Asian peoples apparently therefore accommodated themselves to those people who were the major participants in their trade connections. Trade led to cultural exchange; thus trade was an important factor in spreading the world’s great religions.

Buddhism in China and Japan

Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam spread in various areas, but to truly make a home in foreign lands these faiths often accommodated themselves to the local culture and modified or even changed some of their values or traditions. In China Buddhists spreading the faith emphasized the compassionate aspects of the faith rather than the disciplined aspects of Theravada Buddhism, and Nestorian Christians used Daoist (relating to a religion developed from Daoist philosophy and folk and Buddhist religion) or Buddhist terms, calling the books of the Bible “sutras” (precepts summarizing Vedic teaching).

Buddhism reached China by the first century CE, and a number of Mahayana sects developed there, including Tiantai, Huayan, Pure Land, and Chan. Pure Land developed as a way to reach the general population without its members having to grasp all the intricate philosophical teachings of Buddhism. Followers of Pure Land simply were to call or chant the name of Amitabha Buddha for salvation in paradise or the Pure Land.

The Indian monk Bodhidhanna is reputed to have brought Chan Buddhism to China during the sixth century CE. The word Chan (Zen in Japanese) derives from the Sanskrit word dhyana and means “meditation,” so Chan is meditation Buddhism. Towering figures such as Huineng (638–713) and Zhaozhou (778–897) strengthened Chan so that by the ninth century major schools of Chan called “Linji” and “Caodong” had developed and would later be exported to Japan as the Zen sects of Rinzai and Soto.

Buddhism had already arrived in Japan from China and Korea during the 500s CE. During the Kamakura period of Japanese history, from 1185 to 1333, Buddhism experienced dramatic growth and reinvigoration. Energetic and charismatic figures such as Nichiren (1222–1282) founded new sects. The medieval period has been characterized as one of the most religious times in Japanese history.

Buddhism had evolved in China to the point that, during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), Chan or Zen dominated Buddhist teachings. Scholars usually credit Myozen Eisai (1141–1215) for introducing Rinzai Zen and Dogen Kigen (1200–1253) for introducing Soto Zen. The Rinzai sect emphasizes koan (spiritual exercise) as its prime tool for achieving understanding and enlightenment, whereas the Soto sect emphasizes zazen (sitting meditation). Both Eisai and Dogen studied in China under Chan masters, receiving recognition of their enlightenment—an official document of lineage is important in Zen and helps to provide credentials to teach upon one’s return home. During the twentieth century, appreciation of Dogen’s work grew, and today Dogen is perceived as one of Japan’s greatest geniuses and the most noted Zen figure in Japan.

With the influx of Chinese masters during the 1200s and 1300s, Japanese Zen more closely resembled its Chinese Chan counterpart. In fact, the Five Mountains system of temple organization, which arose during the late 1300s, was based on the Chinese model. The ironic aspect of Zen growth is that Zen had few real practitioners. Its primary role initially was transmitting Chinese culture to Japan. The Japanese and Chinese masters achieved influence and success because of their access to Chinese culture during the Song dynasty (960–1279).

Buddhism and the West

Much of the early Western exposure to Buddhism came through the Japanese. Eight people, including three Buddhist priests, represented Japanese Buddhism at the World Parliament of Religions in 1893, held in Chicago. The writings of D. T. Suzuki helped to open Western eyes to Buddhism and began to popularize Zen Buddhism. During the last half of the twentieth century, new patterns of immigration and many U.S. and European citizens who turned to non-Western faiths helped Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and Daoism have an impact on Western culture. Older and recent emigrants from Asia—Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, and Tibetans—have played a large role in establishing a Buddhist foothold in the West and exposing Westerners (Euro-Americans) to the traditions of Asia.

Buddhism’s rise in the United States can be attributed to people’s search for answers and the rapid changes brought about by a modern and consumer-driven society. Buddhism’s rise is also because of dedicated teachers, such as Sylvia Boorstein, Chogyam Trungpa, and Jon Kabat-Zinn, who have helped to popularize the faith. The Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh has had an important influence on U.S. Buddhism. The Dalai Lama (the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism) also has promoted a more engaged Buddhism with his pleas for Tibetan freedom from China. The Tibetan diaspora (scattering) has opened up access to teachers and lamas (monks) who, until the Chinese occupied Tibet in 1959, were little known outside their own country. The Dalai Lama himself has come to symbolize for many the face of Buddhism shown to the world. His character and compassion in the face of difficulties for his own people exemplify for many the best attributes of the Buddhist life.

Shunryu Suzuki was a Japanese Zen priest who came to the United States in 1959 and settled at a small temple in San Francisco. He is credited with establishing the first Zen monastery in the United States at Tassajara, California, in 1967. The Three Pillars of Zen (1965) by Philip Kapleau was one of the first books in English that discussed the practice of Zen Buddhism. The book has had an impact far beyond the students of Kapleau because many people in the United States lacked access to a Buddhist teacher but were shown how to begin meditating and practice on their own by Kapleau’s book. Much of the Buddhist faith in Asia is centered on the sangha, whereas in the United States no real sangha exists.

Buddhism and Change

Buddhism flowered in the West during the last three decades of the twentieth century, and Zen became a cottage industry. What attracted Westerners, particularly well-educated and professional people, to the faith? The beliefs of Buddhism “are more compatible with a secular scientific worldview than those of the more established Western religions” (Coleman 2001, 205).

In a world that grows smaller each day, the Internet has provided a link to the Buddhist communities of the world and has begun to house the vast amount of Buddhist scriptural writing. The Internet may hold hope for many who practice alone or who are in ill health to have access to qualified teachers. Nonetheless, Buddhism is uniquely suited to isolated practice and meditation. Whether Buddhism will continue to broaden its appeal in the West is difficult to say. Even in Asia monasteries and monkhood are difficult choices in an ever-broadening world consumer culture. Buddhism, like many of the great faiths of the world, has found ways to adapt and survive for centuries. Buddhism continues as a way, the Middle Way, to work toward peace, compassion, and enlightenment. Yet, we have only to look back to the Buddha’s own words to find the future of Buddhism. The Buddha said that the only really permanent thing in this world is change.

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