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How Buddhism began

  • Richard F. Gombrich

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"This book takes a fresh look at the earliest Buddhist texts and offers various suggestions how the teachings in them had developed. Two themes predominate. Firstly, it argues that we cannot understand the Buddha unless we understand that he was debating with other religious teachers, notably brahmins."--BOOK JACKET. "The other main theme concerns metaphor, allegory and literalism. By taking the words of the texts literally - despite the Buddha's warning not to - successive generations of his disciples created distinctions and developed doctrines far beyond his original intention. Perhaps most important of all, a combination of literalism with ignorance of the Buddha's allusions to brahminism led Buddhists to forget that the Buddha had preached that love, like Christian charity, could itself be directly salvific."--BOOK JACKET.

Genres

  • Buddhism
  • Doctrines
  • History
  • Origin
  • Buddhism, history
  • Bouddhisme
  • Origines
  • Histoire
  • RELIGION
  • General
  • Early period
  • Buddhism, doctrines
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About the author

  • Richard F. Gombrich

    born 1937

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    0 ratings · 42 works

Editions

  • Edition cover

    Athlone Press

    1996

  • Edition cover

    2nd ed.

    Routledge

    2006

  • Edition cover

    Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers

    1997